Mature Content Warning: A little swearing, and other things.

Author’s Notes: I had intended to have Scott go through a long sequence of fights in this chapter. However, this felt more like the proper stopping point. The solo combat scenes and other similar things will occur in the next two or three chapters. I figured that you would all rather see me focus on detailed combat scenes instead of rushing it to add it in.

I WOULD have been done sooner but one of the wall plugs at my house decided to burn out and I had to go get one to replace it. (It’s working fine now.)

Further note: I want to thank everyone who shared their honest opinion on the amazon profile for this story! I am glad to know your thoughts. As such, I went ahead as promised and finished up this chapter. More tomorrow afternoon!

Chapter 4: The Legendary Blue Haired Boyfriend

The soft hum of machinery echoed through the spacious bedroom as Origin lifted her tiara from her head. The golden device was a spiritual link between her true existence and the avatar that she utilized. She did not truly need the device to manifest in that world, no god did. However, it was part of the concept known as authenticity.

Earth humans were a subject of great interest among the divinities who lived in the massive celestial city. Those intriguing, incredibly finite, creatures had invented a pop-culture concept known as virtual reality. That concept included ideas such as the neural-link. Although such technology did not truly exist in their world at the time, the gods had seen it as an interesting idea and they had decided to use it to limit their own consciousness instead of transferring it in the manner of human fiction.

The blue haired goddess sighed loudly then placed her tiara on its resting place before standing up. She absolutely hated to leave Scott right when things were getting good, but she had duties to perform.

Origin walked toward her closet and snatched up a few clothing items that she would need. It did not matter what she wore at the moment, she would have to change later. She laid her clothes out on her bed and headed to her private bathroom.

“I suppose I should take a shower.” The goddess sighed loudly once more. Why must real life be so tedious? She really did not want to deal with what she had to do today, at all.

She looked into the full-length mirror on the back of her bathroom door then frowned. “I look like a hot mess.”

Her idea of a mess was hair that was slightly mussed, and lightly rumpled clothing. Unlike when she spent her time running around as Rhea, Origin had to actually maintain appearances for the sake of the empire. Yes, the glorious empire.

The young goddess, and heir to the family throne, stuck out her tongue at the image in the mirror. She lifted and tossed her hair with her hands. She turned one way and then the other. “I wonder what he would think if he saw me like this?”

It was no idle speculation, really. Rhea was a creature that she had crafted to be almost too pretty to look at, but compared to her actual appearance the elfin avatar was a modest downgrade. Gods and goddesses were practically perfect in appearance most of the time. That was why even a single stray hair could send some of them into a tizzy.

When they directly interacted with mortals they had always taken on an avatar, a sort of form that the mortal mind could handle. The old stories that passed among mortal kind regarding terrible things happening to anyone who saw the true form of a deity were based in reality.

Origin stripped down then slipped into her shower. The hot water soothed her aching soul. It helped her to relax a little before it was time to get dressed and leave.

Time passed and soon the blue haired deity made her way down to the private garage of her family tower. An Earth human might call it a sky-scraper. Origin just called it home.

On the way to her car she spied the rest of her companions for the day. “Hey Silence, Mid ...Mom.”

“What’s with that long pause before saying hello to your mother, dear?” asked Era.

Origin screwed up her bottom lip in a petulant display, but she did not need to answer her mother. Her brother did it for her. “She misses her man toy.”

“Silence...” said Origin in a dangerous tone of voice.

Mid chuckled at them both then tilted her hat down with two fingers. “Now, now play nice children.”

The blue haired girl frowned at her older sister. Mid’s true form was a far cry from the old sage that Scott had met, and several times more alluring than her avatar Regal Alice.

*Author’s Note: (1) See the recap in chapter 12, or read the commercial version of Origin A.R.S. to know the link between Mid and Regal Alice.

“As much as I would love to hear more about Origin’s man toy, we need to get going.” insisted their mother. The goddess of fertility, the god of death, the goddess of life and rebirth, and the goddess of sensuality got into Origin’s black convertible and headed off toward their destination.

