Deal

When the pod doors opened and Aether saw three teenagers stare at him with stupefied expressions plastered on their faces, he instantly felt regret blooming in his heart.

Landing his eyes on Fox, who stood directly opposite to him and who was also the person with the most astonishment on her face, Aether explained himself in an apologetic tone.

“I hope you don’t take it too badly; what happened at the end there. I’ve heard people say that you shouldn’t hold back against a professional opponent since that’s bad manners or something. That’s why I went all out. I hope you can forgive my transgressions and keep to our terms.” Having said his piece, he closed his eyes and waited for the teenage girl to explode into a storm of anger and resentment.

Just like he had expected, Fox exploded with emotions. However, the direction of her explosion stunned Aether.

“THAT WAS AWESOME! YOU WERE AWESOME!!!” Fox pitched at the top of her lungs, her eyes shining with tangible excitement.

“No, no, I’m just Aether.” An old-fashioned joke that would make others curl in embarrassment smoothly rolled off of Aether’s tongue. His heart settled immediately after hearing Fox’s outburst.

She wasn’t the only one raining praises as even Midas and Vix, who at some point had become the only people populating the back of the store, spoke their praises.

“Man! You were so great! That was totally the most awesome play that I’ve ever seen!! Ahhh!~ You are SO GOOD!!”

“Taking out the lights to neutralise the Gunner’s advantage was a brilliant move. Your evasion at point-blank range is something that I’ve only seen top-level pros pull off. Even then, those stunts weren’t as sudden or unexpected as yours. Yours was honestly legendary.”

The first praise was spoken by Midas, the bony youth, while the second one was spoken by Vix, catching Aether off-guard. When he turned to look towards the latter, he saw the light of passion glowing inside the young boy’s eyes.

“He really loves this game, huh?” Aether remarked in a noiseless mumble. Looking around, he saw the two other teenagers also have similar lights flashing in their eyes. It was honestly a new sight for Aether.

By now, Fox had already leapt out of her pod and had rushed towards Aether, grabbing him by his jacket’s cuffs. He gripped them so tightly that he wondered whether she thought that he would disappear if she let go.

“Tell me!” Fox spoke with a strange, somewhat familiar, light shining in her eyes, “Is this really your first time playing this game!? You’re not some bored pro from another team who has only come here to haze us, right!? RIGHT!?!” Her gaze almost seemed predatory.

“No! Of course not! People actually do stuff like that?” He asked, flabbergasted.

“More than once, unfortunately,” Vix replied with a bitter smile on his face.

Aether was stunned speechless at his answer. He then met Fox’s overexcited nagging and calmly answered, “I can tell you with all honesty that this is my first time playing ‘Pathfinders Ascent’. I am certainly not some bored bully.”

“How are you so good at it then? Are you some sort of god!?!” asked Fox.

Vix, who retained a clear sense of thinking, asked Aether a more logical question, “I heard you’ve played similar games in the past. Can you tell me the names of some of them?”

“Sure. But there was only one game that was similar to this one. It was called Arena, if I’m recalling that correctly,” Aether answered with faint recollection. Turning to face the three teenagers, he asked, “Have you guys heard of it? Arena?”

“Nah, man. Never heard of it before.”

“Arena? Are-na? Was there a game like that? I’ve never heard of it before?”

“When was it that you last played this game?” asked Vix, also not remembering any Full-Immersion VR game with the title.

At his question, Aether was immediately struck with embarrassment. Scratching his head, he looked away from their questioning gazes and answered with a quiet voice, “fifteen… I played it fifteen years ago…”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” questioned the trio, taking a step closer.

Knowing he couldn’t escape and worried that a lie would affect his eventual reward, Aether bit his tongue and repeated. “I played it 15 years ago.”

The three teenagers were immediately rendered speechless. Vix looked at him with an odd gaze, Fox looked at him as if she was looking at a strange relic, while Midas…

“Damn, man! You’re old! Like old, old!”

“I’m not old!” Aether bellowed. “I’m only twenty-six!”

