"Kiddo?" a voice asked.

I took my arm off of my eyes, to see my father standing beside my bed, an optimistic expression on his face.

"Hey, dad." I say, sitting up. I rub my eyes, trying to wake up.

"Your mother left earlier for her lab, and she didn't want to wake you. Come on downstairs, I'll make you some breakfast." he says, patting my shoulder.

My father left my room, closing the door.

I noticed I was still in my clothes from yesterday, so I took them off and put on some fresh ones. Blue shirt, some track pants and a sweatshirt that was a darker shade of blue.

I grab my phone off my desk, and head downstairs.

"Well, that's a familiar smell on a Saturday." I say, taking a whiff of what my father had made for breakfast.

"Figured we should eat some pancakes. Here, eat up." he said, sliding a plate and fork down the counter. I catch them, and head to the dining room.

As I sit down, my thoughts from yesterday come back.

"Are you in a better mood today?" my father asks, sitting down across from me.

"Yeah, I guess." I say in between eating. "How long ago did mom leave?"

"About an hour ago. I have some cleanup work to do at the park today, so you'll be on your own tonight. You should make some friends."

"Dad, for the hundredth time, I don't know anyone here." I ask him, cracking a chuckle.

"You can make friends with anyone, Isaac. It just takes a bit of conversation to do so."

After I finish eating, I wash my plate, and go upstairs to grab the access card to my mother's lab. I open my door, and see the blue card on my desk. I swipe it and put it in my pocket.

As I turn around, my AmuSphere catches my eye. I should probably check on the ArFa-Sys. I'll do it after I visit the lab.

I head back downstairs, get my shoes on, and head outside.

"Say hi to your mother for me!" my dad yells from the den.

"Yeah, sure!" I say.

It was only a short walk to the lab, but I still wanted to get there quickly. I grab my bike from the garage and start heading to the lab.

After about five minutes, with minimal traffic, I arrived at my destination. A pristine silver building, with a blue hue thanks to the lights placed around it. I lock my bike to the gate in front, and head up the walkway. I swipe the card into the mechanism at the front of the building.

"Access granted. Welcome, Isaac Walker." a mechanized voice caught me off guard. When did she do that?

I entered the lab, and once I got to the lobby, a rather tall man walked over to me, crossing his arms.

"Sir, this building is for lab personnel only, please state your business here."

I was about to open my mouth and tell him who I was, but my mother's voice chimed in first.

"Don't worry about him, John!" she said, coming up behind the man. "This is my son, Isaac. I thought I would give him a tour of the lab."

"Oh, my apologies." the man said, his expression changing. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Walker. My name is Johnson, I'm the head of security here at Walker Tech."

He held out a hand, and I hesitantly shook it.

"Yeah, nice to meet you as well. I'm Isaac, I'm sure you know." I say, cracking a shy smile.

"Come on, kiddo!" my mother said, motioning for me to follow her. I followed her down a few corridors, and she led me to a set of double doors. "Are you ready to see what the future looks like?"

I nod.

She opens the door, revealing a massive lab, with all kinds of equipment lined up on the walls.

"This is the main laboratory, where we focus on any kind of big project."

My mother proceeded to give me the grand tour, introducing me to all the lab personnel, and giving me an up close view of all the stuff around the room.

"So, what do you think?" she asks, stopping in the front of the room.

I was beyond impressed.

"All of this incredible, mom." I say, surveying the screens. I backed up a bit to take in the view, but I hit a cabinet. I heard something clatter on the ground, and I looked behind me to see a set of glasses.

"Woah, careful." she says. She picks up the glasses, and sets them back on the cabinet.

"What are these?" I ask, picking them back up.

"Oh, we were trying to make a more portable version of virtual assistants with these, but it's a scrapped project now. You can take them home if you want. If anything, they're just for style now."

"Alright, cool." I say.

I look up at the clock above the main display screen. 2:37.