Origin drove them through the busy streets of Celestia; or rather she drove them from one traffic jam to another. Most gods were terrible drivers and accidents were frequent. No deaths occurred, of course. Even the weakest deity could withstand a high-yield thermonuclear blast without so much as batting an eyelash.

After an hour had passed Origin, sweet dear Rhea’s true mind, could not stand it anymore. She slammed her hand down on her horn repeatedly then shouted, “Move your asses, damn it!”

“Oh, childe...” murmured Mid from the backseat. She and their brother silence had taken up the rear position, while the matriarch had chosen to ride in the front with the driver.

“Such language, what would your sex toy say if he heard you talk like that?” snipped her brother.

Origin turned around in her seat and looked at Silence. “Do you want me to crash us into a building? I’ll do it.”

That was no idle threat. They were still a great distance from their destination. If she crashed the car they would be fine, but they would have to actually walk the rest of the way.

Their powers were somewhat restricted inside the city for the sake of Earth human lifestyle authenticity. They could all teleport for instance, but they could not legally do it unless it was an emergency because an Earth Human could not do it. The need to walk somewhere due to crashing your vehicle was not considered an emergency.

Silence made a motion across his lips, like he was zipping a zipper. She snorted then turned back toward the front of the vehicle. The other cars began to move again after a few more minutes passed. It took them over two hours to reach their destination. All things considered, it might have been faster if they had actually walked.

“Alright, do you all recall what you need to do?” asked Era.

“Yes.” the siblings said in unison. Their mother had drilled it into them for weeks.

“Right, everyone get dressed and meet me backstage. We don’t have much time left before we have to start thanks to the traffic snarls, but we have enough to get ready.” said Era, before she waved them off and strode purposefully toward her private dressing area.

The siblings looked at each other then they shrugged before wandering off to their own dressing rooms. They had to get ready, too.

It was not long before the event started. Era, wearing a business suit that showed far too much, or perhaps just the right amount, of cleavage and an incredibly short mini-skirt walked out onto the stage.

A massive crowd of gods and goddess awaited her; many of them began to call her out by name. She was quite popular.

“Friends, as many of you know I am the president of the O.E.C., the empress Era.” said the goddess. She was answered by a cacophony of cat calls, screams, and more than a few marriage requests.

She laughed in a good natured manner and waited for the crowd to settle down. “As you know, our hot new property

Origin A.R.S., the game franchise named for my beloved heir apparent, is quite popular. I have called this meeting to announce that the next expansion is due to go online shortly!”

“Expansion, is it the new continent?” called a man in the far back. How his voice could be heard over the throng was anyone’s guess, but it had still reached the front.

“Actually, yes. My daughter Theta is in charge of the final debugging of the monster races and several hidden quests in that continent, so she could not be here today. However, I did manage to drag three of my other children away from the game world long enough to come speak with you all today about the new systems that will come into effect, and the new races that will be available.” replied Era.

“Origin is here isn’t she!” cried out a young male god from the front of the crowd. He was not alone in his interest as several dozen others, both male and female, called out her name.

Era smirked at them. They were always like this. “Yes, in fact she is.”

The crowd erupted in a sea of enthusiastic cheers. Backstage, behind the curtain Mid snorted. “Gee, I guess I could have stayed home and make pretty rings to sell on the auction site.”

Silence muttered, “Dark Gamer.”

Mid snickered at him then shook her head. “Hey, we need to earn money to live in this city.”

“We all get a share from the company’s profits.” countered Silence.

“Yes, but my way is more fun.” said Mid.

Origin ignored them both and listened for her signal to go on stage. She hated these damned press conferences. Her mother always made her wear things like the outfit she had on. The poor thing was wearing what amounted to nothing more than a battle bikini She wore a gold and ivory colored breast plate that literally only covered her breasts, a set of thong style armor that protected nothing but her remaining dignity, and what she considered to be epic hooker boots.

She had tried fighting monsters while wearing high-heeled boots a few times. It was doable with a lot of agility, but why bother unless you were saddled on a mount and using them like the ancient Persians of Earth? Sure, they were originally combat footwear for soldiers, but that did not make them an ideal choice for someone who was not trying to fire a bow from horseback.

