*Earth – Kira’s POV*

After picking Cindy up, we went to the city and started shopping around the mall. We had been shopping for a few hours and I could barely fit any more bags on my arms. They weren’t heavy due to my strength from the game, but they were kind of annoying. The girls were floating about in front of me jumping from store to store.

I was entranced just watching them happily jump from store to store. The smiles on their faces and the laughs they were sharing were brightening up my evening. No matter how the day has been I feel that they could brighten it up. I told them I was going to put the bags we had in the car and they both said okay. I headed to the parking lot and stuck the bags in the trunk.

I shut the trunk and then saw something that removed all the brightness from my mood. Pulling in the parking lot was a bright red Lamborghini Murcielago. That wasn’t what ruined my mood; it was the AND-ARM on the custom license plate. This was the custom plate of my father. I really didn’t want to see him again. I watched him pull up to a parking spot and get out of the car.

He walked over to the passenger seat and opened the door for a stunning woman. She was probably in her early twenties and looked like a model. I ground my teeth and then slowly breathed out. I shut the trunk and walked back inside the mall. I found the girls a few minutes later in Victoria’s Secret.

I walked in and snuck up behind the two. I pinched them both on the ass gently and caused them both to jump. They both play smacked me with their purses and we all had a small laugh. I sat down on the ottoman offered for the men to sit on. I watched them pick through some bras and panties while I tried to put the thoughts of my father in the back of my head.

The girls picked out a few pieces and then I paid for them before we left. We were about to walk out of the store when we almost walked straight into him. We all stopped in our tracks and I curse in my head. Standing in front of me was my father, Jim Anderson. He had his arm around the beauty from the car and there were a couple security guards standing a little behind them.

I didn’t see the guards in the parking lot, so they must have been in another car a little farther away. Jim stopped and looked me up and down a few times before he spoke, “You look good son. Nothing like the frail boy from before.” I smirked, “And you haven’t changed, you’re still the snobbish dick I knew back then.”

His eye’s darkened, “Don’t speak to me like that boy. I am still your blood father.” I laughed, “Blood doesn’t mean shit. It takes more than that to be a father. To me you are nothing but a sperm donor.” He glared at me, “You have grown some balls over the years.” I snorted and didn’t say anything. I used to be afraid of him, but things have changed.

I have faced people at a strength way above anything that he could produce. He glared at me for a few more seconds before he looked at Cindy. She avoided his gaze and looked down at the ground. She grabbed onto the back of my shirt and squeezed. He smiled at her, “It’s been a while Cindy.” She didn’t speak, she just nodded her head slightly instead. His smiled lessened a little, “Why won’t you look at me. We used to be married and I don’t think I treated you badly.”

Cindy stiffened a little before she spoke, “If putting your wife in a separate room and not having anything to do with her is good, then yes, you weren’t bad to me.” Jim stiffened a little and laughed some, “I did no such things to you. If I remember right you put me out on the couch a few times.” Cindy was about to rip a piece of my shirt off and I decided to step in, “Okay Jim, I believe that this has been enough for the day. We will see you again some other time.”

I pulled Cindy and Karen behind me and walked around Jim. We were about twenty feet from them when I heard the woman beside him speak, “Is that the whore you was talking about Jimmy, the one who married you for your money?” I stiffened up and stopped in my tracks. Cindy started to have a couple of tears fall down her face, but she quickly got rid of them. It was too late though, I had already seen them.

I was about to say something, but Karen beat me to it, “Says the twenty something year old bitch that is hanging out with someone in their late fifties. Are you sure you aren’t the gold-digger?” I smiled at her and saw that Cindy smiled a little bit. She was still looking at the ground and holding on to my shirt. She was acting like a little kid being scolded by her parents; it was actually kind of cute.

The woman beside Jim got angry and looked at him, “She called me a bitch Jimmy, take care of her.” He looked down at her and smiled before ordering something to the guards behind them. They stepped towards Karen and I stepped right in-between. I smirked, “Y’all might want to rethink this.” I looked at Jim and he spoke to me, “Move out of the way Kira. This doesn’t concern you.”

I laughed, “Doesn’t concern you? Your men want to do something to my woman and you say it isn’t any of my concern? You must have grown senile old man.” Jim’s eye twitched and he glared at me before looking at Karen. He looked her up and down before speaking, “Your woman huh? There is no way in hell that she is your woman. What would someone like her see in someone like you?” I shrugged my shoulders, “That’s honestly none of your business. It doesn’t change the facts either way.”

