It had been a nightmare of a day for Camille, accentuated by the fact that she was laying on a bare mattress in the middle of her bedroom surrounded by towering stacks of her packed belongings. She could have easily outfitted her bed with sheets and the like, but there was a slight issue… she couldn’t quite remember which box she put them in.

When you’re in a hurry to pack up everything you own in the span of a day and drive across the country to escape your parents and crazy ex, you might just forget a few helpful things, like marking what was in each box.

But, considering how poorly things could have gone, she was happy with the way things turned out. She had a roof over her head, food in the fridge, the new expansion of Final Conquest, and the most important item she owned was successfully installed earlier that afternoon, her Splicer.

As much as she wanted to log in and join the hundreds of millions of players in the new expansion area, she knew it was better to wait and let the hardcore players blitz through the beginning quests first before hopping on.

She had learned this the hard way a few years ago when she joined that hardcore group and found herself spending most of the day waiting for quest objectives to respawn because everyone was after the same thing. It was the definition of ‘hurry up and wait’ in every sense. Needless to say, it wasn’t fun.

There was that, and she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts, primarily focusing on the remarkably interesting encounter she had with someone in line while waiting to pick up the expansion – Andrew Bardon.

It had been an exceptionally long time since she had run into a full-fledge FC virgin like Andrew, who’s kind were becoming more and more scarce amongst their age group these days. But his case was… interesting.

Why? Well, mostly because Andrew was the son of Body Gear, the company that created the Splicer! You would think someone who’s exposed to the device on a daily basis would be logging in quite a bit of time into Final Conquest, right? She couldn’t make heads or tails as to why he had never played it and why he decided to start playing with the newest expansion’s release.

There could be a million reasons why he never played it, but she would never know the real answer – unless she asked him. She had been meaning to do just that when chatting with him in line, but the conversation kept flowing in Andrew’s direction.

The topic mostly revolved around the extreme basics of the game, which was usually boring to talk about because everyone knew what those were, but it was different telling him about them. No matter how seemingly simple the detail was, he would drink in the information thirstily. There was this intensity when he would listen to her talk, like everything she said would potentially lead to some sort of world-saving answer.

Other than being the literal definition of the word ‘noob,’ Andrew seemed like a genuinely nice person… which after learning about his background, made him an even larger anomaly.

Camille’s parents were attorneys at a prestigious law firm based in New Chicago, so she had spent her fair share of time with entitled heirs to uber-successful companies at business events and small gatherings. She hated every single one of them. Everything from their arrogant attitudes, flashy clothes, and general disdain towards anyone who they deemed ‘not on their social level’ made her sick.

But she was happy to learn that there were people like Andrew who were able to disprove that stereotype, even though he was a mere droplet in the vast ocean.

Camille grabbed her phone, which was lying next to her, and accessed her bank account. She sighed and locked her phone when she saw that the ten thousand dollars he had given her sat in her account balance.

As nice of a gesture as it was, it was super weird – right? Who in their right mind would give someone ten thousand dollars for information they could have easily researched on their own?

Several more thoughts swarmed her mind like a locust swarm. Was he trying to groom her? Show off? Did he somehow pick up that she was almost penniless and needed the money? Did he feel sorry for her? Was he scamming her? It was all just so… Ugh!

She grabbed a caseless pillow that had fallen off the mattress and placed it over her face. She had such a great time with him up until that point. Why did he have to go and ruin it by making it awkward?

Camille slowly lowered the pillow until she could see the spinning fan again. It wasn’t entirely his fault, though. She could have put her foot down and rejected the payment, but due to current circumstances, she really needed the money.

She moved here on a whim, and because of that, she didn’t have time to secure a job, let alone send in resumes. She was riding on the little savings she had in a city where she didn’t know anyone and in an apartment half the size of her bedroom at home. It all should have scared her to death, but she was surprised by how calm she was.

For the first time ever, Camille was taking control of her life. Gone were the days of following her parent’s marching orders and being around her toxic ex. She was going to work towards her new dream, which was becoming a professional Final Conquest PvP’er.

Growing up, Camille didn’t really have any major dreams or aspirations - so pursuing a career as a lawyer seemed like a great thing to do. She followed her parent’s every word and was the ‘perfect’ child, even going as far as to attend her parent’s alma matter despite having dozens of offers from other law schools, which were arguably better.

Upon entering law school, she quickly learned that she didn’t want to become a lawyer. With no other aspirations to fall back on and fearing that her parents would be upset with her, she quietly suffered through her studies. Due to the constant anxiety, she needed an outlet to help her destress…

Food was the only stable source of joy she could count on, and close to the end of her first year at law school she was diagnosed clinically obese by her doctors. Her parents, who were seeking to uphold the powerful, beautiful family image, scheduled meetings with dietitians, personal trainers and even hired a personal chef for her to help eat healthier.

You can try many different things to correct the course, but if the person wasn’t set on helping themselves, nothing would work.

She skipped appointments wither her dietician, ghosted her personal trainer, and would sneak in unhealthy snacks throughout the day between the meals her personal chef made for her. The stress was simply too much.

Seeing that her health wasn’t improving, Camille was forbidden from attending any family gatherings until she was a suitable weight again, and her monthly allowance would be cut by seventy-five percent. It was horrible to be treated like some sort of monster they wanted to hide away, which left her in an even deeper hole than she was already in.

After venting to a friend about needing an escape and being on the verge of a mental breakdown, Camille’s friend told her about a game called Final Conquest and how it was like living in an entirely different world full of magic and wonder.

Seeing this as a good opportunity to distract her from school, she ordered a Splicer with her savings, purchased Final Conquest, and was immediately hooked within the first day of playing.