Age was a sensitive issue for Aether. Especially now, when he recalled that he might have to be a job slave for the next thirty years. Aether immediately became depressed.

“Midas!” Vix elbowed the tactless youth and apologised to Aether. “I apologize for him. I’m sure you’re still young.”

“But, I am still young!” cried Aether.

“Sure, you are!” replied Fox, holding her thumbs up. However, the strange gaze that looked at him as if looking at a relic did not convince Aether by any margin, large or small.

“Let’s just talk about my prize,” said Aether, moving away from this depressing topic. Taking out the button-like device from his jacket pocket, he asked, “I am being rewarded, right?”

“Of course. Of course!” Having the most experience dealing with adults amongst the trio, Vix immediately reached his hand out, holding a device similar to the one in Aether’s hands. He then tapped on the summoned holographic screen a few times, and said, “There. 5000 credits. As promised.”

Seeing the credits enter his digital wallet, Aether finally put down the final apprehensions within his heart. Visibly relaxing, he looked at the trio and said, “That was fun. Thank you for letting me participate in this challenge. I’m sure it was difficult owing to our initial hijinks.”

“Not at all. We should be the ones thanking you for accepting our challenge,” replied Vix with a polite smile on his face. The two other teens also nodded their heads with a smile.

The group of four kept smiling at each other with none of the four showing any signs of moving from their spots; Aether because he couldn’t and the rest because they didn’t.

“Um, is there something you want to tell me?” asked Aether, sensing the cues in the air.

“I’m glad you asked,” replied Vix, his smile growing brighter and more businessman-like. “But before we begin discussing, why not move towards that table over there?”

“...Sure.”

Surrounded on all three sides and led by the navy blue-haired youth whose smile was becoming more unsettling with each passing second, Aether soon found himself seated and amidst a proposal.

---

Fifteen minutes later.

“So, you guys want me to join your team to participate in this tournament called ‘Ascenders Cup’?” asked Aether.

“That’s the gist of it,” nodded Vix in reply.

“Why?” questioned Aether.

“Cause, you’re good at it!” replied Fox.

“Even though I've never played this game before? You guys still want me on your team?”

“The small details don’t matter, man. You’re very good at the game!” answered Midas.

“Hah!” sighed Aether, leaning back into the metal chair that he was seated on. “What the hell is happening here?”

Shaking his head, he straightened up, looked at the three teenagers who were seated opposite him and asked, “Can I refuse?”

At this question, Fox immediately looked distressed and rose from her seat, seemingly in protest. However, she was immediately stopped by Vix, who asked, “May I ask why?” His eyes stared unflinchingly at Aether.

“Look, I’m sure you kids mean good. And honestly, the game is pretty fun too,” said Aether, getting up from his seat. “If this was some other time, I would be on board and join in for the fun. However,” he shook his head in regret, “this is a bad time for me.”

Aether’s explanation was fully honest and came from the bottom of his heart. He meant every word that he said.

As he had mentioned, the game was honestly very fun. Aether was sure that he would have a lot of fun playing it. Additionally, this group of teens also seemed very interesting in their own ways. A tattoo artist, a teenage shopkeeper, and the son of a mogul… Aether was certain that they would bring him a lot of entertainment and found them very teasable.

However, he had a financial deadline impending. One that he couldn’t afford to miss. Quite literally.

“Can I ask you why it is a bad time?” Vix asked, apparently not as disheartened as his two other colleagues.

Were it some other person asking him, Aether would’ve politely declined. However, since the person in question was Vix, Aether changed his stance. A small spark of hope ignited within his heart.

“I have a very large debt that I have to meet in a very short time.”

“How much and when?” asked Vix, without missing a beat.

“270k and some change,” replied Aether, subtracting the amount he had in hand from the required tuition fee.

His answer stunned not only the two others but Vix too. 270,000 credits was not a small sum. Even for someone like Vix who came from a wealthy background.

Seeing their expressions, a bitter smile bloomed on Aether’s face. While walking towards the exit, he said, “Don’t blame yourselves. This simply wasn’t meant to be. I wish you kids the best of luck in the upcoming tournament.”

