The Gamer

Chapter 6 - Part One

I was getting anxious.

Not because I wasn't prepared for one of the last 3 exams to take, but because I still didn't know what to do next. The hypothesis of quitting videogames and preparing to become the perfect wife heavily worked its way through the various perspectives. My mother had already arranged for me to go out as soon as I got home for the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, following my calendar, the Christmas holidays coincided with 1 subject and the grade, so the situation of “after what will you do?” became even more pressing.

I was breathing hard, even in the game I was less active. I was still third in the rankings and I still had my little group of girls to keep me company, but Samael hadn't connected since that night. Sometimes I miss his voice.

" Hey " Janny told me.

We had just entered a quest together and she already wanted to chat. I, on the other hand, just wanted to sleep and not think about anything.

" Hey " I replied sadly.

" What’s wrong? ".

I hadn't told her about Samael, she would surely have scolded me. Sometimes, she behaved like a mommy and she kept telling me that, behind the computer, could be also an ugly person. She only knew that I had heard his voice and nothing else.

" My mother presses me to meet men to marry. My father wants me to go to work in his law office and it is close to my grade, so I have a few months left before the obligation to go home to do as they say " I answered in a hurry.

" Ah " Janny answered.

" Ah " I exclaimed.

" What if you find a job? "

" It must be a job of a certain type, otherwise it is not good for them " I replied, annoyed.

" I will see what I can do then. You could come and see me for a while, during the post-graduation period, so you can take time " she suggested.

Indeed, it was something I hadn't thought of. I could plan a trip around the world, so at least I would have the chance to play for another couple of years.

" It seems a good idea " I replied.

" So … in the meantime, we will think about a solution ".

We quickly completed the quest and went back to studying for the exam.

I hurried out of the house, together with my smart person's goggles and ran to the first bus that could take me to the faculty. I'd been studying all night and only allowed myself a couple of hours of sleep before going out. I would have got another high mark, I could boast of an excellent memory.

I almost ran through the crowded corridors to get to the exam room. I woke up late and didn't want to be late. Unfortunately for me, the interrogations had already begun, luckily my name was at the bottom of the list.

I sat down at the back of the room, waiting my turn and hoping not to fall asleep. I picked up my cell phone and read Janny's good luck. Her plan wasn't bad, I could go to her for a while and get a job. Of course, with a job I would have had less time to play, but at least I wouldn't have been married to some rich man I didn't know. In two days, there was going to be a major event on Empire of Gods, and while I felt the tension of receiving threatening stares from the top players for my latest headshot, I would have had the opportunity to speak with Samael. Oddly, he hadn't logged in for too many days and he hadn't texted me since the last event. Maybe I had bothered him?

At the end of the day, still groggy from lack of sleep, I took home another perfect grade. I logged into the game for a couple of minutes, just to take a look and went to sleep.

With two subjects and the thesis from the end of my glory days, my third place in the rankings shone with rare beauty and I couldn't help but think about all the efforts I had made to get there. I knew I had no escape, by now I was aware of it, but I could not put my soul in peace at the mere thought of leaving the game, my friends in the game and my daily life. It made me sad, but if I really had to say goodbye, I would have done it with style.

Tonight, I will participate in the event against the god and I was looking forward to it. I would have kept a low profile for a few weeks, waiting to complete my mission. I was a few million exp missing to pass Destructor in the rankings and I would have done them right under his nose. I would have waited, I would have sent the others forward and I would have taken the points of the smaller monsters. I would have done this for the rest of the events, so as to guarantee me an approach to second place in the rankings. A simple and effective strategy, as everyone was usually focused on taking down the god to accumulate exp faster.

Another problem, they knew by now, if they wasted too much time deciding, Samael would take the god. He was unattainable anyway, at least so Destructor wouldn't score any points.

At that event, strangely, Samael did not show up. He hadn't logged in for several weeks now. The thought that he had suddenly stopped playing was now rumored in every corner of the main square. The idea made me sad, but the event managed to lift my spirits.

It didn't go as planned, it went better. I had accumulated a lot of exp with my strategy and so far everything was normal, but a disturbance ensued on the upper floors. They had to clash with a god of fire, one of the truly powerful ones that only Samael could easily defeat. They attacked him in a group and the god swept many life points with each attack, but in the end, after several minutes of play, they managed to take him down. Not Destructor, the number two, and not even Chuck, the number 4, but the number 9 launched the last attack. I laughed; I laughed a lot: luck was with me.

Thanks to that lucky shot, I was able to reduce the distance between me and Destructor to a few hundred exp: Great!

I complimented the group and sent the first message in weeks to Samael. This time I wrote it.

" Hey hello, here it is rumored that you have stopped. The leader of the idiots already imagines taking your place. We miss you. Make yourself heard " more than that I did not know what to write.

I left the game and, sighing, went to sleep.