I-95, Ten miles north of St. Augustin, Florida, USA

“If I understood it right, Mr. Masuko, you've been looking for your daughter for the last six months now, without stopping.”

“So?”

“Nothing... just wondering, if you will continue to be that committed at finding her in the future as well.”

Goro sighed and focused his stare at two men dressed in black suits that set opposite of him at the Big Dave's Dinner. “You called me and told me that you may be able to help me find her. That is why I came here. I did not come here to explain to you everything that my grandparents had to go through to come here from Japan, and then make all the sacrifices they did so that my parents had a better life, and everything my parents had to do so that I and my siblings can have decent lives as well. And, I did not come here to explain to you everything that I have done and plan to do so that the next generation of my family lives better. For me to do anything less would be equal to the betrayal of my parents and grandparents and everything they have bestowed upon me. So, let me assure you, there is not a single thing I would not do to find my daughter.”

Now, give me your sales pitch, try to sell whatever you think you can sell to a desperate father like me, and let’s get ever it…

“No need to get upset, Mister.”

“Oh, but I want to be upset. Because, looking at you, I doubt you even know your parents. Or that they even know you, that they ever gave a shit about you. They were probably so self-absorbed about fulfilling their own vanities and desires they never stopped to think what a little boy growing up really needs, did they? And now what? You are asking me a stupid question what I would do to get my daughter back? Like you could ever understand it. Because you probably think the whole world is like your parents and you?”

The questions hung in the air for a long moment till the other man cleared his throat and said. “I guess that answers our concern. Because... we think we may know the way you can find out where your daughter has been taken to. But, it's up to you to find the answers.”

“How did you get to know this?"

The man opened his hand and dropped down a white UBS memory stick. "It's all here. Plug it into your computer and you will find out."

"The information on this stick, what is it? Some virus?”

The man sighed and said, “I've already told you enough. If you want to know more, connect this drive to your laptop, and you will be able to look for the answers. That's all you will get from us at this time.”

“I want to know who you are, and how you know anything about my daughter?”

The man took out a business card and passed it over to Goro. “We work for the MOLI foundation. Go into this and when you clear it out with yourself, then give us a call and we'll talk. Not before then.”

Goro looked at them, but was it because of him getting all worked up or because he had slept good in months, he just could not read them right, staring at them and them staring back as if they were a white blank wall.

He swiped the UBS stick from the table, got up from the table, and told them, “I’ll see what you have, and then I’ll see if you can help me.”

Two uneasy smiles came back from the men in black. “Yes, that would be the best thing,” said the older of them.

“I like that anger. And the level of mistrust he has. All of that can help him,” the older man said as Goro left the dinner, not turning back to look at them.

“Yeah, but he did not need to go all psycho-analytical on me.”

“What? Are you hurt he told you the truth?”

“Would it hurt if it wasn't?”

Goro drove straight home, straight to his office, and plugged the stick in his laptop. It was getting late, and his wife was to come home any minute now. So if he was to give her some answers, there was no time to lose.

The blue cloud of MOLI greeted him instantly.

Welcome to MOLI

“I don’t care for your graphics gimmicks. Are you voice-activated?” Goro said, his face frowning.

Yes. There is also an option to speak to you rather than display the letters. Do you wish to enable that option?

“Sure. Now tell me, what do you know about my daughter, Nia…” Goro started to demand right away.

The system is aware of who your daughter is and you do not need to tell us about her. The woman’s voice appeared in his ear, sounding rather short-tempered as if being insulted.

Goro wanted to ask about that, but then the 3D image of his daughter appeared in the air above him, so live that it hit Goro worse than any slap on the face could.

Goro Masuku is a registered member

Alchemist First Class

"Where is she?"

That is the premium information that is also restricted.

"What do you mean by the premium information?"

Premium information is not readily available. However, it can be purchased. But in this case, the information is also restricted.

"Please explain so I can understand."

First, pay the premium information fee of 10,000 ducats. Then you will know what you need to do to change the information status from restricted to available. Do you understand that? the voice said in continuing sharp and impolite tone.

"I knew it was something like that. I'm surprised you do not take bitcoins."

Bitcoins as well as any other form of financial instruments are not accepted.

"And who are you, and who designed you, and how do you know this about my daughter?" Goro said in a single breath. Then before MOLI could continue he added, “And what do you mean my daughter is Alchemist, and how do I get to have 10,000 ducats? And what are ducats to begin with?”

Ducats are monetary currency only avilalbe in MOLI. The entity who provided you with this connection module has already deposited 2,000 ducats in your account. If you choose to enter the system, you will have an option to complete paid jobs and receive ducats as awards for their successful completion. Do you wish to enter the system?

Be warned, your module does not allow for the return passage. In order to be able to have a return passage, you will need to purchase an advanced module that is currently avilalbe for 500,000 ducats.

"I don’t care about the return module or whatever it is. Just get me so I can earn those damn ducats and find my daughter."

A second please, we will scan you now.

Based on your abilities you are offered a position of a Sword Master Class Three, a voice suddenly said in a very sweet and welcoming tone.