"I should get going," I say, putting the glasses in my pocket. "Dad asked me to do some housework when I got back."

That was a total lie, I just wanted to log into GGO to check on Emma.

"Oh, alright then. Dinner is in the fridge." my mother says.

I thank her and walk back outside. I go through the multiple corridors and back into the main lobby, then back outside.

Glasses with virtual assistance, huh?

I unlock my bike from the gate, and start heading back home.

As I was biking down the road, I heard a motorbike coming up behind me, so I retreated to the side of the road while they passed. The aforementioned motorbike zooms past me, its driver in a tense position.

Damn, what's got them all worked up?

I shake my head out of the clouds and keep heading on my path, eventually reaching my house. I park my bike, and open the front door. My fathers car was gone, so that's that.

I step inside, and kick off my shoes, heading upstairs without a second thought. I pass by the other rooms in the corridor, and duck into my own. I shut the door hastily, leaning my back against the door. I take a big deep breath.

"Well, time to see if it really was a dream." I say aloud. I grab my AmuSphere from my closet, plug it in, and set it on my desk. I sit down on my bed, and put my phone on the nightstand.

I lie down on my bed, and grab the headset off of the desk, and set it over my eyes. I close my eyes, and relax my body.

"Link start."

As I'm flashed by the usual barrage of colors, I awaken standing up, the suit I purchased last time still on my avatar.

"Emma?" I ask.

I didn't see the AI anywhere.

"Emma?" I ask again, this time more worried.

No response.

"Shit." I mutter. She must've gone out.

I do a complete 180° and head for the door. I open it, and bolt downstairs. I leap down the staircase, and shoulder charge the main doors open.

I take a quick gaze around the Glocken, but I don't see the ArFa-Sys anywhere.

Wait, I remember a function I read about earlier. I could track its location. I open my menu, and open the map. It was a birds eye view of my current location, and just northeast of me, I saw a blipping pink dot. That has to be her.

I shut down my menu, and bolt to that location.

I run down some streets and hop several fences, eventually coming to another section of the residential district. I open my menu to look at the map again, but Emma's voice caught my attention first.

"Master!"

I turn right, and see it jogging up to me, another person close behind.

"Emma!" I yell out.

Once she reaches me, I wrap her in a massive embrace.

"W-Woah!" she exclaims. "M-M-Master, did you really m-miss me that much? If so, then I cannot deny I felt the same."

I felt her softly wrap her arms around me. At that moment, I pulled back.

"Oh, thank god I found you. I was a bit busy today." I said. I look at the person who had followed Emma. She wore a black dress, stopping near her knees, with yellow and purple accents. Her hair was in two pigtails on the side of her head. She wore a black cloth patch over her right eye.

"Hello, it is nice to meet you. I am Daisy, an ArFa-Sys Unit Series X, much like this one here."

"Thanks for watching Emma." I said. "Couldn't log into here until now."

"Now, now, you two, don't go running off on your own." another voice chimes in.

I looked behind Daisy, to see another woman approaching. She had a regal-style white and purple outfit on, with a cloak covering most of her legs. Her silver hair lay in a ponytail on her neck, and her red eyes stared right at us. "We wouldn't want you two cuties to get lost."

"Uh, what?" I ask, taken aback.

"Oh, you must be Rei's dear master. Nice to meet you, Mr. Sentinel." the woman said, crossing her arms.

Crud, I still had my armor on. I open my menu, and switch back to my casual look.

"Sorry about that." I say. "Who are you?"

The woman merely giggles at my question.

"Well, it seems newbies like you don't keep up with the times. My name is Zeliska, I'm a player in this game, just like you." she says, giving a little wave. "And this cutie right here is Daisy, my ArFa-Sys. I never thought I'd see another one around here."

"Yeah, I didn't either." I say. "Hold on, back up. Who's Rei?"

"T-That would be me, Master." Emma says, looking at me again.

