Back to the Sewers

“Hm. How can they send me a gift if it’s virtual? Well… let’s just open it and find out.”

Nokia tapped the virtual box on his screen  and watched it open and unfold.

 [📜System Update]

[ Your Influencer Card has gone from Clear → Bronze.]

“Bronze? What the heck does that mean?” Nokia said drawing out his influencer card. As he took out the card he noticed its new bronze overlay.

Another message popped up, this time onto his card.

[“Was cool catching you in the hallway. This Bronze is proof you are now a higher-tier influencer. It might not seem like a big deal now, but once you start walking around and showing it to people, you’ll see the effect.

Congratulations on making it this far.

—Ado Ross”]

“Ado… Ross?” Nokia squinted at the signature. “Wait a minute… that’s the guy I was talking to in the hallway!”

The system flickered, and a dazzling profile screen appeared before his eyes:

[✨ Ado Ross]
[⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5-GOLDEN-Star Influencer ????????? followers]
[Aura Level: 99]
[Aura Bank: ???????????]

“Level 99?! And his Aura Bank… I can’t even read it—just question marks?!”

He looked down at his new card in utter disbelief.

“That was the guy I met in the hallway? Holy crap… and I just brushed him off?! And now… he’s my friend?”

A rush of excitement flooded his veins. 

“If someone like Ado is noticing me...This must mean my power is so remarkable, even someone like him had to acknowledge it." Nokia said clenching his fist.

"One day… I might even reach his level.”

He looked around, grinning nervously. “Wait, System? Wasn’t that pretty cool? Why am I not getting any Aura for that system message?”

[📜System Message]
[You are not in Aura Farming Mode. Aura Farming has not been initialized. Until the next session begins, speaking about Aura Farming is inefficient.]

“What? Aura Farming mode?” Nokia frowned. “What are you even talking about?”

[📜System Message]
[Reminder: your chat is still watching as you argue with a virtual machine...]

“Oh yeah… that’s right,” Nokia muttered, side-eyeing the hovering drone camera.

[Chat]

ChatUser87: “WAIT HOLD UP—he’s talking to THE Ado Ross?!”
AuraFan420: “Bro when did THIS happen??”
KappaCat: “Fake. 100% fake. Man trying to farm clout with a fake Roski 💀”
EmoteSpammer99: “OMEGALUL OMEGALUL OMEGALUL”
Believer22: “NO WAY HE GOT A GIFT FROM ADO ROSS 🔥🔥🔥”
Mod_Chan: “Stop spamming or chat gets slow mode.”
AuraKing999: “Imagine being friends with a Level 99 😭😭😭”
TrollLord: “Yeah right… next he’s gonna say Ado adopted him.”
LuvNokia: “STAY STRONG NOKIA 🙏 WE BELIEVE”

[...]

As Nokia walked through the bustling city streets, the neon glow of signs reflecting off the pavement, he paused at a taco stand. The savory smell of sizzling meat hit him, and his stomach growled.

“Alright… time to eat!” he exclaimed, scanning the menu board.

“Chicken tacos… 50 Aura….” He said scratching his head.

“Wait a minute..." He said rethinking the price.

"Chicken tacos… 50 Aura!? And a drink…for 10 Aura?! Wait a minute… you have to pay for things with Aura in this world?” 

 He up at the hovering drone camera remembering the live feed.

"That's right I forgot I’ve got a chat. Chat, how the hell does paying for things with Aura work? Is that really a thing?”

[Chat]

AuraNerd44: “Yes. To pay for anything, you use Aura.”
StreamerStan: “At least you’re an influencer—you’ve got an Aura Bank. We don’t get that luxury.”
TacoLover: “Bro, hurry up and order 😭”

“So… how does a regular person pay for stuff?”

CasualUser23: “We’ve got Aura Cards.”
FlexFlexor99: “Yeah, mine’s loaded. I’ve got 10,000 Aura saved up 💪”
BigAuraGuy: “My Aura limit’s 100,000. I can borrow as much as I want. Way more powerful than you clowns.”
BrokeDude: “Bruh my Aura’s not looking good this month… bills hitting me hard 😩”

“So Aura’s like… credit?”

