Alexander walked until he was out of sight. Then, he collapsed. A mixture of crying, laughing, and hyperventilating ensured. He felt himself dissociating. The world spun. The violent images raced through his mind. Why did I say that? Why didn’t I care? He tried desperately to gain some sort of ground in his mind. But there was nothing.

Hours passed, and Alexander continued to exist in this torment. He writhed as his vision blurred, his mind unraveling. He felt like the world was pressing down on him. Still, as time went on, the effects diminished, and he was able to shakily stand, his body still bruised and broken. 

It was evening now, the sun barely showing. The dim hues made it difficult for him to navigate his way back through the forest, but the beacon on the motorcycle aided him. As he walked, however, the pain would be too much to bear, and he would take the occasional break to catch his breath. As he did so, he opened up his messages. 

You defeated the slavers! x1 level up!

You showed some brilliant tactics out there! +2 Wisdom!

There were also some messages from his friends Jacob and Jessica. Jacob had invited him to some overworld parties. Alexander politely declined, not wanting to be awkward at any kind of event. He also had things to do. Jessica sent a couple pictures of her in the fighting cages with a couple notes of farewell. Alexander shot back a message of his own congratulating her. As Alexander exited the message windows, he took a second to look at his stats.

Strength (STR) 60 +5

Dexterity (DEX) 27 +0

Constitution (CON) 40 +0

Intelligence (INT) 57 +0

Wisdom (WIS) 22 +0

Charisma (CHA) 15 +0

Willpower (WIL) 53 +0

Perception (PER) 28 +0

In addition, he still had fifteen credits left, his two items– Prizes and The Death Knight’s Hand,– and all of his skills were unchanged. Still, with the one level up from the encounter, he gained five skill points, bringing him to a neat 100. He grinned at the sight.

Alexander reached his motorcycle, sat down, and breathed out a huge sigh of relief. His hands shook as he steadied himself on the vehicle, and his stomach spasmed as he tried to calm his breathing. He opened his menus, navigated to his class screen, and selected “Demon Form.” He pressed acquire, then accept.

Alexander didn’t expect much to happen, but when nothing did, he was a little disappointed. There was a short video that explained how the form worked and how to activate it, but there was no surging of energy. Disappointed, he got back on his bike and started his trek back to Woodstock. The night ride was fun, and the cool wind both kept him awake and calmed his mind. Still, with every bump on the road he groaned in pain.

He got back to Woodstock without a hassle, turned his bike in, boarded the train, and was on his way back to Chicago. When he sat down, he breathed another huge sigh of relief. There were only a couple others on the train, but they quickly got out of his way. He felt a prick of shame for being this dirty, and vowed to clean himself up in Chicago. 

Over the train ride, his mind continued to recollect itself. As it did, he regretted not cleaning up sooner. He was sticky with sweat and blood, and his body chafed uncomfortably. Still, the ride was nice, and it allowed his thoughts to straighten out. And eventually, he reached his destination. 

When he got off the train, he headed out into the damp and somewhat dark train station. The flickering LED lights added just enough brightness for him to see and walk around, so he made his way to the nearest administrator terminal. He turned in his three leaves and got a cheesy reward screen.

Congratulations adventurer! You have successfully collected three goudeleaves! You’ve gained x200 credits!

Alexander looked at it again. That’s it..? He didn’t even get any levels. He looked at his experience bar. It certainly went up, but he was sure that after killing three man-sized spiders, killing some slavers, and returning with the leaves he would get more. But nope. Nothing. He sighed. At least I’ve got some coin now.

As Alexander turned away from the terminal, something caught his eye. Three men, all in suits, were looking around while talking to an eir-piece. He cocked his head as the men looked around intensely. The second they saw him, though, they laser-focused and walked towards him. Alexander stood still, not knowing what to do.

“Are you Alexander, the Mountain Man?” One of the men asked.

“Yeah, sure. What’s all this about?” Alexander almost stumbled over his words.

“Approximately four hours ago we found a group of freed slaves in the Woodstock area. They were all talking about a man named Alexander, wearing only a kilt.”

“Ok…”

“We’re delegates from the UNAA, and we came to personally thank you.”

Alexander blinked. “Huh?”

“The UNAA takes a hard stance against slavery, and upon hearing of freed slaves we came to personally thank you. If you take a look in your menu, you may notice that your relationship with the UNAA has turned to ‘friendly.’”

Alexander opened his menu and found the area that contained all his known factions. All of them displayed a gray “neutral,” except for the UNAA. It was now a blue “friendly.”

“So what does this mean?” Alexander asked, slowly.

“It won’t give you direct benefits, but you’re more likely to get UNAA quests, and vendors might accept you more easily if you display your affiliation status. Along with that, we’d like to give you one hundred credits for your troubles.”