Gradually, her interest shifted towards PvP, and she found herself relishing the competitive nature. She loved the adrenaline she felt when fighting someone stronger than her, the critical thinking when analyzing the best avenue of attack at a second’s notice, and the feeling of triumph after winning a battle. When she won, it was because of her skills. Not because of her parent’s influence, power, or money. It was liberating.

After learning that she would get stat bonuses from being fit in the real world, she reconnected with her personal trainer and dietician, who helped her create the most optimal plan to completely transform her body into that of an athlete’s. The training regimen was hellish, and the diet was full of foods she absolutely hated – but she pushed through it all.

After a year and a half of grueling training, dieting, and skipping classes, she successfully transformed herself into the ultimate version of herself.

While climbing the PvP ladder, she began to research the E-Sports scene and learned how much professional players made. While studying, she would constantly zone out and daydream about fighting in the arena against a powerful opponent with millions of people watching their every move.

Camille realized she finally had a dream and gained the courage to 1v2 her parents and tell them about it. Of course, they were furious. Not only were her grades declining, but they were dropping because she was skipping classes to play videogames.

They would say things like ‘that wasn’t a real job,’ ‘you are being childish,’ and ‘you aren’t good enough to make it.’ Many more arguments ensued until she couldn’t take living her fake life anymore with parents who would never support her dreams unless they aligned with theirs.

Her ex, Stephen, was even worse than her parents, but she didn’t even want to think about him right now. It literally made Camille’s skin crawl when she thought about that creep.

She forced her aching body off of the mattress, too restless to lie down anymore despite it being close to six in the morning and being up for close to twenty-four hours.

Maybe meeting Andrew was a sign from the universe that she was making the right call by dropping everything to pursue what she was passionate about.

The ten thousand was great, but she remembered Andrew saying something about expecting similar payments in the future. As much as she wanted to, she knew she could not accept such an offer. It felt wrong profiting off of such basic information. If he wanted to learn more about the game, he would have to settle for her giving him the information for free. Well, maybe over lunch or something. She might as well get a meal out of it.

Reaching down and plucking the phone off the mattress, Camille opened her contact list and was in the middle of typing a message to Andrew, thanking him for the gift, when she received a phone call.

Her eyes lit up upon seeing that it was from her best friend, Maddie. She answered the phone.

“Maddie, how are you!? She immediately winced as her friend really told her how she felt.

“What the hell do you mean ‘how are you?!’ I’ve been trying to contact you for the past two days! Two days, Camille! Where are you? Are you okay? Did someone kidnap you?”

Camille sighed. She knew her friend had been trying to contact her, but Camille was afraid that Maddie would tell her parents where she went. She hated ignoring her messages and calls, but it was all for the greater good.

“I know I scared you, and I’m sorry for leaving you in the dark, but…” Camille paused, “are my parents around you?”

“Damn right, you better be sorry for leaving me in the dark… And no, they aren’t. Why?”

Camille took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She knew how Maddie would respond to what she was about to tell her and was preparing herself for the response. “I dropped out of school, packed up everything I owned, and moved far away. I was tired of living under my parent's rule and living a life I didn’t want to live.”

Silence filled the other line for an uncomfortable amount of time, then Maddie spoke. “Cam, I know you hate your parents, but this is a little extreme, don’t you think?”

Shocked that Maddie didn’t explode on her, Camille let out a nervous laugh. “From your perspective, it might seem extreme. But try living your entire life to please your parents and not having a say in how you want to live. That’s pretty extreme as well, don’t you think? I know I’m a bit bias, but I think one case trumps the other.”

Maddie’s annoyed sigh filled the receiver. “Why do I even try to argue with you?”

“I’ve been wondering that for a few years as well.”

The tight tension between them shattered as they both laughed. Camille paced around the moving boxes around her room. “Again, I’m sorry… but you have to believe me when I say I needed to get out of there as soon as possible.”

“I know, I know… I believe you. I just - I just wished you talked to me about it, that’s all. I’ve always been there to support you, and it kind of hurt that you up and left like that. I’m glad you’re safe. I know you aren’t on good terms with your parents, but you should let them know that you’re alright at least. You are alright, right?”

“Thank you… And I know, I should have said something to you, but I was afraid you would tell my parents. I promise I won’t pull anything like that again. And yes, I’m fine. I moved into my new apartment today, had my Splicer installed, and picked up my copy of the expansion! Did you get yours?”

Camille decided to glance over Maddie’s suggestion about letting her parents know she was okay. Since her departure, she hadn’t received a single call or text from them. If they cared about her wellbeing, they would contact her.

“Bitch, you know I got it! You wanna catch up in-game?”

“As much as I would like to, the new expansion starting area is going to be packed. Don’t really feel like going through that nightmare again.”

“We don’t have to go to the new zone! Think about it – everyone is going to be preoccupied with playing the new content… what does that leave open?”

Camille stopped in her tracks and grinned, realizing what her friend was getting at. “You want to go into the Sacred Forest and hunt some high leveled mobs, don’t you?”

“Yes! It’s the perfect time, don’t you think?”

It was true that a large majority of players would be focusing on the new content, leaving that area open. Camille didn’t think it would be empty, so to say, but it would be nowhere near as populated as it normally was. This would be a good opportunity to go and get some high-level materials.

“Alright, I’m in. Let’s head there first thing.”

“Be sure to bring your good gear; we want to get in and get out as soon as possible.”

Camille agreed. There was a risk bringing good gear into the Sacred Forest as it was a PvP area where if you died in it, you would lose all of your gear, but she was confident that they wouldn’t run into anyone they couldn’t handle themselves.

“Got it. See you in a few.”

She hung up the phone and strode out of her room full of determination. She was in control of her life now; nothing could stop her. Nothing.