Chapter 6: Team's officially formed!
Aster got out of his pod and made his way downstairs where his father and mother were on the couch together, watching a movie on the TV.
"Hey, dad. Can I talk to you about something?" Aster asked his dad.
"Of course." Michael looked to his son as he paused the movie.
"Uh...alone." Aster started getting a bad feeling as he saw his mother looking at him too.
While his father was the one that proposed the idea of complete independency, his mother was pretty uncomfortable about the idea. If she knew he was going to spend 10,000 Links on a game, all hell would break loose.
"Why?" Lora glared at her son. "Can't you talk here?"
"The boy wants me, Lora. Why are you so mad that he loves me more?" Michael teased as he stood up.
"Yeah. Yeah. Suuuure." Lora secretly flipped him off from an angle that Aster wouldn't see.
Her husband chuckled as he led Aster to his study.
Once the two were seated, he looked at Aster. "Alright. What did you want to talk about?"
"I want to make a VR Attack Force team. I need you to cosign as my guardian to create it." Aster said.
"Attack Forces aren't cheap from what I know." Michael tired to remember whatever he could about Attack Forces. While he wasn't interested in gaming, he couldn't ignore it seeing as how it is almost everywhere. "What's your start up cost?"
"Around 30,000 Links." Aster said seriously.
"Do you have the money?" Michael asked. He wasn't flustered. An Attack Force was an organization after all.
"Yes...b-but, I would like some funding." Aster said after thinking about if for a little. He always wanted to start a Guild, but starting a Guild was different from starting an Attack Force. Guilds had to pay their members salaries in Links, as well as in game salaries. Attack Forces had no such thing. They functioned more as mercenary groups for VR games. The members would work for in-game materials and items, and the Attack Force owners would receive the Links from the actual commission. Many Guilds would commission large Attack Forces to help them out.
"Why would you want funding when you have the money? Isn't the point of me giving you 350 Links for you to not ask me money and learn how to appreciate and regret how you spend it?" Michael asked in a demanding tone.
"I-I'm asking for your funding as an investor, not my father." Aster tried to twist it. While he worked hard to get good grades and was aiming for university, his dream was to be a Guild Master. This Attack Force might be a step forward to his dream. If it failed, then so be it.
Michael smiled warmly. "I have no idea how much this Virtual Worlds game can produce in profit, but I can fund your Attack Force with anywhere from 10,000 Links to 50,000 Links. I will give you 10,000 Links for 25% of the shares, then you have to convince me afterwards to spend more on it, after I educate myself on it, of course."
"B-But why? You have no clear idea on your profit margin. Hell, you don't even know if you're going to make a profit!" Aster was flabbergasted. Attack Forces didn't only need 5,000 Links to register as an official Attack Force and quite a number of Links to hire experts, but they also needed 1,000 Links every month to be registered by the solar system's official Gaming Committee. Any Attack Force that wasn't on their list wouldn't be seen by the various Guilds in the game.
"Aster. I might have built this household as a place simulating real world businesses. But you should never forget that while I might be your 'boss'...I'll always be your father first." Michael chuckled as he stood up. "I gotta go back to your mom, or she'll finish the movie without me, it's a good one. I'll transfer the 10,000 Links. Just email me the contract for creation, and I'll review it and sign it with you."
"Thanks, dad!" Aster smiled. "Oh, also! One of my teammates will be contacting you for confirmation. They want to make sure I'm not stealing your money or something. You can also ask him about Virtual Worlds, he's my party's leader. He'll also be the Force's commander."
"Alright then." Michael walked to the living room with a yawn.
"What did he talk to you about?" Lora whispered after she saw Aster rush back to his room.
"Guys stuff." Michael smiled.
"Seriously, what did he say?" Lora glared at her husband with a pout.
"You always do this. I've never told you, and today won't be the day I do." Michael smirked as he unpaused the movie.
"Whatever..." Lora then asked after a moment of silence. "wanna try out their game? People must be losing their minds because of something in the game."
