Two years have passed since our first entry to the OASIS. During that time, we did not know there was a contest to find Halliday's Easter Egg that had been going on for three years already. Speaking of Halliday, he created the company "Gregarious Games" alongside his friend Ogden Morrow. He saw the future where everyone can go anywhere without actually going anywhere. People needed an escape and he provided that place to go. A place called the OASIS.
One can do anything or go anywhere. They could go to the vacation planet where one can relax to their hearts desire or go to the planet-size casino where you can win or lose everything. They can get married or divorced or even do some steamy "exercise" at the motel. People come to the OASIS for all the things they can do, but they stay because of all the things they can be.
During these past two years, me and the girls have separated in the real world to go explore their own way. With their money and abilities, they can go anywhere unimpeded. Last time I heard from Wednesday was that she, Thing, and Goody were somewhere around Japan. They were enjoying the food and culture there as well as the fashion culture there. More specifically dark lolita fashion and techwear fashion.
On other hand, Enid and Nitocris stayed together and went around Italy in Europe. They were tourists and enjoyed the food mostly. Last time they sent me a picture of them eating pizza with the view of the ocean. I just laughed at their funny expressions. Even though we are thousands of miles apart, we can still see each other daily in the OASIS.
For me, I was multitasking with focusing on the OASIS as well as gathering technology since it is a pretty futuristic world. At least fifty years ahead of the reader's current world.
Various technologies flowed in my hands such as the holographic tablet, or the high-tech phones, etc. Likewise, I raided a few military bases near the city since Columbus, Ohio is the fastest growing city in the world.
Feels a bit deja vu since I did the same thing before leaving Wednesday's world. Various drones and military arsenals as well as a satellite were transported inside the Shadow World. Gold reserves were also looted and that freaked the military for a few days. I even went to Canada, where I incorporated the surrounding snowy mountains inside the Shadow World.
Inside the OASIS, I got to work on my reputation as a modder and mechanic while the other is being a Legend in Impossible Challenges and Artifact Hunts. The name "Vex" has haunted the leaderboards of everyone in the OASIS.
Many people had tried their best in death matches to kill me. Unfortunately for them, my physical abilities as well as my reaction speed was beyond human and led opposing players to getting their coins snatched. Even top-notch bounty hunters were sent to zero me out but all they got in return was their own demise along with their coins and items filling up mine.
With the amount of loot I collected from those bounty hunters as well as other smooth-brained players, I bought an exclusive factory as a base for me to work on my projects, mostly ships, cars, and my favourite: Gundam Mobile Suits.
It took me weeks of preparation such as going through missions in Gundam storylines to pick up the blueprints as well as materials and subsequent OS (Operating System) to start building a mobile suit.
I started with the basics with the MS-06 Zaku II, the main mobile suit of the Principality of Zeon. All mobile suits were huge with an average height of 17.5 meters high but thanks to the reliability of the OASIS, this height was not much of a problem. There were various tools and gadgets all across the factory but despite my exhaustion, I still had a smile on my face.
To be able to build my own mobile suits is any kid's dream when they first saw the Gundam series or any giant mech show. It took maybe a week or so before the Zaku was fully operational along with the OS to move the body. I took the Zaku to move around as well as test the parameters before making final adjustments for future use. Taking it to a mission to grab a starship blueprint led to my exposure as a modder to the public.
People never dreamed someone would be able to make mobile suits since it took lots of coin, materials, as well as hard work to work out the OS. Without an OS, mobile suits are just walking targets. So when they saw a functional mobile suit being used to fight in outer space, they immediately tried to track down my identity so they could have their own mobile suits.
When I finished the mission and grabbed the materials and blueprint, several players came forward asking to commission a mobile suit for them. Unfortunately, I told them I could only make Zakus for now. Nevertheless, they still commissioned me and news of my manufacturing of Zakus were released to the rest of the OASIS.
So as the years went by, the amount of people using Zakus skyrocketed since with more commissions, the faster and better my manufacturing skills became. There was even a notion for others to clan up based on the Principality of Zeon due to the amount of Zakus in the OASIS. Thanks to the publicity of my work as a modder, many people became acquaintances with me and even became friends with fellow modder, Aech.
Aech was also a top modder in the leaderboards and also got plenty of commissions. He was a tall person with a mechanical stomach that could extend or shrink depending on the situation. He likes to go to Planet Doom to snatch some kills as well as coins. A little jack-of-all-trades type of guy.
When we first met, we started discussing about constructing a ship together along with what kind of attachments to add in there. In the end, we settled on building the Slave-I, the personal ship of the Mandalorian bounty hunter, Jango Fett and eventually passed it down to his son, Boba Fett.
It was a blast for sure to work on a masterpiece like the Slave-I with Aech. We did need some materials to start the chassis and framework so we went through the Star Wars storyline to grab the blueprint along with winning some crucial parts for the warp drive.
Of course we weren't alone, Aech called his best friend Parzival to join in and oh boy did he nerd out when he found out what we were building. He started freaking out and started listing facts about the ship while me and Aech just shook our heads.
I sighed and thought, "Parzival really reminds me of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. Once you get him interested in something, he won't shut up about it. Still I wouldn't expect anything less from a nerdy kid."
