“You’re going to die in eight seconds!” Gaz screamed in my ear. He was right.

The Minotaur in front of me had broken through my defenses, and all my abilities were on cooldown. Oh, and I was bleeding profusely. Gaz cursed as he continued to pour light magic into my failing body. We were all low, and we didn’t have much time. I pivoted my feet and threw my body to the side as the beast charged, narrowly dodging the rush attack.

If I could smell in Sakarn Online, I'm sure the Minotaur would have smelled horrible. It was a large, stocky, muscle-bound creature with glowing red eyes. Its matted fur was tangled in thick knots that acted as dense armor. The fur and natural brawn led to a very tanky, hard-hitting boss. It wasn't the most terrifying monster in Sakarn Online, but my heart was pounding a lot harder than it normally did when I played since no one had killed the Minotaur yet. The stakes were much higher now. For all we knew, we were the first to encounter the boss.

The haptic sensors on my arms and legs vibrated intensely, and a warning flashed across my HUD. Of all things, in addition to my sundered armor, I sprained my ankle during the fall, and my movement speed was now halved by the debuff. Damn.

“Less than that,” I growled as the Minotaur whirled around to charge again. Gaz tried to draw its attention and attempted to cast something from his bulky tome, raising his glowing mace with the other hand. His dwarven frame was larger with his plate armor, but he was tiny compared to the huge monster we were fighting. The ploy didn’t work, and the Minotaur kept its attention on me.

One of my cooldowns refreshed, and I cast Divine Aegis on myself before the beast could hit. It was one of the cheaper spells available to me with my Paladin kit, but the cooldown was two and a half minutes.

I was low on mana to cast spells, and my health was below the ten percent mark. Divine Aegis gave me a slight armor boost and gave me a small chance to block all damage from attacks for the next ten seconds. I timed it to mitigate the Minotaur’s charge completely and use my remaining stamina to take a large chunk of its health with a critical hit to the head.

I hefted my great axe and took a swing at the beast as it hit me, but it wasn’t enough. Even with the bonus armor from my ability, I probably wasn’t getting out of this alive. Divine Aegis blocked some of the bleeding leeching my health but didn’t stop the main charge attack. The haptic sensors covering my body buzzed violently before going still, and my screen faded to black as Gaz cursed again.

A few seconds later, Gaz returned to the public lobby with John and Kirsten. We had failed the encounter for the fourth time this morning and still needed to adjust our strategy. It wasn’t my best attempt, but I wasn’t ready to give up on tanking with my Paladin build just yet. It was my best class, and I didn't really want to switch it up for a different tanking style.

“Edwin, come on man. I told you to save Smite for the berserker phase. You need to stun it before it stacks attack speed. It’s shredding through your armor, and I can’t keep up with my heals,” Gaz grumbled. “The fight is too hard to make mistakes like that; the Minotaur is one bad ass boss and will punish us if we mess things up.”

I wanted to argue that John and Kirsten weren’t doing enough damage, but there was no point starting a fight. It was my fault and I knew it. “Sorry, guys. My head isn’t in it today,” I said. It was the truth.

I had barely gotten any sleep, but we needed to clear this boss before other players found it. Maybe it had some good loot worth some real-world cash. It sure was one hell of an adversary to fight, and if I knew one thing from Sakarn Online, tough enemies dropped good, valuable loot. This was our eighth time fighting the Minotaur, and it still displayed as level ??? opponent. The four of us were maxed out in Sakarn Online in almost every class collectively, and this Minotaur was proving more difficult to beat than most of the end-game bosses and dungeons we could clear with ease. The game was our religion, and when we weren’t working to put food on the table, we were playing.

I was probably playing more than I should be, and even after three years at my crappy job at Burger Planet, things hadn’t improved. The food was greasy and it sucked, but the small burger joint was packed on a daily basis. My boss, a 40-something by the name of Gary, always seemed to be on me and never had anything better to do than snack on the fries in the kitchen and flirt with Rachel, a 19-year-old manipulative tease with long, curly hair who knew Gary would let her coast through her job if she unfastened an extra button on her shirt. Meanwhile, Gary made my life in the kitchen hell and didn’t bother helping me when we were understaffed. Needless to say, I hated my job.

