Davis yawned, coming awake in the morning. After his late night snack, he'd returned to bed, to crawl back in by her side. Some time in the night she'd crawled back to nestle against him once more. Sana was still here, still nestled in at his side.
It seemed, maybe she didn't want to get up ... not just yet.
Aah, Davis recalled those days, of when "I do not want to face the world" was all he could think in the mornings. As it seemed, Sana was doing now.
An interesting perspective. He could very well come to like this. Well to be honest, he did like it when any of his past lovers did like to rest in for a while; but more often than not, the type of girl he'd been interested in was also the eager beaver, agile go-getter type, and so would be up at the break of dawn and already going about their business. And meanwhile Davis was just wanting 'only a few minutes more' to rest in, before having to face a day.
His brain was working more now, he was noting again the things about his own room ... the things changed now that Sana was ... in his life. W, was she? He looked down to her still sleeping face, in a shy grin ― then seeing her own face so gentle, right here.
He stretched, attempting to find a way out of the girl's grasp, and get up once more. But she mumbled something sounding like, 'not yet, need more'.
"Sana-"
Caught in the truth of being awake now, she chuckled and stretched herself too, pulling herself to her full length.
"Davis-dono-"
"Just Davis. Sana."
"... but it means something, to my kind ... my people. To use 'san' is always polite of adult persons; but when we pick a companion ... not of our kind ... we are to use the 'dono' part. Because in an earlier decade, members of the other nonhuman races found out, if we give respect, we get respect, instead of having to fear for our existence. Even some of us who ... are called 'monsters'."
His eyes widened. "Um ... I didn't apologize for thinking that yet ... did I?"
She shook her head. "But we are also trained, we few who might have telepathic or empathic abilities, we should never use them as the basis of determining our interactions. Yesterday, I ... I forgot this ... for a brief time. I heard all you thought of me, and at first I was intrigued. I mean, well look at me, in Last Dungeon I get treated so cruelly, and ... then to hear you think you'd like to spend time with me, I-"
Davis put a fingertip upon her lips, to calm her nerves. "Well I'm sorry, for whatever my later thoughts brought to you. Us humans just don't have that perspective, of hearing others' thoughts. But I hope I've more than made up for any fears or worries you may have had."
"Yes, more than enough. You filled me, in many ways ... which is why I want to give you respect. Not for no reason, but because it means something to me. Davis-dono."
"... okay then. Sana-chan."
I lay here quiet, until-
"Davis-dono, I hear you thinking. You are wondering if what we did makes it strange ― you asking me if I want to be a boarder for rent, then we do this-"
"... well yes, but I don't want you to feel strange, either."
"I won't. Even me being put into a separate bedroom is okay. I'll be okay if we can keep doing this every couple days, or more as time permits. It's nourishment ... for me. Do not forget I am still a succubus, Davis-dono. With some differences to what some ancient writings may say about my kind, but-"
"Ah well I only want to focus on what you makes the same as me, first. And then come to understand what makes you different, later."
Davis grins, but then sits up.
"Hey what's that faint beep I've heard all night long, and just now?"
"... eh ... well it's my wrist comm, and my tablet too which is linked to it; it means I got lots of new messages waiting ... and I kinda didn't want to get up and start reading them last night because-"
"Aah."
"But more than that! I was being focused on you, Davis-dono! Because why would I want to read messages that might bring me down again?"
"... so ... ready for breakfast?"
This isn't the first time Davis has eaten a morning meal with a girl, nor the last. Probably the last one of 'first times' in this life, either his or hers, being with Sana now.
But at least he could bypass the 'rushing off to work at the last minute' ... for a few days yet. Supposedly this world once had a time where some contagion forced a lot of people to sequester themselves like this ... or something. He couldn't be sure the situation was the same, him sticking to his home for 'paid vacation' means, didn't equate to that earlier sequestration for medical and health reasons; but it felt similar.
Sana frowned at him for going right to something from packets but instead pulled out some fresh ingredients from nowhere and began cooking. How was this possible ... unless the gamelike system for Inventory ... is a real thing?
