When Luck's on your Side
"Zone 11 won again." the man from before said to his friend. He laid his back on the bleacher wearing a dissatisfied look on his face.
"I told you it was because of that kid." his friend replied blankly. "We shouldn't have laughed at him for having a cocky name." he and his friend exchanged looks. "Remember how he escaped from that pinch?!" he asked.
"I still don't recognize that kid as a winner. I bet the other Zone members did much better than him to keep their spot for the next round." the two strangers stood and left the atrium to go somewhere.
Dave and Cassandra still heard their conversation but now, they were not feeling irritated. They knew that Markus has proven himself during that game.
"You're definitely on a different level, my friend!" Dave said when Markus exited the atrium after the announcement of winners. He wore a cheerful smile like a very proud kid.
"My friend? You're weird today Dave, are you sick?" Markus asked. His brows meet.
"Of course, I am very well, well enough to eat more cakes!" Dave bounced in glee. "Where are we going?!" his eyes glimmer with spark.
"So you came with Marky to eat a cake..." Cassandra said and glared at his friend. "Fiend." she blurted and hit the kid.
"Of course not! , It's just, I don't want Cassy to eat all the sweets that Marky will buy, you know." Dave complained, avoiding Cassy's strike. He went behind Markus and massaged his shoulders.
"Hey, Davey, that tickles..." Markus tried very hard to move away from Dave's fingers.
"That's rude,, Davey.." she dragged Dave away from Markus. "Stop acting like a kid, we're causing trouble in front of many people, idiots." Cassandra nagged.
"Sorry." Dave escaped from her grip and stood like nothing happened.
"Ma,, isn't that okay?" Markus said. "Let's just go grab some cakes! I'm also starving."
The two eyed each other and said, "Haii..." in unison.
"Just so you know, I didn't only came for the sweets." Cassandra bailed.
"I know..." Markus laughed and they went to their favorite café.
.....
"De,..." Dave stabbed his choco-moist cake with a fork. "How did that happen, Markus?" he asked.
"Happen what?" the kid replied. He was shaking his smoothie and took a sip before he met his friends' eyes.
"That win." Cassandra said. "I never thought you'll win in that situation. Aren't you near the explosion site in that arena?"
"Yeah..." Dave sipped his milk tea. " All the people in front and behind us thought you've used some kind of high-end cheat or something. I mean, how could you escape from that pinch without using one?"
"You mean, that time I vanished?" Markus grabbed a handful of chips from their bowl.
"Yeah, that one." Cassandra replied. "At first you were just running with that swordsman and in an instant, you were gone with the explosion. And, the last thing we knew, you're already announced as the winner."
"I was also shocked with what happened, Cass." Markus said. He brushed aside his drink and placed her hands together, like a jury trying to explain himself. "It's all because of Luck."
"Luck?" Dave said. " Who's that?"
"Shut up, Dave." Cassandra threw her hand to grab Dave's lips to shut him down.
"Yeah." Markus never batted an eye. "It's true I was running with that swordsman away from the detonating boss. But, 0.567 second before the blast reached me, I tripped and fell on a hole."
The two fell silent for almost a whole minute as if crickets were sounding around them. A wind blew the tissue from their table and slapped Dave's forehead.
"Who are you kidding, you kid!!!" Cassandra stood up and grabbed Markus' sleeves. They were causing a commotion on their table because their drinks just dripped.
"Hey, Cass. We're outside, calm down." Dave dragged her back to her seat.
"It was really true, damn it." Markus whined. "Why don't you believe me? It was all dark in their and I even found a rare material, a jade Scallop. It might be a secret area placed in the game where the adventurers will find out of the blue. And to think that the boss is a bug, that hole might be one of those as well."
"So, you're saying that you survived the blast because you luckily tripped and fell on a hole where you found a rare item and the moment you went our from there, everyone was wiped out except for those you have gone distant from the boss' blast center, am I right?"