I sighed and rubbed the skin between my eyes after lifting off my VR headset. “I have to log out guys. I work in thirty minutes.”

“Seriously? Can't you make one more attempt? We’re close, and the longer it takes, the more likely someone is going to sweep this away from us. Think about the money,” Kirsten said.

She was right. People spent a lot of real-world money in Sakarn online. One of my biggest gripes with the game was that people could replace skill with money. They could bankroll their characters and pimp them out with the best gear in exchange for a fat wad of cash. If the Minotaur dropped some sweet swag, we might be able to sell it for real-world money or find some new piece of equipment to boost our character in one of our classes. My group of friends was great at the game, we each had pretty high-tier gear for a few of our favorite classes, and we didn’t spend any money other than our initial investment in the hardware needed to play. We easily covered our monthly subscriptions with in-game gold, and John was the business guru behind it.

John noticed a distinct lack of suppliers for certain raw materials used by the cooking profession in Sakarn Online. In fact, one of the best dishes in the game for agility-based DPS, or damage per second, classes used a certain type of salmon from a remote part of the game world that was hard to access. With a large gold loan from the rest of us, he built a processing factory, stocked it with NPCs, and contracted some of the few players that played Sakarn Online for fishing to supply all the raw materials. The end result of the supply chain, after all the shipping logistics were worked out, was a salmon empire that funded each of our subscriptions for life without the need for John to step in and run the business himself.

We’d tried to set up more automated businesses like this, but since we were so busy actually playing the game and adventuring, someone else usually beat us to the market. In-game businesses like this were often outsourced to China or other countries where player labor and building a warehouse gaming center was cheap.

Gaz sighed. “Come on, man. You need to find another job. Gary made you work a double shift last night, and he’s having you open today? You didn’t get home until what? Two a.m. and he’s having you come in at eight in the morning the next day. Not cool, man.”

“You’re right, but I have bills, and he’s going to owe me some serious overtime pay,” I said, pulling off my VR goggles and setting them on my desk. I did have bills, and they were getting worse.

I was already in a bad mood from lack of sleep and losing to the Minotaur again, but thinking about my debt soured my mood even further. The stack of late bills was piling up on my entryway table, and I knew I’d be short again this month even with all the bullshit overtime I was putting in. I pulled the chat lobby from my desktop to my phone and walked through my messy apartment to my bedroom where my uniform was waiting. It always smelled like burgers no matter how many times I washed it. I set my phone to speaker mode and laid it on my bed while I changed.

Gaz continued to press me. “We all have bills, man. Doesn’t mean you should be content with Burger Planet. Sure, you make a mean double galactic burger that can bust any hangover, but Gary promised you assistant manager after your first year. Last I checked, you’re nineteen and still slinging patties. Seriously, come work at the Hut with me.”

“Leave him alone, Gaz. You’re twenty and still work at Pasta Hut,” John retorted.

I couldn’t help but grin. Burger Planet sucked, but at least it wasn’t Pasta Hut. Even though I would have loved to have Tony, the owner of Pasta Hut, as my boss, the stench of garlic followed Gaz around like an aura of death. We were all 19 or 20, and all lived by ourselves on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas.

“All right, all right. I’m looking for new work, but you know the job market sucks right now. Burger Planet is the best I can do. Unless one of you wealthy high rollers wants to put me up in your apartment so I can play Sakarn Online full-time,” I said, laughing. I had tried streaming, but my stream never really took off, and we sure as hell weren't going to broadcast the Minotaur encounter when it seemed like no other players knew where it was located. We had to be the first to kill it.

“Not me. I can barely play Sakarn Online with my VR rig in my apartment. It’s certainly not going to accommodate two players, and I don’t want my couch smelling like burger grease or garlic,” Kirsten said.

