The Gamer

Chapter 1

Ashe’s POV

It had been weeks since I had left the house the last time.

Today I had to face one of the last 4 exams that separated me from graduation and I had to study all night to be prepared. I had lost an important quest yesterday and, despite my fellow adventurers wishing me good luck, I continued to feel guilty about the exp, a gamer term that stands for experience, which I had not accumulated. I rarely missed a quest and that was also the reason I was graduating late.

My name is Ashelia Richardson, I am 22 years old and I am enrolled in a philosophy school in Los Angeles. I am the only daughter of a successful San Francisco lawyer and a psychologist. I grew up among wealthy people and I cannot say that I am a person with a normal bank account.

People wear masks every day. I was successful in hiding my true nature.

Before I moved, I had friends. Not really friends in the strict sense of the term, as they only buzzed around me because Dad is important, more vultures than friends. This is at the top of the list of reasons I ran away from San Francisco. The second is the boy who broke my heart at 14, also questionable since I had only taken a crush, canceled by hearing the discussion of the real reason why he was trying to date me. Reason three, everyone was buzzing around me because of my wealthy family and I wanted to go somewhere where it was just me. Reason four and last, my father wanted me to become a lawyer, my mother a psychologist and I eventually fell back on philosophy. Why do I choose philosophy? Well, I found it interesting. It was simple for me, that I had an IQ above average, and I could have spent 4 years away from responsibility, taking one exam at a time, presenting myself a few hours a week to lessons and playing videogames, all sustained by dad. It was a perfect plan and for 4 years it worked. But now my graduation was just a few months away and I still hadn't decided on the next step.

I was a Hikikomori, I spent hours and hours on videogames, whole days locked inside the house, with only friends online and no social life. If it weren't for my range of vibrators, I wouldn't have had a s*x life either. I listened to rock and metal music, watched concerts online, loved Japanese anime and manga, and watched weird TV series. This was my daily life. Sometimes I took some exams, sometimes I went out to take a breath of air by myself, sometimes I chatted on the phone with my only friend, acknowledged in my favorite MMORPG. It was my ideal life, I would have continued like this forever had it not been for a small, but important, hitch.

Less than 6 months and I would have graduated, less than 6 months and I would have had to go back to San Francisco if I hadn't found a solution and a way to convince my parents. In any case, I still had time to play online. I would have escaped from my thoughts into the only world that I considered mine. Empire of Gods was my favorite online videogame. It was a MMORPG, that is, a multiplayer network role-playing game, with themed demons, vampires, angels, knights and similar. The classic online RPG, but this one had different traits. The various factions could mix together to take down others, you could easily play as single, you had quests, that is, missions, to face and, in particular periods, you had quests almost impossible to beat. It was my passion; I had been spending more than 10 hours a day there for a couple of years.

I was so in love with that game that I climbed the rankings. After two years, I had finally reached the top 10 and now I found myself the only girl in an empire of males. It was fantastic! There I could feel free and able to control my life.

Since I was locked up in my ordinary life in Los Angeles, I have changed a lot since my high school self. I had always been tall and slender, but before I had my wavy hair just below my shoulders, now it fell to my hips. I was proud of my hair. I loved it. I also liked the brown color with red and gold shades. They looked great, not least because they didn't require much maintenance: I hadn't even combed them that morning and they were perfectly tidy.

Los Angeles was as chaotic as every day of the year; the summer heat was beginning to be felt and soon my university would also close for the holidays.

My faculty was as crowded as ever during exams, dozens of students I didn't know were there, desperate, facing my own exam. I seemed to be the only one who was calm. I had spent little time studying the thinking of philosophers during the wars and how they had influenced their historical period, but I felt I was prepared enough not to go over and over with others.

I sat down in a corner of the large classroom and waited for my turn. After a few hours, the professor called my name.

" Hello Miss Richardson, this is the first time we have met " he said, shaking my hand.

" Yes, my health is extremely poor. I avoid going out for classes " the perfect excuse for every question.

" I understand, I just hope that her absence does not lead to a lack of concepts " he said.

" I hope not " I replied, with a broad smile.

As always, I got top marks. I had an impeccable average and, often, those few times that I wandered in the corridors, I heard people whispering about it. There was also news of who my parents were. At least no one knew about my real life: I was able to hide it from everyone, including my parents.

I took a bus and finally returned home. There were two weeks left until the summer holidays and my obligatory return for, fortunately, a short time in San Francisco and I absolutely had to move up in the rankings again before the break.