"You know what? Sure." Michael smiled at his wife after a moment of consideration. It was currently summer vacation, so the kids would be either in their pods or hanging out with friends all the time. "I'm already on vacation, but I haven't had any fun yet. I'll buy the online copy for us."
"Alright, I'll look up what the game's about." Lora smiled as she started browsing on her smart glasses.
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Aster was greeted by his party members talking as he logged back in.
"So? Are we ready to create this thing?" Jabs asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Are we good to go, Z?" Flight asked the young man.
"Yeah." Aster smiled. "I even got us an extra 10,000 Links! I managed to convince my father to fund us for 25% of the shares!"
"Is your dad a millionaire? Come on. You can be honest." Jabs nudged Aster lightly.
"I don't know, but he probably has over a million or two in savings." Aster thought aloud.
"..."
"..."
"..."
'I really am broke when compared to him.' all three thought at the same time.
"So, what are we calling this Attack Force?" Aster asked in excitement.
"H-How about Freedom Fighters?" Jabs asked as he recovered from his stupor.
"No." Happy Fate immediately declined. "Light Might?"
"A play on the famous Dark Smite?" Flight asked to which Fate embarrassedly nodded. "How about The Hand?"
"Why 'The Hand'?" Aster asked.
"I don't know it just sounded cool in my head..." Flight sighed.
"Alright, everyone! We're not naming the solar system's new Myth. It's our own Attack Force! It's to have fun!" Aster said with mirth in his voice. "How about Pinnacle?"
"S-Sure, but isn't there a Guild with that name?" Jabs asked nervously.
"An A-class Guild, might I add." Fate said with a grim expression.
"It's just a name! What's the worse that could happen?" Aster replied with a chuckle.
"How about Peak? It's close enough and no Guild comes to mind when I think of it." Flight recommended.
"I guess so...but it never hurts to check. I'll log out and find out. I'll be back in a few seconds. You guys brainstorm other names while I come back." Fate said as she logged out.
"Alright, what else we got?" Aster started to think. "What about Zero Wing?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Naaaaaah..." all three said at the same time.
"I'm back." Fate said as she logged back in.
"That was quick." Jabs commented.
"Well, there wasn't much to consider. There's two Guilds with that name. A D-class Guild in Final Illusion CCCXIV and an E-class Guild in Virtual Worlds." Fate smiled.
"Well, I'll go and get the paperwork ready. Send me your IRL contact info so that I can talk to you about transferring the shares." Aster said before he logged out.
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"So, this is Lucky Flames Town?" Luna looked around her. The street was bustling with NPCs, but there was barely any players at all!! She had only seen two so far, and she's been here for around an hour waiting for Walking Catastrophe in an open-air restaurant with Imagine Losing and Noah.
"Looks like we spawned in a deserted place." Imagine Losing sighed. "Why are we even waiting here?"
"Give me a second." Luna sighed as she messaged Walking Catastrophe.
OFMZ: Where are you dude?
OFMZ: I've been waiting for an hour.
Walking Catastrophe: Sorry. The boss was harder than I expected.
Walking Catastrophe: I'll use a return crystal. I'll be there in a minute.
"He'll be here any second." Luna said to Imagine.
"You sure you're not getting scammed?" Imagine asked in an exasperated tone. "I'm only gonna party up with you because there's no one else here."
"Come on, man. He'll be here any second." Luna started to look around her.
"PLAYERS!!!" both of them heard a voice as a young girl started running towards them.
Luna was shocked to see the player sprinting towards her.
"N1na?!" Luna exclaimed as she read the player ID above her head. "Aren't you the one who contacted me?"
"Please party up with me!!" the young girl started crying as she hugged Luna's leg.
"You're a Mage? That's great! We were missing a ranged DPS." Imagine smiled as he saw the small wand on her waist. "Now all we need is a Tank."
"I doubt we'll find one..." N1na said as she sniffled with a smile. Imagine Losing had sent her a friend request and a party invitation. "I've been searching ever since launch and you're the first players I've seen, also I'm a Healer not Mage."
"Oh, that's still good." Noah chimed in. "We don't have a Healer yet."