“Come on, Kirsten. He’d do it for you if you needed a place to stay. I’m sure you could convince him to take a shower. Besides, maybe it’s time you live with a guy again,” Gaz crooned.

“Watch it, Gaz,” Kirsten said, her voice cold. I knew Gaz better back off.

Fortunately, he mustered some brain cells and did the right thing and kept quiet. A few months ago, Kirsten ended a long-term relationship with a jerk named Brad and, so far, she lived on her own and didn’t seem to have any romantic prospects. Sure she was attractive, but I’d been friends with her for so long that I wouldn’t want to blow it on a relationship if things went bad. My core group of friends was my life, and I didn’t know what I’d do without them. Besides, it seemed like John and Kirsten might be forming a romantic connection.

“Don’t mess with her, Gaz,” I warned.

“I’ll fight any of you one-on-one anytime,” Gaz boasted. He was an exceptional duelist with almost every class and excelled in player versus player, or PvP, combat. He could even work PvP miracles with a lot of the healing classes he played, and it was never short of astounding.

“No, thanks. You’ll cheat. I’m off to work. Catch you guys later,” I said before cutting the call. I loved taking jabs at Gaz like that and disconnecting before he could respond. It was one of the small things I could do to mess with him on a daily basis for fun.

I finished getting dressed in my crappy uniform and threw on some deodorant before brushing my teeth. I needed a haircut soon, but Kirsten would do it for me for free if I asked. Grabbing my bagged lunch I made when I came in last night, I threw it in my backpack with my water bottle before exiting my apartment with my bike and locking the door behind me. I lifted the junky two-speed and carried it down the stairwell from the fourth floor before setting it on the pavement and pedaling my way down the street. Over the last 50 years, Dallas had an influx of bicycle users. Now, almost every street in the city has a dedicated double-wide bike lane. My bike sucked, but skipping out on all the costs associated with owning a car kept more pennies in my pocket.

There was a steady stream of bikers in the complicated traffic pattern converging toward the heart of the city. The first stretch of my ride was fast and downhill, but the middle stretch closer to downtown was always slower before averaging out on the last portion of my commute. Cars honked and moved forward in small, insignificant strides as brake lights flared and glowed red angrily like the Minotaur’s eyes in the early morning light. Damn I was tired.

The sun was still rising over the distant Dallas skyline. It was just after six a.m. on a Thursday, and I had gotten a grand total of eight hours of sleep this entire week. It was taking its toll on me, and I didn’t know how much longer I could do this, even with gallons of coffee. Either way, something had to give, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to give up Sakarn Online. The MMORPG was the only thing keeping me sane; well, that and my friends. I didn’t know what I would do if Gary asked me to work another double or triple shift. I’d probably experience some kind of psychotic breakdown and try to get a job at Pasta Hut—garlic smell be damned.

Thankfully, today was my last day at work until Monday, and I planned on catching up on my sleep and finally clearing the stupid Minotaur boss with my friends. Maybe I’d try to play my custom Defender class instead of my Endurance Paladin. Yes, I was a great Paladin, probably the best in Dallas, but maybe the extra armor and resistance to the numerous debuffs the Minotaur inflicted would give us some more leverage if I played my Defender.

I usually favored the tank classes in games, the big, brawny characters that soaked up all the damage from the enemies while my friends either healed me or focused on damaging our foes. Out of my group of friends, I almost always tanked, and Gaz almost always healed. The tank and healer were arguably the most important part of a well-rounded party. Our jobs were essential to keeping everyone alive in fights, and we were responsible for calling the shots. Gaz and I worked well together and had known each other since we were six years old.

My thoughts were always drifting to Sakarn Online. I thought about it while I flipped burgers, and while I rode my bike, always trying to formulate new strategies and class builds for my character. I was good at zoning out while my sweat dripped onto the sweltering burger griddle.