Alexander saw a message pop up in his menu.

Trade request! UNAA soldier gives 100 credits. You give nothing.

Alexander hit accept, then accept again. He now had a total of 315 credits.

“Thanks.” Alexander said, still unsure of what exactly to do.

“Of course.” The UNAA delegate responded. “Still, we heard of the manner in which you dealt with the slavers. We’re not saying you did anything bad, but you certainly shook up the prisoners.” The UNAA delegate gave a stern look at Alexander. Alexander looked blankly back. “Anyways, that’s about it. Good luck out there, and if you need anything don’t be afraid to reach out.” The delegate then handed Alexander a card, which automatically disappeared when Alexander took it. A new contact was added to his menu.

“Thanks.” Alexander said as he looked at the name. Rycker.

“Of course.” And with that, the delegates left.

----

Alexander knew exactly what he needed to do. He brought up the internet, searched for nearby bath houses, and found what he was looking for. It was aptly named the “Graces of Gaia,” and it looked good enough. Plus, it was only a short walk. 

After walking to his destination, and getting many strange looks from the nightlife of the city as he did so, he rolled his shoulders and relaxed. Then, he entered the bright, light colored space of the center. It had accents of green too, which melded into the plants in the room, creating a heavenly garden-like scenery. But Alexander only wanted to get clean. 

He walked up to the clerk, a very buff, shirtless man named Erick, and started to look at the pricing. 

“Hello there, Alexander.” Erick said cheerfully, seemingly ignoring the barbarian’s strange appearance. “What can I do for you?” 

“Yeah I’d like a private bath, something to help me.” 

“Absolutely!” He has way too much positivity for how close it is to midnight, Alexander thought grumpily. “We also have a ‘healing salve’ option which should restore your injuries.”

“That sounds… lovely.” Alexander winced in pain as he shifted his weight. His legs, and bite-ridden arm, started to throb intensely. “How much?”

“Twenty credits will suffice.”

“Great.” Alexander tapped a button on the counter, and twenty credits were deducted from his inventory. Then, a bright yellow line intertwined with green hues appeared in his vision, guiding him towards his purchase.

“Just follow the line. Your time limit is two hours. Your room has many complimentary things, such as towels, lotions, candles, and incense. If you need anything, just holler!” Erick smiled wide, almost too wide. Alexander shivered, then walked to his room.

The bath was already set, and steam was filling up the room. It was small, with a large tub in the middle. Plants were decorated around the room, which was lit by many small, flickering candles. The room smelled amazing too, as the cloudiness of the room was aided by the freshly lighted sticks of incense. Dragon’s blood, Alexander thought as he removed his kilt. 

He looked at his clothing for a second. There were a few scratches and many stains. He frowned. But then he noticed a chute on one side of the room, a giant arrow pointing to it and a large text above it reading “Clothing Wash.” Alexander shrugged and dropped his kilt in. Then, he dropped himself in the bath. 

Immediately, he felt relief. The warm water soaked into his skin, and the caked on dirt and blood started to soften and wash away. He picked up a towel adorned on one side and started to scrub. That’s when he noticed that the water of the tub was continuously circulating, making sure that the liquid was clean and soapy. He smiled and relaxed. 

After his body was starting to feel clean again, he soaked his head, which was now starting to feel cold in comparison. He lay for a few seconds on the bottom of the tub, enjoying the total blanket of warmth on his body. After he resurfaced, a hole opened on top of the tub, revealing two bottles, one labeled shampoo and the other conditioner. 

He spent several minutes scrubbing his hair, which was steadily growing long. He decided, then, to keep it like that, letting it grow out to become a mane. He felt like a king. 

The timer chimed, and it showed that he had an hour left. Alexander blinked and sat up from the tub. He realized then that he had fallen into a light nap. He laughed at the possible danger of falling asleep in a tub, but then remembered that there was probably some sort of safety mechanism. 

As he started to get out, he thanked Terra herself that the water in the tub was kept continuously warm. He was also thankful that the room acted like a sauna, so that there was no shock of cold upon exiting. Still, his hands and feet were shriveled like raisins, and he cringed at the feeling. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off. Then, he selected an option on the wall to light more incense, and started to meditate on the ground. 

Immediately, he entered a trance. His mind was turbulent, and he felt darkness on the horizon. Still, with the bath, he felt more centered than ever, and he felt ready for what was to come. So, he focused on his breathing, and let forty minutes fly by. 

After that time, he got up, and started to apply lotions and ointments, which soothed his rough skin greatly. Then, he started to look around for his kilt. Upon this, a small compartment opened up and revealed a now very clean, and apparently repaired kilt. He smiled, then put it on. It felt fresh. He felt fresh. And just as he was about to leave, a notification popped up on his HUD. It was a message. But it wasn’t just any message, it was from Jade. 

