Chapter 9

I spent the rest of the night doing quests for the starter town's four main shopkeepers and Mayor, increasing my relationship with them to a 'revered' state and earning friend requests from each of them. As for the other NPCs in the town, such as the extraneous craftsmen in the crafting hall and the return scroll vendor, their attitude didn't change when they saw my new title. They continued acting like computer programs, which the active NPCs explained away by saying 'they must have quit after the update' or 'they might not be paying attention right now'.

Eventually, toward the end of my playtime for the night, every one of the five NPCs who'd befriended me spread their hands at me to say they had nothing left.

"I'm sorry, my friend," the Mayor said. "This is still only a beginner village, so I can't offer you anything more. To advance, you'll need to move on to the next towns on the road to the underwater Capital. You have a choice between three paths. Beyond the Cerulean Caves to the South, you'll find a new area called Oyster Hollow. It is a murky place where pearls can be found in abundance, but so can vicious swarms of saltwater payara.

To the North, beyond the Cerulean Forest, is the Forgotten Battlefield, which is where you'll find the stereotypical area full of jagged ridges and shipwrecks. The area is intended to be a salvage yard, although I doubt it'll see much of its intended use. Aside from that, it's also a good place to farm for treasure chests, dubloons, and lobsters, but you have to watch out for squids and poisonous stonefish.

And to the East, past the Cerulean Plains, you'll find the Field of Ruins. It is the resting place for an ancient forgotten city and home to Brine Lake—the entrance to the Briny Dungeon. You can find bull manatees grazing among the grass and there are various mini-games scattered through the area, waiting to be uncovered. The biggest mini-game is the Sea Witch's Tower and it's somewhat hard to miss."

"What's to the West?" I asked.

The Mayor blinked at me in surprise. "You haven't been yet? Well, to be honest, there isn't much there at all. There's a small island chain where players can harvest laverweeds from the rocks along the shore. It's a slimy kind of seaweed that can be used to make the dried nori wraps used in sushi recipes. There are also sea turtles, seagulls, and eggs of both species on the islands, but everything beyond there is a barren ocean flat. I believe the islands were only created to give aquatic players a place to experience the transition to land. Before the update, the change from water pressure to air pressure was much harder to deal with. Now, I believe it's almost negligible."

"I see. Then I guess I'll check out the next maps in the other three directions and see which ones I can explore without dying."

"Before you go, I have a suggestion to make. You can hide any title you possess, including the title 'NPC friend'. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but hiding it will make your game easier in the future. You won't have other players asking how you received it and you won't have low level NPCs trying to take advantage of you. You seem like an honest kid and I'd hate for anyone to target you because the people of Cerulean Lagoon befriended you."

"Tell me how to do that," I replied. He walked me through the process of hiding my title, then nodded in satisfaction when it disappeared from my visible status.

"Good," he said in approval. "Those of us on your friends list will still treat you as a friend, but other NPCs will act like NPCs unless you have some reason to flash your title. Just be careful about who you choose to share it with. No matter what the title claims, not all NPCs are necessarily your friend. Showing off the title only unlocks the remote interactions option and lets them know you're aware of our secret. It doesn't actually do anything else."

I smiled over his concern for me. "I'll be careful."

So it wouldn't be awkward later, I logged out at the edge of town to make it easier to leave when I logged in again.

My parents were already awake and cooking breakfast when I climbed out of bed. They asked how my night went and I told them about my weird hidden quest as we ate.

"It was really, really weird," I exclaimed between bites of scrambled eggs. "I wonder if it's one of those things where all the NPCs have multiple reaction modes depending on whether you have the title showing or not. Or I've heard some games use employees to roleplay as NPCs. It gives them a chance to personally collect data—meaning it was someone across the country instead of across the universe. The hidden quest could be an easter egg proving I encountered a hidden Dev and my title may trigger the administrative takeover of any NPC whenever I flash it. That could come in handy if I use it at the right time. I just have to be careful not to abuse it or they might start ignoring it."

"You never know," my dad teased. "Maybe she was telling the truth and she really is an alien entity playing another version of the game. Isn't Aetherscape a world where dreams are made real? Lots of people dream of aliens and bodysnatchers."

"Someone had to have been smoking crack to dream that up," my mom commented. "Game developers should be more careful. My parents told me about what happened when reality-bending movies came out in the past. If they give that hidden quest to an unstable person, it could trigger an incident no one wants to see."

"Well, I'm not one of those unstable people, so you don't have to worry." Choosing to change the subject, I asked, "What are your plans today while I'm at the mall?"

Both of my parents froze like I'd broken them. They exchanged startled glances and my mother's expression softened first. "Did you hear that? Our boy is going to the mall."

"And no one is forcing him," my dad continued.

I gagged dramatically like a twelve-year-old and left the table with my parents chuckling behind me.

It didn't take long to get ready. Since I knew tight clothes made for a better rendering scan, I slipped on the form-fitting compression shirt I sometimes used for training, a pair of leggings emblazoned with a dragon print, and a pair of sneakers I could easily slip off.

My mom chased me down as I walked to the curb where I'd parked my car. "Don't forget your face mask," she exclaimed, waving a strip of black cloth at me. "I let you go without it at school, but the mall is another story. You don't go out in public often enough to leave it behind and I don't want to see you coming down with the flu or worse."