"What?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Zeliska asks. "All ArFa-Sys units have a designated name given to them by their masters, and only they can call it by that name. Given the fact that your dear ArFa-Sys didn't have a nickname, I gave her one. She told us her designation, and the last number was zero, which is 'Rei' in Japanese, so I thought it was perfect."

"Yeah, that's a nice nickname."

After a bit more conversation, Zeliska turned around, apparently looking somewhere.

"Oh, damn. They've caught up with us."

"Wait, who?" I ask.

"My Master is a very famous player, and people are always wanting to meet her. So we are often followed."

I hear some male voices coming around the corner.

"Either log out or go hide, I'll see if I can drive them away."

"Oh my, Rei." Zeliska says, putting a finger over her mouth. "You have quite the chivalrous Master."

"Hey, come on now!" I exclaim.

Zeliska and Daisy walk around another building, ducking from the incoming company.

"I think she was this way!"

I quickly open my menu and don my armor, to prevent any chance of my expression giving it away.

I saw two male players run around the corner, desperately looking around. Once they see us, they yell out to me.

"Hey, kid! Have you seen Zeliska around here?"

"Who?" I ask, trying to play dumb.

"Don't act stupid! The Uncrowned Queen, she just came around here!"

"Buddy, I don't know who you're talking about." I say

"Ugh, fine. Come on, let's get out of here."

The two players walk away. I turn around, but Zeliska and Daisy are nowhere to be seen.

"Come on, Emma. Let's head back to the residential district." I say, starting to walk.

"Y-Yes, Master."

Emma and I walk back to the apartment complex. Once we reach the building and get back inside my room, Emma sits down, taking a deep breath.

"Master, I apologize for going out on my own, there was just something I saw earlier that I wanted to get another look at."

I sit down beside her and take her hand. She looks up at me, her amethyst eyes gleaming.

"Emma, it's alright. If anything, it's my fault for not being here earlier. And it seems like you've made some new friends."

"Y-Yes, it seems I have. Oh, Master, before I forget, Zeliska bought me something that I would like to show you."

Emma opens up her own menu, and highlights an item.

ArFa-Sys Suit F+.

"Oh, a new outfit? I'll give you some space." I say. I stand up, and go stand in the corner, facing the wall. It still may be an AI, but that doesn't mean I should treat it like it wasn't human.

I hear a flash and after it settles, Emma speaks again.

"Master, you can turn around now."

I do as she says, and when I see her new outfit, I was stunned at how well Zeliska tailored this outfit for her.

Emma had now donned a dress similar to Daisy, but it had leg armor, as well as the same dress design, but again, more armor. It was a mix of pink and black.

"H-How does it look?" she asks, looking at the ground, brushing her hair out of the way.

"You look great, Emma." I say.

God, it's been a long time since I said that.

"Thank you, Master." she says, bowing again. "Before I forget, I had some other functions I would like to tell you about."

Emma approaches me, and opens up her menu again.

"Please hold out your arm."

I do as she says, and hold my arm out in a straight line, with my palm facing the wall behind her.

Emma's hand starts glowing blue, then she lifts up her arm, and slams her palm down on my wrist. She then backs up, her eyes gleaming with what looked like hope.

I look at my arm, and watch as some white and green mechanism forms on my right wrist.

Once it's done, I get a full view of it. It looked like some kind of arm cannon, but it had such a slim appearance.

"What is this thing?" I ask her, lifting my arm up.

"That is the Ultimate Fiber Gun." she says, proudly. "Or, UFG, for short. It was left in the ship where I was created, so I figured you would get a good use out of it. It works the same way as a grappling hook. Press the button on the palm of your right hand, and you will be able to grapple to higher ground."

"Wow, that's awesome!" I say, allowing my arm to drop to my side. "I'll have to test that out."

"Yes, indeed, Master." she says, smiling.

I see the look in her eyes change, and once again, she looks at the floor.