The goddess heard her signal and took a deep breath. She pressed her index fingers to the corners of her mouth and forced her lips into a smile. “Time to shine...”

Origin stepped out onto the stage and she was immediately assaulted by a throng of cheering voices and the flash of cameras. She did not throw her hand up to cover her eyes like she had done the first time she had done this, centuries ago.

The blue haired goddess of love strode across the stage; her diaphanous half-skirt flowed behind her in parallel to her streaming hair. The effect was not lost of the crowd and many of them gasped and cried out for her to love them. Whether they meant it, or they were just trying to be authentic was not something she cared about.

“Greetings people of Celestia. I am Origin, the next in line to inherit the Origin Entertainment Conglomerate. Yes, before you ask I am named after the company. I only say so due to the fact that I am asked that question every time I come out, and have answered it the same way for centuries now.” said Origin in a slow and deliberate manner.

Various people in the crown smirked or snorted. They were used to this attitude. That was why she was given the title of Ice Queen by those who did not know her. She always seemed frigid and for lack of a better term, ‘bitchy’ to those who were not within her circle of friends and close associates.

“Before we begin, allow me to answer the common questions that you media types like to ask. Yes, the company is doing well financially. No, I am not accepting marriage proposals at this time. No, I won’t make an exception for you. Also, no, that really was not me in those leaked erotic photos that showed up on D-Net last year. They were cunning forgeries, get over it already.”

Various members of the crowd laughed at the last answer. Only a year before D-Net, the divine internet of Celestia, had been gifted with the erotic image of two frost hounds mating. One of the dogs had Origin’s head in place of the dog on the bottom. The frigid bitch in heat, meme had become popular for a time.

Origin was used to that sort of thing, though. She knew that she was a nice girl, despite the way other people treated her at times. She could not help it if she was simply not interested in socializing. The party scene was not really her thing. She liked to play games and watch anime, was that so wrong?

In many ways, it explained her attachment to Scott. He, even when they first met back on Earth, had made her feel comfortable in his presence. Sure, he did not know that he had met her before, but Origin knew.

*Author’s Note: (2) Read the recap in chapter 12, or the commercial version of the story to see what this means.

“Anyway, down to business. The new updates have been mentioned on and off for thirty years or so, now. They are not really news worthy, but if you insist I will answer questions.”

Hands immediately shot up into the air. Origin sighed loudly then pointed at the least perverted looking individual. “Yes?”

“Will you marry me?” he asked her in a serious tone of voice.

She stared at him for a moment. He began to look nervous after the seconds ticked by. Finally, he slowly began to squat down below the shoulder level of his neighbors in the crowd. He did not want her to keep staring at him.

“Any, other questions?” asked Origin.

Several hands when up once more and Origin pointed to a woman in the middle of the crowd. “Yes, the new continent... When will the expansion be released?”

“We’ll release it in another eight years, so anticipate it. Alright?”

“Wow, so soon! That’s great.”

“Right, questions?” asked Origin.

She called on a few more people and they asked normal, legitimate questions. However, after she had answered several people someone else asked a dumb question.

A girl wearing glasses and a trench coat asked, “Is there any truth to the rumor that you actually have a boyfriend?”

Origin frowned at the girl. Who wears a trench coat to a game development press conference? Her question was ridiculous as well. “No, I do not.”

“Really, so the video I am seeing right now is not of your avatar Rhea Ardente renting a single room in Meaden despite being in a party of two?” asked the suspiciously attired individual.

“What... video are you talking about?” asked Origin. She tried to avoid hesitating, but she had dragged her answer out just enough to capture further attention from the crowd.

The crowd went wild as various bloggers and game site reporters began scrambling for their authentic-looking Earth Human smart phones. It did not take long for them to begin finding the video in question.

“Whoa, hunky.” cried one girl.

“He has blue hair, too... interesting.” said a random male reporter.

Origin’s left eyebrow began to twitch, but she regained control of herself. “It does not matter what that video states. I am currently not attached in any sort of relationship. I paid for the inn lodgings, because that adventurer helped me out with my low-level avatar after my recent reincarnation. We went hunting, nothing more.”

“No way, I want to hunt with Origin.” called out a man who looked like had recently eaten three or four other men. He was a big fella.

