Short Stories

Look at all dem Protagonists

Hello, hello. I'm Brandon. Now, don't be mistaken. I'm not a protagonist, not by a long shot. I just thought to report on it.

Let me explain. This is a virtual world. VR is definitely great. Wyvern is a wonderful company. Great graphics. Can't rate it any higher, haha. (Please don't take this down, Wyvern. Please don't fire me.)

My only problem is that I'm only here to help interact with and make the world feel more alive. I'm only cooking. But there's this weird guy. Don't know if he's an NPC or not. He's the scorned second prince of some nation. People used to call him crazy. Now, he's peeling potatoes. Oh, here he comes.

"Brandon, look what he did! He wasted a potatooooo." His voice is filled with grievances and sobs as he clings to my pants. I can only pay attention to him since he was holding them in a damned death grip while pointing at a red haired guy. Oh. Alex.

"You- Nevermind, you're off work. Him, too. Please don't cause some much trouble." Seriously, it's only a potato. And does he also cry when evading trained spies sent to find him? Before I could finish warning them, he had already leapt up and kicked his friend out the door. Mind you, the door was more than twenty feet away. Good thing those doors were open, too.

*Sigh* I also have a few issues with-

"Mother! I've finally found you. I'm your son." A dude dressed in what looked like Chinese robes bursts in. The doors once again slammed into the walls with a money-draining crack. I cringed. Everyone in the kitchen of course stopped to look at him.

He, on the other hand, immediately zooms in on me, not even glancing around. I have a bad feeling. And he appears right before me. I don't even have time to step back as he grabs my shoulders and tells me, "Mom, I'm your son!"

"..." Your mother, I'm not your mom!

Now that I have a close look at him, I have more to say... He's handsome, right? So why is it that only his face doesn't look Asian, but like an extremely appealing Justin Bieber? Not to mention, all other asians, you can't tell them apart. God, how racist can an international game be? I, who possesses a normal Asian dude skin, look like my neighborhood drug dealer. 

To be honest, that pixelating feature is not only good for gory fighting scenes, but also when looking in the mirror. I really can't say I appreciate looking like a middle aged man when I should still be in high school. Oh, I zoned out. He's still holding me. Wait a bit, 'kay? I'll get back to talking.

"Kid, I'm not your mom. Please leave." I rest my hands on his chest, and I must remark, though his face is... special, his body is rock hard. I give a few more pats, and yep, those are the muscles of someone who can actually fight.

He looks at me for a bit, then says, "Mom, have you gone senile? Don't worry, I'll honor my filial piety and take care of you." Oof. Still don't recognize him. So, he keeps talking.

"Ten years ago, we still knew each other... You raised me, yet you forget..." Oh. Ohhh. Ohhhhhh, it's that guy.

 Backstory: He was orphaned and I found him back when my character model looked like Jackie Chan. I feel like his parents may have just left because they were afraid of dying because of the protagonist halo. Then, when he was ten, he set off to find his real parents. I couldn't find him, so I settled down in this restaurant. You really can't live without money, you know? Already, he was in a sect at eight, so I was just hoping he'd be fine, and the sect wouldn't care to notify a bumpkin. By the time I learned of this, he was long gone.

And now he's back. From outer space. I just stood here to see him there with that sad look upon his face.

There's really nothing to say, though. If he wasn't doing good, he wouldn't come back to see his useless caretaker, so I won't ask if he was fine. I won't ask if he found his parents either, but... there's something wrong with your head... and face.

"Why are you calling me mom?"

"What? You're not my mom?"

"Can a human male be a mother?"

"Are you saying men can't give birth?"

Wut. Okay. I didn't realize technology has advanced so much. But I still need to work, so I pat him on the shoulders and look at my staff. Luckily they are working and not just watching this spectacle.

Sorry, but I won't be able to cover everything. Logging off.

..........

A man just finished replaying a video narrated by a youthful voice. He waited for his superior to speak. Behind him was a black haired Asian beauty. He paused for a second before asking, "Did you find his whereabouts?"

"No sir, but there has been more information on the body's status when it was discarded in the dream realm. He was perfectly healthy, but the immediate shock shows there was a forced shutdown." So, he was not harmed in the game. Then why did he leave? A few more decades would only equal one and a half months real time, and he would get his full pay.

He hadn't used his real name, as was preferred by the substitutes. Three months absent, being how long a life would take, was also not trivial for a high schooler, yet he still wasn't found. He didn't believe someone with his character would be anyone too powerful, but why was it nigh impossible to find him?

.........

Life was hard. 

After he should've already passed high school, he finally was allowed by the government to attend. Already, people were spreading rumors about him, but people also liked his cheeriness. He hoped his second year wouldn't be too rough.