"Emma? Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Oh, yes, actually. Please, have a seat," she said, worriedly. She moves out of the way, allowing me to sit down on the couch. She sits beside me.

"Master, I was created on a ship called the SBC Fluegel. It has crash landed somewhere in this world, and my creator, otherwise known as Mother Claudia, is trapped inside the center of it. To be able to access the ship, I need parts. They were scattered around this world when we crashed, so I would like to ask for your assistance in this matter. So please, will you help me rescue my mother?"

Once she finishes, she takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye.

"Of course I'll help you." I say, standing up. I offer her a hand, and she looks up at me in admiration. "Where do we start?"

"Thank you, Master. Our first objective is in the wastelands just south of the Glocken. There is a ruined building there that has my first part." she says, opening up a map, and marking a spot, showing it to me. "I am sad to tell you that I am not able to accompany you on this excursion. I have not configured my combat systems, but this part should allow me to do so. I will give you guidance through your helmet, so take off any time you are ready."

"Alright. I'll head out to the wastelands now, just have to take some inventory." I say.

I turn around and walk over to the shop terminal. As I scroll through the menus for bullets and the like, I can't help but think how surreal this all is.

Once I get my equipment taken care of, I walk back outside. Emma said she'll stay inside the apartment this time. I am curious about how she'll communicate with me in the field.

I open my map, and set a waypoint for the teleporter that I arrived in the game on. I close my menu, but not before donning my armor again. I start on my walk towards the teleporter, and I soon learn it was quite close to the residential districts.

After a few minutes, I come upon one of the last blocks, but as I turn the corner, I collide head first with another person. The both of us stagger backwards, trying to keep our balance. I placed a hand on my head, thankful for the armor shielding the blow, but the other person wasn't so lucky.

"Goddamn it," a feminine voice said. "watch where you're going, asshole."

I look at the person who had just insulted me. She was rubbing the spot where my helmet hit her.

It was a young woman, just a bit shorter than me. She had bright blue hair with some accessories on the side, and her eyes were the same color. She wore a green overcoat with grey pants, as well as one hell of an angry expression.

"Sorry about that, miss." I say, not showing any emotion. I walk past her in a hurry. I hear her scoff before she walks away.

I eventually reached the teleporter, and stepped onto it. I set my coordinates for near the point Emma marked on my map.

As I'm engulfed in the blue light, I take a deep breath. I'm about to experience the true thrill of GGO, first hand.

Once I came to, I was on the teleporter still, but instead in a completely new area. I step off the structure and look around. Nothing but sand, dirt, mud, and city ruins. Lovely.

"Welcome to the wastelands, Master." I hear Emma say. My helmet's UI boots up, sensing I'm in an action scenario.

"I imagine this is how you'll help me?"

"Precisely, Master. Functions I am able to help you with are your skill configurations, a short survey of your surroundings, as well as pinning the locations of possible assailants."

"That seems a bit overpowered, but I'm not complaining." I say, putting my left hand on my hip. "But, first, I need to try this puppy out."

I raise my right hand, and admire the UFG strapped to my wrist.

I close my hand into a fist, and aim up at a ridge just a few meters above me. I click the button on my palm, and out of nowhere, a green plasma beam fires from the UFG, latching onto the rocks below the ledge.

Suddenly, I'm pulled off of the ground at an insane speed, and when the UFG retracts, I barely have enough time to grab onto the ledge before I fall.

I quickly climb up the rocks, and lay on the ridge.

"Oh my god." I say, astonished.

"Oh yes, the UFG pulls you at a terrifyingly fast speed, so use it with caution, Master."

"Yeah, now you tell me." I say, standing up. "Emma, can you show me the waypoint to the building you mentioned?"

I see a yellow rhombus appear over the rocks several meters away from me. It was a marker.

"Sweet."

I jump off of the ridge, and start running to the location. I don't get far before I hear something. I turn around, only to be met with a giant stinger about to skewer me.

