The Crimson Quest: A LitRPG Adventure Read online

  Chapter one

  When I saw the ad, I hardly believed it. I hated working, but it was different. It was a way to make money and have fun. And nothing was more fun than playing an MMORPG. It was even better. It was the most realistic virtual reality experience known to man. Honestly, it almost sounded too good to be true. I had heard of BladeDust Online and knew that many players were using it as a substitute. The problem was that there was a start-up cost involved. But according to the ad I was reading, that was no longer the case.

  The company actually allowed players to try a 30-day free trial. The only catch is that you have to earn a minimum amount of in-game currency to continue the next month of play.

  I continued to read the details of the ad before hearing my roommate's opinion. I held my laptop up. “BladeDust Online offers a 30-day free trial. He says they have a location in our area, but the offer is only valid for the next 3 days. Do you think this is legitimate? " I asked with a half smile.

  I looked at Johnny and showed the ad on the screen. He said nothing. Instead, he just wore the same blank look on his face as usual. "Really? But how is that possible? He asked. " How can they propose a test af re? "

  My finger tapped the screen excitedly. “I think they are doing it to attract more players. Basically, you just have to earn monthly fees inside the game. As long as you earn the fees during your 30 day trial, they keep you playing. At least that's how I think it works. "

  Johnny blinked several times and showed a skeptical look on his face. Then I pointed at him and smiled. “I'll call them and find out the details. This could be the best job opportunity ever. "

  "You're just wasting your time," Johnny replied irritably. “Let's just sell all of our stuff. It's the fastest way to pay our rent. "

  "Sell all our stuff? Even your dinosaur robot?

  Johnny looked down at the green robot not far from him. He took out a credit card almost a year ago and wasted his money on a robot dinosaur. He thought it was cool because his skin was rubber and he could walk on his own. The truth was, it was a scam. But despite everything, he cherished the little gem as if it were some kind of high tech. His blue eyes widened as he licked his lips. “Well, everything except my robot. I invested way too much money in it. Also, it could take weeks to sell it for its full retail value. "

  "I think you mean it could take weeks to give it away," I replied, laughing.

  Johnny stared at the ground. I always wondered why he pulled out a credit card just to buy a lousy little robot. To make matters worse, he never paid off the credit card he used. And because of the robot dinosaur, his credit score was zero. And because his credit score was zero, he had to move in with me. It was impossible for her to find a place to rent to her because of her poor credit.

  I put my finger in the air and spoke in a firm voice. “I don't sell any of my stuff if you don't even sell your robot. Besides, what's the point of having an apartment if it has to be empty?

  “I don't mind having an empty apartment. It gives me more space to run.

  I stood up and looked at Johnny sitting on our worn brown sofa. Pointing to the sofa, I rolled my eyes. “Why would you need more space to run? All you do is sit on that couch. We found this on the side of the road. Remember?"

  Johnny collapsed as the couch had almost swallowed him. “I'm sure someone would like to buy this. It's a really good sofa, isn't it?

  My head was coming and going. “It sucks. I think brown leather has seeped into my new white shirt I bought. Remember how my shirt started to look brown all of a sudden? "

  Johnny looked like he didn't believe me. “Are you sure? I never noticed my shirt change color.

  I nodded in irritation. “It's because you wear the same brown shirt every day. You know, not is, what not?

  He gave a small smile. "Do you really think the sofa turned your shirt into brown?" I always thought you were driving in dirt.

  I turned away from Johnny. There was no need to answer. An argument like this could go on for hours between us if I let it. With a sigh, I turned to him. “We don't have anything worth selling,” I replied.

  He became calm. He knew I was right. Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out my cell phone and began to type in the number displayed on the ad. The phone rang once before a well-spoken man answered. “Thanks for calling Emerson Entertainment. How can I help you?"

  My eyes turned to Johnny as it seemed he was eager to hear my first words. “I'm calling about the BladeD ust Online free trial ,” I replied.

  "Yes, would you like to register?"

  My head was going up and down. "Yes sir."

  "Okay. What's your name?"

  “Blake. My name is Blake. "

  “Nice to meet you Blake. Can you come tomorrow at nine o'clock?

  Johnorrow at nine o'clock? Shit. It was great, but I wasn't used to getting up so early in the morning. I clear my throat. "Nine o'clock in the morning?"

  "Yes. I'll text you the address," the man replied with quick words.

  "Sounds good. If you don't mind asking me , how exactly does it work? How do you offer players a free trial?"

  “I can explain everything when you get here. The paperwork covers everything you need to know. See you tomorrow at nine o'clock. Okay?"

  “Sounds good,” I replied.

  The voice didn't respond as a period of awkward silence took over. "Don't you want the address?"

  "Of course," I replied with a crack in my voice. "I need it. This is something that I will definitely need.

