buttercup | w. watts

01 | Buttercup

SPENDING THE MAJORITY OF MY TIME in the OASIS wasn't exactly what I had in mind about my future. But there wasn't much I could do about it either. I live in the stacks. What else can I do? I got the short end of the sticks and lost the chance of being born as a next heir of some loaded family.

At least, I was smart enough to get into some decent college, but it didn't mean colleges were going to pick me. I live in the slum with the highest crime rate. Which meant, half of the people here were too busy trying to find an easy target to rob rather than trying to find a way to turn their life around. And we don't exactly have the best reputation here either. Even, the jackasses, here, were a bigger douchebag than I can be, and that says a lot, considering how talented I am at being a little shit.

So I can't really blame colleges for picking someone who was born with a silver spoon.

But in the OASIS, I didn't have to worry about that.

Ever since James Halliday announced the biggest and greatest contest to his fortune, I've been devoting every single day trying to get my hands on it. I mean, who wouldn't? He was worth billions. Do you even know what you can do with that money? A lot and that money was my only chance to get out of this hell-hole. If that meant, I had to stay all night and morning to find that damn key, then charge me guilty, I'll become a full-time gunter like everyone else.

You know, for a while when no one could figure out the riddle Halliday's announced. Everyone thought, he was just some crazy old man trying to play some cruel joke. I mean, the guy didn't have anyone. No friends and no family. I even thought it was fake, but ever since some kids cracked the first code to the first key. A portal appeared out of nowhere, leading it, here, to this race track.

The only problem was that it was a nasty piece of work.

Don't get me wrong, Halliday was the man. He was great. Talented. Smart. Gorgeous. You name it. And I like a challenge, but the race was just impossible to beat. But, the thing is, once you get close enough, this big fella appears out of nowhere and tries to stop you, which is a pain in the ass.

And trust me, King Kong wasn't only one who was a pain in the ass.

Because the Sixers stood first for that.

A group of scumbags who works for Nolan Sorrento—the CEO of being an asshole.

I admit, I earned the spot of winning the award called 'Being The Biggest Dipshit', but he was on another level I can't even compare. If you rank me first, then he was above all others.

Thinking about it, for some Sixers who were willing to join IOI, I can't say it's entirely their fault. The world was already falling apart, and the pay was good and living in a world that didn't give much of an opportunity to earn money. It sounds like a dream come true.

Feeling a little guilty, but even I had thoughts about the life I would have if I had signed the same contract too. There would be so many things I won't have to worry about. I won't have to starve, and I could even buy things I couldn't buy before. But if it wasn't for that asswipe's philosophy of monetizing the OASIS, then obviously, my choice is all for Halliday.

Still, there's another reason why the Sixers were a pain in the ass. And that had to do with the fact that half of the people in the race were Sixers.

Though it wasn't all too bad.

Because there was Aech

The big purple avatar that looks like a cyborg orc that carries a Master Chief's gun.

Yeah, he's one of my best friends. And I guess... he's one of the few who I can actually stand in the OASIS. But that only, because he's one of the few people who have a brain to understand my remarks, or what he likes to put it, 'I put up with you because you're a decent asshole. No offense'. None taken.