"What the?!" I exclaim, leaping backwards. When I regain my balance, I get a proper look at my assailants.

"Master, you have encountered some Needle Beetles." Emma says, evaluating the enemy. They were giant mechanized scorpions, with scary looking stingers, painted a shining green.

"Yeah, you don't say." I utter. I summon my Sirius, and load up the scorpions. Once I mow them all down, they go limp, and explode into blue particles.

"Damn," I say, taking my left hand off the barrel of my gun. "What a rush."

I put my gun away, and started heading up the hill. I come across an ominous looking door in the middle of a small valley on the other side.

"Master, that is the Control Facility. Please proceed with caution, it is populated by various types of enemies."

"Thanks for the warning, kid,"

I slide down the rocks, and walk up to the door. Once I'm within four feet, the doors open. I walk inside, summoning my Sirius. It led to a large room, with one massive door of what looks to be some hard metal, and two smaller doors on the side, both open.

"Emma, left or right?"

"It's your choice, Master. I'm not able to map this entire area."

"Alright then," I sigh. "Worth a shot."

I decide on taking a left, and as soon as I walk past the door, gunfire blows past me.

I barely get time to assess what's happening. I hastily duck behind a barrier, trying to catch my breath.

"Emma, analysis!" I yell, trying to stay calm.

"Master, those are Barrage Automatons! Open fire when they reload!"

I wait until the gunfire ceases, then I promptly turn around, place my gun on the top of the barrier, and pull the trigger. All three of the automatons go down to my light ammo.

"Good god, this game is such an adrenaline rush." I say, reloading. I discard the ammo pack, and insert a new one into the bottom of the Sirius.

After I make it through the next few rooms, mostly due to Emma's guidance, I reach a room with a teleporter dead in the center, and a terminal beside it. Its screen was red.

I walk up to the terminal, and place my hand on it. It changes from red to green. The teleporter activates, as well.

"Ah, it's one of these." I say, stepping onto the teleport platform. I'm placed back in the room with the three doors at the beginning.

"One of what, may I ask?" Emma questions.

"Sometimes you have to go through both routes to get to the next room."

"But how did you figure it out so quickly?"

"Call it gamer intuition."

Heading through the other door, I mow down the enemies the same way, but one enemy stands out. As I enter the room before the teleporter, there's another automaton standing there, but it has no weapon.

"Emma? What's that thing?"

"Master, run! Those enemies explode once they get near you!"

She barely has time to finish her sentence before the thing's eyes flash red, and it starts running towards me.

I hastily aim my Sirius and open fire on it, but it doesn't stagger, or stop running. As it gets within five feet of me, it enters a crouched position, and like Emma said, it explodes. Shrapnel goes everywhere, and the blast knocked me back into the wall.

"Unh!"

The blow to the back didn't hurt, because of the pain absorber, but it still shocked me.

"Ow. That hurt." I say, picking up my Sirius, and standing up. I look at the top left of my UI. 27% health remaining.

I open my menu, and select a gadget. First Aid Kit. Rapidly heals over time. Once I apply it, my HP starts regenerating.

"Master, it's better to lure those enemies near and then jump away at the last second, taking them head on only results in you getting hurt."

"Yeah, thanks for the warning." I sarcastically sneer.

I open the door to the next room, click the terminal, click the button, and step into the teleporter. Back in the main room, the main bulk door opens, revealing a large open room.

"This seems like a-." Emma starts.

"Boss room." I finish.

As soon as I say that, a hulking, mechanized brute with an axe spawns in the middle of the room, roaring. It's at least twice my size, and it's one eye was centered on me. It breaks into the sprint, taking a swing with the axe. I quickly dive out of the way, behind one of the pillars in the room.

"Emma!"

"Already on it, Master. That is an Angry Berserker. Watch out for its axe, it has a wide range."

I peek around the corner, and see the monster, recovering from the swing.