"Exactly!" Markus threw his hands in the air, celebrating his victory from their conversation.
The two fell silent again.
"You really are something, Markus," Dave broke the ice. "That lucky feat made you famous in Quest, you know." he showed him his tab and they saw the news about the recent event. "Look at this."
"Arcane Phantom's name is on the screen," Markus muttered.
"I hope they wont spread bad rumors about that account though." Cassandra said and finished her slice of strawberry cheese cake.
.....
Markus went home and went straight to his room. He turned on his computer, sat in front of it, and stared at the screen for a moment while hovering the mouse pointer on the screen. He looked outside his window and saw the dim night sky above Ned's shop.
"He's still working this late, huh." he muttered.
He opened the file manager and started tinkering his program, the Phantom Algorithm. He entered new codes and ideas he got from the afternoon's game and from what he researched on that night.
"Ehh, should I give this a try?" He whispered under his breath and grinned. "Well, I guess they will not find me out if I just do this...tehehe" he said.
He continued hitting keys until the night went deep.
"Next week, huh?" He stretched his arms up in the air and smiled. "I'm looking forward to use it!!!" he walked towards his bed and sunk himself, hugging his pillow tightly. "I should sleep early and be ready for school tomorrow. Good night universe!"
He turned the lights off and went to sleep.
....
The next week came like a parcel and Markus was excited for this day.
Early morning, he set off, ready to go to the place where he will achieve his dream on becoming the number one RPG gamer in the City.
That was his goal. To be noticed, he needs to achieve something and that thing could be winning the Quest tournament.
"I can do this!" he stepped outside and the sun kissed his cheeks. He slapped himself with both his hands.
"Mornin' Markus!!" a voice called.
He thought it was his friend's calling but when he turned around, he saw Ned, waving his dirty screws.
"Morning uncle Ned." He casually greeted.
"Why are you so early?"
"Today's the Finals." Markus grinned.
"Whoa.." Ned was amazed. "I can't believe you will really participate in the finals. Not to mention it was a beta testing for the game."
"Who do you think I am, uncle Ned?"
"Markus Lockwood, 11 years old, resident of Blk 9, Lot 15, Zwischen St., Zone 11, Aurum City. Son of Charlotte Lockwood who have gone to a fight because of cheats and was even hospitalized because of a punctured wound." Ned said.
"Hey, that's below the belt." Markus pouted as he punched Ned's side. Ned evaded the hit.
"Oh, so sorry." Ned laughed. "Are you going there alone? Where's Cassy and Dave?"
"They're busy, they said." He sighed as if he's gotten used of people leaving him. "Cassandra will help her mom cook for their relatives' annual celebration today. Dave was taken by his dad to the mountains doing some hiking and food gathering."
"You sure you wont get lost?" Ned teased.
Markus stumped on his toe. This time he wasn't aware.
"Awww.. that hurt, you idiot!" Ned blurted.
The kid just grinned and Ned did the same. They both laughed at their petty argument.
"I see, they're with their parents," Ned muttered. "Don't be ashamed if you needed a hug." he opened his arms and offered Markus' to hug him if he's feeling lonely.
Markus drew a gruesome face with him. He looked at Ned with a slight disgust.
"Hey." Ned complained.
"Anyways, I gotta go." Markus turned around and waved, "Bye! Wish me luck!"
He arrived at the train station and excitedly pushed the button going to ORION. He went on board and waited for about an hour until he arrived at the ORION compound.
ZONE 1
The place was a huge facility with a tight security. Every place you look at has a man wearing a black suit who is securing the area. He went on to line in the entrance and register for the big event. When it was his turn,
"Pass..." asked the security whose eyebrows meet at the center of his forehead. His buttons are having their hard time holding his uniform. He sat inside the booth that made him look like a donut inside a box.
"Pass." the guard asked again.
Markus stopped his day dreaming and showed the ticket that he won during the Round Two.
