Chapter 1 – Into the Game

The insanely loud base vibrates the club walls and everyone in it.

A man, old only enough to be a college student, is sitting in front of the bar, sipping Scotch.

A woman, around his age, takes the seat next to him. Much of her skin is exposed.

“Wanna drink?” he asked, already ordering a bottle of Scotch and another cup.

Lifting the cup, which was already filled with scotch and ice, she smiled. “If you want me to.” And emptied it before he could reply.

Pouring another glassful, the man asked, “Did you come alone?”

“No. I came with my boyfriend,” she said, giving the man a wink.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with him, then?”

“No. I don’t really like him. He thinks he owns me or something,” she said, pouring another cup of Scotch and emptying the bottle.

The woman was drunk and she wanted company. What an opportunity.

“I’ll take care of you,” he whispered in her ear and slowly made his way down to her lips.

“What do you think you’re doing!?” came a roar from behind.

The man looked over his shoulder to find a tall muscular man about to explode. ‘The woman’s boyfriend.’

“I said, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

What a stupid question.

“I was trying to kiss your girlfriend, retard,” the man replied in a voice so calm it made the muscular man wonder for a second whether it was normal to kiss other’s girlfriends.

“Fuck you,” the muscular man grabbed the woman’s wrist. “You’re comin with me.”

The woman’s face was distorted.

“Hey, hey. Buff guy. She’s with me.”

The muscular brute could not believe it. A man half his size was trying to steal his girlfriend. Not even funny.

“You don’t wanna get hurt do ya, boy?” the man growled.

“Do you?”

This was enough.

“Let’s take this outside, boy. I’ll show ya what poundin means.”

Cold wind sweeps across New York streets. There were only a few people walking the chilly streets. And three were in a dark alley.

“You don’t know me, do you?” The man asked, with both hands in his pocket.

“I don’t wanna fuking know,” the brute replied, throwing the first punch.

The brut was fast, but so was the man. He simply ducked under and moved in on the brute.

In one swift movement, the man pushed up with his legs and slammed his fist in the brute’s neck.

“Khaaak!” the brute screamed and he fell to his knees, collapsing onto the cold cement floor.

“Too slow. Strong, but too slow.”

Straightening out his suit, the man headed back into the club when the woman asked, “Who are you?” with disbelief in her eyes.

The man thought for a second and answered, “I’m me.”

When the man started to push the door open, he felt a vibration in his pocket.

“Hello?”

“Is this Matthew Parker?”

“Yes, and you are?”

“I’m Dr. Roberts.”

“And…?”

“It’s about your parents. There’s been an accident.”

“…”

“What the fuck are you saying?”

“Please calm down Mr. Parker.”

This was too much.

“I’m not going to calm down! My parent’s been overrun by a drunken man’s truck! Where the fuck is he anyway!?”

“We’re truly sorry, and he’s currently being investigated. There’s no doubt that he’ll be put into prison”

“Do my sisters know?”

“No. You’re the first one we’ve contacted.”

As if there was anybody else to contact.

….

The cold early morning air refreshed Matthew, who was walking home, as he thought about how to break the news to his two younger sisters. Nothing too brilliant came up. He never was good at thinking.

“Fuck…” he muttered, lighting a cigarette. “One thing at a time, one thing at a time.”

“I’m home!” Matthew called out, kicking his shoes off.

From somewhere, a door banged open and a squeal of joy erupted, soon followed by two little girls. One was nine years old, and the other twelve.

“Where were you last night? We were going to play something with you, mommy, and daddy,” the nine year old, Jessica, said, pretending to be angry.

“I’m sorry Jess, I’ve been… busy.”

It’s true. People get busy clubbing.

“Where’s mom and dad?” the twelve year old, Jennifer, asked.

Shit.

“Umm, I don’t know Jenn. Maybe they’re busy at work.”

“Probably,” she agreed.

Matthew’s parents often worked over night.

“Hey, I’m going to get some sleep. You two play safe, okay?”

“Sure,” the girls answered, giggling.

Closing the door behind, Matthew threw himself on the bed, and slowly faded away.

‘Everything’s going to be okay. We’ve got enough money to last for three generations. Never mind educating Jenn and Jess and buying them whatever…’

‘Stop shaking me…’

Don’t you hate it when someone shakes you awake?

“Matt! Wake up! Someone’s at the door and he wants to talk to you!” Jenn shouted, still shaking.

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

“What time’s it?”

“Seven P.M.”

With a groan, Matthew got out of bed and organized himself.

“Good girl, Jenn. Don’t open the door to strangers,” Matthew said as he opened to see who was at the entrance.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Parker.”

“Can I help you?”

“I’m your father’s fund manager.”

“…Please come in.”

Fully opening the door, Matthew led the fund manager to his room and asked the girls to stay out.

“Your father’s death… is a tragedy for all of us, especially for you. I’m sorry.”

Enough sympathy.

“You didn’t come here to be sorry.”

Straight to the point, just like his father.

“Before your father passed away, he had an extraordinary amount of debt.”

“…”

“To repay, he had to sell everything he had. The house, cars, farm, hotel, you name it. Even then, it wasn’t enough…”

The world is crashing down.