Sakarn Online was unique from other MMORPGs in that it let players play every class they wanted and change their attribute points, even character race and appearance, with a Sakarn Scroll. The scrolls were pretty expensive, but they also weren’t too hard to come by, and players got a free scroll every week with their subscription to the game itself. I usually tried not to change classes more than once a week, but Gaz had the habit of cycling through classes and characters builds every few days, often asking us to borrow our additional scrolls when we were far away from some of the major cities and trading hubs of the game world. It was frustrating, but somehow he always paid us back in either scrolls, gold, or his hard-earned dollars from Pasta Hut. Praise be to the Hut.

I passed through the final traffic light of my journey and pulled into the alleyway of Burger Planet like I always did. I chained my bike to the rusted bike rack behind the dumpsters and the grease bin before walking into the kitchen and putting my backpack with my lunch in my locker.

Rachel and Gary were in the back, and Rachel was leaning against the counter smiling flirtatiously at the balding man. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my Burger Planet cap from the hook next to the lockers, then pulled on my apron with my name tag before walking over to the sink and washing my hands.

“Good of you to join us, Edwin. You’re late,” Gary said.

Rachel turned to face me as well, giving me a flat look and smacking her bubble gum which was in clear violation of numerous health code regulations. Of course Gary didn’t care about the bubble gum when her shirt was unbuttoned that far.

I sighed and tried to remain calm. “I’m two minutes late. There was traffic, and I didn’t get home until two a.m. this morning.”

Gary grimaced. “Yeah. You know what, it’s not that big of a deal. Rachel and I were just having a good conversation, and you can go ahead and get to work while we wrap it up.”

Rachel flashed me a bitchy wink while Gary was facing away from her, and I nodded grudgingly at the man before walking to the prep station, grabbing my worn knife and the huge plastic tub of ‘fresh’ produce that always seemed to just barely clear the minimal health inspector regulations. It surprised me each and every time when Burger Planet passed health inspector checks, but it was probably because I was actually doing my job and half the people on the small staff were actually competent. I even liked a few of them, just not Rachel or Gary, who I despised.

“Oh. Edwin. Sorry to do this, but we’re going to need you to close tonight. Ben called in, and he’s sick again. Wouldn’t want him sneezing on the customer’s food now, would we?”

“No, we wouldn’t,” I said, struggling to keep my voice level. Ben was Gary’s son, and I had the strong suspicion he was getting paid time off, probably still playing Sakarn Online. He was online when we were fighting the Minotaur, but I supposed that didn’t mean he wasn’t sick.

“So I can head home and catch some sleep after I finish up prep?” I asked.

Gary winced. “No. I need you here. We’re going to be short staffed all around, and you’re going to be cooking all day. I’ll give you overtime, and you can have an hour lunch instead of twenty minutes.”

How generous, I thought bitterly. “Look, Gary. I’ve already worked fifty hours this week before today. You’re going to owe me some serious overtime, and I don’t think I can work from seven a.m. to two a.m.; it’s not physically possible. Can’t you call in someone else?”

“Oh. Didn’t you read the new policy? We’re only paying overtime after sixty hours in the work week now. But the good news is you’ll earn an extra fifty cents an hour for normal work hours,” he said, grinning and trying to sell it like it was a good thing. I didn’t know if it was even legal, but I was done putting up with his shit.

Rachel was smiling now. She never worked overtime and got a raise for it while my paycheck suffered. She sat in the corner doing nothing but flaunt her tits to Gary while I got screwed and did all the work. It was too much. My mind was splitting.

“You know what, Gary? I think I’m done here. I quit. You can find someone else to cook today, or maybe get Rachel to do something other than let you stare down her shirt,” I fumed. “I’ll be by to pick up my last paycheck on Friday.”

I walked over to the locker and grabbed my backpack, throwing my apron and hat onto the floor before storming out into the alley where my bike was waiting. It was clear Gary wasn’t going to try to stop me. We had never gotten along well; he just never had cause to fire me. Since I quit, he wouldn’t have to pay severance now. The door closed behind me and I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I was surprised to see a man wearing an expensive custom-tailored gray suit waiting next to my bike. He grinned when he saw me.

