Age was everything in the game world. Schools and tech companies denied it, game and drug companies reduced it, techno guilds offered salvations for it, but it always remained. I didn't know Firestarter's real age, but she had enough reaction speed to deal more damage to me in simple attacks that I could using special attacks and ultimate weapons. Not only that, but unlike in my dream, she also had patience.

“You should have taken the offer,” the nymph said, standing between me and the domain gate. “Would have been better for all.”

I threw a series of daggers in her direction, hoping to get a reaction. She calmly deflected them all, waiting for my skill buffs to run out. If I had any hope of success, I had to be the aggressor, a role I was extremely bad at.

“I'm still under protection,” I said, as I rearranged my special attacks. Up to now, I had been relying on attacks that did direct system damage. With the exception of fifty-hit combos, there was no benefit using weapons, when everything else was that much more powerful. However, that didn't take into account what I currently had. As long as I could get in one single strike, I was pretty much set.

Firestarter didn't respond, looking at me with the intensity of a cat ready to pounce. Meanwhile, I could hear my clone fighting hers in the background. Suddenly a pop-up window appeared in front of me.

Quote:

Automated Combat Companion AI Upgrade

Congratulations! You have been selected for our closed beta of the next generation of Combat Companions!

WARNING! All code, models, and behavior patterns are property of Vesperia and cannot be used or shared outside of the game without expressed written approval. As per the terms of service, you have agreed to report any and all bugs or suspicious behavior and are forbidden from attempting to reverse engineer, screen grab, or discuss any aspect of your Combat Companion (including with other Beta Testers). Failure to comply will result in banning, fines, and legal action.

Your combat companion is AS IS. The Vesperia team, and all other parties responsible for the creation of the Automated Combat Companion AI, do not guarantee the software and don't provide any warranty whatsoever.

Thank you for participating in our Beta Test!

Vesperia AI R&D

Claire, you ass. When he had said he knew what would happen in Vesperia the next six months, he hadn't been kidding. I hadn't even heard that Combat Companions were a thing. A large virtual tiger appeared next to me. The art was completely placeholder—I could recognize most of the textures—as were most of its skills. Anyone could see it was in the early stages of development. Even so, it was the advantage I needed.

With ten seconds left, I threw a dagger at Firestarter. The moment she deflected it, a green X appeared above her head in my dev vision, marking her as an enemy. The tiger jumped into action. Its massive claws shot out of its paws as it neared its target. Firestarter didn't flinch. With a single motion, she twisted her body—more that was humanly possible—and struck the creature with her flaming sword, head on. A burst of static noise and placeholders exploded around the tiger's head; the health bar didn't budge. For once, a bug was working on my favor. Maybe Saint Jeremy was real after all?

Triggering my Multi Hit Strike, I dashed forward. At max level, the attack gave me ten seconds of wild blade spinning, each hit dealing twenty-five percent additional sword damage. A few steps away, my tiger stood up, only to get slammed into the ground yet again. I had to admit that from, the side it looked like Firestarter was playing with a clueless kitten. Her actions weren't unusually fast or sophisticated, though she made up for it with elegance and precision. I saw her glance at me as I approached. The eyes of her avatar flashed deep red, almost black, and then she turned around, meeting me head on. Sparks and ember particles burst between us with every strike. I could see the countdown numbers marking the lifetime of each particle; I could also see Firestarter blocking each of my strikes as fast as the system was generating them.

Damn my life! I chained a few more specials as I tried to stand my ground. Even after watching hundreds of game championships, some at half speed, I wasn't anywhere prepared for the terrifying strength and skill before me.

“Twinkle, launch three cameras!” I shouted, jumping back. As I did, the tiger had another go at Firestarter, attacking once more from behind. Its simple AI was incapable of presenting any real challenge, but it gave me enough time to further flee. “Keep them between me and her,” I shouted. “Body height!”

As the gamer saying went, “cheating is for the smart.” Using cameras to block an opponent's view wasn't a new idea. It was heavily frowned upon in the streamer community, often a reason for a one month suspension. That didn't stop people from using it to make their escape. I had an acquaintance that did it every month, to the point it had become a common thing. Sadly for him, that hadn't increased his following, and eventually it took him down a death spiral.

“Twinkle, buy five smoke vials!” I ordered. “And three ice mist.”

“Sure thing, Sarah!” Twinkle giggled. “Do you want me to buy—”

“No!” I cut him short. “Just those. Restock me until my gold runs out!”

The last of my buffs wore off, bringing my protections to thirty percent of what they were. The premium portions provided enough to prevent an instant kill, though I still felt vulnerable.

A faint ping sounded, telling me new items had been added to my inventory. Instantly, I added them to my quick shortcuts and threw the entire batch toward Firestarter. Black smoke mixed with white mist engulfed the area. In theory, that was enough to confuse, slow, potentially even freeze any player or NPC for up to five seconds. The moment the ping sounded again, I repeated the process. The smoke made it impossible for me to see the exact location of Firestarter, but the cameras gave me a pretty good idea.

