We discussed a lot of things. They all agreed to add a lot of events for this month. From sports, cooking, hide and seek, and any other mini-games contest. I was amazed at how they all care about the game more than anything else. They didn’t even try to cash grab from this opportunity. All the rewards are given for free without a paywall. This is why they’re the best game publisher ever. It’s all based on the player’s hard work to achieve those rewards.

We are done with the discussion and the higher-ups are leaving the room. Jason is tilting his head and looks at me while stacking up the papers and knocking them on the table.

“Is there anything else you want to say, Mister Trevor?”

I clear my throat and fix my sitting.

“Yes, there’s something I would like to know.”

Jason puts the papers down neatly. Then he approaches me and sits in front of me.

“What is it? It sounds serious. Are you perhaps dissatisfied with how we are managing the game?”

I shake my head.

“No, not that. I’m just curious about Becker’s appearance at that time when the game got released for a month. Was that your idea?”

Jason is fixing his tie and shakes his head.

“It wasn’t us. We were surprised as well when we saw it. Sev is the one behind it. As you know, Sev isn’t just an A.I., but she’s also observing the game like us as an administrator. We asked about it to her and she answered that it was Becker’s last wish to Sev. So she made Becker appears to the players exactly one month after the game got released. We believe her since there’s no way for her to be able to think something trivial like that.”

I’m humming with understanding while biting my nail.

“I see. I thought it was your idea.”

Jason shakes his head.

“No. We wouldn’t dare to do something like that without Becker’s parents’ approval or even if they approved, we still won’t do it since it’s Becker’s consciousness that we are talking about.”

I nod with an agreement.

“So there’s a chance for Becker to appears in the game again?”

Jason nods.

“Highly possible, since Becker is still online until now. Sadly we have no idea where is he at in the game. We tried to track him down but it got denied every time. As if he doesn’t want us to find him. Or maybe it’s Sev who prevented us to track him down. Either way, we are fine with it. I personally think that he’s there to make sure all the players are enjoying the game and to remind us that we have to do our best to meet the player’s expectation.”

I’m humming with understanding.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

Jason raises his eyebrows.

“Sure, what is it?”

I look at him.

“Can you give me Becker’s ID numbers?”

Jason is looking at me for quite a while and then shrugs.

“Sure, I will send it to your email.”

I nod. I’m tapping my index finger on the table.

“There’s something else I’m curious about. I believe you watched the battle against the World Boss Queen Arachne, right?”

Jason nods with an agreement. I continue.

“So you noticed that there’s something that piques your curiosity?”

Jason is looking around and then looks at me.

“You’re talking about the legendary weapons that Kingstar and Queenstar have?”

I slightly nod. Jason raises his eyebrows and leans on the chair.

“That’s still a mystery. We couldn’t find anything about when, where, and how they got those legendary weapons on their history log. We are still investigating it as we speak. I believe that someone in here or someone out there has the access to our database and used it for his own benefit. We are letting them keep those for now and hoping that later they will get another legendary item since they thought that we didn’t know about it. When that happens, we can finally make a move. Sev is also aware of it and has been observing those two since then.”

Jason chuckles and shakes his head.

“But, I’m amazed at how Becker managed to make a game so complicated that even a legendary item cannot make any difference. Now I believe what he said after we watched it. This game is not like any other games that can be easily beaten with just using good items.”

I chuckle.

“Yeah, it was a pain to learn all the bosses’ mechanics. There was one boss that we both couldn’t beat back then.”

Jason is laughing quietly. He looks at his watch and stands up.

“Ah, I have another appointment. So let’s continue our conversation someday.”

I nod and stand up. Jason lifts his hand for a handshake. I grab his hand and shake his hand. Jason smiles.

“We will contact you again when we need your opinions and suggestions. It is a pleasure for us to have you here. It opens our new perspectives towards the game. Thank you.”

I nod.

“Thank you, for having me. I will gladly help you in the future to make this game like what Becker wishes for.”

Jason nodded and then we both left the room. I went down and left the building. I bought lunch and groceries for dinner. Then went back home.

I walk into our gaming room and Emma is still playing. I check her pods and she’s been playing for almost 8 hours. I press the bell button on her pods. It will notify her that someone is calling her in real life. I sit on the chair and stare at the sky through the window while waiting for Emma to wake up.

A beeping sound comes from her pods. Emma wakes up and lifts her body. She’s holding her head. I approach her and put an ice coffee cup on her forehead.

“You need to eat. You haven’t eaten anything today, right? I bought lunch for both of us. Let’s eat.”

Emma nods weakly while blinking her eyes repeatedly since she’s barely awake. She grabs the iced coffee and drinks it.

“What did you buy?”

I’m pointing at the dining table.

“Cream soup, burgers, and fries. I also bought a milkshake if you want it. It’s on the fridge. Come on, hurry up.”

I help her stand up and she’s leaning towards my back. We both go to the dining table to eat lunch.

After we are done eating our lunch. Emma is full of energy again. I look at her while shaking my head and clicking my tongue.

“So, what were you doing in-game that long?”

Emma is slurping the milkshake and looks at me.

“We went hunting and leveling up. I also bought a set of equipment for myself. Oh, I also bought a new weapon. Well, Francesca bought it for me. Then I refined them and put the enchantment stone in them. So I’m very strong now compared to yesterday. I can easily kill those monsters that 20 to 30 levels above me.”

I’m humming with understanding.

“How nice. Now you’re leaving me behind, huh? After everything I did to carry your fat ass.”

Emma is grinning.

“Of course not! I also have a present for you. I bet you’re going to like it.”

I raise my eyebrow.

“Oh yeah? What is it?”

Emma shakes her head.

“It’s a secret! You have to come online if you want to know!”

Emma puts the milkshake on the table.

“So, how’s your work? It’s weird that you’re home at this hour.”

I told her that I got promoted. She seemed genuinely happy to hear that. Then we talked about the details of what she was doing in the game. Then we both lazing around in the living room watching a movie.

She’s playing with her phone then looks at me.

“Are you going to play tonight?”

I shrug while watching the movie.

“Maybe, yeah. Why do you ask?”

Emma is humming with understanding.

“I want to introduce you to my friend. I mean, you already met him before.”

I look at her and tilt my head. Emma continues.

“Do you remember that guy at my old apartment? He also plays. It was his idea to make me play Legacy of the Betelgeuse. Well, I told him that I live with you now. So, he might be a bit cold towards you.”

Emma is grinning and chuckling. I scoff and shake my head. Emma nods while slurping the milkshake.

“But he’s a good boy. He’s such an innocent boy and that what makes him so cute.”

We continued watching the movie until evening. Then we both cooked dinner together. After we ate our dinner, we both went outside to smoke. We looked at the sky and it felt like we are not in the right place. As if reality is the virtual world while the virtual world is the reality. Then we went back inside and go to the gaming room. I put the helmet and laid down in the pod.

It’s time to go back to my reality.