Auntie toasts the VRMMORPG

2.46 Spar Day

BBQ Grillmaster signed the nondisclosure agreement without complaint like the rest of his colleagues. Although he was happy that the boxes would only work for two more days, he conceded that they were a powerful training tool and shouldn't have been leaked. However, the last day was worse than any boot camp. Rob had drilled them until his virtual body had broken down.

"Alright folks, the match will start in 4 hours. Try to get into your best condition until then. Either you do it on your own, or you take my special offer." Rob grinned. BBQ knew that this kind of smile meant pain. "My mother has a time dilation chamber. Nine of us may use it until the patch. The time in there flows three times faster than in the Metaworld. That means you need at least 90% synchronization if you don't want to puke. So who is with me?"

Immediately, Zapple, Hub, Ressa, and Jelonso raised their hands.

'Damn. I can't chicken out if the rest of Team Fire and all of Team Light shows up.' Reluctantly, BBQ raised his hand. His sync was only at 86%, but he had experienced three times dilation in the past. Except for a bit of vertigo, it had gone over well.

Normad, Ponda, and Mia raised their hands while Hoffi, Olivia, and Tobias abstained.

BBQ knew that the first two had sync-rates in the high eighties, too, while Hoffi and Olivia didn't reach 80. Tobias had over 90. The sly rogue skipped class. BBQ envied him, but at the same time, he knew that because he wasn't as talented as the others, he had to work harder.

Rob gave them the address of Auntie Flo's teleportation circle. It was quite a mouth full.

BLEAMTO Cathedral of Home Appliances TOBLEAM.

When BBQ arrived, his instincts lead his eyes to the turrets on top of the two brick walls. Six of them pointed directly to the circle, but he spotted more farther away. When he turned around, he realized that they had landed on the first or second level, and four more turrets aimed at them from the floor.

BBQ gulped. That wasn't a cathedral but a *bleep*ing fortress! He felt tiny in front of the 6 meter high walls. Only two doors and a ramp distracted from their massiveness.

Confidently, Rob strode to the smaller door and waved them in.

BBQ hurried out of the line of fire, only to appear directly in front of a fighter jet wreck. It was propped up on strange poles. Savage grimaces adorned them. Were those poles kin-routes? One kin-route was worth a shitton of VirDias, and the Auntie used them as mounts for a shipwreck?

"Your mum is a mad scientist, Bro," Hub said. "I've always known it, and that lair is the bloody proof."

BBQ wrested his gaze free and looked at the rest of the lair. It was a maze. Of course, it was a maze; what else would you put into a spooky fortress? Boxes and containers were stacked haphazardly, with narrow paths between them. The only light came from rune-schemes and some pools in which the water and glass fractured it. The shadows between the boxes seemed to be moving.

Carefully, BBQ followed his teammates into the maze. His eyes darted left and right, inspecting every crossing and shadow for hidden perils. A whirring sound from the ceiling attracted his gaze. Turrets! Turrets, over turrets, lined the top like a deadly stucco.

As they got closer to the center, combat sounds reached them. After turning around a corner, a glowing box surrounded by elementals appeared. Fire escaped from the clearance between the door and the frame, light exploded, and a green mist drifted out of it. In the background, they heard heavy strikes hitting a soft target. Meanwhile, the elementals pelted the box with their attacks.