I come out from behind the pillar, aim my Sirius at its back, and open fire. It turns around, not bothered by the gunfire. It roars again, getting ready to charge.

I break into a sprint, an idea in mind.

"Master, what are you doing?!" Emma screams.

"Just trust me!"

As the monster and I meet in the middle, it swings its axe, but I had an idea. I leap just before it swings, and manage to get a second jump off of the axe, just missing my legs. I flip over the monster, placing a grenade in between its armor.

I get a kick off its back to get away, and I hear an explosion.

The boss dropped its axe, fell to the ground, and exploded into blue particles.

A menu opens in front of me, presenting the rewards.

"Awesome." I say.

"Master, that was incredible!"

"Just something I saw in a movie once."

As I scroll through the rewards, a weird item catches my eye.

It was called Kagemitsu G4. That sounded like a cool gun.

I click the weapon icon, and expect to see a gun form in my hand, but I was met with... some weird hilt.

Hold on, was this a lightsaber?

I turn the grip around for a button, and once I find it, I switch it on. A purple blade shoots out from the hilt.

"Why are there lightsabers in a game about guns? That makes no sense." I utter.

"They are officially dubbed Photon Swords, master. As far as I see, there's no one who uses them, because of their low effectiveness in this environment."

"May as well keep it for close quarters." I say, putting it away.

I walk back outside of the facility, being greeted with the harsh sun.

I start making my way back to the teleporter to the Glocken, trudging through the harsh terrain.

About two minutes later, I hear footsteps, and this time, I summon my live-ammo Robust and turn around, cocking the gun. I click a button on my helmet, activating the voice filter, heavily distorting my voice.

Opposite of me was a tall man, wearing a heavy blue coat, khaki jeans, as well as a dark blue beret. One of his eyes was shut as well, a long scar going over it.

"Finally found you, pal." he said, in a gravelly voice.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Bazalt Joe. And you don't know what I've sacrificed to finally meet you." he said, crossing his arms.

"Didn't know I had a fan club."

"You've been on the minds of a lot of the famous players. All because of that girl that's always around you."

Girl? Did he mean Emma?

"What do you want with an ArFa-Sys?" I ask, taking a step closer.

"ArFa-Sys? That's what that is? I saw it running around yesterday, and it tripped over nothing! It's so clumsy."

I did my best not to react to what he said.

"So, I'll make you a deal. I'll take that ArFa-Sys off your hands for whatever price. No questions asked."

"No." I utter.

"What?"

"I said, no, asshole!" I yell at him.

"Figured you would say that. Guess I have to resort to desperate measures." he groans, summing a powerful-looking LMG. "Come on out, boys."

I turn around, and see two other players emerge from behind the rocks. They were dressed in camouflage armor, green and pink in color.

"If I beat you, you give me the ArFa-Sys," Joe said, cocking his gun. "I promise it'll be just as free as it is now."

"No chance in hell!" I scream at him.

"I'll just take it from you myself!" he roars, aiming at me. "Light him up, boys!"

Three different guns fire at me at once, and I instinctively activate one of my other skills, Shield Matrix. It was a small shield that forms around my body in a sphere, but it only lasts for a few seconds. I watch as the bullet shells bounce off, and I quickly assess my surroundings. I look above Bazalt Joe, and see a tall rock I can get on top of.

"One Mississippi," I say. The shield starts flashing.

"Two Mississippi," the shield starts to dematerialize

"Three!" I yell. I aim my arm at the rock, and shoot the UFG. It latches onto the rock, and I'm pulled off of the ground.

"What the hell?!" Joe exclaims. As he and his friends watch me zoom to the top of the boulder, I retract the UFG, and climb up to the top.

"My turn."

I grab a smoke bomb from my belt, flick off the clip, chuck it downward. I watch as smoke filters out of the bomb, and press a button on my helmet. It activates my thermal vision, and I can see Joe and his goons through the smoke.