The security guard glared at him saying "Are you sure this is yours kid? Didn't you steal this from your brother or someone from your neighborhood?" the guard glared him.
"Why? Do you have a problem, Sir? This is mine,,, definitely. They placed my name on it, see?" Markus said as if he's some kind of a 20 year old dude.
Markus reached the pass and showed the back of the ticket with his name,
M A R K U S L O C K W O O D
He gave him his school ID and his account card to confirm his identity.
The guard stared at his evidences but still his doubt was not erased.
"Huh,, I wonder what you will do on the tournament kid... well, I wish you all the luck... you need it the most." the security guard said to him on a sarcastic manner.
"I will do my best, Sir. I'll show you I can win this game." He replied confidently.
"Whatever..." the guard turned away and shouted "NEXT".
He entered the huge building and went straight to the Atrium and was shocked on what he had seen.
People from different parts of the city gathered in the Atrium to play the biggest event of the computer world for this year. He saw men and women of different ages with thick eyeglasses and ...eye bags. Anyway, he was proud to stand on their ground having the chance to play the best gamer of their city with more experience and resources than him. Others have traveled long distances just to participate on the most awaited event, the Finals (die Endrunde). He came to the booth and registered his name and he was given a unit number.
The rules are the same with the rules used on the game at the Sea mall,
YOU CAN USE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE
But this time, they have placed some constraint,
AS LONG AS IT FITS IN YOUR FLASH DRIVE
They've seemed to predict that the other contestants will bring huge hard wares and other electronic devices to use during the battle. One guy has brought an entire CPU as an addition to his specs but was prohibited at the entrance booth. The other woman has brought 3 cell phone-like devices with her. She explained their uses and how crucial it is to have them on the game but because of the rule, those were confiscated.
"So, what do you have kid?" asked the man on the booth.
"Just this one, Sir." He showed him the flash drive he used during the qualifying matches with his very weapon, the flash drive with the PA.
"Ohh,, interesting... well, it's just a flash drive so come on in..."
"Sir, can I ask a question?" Markus said and the man was baffled.
"Yes? What do you want to ask?" the man replied.
"Why are you allowing the use of cheats in the game? I mean, if we are playing ROA, isn't it nice to play it without underhanded techniques?" he innocently asked.
"For you to know kid, we are conducting this beta testing for us to identify future lapses, glitches, and cheats that we can use to market the game. Every purchase of the original copy comes with those cheat codes for advantage."
Markus was taken aback. He thought he only needs to play fair to win the game but even the developers are entertaining those kinds of pursuit. His expression changed.
"So you're allowing it to see if whose cheats can be useful for the market?"
"Yeah." the man immediately replied. "Also, we are scouting programmers through this method. I mean, if you are a very good programmer, you will also be good at using, manipulating, and making your own cheat codes. And, that's what we are looking forward to using for the company."
Markus stared at the guy.
"But still, hacking is a crime so we are only scouting those who use cheats. It's like walking through a glitch you create in the program, so better showoff."
He went straight to his unit and prepared for the match. A few minutes later, the announcer went to the center stage and said,
"Saa,, Good Afternoon once again everyone! Were gathered here today to witness the final game on the RPG world presented by our greatest sponsor and the most prominent computing company of the whole world,... thanks for having these players in your realm,.... the ORION!!" applause filled the whole atrium.
"... the game that the players will play for today is one of the latest and specially upgraded RPG systems made by ORION for this very event, the FINALS!" even louder cheers were heard.
"Now, let's not take this too long...." Drum roll was sounded, "... I know the programmers are also waiting to witness talents here..." he continued "I know the players know the rules of this game, again, for further inquiries, press the help button on your screen..."
"Players, put on your 3D glasses now..." a few seconds were given to put their glasses on.
Markus inserted the flash drive on the port and said to himself "...yosh,, let's get this started...I hope luck'll remain in my side."
"...let the games begin!" fireworks were lighted and the big screen showed the world where the players were set off.