Chapter 2: Mythia
If Lemora had some scruples about his new job, they evaporated when he stepped into the game center. It was a Hitech room equipped with capsules or sleep pods looking like large eggs.
There were five other people -three young and two old -in the chamber. Just one look and Lemora knew they were all gearheads like him.
"Hello guys, meet our last teammate, Mr. Lemora An..," Euler said. All the five cronies looked away except two.
One was a girl with green eyes, and the other was a skinny young dude. Lemora couldn't see the girl's face as it was covered beneath her black mask.
"Hi! I'm Joe " The skinny fella grinned ear to ear. "Lewis, not Biden, " he added to look funny, but he was not. His shifty eyes warned Lemora to keep an eye on this ratty face if he didn't want his empty purse to be stolen too.
Cutpurses! They were a disgrace to the thieves' community. And Lemora could see why.
"Common guys! I understand you all like to work alone. But a short intro won't harm anyone. " Euler tried to inspirit the dispirited crowd in vain.
The three gearheads glowered at the CEO. Evidently, just like Lemora, they had been forced into this fucking game testing business. The discovery eased Lemora's agony a bit. At least he was not alone.
"Mithilesh Shrivastav! Keep a distance from me," growled the other young man as he felt the golden pendant set on his chest. Lemora wondered what was so special about it. The coin-sized locket had some Hindu god figurine embossed on it. Some Shiva or Visnu, maybe! Oliver was not a religious soul. If he had to choose between Devil and God, he would rather kick their asses. The fuckers could have settled their dispute in private; what was the need to drag mankind into it?
"Your daddy is called Albert Spaggiari. If you have a milf mother, let me know," The old man with a scary scar gave him a lecherous look.
Lemora hated such pigs the most. Because of people like him, the world despised their kind. If you got blue balls, go fuck a hooker. Why the hell did you have to give a straight man like him shivers? Oliver showed him his middle finger and turned to the last brown man with dark sunglasses, sitting silently on a stool.
"Mr. Golder can't speak, " Euler said, with a serious face as if he empathized with the old man.
"Do you mean Alan Golder? " Lemora asked; his eyes widened with surprise.
"Rookie!"Albert sneered. Lemora ignored him.
"Yes! He is the Alan Golder," replied Euler with a light smile.
Lemora couldn't help but take another look at the legendary man.
Alan Golder was his inspiration, his hero. He had never thought his icon couldn't even speak.
There was a time when Alan Golder was a nightmare for bankers. The man alone had shacked fifty banks.
"Barabara Parker! Welcome to hell, cutie!" the bandit queen finally decided to speak. Her voice was the jingle of silver bells. That didn't mean Lemora loved it.
"It is not so bad. " Euler chortled. A desperate attempt to lighten the sullen room that again failed miserably. They were all seasoned crooks who had long mastered human psychology.
"Okey guys, let me give you a brief, so you won't freak out" He clapped to get everyone's attention. Gearheads didn't react to his call, but Lemora knew they were all ears.
"The pods you're seeing in this room are called game capsules. Once you lie down inside them, you will feel a slight itching all over your body. Nothing to worry though. It is all because the pod's laser connects the skin receptors to your virtual body.
The itching will subside within a few seconds. Once it does, your consciousness will be pulled into virtual reality. And you will find yourself in the world's first VR game with 100 % immersion."
Euler looked at them to see some reactions. But all he got were dead faces. So he resumed,
"All right, that's all. The program will tell you all the necessary details anyway. Let's start."
Euler clapped again. And six vixens donned in revealing outfits walked in, smiling: an outdated and cheap trick to hijack men's brains.
Barbara snorted.
The trick worked anyway, Joe was drooling, and Albert was sizing up girls' perky boobs.
" What if I want to quit in the middle," asked Mithilesh. "You know we have needs like pissing, shitting."
"Just use the lavatory in the virtual world," Euler's replied.
"Is it a joke? Not funny," said Mithilesh. His face was grim, telling the CEO he was not in the mood for any jest.
"I'm not joking. These pods are designed with advanced technology. They will take care of your bodily needs. So you don't have to worry about it,"
Euler walked over to a pod. He placed his hands over the glass screen. The white sleeping pod glowed up as its lid fanned up, revealing a cozy interior.
"Okay, who wants to be first, " The CEO glanced at them.