I opened my map and zoomed in. The location of the well was marked to be seven meters away, right in the cloud of smoke and mist.

Seven meters. With luck, the tiger would have some companion bonuses diminishing the negative effects. It didn't have to be able to kill Firestarter, just keep her occupied for long enough that I could reach the well.

“Twinkle, mute and guide me to the marker!” I gripped my swords.

The cat landed on the ground, then ran forward. As a personal AI companion, he wasn't bound by game limitations, allowing him to pass through the smoke without issue. Ready to trigger my special attacks, I followed. The sound of fighting had died out, hopefully suggesting that both Firestarter and the tiger were frozen for several seconds. To be on my guard, I kept a constant eye on the cameras. All three of them remained still.

Did I make it? According to the map, I was five steps away from the well.

Three.

One.

I could see the stone ring of the well's base through the smoke. All I had to do was to reach out and touch it. My grandfather always used to say, “If you're sure you'll win, just win. You'll have time to think later!”

It was useful advice, even if no one followed it. With the well in sight, all I had to do was jump inside and put an end to everything. And still, curiosity made me turn around. For a split second, I saw an orange glow light up the smoke. The next thing I knew, my health bar as at seven percent. An incapacitated icon appeared in the air as my avatar collapsed to the ground.

“Premium magic characters can ignore status effects.” Firestarter's silhouette started taking shape through the thinning mist and smoke. “Offer still stands. Quit the quest and you get a hundred k.”

I tried to move. My entire body felt heavy, as if I were swimming in rubber. The timer under the icon read twenty-six seconds.

“Nice toys.” Firestarter bent down and took a sword from my hand. “My team sponsor had to pay half a million to get mine built and approved.” She swung it in the air. The blade passed inches from my face, sculpting a crack in the stone base of the well. “You get two twice as good.” She threw it on the ground. “Did Legion give them to you?”

“No.” Carrying two million in weapons sounded impressive, but in reality it wasn't. Unlike Firestarter's flaming sword, mine were completely worthless. If I had tried to sell them, the most I'd have received was a ten year prison sentence for virtual cheating, possessing unlicensed code, breaking Vesperia's terms of service, and half a dozen lesser crimes. “You're obsessed with him.” At least I had access to my menu system.

“A quarter million,” Firestarter said. “Manually quit the quest and tell me everything you know about Legion.”

As the smoke vanished, I saw my three cameras, floating in the same positions they had been a minute ago. A few steps away, the tiger companion stood glitched in an animation loop, like a broken record.

“I know about the phone.” The glow in her eyes faded down, becoming orange, then yellow, then disappearing altogether.

“Then you must know what I said.” Fifteen seconds to go, not that it mattered. I was powerless, and no help was coming.

“I don't care.” Firestarter drew her iconic weapon. “Bye.”

Bye: the word that thousands of people throughout virtual world heard every day. It was phrased in dozens of different ways: GG, rekt, 0D. The meaning was the same: the inevitable loss. In a game, that was the last thing someone heard before it was made clear that all their work and efforts were in vain, the realisation that what they sought to achieve would have to wait for another time. The hundred-level quest had long ceased to be a game; it was my life and I didn't know what would happen once I failed it. Firestarter and Legion claimed I would be fine in my old life. I wanted to believe that, but I had seen first hand FlickerFlacker disappear. If his wealth couldn't save him, what would save me?

“Save me, Saint Jeremy,” I whispered, wincing as the flaming sword swung down.

I felt the heat on my face, the sharpness of the tip sink into the middle of my forehead... and then I heard an explosion. A golden pop-up window appeared between me and Firestarter, held on both sides by cherubs.

Quote:

Legendary Failure!

Attack botch!

Special magic ability backfire!

Legendary weapon backfire!

All damage has been reversed and turned back to the attacker!

Event has been logged and added to Vesperia's hall of records.

Event has been added to Vesperia's hall of fame and infamy!

Both participants receive two thousand dollars in game credit!

A legendary failure? The botch event that happened three times in half a trillion? Since the creation of Vesperia, there had only been one other such instance. Looking at Firestarter's expression through the semi-transparent window, I could tell she didn't believe it a coincidence. Neither did I. Someone was protecting me, someone determined to have me complete the quest.

The window disappeared as a wave of flame swept through Firestarter's avatar, leaving her at one health point. Meanwhile, I saw mine get restored to full.

“Way to go, Sarah!” Twinkle cheered, jumping onto my shoulder. “Do you want me to sell the video of the event?”

I didn't answer, slowly pushing myself off the ground. My body felt a bit wobbly.

“Drop the quest,” Firestarter said, this time no longer a quest, but rather a plea. After what had happened she didn't dare attack me, but didn't want to back down either. “Don't become part of this.”

I looked at her for several seconds, then at the sword in my left hand.

“Sorry,” I said, turning around to face the well. “Bye,” I added in a whisper and jumped in.