Still ... waiting for a bowl of something heated upon his stove ― he sat here and thought, more looking at Sana while she prepared his and her breakfast. He must remember to repay this effort. But more than this, he considered-
'I really do, I think I like Sana-'
He saw the girl turn suddenly, saw the blossoming rosy color creep up her face, and then she grinned. She didn't need to say a thing; Davis knew she'd just 'heard' his little thought.
And at last she turned, bringing the pot along, held by an oven mitts in one hand and wielding a large wooden spoon in the other. A meal was served, and both sat down to enjoy.
'Delicious ― I could really get used to this level of care.'
After cleaning up the remainder and attacking a small amount of dishes ― Sana's nose scrunching up at Davis' query for the existence of any cleaning skills ― the duo were prepared to head back to their respective VR pods, when-
*bin bon*
Sana of course deferred to Davis; it's still his house. But when he opened the door, what he saw surprised him.
"... you are Malory ... correct? The one I saw in Last Dungeon's waiting room?"
The woman smiled calmly, same as had the other one he 'knew'.
"Yes, I am; and these others are also part of the LD development team. May we come in?"
Davis was nervous, and he didn't know why ... beyond the normal reason.
Well certainly, seeing the quintet of persons here ― allegedly persons, because they weren't even hiding their absolute nonhuman or superhuman traits ― anyone would be concerned. Practically all of Last Dungeon's dev team, right in this one room.
One, Malory herself ― a familial gleam directed at Sana, somehow ― was maybe the main one in the group, 'self assigned' to talk with Davis. She was, as in the game lobby, her courteous self. Charming, but direct, having an almost virginal pure look, maybe angelic even ― except possibly not, too. Currently wearing a lavendar colored dress, wrapped with a traveler's cloak like that of what Davis had seen in the VR lobby. Tiny traces of brown leathery wings similar to Sana's peeked out from her casual cloak.
Two, a sort of gruff guy introduced as Mal's brother ― a guy named Steve who might be even a different race than her ― but who was no less forthcoming than Malory. More or less called himself the leading game developer, the eponymous "god mode" type player, tester, and code compiler too. Regardless ― the reddish skin of his exposed upper half marked him as more demonoid than humanoid, even if he did share a similarity to the others here. Pants for him were more a denim pair of jeans, but cut off above the knees ― and left to get a ragged edge from normal wear and tear. Arm and leg muscles ― and heck, even his whole exposed chest ― proved this guy would be the muscle if any conflict broke out. Not that Davis was in any way going to provoke anything-
Three, an older gentleman, introduced as the 'father' of Malory and Steve, as well as of the game too. Introduced himself, with the moniker of 'Allfather'. White lengthy hair extending to the floor and curling around in a pile, serene gaze of an experienced, ageless and timeless man, and draping clothes of whitish-gray material that also somehow glistened, even inside Davis' home. His voice, as he spoke, resounded as a basso profundo ― yet very understated too. Very curious.
Four, a more or less spunky tomboyish catlike young woman name Katessa, the racial form of which Davis had already seen so many of when entering VR. Tan or cream dual tone fur in a tiger-stripe pattern, white whiskers all neat in place except for one broke halfway as long as the others, and a real honest-to-goodness tail, unlike Davis had ever seen before. Except again, within the VR realm. Other than that, she might represent some ancient Egyptian idea of a cat goddess, hair styles and even clothing options to suit it too. Identified by Malory as her and Steve's cousin, the young catlike woman kept a stern look directed to Davis, but otherwise seemed to be more slanted to a tomboyish personality rather than an effeminate character. She might have subtly growled as Davis told Sana to bring refreshments for their guests; but Sana disarmed any conflict by smiling and saying "hai, Davis-dono".
Five, Davis could think of nothing else to call this woman but vampire. Maybe even a matriarch of some such sect of them. Mistress Ji Wen. For a name, that's all she gave. She appeared somehow starved, or maybe hungry. She emitted sultry looks while maintaining a cool detached attitude; Davis could be assured his every movement and word would be watched by this being, if not by all. Once she had come in, she did sigh in relief and remove the blanket wrapping her body so overtly. Eyes had the same whiteness around the iris; but the iris was skewed toward darker brown and black, while the pupil itself ― a soft red aura about them. D, D, Davis was n, not, not worried! N, not in the l, least!