From behind the stage curtain Mid and Silence tried their best not to laugh as their scantily clad sister had to deal with the fall out of the most recent scandal. The crowd probably believed her story, but that did not matter. The legend of the blue haired boyfriend would spread far and wide.

***

The forest did not seem as beautiful as before. Scott could not help but notice that without Rhea’s presence he felt a bit lonelier than he would like to admit. It was a fleeting sensation, however. She would return in a few days. Until then, he had a few things to take care of and he wanted to get to them.

“Alright, let’s see. I need to sell my loot, but there is no way that I’m going back to town while that bonus is in effect.”

Scott unequipped his survival lore ring then stretched a little. He would not head back into the mine just yet. There was one more thing to take care of first.

He had not gained any levels, but he had gained a lot of ability points. It had been extremely difficult for the ability point obsessed part of his brain not to immediately spend those points as soon as he could upgrade something. However, he had persevered.

After the last few days and the random battles on the way to the mine, he had over thirteen hundred points to spend. He intended to use them all so that he would be as strong as possible before heading back inside to hunt alone.

“Hmm, I need to go ahead and upgrade my level-up bonuses for attack and defense. That will give me all my leveling passives...” He spent eighty points on that then took a hard look at what he had to work with.

Scott considered his options now. Both his health and his agility would take quite a few ability points to increase. His health would require one hundred seventy points, and his agility would require one hundred forty points.

Thinking out loud, he said, “I’ve been agile enough to avoid the monsters for the most part... what I am really lacking at the moment is mana and attack strength.”

The sorcerer considered his options for the moment. He could nearly double his mana pool if he spent most of his ability points in that direction. That would be enough mana to increase the level of his spells several times before Rhea returned. In fact, he could increase the level of his freeze spell without even going into the mine. He only needed to use it eleven more times.

“That would be a waste of the bonus time, though. I’ll hunt and use my spells normally until time runs out...” Scott made his decision. He dumped a large portion of his ability points directly into his mana pool and increased it eight times, bringing his mana to a whopping one hundred one.

His strength was a bit lopsided compared to his true agility. He opted to increase that as well. Scott increased his strength by five, which in turn increased his attack by twenty points.

“Only eighteen ability points left?” He could increase one of his stats, but there was little point in that at the moment. He was about as good as he was going to get. Scott decided to check his stats.

Name: ScottClass: SorcererRace: HumanAge: 18Level: 7EXP: 1308Next: 1232Ability Points: 18Health: 90[90]Mana: 101[101]Attack: 30[193]Defense: 30[316]Strength: 34[34]Agility: 31[20]Accuracy: 22[22]Intellect: 35[35]Luck: 16[16]

“Much Better.” Scott smirked at his stats. Things were quite a bit better balanced now. His accuracy could use a little work, and his luck was on its own at the moment, but he really did not have much else that he could do till later.

The sorcerer closed down his stat screen and unequipped his armor. He removed it from his inventory piece-by-piece and visually inspected it. He did not want to waste any more time from his bonus period that he had to, but he needed to assess whether his armor and weapons needed repairs. He had taken a few hits during the last few days, but they seemed to be reasonably intact. He should be good for one more day, he hoped.

After logging his gear back into his inventory, he said, “Equip all.”

He could tag primary armor, weapons, and accessories to auto-equip. Only one item per slot, unless it could be dual-worn. His quilted cloth armor was considered under-padding for his main armor, so he could add it to that slot. It saved a lot of time.

Completely geared up and ready, Scott dumped the crap items from his inventory. They would be fine inside the sanctuary area, and he would have a lot more space for items that he gathered during the hunt.

The sorcerer strolled toward the mine entrance, a look a dedicated resolve on his features. Unlike the last few days, Rhea was not around to bring out his goofy and playful side. Playtime was over. He did not know what had changed within him that caused him to become so gleefully destructive, but he had come to terms with it over the last two weeks.

He had once been a soldier, but he had rarely had to fire his weapon at anyone. His business had mostly been nothing more than standing around and waiting for things to happen. Now, killing truly was his business... and if the Fayth that he had accumulated recently was any indicator, business was good.