“Don’t fucking tell me he used up the money in the bank.” Matthew said through gritted teeth. His hands were already clenched into a fist.

“I’m sorry to say, he used most of it.”

“We had eight million dollars just in the bank! How could he not repay after selling everything we had?!”

“He owed many people much money.”

Matthew didn’t know what to say. He just sat where he was and glared at the fund manager with death in his eyes.

“How much do we have left?”

“Hundred thousand dollars.”

Was it possible to live in New York with hundred thousand dollars?

“This is bullshit.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask you to leave this house immediately.”

‘Where is the goddamn place?’

“Where are we going?” the girls wailed, as they were aimlessly roaming the New York streets.

Matthew needed a white lie.

“Listen carefully girls. Mommy and daddy are going to be away for a while. They have something very, very important to do. So there’s no reason for us to stay in a house so big, right? It’s a waste of money. So, I’ve got us a small cozy place to stay in.”

A born liar.

It wasn’t all lies. They did have a place to stay. The fund manager gave Matthew an address to a small place where the monthly fee was only two thousand dollars a month.

“Mommy’s going to be away?” Jess said, about to break into tears.

Fortunately, Matthew was able to change the topic.

“That’s ours from now on!” Matthew shouted, pointing towards a dull looking building.

It wasn’t big, but it was an ok place to live in.

“You girls go in first and tell the owner that Mr. Fagg sent you. I’m going to make a phone call.”

Like the small kids they were, they ran in squealing, not knowing their situation.

With a sigh, Matthew started to call his closest friend, Daniel.

“So, what’s up?”

“I need your help.”

Matthew was in Daniel’s apartment. He wasn’t as rich as Matthew was, but his father was the head of a global company.

“Holy shit! You, the great Matthew, the unbeatable Matthew, need help?!” Daniel shouted like a frantic.

“I need your help.” Matthew replied, ignoring the shouts.

Realizing that Matthew wasn’t joking, Daniel calmed down and asked, “Help with what.”

“Help finding a job.”

“Matthew,” Daniel hesitated.

Knowing how uncomfortable it was for Daniel to tell the truth, Matthew said, forcing himself a grin, “I know I’m not good at anything. That’s why I’m here, asking you for help.”

Truth always hurts.

Carefully and slowly, Daniel said, “Matt, you can’t find a job without having proper education. Hell, even the laborers need to graduate college.”

Despair set in.

‘Shit, this can’t be happening. I have sisters to feed.’

Then, a light of hope shunned.

“Are you familiar with MMORPG?” Daniel asked.

“Of course. Game was my life when I was in middle school. It stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. But what about it?”

“Have you heard of the game, ‘Archterra’?”

It’s true that Matthew played almost every existing game when he was in middle school. However, he went drinking and clubbing with his friends from high school…

“New game?” Matthew asked, immediately interested.

“Hm, then have you heard about ‘Virtual Wold’?”

“That game! I’ve played it when I was in seventh grade. It’s still around?”

“No. Archterra is the updated version. The game has been modified and upgraded beyond your imagination. It’s absolute reality.”

“And why are we talking about a game?”

Daniel grinned.

“Archterra isn’t only played in America, but through out the world. It has been declared the most addictive game in history. Furthermore, when games get big, and people become competitive, gamers thrive to be the best. The number one. To do that, you need items in game. People are willing to pay cash.”

“So you’re saying I play this and earn myself some cash?” Matthew shouted, “I like it!”

Standing up, Daniel abruptly ran into a room, soon to rush out with some sort of a helmet.

With one glance, Matthew could tell that this was what he needed to play the game. Why? Because it had ‘Archterra’ written on it’s windshield.

“The game’s been around for only two years or so. Here’s the guide. Read it thoroughly before you play,” Daniel said, throwing Matthew the book.

“So all I need to do is put this thing on, huh? How much is the monthly fee?” Matthew asked, flipping through the guidebook.

“Hundred dollars.”

“Fuck.”

“Don’t worry. The guide has a free coupon you can use. I think it was for three months.”

“You sure you don’t need all this?”

The equipment itself looked really expensive.

“Nah, dude. I’m busy at my work,” Daniel replied, giving Matthew a pat on the shoulder, “Wish you luck.”

…

Stress. Money. Stress. Money. Why do they sound the same? Matthew lights a cigarette and stares at the ‘39.99’ print.

“Shit. I gotta stop smoking.”

Sucking till there was nothing left, Matthew sighs as he flings away the empty cigarette case.

…

When Matthew returned home, it was already dark and the girls were dozing off in their room.

After quietly going into his room, Matthew read through the guidebook.

The game was very like all the other fantasy games, however, with infinite possibilities. There wasn’t a specific class you could choose. Rather, classes were defined by how you raise your stats and skills. Currently, around the world, ten gold coins in game were equivalent to 1 cent in real life.

‘This is the only way to earn money…’ Matthew thought grimly. ‘Should I search the Internet for stat and skill guides? No, I can’t become rich by doing what everyone else does…’

Taking a deep breath, Matthew put on the helmet and shouted.

“Archterra, log in!”

To be Continued…