Offer

Attempt after attempt, I continued to get slightly better but got bored quickly too. It was interesting, but I wanted to try other things out as well. I had been in the game for hours in real life, too, and I would need to eat again in real life. Probably something more than just noodles too.

I quickly laid down my head as our spaceship moved through the slipstream, and my eyes quickly woke up in the real world. I groaned as the pod lid came up and felt stiff all over. My legs and arms had remained unmoving for hours, and I groaned again as I got out of the pod. I looked at the time and still had plenty of time today to play. Like six or seven hours before I would need to sleep. I got moved to the kitchen as my stomach growled in protest.

I pulled out some meat from the freezer, quickly stuck it into the microwave, and put it on for a small amount of time. I needed to eat something proper instead of noodles, and I pulled some veggies out of my fridge and started to chop things up. That was when I got a phone call and signed, walking back into my room to pick it up.

Quickly I was surprised by the caller ID showing the name of a gamer buddy from the last game I played. I quickly picked up, "Target Locked!" I happily exclaimed as I returned to the kitchen, putting the phone on speaker, "Still playing Yellow Desert professionally?" I asked.

"Who the fuck would be playing that with Galaxy Online existing?!" Target exclaimed.

"Those who were not smart enough to pre-order a pod?" I replied with a question, and I heard a chuckle.

"Still as harsh as ever, Sleepy Wonder. Still showing that hot body off every night to the world?" He asked back.

"Bah," I scoffed back as I started to prep my food, "Don't think I don't know that you voted for me to wear that pink lace baby doll lingerie each night, Target," I said with a smile on my face I knew he couldn't see.

"I am not even going to dignify that with a response." Target replied, "Still, I didn't call you regarding your exhibitionism," he said, pausing for a moment. I continued to chop and prep food as I waited for him to continue instead of filling the silence. "Be that way then and not ask me. I will tell you anyways. I was asking if you found any teams you want to join yet?" Target asked.

"Nope," I replied as I turned on the stove to start heating a pan and grabbing the meat out of the microwave, "I haven't had any offers and probably wouldn't accept any yet, to be honest. Not sure what the playing field is going to look like since I haven't left the tutorial," I told him.

"Nice!" He exclaimed immediately, "Many found out the game world is harder than the tutorial, and the tutorial is pretty harsh. I am playing a casting Moon elf and found myself in the Elven military in a boot camp, Sleepy. It isn't easy, and they treat you like shit there. I have a mission tomorrow, so I don't have much time because of the time dilation. Gabin Corporation must be spending massive amounts of power on their game."

"I couldn't agree with you more there. Although the main game will not have the dilation, I cannot believe the massive amounts of power they are spending on it." I agreed.

"Well, What are you doing?" He asked, probing.

"Bounty Hunter," I replied shortly, "I got the contract still but found a way to break it without breaking it. Not saying more than that," I told him.

"What!" Target half yelled as I started to prep the meat, "How you do that?" He asked.

"I am sure there is probably a way for everyone, I think. Found mine by luck, and if you want the same, you can find out the same; or," I couldn't help but smile as I thought of payment, "I haven't had a male partner in a bit Target," I said my voice suggestive, "Want to pay with your body?" I asked.

Silence reigned for several moments over the phone, and I began cooking my freshly seasoned meat. I let the silence continue as I focused on the meat in the pan before he replied. "I have heard through the grapevine that unless I am a masochist, I wouldn't like what you would do to me with that sexy body," Target replied, his voice sober.

"You have heard things that shouldn't have left the bedroom," I replied with a smile on my face. "That grapevine would be correct in this instance, though. So you willing to pay the price?" I asked.

"I think I will pass," Target replied, and I pouted.

"Aw, I could use the company lately," I replied, pretending to be sad for his ego.

"Anyways," Target said, changing the subject, "Trevor is looking for some godly players to make a corporation in Galaxy online. Wants to have some solid members that were good and preferably professionals to make up the core members of the corporation before bringing in the normals. You know, create a strong foundation before adding on all the extra meat and potatoes and all that jazz." Target said.

I remembered Trevor, Or his user name Forsaken Overlord. He was a strong player that was better in the background of guilds or corporations or whatever the game wanted to call them. He was good at finding sponsors and investors so that people could focus on gaming and not on the bills. He did great with a previous company called Plug Gaming. It continued through several games and almost made it huge when a couple of back-to-back controversies happened. I heard from my sources, though, that it had nothing to do with him. Four players on different teams were caught cheating in different games, and it polluted people's perception of Plug Gaming. His investors started to run, and the Sponsors followed closely behind.