He squinted his eyes before speaking again, “Continue.” When the command left his mouth the guards moved towards Karen again. I sighed, “I warned you guys.” I stepped forward and grabbed the wrist of the closets guard. I gave it a quick squeeze and the sound of bones cracking resounded throughout the store. The guard screamed out and then grabbed his wrist. I stood there clenching and unclenching my hand. I looked at the other guard, “Are we going to continue?”

The other guard looked at his boss; Jim didn’t say anything and the guard clenched his teeth before moving towards me. I sighed and then stepped forward while throwing a quick punch to the man’s gut. He couldn’t move as quick as me and my fist hit its target. The guard doubled over and collapsed on the ground. I glared at Jim while walking towards him, “Don’t ever make a move against any of my women ever again. If you do I won’t hesitate to send them back in body bags.”

I tried to make the coldest expression I could towards Jim and it seemed to work. He nodded his head and backed up a little. I laughed and then held out my arms to the girls, “Shall we?” Karen smiled and quickly grabbed my left arm, while Cindy weakly nodded her head before grabbing my right. I looked back at Jim, “Hopefully the next time we meet it won’t be so violent, but if it is…” I didn’t continue as I laughed and walked away with the girls.

Right when I was about to walk out of the mall I looked over and saw the mall security talking to Jim. He looked over towards me and I smirked at him before walking out the door. I might have a visit from the police at a later date because of this incident, but if they go over the video it is clearly a case of self-defense.

We walked out the door and when we got outside Karen spoke, “He can’t see you know, so you can stop pretending.” When she said that I stopped walking, I looked over at her and the anger that I was trying to suppress came back. I let go of the girls and then screamed out before punching the concrete pillar of the overhang. The pillar shattered and concrete flew everywhere.

Other people screamed out a little and a few even pulled out their phones. They started taking pictures and I looked down at my fist. There wasn’t a scratch on it. I wiped the concrete dust off and then took the girls back to the car. I opened the doors for them and then got in the driver’s seat. I gripped the steering wheel and then slowly breathed out. I felt a hand land on my right arm and I looked back to see who it was.

I was greeted with the beautiful face of Cindy. She smiled at me, “Thank you, Kira.” I felt the anger in my heart ease a little and I smiled back, “You don’t have to thank me.” She smiled and then sat back in her seat. She looked over at Karen, “Thank you too, Karen.” Karen smiled at her, “You don’t have to thank me. If anyone insults one of my sisters then they will feel my wrath.”

Cindy looked confused, “Sister?” Karen laughed, “Of course. We both love Kira and he loves us. That makes us sisters in a sense.” I wasn’t able to follow what they were saying, but the smile on Cindy’s face was all I needed to understand. I started the car and then put it in reverse. I proceeded to pull out of the parking lot and I saw Jim’s car again and stopped.

I looked over at his car; it was just sitting in the parking spot. I thought of something and pulled out Hell from my characters inventory. Cindy jumped, “Kira what are you doing?” I didn’t answer her. Instead I switched over to a solid steel bullet shaped chunk for a bullet. I had Hell silence itself as I pulled the trigger. The steel chunk shot out of the end of the pistol and went through the rear of the car, right into the engine block. I don’t know how the bullet was propelled out of the barrel, but it was an option for the weapon so I used it. I then put Hell back into my inventory and laughed before driving off.

I looked in the rearview mirror at Karen and saw that there wasn’t any change to her expression. Cindy on the other hand was still looking at me wide eyed, “What did you do? Where did that gun come from?” I looked at her in the mirror and spoke, “I can’t really tell you right now, but when I can I will tell you everything.” She looked me straight in the eyes, “Why can’t you tell me? We tell each other everything!”

I sighed, “I just can’t tell you.” She was getting mad, “You can’t tell me? No you just don’t want to tell me!” She crossed her arms and looked out the window. I could see the tears coming down her face. I sighed and continued to drive. I could hear Karen speaking to Cindy, “Just trust him for now Cindy. He will tell you when he can.” Cindy responded, “Don’t try to stick up for him. If he wanted to tell me he would, but he isn’t. It just means he doesn’t love me as much as I love him.”

