Codename: Freedom - Book 4 - Chapter 2 Part 2

St3alth pulled me away from the crowd of players half an hour later. My stunt was a ridiculous one, but such things were expected. There were far more members of the guild than there’d ever been before I entered Freedom, but this was one part of the world that still felt that it belonged to me. I didn’t have to act like anyone I wasn’t.

“Nice view, right?” St3alth said, from his place beside me. He’d brought me to the roof of the guildhall so that we could have some privacy.

It really was a beautifully built world. Like most guildhalls, ours was build near the entrance of a major city. It made travel that much faster. This specific city was made of cast iron and steel. It almost had a steampunk theme, but there was no steam to be seen, only smoke and the glow of magic craftsman coming from the many shops spread throughout the city. Our hall was taller than half the buildings, so we had a good view of this section of the city.

However, I had difficulty finding the same amount of pleasure as I’d once felt looking down on this familiar scene. “It is,” I replied, noticing how awkward it was between us. So I pushed him on the arm.

He began to chuckle as he faced me. “Looking to spar? Are you going to be playing a lot for the next two weeks until the next stage begins?”

Grinning in response, I found it difficult to hold the expression for long. “Nah. I’m afraid if I tried to use magic my psionics would act up and I’d send my headset flying across the room.”

He gave me a pointed look. “So you’re telling me that if the others would’ve attacked, you wouldn’t have been able to fight back?”

“More or less.”

His smile remained, but instead of laughing he shook his head slowly back and forth. “Thanks for coming by the way.”

I smacked his shoulder before returning my gaze on the city below. “To answer your question. This is probably my last time longing in. I almost didn’t come because it feels—”

“Like a game? I know. I only log in because the guild is counting on me.” He stepped up to stand with me as I looked own on the city.

“Destiny told me about how you’ve been making some good money as a commentator. Thanks for sticking with the guild after all the trouble Chewme and I caused you. You’ve done an amazing job.”

With that, he really did laugh. “You give me far too much credit. Do you know why they wanted to join the guild, and why we only handpick recruits now, turning everyone else away? Do you know why all but a few of the Virtual Massive Multiplayer Role Playing Games have drastically lost players except for a few and Gravel still has one of the highest player bases?”

I turned, giving him my full attention, but I didn’t respond. It seemed like this was something he’d been needing to say. Besides, I was pretty sure I already knew.

“The highest played class in the game is now your old Spellsword class followed closely behind by Chewme’s Barbarian class. They even changed your class abilities to mimic your real life psionic ones. The people joining us only play Gravel because it’s the game you played, and they think it will give them an advantage in trying to become one of the government’s next round of recruits.”

“Everyone has gone insane.”

“No they haven’t,” he said bluntly. His tone remained kind. “The reason I do interviews is to earn more money so that I can afford the best sports doctors and tonic injects. I’m also saving up for the psionic unlocking compound so that when congress legalizes it I’ll be among the first to take it. That is, if I don’t make it into the next stage. I’d be working out right now if my body could handle more than four to six hours a day with my personal trainer. She’s brutal.”

I grabbed his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I don’t know how much sway I hold, but I’ll do what I can to help you get a spot in the next stage.”

There was so much tension in his face I thought he might tear up. Instead, he gave me a firm nod.

“With that said, I must still ask,” I said, remembering the night my entire world had shattered with my back. “Are you sure?” I meant to say more, but St3alth had always been able to read between the lines. That’s what made him one of the best Assassin class players in the game.

“I know what you’ve been through, Lucius. Everyone does. I get why you’re asking, but…” He pushed me, not hiding his smirk. “Before you and Chewme left, I wasn’t just a gamer, but a high level amateur with hopes of a good career. Then Freedom happened. Psionic happened. Now, I’m just playing some game.”

I only nudged him with my elbow this time. “I can’t promise anything for the guild, but if it’s just you, and maybe a few of the old crew, I see what I can manage.”

“That mean’s a lot, thank you.”

Destiny appeared before us with reddened eyes. Tears fell down her cheeks. “You two are so adorable,” she said between sobs.

Taking a deep breathe, she puffed out her cheeks and blew in our faces. “So tell me about this personal trainer of yours.” She leaned closer. “Is she attractive?”

“You have no idea…” he replied. All of a sudden, he changed his leather armor out for a red t-shirt. I was about to tease him, when I saw the logo of a spear sticking out of the ground on a rounded hilltop with a round shield leaning against it. It was Achille’s logo.

“You’re training with him?”

He shook his head. “No. He doesn’t have any training schools close to where I live, but his daughter does. She’s twice my age. But yes. Imagine if Destiny was buff and had sandy brown hair.”

I tried to imagine the massive specimen of a man that was Achilles having a daughter. It was not a pleasant thought.

It was time to ask the question we knew was coming. “If you make it into the next stage, what are you going to do about the player killer guild Nexus from Freedom.”

He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but I saw that look in his eyes. It was the look he made when facing an opponent we probably couldn’t beat. At least not yet. “The only thing I can do,” he replied. “Train smarter and harder than they do to surpass them. Maybe even recruit them. It would be embarrassing to be the weakest founder of Nexus, after all.”

“Good. I can help with that, too. Although, I still don’t know what Achilles is going to do during the next round… And what should we do about Chewme?”

“If it were anyone else, I’d say beat him black and blue, but he’d like that too much. I was hoping you had some kind of an idea.”

“It really depends on him, I guess. If he wants to fight again, I fight him, but beyond that, I don’t know…”

Before I logged out, St3alth sent me all of his updated contact information. It made me wonder looking at it if I should start calling him Hwan since Chewme was now going by his real name as well. Even if he made it into the next stage, he had a lot of catching up to do.

In a few days, there would be a big reveal to announce what Codename would replace Freedom for the next stage. It was about time for me to figure out what to do with the next two weeks before I ran out of time. I had a few lawyers to meet with, my DNA Cleanse procedure, and a wedding to attend. Looking at the time, I’d put off my planning a little longer. Pulling up Victoria’s contact info, I began writing her a text message.

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Sorry for the delayed post. After the way this week has gone, I should've expected something else to happen. We lost power, so I've been computerless. The funny thing is, I'm in Florida and in the path of hurricane Elsa. We lost power before it even got here. lol. 

Anyways, I'm playing catch up. I haven't missed your messages and comments, just been delayed.

As for the next chapter, I'm not sure when I'll get the next one out, but I'm working on it today as long as I can. Fingers crossed!