Before entering the game world, Alyss checked out the virtual bulletin boards that players from all the different virtual worlds used to communicate. Displayed on a massive screen in front of her in a vast space, she glanced at the most recent threads. The technology was ancient, sure, but the feel of the forum gave her comfort sometimes. With such a realistic world available, she enjoyed slowing down and perusing the forums. They reminded her of print books. She loved them almost as much.

“There we go,” she muttered to herself, selecting a thread with merely a thought.

The screen in front of Alyss refreshed itself with a mental tap. She scrolled through the thread, halting when a familiar name appeared. Gordon Lightfingers. He’d been busy playing RESTART. Alyss knew that building all the necessary prerequisites for her Market would take forever, much too long. To get ahead in the game, she needed help from a familiar friend. No woman was an island, Gordon had told her once. An English professor in the real world, he’d taken her under his wing years earlier and introduced her to many classical writers.

“Please, please, please,” she pleaded to the emptiness of the forum zone as she thought out a quick message to her old gaming friend and occasional literary mentor.

Gordon:

Greetings, old friend. I need your help. Busy?

-Alyss

--Whoooosh--

--Message Sent--

The private message would appear to him instantly, but she wasn’t sure if he would answer her right away or even at all. They hadn’t parted ways amicable the last time they’d met inside an older RPG based on anime that wasn’t very popular. The two of them had almost complete control of the major servers for the game, but they’d disagreed on implementing cheats to make it the final mile and gain control of the entire system for Ring Art Online.

“Come on…”

Her guide in Restart, Cleite, couldn’t reach her outside the game, but she wondered if Gordon could bend the rules to sneak into the game and help her. Virtual gold gripped the old man’s heart in a way she didn’t understand, but she would use that knowledge to get him to help. Merely telling him she needed gold paint would intrigue him enough if he didn’t already have any of the items in his multi-world inventory sheet. He wanted all the badges for King Midas, something nobody had ever been able to claim. With a bit of luck, he hadn’t yet bothered to get the item yet and would help her.

--Whoooosh--

--New Message--

Alyss! Long time no see! How have you been? Private chat?

-Gordon Lightfingers

An invitation to join him in a private chat appeared. She selected yes then turned to wait for transportation to a private room. The worlds dull white room melted away, and she appeared in a room with walls made from rough stone blocks. Gordon stood next to a window, looking out. He turned and smiled.

“Long time no see…”

“It’s good to see you again,” Alyss admitted. “I need your help.”

“That’s interesting because I need help too.”

“I’ll help you with anything if you can help me with this new game, Restart.”

Gordon nodded, thoughtfully stroking the tuft of hair on his chin.

“I didn’t think I’d ever hear from you again,” he said. “Not after what happened.”

Alyss realized she needed to apologize for her actions in Ring Art Online finally.

“I’m sorry I fought you on RAO,” she said then lowered her gaze to the floor.

“And I’m sorry I acted like a selfish asshole.” He took a few steps forward. “Greed can turn even a righteous man’s soul dark in an instant.”

“Yeah…” Alyss looked up and smiled. “We had so many fun times in that game too.”

“Indeed. Remember the kaiju squirrel we created?”

“Yes!” Alyss clapped her hands together. “So much fun!”

“We can reminisce later,” Gordan said. “What do you need help with.”

The smile faded from Alyss’ face as she remembered her current predicament.

“I need money in the real world,” she said. “My parents are DS zombies, and our house got robbed. I’m moving out soon, and I need a way to ensure I have a better life.”

Gordon nodded, his thin, pale lips pressed together.

“Sounds like you’re in trouble. You haven’t sold the copy of The Hobbit I gave you, did you?”

“No!” Alyss emphatically shook her head. “I’d never sell my real books. To come up with the money, I’m working toward a Player Market. With a little bit of capital investment from you, we could rule the marketplace of every virtual world.”

Gordon frowned and averted his eyes. “I’m having credit problems.”

“You were set-up for life,” Alyss said. “What happened to all your wealth?”

“Foolish investments,” Gordon admitted. “Your Player Market idea does sound like a good one. Maybe we could work together. I’ve avoided Restart because 4x isn’t my style.”

Alyss rolled her eyes. “Nobody calls it 4x anymore. I love base building games.”

“Explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate"!” Gordon grinned. “Let me see about the characters I have in the game .…”

With his love of literature, Gordon had made a lot of money off role-players who wanted to experience books in virtual reality accurately. After spending years fleshing out novels into virtual worlds, he had enough money to live full-time in the virtual environment. The procedure would extend his life in the real world and make his retirement very interesting. If he were having money problems, he’d be more likely to help her fast-track a Player Market.

“Let’s see…” Gordon mumbled. “All I have is Bigelow Burrfoot, a low-level halfling thief.”

“While he sounds amazing,” Alyss said. “I don’t think a low-level halfling can help me against Kratawar, the lich lord. He’s what’s standing in my way. If I can conquer him and take control of his tower and lands, I’ll be able to expand and be even closer to having everything for a Player Market.”

“You’re right…” Gordon leaned forward and lowered his voice. “He wouldn’t be worth anything unless he happened to have a hacked scroll that allows him to take over an NPC.”

Alyss’ eyes widened as a smile crept over her face.

“You would do that for me? We can’t get caught.”

“No kidding,” Gordon said, straightening.

He sighed. “I can’t believe I’m so close to broke again. That’s why I spent the last of my fortune on this hack. With it, I can accumulate enough virtual wealth that I won’t have to worry for at least another hundred years.”

“You...you would use the hack to help me?”

“If there’s treasure to be found in a new game, yes,” Gordon said. “Besides, with two skilled players such as ourselves running a Player Market, imagine what we could accomplish.”

“Great things,” Alyss said.

She looked away, eyes darting around the empty stone room as ideas bounced around in her head. Working together with him, they’d have a Player Market in a month or two at the most.

“Is Kratawar the lich lord a player?” Gordon asked.

“Yeah,” Alyss said, nodding.

“Who’s underneath him that you’ve encountered so far?”

Alyss rattled off the names.

“Captain Trakada.” Gordon grinned and nodded. “I likey. Tell me more about him.”

“He just attacked my tower in the game, but I repelled him. I had to leave the game for a bit to check on some things. That’s when I thought of contacting you.”

“I’m glad you finally did,” Gordon said. “We work well together.”

Alyss nodded. The idea of running a Player Market with Gordon intrigued her. While she enjoyed playing alone and not cheating most of the time, she only had a few precious months to raise enough money to save herself in the real world. Cutting corners with a single hack wasn’t so bad if it paid off in the end. With the system stacked against her, she didn’t feel bad.

“I’ll log into the game first,” Gordon said. “That way, it won’t be as easy to connect us when we start working with each other.”

“Perfect,” she said. “That will give me some time to research the best ways to approach the lich lord who controls the nearest tower.”

“I’ll get with you in-game,” Gordon said then smiled.

He raised a hand in farewell before disappearing. The room faded, and Alyss found herself in the white forum space. Was cheating bad when used to fight against a corrupt system? She wondered. As she waited to enter RESTART for the second time, she paid a few of her remaining credits to anonymously search for a real-world revenge bot to get her family’s possessions back, but the service was too expensive.

She browsed a few RESTART strategy threads as she waited to spawn back into the game. Forty-two minutes after Gordon went into the game with a hacked scroll that would enable him to take control of an NPC, she entered herself. Cleite bounced around happily as she appeared in her tower. Game on, she thought — time to take my second tower.