"By the way, I'm Nina! I just turned 15 and I love music!" Nina introduced herself with a slight bow at the waist.
"That kind of bow...you're from Jupiter, aren't you?" Luna asked as she recognized the culture.
"You've been to Jupiter?" Nina asked with a bright smile.
"Yeah, I've been to Ganymede before." Luna nodded as she recalled her trip to one of Jupiter's moons.
"I live in Ganymede!!" Nina's smile widened. "Did you visit the Yui Dynasty's temples? Some might have fallen after the Great Planetary War, but some still remain! Oh, did you see the sakura? They are also quite pretty if you go during the spring!"
"Sakura?" Noah tilted his head in confusion.
"Cherry blossoms." Luna clarified. "That's what they called cherry blossoms back in Japan during the early 21st century. It was usually associated with Japan, so they kept the Japanese name as a cultural thing."
"The Japanese? I thought most of the Asian continent left for Jupiter. Was it only the Japanese that went?" Imagine asked in confusion.
"It's because they were mostly associated with Japan, that's why." Nina explained with a smile.
"A history lesson in a game? I thought I'd never see the day." a voice interrupted as the group of four was chatting.
Everyone turned to look at the stranger. It was a tall blonde man, almost as tall as Noah. Everyone's eyes fell upon the green player ID above his head. Walking Catastrophe.
"Took you long enough." Luna sighed. Silence fell as Luna sent him a friend request to trade with him.
"I'm still confused here." Noah broke the silence. "What's a Jupiter? Who are the Japanese? What's the Great Planetary War?"
"Oh...right..." Luna looked at the confused Noah with an embarrassed expression.
"Did you forget he was an NPC?!" Walking Catastrophe broke out in laughter.
"The NPCs are super realistic, okay?!" Luna said with a flushed face.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Walking Catastrophe stopped laughing slowly as he turned to a waitress. "Excuse me. Can you tell me the square root of 4?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand." the waitress apologized with an awkward expression.
"Do you think you can make me an S-rank meal?" Walking Catastrophe continued.
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand." the waitress apologized once more.
"Never mind." Walking Catastrophe dismissed the waitress with a snicker.
"Oh yeah...laugh at the ones who don't get it." Noah rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm technically an Otherworlder too!"
"Yeah, sure." Walking Catastrophe grinned. "What's the square ro-"
"What are you? Five?" Noah cut the man off. "What if I'm just uneducated? Or maybe an idiot like yourself?"
"D-Did this NPC just try to roast me?" Walking Catastrophe's jaw dropped.
"Who the hell says roast anymore?" Imagine raised an eyebrow. "What are you? 50 years old?"
"Actually, the people from Mars still use it." Luna explained. She then turned to Noah with an awkward expression. "We're talking about something from our original world. Sorry about this, Noah."
"Well, why don't you teach me about it sometime?" Noah looked to the side. "I feel very left out of the conversation, Lady OFMZ."
"Watch it be a GM fucking with us." Walking Catastrophe chuckled lightly.
"Nope. He's my guard. He's definitely an NPC." Luna smirked.
"Whatever, let's just trade already." Walking Catastrophe scoffed as he put a dagger in the trade menu.
"Let me inspect it first." Luna put Crossing Paths into the trade window, but made sure not to press accept yet.
Lacreia's Venom (Uncommon, Level 10 Dagger):
Class restrictions: DPS.
Job restrictions: Assassin.
Requirements: 15 Strength, 25 Dexterity.
+8 Strength
+15 Dexterity
+20 Attacking Speed
+18 Damage
"This is trash compared to the sword I'm giving you." Luna glared at Walking Catastrophe. "Don't waste my damn time."
"Wait, how is it worse? It's a Level 10 Uncommon dagger!" Walking Catastrophe complained.
"First, it's Level 10. I can't use it until I'm Level 10. Second, it has no Skill. It doesn't give you an extra Skill like mine does." Luna explained. "I'm willing to sell it for 8 Silver Coins along with the dagger."