I pulled the car over into a parking lot off the interstate. I turned to Cindy, “That is not true! I love both of you more than anything!” It was true, even though I had just met Karen; I decided to love her with everything I have. I have liked Cindy for a little while as well, I just never thought us being together was possible.

Cindy stared at me, “It’s obvious that Karen knows! If she knows why can’t I know! You love her more than me; just admit it so we can move on.” I growled and then yelled at her, “If I tell you I may die!” When the words left my mouth Cindy’s face turned pale while I continued speaking, “Karen knows because she knew before I did! You wouldn’t be able to understand me even if I did tell you though.”

Cindy shrunk back a little and I realized what I did, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just really stressful having something you can’t even tell your loved ones about.” Karen seemed to be thinking about something for a minute before she spoke up, “There may be a way you can tell her.” I looked over at her, “Oh yeah?”

She nodded her head, “Yeah, the developers have been working on a friends list for the real world body of the player. Whether or not they have completed it I don’t know. It is worth a try though. Try opening your friends list.” Cindy was just staring at us before she spoke, “What language are you guys speaking?”

I ignored her for a second while I tried to open the friends list. When I thought about it I was actually greeted with a notification.

Would you like to activate the [IRL Friends List]?

Yes

No

I was shocked, but I quickly selected yes. When I did there was another window that popped up.

IRL Friends List

Name:

Status:

Karen

Wife

I was shocked to see that Karen was already on the list, but it kind of made sense. She was sent to me by the developers after all. I looked over at her, “It worked, but how do I add her?” She thought about it for a second before speaking, “Try using a mental command to add her.” I nodded my head and did what she said. A split second later I was greeted with a popup.

Would you like to add Cindy to your list?

Yes

No

I selected yes and another window popped up.

Choose Cindy’s status*

Friend

Relative**

Girlfriend

Wife

Best Friend

Lover

*If Cindy is removed from the list she/he will forget everything about Somnium Venatus

**Relatives can be blocked from learning about Somnium Venatus

I chose girlfriend and then my friends list popped up again.

IRL Friends List

Name:

Status:

Karen

Wife

Cindy

Girlfriend

I smiled and then looked at Karen, “So I should be able to talk to her about Somnium Venatus now right?” Before she could answer Cindy spoke up, “What’s Somnium Venatus? Hearing this I guess it worked. I tried telling her about the game and she was able to understand every word. I even showed her a few things from my inventory to prove things. After I was done talking she didn’t speak for a good amount of time. After almost thirty minutes of silence she finally spoke, “That explains the sudden change in looks.”

I looked at her laughed, “That’s all you have to say?” She laughed, “It doesn’t change the feeling I had for you before and it doesn’t change them now, but it does explain the changes.” I laughed and shook my head before starting the car up again. I was about to put it in gear when there were a few black vehicles that where in front of the car. I glanced at them and noticed a few rifle barrels sticking slightly out of the windows. I cussed, “Fuck! Get down!”

I jumped in the back seat and covered the girls with my body. There was gun fire from the front and then the sounds of breaking class and metal. I felt a few thuds on my back that was between the front seats. It felt like I had been hit with a sledge hammer in those spots. Karen yelled at me over the gun fire, “Based on your stats normal bullets from earth shouldn’t penetrate your skin, but they will bruise you badly! Now if they have fifty caliber rounds they may penetrate your skin!”

I was ecstatic as what she was saying and a few seconds after the bullets started flying they stopped. A few guys in black got out of the cars. I looked at the girls, “Don’t move, I’ll be back.” Karen nodded her head and Cindy looked scared shitless. I kicked the back door off and then stepped out of the car. The goons pointed their guns at me. I could see the surprise in their eyes.

I cracked my neck side to side and looked at them. I smiled, “My turn.” I quickly pulled out Hell and then loaded it with normal fifty caliber rounds. I shot the two in front of me in the head and then switched to explosive rounds. I shot the rounds into four out of the five cars causing them to explode. I shot a solid steel bullet into the engine of the fifth car. The driver was scared shitless as he tried to start the engine, but it wouldn’t do anything.

The goons got out of the car and aimed their guns at me. I killed three of the four with normal rounds from Hell and then pulled out Heaven. I shot a blank at the final goon and hit him in the hand. He dropped his gun and then he fell to the ground as another blank hit his knee. Normally my aim wouldn’t be this good, but I toggled the aim assist on. I needed the help in this circumstance.

