Zack sat back and typed ‘GG’ as the final wave of Exoudica’s forces bore down upon his in-game homeplanet.

His thoughts dwelled on one thing ‘For him to have beaten me at my current skill level…’, he had never played at the ability that he had displayed during the match. And very few ever had, in fact the best of seven series was likely going to go into the Hall of fame, best matches of all time. Zack knew that he would never have another match with the same intensity, and therefore he had peaked.

A green smoke materialized before him and then took the form of Hroyd’s head “I watched the match. Your tactical mind for warfare is astounding.”

“Thank you for not interrupting.” Then Zack’s brow scrunched up “I take it that is what passes for an apology among your people?”

Hroyd’s disembodied head shook in a human-like gesture which he had been practicing “No, I meant what I said. These simulations do not affect the world around you and your body does not grow stronger.”

Zack said “But my mind is in top form. You said so yourself. And that is why I enjoy it so much.”

The door swung open and in walked his Korean opponent; Chen Lo Phun, who extended his hand for a handshake. Zack took it and thought ‘Dude, you’re a freak. It’s the only explanation for how you beat me.’

There was a look of respect in Chen’s eyes as he said “Well played.”

Zack replied “Good game.”

”I do not expect my remaining opponents to perform as well as you did just now.” then he turned and walked out of the room.

Hroyd said “Such camaraderie among you players. If this had been a sparring match between Kulabv warriors then promises of inflicting injury upon one another would be exchanged afterwards.”

Zack said matter of factly “The uh…lower ranked players often spew their toxic bile at each other. But players at the highest skill level are gentlemen.” then he stood up and left. It was time to clear the booth so that the next player could enter and begin their match.

Instead of watching the remaining series like the crowds and most of the other players in the tournament, Zack decided to leave the stadium before the crowds congested the exits. And after three months of practicing the game for twelve hours a day, he was a bit burnt out on it. On his way out he bought a fast food meal out of a vending machine and then chased it down with a redbull energy drink, finishing it just before the hot and humid South Korean night air hit him.

Just as he was about to climb into his Tesla car, a limousine pulled up behind him and a man in a black suit that bodyguards typically wore stepped out of the long vehicle “Mr. Taylor?”

”Yes?”

He opened the door in the back “Please get in. My employer would like to have a word with you.”

Zack said “Momma always told me not to ride with strangers.”

The man grumbled and opened his identification, on it were three large black letters EDF, Earth’s Defense Force “This is not a request.”

Zack said unfazed “You can’t strong arm me into doing what you ask. You know as well as I do. Akmadouric is ultimately the ruling power of this world.”

A window in the midsection of the limo rolled down and a middle aged blonde woman with a fairly angular face was revealed “Technically you are correct by the Deity’s laws but he has stressed that he did not come here to conquer this world. The EDF can do whatever he allows us to do. Which is a lot, and we can forcibly take up five minutes of your time.”

"If you hadn't of already conquered the world, he would have never allowed it." Zack reluctantly got inside of the limousine and said to the woman who he had instantly classified as a MILF “You have five minutes.”

The woman with the name over her head that read

Mrs. Blake EDF junior diplomatic agent

She said “We’ve come to understand that favor wise, you are the richest man in the world.”

He pulled up his finances screen

501,560 favor

Zack said “I have a little over 500 grand. What of it?” there was no point in hiding it, everyone’s favor was knowledge that was available to the whole of the public.

Mrs. Blake raised an eyebrow “How you managed to amass such a fortune so quickly is anyone’s guess, and frankly EDF should be able to tax it. And-”

Zack cut her off “The fruits from the works of my hands belong to me alone. I’m the one who almost died getting it.”

A flash of anger crossed her face “Yes, but the personal of the EDF are the ones who know how best to use the favor. To better help the world we live in.” She opened a folder that had been tucked within a pocket on a sidewall “If we spend enough favor, then Akmadouric will rewrite the very laws of our universe. He will make what is currently impossible, possible.” she handed him a stack of papers.

He skimmed through the stack of papers. There were diagrams that he couldn’t identify and mathematical symbols in huge equations that he couldn’t make heads or tails of. After skimming through it for a minute, he realized that she had given them to him in order to get him to understand that he was in over his head. She did it as a power play. In order to make him feel like her intellectual inferior.

”What am I supposed to be looking at here?” the question played into her hands but he didn’t have a choice.

Mrs. Blake grabbed one of the papers and pointed to one of the bizarre mathematical symbols “This is what we need to add to this universe in order to make what you have in your hand a reality.” she turned to the last page which depicted what looked like a purplish black ball with reddish pink energy streams arcing off of it within a glass globe “It’s called the Halloxicrom sphere. After it’s creation this tiny sphere will produce enough energy to sustain the entire world’s energy requirements, and it will continue to do so forever.”