"What? You must be out of your goddamn mind." Walking Catastrophe rolled his eyes.
"My Lady, just give it to me." Noah said from the side. "I'm pretty sure I can use it better than him."
"Excuse me?" Walking Catastrophe turned to Noah. "Shut up, NPC."
"Yeah, no, of course. Racism, sure." Noah scoffed.
"How is it racism?" Walking Catastrophe asked in an exasperated tone.
"You're discriminating against me based on my race, which is NPC apparently." Noah shrugged with a smirk.
"You're just fucking with me aren't you?" Walking Catastrophe asked with a deadpan expression. Noah quickly replied with a chuckle. Walking Catastrophe sighed. "Alright. I'll throw in 2 Silver Coins."
"Eight." Luna crossed her arms in a smirk.
"Two." Walking Catastrophe held his ground.
"Well, it's been nice meeting you." Luna stood as she gestured to the rest of her party to follow.
"Motherfucker..." Walking Catastrophe cursed under his breath. He quickly called after her. "6 Silver Coins."
Luna said nothing as she continued walking, Noah confidently walking behind her. Both Imagine Losing and Nina quickly followed. "Oh, come on! I only got 6 Silver!"
"..." Walking Catastrophe sighed in frustration. "6 Silver and 32 Copper Coins...I'll even throw in a Level 5 Common Shield!!"
"OOH LA LA~!" Luna turned around with a large grin on her face. "Someone's desperate!"
"Fuck you." Walking Catastrophe grit his teeth in frustration.
Luna chuckled as she opened a trade window. She quickly received her 6 Silvers, 32 Coppers, Level 5 Shield and Level 10 Dagger.
"Take care~!" Luna waved as Walking Catastrophe grumpily walked away.
"...You think he realizes he threw away tens of thousands of Links for a Level 5 Longsword?" Imagine asked as he watched Walking Catastrophe walk towards the center of the city.
"He has no idea." Luna said with a smirk.
"Alright! Time to get to business." Luna clapped as she turned towards her party. "We have a Tank, Healer and two DPS. We're officially a party!"
"I told you we need two Tanks." Imagine sighed.
"How the hell are you gonna name yourself 'Imagine Losing' and not have the balls to hold off a monster? My 14-year-old brother has more balls than you." Luna clicked her tongue as she glared at the man in front of her.
"Fine! But remember that I will run away if I'm close to dying!" Imagine said as he turned to lead the group.
"S-So...where are we going?" Nina asked as she looked at the rest of the group.
"Yeah, where are we going? Monsters are outside the Town, not in it." Noah asked as he saw Imagine lead them towards the center of the town.
"The devs told us that the we need to get a quest from someone of authority or power to get a lot of EXP. After we reach Level 2, we should go to the Adventurers' Association." Imagine explained.
"You're Level 1 and Nina's Level 0." Noah said with a confused tone.
"But OFMZ...I'll just...call you O..." Imagine turned to Luna, then back to Noah. "But O is Level 3. If she acts as our party leader, we can get a quest through her."
"So, you're just blatantly using my Lady?" Noah glared at the Shieldmaster.
"And she's using me, what's your point?" Imagine shrugged. "The point of a party is to use each other until you find a party you like."
"Fair enough." Luna smiled as she approached the large 3-story tall Adventurer's Association building. She physically opened her system and equipped her (Lucky Flames Noble) title.
As soon as Imagine approached the door, two spears cut off his path. The guards besides the door threatened Imagine with a sneer, "This place isn't for weaklings like you."
"Uhm...we're with her." Imagine pointed to Luna. 'I guess intelligence levels of NPCs depends on their purpose.'
The guards turned to Luna with wide eyes. "We apologize, ma'am! Please, go ahead!"
Luna walked past Imagine with a walk of arrogance, to which Imagine simply stared with wide eyes. She then bowed slightly like a noblewoman and walked past the guards. Nina quickly followed Luna after she bowed to the guards slightly.
"Eyes up." Noah whispered as he walked past Imagine.
Imagine Losing quickly gathered himself before following his party in.