 

He opened it quickly and read the contents.

Hey. Call me when you get the chance.

Alexander immediately called her.

“Hey where are you?” Jade asked.

“In Chicago, why?” Alexander shot back.

“Perfect. I have a quest I need some help with, and you’re just the man I need.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re the perfect distraction.” Alexander could hear the grin in her voice. “I’m actually in the area myself. Let’s meet up; I’ll send you a location.”

“Sounds good.” Alexander said. He wasn’t sure what else he would do, and his heart fluttered with excitement. Good, another mission.

Alexander left the spa as a new man. It was 1:49am, and the night life was bustling more than ever. The neon of the city was now also in full swing, and it looked like a scene straight out of a sci-fi dystopian movie. He grinned as he walked, taking in the wonderful sights. 

Alexander met Jade at the taco shop, or, well, a taco shack. It was on the corner of a street a bit outside down-town, and it was essentially a food truck with tables set outside. The cool night air flew by and rustled the greenery around and accentuated the slowness of the area. This part of town was considerably less busy, but there was still a small crowd. 

There were many tables left empty, but one table was not; Jade was sitting there. She was wearing the same armor from the tutorial, but with some new weapons on her side. When she saw Alexander, she motioned to sit down at the table she was at.

Alexander sat down and looked at Jade. Her helmet was off but her hair casted a shadow on her face, obscuring her visage.

“So, what’s this mission?”

“First, I’m going to be level with you.” Alexander gave her a weird look. “I knew you were in Chicago; I heard about a guy with only a kilt saving some slaves and I just knew.”

“How did you even-”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jade moved on. “Still, there’s a reason you defeated the slavers so easily.”

“What do you mean?”

“They probably didn’t show any class abilities.” Jade started, then Alexander lit up with realization.

“Which means they’re not level fifty yet!” Alexander shot back.

“Very good.” Jade gave him a sardonic smile. “Most people in this game didn’t finish the tutorial like we did; that means the level average is something like twenty.” Alexander leaned in. “As you might have noticed, getting experience outside of the tutorial is incredibly hard, too. Usually, you have to join a guild or something and join group raids to see substantial progress.”

“Yeah, the quest I did gave me fuck all.” Alexander agreed.

“Exactly, which means you’re at an advantage. Still, there are many powerful people in this game. Be careful.”

Alexander nodded.

“And the quest I’ve received is to kill one such man. They call him the Riverman.”

“Huh?” Alexander raised an eyebrow.

“The short and dirty of it is this: just like in real life, the Mississippi river is crucial to the local economy. But there’s this one insanely powerful man who is acting like some kind of shitty troll bridge on the river. He’s in St. Louis, and he works for the local dictator called the Bloody Baron.”

“The Bloody Baron?” Alexander asked while flipping through his notes.

“Yeah. Missouri is mostly wildlands, but St. Louis is under a dictatorship. This Bloody Baron rules with an iron fist, and he has complete control of the river in his region. He’s what’s mainly stopping the UNAA from expanding south. They’ve set up military bases in southern Illinois, but they’re not ready to go to war just yet.”

“So they put a bounty on this guy?”

“Not exactly. The UNAA may seem powerful, but they’re stretched thin. You probably haven’t been there yet, but there’s a dark underbelly of some of their major cities. Here in Chicago, there’s a great deal of crime, but the UNAA has decided to work with local criminal organizations to keep the peace. So, instead of putting a bounty on this guy and risking a war, they’ve asked their connections to put a bounty on Riverman.”

“And we’re going to collect the bounty?”

“You bet your ass. Que in one Obadiah Shaw. He’s a local criminal lord here in Chicago, and he’s the one who put out the bounty. So far, many have tried, and many have died.”

“So if we kill this guy, we get money, rep with the criminal world, and some good favor with the UNAA.”

“Precisely. Plus, we’re gonna hit a couple criminal hotspots along the way. I’ve got a full quest planned out from Obadiah himself. Prepare yourself, Alexander, we’re going to kill a lot of people.”

“What are we targeting?”

“Mainly slave outposts. Both Obadiah and the UNAA are anti-slavery, so we’re gonna pay a visit to some of the more well known outposts.”

“But how are we going to handle them? It’s only us.” Alexander was starting to think about this plan.

“Again, we’re way ahead of the curve. Plus, we only need to destabilize them, not raze them to the ground. Here’s the plan– we head south, targeting a few criminal bases that both Obadiah and the UNAA dislike, then we kill the Riverman. Both of our benefactors gain a great deal of influence, and we get a ton of levels and riches. What do you say?”

Alexander thought for a moment. But then he realized he had literally nothing better to do.

“I’m in.”