I walked up to the last good and put Hell to his head, “Who sent you?” He didn’t say anything and just glared back at me. I spoke again, “Was it my father, Jim Anderson?” He didn’t say anything, but his eyes did widen quickly before returning to normal. That alone answered my question. I shot the man in the head and then walked back towards the girls.

I was seething inside. My own father sent goons after me. Just because I embarrassed him once he wants to off me? Just like that? I was cursing him inside of my head. When I made it back to the girls Karen was the first to exit the car. She looked around at the surroundings and whistled, “Those weapons of yours sure pack a punch.” I laughed and didn’t say anything as I helped Cindy out.

She looked at the bodies lying in front of the car and around the other ones. She then looked at me, “You killed them?” I looked down at her and spoke, “They were trying to kill us. Reality is harsh, but it is survival of the fittest. If I didn’t kill them, they were going to kill us. I chose letting us live over them.” She didn’t say anything, but she snuggled up into my chest. I sighed and stroked her hair. Karen spoke up, “I hate to interrupt things, but the police are coming.” I looked over at the incoming police cars and sighed. I looked over at Karen, “Can you fix this at all?”

She smiled, “I can, but it is going to cost you.” I raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah, how much?” She smiled, “I don’t want money, but you can pay me back later at home.” I smiled when I understood what she was saying. I laughed, “Deal.” Karen pulled out her phone and started typing on it. After a few minutes and the police finally pulling into the parking lot she was done.

She put her phone up, “Ok I deleted the video of the surrounding area and placed a whole bunch of anonymous phone calls about a gang war in this parking lot.” I nodded my head and then looked over at the police cars. They half circled the car and then the officers got out pointing their guns at us, “Freeze! Don’t move!”

I looked at the girls, “Put your hands up and everything is going to be fine.” We cooperated with the police and a few hours later we were released from the police station. I stretched my arms and looked at Karen, “It’s a good thing you did what you did. Otherwise our story wouldn’t have stuck.” She smiled and nodded her head. It took the police trying to find video proof about the incident and some trickery by Karen for them to believe our story.

I found out that with the friends list I could communicate telepathically with Karen and Cindy on earth. So we matched our stories and after a few hours of them not being able to prove anything the police let us go. The case was still under investigation and they may want us to come back in for further questions, but we were free to go for now.

I called a taxi and twenty minutes later it pulled up in front of the station. We went to the nearest hotel and stayed the night. I called the school and told them that we got stuck in the city and we wouldn’t be able to make it. Cindy called her work and told them the same thing. We left the hotel and called for another taxi. Twenty minutes later we were on our way to another car dealership.

We pulled into the Lexus dealership and went inside the building. I had called ahead and found out that, as long as it is approved, they will take a card transaction. After finding that out we headed straight here. I talked to a salesperson and after some looking we managed to find a car that I liked. It was a 2017 Lexus GS F. It was beautiful and in my favorite color on a car, black.

We went and done some paperwork that Cindy and I signed. After that I handed the salesperson my card. My old school sell phone chimed and a notification was sent to it. It told me that the dealership had taken the money for the car. The grand total for the car and all its options was around ninety thousand dollars.

When the salesperson saw that the transaction was successful he smiled and then handed me my car and the keys. I called my insurance company and added the car to my policy and removed the other one. The car was totaled and I honestly didn’t want it on my insurance record so I just didn’t tell them about it. We got in the car and headed home. This one was an automatic, but that didn’t bother me too much.

I was just going to use it for an everyday driver. I have a few ideas for a car to play in later. We made it back home and into the house. I hung my keys on the hook and then sat down on the couch. I sighed and sunk into the couch, just letting everything go. Cindy and Karen sat down beside me and snuggled up on each side.

Cindy looked at me and spoke, “So who sent the guys after us?” I smiled, “What makes you think they were after us?” She pinched my side which actually hurt like hell because of the bruises. The bullets sure did leave their mark on me. I yelped out and Cindy snickered. She smiled at me before speaking, “Why else would somebody shoot up the car in the middle of daylight if they weren’t after us?”

I sighed, “You probably don’t really want to know who did it.” She pinched me again causing me to jump, “Of course I do. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t want to know.” I sighed and then rubbed my temple, “It was Jim.” She sat straight up, “Are you serious?” I nodded my head, “As a heart attack.” She snuggled back up to me and then started crying. I sighed in my heart. I told you that you wouldn’t want to know.