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Chapter 38: Calm, a Little Too Calm!

Death…what comes after death? In Infinite, the players were normally sent straight back to their base, the beginner plaza in this case.

But for one man, things were very different. As Jack opened his eyes, he couldn’t distinguish anything but darkness. He hadn’t expected to come here so soon, but there it was: the death void.

All players passed through this place inevitably in their career, but it was usually automatically skipped barred special circumstances.

Suddenly, there was light as an ethereal purple message window appeared, floating in mid-air.

[Revive at New Leaf Village?]

Instead of replying, he gazed at the surrounding obscurity. He couldn’t distinguish anything at all, akin to a blind man. Was he truly alone? Was the realm’s owner here? Did it even exist at this point? He had no damn clue!

Jack chuckled and gave a self-deprecating smile. Had he known that he’d go back in time, perhaps he would have been more diligent in his study of history.

But for now, he’d just assume the being was here.

“Hey Thanatos, are you there, buddy? Can you believe it? It’s the first day, and I’ve already died! Me, of all people! Crazy, isn’t it?!”

A bystander would have asked: had Jack turned insane?! Nope. He was simply talking to a very, very shy god. He kept monologuing, even when he didn’t receive a single reply. This is what it meant to have faith!

“I’ll soon send plenty of people your way. Reading their memories should be pretty entertaining. You can consider this a small gift from me! ;).” He winked to the air before resolutely willing to respawn.

He already had a plan….

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As soon as the peculiar player was gone, the entire realm rippled.

The space itself seemed to crack to pieces, revealing the four gigantic bloody eyes that had been hiding in another dimensional layer. All four were staring at the spot the human had disappeared from. This was a first for the being.

Braves were being blessed by the gods— or so people thought. The truth was far different. Braves were invaders, ones that existed on a different plane, a stronger one. This made them true immortals!

All the gods did was guide them. As they first appeared, they would be sent to the material plane. Every time they “died,” they also had to be sent back to it, sealed in there. Yet, this one brave had been an exception.

How could he enter this place? How did it know the being’s name? It could even send itself back to the world alone?! For the first time in its existence, the god found itself wondering about this man.

Its domain was the death void, and it couldn’t peer into the material plane directly. It could only peek into the visitors’ memories. The human even knew about this!

He had said something about a gift. What kind of memories could be so interesting? The being didn’t know, but it would patiently wait. After all, time had no meaning to one such as it.

For the first time ever, it felt something strange at its core. Why was its essence trembling every time it thought about this gift?

How very puzzling…

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Jack respawned in a remote corner of the village. It would take a while for the beginners to figure such a trick, but it was possible to change the spawn location as long as it was within the same village.

He quickly headed inside the blacksmith’s forge. As he entered, the NPC welcomed him with excitement: “Do you have the ores?!” The grown, muscular man looked like a child expecting a very happy meal at the golden arches!

“Nope, but I’m working on it.” Jack mercilessly shot him down.

The NPC’s disappointed expression was quite hilarious. He even could be heard low grumbling: “You really gotta bring them. My large hammer is itching to bang some sweet pieces all day and night long! I’m counting on you!”

Either way, Jack ignored him.

– Jack’O: Hey, I’m back. So, what’s the situation?

– Bubblegum: You’re alive! That’s great! Let me see. The Mighty Dragons are watching over the area closely. I think they’re waiting for your return to make a move. They seem pissed.

– Jack’O: They’re pissed? They’re fucking pissed?! Wow, the freaking nerve! We lost all the ores thanks to them.

– Bubblegum: Hehe, I take it they failed to rob you, Teacher. Right now, I’ve told the others to kill chickens to push for level 2. If we can all reach it before them, we might stand a chance.

– Jack’O: Not really, the difference isn’t that massive between levels 1 and 2. Alright, for the next hour, tell the others to fake logging off, one after the other. It shouldn’t be too suspicious since they’ve been playing for a while.

– Bubblegum: What next? Do we regroup and try to sneak out? I doubt that will work out.

– Jack’O: All we need is to buy a little bit of time. By the time they are done regrouping to chase us, we’ll be done! Alright, be back in an hour. See you then!

Anyone watching Jack would have been flabbergasted. Why wasn’t he angry? Why wasn’t he cursing? He looked oh so very calm! He was even slightly smiling at the complaining blacksmith.

At this point, he was burning with a cold fury. Yes, he was mad at his enemies, but he was also slightly mad at himself. Had he known about it, he could have separated from the group, along with Bubblegum.

