Chapter 2: Hunt for the Easter Eggs

"The game starts now."

The second those words left Takayuki Schneider’s mouth, the TV screen cut to black.

Silence took over the store. All three of us sat there, still trying to wrap our heads around what just happened.

Then it hit me.

Wait. Wait a damn second.

"The game starts now, THE GAME STARTS NOW!?"

My voice cracked as I scrambled upright. The screen suddenly blinked back on, but now it displayed a plain white background with a bold black number centered in the middle:

1025

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked, staring at it like it might start talking back.

Judeth squinted. "A timer?"

"No… maybe a countdown?" I glanced at my watch. It read 10:10.

"Oh no—OH NOOOO," I shouted, spinning in place like a lunatic. "Is this like a time limit? Ten twenty-five?! That means we only have fifteen minutes! We’re screwed, we’re not gonna make it!"

SMACK.

"Ow!"

Judeth had just smacked me in the head.

"What the hell was that for!?"

"You idiot," she said. "Calm down, it’s not a timer, didn’t you here what Takayuki said?."

Jarrod, still crunching on his chips, leaned forward with that calm, matter-of-fact tone of his. "She’s right. That’s not a timer. That’s the number of Easter eggs. Schneider said there were 1025 scattered across Onlife."

He stood up now, suddenly paying attention. "They’re rare, right? Easter eggs are usually hard to find. That number probably just means how many there are in total. We’ve got time, maybe hours, maybe days, depending on how hidden they are."

He shrugged. "How hard can it be?"

I finally exhaled. "Okay, cool. So we’re not screwed."

But then… I looked at the screen again.

And my eyes widened.

"Uh… guys?"

The number was dropping. Fast. Really fast.

It was no longer 1025.

It was 765. And counting.

"What the hell—?" Jarrod’s voice rose with alarm. He stepped forward, eyes glued to the screen. "Wait, this isn’t right. That’s—wait, those numbers—people are already finding them! They’re finding the Easter eggs!"

Panic lit across his face.

"Shoot—we have to run! It’s happening in real time! Hundreds are being claimed already—damn it, let’s get to Onlife! Now!"

We didn’t need another warning.

Without hesitation, the three of us bolted from behind the counter. Me and Jarrod rushed to the front, yanking down the rolling shutters of the store in one swift move.

Judeth stayed behind, looking confused. "Wait—we’re closing? We still have hours left on our shift!"

I spun toward her as I grabbed my coat.

"Judeth," I shouted, "no one’s buying anything anyway. It’s dead. And this—this is our shot!"

"We don’t have time to be responsible employees today!" Jarrod added, already halfway out the door.

Judeth looked between us and the now-blank TV screen. Then, without another word, she grabbed her backpack and followed.

Time was running out. 
The hunt for Alchemy & Alloy had begun.
And many Easter Eggs were already being found—and we had just gotten back to our apartment.

We were scrambling like lunatics, fumbling with the door because panic had short-circuited our brains. Jarrod dropped the keys twice, I almost yanked the handle clean off, and Judeth was yelling at both of us to move faster.

We burst inside, tossing our bags, tripping over our shoes, sprinting toward the pods.

Jarrod was the first to activate his.

Judeth followed suit, her pod glowing and humming like it always did.

Mine?

Dead. Kaput. Nada.

"Dammit!" I cursed, jumping back out. I opened the panel and started checking the circuits. Something wasn’t firing. Probably the cooling loop again.

Judeth leaned over with a smug look on her face.

"I told you to just buy a real one," she said, arms crossed. "But nooo, Mr. Genius had to build his own out of scrap."

I shot her a glare. "Do I need to remind you that I built this beauty from scratch? And I got glitch powers out of it. Don’t be jealous just because I didn’t need to spend three grand."

She didn’t flinch. "Oh, I am jealous. But maybe remember that every single time you use it, it breaks. So forgive me if I’m not clapping."

I paused, then muttered, "Can you not phrase it like that? Makes me sound like a freak."

Before Judeth could snap back, Jarrod stomped over and shoved his phone in our faces.

"Do I need to remind you both," he snapped, "that while you two are bickering, the Easter Eggs are being snatched left and right?!"