None of the six thieves moved. Instead, they gave one another looks and remained rooted to their spots.
Lemora had no wish to be the first. In fact, he never sat even in the front row in his school days.
He loved his privacy above all. Besides, the last bench gave you freedom. Space to be a real human being.
In Lemora's opinion, all frontbenchers were deceivers, a deceitful lot. Because that was what they rehearsed all their school life, trying to act like someone else, kissing asses, and grinning at the terrible jokes of teachers.
"Okey! Let me be the first."
So Mithilesh was the first to surrender. Albert gave him a mocking glance.
"Please remove your clothes. " said one of the attendants, with such a look that made Joe excited. The cutpurse must have been thinking with his cock.
Mithilesh looked a little gauche, but he did pull out his slacks.
Soon he was in his birthday suit. Albert took a licentious peek at the bandit queen.
Was it the result of the codger spending a long time in jail teeming with horny dudes? Lemora wondered. If it was so, then he should thank Euler.
"So small! I bet he doesn't have any gal," whispered Joe.
Lemora felt a headache coming. If he had to spend a few more minutes with these two kooks, he would either kill them or kill himself.
The thief took a deep breath to calm himself down and focused on the procedure.
Girls assisted the shy Indian into the pod. When Mithilesh lay down comfortably, the glass lid closed.
Oliver saw with fascination as lightning sparks as thin as Barabara's silky hair began to dance over Mithilesh's unwaxed body.
After a few moments, everything fades away, leaving behind sleeping Indian calmly.
"He is now in the VR world," Euler said, his eyes gleaming.
Lemora scrutinized the Indian. He looked fine.
So Lemora chose to be the second as he didn't want to spend any more time with the two wieners.
If he encountered them in the VR world, he would shoot them at first sight.
Lemora found the interior of the pods extremely cozy. More so after his stay in prison. The mattress they had given him was hard as a rock. Not to mention his cellmate's snoring. Lemora found it hard to believe someone could sleep while snoring so loudly.
"All comfy, sir?" asked the girl sweetly. The thief nodded.
"Okey! we are closing the pod then," she said.
The lid came down soundlessly.
Lemora closed his eyes as the attendant had instructed him.
Suddenly, he felt tiny fingers caressing his every pore. Then came the promised itching, but it was more like tingling.
The thief felt drowsy, and before he could think or feel something else. His mind went blank. Everything faded away into darkness.
*****
"Wake up!" Lemora heard a distant voice. The voice grew louder as he tried to open his eyes.
"Wake up! We are about to reach Vodia,"
Lemora woke up to a pounding head. Disoriented, he stared at an unfamiliar face of a teen girl looming over him. He blinked, trying to recall who she was.
"Get up! and wash your face. If you don't want to be left behind," The girl with brown hair said as she stepped aside. She was wearing a blue color school uniform, with a sphynx sigil on her chest.
Lemora got up and realized his whole body was aching as if someone had given him a sound thrashing.
What the hell was going on! He looked around. He was in a cell--no, it was a lavatory.
Ding!
Suddenly, he heard a mechanical noise in his mind. And a screen flickered before his dazed eyes. In blazing letters, 'Grand Theft Online' was flashing on it.
"Welcome, player number two!" a female voice echoed in his mind.
"You have been teleported into Mythia, a world where science and magic go hand in hand.
Please brace yourself! The system is uploading all the details into your memory until then, don't take any decision,"
A green bar appeared on the screen, showing the status of how much information had been uploaded.
Lemora felt as if his brain was growing. It was a weird feeling. And soon, new memories appeared in his brain.
According to these memories, Lemora was a student named Neil.
Niel was traveling on a train heading to Vodia Academy of Sciences and Arts, along with hundreds of other students.
The girl before him was a prefect.
As for why he was sleeping in a toilet...
"Are you okay,?" The girl interrupted him.
Lemora nodded as he stood up, fixing his disheveled uniform. "I think I will survive a couple of years." He grinned, trying to hide his grimace. His jaw ached up.
Lemora felt his burning lip with his hand. Wasn't it too realistic? He wondered recalling Euler's claim of 100 % immersion.
"I will report this to Mrs. Marguerite. They can't escape this time,"
The girl clenched her fist in determination.
"It's okay!. " The thief said as he dabbed the cut with tissue paper. He didn't want to gather unwanted attention.
