The amusement park was an explosive success.

The lure of gold at the mouth of the monster tree was irresistible for players and they literally danced to their deaths. On rare occasions, a player would survive, but they only managed to extract minor insignificant rewards from the quest.

But they just kept coming regardless. None of them were ever able to complete the ultimate quest offered by the monster tree. Evilese poured in. Trust and faith levels had reached the stratosphere. My monsters were very satisfied indeed.

I did not discontinue the farms. They brought in far less evilese than the ‘amusement park’, however all evilese was appreciated. The Skhites and the Hornies now spent their time making merry. It was always a festive occasion. I was positive that in a matter of time I could leave the game world.

For our work, Dharti rewarded Kiara and me with more spells. We leveled up.

Kiara received a unique spell that allowed her to swap old spells for new ones. She could only receive minor spells through such exchanges, but she found the spell very handy. She could just ask for a specific kind of spell and get it. The only downside was a dwindling effect. The new spell was always weaker than the old one.

She was also granted a spell to enhance her looks. It turned out to be a good pastime for Kiara. She toyed with her appearance, spending considerable time glued to the mirror.

***

Every week I or some of my monsters would sneak to the ‘amusement park’. Pook converted into his stone. We brought him back to the palace, where the monsters inside him could be replaced by a different batch.

Fono and Bui (with Bono attached to her) would also exchange places. It was a good break for Pook too, though it led to a certain amount of confusion among the players as to what happened to the tree. A day or two later we would take him back to his spot by the bridge and he could settle as the monster tree.

It was fairly easy for Pook to reestablish himself at an old place, so I wasn’t required to invent clever diversions that involved howling or jumping into the river and spending the night testing my endurance in a dense forest.

One such day when Pook was brought to the palace and I whispered to his stone that it was safe to let the monsters out, Pook notified me that I was in for a little surprise.

It was not a ‘little’ surprise.

It was a big one.

With the monsters out came Sam, my dear armamentalist brother, whom I hadn’t seen in ages.

I was in shock and couldn’t speak.

“Surprise!” Sam said brightly. “So it’s you, the mastermind behind the mysterious monster tree!”

“I… I do not understand,” I stammered. But as I thought about it, it made sense. Sam was a player and he must have decided to try his luck. But how did Pook know that he was my brother and brought him to the palace instead of killing him?

“I touched this rather attractive ruby,” Sam said, looking up with desire in his eyes like he was imagining the moment the gemstone had captivated him. “And guess what, the next moment, the ruby started growing on me. Some monsters jumped out crying ‘It’s his brother! It’s his brother!’ The ruby thankfully spared my life. Then the monsters said that the tree belonged to you. And that’s how I ended up here.”

“I am glad they recognized you,” I said, “otherwise the ruby would have killed you.”

“So the monster tree and the Oddity behind it is your friend?” Sam said, “How come you stumbled on an oddity? They are so rare.”

I shrugged.

“Well, I guess I got lucky,” I said. Luck had indeed played a huge role in me finding Pook.

“You asked the Oddity to create the monster tree?” Sam asked. “Did you design all the quests yourself?”

“Actually, it was Kiara,” I said. Sam watched me with slack-jawed amazement. And then he grinned.

“You have turned her evil, haven’t you?” he said. “That tree is ingenious. I wish I was in your place!”

I smirked.

“Really?” I said. Sam seemed to recall why I was in the game world in the first place.

“Look,” he said, stepping closer, “I am sorry I didn’t come to visit you after that discussion went terribly wrong. I was more or less guaranteed of your safety when I saw Bui rescuing you. I wanted to visit you but I was afraid that my activity was being monitored, since I was your messenger to the elf king, and just in case they were watching me, it would simply double your problems. So I stayed away.”

“It’s okay.” I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Going to the discussion wasn’t a very wise thing and I am happy I made it out alive. But I hope you will be able to visit me more frequently from now on? Just use the monster tree to come here, like this time!”

Sam rubbed his hands together, as though a sudden idea had come to his mind. He stole a furtive glance at Pook, and spoke next to my ear in an undertone.

“Can I… Can I have a little of the gold that the tree promises?” he said. “Could you ask the oddity to give me a few… hundred gold bullion bars to me… please?”

I grimaced. Sam would be Sam.

I shook my head.

“Unfortunately you must win the quest for that,” I stated, smiling widely, and his face fell. “Winning the quest is right next to impossible. Believe me, Kiara made sure of that. So you can forget the gold.”

The days that followed were like a breeze. Evilese poured in plenty from the monster tree. Even Pook leveled up, and he could now create even more intricate quests, though of course he always stuck to basic rules.

Sam kept visiting from time to time. I fantasized of the day when I would throw the gold dust into the air and form the portal to the real world. I would step through. This time I wouldn’t collapse. I would breathe in the real air of the real world, under the real skies, with the real sun warming my skin. Ah, what a day it would be indeed! I would visit Boss. Imagine the surprise on his chubby face. I hoped his eyes wouldn’t jump to the floor!

Of course, everyone would be confused over my long disappearance. Perhaps I would come up with some excuse. Or perhaps I would tell the truth.

Yes, it was all still a pleasant dream. But I was well aware that in the near future, that dream was going to be reality. And that knowledge alone made my soul flutter like a butterfly, and gave me the best kind of goose bumps.

And then the brutal night came. All my dreams were cruelly stamped on and crushed.

Everything changed.

***

General Information:

Name: Vicky

Affinity/Inclination: Evilun

Honors: King of all Eviluns

Level: 5

2X(Health/Strength): 4821/5000

Stamina:451/500

Mana: 433/500

Spells/Abilities: Merge, Transform, Change

Average Trust and Fit of Fellows: 91