It was the only way.
Arriving downtown a few minutes early, I took my time as I leisurely walked from the nearby parking structure. Thankfully the weather was a bit overcast, much to my delight really as I wouldn't end up a sweaty mess before even entering the AIcorps building.
I hated arriving to place covered in sweat… it was embarrassing.
Standing at the light waiting to use the crosswalk, I suddenly heard a girl shout while leaning outside of a window. Turning my head to face her, she shouted once more while pointing at me as she turned the corner in her jeep and headed in the opposite direction.
Dumbstruck by what was said I could barely muster a half-assed grin and gave a thumb's up as my reply.
It was kind of lame, but I couldn't quite believe what the hot girl had just said.
Not like I really had time to think, either.
Yeah, she was hot.
Really hot, exactly my type.
And the words she shouted to me were, "You're hot!" …twice. I've been called a lot of things all along the spectrum from ugly, average, decent, good looking, attractive, to handsome… but I have never been called hot before.
They say appearance is in the eye of the beholder, and that certainly holds true. But, calling me hot? That kind of compliment… I didn't know how to react to it.
Another wasted opportunity, another girl I would have been highly interested in that just drove by, seemingly attracted to me but far-gone and never to be seen again.
That was life in a nutshell.
Heading inside while lost to thought, I made my way to the same last row along the aisle and sat down. That third seat from the aisle was basically mine.
I always sat there.
Gazing around the room I saw a lot of familiar faces, from the red shirted guy with blue jeans that looked a bit like a plumber, to Mr. Sardonic that was busy talking himself up amongst his followers, to Valerie in the first row.
Ah, yeah… her.
I almost forgot about her, that girl that rejected me and had now moved to the very first row, the furthest point from my seat in the room. Muttering to myself, "Figures," the one girl who thinks I'm hot drove away never to be seen again while the girl that shot me down moved as far away as physically possible. In this room that could hold nearly a thousand people, no less.
Kicking back and stretching out, I started to daydream of the virtual world.
As my thoughts had moved on to Katherine and Selene and how both beauties were essentially mine and mine alone, I was rudely interrupted by the raucous laughter of the degenerate bunch.
Looking over towards the slides on the massive screen, it didn't take long to realize why.
Up on the projector screen were relatively detailed updates on population numbers along with the most notable guilds and general development in the various regions. This was the moment for those who were in the powerful guilds to stick their noses high up into the air with that smug attitude of, "I told you so."
Reading through the information provided, it seemed Mr. Sardonic and his bunch was a part of a large guild in the Animal-Race region, the second most powerful in that area. Grinning while talking to no one in particular I quietly whispered, "Duly noted."
I wasn't a vengeful person, but… I had no qualms about making life tough for my enemies. That was what the Player versus Player aspect was all about anyways. One day, I would make life for him rough. That day might come sooner rather than later, too.
Taking mental note of everything that was provided on the screen we came to the last region, that familiar region I called home. The presenter continued on with her analysis and asked her typical questions as the slideshow continued to go through image after image. And there it was… the pictures on the screen betraying me at every turn; we had finally arrived to a picture of the far North, where I resided.
Murmuring soon became incessant chatter as the crowd deliberated over the aerial screen shot that was only available to the AIcorps staff and the Alpha and Beta testers who came to the meetings.
The still image depicted one very large and one decently sized log cabin surrounded by grass and near the riverbank. Forests and mountains could barely be seen at the edge of the image but were noticeable. The biggest thing though, was the nearly one-hundred humans that were scattered around the area.
Resting my head against the wall directly behind me while wanting to slam an object into the ground, I contained my anger. This was exactly what I didn't want to happen.
Popular guilds in plain sight being showcased on screen were one thing, but showcasing a more or less secret village out in the middle of nowhere would have disastrous consequences.
There were dozens if not hundreds of hungry guilds looking to conquer territories and everyone already knew that the North only had a few individual players. Conquering my territory meant free NPCs and land for the victor.
I was a sitting duck.
I was now a known commodity.
I was now a target.
I would have visitors of all types, with no way to tell between the friendly and the hostile. All of my plans would need to be adjusted accordingly to ensure the safety of the territory, in short order. Thanks must be given to Katherine and Selene for pushing me to recruit the Combat NPCs, if not for them I would be woefully behind.
Before the presenter could finish covering my area, I quietly stood up and walked out of the room. Walking past the front counter I was asked a question, "Ah, leaving already? It's only another thirty minutes for the banquet hall to be ready…."
Looking up at the lady who was just trying to be polite I kept it short, "Nah."
Fuck the free food.
I didn't give two shits about that.
Stepping out onto the street, I continued to walk towards my car. The situation had changed and I needed to get to work immediately.
* * *
After the presentation had concluded, I waited as I listened to the crowds behind me shuffle out until their voices were far off in the distance. Believing it was now clear, I slowly stood up.
With my cane in my right hand, I used it to feel around the edge of the chairs. I started pacing myself to the aisle that was half a turn to the right and eight steps forward. Using my cane to tap the aisle seat with the clang of resonating metal from the contact, I knew I was in the right place.
But before I could head out towards the door I heard someone behind me, "Oh Valerie, you're still here, good."
Turning around to where the sound had come from, it was the voice of a friend, the presenter Emily.
"Valerie, what did you think of the presentation? Interesting, right?"
"Mm. Yeah, there was a lot of good information. It was well done."
"I knew you would like it! But do you think I did something to make Brent mad? He left in a hurry as soon as I got to his territory… I thought he would like it."
I could clearly hear the dejection in her voice as she finished that line, she was upset. Thinking over the presentation, I did recall someone abruptly leaving the room as Emily started covering the North, but the room was so loud I couldn't be sure of what I heard.
"Val, do you think he may have wished for that information to remain private?"
"Ah, is that so? He did strike me as a private person, the last time we talked. Maybe he didn't like it."
…Mm. Yeah, he seemed reluctant to share his opinion with me the first time.
I could hear Em sighing just under her breath, "Ahhhh… I knew it. He used to talk with me in the past but now I haven't seen him since I said his name out loud. I knew he was mad at me."
That's strange… I decided to try and reassure her, "Oh… I thought maybe he was mad at me."
"What? Why would he be mad at you Val, what did you do?"
"Well, I think I turned him down quite rudely without meaning to."