“Are you lost?” I asked, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. I knew how horrible it was to have people channel their inner turmoil on me when the situation wasn’t my fault. This man looked like he worked in some top-level executive suite in the heart of the city. A man like him had no business in the grimy alleyway behind Burger Planet.

The man shook his head. He was in his late thirties and had short, slicked back hair along with a kind face and black stubble. “No, I’m not lost. Not the ideal place to meet you, Edwin, but my employer has taken an interest in you. I was about to leave a note on your bike, but this works much better. How long do you have before you need to get back to work?”

I moved over to my bike and started unlocking the lock. Something was fishy, and I wanted to get out of here, but I was also curious. “I just quit. How do you know my name?” I asked.

“Oh wow, it’s my lucky day. You’re the EdX-wing on Sakarn Online, right?” he asked, emphasizing the 'the' as if I was some kind of gamer celebrity. I was far from it.

I nodded hesitantly, slowing down and watching him carefully. My username was a stupid combination of my name and Star Wars I had created when I was in middle school, but I’d been too lazy and cheap to pay the gold to change it. I knew I was well known as one of the influential player versus environment, or PvE, players in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but I didn’t see why a man like this would be interested in me. Maybe he read my blog.

“We’d like to talk to you about an employment opportunity. Let me tell you, it pays better than flipping patties. I do admit you make a mean Galactic Burger, though. I like mine with extra onion and some mustard and ketchup. I think this establishment fairs we—”

I cut him off. “I’m sorry. I just sort of quit my job and I’m freaking out about how I’m going to pay my bills. This all seems so random and, no offense, but it’s more than a little sketchy you approached me in an alleyway and you knew where my bike was.”

The man smiled. “Sure. Sure. Where are my manners? My name is Kenneth Struhl. I’m working with a new game startup in the Dallas Incubation program. We’re designing a new game we believe can overtake Sakarn Online and become the world’s new premier VRMMORPG.”

“No offense, Mr. Struhl, but Sakarn Online has almost a billion players now. It’s a worldwide phenomenon and has thousands of fully playable planets that are each entirely unique in terms of content, lore, and everything else in between. You really think a small startup can dethrone the king?” I asked.

He grinned. “I do. What are your plans now? Joining your friend Gazwald at Pasta Hut, working at Burger King or McDonald's? We haven’t even talked salary.”

“Salary?” I asked, trying to ignore the fact that he knew where my friend worked. He was coming off as a bit creepy, but I was bigger than him. As long as he didn't pull a gun or knife on me or something, I probably wasn't in physical danger. Besides, I had barely any money in the bank and nothing worth much in my pockets if he tried to mug me.

He nodded and smiled. “Oh yes, you wouldn’t be paid hourly. We want you full-time. How about I buy you lunch and we talk about it? If you’re not interested after we talk, then I won’t bother you again.”

“It’s a little early for lunch,” I said, checking my cheap Casio watch. It wasn’t even seven in the morning yet.

“Let’s do breakfast, then. Leave your bike here. I’ll bring you back to pick it up later. I’ll drive; I know a good place,” he said, leading me out of the alleyway to the small parking lot.

I followed hesitantly, mostly just to get out of the alleyway in case he tried something. If I were to be mugged, Gary and Rachel wouldn't come to my aid even if I screamed.

Kenneth was driving an expensive Tesla, a model I had never seen. It was matte orange, had sick rims, and looked expensive as hell. It was basically my dream car. Kenneth unlocked the door, and I climbed in after deciding someone who drove a car like this had to at least be semi-legit. I glanced into the window of Burger Planet. Rachel and Gary were both staring with their mouths wide open in disbelief. I smiled coldly and waved to them as Kenneth raced off. I was now very interested in what this man had to say and to learn more about this new game.