I aim my gun, my eye looking down the top of the gun, and open fire. His friends went down easily, but Joe himself took a lot of gunfire. As I run out of ammo, I jump down, off to the boulder, and land in front of him, just as the smoke disperses. I smack him in the face with the butt of my rifle. He staggers backwards, tripping over the rocks. He falls backward, and looks at me.

"What the hell are you...?"

I don't answer, and simply shoot him in the head. His avatar lay back, dispersing into red particles. His friends too. No one takes the ArFa-Sys.

I put my gun away, and sprint towards the teleporter. Once I reach the structure, I get on it instantly, and set my coordinates for Glocken. The blue light engulfs me as I'm transported back to the city.

As I make it back to the main plaza, I step off of the platform, and take a deep breath. I get some weird stares, but it's not like I cared. I was just happy I was away from that creepy guy. It took all I had not to lose my composure. I walk towards one of the café's eager to get my mind off combat for a while.

As I walk into the building, I see various players around. Having drinks, messing around, or just sitting silently. I walk towards one of the tables in the corner of the café, and take a seat. I open my menu, deciding to level my stats.

After about ten minutes, I added some new skills to my arsenal. Human Fortress, which allows me to withstand gunfire without being staggered for a short time, Power Form, which boosts my attack power, and finally, Power and Armor break. They significantly lower an opponent's defense and attack power.

Suddenly, the person at the table beside mine got up. I turned my head, to get a quick glimpse of him.

He had a cloak on, with an added hood. That was all I could get, his cloak covered the rest of his body.

The figure walked up to the center of the room, where the hologram TV's displayed some talk shows, showcasing famous players. I really didn't care for those kinds of things.

The cloaked figure approaches the screen, and pulls something out of his cloak.

It was... a pistol. He aimed it up at the screen, at the person who was on it at the moment. He wore a white combat outfit with blue gloves, black sunglasses, and a darker blue head of hair. I looked back down at my menu. Just some crazy ass player.

"You're nothing but a fake, XeXeed!" a voice boomed. I looked up again, and the voice came from that figure. Everyone in the room looked at him, confused. "And now, you'll face judgment from someone with real power!"

As silence fell upon the room, it then erupted with laughter. People were sneering, eventually turning into low laughs.

"The hell...?" I utter, sorely confused.

There was then a loud bang. He had pulled the trigger. There was now a bullet hole in the TV screen.

As the bullet shell bounces back down, more people laugh.

"All I'm saying is," XeXeed said, on the display. "what's really important in the end is the player's ability to-."

XeXeed then made a sound, which sounded like he was choking. You can't choke in VR, can you?

XeXeed's eyes went wide, as he suddenly clutched his chest, slouching over. After about four seconds, he disappeared, most likely forced out by the system.

"Uh oh," the host of the snow said. "I guess we have a bad connection here. Don't worry, folks, I'm sure he'll be back shortly! Stay tuned for more MMO Stream!"

Except no one believed that. All the players in the room looked toward the figure who had shot the TV, in shock of what had just happened, including me.

The figure then took the gun, and pointed it around the room in a full circle.

"This is real power, real strength! Let your fear carve one name into your brains... the name I share with this weapon..." the figure says again, pointing the barrel of his pistol to the roof.

He looks up, smoke coming out of his gun, and his red eyes gleaming. The figure had a silver skull mask on, completely concealing his face.

"Death Gun!"

He then walks out of the building, all the players around him frozen in place.

I look back to the screen. How the hell did he just make XeXeed log out? Did he actually kill him from inside the game?!

"Hey, get back here!" I yell, leaping over my table. I sprint outside, quickly surveying the terrain. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Emma, did you see that?" I ask, breaking into a sprint to the residential district.

"See what, Master?" she asks, clueless.

"Damn!" I curse.

"M-Master, did I do something wrong?"

"No, don't worry about that, Emma. I'm on my way back to the apartment, I have something I need to tell you!"