Due to your advanced standing, we are awarding you a Neural Scanning Option free of charge

What does Neural…

Vocal communication is not necessary. Your thoughts directed toward MOLI will automatically be addressed and attended to, naturally within the constrain of our system.

"That’s something… new. And how do I enter now?"

The light flashed instantly and Goro instinctively raised his hand to protect his eyes, but the flash was so overpowering, he just had to blink.

“This is different,” he said as he opened his eyes to find himself in front of Dover’s Tavern, the sound of thunder slowly dissipating.

The first thing he saw was the darkness with only dim traces of light coming from behind. He turned around to see two torches being lighted up and held up by two knights dressed in black mail.

They stood there looking at each other till the third knight who was standing between the two raised his hand and pointed at him, and then said, “Get him!”

Goro did not like that at all. Whatever hell this was, it was not welcoming. So he started to slowly move backward.

They came at him all at once. A well-coordinated attack, two moving to the sides, starting to flank him, moving surprisingly fast under all that armor.

He turned his back on them and ran for a few steps. They gave a chase. Goro looked at the darkness ahead and the shapes of trees and their trunks and did not like it one bit. He most likely would knock himself out running in there.

So he moved to his left, down the gravel-covered road, not looking back, but hearing the stones clacking as the closest man rushed on him at full speed.

Goro slowed down and waited for him, turning around when the sword was already high in the air, ready to come on top of his head. With the speed of Aikido master, he stepped out of the way, held the man's coming-down hand, placing his body as a lever and directing the man’s whole inertia to flip around and fall down on top of his head, bones cracking, him shrieking in pain.

Not releasing the attacker’s now broken hand, he took his sword and jumped to close the distance to the second man, driving a swift and fast cut just under his helmet, where his throat was unprotected, long before the stunned attacker could raise his own sword to protect himself.

The third man was two steps away and Goro moved to his left side where he held the torch, and moved out of the swing of the blade, coming behind him then, pushing him a bit and turning around to drive the sword all the way through his neck.

The whole move took but five steps and lasted less than three seconds.

“Who are you?” groaned the man who was kneeling down, holding his throat, trying to stop the blood from spraying out.

“Goro Masuku. The grand, grandson of the great Masuku Samurai. And my grandfather did not teach me the art of sword-fighting so one clown like you could end our bloodline.”

The man’s face hit the dirt dead even before Goro finished his speech.

Gore moved now in a slow step to the first soldier, carefully weighting the sword, feeling its edge and balance.

He looked at the man and the unnatural angle of his head and knew he was dead before he drove the blade through his neck just to be sure.

“MOLI, What had just happened?” he asked aloud then, looking around the dark road, trying to see if there were any more lighted torches and man that might want to attack him.

You deposed of 3 Kings UC Elite.

The Resistance rewards you with 500 ducats for each unit deposed.

"Why did they attack me."

That is premium information worth 2000 ducats.

“Okay... So, I earned fifteen hundred ducats. So my daughter's life is worth twenty of these Elites? Seems low to me, but I’ll take it,” Goro said to himself and moved to inspect the fallen soldiers and see if they have anything useful for him.

“I do not even care what this is. A game with twisted reality. A parallel universe. Or anything in between. If it’s going to get me to my daughter so I can get her back, that’s all that matters.”

Then another thought hit him.

At least she is alive. She is alive! That’s all that matters!

Instantly, his heart started to beat faster. He even smiled.

He took a long breath, full of hope, and looked around, waiting for something else to happen, but only the sound of evening wind wrestling the tree leaves interrupted the perfect silence.

“And I guess, MOLI, I won’t be able to go back to my wife now, will I?”

When you earn and purchase a different mode that option will become readily available.

But, please be warned, the privilege to purchase or sell any item, you will need your Standing to be above 0.

“What does that mean?”

On account of taking three lives, your current Standing is now negative 150.

“So, what if I kill a person, my standing goes down by 50?”

Killing a human is penalized by 100 points minus the years since they were born.

"So, these people were like what? Fifty years old?"

No, your penalty got reduced by fifty percent on the account they instigated the fight.

"Are all fighting the same?"

Of course not. The clean kill is not punishable.

"Define clean kill, please."

I like when you are polite. I will bump up your Standing by 10 points on that account.

"Clean kill, please?"

Among other things, the kill is not punishable in the case of protecting yourself or those in imminent danger of being killed.

"But wasn’t I defending myself just now?"

With the skill of the Swordsman you have, we perceive you could have easily just disabled their fighting capability without causing their deaths.

“Well, if I knew that…”

Ignorance is no excuse.

“MOLI, I’m starting not to like you very much.”

Maybe your taste will change in the near future.

“So, there are a lot of catches 22 here, I see. I guess being a paid assassin is not going to cut it. What would I do with a whole treasure of ducats if I can’t buy with them what I need? So, it might not be so easy here after all."

He looked at the dark outline of the Tavern and thought about finding the space there to spend the night.

But then maybe it would be better to hide in the forest in case more of those so-called Elites dropped by? If I have to kill a few more of them, how polite would I need to be to MOLI just to get back to zero?

Not funny!