“Hey, Khrx,” Anaheim said without looking up. She was fiddling with a metal box, holding a bag of screws and a screwdriver in her hands. “Turn up the radio for me.”

Khrx looked around. He was sitting behind her inside of a cardboard box. “How?”

“Press the plus buttons on the side,” Anaheim said. She flipped through the EKIA furniture manual and furrowed her brow. “This is pretty annoying.”

Khrx scooted his box across the room and turned up the radio which was attached to the wall. There was a crackling sound accompanied by a strange language. Khrx narrowed his eyes at the radio. A setting for language caught his eye, and he turned on the Rokean translations.

“I’m Natasha, and I’m here again with Sam, self-proclaimed expert of [Resolution].”

“Hello, Natasha! Are we live again? Or will this be edited unlike last time?”

“We’re live, Sam.”

“Great. I’ll watch my mouth this time. Do you know how much trouble I had to deal with because of my loose tongue?” There was a pause. “Alright, no need to glare like that. What’s today’s topic?”

“Can they hear us?” Khrx asked, staring at the radio.

“No,” Anaheim said. “Radios are a one-way transmission.” She propped up a metal sheet and hammered it into the wall while muttering, “I should’ve hired the assembly golems.”

“Well, Sam, there’s been rumors that the first guild charter has been located. The net is in a huge uproar about this and even the creators of [Resolution] are a bit baffled. They were expecting it to take at least a month, not a week for the first guild to appear. What are your thoughts?”

“Does the rumor have any foundation?”

“Someone posted a video of Lukroix Adveign Desrigard soloing a raid boss. A piece of paper dropped with the word ‘charter’ on it, but Lukroix hasn’t said anything about it.”

“Who posted the video?”

“A user named Aaz’Tala. It was a really strange forum post actually. It was titled ‘Calling All Monsters to Swift’s Peak’ and seemed to be a recruitment call.”

“That’s … wow. A player solo-killed a raid boss? I can see why the developers are baffled. If [Resolution]’s raids are anything like previous VRMMOs on the market, then they require at least a hundred elite players and strict organization. The countries are just starting to secure their strategic resources, which reportedly takes up to ten skilled players. But the world of [Resolution] is so vast that it’d take at least a month for the countries to gather a hundred members of their special forces. I wonder how many countries are scrambling to contact Lukroix.”

“I actually have his contact information,” Natasha said. “Remember that employee who leaked Lukroix’s stats? I managed to bribe him. Shall we give Lukroix a call?”

“Isn’t bribery illegal?”

“Only if you bribe an official. You can bribe the unemployed. I’ll be giving Lukroix a call, and we’ll see if he responds.”

There was a ringing sound.

Luke’s voice came out of the radio, causing Khrx’s ears to perk up. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Lukroix Adveign Desrigard?”

“No…?”

“Wait. Really? You’re not Lukroix?”

“No, sorry. He must’ve gave you the wrong number.”

“Oh. That’s unfortunate. Sorry for bothering you.” There was a click, followed by a sigh. “There you have it, listeners. Don’t bribe unemployed men because they might swindle you. What are you looking at there, Sam?”

“Well, I wanted to find that video you were talking about, but I found something even more gossip-worthy!”

“I’m curious; what’s a hotter topic than the first guild charter and raid clear on [Resolution]?”

“The descendent of the hero, Anaheim Miehana, was seen purchasing a lover’s pod!”

“What!? That Anaheim!? Isn’t she doomed to be single because of the hero’s curse?”

“You can turn off the radio now,” Anaheim said. She lifted a loveseat inside a nearby box with one hand and placed it against the metal she had pounded into the wall. There was also a sheet of metal on the floor. She took a step back and inspected the positioning before nodding. Then she took out another two sheets of metal along with an elliptical piece of glass.

Khrx ignored her, still holding his legs while sitting in his cardboard box.

“That’s why it’s such a huge deal. Who’s the intrepid lover standing in the way of destiny, willing to brave the hero’s curse?”

“Wait! We’re missing the most important part. Since she bought a lover’s pod, does that mean Anaheim intends on playing [Resolution]?”

“I don’t think that’s likely, Natasha. Anaheim publically stated she wouldn’t support any countries in [Resolution]. She’s a hero after all. I bet she’d be able to solo a raid boss as well.”

“Then why would she buy a VR drive? Everyone knows her training takes place in reality. Does she have time to play games when she doesn’t have that long to live?”

“Maybe she’s exploiting loopholes in the hero’s curse. After all, there are many things you can do in virtual reality: BDSM simulator, pregnan—”

“Stop! Stop! Stop! We’re a PG-13 program, Sam.”

“Oh. Right.”

“What’s this hero’s curse they’re talking about?” Khrx asked, tilting his head.

Anaheim was finishing up with her construction, creating a spaceship-like object. She threw two VR drive helmets inside and lowered the glass, closing the pod. “I already told you, didn’t I?” she asked. “I’m going to spontaneously give birth at 30, then die 15 years later. It happened to my mother and her mother and her mother’s mother, all the way back to the hero. Apparently, it was the demon lord’s dying curse, and I can’t even kill him to remove it since he’s dead.”

Khrx scratched his head. “If he wasn’t dead, what would you do?”

Anaheim placed her hands on her hips. “I’d kill him. What kind of question is that? Were you even listening?”

“Can’t you just ask him to remove it?”

“And you think he would?”

Khrx nodded. “I mean, if you asked nicely enough, probably.”

Anaheim sighed as she turned the radio off. “You don’t understand the hatred between the hero and the demon lord. Now, c’mon. We have to save your Fufu.” She opened up the pod, sat on the couch and patted the empty space by her side.