  I let out an awkward laugh before the man answered. "Alright then. I'll text you right now with all the details. See you tomorrow."

  My head bounced up and down. "I will be there."

  I clicked the end button and looked at Johnny. He threw both hands in the air. "So what did he say?"

  “He wants me there tomorrow. Nine o'clock in the morning. It's quite early.

  I fell back onto the sofa. There was a loud bang as the cheap leather reacted to the force of my fall. “I hope there aren't any hidden charges or something,” I said, looking at the white and white wall in front of me.

  "Do you think they'll let me participate in the free trial as well?" I need to earn some money, ”Johnny replied.

  “I'm sure they would. You can call them yourself and ask them if you want. "

  “I don't know,” Johnny replied. “My energy level is pretty low right now. I might just need to relax for a few days. Just to store my energy. "

  I rolled my eyes. How could his energy level be low? Then Johnny grabbed a bag of instant noodles and opened them. He tossed some raw noodles into his mouth before asking his next question. "Have you ever played virtual reality?"

  "Of course, " I replied. “But only the console versions. It's new. I'm dying to play BladeDust Online. The start-up cost was always too expensive for me. It's the first game that uses sensors and all that. People say it's so good it can suck your life. I am really happy to try it. "

  Johnny continued to eat his noodles raw and didn't say anything. "Do you eat noodles without cooking them?" Why don't you cook them? I asked.

  "It's faster," Johnny replied with his mouth full. "Plus, they almost taste like crisps if you use your imagination."

  “I can't believe they are offering a free trial. I've read that some players make a lot of money from the game. Plus, it's supposed to be the most amazing experience there is. "

  Johnny didn't answer. He just kept eating his dry noodles. I rolled my eyes and stood up. "I'm going to bed," I say without turning around.

  "Already?"

  "Yes," I replied, heading to my room. “I haven't been up so early for a long time . My body will need a little extra res
t if I want to get up this early. "

  "Alright," Johnny yelled back. "I'll try to be quiet here."

  I opened my door and closed it behind me. Looking down, I saw my deflated air mattress on the floor. Damn, was that out of air already ? No matter how hard I tried to mend the hole, the air always seemed to find a way out. Where was my pump? My eyes scanned the room until I saw the edge of the black plastic pump resting under a pile of pizza boxes. Having no time to breathe, I grabbed the pump and pushed it into the air mattress. I turned it on and braced myself for the horrible vacuuming sound it was making.

  The air mattress got fuller and fuller until it looked like it was about to jump. I always liked pumping it to its full capacity so that the air lasted as long as possible. It sucked, but sometimes my air mattress would flatten out in the middle of the night. There was a leak in it and I sometimes had to pump it several times during the night. The guy who lived in the apartment next to me always seemed to hate it when that happened. Sometimes he would bang against the wall and ask me to turn off the pump. It sucked, but it was really hard to sleep on a flat air mattress. It just wasn't much fun. I sighed before getting up and throwing the pump to the floor.

  Then I turned off the light and fell back into my air mattress. As I tried to sleep I wondered what tomorrow would bring. How exciting would it be to travel in a real world of virtual reality? I had played virtual reality before, but nothing like it. It was the real deal. My heart started to beat faster as excitement flooded my head. But I tried to calm down. Now was not the time to get excited. I needed to rest or I wasn't going to be able to get up so early in the morning.

  Chapter two

  It was the sound of a festive rainforest. It was the alarm sound I had chosen. The alarm kept ringing while I was still dreaming. In my dream, a frog was riding a camel. Wow, how did this frog get so powerful? And why was this camel in a tropical rain forest? Surely other frogs must admire this frog and its ways of riding a camel? It all didn't make sense as the rainforest music continued to play. Suddenly my eyes opened. I was awake. I reached out to my side and closed the alarm . The truth was, I wasn't used to being awake so early.

  The world felt a little different in the morning. I sat up and looked down at my deflated air mattress. Yes, it was flat again. Jumping, I turned on the lights and went to my closet. Relaxed activity ? Yes, that would work. I wanted to be very pretty for such a special day. As I flipped through my wardrobe, I realized I didn't have much. My white shirt, a pair of jeans, and a few other t-shirts were all I saw. Crumpled on the floor, it was an old, worn suit that I had bought in a thrift store. I bought it because it was so cheap, and I figured one day I might need it. Well, that day had come. I put on the crumpled black suit and realized I didn't have any dress shoes on. I did have these solid black running shoes though. They should be working. After throwing on my seedy little suit, I did my best to sneak in quietly. I walked into the living room and noticed Johnny's body lying on the couch, face down on the floor .

  I didn't want to wake him up because I knew he would have a thousand questions. My steps were slow as I tried to avoid any areas I knew would create a crackle. But just before I got to the door, there was a creak as my foot came down. Turning my head, I noticed Johnny's body squirming like a worm. "Can I have a dollar?" he asked without raising his head.