"S, so ... that, Last Dungeon-"
His start was weak, and he knew it. Doubtless everyone in the room knew it too. Everyone had some beverage or treat to consume ― Davis and Sana some soothing peppermint tea, Allfather and Steve something like an amber brewed beverage along with saltine crackers, Malory and Kat glasses of milk, but Ji Wen something liquid and thick which ran to the dark red hue.
Malory could only smile, trying to put him at ease ― or at least counter the looks from Ji Wen and Kat, in that order. "Please feel at ease, we mean you no harm. In fact, we do have a sort of ... special offer ... if you will give it some thought."
"... does it have something to do with all the ... 'chaos', I guess you could say ... going on in LD chat?"
"Yes. And no." Malory faintly smiled before she would continue, but Allfather interrupted with his own part.
"I have something in the works which supercedes any of the things going on across chat. The next iteration of 'Last Dungeon' ... version two. Oh but in fact, it's actually the fourth iteration of LD-"
"Dad, don't overwhelm him," Steve commented with a sigh. "So Davis. The truth is, this game has been updated a lot, since its inception by Dad here. We've done what we can to minimize interruption to service for our customers and players, but ... what this 'v2' is going to do ... cannot be worked around in the current game state. So ... we need to branch off into a separate version."
"Yeah and because of those other players causing such drama and trauma, we're also limiting the number of players who can cross over," Kat carelessly added her thought.
"... limited? Then why tell me, I'm not a player ... yet."
"Davis, because we do want you to join," Malory soothed. "First of course, we wish to have Sana come along; but seeing as you and her are ― well, together now ― and you are aware of us as we are, don't deny it ― we do wish to extend the offer to you, as well."
"I'm more likely to just stop though," Sana sighed. "Not quit the game entirely, but ... ease off of being so active in it. I, I can't handle being attacked by fellow players so much anymore ― not when they gang-"
"-that's one of the things that will change, but also be the same, Sana," Ji Wen commented for the first time.
"... what?" Sana was stumped. "What does that even mean."
Malory waved off her companions from saying more, then took the lead in explaining. "Sana dear. Even if you were fired on a technicality, we've been thinking over ways to keep you employed, things you can do yet. One of those things is to be a paid 'beta tester' for this next iteration of LD. And ... one of the main features we would like to have tested is going to be ... player owned dungeons."
She halted, to let this news sink into all their consciousnesses.
To Davis, this wasn't new. POS, the 'player owned structures' in a game, was a thing already for almost a whole century, at least. Games where players could, in any 'multiplayer' scenario, administer and control some section of the game land as 'theirs', allowed an emotional 'buy in' into the game itself. A sense of 'I made this', for their base or colony or farm or whatever ... into something workable for them. Davis had played some in the old 2D sense, games played on computer setups with a monitor the only graphical output. But in VR terms-
A player could be 'inside their base' as if it were real. Alter and edit things to his or her liking, somewhat ― within the confines of the game itself. Davis was also no stranger to base building, city building, world building games ... but only in that earlier era two dimensional visual. To be honest with himself he did think seeing things in the virtual reality sense would be so much better ... but he'd always have those 2D memories of what once was.
"And," Davis found himself speaking up, "you mean for Sana, or I, or both of us together, to somehow become dungeon managers then?"
"Yes. If you would."
Malory was absolute in this; no hesitation to his thought and response.
Davis saw the subtle glances between these guests, and intuited they'd like her to still try.
"Sana dear," he started. "Please consider trying to do it."
"Huh why-"
"-because I think it does help a person's mind to have something to do."
He would leave unsaid, the query of asking what she would do, during the day, especially after his vacation would end and he'd go back to work. But it's something he'd wondered, just briefly this morning; and through her ability to 'read' him, he suspected she already understood his comment and reasoning.