"Are you sure?" the perfect girl frowned. Apparently, she didn't think a first-year like him could deal with apprentice rangers.
"Yes! Don't sweat it. Thanks for waking me up, " Lemora said as he walked over to the tap.
"As you wish! Anyway, get ready; we are reaching Vodia within ten minutes," with it, the girl left, swishing her skirts. The washroom closed behind her.
Lemora stared at the unfamiliar face in the mirror. Surprisingly, it was not the mirror we use on the earth. 3-D copy of a teen boy stared back at him. The boy's eyes were dark blue, unlike Lemora's brown eyes. Niel, his character was not bad looking and it was a relief to the thief.
Ding!
The thief heard the robotic voice again.
The green bar got replaced with a status screen-the one you see in VR games.
"All the details about the character have been uploaded! "
The female voice chimed again, "Please check your status carefully. As for your mission, you can see it under the guild section. Bewarned! Chose your path wisely, in the real world choice matter. What you chose defines not only you but also the events in the world around you. Be careful out there and don't get killed, agent Niel!"
That was all that the female voice said before it turned silent, leaving Lemora staring at the bright display.
______________________________
🤵Character Bio
💰Booty
🧰Toolbox
☠ Guild
______________________________
He wondered what would happen if he got killed. His sore body reminded him it wouldn't be pleasant.
Before Lemora could browse through functions and options displayed on the screen, he heard an announcement.
"Students, please pay attention. put on your uniforms and get ready. We are about to reach Vodia,"
Lemora snapped out of the daze. The screen disappeared miraculously as if it could read his thoughts.
He hurriedly washed his face, combed his messy hair, fixed his tie, and walked out. The aisle was packed with boisterous students dressed in different colors of uniforms. They all had wristwatches, just like the prefect girl. It was called wristo.
Lemora glanced at his wrist. Sure enough! He, too, got one. A green dot was shooting across its digital screen. The green dot was the hyperloop he was traveling on. Lemora decided to play with the fancy device later.
It was really 100% immersion, as Euler had said. Lemora could feel everything--smells of heady perfumes, air, heat, and his heart racing. Everything was real or felt so real.
If the thief hadn't had the earth's memories and the screen with all sorts of statuses, he might have thought he was really Neil, and Lemora was merely his imagination.
As soon as Lemora reached the cabin with his seat number, the glass door vanished into thin air like magic.
Manipulation of the matter!
Explanation of the startling phenomena appeared in his mind. Lemora walked in, hiding his shock.
ZZZZZZ!
A weird sound greeted the thief in the small cabin; Lemora froze in his tracks.
Was Johny, his cellmate, also here? The thought scared him silly.
He looked about.
A boy with a rubicund face was sleeping in a corner, with saliva pooled beside his agape mouth.
"Comte de Buffon!" a name flashed in his mind. Buffon was also a first-year student like him going to join Vodia academy.
Suddenly Lemora felt a light jerk. The train was slowing down. He had to wake up the boy.
"Get up! We have reached." Lemora shook the chap violently, wondering why the hell they had to design such an NPC.
"Just one more minute! " whined Buffon, trying to bury his face into the cushioned seat.
"As you wish," Lemora said. He cared less if the boy wanted one minute or one hour. If not for the warning of the system, he wouldn't have bothered to wake him up.
Lemora didn't want to mess up things before he got a fair idea of the game and his mission.
"How come we have reached so soon! I couldn't even kiss Marilyn!" moaned Buffon, the drooler. The boy rubbed his eyes looking disappointed.
According to Neil's memories, Marilyn was a famous actress known for her otherworldly beauty. The boy was really something.
"What happened to your lip?" Suddenly, Buffon asked.
"None of your business. " Lemora replied curtly as he zipped his bag and checked the small cabin if there was anything he forgot to pack. "Now if you excuse me, I'm leaving." He said as he walked out.
"Hey! wait for me. " the boy shouted behind him as he hurriedly grabbed his coat.
They felt another light jerk.
"Please, leave your luggage behind. it will be delivered to your room after inspection. Please don't rush others," They heard a female voice announcing.
They had finally reached Vodia.
Lemora joined the others in the corridor with Buffon waddling behind him. The thief felt excited about this new life- another chance to live as a schoolgoer.
Though he never liked studying, he loved school life a lot.
Not to mention, he was there to commit thefts.
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