AuraNerd44: “Exactly. Aura = credit. Except for you, influencer boy. You can generate Aura whenever you want.”
SaltKing: “Or worse—you influencers just ask us for Aura. Can you believe it? Sitting on millions, still begging.”
ReluctantFan: “…Yeah, but we still give it anyway.”

Nokia sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Good point. So, chat… I’m gonna lose Aura out of my Aura Bank for this, huh? I guess all of you guys are doing better than me.”

[Chat]

FlexFlexor99: “Yeah, that’s the thing about being an influencer—you’re not allowed to have Aura Cards. Would be cheating.”
AuraNerd44: “Exactly. That’s probably what people thought you were doing when your balance hit negative one million.”
SaltKing: “They assumed you balance-transferred with a card 💀”

Nokia groaned. “This is so stupid.your Aura.“Am I really gonna drop an Aura Level just to get a taco?”

TrollLord: “Stupid or not, you’re the influencer here. You’ll starve if you don’t start sacrificing
NoSnacks4U: If you don’t wanna eat, don’t eat. 🤷
MetaMaster99: Starve meta arc incoming PogChamp 😂
ContentKing: DO IT FOR CONTENT!!! 📹🔥

[...]

Nokia slapped the menu down on the table finally making his choices. 

“Alright then. I’ll have two chicken tacos and a drink.”

“That will be 110 Aura,” the vendor replied flatly. “How would you like to pay?”

“Uh… with my Aura Bank,” Nokia said.

“Very well. You must be an influencer. Please present your Aura.”

The vendor froze, staring at the card.

“Wait a minute… you’re a Bronze member.”

“Uh… yeah,” Nokia said cautiously.

The vendor’s tone changed instantly as he looked back at Nokia with a smile.

“Bronze? A Bronze Influencer doesn’t have to pay for anything at this restaurant! We’re affiliated with ADO Corporation’s larger streaming service. All Bronze influencers eat here for free.”

Nokia blinked. “Wait… so I get to eat for free?”

“That’s right! Put that card away!”

The vendor raised his voice: “Oh my gosh, everyone—we’ve got a Bronze Influencer here!”

As the news broke out the patrons around the restaurant began to approach Nokia one by one.

“Bronze? I mean, it’s not Platinum or Diamond, but still—”

“Not bad, not bad at all! Your probably a 2 or 3 star influencer right?”

“Hey, how’s it going? What’s your name?”

“Where are you from?”

“How did you get Bronze?”

Nokia stood frozen, overwhelmed.

“Everybody’s talking to me differently…” he muttered. “They’re actually… interested in who I am.”

The moment he had at the train station lingered in his head. For the second time now he was experiencing the limelight.

“Everybody seems… interested in who I am. ”

[Chat]

ChatUser77: “Look at this guy—he’s Aura farming but not gaining Aura.”
SkeptiKing: “How does his power even work??”
AuraFan23: “Yeah, we gotta figure this out.”
StayTunedBro: “I’m sticking around 👀”

[...]

Nokia blinked at the drone camera. “What the heck…?”

A sudden glow flashed before his eyes.

“What is this?!” Nokia gasped. “So this is how it works… the grind. Getting followers, getting people to like you… and then they give you Aura.”

Nokia closed his eyes soaking in the moment.

“Being an influencer... This is the life for me.”

With his stomach full of tacos and his Bronze card tucked safely away, Nokia turned back toward his apartment—feeling, for the first time, like a rising star.

After finishing the tacos, Nokia patted his stomach.

“Alright… let’s head back now. Uh, chat, how do I get home?”

[Chat]

Trainwreck22: “How hard did this guy get hit by a train? 💀”
SkeptiKing: “Is this guy an idiot?”
TaxiBro99: “You call a taxi. Obviously. A taxi.”

Nokia tilted his head. “Uh… how do I do that?”

[Chat]

AuraNerd44: “What do you mean how??”
StreamerStan: “You’re an influencer, bro.”
FlexFlexor99: “All you gotta do is walk to the curb and raise your card.”

Still confused but desperate, Nokia walked to the edge of the street. The sidewalks were empty, no traffic in sight. Taking a breath, he lifted his Bronze Aura Card into the air.

