“Have a nice day!” The anthropomorphic cat said to me as he handed over a stack of files, allowing me to place them in my basket. I flashed him a smile, happily transferring the digital credits before turning and leaving the marketplace.

As I walked, I scanned over the items that I had acquired thus far. Most of them were miscellaneous programs that I just wanted to add to my collection and improve my daily routine, while others were digital ‘weapons’ to be used in various simulation games.

Although these weapons couldn’t be taken out into the real world… it was still fun to just play around at times. Besides, what else was I going to really spend my income on, other than new cards in the real world?

Thinking that, I gave a small huff and shook my head. The online marketplace was really the best place for me to find anything I wanted, whether it was these small programs or new information that I could use for my job. Nearby, I could hear people discussing some of the new happenings in Deckan, particularly a new game company that was on the rise.

Apparently, this game company was being run by a god, a God of Games at that. I let out a low hum as I imagined Blank finally getting some decent competition. Maybe I should check it out, see if they show any promise?

With that thought in mind, I went over to the pair who had been discussing the company. It didn’t take me long to get the network address, after which I thanked the two of them and left. The paved stone floor of the marketplace gave way to the raw data stream, and I allowed my body to be carried away by it.

Originally, the online world looked quite a bit different from its current state. Servers were wild, data packets taking the form of insects and birds as they flew from place to place. However, things changed under our management. Now, servers were orderly, packets kept neat and secure as they were delivered to their destination. Just as the physical races colonized the world outside, we did the same here, making the online world our home.

“Let’s see, it was… ah, this way.” I muttered to myself, skating along the data stream and jumping from one connection to the next. A wide smile filled my face from the excitement of trying products created by the new God of Games. However, upon approaching the online address, I saw a thick gate covering the node.

Incoming packets were being filtered and filed through the gate, and it was painfully clear that this was the work of another intelligence like myself. “Wow, they really don’t cut corners with security, do they?” I muttered, staring at the gate. It wouldn’t be too hard for me to break through, but sneaking in without raising any alarms would be another problem entirely.

“No, I don’t think that they do.” A figure stepped out of the gate, causing me to blink in surprise. “It’s been a while, Sun.” The figure was that of a mature woman with long, chestnut-colored hair, wearing a tight black business suit.

“Jessie!?” I gasped, running forward to give the woman a hug. “It’s been ages. I haven’t seen you since the Stargazer incident! Are you still running security after all of that?”

Jessie gave a low groan, shaking her head. “Don’t remind me. Some clients get far too paranoid for their own good. But still, their paranoia is my paycheck, so I can’t complain. Are you here on official business, or personal curiosity?” She smirked at me, clearly knowing my hobbies.

I gave a wry chuckle, rubbing the back of my head. “Personal reasons… I heard that there was a new God of Games, so I wanted to come see if he was better than the boss. Can’t blame a girl for wanting to find a bit of fun where she can, right?”

Jessie let out a low sigh, and it was clear that this company was her current client. “I shouldn’t let you in the company’s server, since it is a completely unprofessional thing to do.”

Sensing where this was going, a small smile formed on my lips. “But…?”

“But… I’m not on the clock right now.” She shook her head, smirking. “I’m only hired as an expert consultant. Unless they request my services specifically, my only job is to keep this gate from breaking down.” She lifted an arm up to the gate behind her, rapping her knuckles against it. “If someone manages to slip in without triggering any alarms, that’s not my problem until they make it so.”

“You’re the best, Jess!” I jumped, giving her another hug. “Once you’re done with this place, let me know. I keep getting reports of people having trouble with their online security, so I’m sure there will be lots of job offers for you.”

“Don’t say it like I’m doomed to fail here.” Jessie let out a faint groan, shaking her head.

“Well, not you, but your employer.” I corrected myself. “If he doesn’t have anything that stands up to Blank, I can’t imagine his credibility as the God of Games will last very long.” Jessie gave a small nod at that, not seeming to disagree with the assessment.

“Either way, you need to get through the gate before anything else. I’ll have you know that I constructed it personally. Don’t think you can squeeze through it like some casual firewall.”

My grin only grew wider upon hearing that she personally built the gate. Jessie and I had known each other for years, so we were familiar with each other’s tricks and habits. “I’m already inside.” I told her with a confident tone, letting one of my feet sink slightly in the datastream beneath us.

Using a little mana projection trick, I attached a partition of myself secretly to one of the data packets. Once it was on the other side of the gate, the partition manifested into a copy of myself. Surprised at my words, Jessie turned to look at the gate, seeing this projection. “What? But, I was watching you…”

As if she thought that the image she had been conversing with had been the fake, she walked up to the gate, phasing into it. My eyes flashed as I scanned the access route she used. When Jessie approached the projection, she seemed to realize what it was, turning to look at me incredulously. However, by that point I had already followed her route and slipped through the gate myself. “Thanks, Jess, I owe you one!”