  "A dollar? But I need all my dollars," I replied with a little irritation.

  "But, I'm broke right now and I'm out of food."

  Broken? So why didn't he come with me to make some money? Johnny's head rose to reveal his messy blonde hair. I put a hand in the air as I spoke urgently. “You should really come with me. Rent is due in less than 3 weeks. Besides, I can't keep letting you borrow money. Remember we originally planned to split the rent? It was the market. Have you ever forgotten?

  A defeated look appeared on Johnny's face. Even though I was irritated with him, I knew he was a good friend. But unfortunately he suffered from being too lazy. Even with his lazy manners, it was hard to get mad at him. The truth was, he just didn't know any better. Johnny itched on his head before getting up. "I'm so tired. I don't think I can go so soon. I mean, the moon disappeared a few minutes ago, did it?

  I took a deep breath. "The sun has risen. You have to come with me. We have to pay rent, man.

  Johnny shrugged as I could almost see the wheels in his head start to move. “I guess I could come now. I mean, I'm officially hired right now.

  "Alright," I replied, walking towards the door. "I will be late. Put on your clothes and come with me.

  "Very well," Johnny replied sharply. "Let me take a bath first."

  I looked out the door, then walked back to Johnny. "I do not have time. I'm about to be late.

  Without saying anything, Johnny reached under the sofa and pulled out a pile of crumpled clothes . Urgently, he moved on to a few different options. "Just let me change," he cried, holding up a brown shirt.

  I didn't say anything, looking away. In a few moments he had put on the clothes. "Let's go," he said in a tone cheerful . "What do I look like?"

  Scanning his body from head to toe, I couldn't help but think he looked like someone who had just crawled out of a dumpster. "Fairly good," I replied with a forced smile. “I mean, it's a little crumpled. Don't you have anything more ?

  "This is it," he said in a low voice. "Why? What's wrong with that?"

  I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. It's just not that cool."

  Johnny didn't answer as we left the apartment and got into my car. Once in the car, I put the directions in my phone's GPS. Yes! It was less than ten miles away. One of the best things about living in a big city was that it all came together in one area. Johnny didn't say much while we were on our way there. It was obvious he wasn't used to getting up so early.

  Chapter three

  When we arrived I was surprised at the high tech of the building. He was tall, slender, and appeared to be fiberglass. "This is it," I said, parking the car.

  “Seems like a good place to work,” Johnny replied. "It's such an official look ."

  “I don't consider it to be working. We play a game and earn money. It's something I would call fun.

  We got out of the car and headed for the front door. Without thinking, I reached out to block Johnny's path. “Let me talk. After all, I was the one who called and set everything up. "

  A moment of silence followed as it seemed he was processing her response. "But why? Won't they let me play too?"

  "Probably. I don't see why they wouldn't let you join the free trio too. I just can't wait to get into the game world ASAP . They'll probably make us fill out a bunch of paperwork and stuff. things. I want to go ahead and do my own. Does that make sense? "

  "Okay," he replied, pushing my hand away. After that, he entered the door in front of me. Once inside, the excitement started to build up in me. Everyone was dressed in beautiful costumes and seemed in a hurry. Everything was so clean and futuristic. Bright white tile floors and walls were all around us . The place was beautiful. We went to the reception and saw a pretty woman behind. I smiled. "I'm here for the BladeDust Online trial."

  She nodded. “The fourteenth floor. Turn right and it's the second door on the left.

  We entered the elevator and have reached the fourteenth floor in seconds. The shiny white doors opened and we walked out. Right after I put my first foot outside, a wheelchair almost went through. "Excuse me," said a tall, slender man, steering the wheelchair around him.

  As the tall man pushed the wheelchair, I wondered what was wrong with the younger person sitting in it. As he passed, the young man gave me a strange look. It was a look of fear. But why? Why was he giving me such a look? Suddenly Johnny patted my shoulder. "Where are we going?"

  My head turned to him. "To the right."

  We walked to the right and saw the second door. I examined the logo neatly printed on the front. “Emerson Entertainment. This is it, ”I said.

  My hand pushed open the cold
metal door and we entered the room. Everything was white and in perfect condition. At the end of the room, there was a large bright window. Behind the window was a room full of players inside capsules. "Are these people in the virtual world?" Johnny asked with some excitement.

  "Yes," I replied, walking to the window. Behind the window were hundreds of capsules. It seemed so strange to look at these people like they were dead or something. But I knew it wasn't . They were actually spending the time of their lives. Still, it seemed strange to think my body would just be sitting there while I played the game.

  Suddenly, something grabbed me by the shoulder. “Welcome,” a voice said.

  I turned around and saw a thin gray haired man who was dressed in white. He was an older man and wore thick rimmed glasses. “Blake?