Player Reached the Top

Chapter 1

"A way out of being broke"

Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the earth.

– Archimedes

Give me enough money, and I shall move the earth and all the planets with it.

– An unknown poor man

Money makes the world go round. That's the ultimate and unappealable truth. Will Thompson, the older sibling and the only son in the family, had to learn this truth too soon. People who say money can't buy happiness just doesn't know where to shop, and, let's face it, most of the time turn out to be deadbeat losers. It takes either brute force or money to have power, except brute force takes a back seat on this one having money means being able to buy any kind of force these days.

Financial debt, on account of multiple unsecured loans from various banks and bad credit loan companies, not always legal, and sometimes downright shady, was suffocating both Will and his dad. The purse strings were so tight that they could only afford a candlelight dinner, without the dining part.

Will's father, Darius Thompson, worked his fingers to the bone and, for the most part, was unable to see his family with any regularity. Will's mother, a Russian immigrant, abandoned her family when Will's sister Leah was three, leaving him to do all the parenting. Because of this, the siblings developed a strong bond. Against his father's wishes, the young man dropped out of high school to pursue a better life for his family, especially Leah. He made a crucial decision: he would make certain that his sister got a proper education and emerge into a dog-eat-dog world with guns blazing. She was meant to shine bright, and he would always be there for her.

Will and his dad did everything possible to send Leah to one of the best private boarding schools outside their hometown. With her smarts, she'd have no problem getting a stellar GPA, good enough for any college. At fourteen, she was shrewd and savvy, a cut above the rest of her peers. Will grew into a strong young man with an athletic build. By the time he turn twenty-four, he had been recruited into an elite Special Ops unit of the U.S. military. The enlistment requirements changed in 2035, when the normal mandatory eight-year commitment period changed to five years of mandatory active duty, which meant there was a chance for a rookie to get selected for Special Forces. If there was one thing Will had in spades, it was personality, which he acquired during his adolescence. With one look into Will's eyes, his detachment commander saw something others didn't - an unbending will and determination. People like that were worth their weight in gold, which was why, after proper training, Will found a spot on the Hostage Rescue team.

The money was good, which gave him some breathing room financially and let him take care of his sister's tuition . Leah, knowing what cost her education came with, both literally and figuratively, dedicated herself to her studies. She could not afford to let her old man and brother down.

A year after Will left the service, one of his army friends hooked him with a job as a waiter in a fancy restaurant. He could have gotten a job in law enforcement, or perhaps as a personal bodyguard, but having spent three years negotiating with terrorists and surviving firefights, he felt it was time to put the military behind and step off his dangerous path. For him, this could only mean one thing: his relative financial freedom was bidding him goodbye, promising new debt and hardship. The obscure and unknown would knock on his door again, until one day he accidentally overheard a conversation in the restaurant he worked at.

A couple of well-dressed guys, about the same age as Will, were paying with Platinum Visa cards, emphasizing their social status and drawing a clear line between themselves and Will.

From what little he could hear, they were discussing a new VR game scheduled to be released in six months. Will would normally not pay attention to a VR-based conversation, but the phrase "big money" slipping out of the mouth of one of the men made him reconsider. Fortunately, they were sitting at the bar, so neither of them noticed they had picked up an eavesdropper.

"I'm telling you, it's legit. You know who my father is, right? I heard what they were talking about, every last word, man. Thank God he didn't see me, or he would have ripped my head off."

"Ha! He definitely would, your dad is insane!" Both chuckled.

After that, they lowered their voices. Will had to strain to hear them, but he could still follow the conversation.

"So when is it coming out?"

"Well, it's not production ready yet. It's in private beta or something, but once it's released, hundreds of millions of players from all over the world are going to want to play. Do you understand what kind of money we're talking about here? This business is skyrocketing! They use real life money to buy virtual swords and costumes. Man, I'm so excited! I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but just think of all the money we've spent on video games. Gamers will buy anything that'll help them score extra cool points. Magic potions, epic threads, you name it! Real. Life. Money. Bro! Those player auctions have tons of offers!"

"Yeah, sure, but how is it different from the games we're playing right now?"

"It's completely different!"

"I don't get it…"

"Everything is for sale in this game! Property, lands, kingdoms,,,entire empires, for Chrissakes! This is the dawn of a new era of VRMMO! You could be the Mayor of a virtual town! But what's truly awesome is that brand new game AI they're using. You'll never guess what the guy that my father was talking to said. He said it's going to adapt to human behavior. But, hey, I never told you that - it's like, totally confidential. Man, that's going to be something else, I'm telling you!"

"Geez, keep your pants on. It's a game changer, I got it. There's just one thing that I don't get, though - what was the conversation between your dad and that other guy about?"

"Oh, they were just discussing how they could beat the game. It's business stuff, but in virtual reality. I didn't get a whole lot of it, but the numbers they were discussing would have blown you out of the water, bro."

"That serious, huh?"

"Will!" someone yelled.

The young man turned his attention to the bartender, who was holding out a drink orer that needed to be served. He was not thinking about the drink, or the two men at the bar anymore. His mind was going a million miles an hour. He had to get in on this deal. There was a lot of prep work to be done, but he was beaming.

It was a great way out of being broke.