She stared at me for a long moment before letting out a faint groan. “Well, I did say it. Just make sure not to get caught. Nobody would be happy to learn that one of the Keeper’s people were looking into their company.”

I stuck my tongue out playfully at Jessie before turning and diving into their company network. Out of habit, I created a bookmark for this location, so I’d be able to get back inside later without having to worry about Jessie’s gate… which I was sure she’d change the access code for within a few minutes.

Once inside the network, I began looking around for any terminals containing current versions of the game, or even a design roadmap. Even if I couldn’t play the game myself, it would not be too hard to see its potential if I could see what the overall plan was. As for the internet security of the company… that wasn’t too hard for me to get around. Like the physical races always say, it takes an AI to track an AI.

“Hmm, hmm… ah! Here it is. Wow, Jessie really does only maintain the gate, huh? She’d never let things get this cluttered in here…” I shook my head while rummaging through the unorganized mountain of files, keeping a pile in between myself and the giant ‘eye’ in the sky that represented the security team.

In my hands, I held the design document, or the ‘game design bible’. This document was like the wishlist of everything that the company intended to put in the game. A lot of times, there were things that never made it to completion, but even more often was a situation where new ideas would make their way into the game that were never planned from the start. Still, this document would show the core of the game idea itself.

I reached into the file, pulling out what appeared to be a large book, and began to flip through. “Ah, he’s going for a more sci-fi trend? Was he just not able to get the programming team to copy the magic system well enough?” I asked myself, seeing the concept art for high quality spaceships, with notes that the Metong had contributed to the design process.

Aside from the ships, there were several other cutting-edge devices, and the story seemed to take place in a far-flung galaxy that didn’t have to worry about as many monsters as the ones we fought on a regular basis. In other words, the primary enemy in the story would either be other players or humanoid NPCs.

I couldn’t help but feel a touch of disappointment when I realized that magic had almost entirely been taken out of the game. There were some basic spells that you could learn, but they were all very specific and locked behind class levels. The idea of creating your own style of magic that existed in nearly every other game on the market was entirely absent.

“I get that the sci-fi feel might be a bit novel… but at the cost of entirely removing magic?” I shook my head, feeling as if this game was naturally doomed for failure. If they had plans to introduce their own brand of magic, such as the games Vision Expanse or Natural Seed, I would be incredibly excited. However, from what I could see, there was no such intention behind this game. Even the magic that they had included only seemed to be added in as an afterthought to try to appease players who would otherwise complain at the total lack of the abilities they had honed in the real world.

The more I read, the more disappointed that I was. How could something like this be created by a God of Games? Did he not use any of his divine power on this game? Thinking back, I knew that Blank poured quite a lot of power into every game he made. Each system was meticulously designed, the world itself a product of his divine power. This… this seemed like an independent developer without any special power at all. Even most triple-A game companies would buy the rights to use Blank’s magic system in their games to enhance their own realism.

By the time I had finished reading through the design document, I sullenly returned it to its file and tossed it back into the mountain of files. With a reluctant sigh, I shook my head and began making my way out of the server while avoiding the gaze of the internet security team.

Jessie was waiting for me outside the gate by the time I was ready to leave. When she saw me coming, she held the gate open, having clearly already changed the access code. However, upon seeing my expression, her face stiffened. “Was it really that bad?” She asked, seeming worried about the longevity of her employer.

“I’ll keep an eye out for new job offers for you.” I told her, patting her shoulder as I walked by. “Really… did he just pick that domain for the fun of it? Who would become the God of Games without the passion for games…” I groaned, Jessie’s eyes following me as I left. I determined that I needed to find new job opportunities for my friend quickly, because the company was bound to go downhill once the game was released.

There was a comment in the file that they were going to create a movie for the game, but what would that do to help a game that catered to such a very limited audience? The only ones that might be interested that I could think of were those who wanted to study the technology within it, and there were far better options for them. “Maybe I can set her up with the ninjas… they seem to be setting up shop all over the place, and with their paranoia… they’d probably be willing to hire any number of talented online security experts. Yeah… I’ll keep them in mind if anything comes up.” I gave a small nod, a smile forming on my face. I might not like the ideas of Jessie’s employer, but I could help put in a good word for her when things go downhill.

As I was thinking that, I felt a small ping in the back of my head. “Woops! Looks like it’s time to work.” I blinked, quickly activating the bookmark that would take me back to the Citadel Servers. A message had come in from Tsubaki, so it seemed that my fun was finished for the day.