I close communication in my UI, and after a quick run, I make it to the apartment complex, and I hastily enter my apartment, seeing Emma on the couch.

I open my menu, changing into my casual gear.

"Emma, did you see what just happened at the bar I was at?"

"No, I didn't happen to see anything, Master. Wait, are you even old enough to drink?"

"No, forget that." I say. "Someone just shot XeXeed on a TV screen, and it looked like he was forcibly logged out."

Emma opens her menu, and pulls up a video clip. It was of the incident, someone had recorded it.

As the video plays, Emma's eyes widen in shock.

"M-Master, who was that?"

"I don't know, he called himself 'Death Gun'. Whatever he did to XeXeed, that wasn't a coincidence."

As Emma opens her mouth to speak, I hear the door open, and I turn around to see none other than Kureha.

"Oh, thank god you two are okay!" she exclaimed.

"I'm guessing you saw what happened?"

"How could I not?!" she yells. "I was watching MMO Stream at my house, when XeXeed suddenly just started making weird noises and was forcibly logged out! One of my friends sent me a clip of the whole thing."

The three of us discuss the situation, deciding that if we saw the figure, Death Gun, we would immediately retreat. We couldn't take any risks.

"Well, I should log out." Kureha says, taking a deep breath.

"B-But, you just got here." Emma says, concerned.

"I was about to go on some errands with my sister, and I can't back out of it. Isaac, keep Emma safe, okay?"

"It's Rei, actually." I corrected her.

"What?"

"Never mind." I say.

Kureha shrugs, and logs out. I decided to do the same, but not before saying goodbye to Emma.

"Master, please, heed Kureha's warning. Stay safe."

"Don't worry, kid. I will."

"There it is again, Master. You called me 'kid'. Do I really look that much like a child to you?" she asks, shyly.

"N-No, it's just..."

I couldn't tell her.

"Master, if there's something that's bothering you, then please, tell me. Part of an ArFa-Sys' functionality is to- eep!"

I ignore her, and pull the AI into a large embrace.

"M-M-Master, w-why are you hugging me?" she asks, embarrassed.

I ignore her again, and just tighten my hold on her.

When I let go of her, she simply looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"I bet if AI like you could blush, you'd be as red as a tomato." I joke.

Emma stays silent, and instead just looks away in embarrassment.

"I'm going to log out for the day, Emma. Can you take care of yourself."

"Y-Yes, Master." she says, now looking at the ground in front of her.

I chuckle and open my menu, and scroll down to the logout button.

"O-One more thing, Master." Emma says.

"Yeah?" I ask, looking up.

Emma, out of nowhere, embraces me this time, leaving me just as confused as she was.

"Emma?" I ask.

As she retracts her arms and stands back.

"If you want to register a tight embrace as my new greeting gesture to you, please ask."

"Oh, alright. I'll keep that in mind." I say, rubbing the back of my head. Didn't know that was so embarrassing. "Oh, before I forget, here." I say.

I open my menu, and send Emma the part I gained from the Angry Berserker.

She opens her menu, and her face lights up with excitement.

"This is my first part! Thank you, truly!" she says bowing. "I will install this part immediately."

Emma presses a few buttons, and closes her eyes. Once she opens them again, and flash of blue washes over her optics.

"Master, the part you received has expanded my banking. You can now store credits and even invest."

"Wait, I can put credits... into you?" I ask, confused.

"Precisely, Master."

"Alright, cool. I should log out. I'll see you later, 'kay?"

Emma smiles.

I click the logout button, and watch as I'm stolen away from the calm space, and put back in my room. I sit up, taking my AmuSphere off, and setting it on my desk. I take a look at my watch. 7:12. Bit over four hours this time. Neither mom or dad will be home until late, so I've got my house to myself for a while.

I get up, rubbing my eyes, and walk downstairs. I enter the den, flicking on the light.

Who the hell was that Death Gun guy, and how did he kill XeXeed...?