He turned the phone so we could see the number: 300.

Already gone.

"Three hundred," Jarrod repeated. "Down from a thousand in less than an hour. Do you want to miss this because you were too busy arguing over who’s more broke?!"

Judeth and I looked at each other, nodded, and without another word, clasped hands in truce.

After a few frantic repairs and also a little bit of duct tape, my pod whirred to life.

We slid in.

And just like that, we entered Onlife.


The moment we arrived, it was chaos.

Everywhere we looked, players were sprinting, casting spells, teleporting, glitching through trees, leaping across rooftops. The skies above Ashalondaria were streaked with light trails. Entire landscapes had changed and some cities were already in ruins from overloaded players.

We pulled up the live counter.

120.

"Unreal…" Jarrod muttered. "They’re vanishing faster than expected."

We huddled behind a tower, strategizing.

Thousands of games had opened portals, mini-worlds, trials, arenas. Over 100,000 unique instances.

All full.

Every. Single. One.

Except… one.

"‘Three Stars,’"

I squinted at the screen. "Says it’s a 3v3 prison battle… six players total. Three Easter Eggs hidden inside."

"Sounds… boring," Judeth said.

"Or unpopular," Jarrod added. "I’ve never heard of it either."

“We don’t have time to waste” I turned to them. "You guys ready?"

Just as I was about to step into the portal, Jarrod placed a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Wait," he said. "Don’t you think this is… weird?"

I looked at the portal again. "Yeah, it’s weird. But it’s one objective. We beat the other team and get the eggs. Simple."

Jarrod didn’t budge. "That’s not it. What’s weird is… why hasn’t anyone else tried? Why are we the only ones walking into a game with three Easter Eggs just waiting to be claimed?"

Judeth nodded. "Right. Everyone’s scrambling for eggs, and nobody’s touched this one. Doesn’t that seem off?"

I smirked and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Which means we’re the only ones smart enough to take the shot. Three eggs. Three of us. That’s exclusive access to Alchemy & Alloy’s launch—and maybe more."

Judeth brushed my hand off.

"I still don’t get why it’s such a big deal," she muttered. "We can just wait. Try again next year."

I turned to her, serious.

"You want to wait another year? This game has been in development for nearly ten! People have dropped out of college just to be part of the closed beta. I’m not letting someone else take what could’ve been our shot."

Judeth still looked unconvinced.

Jarrod stepped in. "Five years ago, Takayuki said, if the game ever goes live, he’d host a world event in Alchemy & Alloy. Winner gets five million dollars."

Judeth’s eyes widened. "Five million?!"

"Yeah," Jarrod continued. "He said it on stream once. Might’ve been joking, might’ve been real. But either way… if he remembers, we need to be in this from the start."

Judeth slowly nodded. "A shot at the game… and a shot at the money."

I grinned. "That’s the spirit, Judy."

She rolled her eyes. "Call me that again and I’ll shoot you myself."

She pulled out a sniper rifle, sleek, obsidian black with gold etchings, glowing faintly at the barrel. The kind of weapon you only get after grinding for days.

Jarrod unsheathed a sword, long and silver, with a mirrored blade and a shield that projected tactical data in real-time.

And then… there was me.

I stood proudly, holding my weapon.

Judeth and Jarrod both looked at me. Then at the weapon.

Then… at each other.

They weren’t impressed.

"Um… Jack?" Jarrod asked slowly. "What exactly is that?"

I looked down at it, midnight blue metal, wrapped in circuitry. The blade had a segmented spine, like a spine of data, humming with energy. It pulsed when I gripped the hilt, and a thin trail of digital light danced up its edge every few seconds. It could extend, contract, split, and convert to a gunblade form.

Its name was etched into the side: The Dangatana. I named it and I’m proud of it.

I lifted it over my shoulder with a confident smirk.

"This…" I said, proudly, "is the Dangatana. Built it myself and named it myself, cool yeah?."

They just blinked.

Judeth muttered, "God help us."

Jarrod sighed. "Let’s just go in before someone else figures it out."

“Oh come on guys…” I was disappointed. I expected awe.

But whatever. The Dangatana and I were about to prove them both wrong.