The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 21: Another turn (Part 1)

Chapter 21: Another turn

Areithia loaded before me. An inn room in the city of Dumar. Endi and Aria had chosen to start themselves in one of Crysis' starting locations, which meant to join them I'd need to pass through the Gate again. As I prepared to leave however a message opened up from the system.

Dear A.Friend.

We at Areithia Limited hope that you have enjoyed exploring our world. In regards to the upcoming tournament, our management would like to speak with you about your participation as the champion of Oceania. Please reply to this message when you have time and a member of the management team will appear to speak with you.

All the best to you,

The Areithia Online Team.

I blinked in surprise. I didn't expect to see a message from the game's management. Thinking back, the top players were usually part of events and the like, now I was one of them it was inevitable for them to contact me.

I walked out the inn room where Vanter waited in the corridor.

"Hey, you good to go?" he asked me. "I'm kind of worried what Endi is going to do. I managed to convince her to leave the game alone till we could play together but now she has her own way in... well you know what she can be like."

I laughed, "Yeah she's the kind to get into roleplay. I'm also worried about Aria."

Vanter nodded, "I've started to feel mana coming from her. She's naturally building it in her system and a lot faster than you. At this rate she'll surpass you without even realising it."

I sighed, "Yeah and I've been putting a lot of effort in." Controlling mana in the game was one thing, though the developers tried to get the same feeling, the game world was abundant with it. The real world had very little making it a chore to try gather and circulate it. "That being said, could you head out first?"

"Oh? What's going on?" Vanter asked curiously. "Not like you to dodge spending time with my sister."

"Hey," I eyed him, he was right but still. "Looks like management want to have a chat."

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't be there for that. I'm meant to be a 'spy'." He waved, "I'll catch you later. The faster I can add Endi and Aria as friends to contact them the better. Have fun with your chat."

With Vanter going ahead, I headed to the lower part of the inn. It was a brightly coloured space filled with light and decorations. Wooden beams spun with tangles of light and colourful banners supported the roof and walls. Like many of the inns in the city, the lower floor acted as a tavern and many NPCs as well as players milled about the tables.

I headed to the counter, "Could I please get a private room?"

The NPC dwarf serving the counter nodded, "That will be 20sol. Head to the back and enter any of the rooms." She, like most, was a standard NPC with limited dialogue options and handed me the key simply. Compared to the better AI NPCs there was a clear lack of life to her actions and voice. She as well was based off a real-life counterpart but was either unwilling or more likely, not important enough to be connected at a deeper level.

I took the key and headed to the back of the inn floor. Three rooms were spaced along the wall with a door each. Being a game, each room could exist multiple times. So long as the door wasn't opened already, I could use any. I opened the middle door and entered to a well-lit box room with a table and menu. There was no point in delaying it further. I messaged the management team back.