In this, Davis would treat her no less than any other renter, any human renter. Equality, because he saw she got the worst treatment in game, and it's now time to give and get this sense of equality, for her and from her. Race differences aside-
Sana did grimace, as she'd caught this nonverbal thought; but she only held silent.
"... fine."
Davis raised an eyelid; this wasn't ringing agreement to the task, but a default surrender to an inevitable scenario. He saw Sana turn her head aside, as if she could distance herself from this thought.
Then, Davis turned his attention back to Malory. "And ... for me, for my part? And Sana?"
"Do join the Last Dungeon game, Davis; but instead of initiating the 'starter village' missions and tutorials, you and Sana should see me at the desk, and I will PM you both a special game invite. Accept that, then you will be shunted into a new server lobby. There, Kat will be your guide in setting up."
"... so ... neither me nor Sana would interact with the rest of Last Dungeon's players?"
"Yes ... except for brief moment when you both come to get this invite; sorry for the hassle-"
"What hassle, the game lobby is usually pretty quiet," Sana queried.
"... you haven't heard?" Kat cocked her head to one side, and frowned. "Sanny, haven't you read any of those messages since last night?"
"... no, why should I."
Allfather shook his head, Steve let out a loud bout of laughing, and Malory just sighed.
"Sana ... it's turned into ... well your uncle Steve leaked word of this LD v2 into the chat, so ... yeah. Now other players think they suddenly have to get on your good side, to also have the same chance as you. Sorry but, when you next enter the lobby, you're both likely to be met with a crowd of fellow players trying to get hold of you for their own advantage. Even Norbert might want to join your guild now, Sana."
Sana glared at Malory and Steve. "That nub can go f-"
"Sana, don't be holding a grudge, now. Norbert has his own situation; but all along I'd thought he'd be a good ally for you. Like you, he's also been 'betrayed' by a guild, though not so critically. And yes, now that it's a 'v2' iteration, we can be much, much, much more concerned with the personalities of those we'd let into this private beta session."
"I do recall this 'nubAlert' in the lobby," Davis commented. "He seems like a kid with maybe a few problems but-"
"-he's just slightly older than you, Davis. He might not look it; but he's mature enough. Comparatively or subjectively so."
"Not Norbert!" Sana pouted. But yet, she could see in Davis' eyes, his willingness to take the suggestion.
Davis looked again, once around the living room. All had their own casual- no. The vampire woman held her face almost emotionless; yet some hint of an inner thought got betrayed, from a minor twitch of her lips. In his line of work, Davis had somehow gained a sly ability to 'read' people; a trait he didn't know came from one of his clients or not; but for now, he praised whatever being had allowed this with his whole heart.
"Something to say, Ji Wen?"
The facade broke; she held a perturbed look suddenly, called out on her having a brief thought which might be relevant to the current topic.
"..."
"I take that as a yes. Does it have something to do with this Norbert or 'nubAlert' then?"
"... please understand. When Malory says he has his 'own situation' ... in part this might have been due to me."
Silence on the part of the other admin staff here, meant to Davis that they all knew of the reasoning.
"Well if it's not a state secret or anything ... I'd rather know than not. Your side of the story; so if Norbert does talk about it, I won't just automatically assume his perspective is the only one."
"I will graciously accept this. Yes; Norbert was part of a smaller guild, even smaller than Sana's at its height of glory. But because the vice captain in their guild was having mental issues, I was as an admin then tasked to work with him on one thing. He could not handle working with Norbert at the moment; he was dealing with some heavy trauma and flashbacks ... so, I gave a suggestion. The rest of his guild had more or less the same woes but his was the worst. His guild mates had the same experiences, but Norbert didn't, so he could not know of them. So, I advised ... let Norbert out of the guild. Perhaps neither side handled this so well."
"Yeah, I'll say," muttered Allfather. "I do kinda feel for the guy, but even if I can cure some of his headaches, I can't do it because then everyone would want the same."