Just as his feet were about to leave through the doorway, Aether heard FOx speak, “The tournament has a reward prize of 500,000 credits!!”

Aether’s mind, body, and heart immediately froze. Turning around at a speed faster than a phantom, he asked, “Is that true!?”

Midas, who seemed to have remembered from Fox’s cue, nodded his head in reply. “Yeah! I forgot that there was a cash reward for the tournament. Compared to the other prize, money seems inconsequential.”

Aether, however, completely failed to hear his last line.

500,000 credits reward prize. It was a staggering amount that could be called life-changing. Most citizens of District 4 couldn’t even dream of making so much money, even if they worked their entire lives without rest!

“500,000 credits! Can I really get so much money if we win?” Aether asked numbly.

“Well, we’d have to split it five ways, since there are five of us in the team. However! If you want it, I can give you my share!” exclaimed Fox, her eyes shining with conviction.

“I can give you my share too!” repeated Vix, who was soon followed by Midas.

“Mine too, man! I don’t have a use for that much money!”

The instant he heard their declarations, Aether rushed towards the table, “DEAL! What do I sign!? Who do I sign with!? When do we begin!?!”

---

When he left Old Owl’s Repository, Aether’s every step had a noticeable bounce to them. His eyes squinted from happiness and a large smile filled his face underneath his mask.

“The heavens! They have not forsaken me!!” Aether screamed at the thundering sky whilst in the middle of the road. His frenzied screams drew not a few odd-looking gazes towards him. Aether did not care for their looks at all.

He was happy. Ecstatic, even! This was the happiest that he had ever been in his entire life.

Letting out a few more exciting hollers, Aether finally calmed down. He then took a few deep breaths before joining the crowd and heading towards the monorail station.

“With 100,000 credits as my share of the reward money, my financial burden has been reduced by half! It is no longer as hopeless as before,” commented Aether, joy evident in his tone.

Why was it 100,000 credits instead of 400,000 credits? Even Aether wasn’t as shameless enough as to steal the shares of his fellow teammates, not to mention, teenagers! If he wanted to make money using such an unscrupulous way, then he would’ve become a millionaire a long time ago!

By no means did Aether fancy himself to be a saint. However, he wasn’t a depraved, nefarious individual either. He had a set of moral principles which he assiduously stuck to.

While he had declined their selfless offer which had caused him no small amount of monetary loss, Aether’s smile did not lessen in the slightest. On the contrary, it brightened.

“But to think that the blue-haired brat would give me a counter-offer. Should I say that it was unexpected, or rather expected, coming from him?” By now, Aether had more or less confirmed Vix’s background. This knowledge only served to reinforce his trust in the teenage team’s offer.

As for what the counter-offer was? It was simple; ‘For every match that Aether played for them in the tournament, he would be paid 5000 credits by the team.’

It was a standard employment contract.

“The captain (Fox), did say that there would be a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 10 matches, so at the minimum, I would earn an extra 45,000 credits! This is great!”

“100,000 + 45,000 + 70,000 that I already possess, that comes out to 215,000 credits! I only need 125,000 more to meet Mei’s tuition amount!” Aether calculated.

Arriving at the station, he found a pillar to lean on and retrieved the button-like object from his pocket. Opening the messaging app, he typed.

[To Gocks.]

[Aether: Can we meet now? I have something to ask you.]

He then waited for a few minutes for the reply to arrive.

[Gocks: Sure! Come to the Red Paper Pavillion. I’ll wait for you.]

“The RedLight District, huh?” Aether saw his reply and shook his head. It really made him wonder how this older friend of his could always afford to visit the pleasure district.

[Aether: Okay. Wait for me.]

He then opened another contact and typed.

[To Mei.]

[Aether: I’ll be coming home a little late today. Take care of dinner yourself. I’ll eat out.]

He then closed the screen and pocketed the button. Waiting for the train to arrive, he absentmindedly thought to himself while staring at the sky.

“I wonder what kind of jobs he’s got lined up for me? It would be nice to have something easy.”

Losing himself to such fantasies, he passed the time.