I entered on Empire of Gods and logged in with my avatar. Starlen was the name I always used in games, my very essence. In that world, I had created her as a half demon and half human warrior. I thought it was the best strategy, but, apparently, the purebloods reigned there.

It sounded like the classic fantasy story of the illegitimate daughter of two rival species fighting for her place in the world and I had succeeded, without the help of a prince or a king. I had climbed the rankings alone and had earned the respect of all the other players.

Starlen was extremely powerful and beautiful with long blood red hair, midnight blue eyes, tall, agile, fast, with retractable black demon wings and capable of using human weapons. She was perfection! I have also greatly improved my skills, another technical term for gamers that indicates the ability, of a user of demonic powers. Every time I logged in, I had dozens of players ready to face adventures with me.

I put the headphones with the microphone and I got ready to face a simple quest with some new player.

" Hello, I'm Starlen. I hope you can earn a lot of exp with me today. I can't wait! " I said, through the microphone of the headphones.

I found this system easier than using the chat keyboard.

" Hi, Starlen. It is an honor to be with you today. Yesterday you weren't there for the quest " a player wrote to me.

" Today I had an exam and I couldn't. How did it go? " I asked.

" There were all the top players and we managed to finish it in less than an hour. It was beautiful, there was also Samael. Too bad you weren't there " a female player wrote me.

I rarely found girls in the game, and when I did, I put them in my circle of friends to help them move up the ranks quickly. The guys hated me for it. I was the leader of the female faction and I beat everyone in the regular quests.

Among the top players, which is the top 10 in the ranking, Samael was number 1. He was a demon of billions of exp, and he was unattainable. The second in the standings, Destructor, was at least a billion behind and would never get to be first, despite Samael logging in only for the important quests.

" I will recover " I said.

Of the 10 hours I spent playing, at least 8 I spent as a team. I was getting less exp, but at least I was doing it quickly. Through this method, I quickly entered the top 100 and, considering that there were millions of subscribers, it was exceptional. I used the remaining 2 hours to level up and collect rare items.

I was eighth in the standings and would soon be over seventh. Along with Janny, who was 25, I was the only girl in the top 50. Of the remaining 9 in the top, I had only met a couple of them and had done some quests, the others remained a mystery.

Within minutes, we finished the quest and parted, just in time to see Janny on. Her avatar was a healing elf and my perfect companion. The two of us alone often faced quests and, even today, we would have embarked on another adventure.

" How did the exam go? " Janny asked me.

She also used the microphone like me and it was really comfortable since, when we were in a group, just the two of us, we could talk freely without being overheard.

" As always, another time the top marks " I replied.

" Yesterday only you were missing. Destructor was looking for you ".

I couldn't stand that i***t player; he was the classic guy who thought these games weren't suitable for girls. I hated it and was doing everything to get over it.

" Ah yes?! Why? " I asked.

" He wanted to see if you were as strong as they say " she replied, laughing.

Many loved me in that game, especially since, unlike the others at the top, I was available to anyone who wanted to quest with me.

" Ah, what an i***t. He defended you as always " she said, while his avatar followed me in the difficult level guest.

" Who? " I asked, killing a couple of orcs.

" Chuck, he missed you yesterday "

Chuck was fourth in the rankings, he was a human warrior and, of his kind, he was absolutely the strongest. He was a very nice guy and I often did quests with him, along with other players. Whenever we were alone in chat, he would ask me out. He was often annoying, but he was kindlier than Destructor and it was enough to keep him among the friends in the game.

" Was Samael also there? " I asked.

" Yes, he overheard them chatting and got annoyed. He left us all behind and finished the quest alone. He has a really bad temper ".

I laughed, I found him very interesting as a person. I was also intrigued by the fact that in chat he could use his voice, but he just used the keyboard. Frequently he didn't even write, he listened to everyone and acted as he wanted. He must have been a weird guy even in real life.

" What was in the quest yesterday? " I asked.

There were several quests on Empire of Gods. The auxiliary ones, with easy, normal, difficult and impossible difficulty, which were always the same monthly. Then there were the weekly ones, which had only the difficult and impossible mode and, finally, there was the quest against the god, always different and which happened once on a monthly basis or during particular events. This month there will be two. The first, I missed it yesterday.

" He was a god of thunder. The next one is believed to be a god of fire " she replied euphetically.

Each of these important quests had a god to destroy. They could be gods linked to elements or gods linked to the various breeds. I was looking forward to meeting and killing a demon God. It had never happened before.

" It must have been fun " I mocked her.

" Yes, if Samael hadn't done everything by himself ".

We both laughed.