Read Devia as They-via

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Location: Forest of Village Uri,  South of Diptabhumi
Day: Healer of Triad Days (First Triad Day)

Eka decided to play the part of the most developed NPC while she was still inside the game. She was an Awoken, whatever that meant, though she had a hunch. It would be solved when she got out.

Mentally preparing the objectives, she listed them in two orders: immediate and third. Part one, get out. Part two, what was happening? Third, use the emergency cue.

"System, log in. Name, Eternity."

"System—"

"Fine lady!" Jakal popped in after he and his assistant finished looting the grotto. He claimed there was gold somewhere inside one of the rooms.

Eka was tempted to take some but the horror she faced here prevented her. This irritated her more. An itch developed on her arm which alarmed her. She was in a game. In a virtual technological world.

"Eka." Eka snapped. Calm down, calm down. There is still a possibility.

"Oh. Eka. This person met this person's idol. She looked so sexy. Mmm-hmm. She is the best."

"Tell me." Eka glared at the stupid Jakal.

He gave a sheepish smile. "The boss is always elusive. Her assistant, Ms Devia, attended this person's call. According to her, she had no news about such a mission. When this person provided her with the proof, she congratulated this person and sent this person away."

Why is it so irritating to listen to him? Not long ago I was admiring him and now if I could punch him hard maybe this itchiness might subside.

Taking a deep breath Eka started, "Jakal, you did a great job." The smile he gave nearly blinded her. "As a reward, I will test you."

Jakal wrinkled his nose. "No test is a reward. This person never got the Augmented VR station when this person managed to pass high school."

"And when did you pass?"

"Is this part of the test?"

"Just answer it." Eka nearly shouted.

"This year. This person got a B in Biology among the Cs."

"Good. Good. Now, how much do you play The World of Ira?"

"A lot." He giggled. "This person has a blog you know. Solely dedicated to the idol. She is the best. She is known worldwide and has the best equipment that everyone lusts for. "

"Would you stop talking for a moment about your idol?"

"But why?" Jakal whined.

Eka massaged her forehead before talking with a tone of finality in her voice, "What do you know about this game? How popular is it? Wait—what year is it?" It should be 2165 that she knew.

"What's with the weird questions? Of course, it is 2195. The World of Ira is famous in the fantasy niche and is one of the top games alongside Syndicate and Artow. Anyway, this person has been a fan—"

"Thirty years?!"

Jakal gave Eka a funny look and decided to ignore the outburst. "As this person was telling, this person has been a fan of Ira since Ms. Devia came down as Devious and had her first kill. It was the massacre of the Auruto City of the Zora Empire. A nasty slave-trading village it was. She was the only person to wipe it off after five years of various players trying."

"Jakal, stick to the question"

"Oh yes, what was the question?"

Eka felt like a mother talking to her two-year-old. "What about Mohira Karmakar? Is she the boss?"

"Eh, did this person not tell you? Yes, she is the boss but she is the most elusive person this person has ever met. And this person has spoken to Ms Devia. Ms. Devia was so sweet. She visited this person for a one-on-one hand spar tomorrow."

Yep, that's it. Can you hear something breaking?

"Contact this individual with me."

"But Ms Devia is offline. Why would you need to contact her? The mission is finished."

"A new one."

"Okay. This person needs to log out for that and holo call her. Can you believe she gave this person her private contact? Hold this person's arrival stone." Jakal handed Eka his Arrival Stone. "A quick question. How would an NPC talk to a player other than their work?"

Eka looked at Jakal in amazement. How could a person be so dumb? Did his nurse drop him on his head when he was born?

"I am an Awoken, remember?"

Jakal nodded as if that answered all his questions. Without wasting time he tapped the stone. The stone glowed red for a moment along with the blinking red dot over his head. He blinked out of existence. He had logged off.

Eka scrutinized the round stone in her hand. She turned it left and right. Yep, nothing that stood out. It resembled any other stone on the roadside. Eka couldn't stay still. She bounced from foot to foot and hooted.

Yes, I made it. I made it. Wait. Thirty years? I was fifty. Eka peeked at her body. She rubbed her arms to feel the tight skin.

There was no indication of aged skin. Was she not logged in for six hours? Who took over her game? Who was this Ms.Devia? If she had been playing for thirty years, who would have found her body?

Jakal would not joke about that. His enthusiasm about this Ms.Devia seemed genuine. Nobody except a passionate fan would know the intricate details about their idol's achievements. The idol might forget about one's work but not a devotee. None of the time frames fitted. Everything was a mess.

One thing was sure. Her real body would be shriveled fried shrimp by the time she went out. And at last, she had to resort to using the emergency cue.