"But so then," Ji Wen pressed on, "Norbert did start feeling betrayed. He'd just started Last Dungeon more like a couple weeks before that, and hated to be kicked from a guild so soon. I thought he'd get over it but he apparently took it critically. I did softly mention he might try joining with Sana here; but ... he held off of even that opportunity."
"I understand, I've dealt with similar things with coworkers." A new thought occurred. "Is Norbert also going to be getting this opportunity, same as Sana and I?"
"No," Malory replied. "At least, not for the private beta, but maybe when the public beta happens, then ... maybe. It depends upon whether he's letting go of the past. I do think he's trying to get close to one of his fellow players-"
Kat laughed. "I don't think she's his type. But whatever."
Chatting ran down after that, into less gamey topics and more mundane things. Davis got the feel that these administrators somehow were also judging him, in part to see his personality. Well, he'd answered everything and also asked a fair amount. So at least they should know, he's a "normal" guy.
At long last, this quintet again got itself together and exited ― Ji Wen wrapped from head to foot in her blanket-like cover ― and then the group just ... "vanished". One second walking out to the sidewalk; then next, not in sight.
Somehow, things would likely be more interesting here, from now on.
But then, Sana looked at him with a slight pleading look. "Davis-dono ... please don't ... don't push me back into the game so soon-"
"... well maybe first, take a look at some of those messages they hinted you should check out. You don't have to answer any you don't want to; but at least give them all a scan through. Maybe you'll find you're not so hated as you think?"
Sana could only stand here, maybe trying to read Davis, maybe trying to gather her own personal thoughts.
"Anyway. I would go straight for the VR pod now; but I do feel like a brief jog down the street and then purchasing a few things at the corner store. You okay for a while, or want to come with-"
"... I'll stay. Got to setup my own VR pod too, now. The Serene Lake Country is about all I really want to keep-"
"Okay then. Back in a half hour or so."
The quick jog of ten minutes to go four blocks ― taking him from his mid tier suburban street which met the light commercial district he ran toward ― was uninterrupted.
Walking into the little corner store, however-
-what the. This little dude reminded Davis of the 'nubAlert' they were just talking about, mere moments before.
"Hey, uh-"
"Do I know you?"
"... ah, in Last Dungeon lobby ... I was standing with Sana-"
"Oh." Then, more recognition crossed his face. "Oh! Um. Yeah, I go by the nickname 'nubAlert'; I think I saw you too for a while. Hey can you maybe tell Sana, check her messages? I tried since yesterday, but didn't get a response-"
Davis had to chuckle. "Yeah, she's ... working on it. I don't know if she's maybe wanting to come back to LD so much; but ... let's say she might have some options, for the next stage of something happening-"
"It ... it's about what her uncle leaked in chat, right? That thing?"
"I may not be at liberty to tell," Davis said in casual but clear words. "But, it's possible you got the right idea."
"That's good! Um, what do I call you-"
"I'm Davis," he said, extending a hand calmly. "I'm maybe ready to join the game too ... and see if I can support Sana and her guild."
"Well, my real name is Norbert ... but I don't like it, so 'nubs' or 'noob' is fine too. But I gotta go, I'm on a shopping trip for ma and I'm already late. Will I see you around again?
"Yes most likely. I live in the area, and you probably do too if we're meeting like this."
"Yeah. Seven blocks north of here. Might have to move, though; home life isn't so great right now."
Davis nodded, to acknowledge the statement. He'd had coworkers on the move recently ― actually it seemed like someone was buying up a lot of suburban area homes, for some reason. So many people in the area might have to leave for a while ... until whatever would come into this area would be done being built.
After a second of Davis not being more specific as to where he lived, Norbert just waved and took his basket of things to check out.
Walking back into his home, he saw Sana sitting, on the living room sofa ... in a daze. Reading her messages.
"Davis-dono ... look at all this-"
She passed him her tablet, showing her inbox full of messages.
"Never before have I had so many messages that were not all spam!"
"Th, that's great!"
Then, her eyes narrowed, for her to squint as she examined Davis.
He could not help it; on the walk back here he'd been mulling over his conversation with nubAlert-
