New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Somewhere deep in the woods, near Montreal, and close to the construction site of his future shelter, David was surfing the internet, for news of the changes to happen on this side. ．

He found many minor incidents, where people were described performing miracles. It went from lifting cars to save people, all the way to healing from terminal illnesses.

The crime was also on the rise, with the thieves being described as performing unnatural actions. People claiming to use real magic abounded around the world.

These were all precursors to the actual changes to come. David had withheld some information from his guild when he told them about the update.

He had told them almost everything to know about New Eden’s changes. But those weren’t the only changes to come.

Diving deeper into the web, he searched for any news, big or small, about strange sightings or phenomena. It took him a while before getting any credible hit, other than alien sightings, or yeti encounters.

But he eventually found one that entailed more of what he was looking for.

*Berserk children in the woods, kidnapping young women and killing kids. New Drug on the rise?*

He quickly tapped on that news article, reading it through and through.

In it, the news reporter transcribed the words of a woman who claimed to have escaped these, ‘children’, as her friend was grabbed on their hike through the woods.

Her friend was still missing, but the police thought she might have just lost herself, discarding the woman’s words as ravings of grief. But David knew better.

“Goblins. So it has begun.”

He rapidly looked at the city name and country where this had happened and wrote them down. This had happened in a small town in the states, called Valentine, in Nebraska.

He rapidly opened another tab on his browser, booking a flight to the USA, with two seats in first class, for the next day.

“It’s time to call in this favour from the butterfly. It’s hunting season.”

A wide grin spread on his lips, at the thought of killing his first creatures on this side.

Closing all his tabs, he grabbed his phone and speed-dialled one of the few contacts on the list.

But his phone never rang. Frowning, he took it away from his ear.

When he looked at his service indicator, his bars were crossed off with a red X. His face turned to a scowl.

David had a signal booster installed, so he would never lack signal, since all his phone service and internet came in wirelessly. To have suddenly no service, after he had just been on the net, was strange.

It could only mean one thing. Someone was jamming the signal.

His spine suddenly tingled, as he felt the gaze of someone on him.

Not bothering to turn around, he immediately started applying mental pressure with his mana.

“You have to be either dumb, or suicidal, to come into my home without being invited.”

A voice came from the shadows to his left.

“Mr. Magnus. Your tricks won’t work on me, I have seen worse in my life. Qi practitioners in Tibet give off stronger pressure than yours.”

Turning his head, David saw the man walk out of the shadows. He was a white man, with some Asian traits, like his jet-black hair, and slightly stretched eyes.

“Who are you, and what do you want with me? More importantly, how did you reach here without tripping a single alarm or trap?”

The man waved his hand to the side dismissively.

“Unimportant details. My employer wishes to talk with you, and would like you to come as soon as possible. Meaning now, preferably.”

David glared at the man. He took a step toward him, raising his hands to the side.

Two skeletons sprang from the ground, flanking David on each side.

“Do you think you can come here, ask me to follow you, and leave unscathed? I have more important things to do than to talk to rich pricks. Now leave!”

Seeing the man stare at him, unbudging, David sneered.

“Fine, have it your way. Attack!”

As he commanded, the two skeletons dashed forward, armed with nothing but their boney hands, aiming them at the man’s throat. But as they reached him, the man vanished.

David felt a surge in energy from behind him, but was too slow to react. Feeling the tip of a knife pressed against his nape, David stopped moving.

‘How?! He doesn’t look like a player, and his mana signature was off too!’

“Mr. Magnus. You ‘Players’ are not the first ones to touch on energy surpassing human understanding. Many people before you committed feats of the supernatural. Please do not underestimate everyone you meet, for your sake.”

David remained unmoving, his mind still assessing the threat level of his intruder. He felt little to no malice or bad intentions from the man, but those could easily be hidden, with practice.

But feeling the knife edge away from his nape, David jumped forward, repositioning himself between his skeletons and turning around.

But, search as he may, the man was no longer here. A beep on his phone stopped his search.

The network was back.

“Tch! He’s gone.”

Looking at his desk, they had placed a nicely folded card there. On it was an address and time to meet with the man’s boss.

David vaguely recognized the address, but not enough to place a face and name on the mystery rich man that wanted to discuss with him.

Seeing as the time of the meeting was this same day, he figured it was better to get rid of this before leaving for the States. Which reminded him to call Alexander again.

The phone rang twice, before the annoyed voice of Alexander answered.

“What do you want?”

“Hello to you too, butterfly. Remember that favour you owe me? It’s time to cash that in. You will come with me tomorrow. I hope your passport is in order.”

And before Alexander could refute him, or refuse to come, David hung up. He chuckled as he could imagine the angry face of Alexander on the other side of the line.

“Serves you right. I don’t get bossed around without retaliating.”

Stretching his body, and sending the undead back to rest, David walked out of his little hideout. He walked his way to the city and hailed a cab.

The cab arrived in record time, and David was almost flabbergasted. The cab driver, a buff man with a scruffy beard, understood his gaze and responded with a smile.

“Calm day, today. Where to, sir?”

David gave the address, ignoring the happenstance. The cab driver nodded and drove off to the destination.

‘Who the hell is this rich prick, and how did he find me? Even Evo-Gaming couldn’t.’