Zack said “Infinite sustainable energy. How much would it cost?”

”Fifteen million to altar physics and another five million for the materials needed. As the man with the most favor currency, you could become the greatest contributor for this project that will be sure to benefit the whole world.”

That triggered Zack “I’m sure that favor could be spent on a great many things that could benefit our world. But just like you, I am going to be selfish.”

Mrs. Blake looked surprised and more than just a little ticked “Selfish? How dare you call the EDF selfish! We have brought humanity to the space age. People are living in orbital colonies above our heads as we speak. The EDF has been a force that has advanced this world by leaps and bounds. How dare you even say that?”

Zack raised his brow slightly and his tone became lighter “Lady, the problem is not that we need more technology. It's that we have yet to fully utilize the technology we have already made. Seventy percent of the people on this planet are shirtless and shoeless, impoverished to the point where they can't even feed themselves. It would be a simple matter to build these people up to a point where they could not only fend for themselves, but thrive. This is 2049. Why is there still poverty in the world?"

Mrs. Blake said "Because that is the way of the world. And it always will be."

Zack was livid "No! Every single invention that has ever been made has been designed to make society run more efficiently and people have been inventing things for over ten thousand years. I studied the current state of the world in high school. I know exactly what kinds of inventions could be used to fix all of those kinds of problems."

"It is not the responsibility of the EDF to fix the problems of second and third world countries."

"You're the ones with the most power and therefore it most definitely is your responsibility. And until these problems are fixed you'll not get a single favor point from me."

Zack got up and left but as he exited the limousine he said "Oh and you might want to get started pretty quickly before dissatisfied people like myself decide to relocate to another dimension underneath Akmadouric's control."

Mrs. Blake blinked “Wha…what?” clearly she didn't expect the conversation to turn out this way.

“The famous meme ‘I don’t want to live on this planet anymore’ has been used for over fifty years. Well, now people are no longer bound to it. Every single one of us now has the option to relocate to another dimension and another civilization.”

Her eyes widened, obviously she had not considered that possibility “You can go now.”

Zack opened the door and walked out at a brisk pace.

Mrs. Blake rolled down the window and said to the bodyguard right behind Zack "Break his legs." then drove off.

Zack turned back and said "Isn't that a bit stereotypical of a mob boss? What the fuck!"

The bodyguard let out a menacing chuckle “You’ve displeased the lady, which means I gotta do somethin’ unpleasant.” the man stepped forward and cracked his knuckles in the standard ‘Ima tough guy and Ima fuck you up’ kind of way.

Zack turned around to see the bodyguard grow larger. His muscles swelled until they looked like a bodybuilding champion, then grew larger to the point of absurdity. His shoulders were the size of beachballs and his torso was as thick as a tree trunk. The fabric of his shirt stretched and ripped until it was completely torn off. Leaving his head to look very small in proportion to the rest of his body.

Zack tried to keep as calm of a face as possible as he said “Out of all of the enhancements that you could’ve gotten, you decided to pick something that makes you look even uglier."

Muscles said “You really shouldn’t try to piss me off. Methodically beating someone to within an inch of their life takes a cool head.” then he took a step forward and reached out to grab Zack. But instead Zack activated the only skill he had while in his true body

Summoning acceleration Description: Rapidly summon an Eidolan that is bound to you. The normal summoning sickness that comes from shifting from the Spiritual Ether to flesh is negated. Distance: 5 feet Cast time: 2.06 seconds.

He sent a message to the Kulabv warrior as he formed 'Don't kill'. Green smokey energy rapidly formed off to Zack’s left and the bodyguard whirled around to find himself eye level with Hroyd’s teeth. For a full second he stared blankly, then let go of Zack’s shoulder and launched an uppercut at Hroyd. Who took the fist full on with a grin. Hroyd then grew out one of his talons and stabbed the man in the stomach. The bodyguard swung with a right hook but Hroyd effortless dodged and grew out his other nine talons for the man to see. Realizing that he was outmatched, the man ran away.

"There are so many problems in this world that would need to be fixed before I even consider giving away favor points. The multiverse's most valuable currency."

Hroyd shook his head and grunted "Before the end of days came to my world, I was at war against another faction of Kulabv warriors who believed that by consuming their fallen brethren they would achieve greater kinship with the Spiritual Ether. By comparison of that, this world seems to be a paradise."

"It doesn't even compare to what it could become. Or what I'm capable of envisioning." Zack hesitated a moment before saying "World's are created by the people within them. What pisses me off the most is the huge gap between the average man and the highest intellectuals. I mean they're off freezing light so they can study it and the average man is planting their butt in front of a television set. And the shows they watch are clearly made by the retarded, for the retarded. Such an unbelievably sad waste of potential."