I thought she was being overprotective, but I did as she wished and put it on.

Traffic was horrific because it was the weekend. Hordes of office workers were trying to catch up on their personal affairs and students prowled around in search of something fun to fill their time.

The mall had changed quite a bit since my last visit. It was obvious we were tilting closer to having a truly worldwide economy. The branded stores boldly used signs written in the native language of their home country with the English equivalent being an afterthought. That wasn't to say American culture went unrepresented throughout the mall. After all, we were considered kings of cultural appropriation and what said 'American' more than having a stall in the food court hawking combo meals like Kobe street gyros topped in Hawaiian sweet slaw, a side of deep-fried pickles, and Thai milk tea?

The biggest difference I notice was actually in the shoppers themselves. Tweens were out in full force and nothing made me feel more like I was on the verge of adulthood than seeing a clique of short junior high kids arguing over whether they wanted to visit the game store or an accessory store.

I stopped in at the game store myself, curious to see if Aetherscape was being advertised months after its initial release. The answer was: heavily. Another game had a prominent place at the store's entrance, but Aetherscape had filled the entire rear section with posters, fabric wall scrolls, and a game trailer playing on loop on a big screen. They had a capsule system and headset system on display, with a line of people waiting to try it like it'd just come out.

Ignoring the line, I went to read the description placard on the full-body capsule. The price alone was enough to make me walk away, but I continued reading to understand the full benefits of owning one.

The biggest benefit I could see—other than better sleep and improved gameplay experience—was the ability to log in as much as a person wanted. This was possible because the capsule sent impulses through the body using an activity feedback system intended to stave off atrophy. And the specialized gel seating continually shifted a player's body so they wouldn't get bedsores. The placard also claimed the feedback system could assist with passive body sculpting over time. As in, it could help players lose weight and build muscle, which sounded great to me.

Still, that price was totally out of my budget and it would stay out of reach unless I found a high-paying corporate job or the price dropped. I thought the price drop would come first, perhaps when a newer model came out and the older ones became easier to mass-produce.

I strolled over to the swag wall to see what was available for layman shoppers. Some of it made me want to laugh because it was cheesy—generic plushies, hatchable monster eggs, keychains to communicate or feed in-game pets, and collectible trading cards. Some of it was mundane—they had shirts, hats, beanies, wallets, and accessories with a variety of logos I didn't recognize. But most of it didn't fit any category at all, such as the blank 'Sage Journals', full-size foam cosplay weapons, and branded neck pillows based on the game.

The peripheral wall had swag for more mature players. I found a side table display that projected holographic mini-models of famous NPCs and another side table display that continuously updated with the inventory and sales of a player's shop. There were faux terrariums and aquariums that synced with in-game counterparts, a workout mirror with an NPC weapons trainer, and fancy travel cases for 4D helmets. They had coffee cups, strategy guides, and scrolling tickers to track in-game currency values. And there were language dictionaries, history books, and wall maps for the true geek fans.

The item that nearly had me pulling out my wallet was the slender boxes of 'skill scrolls'. It came with two things—a fabric wall scroll I could hang up in my room and a code I could apply to my account to receive a matching scroll in the game. In the game, the skill scroll actually imparted a skill to the owner. The box claimed there were twelve skills in total with rare skills being the guaranteed minimum and the legendary skills 'Heaven's Wrath' or 'Hell's Fury' being the possible jackpots.

I escaped the game store before I could make the purchase. No matter how much I wanted it, it was technically a toy and I could live without it.

Returning to my original goal of visiting the 4D Arena, I strolled through the mall with a focused pace and managed to arrive without being entangled by any stall salesmen or question surveyors.

The 4D Arena was a new extension to the mall's poorly lit arcade. It'd completely replaced the neighboring store and seemed to have a working relationship with both the smoothie shop on the far side and the mall itself. The mall had to be supporting it because the surrounding mezzanine had been arranged like a second food court with no less than six televisions scattered on the periphery.

I was somewhat surprised to find the viewing area was the most crowded place in the mall. I knew Aetherscape had to be popular if someone like Sheynan was playing it, but this was... It wasn't on the level of a major convention, but I saw far too many school idols wandering the area. There were core members from the school's athletic teams, a few fairies who were only popular for being pretty, and a handful from the brainy crowd famed for their intelligence.

It felt like I was walking into the school cafeteria again.

I almost retreated, but I started to notice the other people sitting at the tables. There were older people and younger people, too. The age range actually went from an elderly grandpa down to a group of middle school kids. The biggest cross-section wasn't high school students at all—it was made up of local college students and working adults.

Then I noticed the banners.

[First Annual Aetherscape Martial Tournament Singles/Team Qualifiers!

First Place Champions will receive a 4D Gaming Capsule, six months free game subscription to Aetherscape, a limited edition Martial Qualifier mount, and a $100 Lobby Store gift card.

Second and Third Place Champions will receive a six months free game subscription to Aetherscape, a limited edition Martial Qualifier mount, and a $50 Lobby Store gift card.

All participants will receive a Tournament tee, codes for a free Martial Qualifier Kitsune pet, a "Martial Qualifier" cloth armor set, and 100 gold*.]