He had only been killed because there had been too many enemies ganging up on him. Fifty versus 20 had his helpers all die and him forced to confront the enemies alone. Had they separated prior, he would have probably faced a maximum of 10 players.

Ten? To one such as him, such a small number of enemies was a joke! But, there was no use dwelling on the past. He would let his revenge speak loudly instead! They would learn not to fuck with him!

This would be so very fun!…

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How does one kill an hour? There was nothing better than a power nap! Oh, and a goddamn meal!

As Jack came out of the game, he heard the monstrous growls of his stomach! The first order of business was to feed the ravenous monster, to quell this insatiable hunger he felt!

As he made his way toward the kitchen, soft morning light fell on his face. The warmth was nice! He quickly grabbed himself a very basic yet classic and marvelous breakfast: cereals, milk, ghost peppers.

As he sat to eat, he found a tiny note sitting on the table.

< Good luck at work. I’m sure you can defeat all the chickens! signed Lilly =). >

Jack chuckled as he took his phone out and texted her.

“I saw your note ;)… Fool! Your brother is already done with mere chicks! I’m about to hunt foxes, wolves, and baddies! Hahahaha!”

A few seconds later came a reply.

Sis: “Oh? Already doing some PK? How exciting! Remember to use the power of friendship to gang up on them! Oh yeah, Alice says Hi, BTW.”

“Alice?”

Sis: “Pfft— Hahaha! 9999 damage! You really are done with chicks, haha xD…Ah, I gotta get back to work. Talk later!”

“Oh wait, your coworker! #Confused for a second, Have a great day! ^_^”

As he was enjoying the very subtle spicy taste, the sound of the door opening resounded. Jack slowly turned his head, only to scream in complete shock, his face livid:

“Oh my god, a ghost! What the hell?!”

It was the old man coming back from yet another shit at the hospital. He rolled his eyes, a smile on his face:

“Ghost? I almost became one earlier this night! I mistakenly grabbed one of your sandwiches! The spice would have killed me if Lucy hadn’t pointed the humongous red part sticking out!” He exaggeratedly complained.

“Hehe, nothing like a bit of spice to wake you up from a long and boring shift! Plus, people tend to steal spicy food less. I learned that from work!”

“Cause they don’t wanna die! Obviously!” The old man cried out.

“Talking about dying, You’ll have to be more careful, old man. I really can’t have you dying now.”

“Don’t worry, I promised you. I may have many flaws, but I’m a man of my word, you know it.” He reassured.

“I’m not talking about killing yourself, old man. I’m talking about overworking yourself. Shifts are nice, but you’ll have to stop eventually. Don’t worry too much. I already have it figured out.”

“You do? Mind sharing your plan with an old relic like me?” He asked with a small smile.

Jack could feel the concern in his voice. He just wanted the both of them to have a good life. He was probably ready to shoulder back all the debt at a moment’s notice. This old man was reliable, so much that he forgot himself!

“What do you mean by old relic? You look so old you’d make dinosaurs look like spring chickens! That’s why you gotta rest. Anyway, my plan is pretty simple and effective.

1. Gain strength and a footing in the world of Infinite

2. Sell in game-stuff to tide in for the time being while slowly increasing my fame.

3. Once my fame is high enough, I’ll stream! This will further increase my popularity and revenue.

4. By then, Infinite should be the #1 game on the planet. With fame comes lots of opportunities to make money. I’m talking paid appearances, starring in commercials, cameos in films, E-sport, and even IRL goodies! “

Jack’s speech was becoming more and more heated by the second as he enunciated his plan! In the end, the old man stopped him.

“Alright, it seems that you’ve given this a fair bit of thought. What about the job you found? You said something about gaming….”

“Gaming studio? Don’t worry too much. See the guy hiring me as an angel investor. I’ll send some benefits his way. He’s really well-intentioned.”

The old man’s face suddenly turned as stern as a block of cement: “Be careful with what you sign. You don’t want to end up like me.” He advised.

“Don’t worry, old man. I’ve got this! ;). Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll rest my eyes a few minutes before dealing with some pricks in-game, haha.”

“You already made enemies?! On your first day?!” The old man cried out in stupefaction.

“Yep, but haters are the first indication of success. Talk later! You should rest too.”

As Jack returned to his room, the old man was left alone in the kitchen. His face looked deathly pale, and yet a shadow of a smile gave it warmth. The kid wasn’t a kid anymore…

Creator’s Thought

One trick I’ve learned in Infinite: being nice to NPCs can pay off! This even includes gods! For me, it only took a few seconds to offer a “gift” to Thanatos, and Bam + Affinity points! Well, if the god was even there in the first place…