In an instant, a sleek taxi shimmered into view, pulling up smoothly beside him. The door popped open automatically.

Nokia’s jaw dropped. “This life…” he whispered, sliding inside. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

The taxi glided forward, neon lights flashing across the windows. Nokia leaned back, buzzing with excitement.

“Can’t wait to see what they’ve set me up with,” he chuckled. “My own house, my own food… and I don’t even have to pay for it.”

As the taxi rolled on, the city began to change. Neon lights dimmed, replaced by flickering street lamps. Cracked sidewalks stretched out, walls tagged with graffiti.

Nokia’s eyes narrowed. “Driver… this part of town looks… I don’t know a bit sketchy.”

As the drive continued, he saw more and more of the run down and derogated  community.  Homeless people huddled against alley walls, smoke rising from makeshift fires, and men exchanging things in the shadows. The stench of decay and sewage thickened with every block.

“So... this is where they decided to put me.”

The taxi pulled finally arriving in front of a horribly battered building. Sections of wall had collapsed, leaving dark holes along the side, a broken window rattled  ominously in the wind, as broken  streetlight cast the place in sickly yellow taint.

Nokia peered through the window of the taxi, unwilling to get out.

"And here I was thinking I had left New York for good..." Nokia sighed.

The driver looked back over his shoulder. “Well, this is your address. Have a good night… Nokia.”

"Thanks"

Stepping out of the cab, Nokia's boots splashed into a shallow puddle that reeked of sewage. The foul air hit him like a slap to the face.

“Sewage... Always sewage.” He said looking at his system messages

“So not only in a dump…” he muttered coldly. “But the first floor, too. Figures.”

The door creaked  open to his apartment as the wind knocked it open showing him the way inside.

"Well at least security is tight enough so that only the wind blowing can open the front door." He muttered as he made his way to his room.

swivel! swivel! swivel!

Nokia heard a strange sound coming from behind him but as he turned he saw nothing there

"Hmph who knows what else is in this place" Nokia groaned

Room 104 Nokia saw on the door at the edge of the hall. The room sign was hanging diagonally on its last peg and was swinging from the gust of wind blowing into the building.

"Welp here goes nothing" Nokia sighed opening his door.

His room was completely destroyed.

There was broken glass all over the floor, what looked like mud in the bathroom sink and rodents scattering across the charred and damaged floor. Also what looked like giant claw marks ran across the walls.

"Did this place get attacked by a bear or something?" Nokia though shaking his head.

swivel! swivel! swivel!

Nokia heard once again, but as he turn he once again found no sign of anyone or thing behind him.

"Am I hearing things now? I need some rest... and a shower..." He said continuing to look around.

As he rounded his way around the kitchen he saw no shower or any type of bed for him to reprieve himself of the day. Only a small closeted bathroom with a toilet and a sink.

"No shower no bed, yeh this is way worse than Manhattan" Nokia groaned falling to the floor. "So much for living the life of an influencer how much aura do I need to take a bath around here.

[Chat]

LaughTrack99: “L apartment 🤣”
HumbleStart: Humble beginnings, my friend. We’ll make it farther. 5,000 followers, here we come!
AuraBro77: Don’t worry Nokia, you’ll make it through this. You’ve been through worse.
Trainwreck22: Yeah man, remember when you literally got hit by a train and fell into a sewer?
WSpamKing: NOW YOU’RE TRAINING TO GET OUT OF THE SEWER! W CONTENT LOL

[...]

swivel! swivel! swivel!

As Nokia took a  breathe to rest,  a small black pebble was swiveling across the floor out of his field of vision. The Pebble was like an ink blob that had an ominous presence about it but for its incredibly small size it seemed completely harmless. 

Nokia completely unaware began to close his eyes in preparation for bed.

A faint chime echoed in the room.

[📜 System Message]

"User ignores system" Nokia said closing his eyes

[📜 System Message]
[📜 System Message]
[📜 System Message]

"Alright fine! What is it now"

[📜 System Message]
[It’s time for your nightly routine.]

“Nightly routine?” Nokia muttered.

[Aura Farming Mode: Activated]