Chapter 12: Information

Vivian returned from her boxing class and collapsed in front of her computer in a heap. She was exhausted. Her trainer had come up with a specific regimen just for her, focused on building her foundation. She was forced to change her diet too. No longer would she be able to survive off of cup noodles.

With a sigh, she flipped on her phone and checked her messages. Once again, numerous texts and voicemails were addressed to her from her mother.

Vivian slowly shook her head.

“I can’t keep ignoring her, can I?” she asked sadly.

After a moment of hesitation, she dialed her mother’s phone number.

“Vivian!” a middle-aged voice rang out.

“…hi mom.”

“I’ve been trying to contact you for weeks! Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.”

“Please come back home!” her mom pleaded.

“Troy says it was all an accident. He’s changed, I promise!”

“That man won’t change,” Vivian spat into the phone, “Until he’s gone, I’m not coming back.”

Vivian could feel her mother’s mood instantly shift from the other side of the phone.

“You’re being selfish! It was one incident! He promised it would never happen again! Come home immediately!”

“One time?! You know it was more than once!” Vivian yelled, tears streaming down her face.

“He wants to see you and apologize”

“He should be in jail for what he did to me,” Vivian hissed, “Don’t call me again until he’s gone.”

She then hung up the phone and began to sob.

The phone call with her mother had been short, but it was all that was needed. Her heart felt empty. Her mother still chose that man over her.

After calming down, she turned towards her monitor and made her way over to the forum’s front page. She needed a distraction. The results of the tournaments had been officially announced. Various videos were on display for public viewing.

Videos from her battles had thousands of likes on them. Audience members were stunned by the creative ways she used her barriers. Vivian sighed. She would have to be more careful in the future. Many of her abilities had been revealed.

After re-watching her battle against Rai, she remembered she had some important information to discover. Was Rai telling the truth? Had he really not set the bounty on her?

Empress logged in the game after taking a shower, making her way towards the information brokers. Now that she had money, she could afford to use their services.

The building was loud and proud. Painted bright red, it attracted the gazes of dozens of passersby.

“Shouldn’t information be sold more...secretly?” Empress wondered.

After dismissing her hesitation, she entered the shop.

“Empress! Nice to finally meet you!” a young man wearing a monocle said, “Come on in, come on in.”

Empress blinked in surprise.

“I saw your battles. Really impressive, truly. If there is anything I can assist you with, just let me know.”

Empress opened her mouth, “I need to figure out who posted a bounty.”

“Sure, no problem at all,” the broker said, turning towards a computer.

“I’m assuming you’re talking about the bounty on your head?”

“Yes,” Empress nodded.

“Cool. The fee will be $100,000 credits!”

Empress traded over the money without blinking an eye.

“Okay, let me see what I can do.”

His keyboard rattled as he pulled up the information.

“Okay, found it,” he said after a grand total of five seconds.

“The bounty was posted by a player named Screo. Here’s a picture of him.”

The man turned the monitor so that Empress could see.

“Him?!”

On the screen was the image of a man with hawk-like eyes. It was the man who used to be a bodyguard for Rai.

“I knew it. Rai lied to me,” Empress said in disgust.

Empress paused for a minute, then shook her head, “I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. There might be more to it.”

After thinking for a minute Empress asked the monocle-eyed man another question.

“Where can I find him?”

The man grinned widely, “That’ll cost you another 100,000 credits.”

Empress sighed and handed the money over.

“Okay. He frequents a bar known as the Black Keg in the downtown part of the city,” he scribbled some directions onto a piece of paper and handed it over.

“Thanks.”

“Any time. Nice doing business with you!”

Empress left the store.

She followed the directions on the piece of paper and made her way towards the Black Keg. She entered the bar, causing the customers and bartender to stare at her.

“You’re awfully young to be in a bar,” the bouncer said, walking up to her.

Vivian rolled her eyes. It was just a game, it’s not like it mattered if she drank alcohol.

“I’m just looking for a friend, I’ll leave in a bit.”

“That’s fine,” the bouncer shrugged, “But you have to wear this.”

He fastened a band around her wrist indicating that she couldn’t be served any drinks.

Empress sighed, “Can I at least get some water?”

The bouncer nodded, handing over a glass.

She looked around the bar, not seeing the hawk-eyed man. It was apparent that she would have to wait for a while. She frowned. It was a good thing she was patient. All the waiting she had to do would have driven a normal person crazy.

She slowly sipped her water, occasionally fending off the advances of older men.

Not long after, Screo entered the bar.

Empress wasted no time. She walked in front of him, making eye contact. His eyes went wide in panic.

“H-h-hello Empress,” he stuttered, “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Don’t play games with me Screo,” Empress sneered, using his name to instill panic, “I know you put that bounty on my head.”

Screo raised his hands in protest.

“I was paid to!” he pleaded.

“By who, Rai?” Empress sneered.

“No,” Screo shook his head, “I was paid by some green-haired girl.”

Empress froze.

Dozens of confused thoughts whirled through her mind.

A green-haired girl? The only green-haired girl she knew was the girl who sold her the gauntlets.

“What did she look like? Describe her,” Empress commanded.

Screo told all the details he remembered, making Empress frown. There was no doubt about it, he was describing the shop girl.

“Why would she put a bounty on my head? I never even met her before I bought the gauntlets.”

Empress’s face turned serious, “Crescendo must be behind it all. Why though? Didn’t she save me from being attacked?”

The gears in Vivian’s mind turned.

“She’s been trying to make me owe her a favor,” she mused.

“She probably put the bounty on me just so she could save me,” Empress thought in disgust, remembering the incident in the unrestricted zone.

“Can I go now?” Screo asked uncomfortably.

Empress stared daggers at him before sighing.

“Yeah, you can leave.”

At her permission, he dashed out of the Black Keg.

Empress logged out and switched on her computer.

She made her way to Crescendo’s profile in the character database. What she saw made her face twist in displeasure.

On the total level leaderboards, Crescendo was ranked number 7. She sported a whopping level of 96.

She was also number one on the total kill leaderboard. Empress didn’t stand a chance.

Empress frowned. She figured she should have heard of Crescendo’s name before since she was so high level. Crescendo must have exploded in power only recently.

“I need to get stronger,” Vivian grit her teeth, “Crescendo played me for a fool.”

Plans instantly started revolving inside her mind.

“I’m going to show her what happens when you mess with Empress!”