The Immortal Player

"Your father..." His mother facepalmed herself out of embarrassment.

"Dad looked very happy!" Pedro commented as the tv news program shifted to the next news. He had a wryly smile. He doesn't know whether to laugh or cry out of embarrassment.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The phones of both Pedro and his mother rang at the same time. Pedro walked to their backyard, where a swimming pool was located. While his mother, who was sitting in a sofa in the living room, gesturing to the maids to mute the sound from the television, and afterward answering the call.

...

Pedro answered the call...

"Guild Leader! It's me, Annie! I've seen the news about the game you are playing! I, my brother and my cousin decided to play Bearth Online!" Annie explained

"Are you all switching to Bearth or you're gonna play it together with another AVR game?" Pedro asked immediately. There was a common occurrence to players who played two or more different laborious games, simultaneously. Their progress in both games became slow, that their progress and levels were left behind by a huge margin. Also, these type of players lacks mastery in their own characters and classes. Hence, these players seldom rank amongst the top players of any of the games.

"I plan to play it simultaneously, but my brother and cousin will focus on it! My parents said to start as soon as possible after knowing about the recently approved bill by our President! Even I was dragged... hahaha... They say that I should also play it and at the same time guide and help my brother and cousin in the game..." She expressed her opinion with a wryly smile.

"Is that so..." Pedro replied and was a bit disappointed.

"Yeah... That's why I called you, knowing that you were one of the closed beta players who experienced the game ahead of others! If it's not a problem for you, can we join you as we start?" Annie continued and stated her true intention.

"About that... I can't be of help as of now... I'm sorry!" Pedro answered without hesitation. He is currently on Karakoa, a ship. It is sailing in the seas and he didn't know where was his current location.

...

Unlike the random generation of initial spawn on villages, going to ships and sailing meant that he had no access to land. Although he would eventually have a chance to return since the ship would re-stock its supplies and dock to a harbor, He personally wouldn't want to leave the ship and trade his current position just to babysit someone.

Initial spawn of players in villages upon character creation was random. This was not a problem because players can safely travel during daytime and players of the same continent were spawned in the same continent.

The eastern continent, Aquari, was the continent for Asia and Australia players, The Northeast continent was for Russian players, the Northwest Continent was for European and Canadian players, while the Western continent was for the North and South America players.

Other than the isolated Aquari Continent, the other three continents were connected by land. As long as players travel during the day, they could go wherever they want.

When they travel in the day, all they need to do is avoid the monsters. In special cases of Intelectual monsters, the players can outrun them because most of them had slow movement speeds. Hence, rendezvous was a possible feat for players.

...

"That's unfortunate..." Annie replied in a sad voice.

'It's maybe due to the rumored difficulty of the game. Guild leader himself might have been having a hard time also, that he can't really help us that much!' Annie assumed that Pedro also had a hard time playing that is why he rejected without a second thought.

"How about this Annie... Why don't you switch to Bearth and focus on it?" Pedro suggested with a huge grin on his face.

"???" Annie was confused. She already told him that she would play simultaneously but Pedro still insisted to focus on bearth.

"I mean, Play it full time? I was planning to make my own gaming studio! Since you are an old friend of mine, I invited you to join!" He sat on a sunbathing chair near the pool as he explained his plan.

"Gaming Studio???" Annie was astounded. To establish gaming studios, It would cost a huge sum of money and resources. At the same time, the success of a gaming studio was low. Most gaming studios go to bankruptcy because they didn't find a stable source of income in-game that can be exchanged to real-life cash.

"Yes!" He replied confidently. Annie was still astounded. She doesn't fully know Pedro in real life. And based on the way they meet in the previous AVR game, Pedro looked like a casual player. Hence, Pedro seemed to her that he is 'betting' his life in this game.

"But guild master... A gaming studio cost too high! If I'm right, you're still young! You'll have better opportunities in life in the future!" Annie reasoned, out of concern to Pedro.

"Don't worry! Money is not my problem! I have enough money to establish a gaming studio! As for better opportunities in life... I think Bearth Online already offers the best opportunity! So, Annie, what do you say? Are you in?" Pedro smiled confidently. He can't tell Annie that he is the son of the President and Owner of the Armaz Energy Corporation.

"I'll have to consult my family first, about that!" Annie helplessly sighed.

Wang! Wang! Wang! Wang!

Police sirens approached closer as it escorted the car of Pedro's father to their home.

"Ok, Before I go... Add the name I will text to you, in-game! He is an acquaintance of mine! Although I can't personally help you, this man might!" He replied as he remembers about Mathew.

"Many thanks... Guild leader! See you, in-game!" Annie thanked Pedro. Although she didn't get Pedro's support, Some would be able to help them in replace of Pedro. He texted to the phone number of Annie of the player's name. "Happy Face Killer"

Pedro ended the call and returned to the living room with his mother and other maids.

"How's your call?" His mother asked...

"It's was just some old friends from a game! They were interested in Bearth Online, so they asked if I wanna join them!" He explained in a simple way.

"Birds of the same feather... Flock together! Hahaha..." Her mother joked.

"Well, I rejected them... I can only play on a limited amount of time! The school was still my priority!" He explained

"That's good to hear, son! If your father learns about this, he would become happier..." His mother praised when her grandmother walked back to the living room after being annoyed by the siren of the police escorts of his father.

"Show it in your actions! Actions speak louder than words, Brat!" His grandma interjected.

"I will grandma!" He scratched his head while wearing a wryly smile.

"By the way son! The call I had was from your Aunt Concha! She said that many of your cousins might play that game because of school, so she asked if I could help her acquire VR boxes since they can't pay for it. She also mentioned that your other aunts and uncles might contact me soon for the same matter. I said that they contact you about it and make one representative for all of them. So, don't be shocked when they texted you!" His mother explained.

Although his family was rich now, both of his parents came from a middle-class family. He had one Aunt on his father side but he had four Aunts and three Uncle on the mother side. His aunt in his father side was doing well since she worked at their company.

But out of his seven Aunts and Uncles in the mother side, five of them were experiencing poverty. Although Pedro's mother was helping them, by sending some money from time to time, they were still experiencing poverty due to different reasons.

One of them tried to do business but failed that later on got depts, while the rest was because they had not finished college, into which consequently made them unable to find decent jobs to support their family's needs.

...

"Don't worry mom! I'll handle it!" He smiled as he had plans for them. He planned to make them as a money farming team in-game for his Gaming Studio. Hence, not only would his cousins be able to play, but also his Aunts and Uncles. Moreover, they would be paid a good amount of money for playing the game! It was hitting two birds with a stone for him. He helped them while having a sufficient supply of money in-game.

After Pedro had finished, their door sounded as it closed.

"Your dad is here! Let's now eat dinner!" It was about to turn 9:00 in the evening.