One Of Those

Could Desdenia grab it if it's among all my things? She looks up, curious.

"Don't tell me you're one of those," she says.

"Do you hear yourself? Charlotte? One of those. What do you even mean?" I say, trying to hide the anxiety welling up inside me. I need to find that ticket if it's here.

"Oh, come on. You know what I mean. Chimstadian. Those who live off the game."

"You live off the game too."

"It's not the same thing. I'm paid to broadcast my playing time. I don't exploit the game's rules to make money off of it."

"If O-light had a problem with us it would've taken measures to stop us by now. They don't care because they know we keep Amoria's economy alive. You just enjoy making our lives miserable because it gets you views with your toxic fandom."

"Is that why you unfriended me and disappeared? I thought you had stopped playing," she says. "By the way, I just realized I never knew your name. Your real name, I mean."

"I unfriended you because I didn't want you to know where I was. Because yes, I was farming, while you were busy leading your clan of Purists and slaughtering players for fun. I'm making a living here. So yes, I am one of those."

She doesn't need to know that I'm technically not a farmer, but a crafter. And I purposely ignore the part where she mentioned my name. A long time ago, I learned that it's best to keep your two identities separate. Ara doesn't belong here. Everyone knows her name is Charlotte Mathews only because she's a famous player. I didn't know hers either, before she became a celebrity.

She stares me up and down. "How did you get that gear? No one from Chimstad has that kind of money."

"No one besides you and your clan," I say, getting closer to her. I need her to go away so I can search for the ticket. She ignores me as something catches her eye among my things and she moves to grab it. I almost jump at her, when I see what she takes. It's a small bag of bread.

She was searching for food.

"I'll feed this to my mount and go back to my castle," she says, holding the bag up and then stashing it into an invisible bag on her hip. "I still need to level to 101. I suggest you start too. They say it's going to be a grinding experience. And the tournament is going to start soon."

"Is that why you're glowing?" I say, trying to sound casual about it.

"Yes. Open your map."

"How do you open the map?" I blurt out without thinking.

I probably shouldn't let her know that I'm playing with a Neural X for the first time. If she decides to attack me, I still have no idea how to use my skills.

She frowns, jerking her head to one side. "It should be in your inventory. Is this your first time using a Neural XV or something?"

I won't clarify that I'm using the Neural X, which is the oldest model available.

"Yes," I say reluctantly.

"You just think about the skills. Instead of memorizing hotkeys, you memorize the names and animations. Think of it as using your imagination and channeling through your weapon." She says, holding up her bow and aiming it at me. It pulsates, as if getting charged to fire. Then she lowers it.

"See, I just thought about Stunning Shot," she says, smiling. For a second, it's as if no time has gone by and we're the friends we used to be, playing a game. "But in order to shoot it, I had to imagine it being fired towards my target."

I think about my Water Shield, and nothing happens. My staff is on the ground, partially hidden by some spare cloth parts. I pick it up. My body instinctively moves with the skill's animation and I find myself lifting my staff towards the sky as I try again. Water Shield surrounds me in a blue and purple bubble.

I smile too. If she hadn't chosen to harass players for fun, I could've kept playing with her. How different would my life in Amoria be if I had joined her in Starford?

She puts her bow beneath her arm and claps like she's being tortured with boredom. Then her face lights up again.

"Hey, is Lucas still playing? He also disappeared from my friends list," she says, and my smile fades away.

"No. He hasn't logged in in about two years."

"Oh, so he hasn't unfriended you?

"He's still on my list," I say. Not that it'd make a difference.

"Well, if he were still playing he'd probably be one of you too. I remember how hard it was to get him to defend himself when someone attacked us. No fun at all."

Desdenia turns to leave, and stops.

"It's just a game, Stormborn. Don't take it too seriously."

She starts to walk away towards the path near the grasslands, and I know I should let her leave. First, I need to know if I'm participating in the tournament or not. If I am, my priority will be to reach level 101 quickly. I also have to find a way to carry all my stuff back to my farm and get back to work. But it's been a long day and what the hell. I've never known how to shut up, anyway.

"Don't pretend it's just a game for you too. When you kill people, it may be fun for you and your clan and your followers. But the farms you burn down and the people you harass have lives that depend on what they do here. Every time they die they lose levels and time. Imagine if people fought back or did that to you, and no one wanted to see your videos anymore," I say.

Desdenia stops and waves her hand. A little cube appears above her head, hovering around her and stopping a few meters away. She straightens her back and flicks her long yellow hair to the side.

"Hi guys, surprise live stream! How are you all doing? Are you excited for the tournament? As you can see, I'm a hero. Yay!"

She twirls for the little cubic drone.

"I'm never getting over this amazing glow. Isn't it gorgeous? Well, I just ran into an old friend," she says, pointing her bow at me. The cube spins and focuses on me, then gets back to her. "I'd like to try out the new skills I get as a Lightbringer Sagitari. That's the new name for us Bowmasters now, and of course I chose Light mastery, duh. It's the best choice for humans. For those of you watching this later, you can check out the guide I made for masteries in my link below!"

She points down with her free hand, and then stares at me. The cube flies higher and further away, as if trying to get a wider shot to get us both in range.

My bubble fades away just as Desdenia fires her first shot.