"I heard he liquidated Plug Gaming and made out still with some money. Broken contracts worked in his favor in the end, as he never went public. What is he thinking this time?" I asked curiously.

"He thinks that PVP in Galaxy Online is going to be money killers in the game. Imagine losing a spaceship worth millions of credits. That with the fact of that rumor going around saying that there may be a real-world money trade instead of tokens that cannot be turned back into real money makes this game very interesting to corporations in the real world." Target explained, and I intently listened as he did so and began to cook my veggies and checked the meat as he continued, "That isn't all. The flexibility in the game means that wars in it are going to be refreshing and interesting to all those watching it. We think the pro league is going to be huge. Plus, you know that Gabin Corporation puts money in the pot themselves for their pro leagues. They put down millions in the past because it sells their games. Saves them a ton of money on advertisements as well." He added in, and I couldn't help but nod.

It was one of the selling factors as to why I bought the pod in the first place.

"Look, Target," I began, "I understand what you are saying. I really do. I am not picking a team at this moment. In fact, I think Trevor should probably be starting this early as well for a corporation, and I wouldn't mind saying to him that I am interested. BUT!" I almost yelled the last word as I stirred my food. "I am not putting my name into his corporation yet. I want a good contract and a deal which I think will be better if I wait instead of hooking up with the first boy that comes barking at my feet. You understand me?" I asked in the end.

"You are interested but want to see what others offer, including ourselves?" Target replied, his tone making it a question.

"You are correct, Target," I said with a smile, "At this point, I have rent covered, I have the tutorial space, and the game will be out for an entire day in just a couple of minutes or hours. I am not putting my Sleepy Wonder name into the first bidder's pocket. I also think waiting for me to leave the tutorial is the best for me. Because who knows what I will have when I enter the main world of Galaxy Online? Maybe you couldn't even afford me?" I chuckled with my last words and heard a sigh on the other end of the line.

"This is why you have problems on teams. Sleepy," Target shot back.

"Target," I said with a smile, "I believe I have a plan that will make me wanted by every team. If I mismanage and fuck it all up, then I will blame myself and not others. I could be messing everything up by telling you no now. But I am saying no for now. I am interested and would like to see your offer," I said as I checked my food and noticed that it was almost done, so I grabbed a plate. "So send me the offer, and we can talk about this later," I paused for a moment and turned to the phone, "Also, if my build works out and your team doesn't have me, you will regret it," I told him with a cute voice. "Enjoy talking to your master, Target!" I exclaimed, walking over to my phone and hitting the end.

I loved teasing Target. Perpetually a follower but a great teammate. I liked him when I played with him in the past, but I wasn't the best in teams. Or that wasn't fully true. It was the fact that I was one of the few female gamers at the peak of gaming when I was on a team, making me a hard fit when nerdy boys didn't know how to talk to me.

I lost a contract with KL Gaming five years ago because of that. I was the best fragger on the team and the superstar, but we couldn't win any game because of my teammates. Other teams saw it as me because when they kicked me off their team, the other players got much better, and the team started to win tournaments. To the outside world, it looked like I was the issue. Everyone in the league knew it was because my teammates were unable to perform despite my trying my best to perform with them.

That was around Derek as well, I thought, and my mind turned dark as I plated my food and took my food to the computer. That last thought ruined my mood, and I turned on some gun videos and making gun videos. I soon forgot about other things and engrossed myself in the world of manufacturing weapons and how they worked.

Before, I never really interacted with guns despite being in the first-person shooter genre of video games. I liked guns but didn't take the time to get to know more about them. Now I realized why it was so likely for my shotgun to break on its first or second shot. The pressure from the gunpowder going off would likely make it blow up.

I hadn't thought I should reinforce where the bullet would go off, and I continued to watch more videos on how things worked. At this moment, I loved that the Americans were always putting out these videos for me to watch. It was extremely informative for my gaming needs.

I forgot when I finished my food, and I finished yet another video with new thoughts and things to try in the game in order for me to make new guns. Maybe I could even turn that shotgun up a level from junk to basic. Learning how basic guns worked in real life would help me immensely in this game, so I got up from my computer and decided to try out some new things and create something instead of practicing welds.

Moments later, I was getting back in the pod and lying down. I closed my eyes, and soon I was waking back up in my Worskshop, ready to get back to work on my guns.