Aech put his hands on Parvizal's shoulders and shouted, "Z, you gotta calm down. It's just a ship plus you get to see it built later so calm down!"
After being shouted at and shook by Aech, Parzival finally calmed down.
Parzival apologised to both of us and said, "You're right, H. I was out of line but can you blame me? That's the Slave-I. A literal iconic spaceship. I am still sorry."
I just waved my hands and said, "Haha no worries. It was a bit funny to see you as a fanboy like that. I don't blame you."
All of us just looked at each other and laughed heartily. After bonding a little bit, we resumed our hunt for the parts we needed. Unfortunately, it's protected by a laser security system in the vault of the area. The guards were patrolling around the perimeter with their rifles, ready to shoot.
I assessed the situation before I told Aech and Parzival, "You both make sure if any stragglers start heading towards the vault, snipe them down. I'll take care of the guards inside and grab the part we need."
Aech and Parvizal nodded in agreement but Parzival still asked, "Are you sure you don't need help inside? What if you zero out?"
I chuckled and replied, "Then I zero out. Nothing wrong with starting over. And what was lost can always be taken back."
Along with the end of my sentence, I jumped into the bushes and stealthily made my way towards the facility. Seeing my figure disappear, they both had their sniper rifles ready to assist if needed. Both of them were expecting some guards to turn their heads but it didn't happen.
Aech saw me taking out the guards one by one silently either by slicing their necks or throwing knives from a distance. Each kill was silent and the bodies were dropping towards either the bush or out of sight from other guards.
Parzival was wide-eyed and subconsciously started to record the whole process so that he could share the video on his channel for views. Little did Parvizal and Aech know that this video would be the start of my rise to fame.
The whole facility was quiet. Too quiet. So quiet one can hear a pin drop. The guards inside had silently been killed as I disarmed the alarms and security lasers surrounding the vault. I took the parts I needed along with the coins and came back to Parzival and Aech's location. By the time I got back, Aech and Parzival were still looking through their scopes looking for me to come out.
I laughed in my head and thought, "Perfect time to scare them."
I approached them slowly while Aech was whispering to Parzival, "Z, you see him?"
Parzival whispered back, "No signs of him, H. Maybe he got inside alre-"
Parzival couldn't even finish his sentence before I spooked both of them out from behind, which prompted them to scream in terror. The sudden jump scare made them jump up and nearly gave away their positions. I was just laughing my butt off from their frightened faces. They even held each other. Thankfully I got a picture of it and some blackmail in the future.
Aech looked at me with one eye twitching and angrily shouted, "Vex!! That wasn't funny."
I just laughed hard before I slowly calmed down and replied, "You really should see the look on your face. Hahaha. Oh wait- I do~!"
I made a copy of the picture and sent it to both Aech and Parvizal. The look on the faces was so bad, they felt they just landed on a pile of poop. Even though they wanted to delete it, they still kept the photo for memories.
Parzival tried to divert the attention and asked, "Anyway did you get the parts we needed?"
I gave a thumbs-up and said, "Oh yeah. I got it and some coins for everyone."
Parvizal and Aech were excited that the last parts had been acquired and a healthy pile of coins also wouldn't hurt anybody. Their mission finally ended and went back to regroup in my factory and slowly finish the Slave-I.
Parzival left to try and find parts to complete his own car. He picked out the classic DeLorean from Back to the Future so he went hunting for those parts. In the meantime, me and Aech were working on finishing the Slave-I. It took a week of intense building but me and Aech finished the ship.
During those times, Ryvel came to visit and just chilled on the couch while working on trying to crack the first challenge to Halliday's Easter Egg Hunt. She got curious and thought this challenge would be a great way to increase her intelligence gathering skills as well as her intuition. Whatever she learns from this journey will help her in the future.
She was looking up information in real-life as well as going through the Halliday Journals. It was a building that popped up when the contest was announced as it contained memories about James Halliday or anything about him.
After a while, Ryvel left but not before giving me a kiss and said, "Don't tire yourself, my love. Be sure to rest and take a break after."
I kissed back and said, "I will and I'll see you later. Let me know when to pick you up, Mi Cuervo~"
Ryvel left the factory leaving me and Aech to finish the Slave-I. About a few hours later, KiaraNyan and Faythe burst in to have fun inside the factory. They mostly stayed at the platform where there's a sofa and workbench.
They were watching me weld in the part as they enjoyed how serious I could get when I'm concentrating. I guess most girls are attracted to men when they truly concentrate on their work.
An hour had passed before me and Aech took a break. We looked at the masterpiece and it was almost completed. Just the hull and weapons need to be installed and it will be ready to go. We both looked at each other and fist bumped.
KiaraNyan and Faythe finally came down from the lounge area and marveled at the monstrous ship me and Aech were building.
KiaraNyan and Faythe both shouted, "I wanna ride it!!"
KiaraNyan and Faythe both looked at each other and argued, "No, me first! Nuh-uh! Vex!! Who gets to use it first?"
I held my forehead before shaking my head and said, "Everyone will come when we first fly out the ship. So behave yourselves. I'm sure everyone is excited so let's do it together."
KiaraNyan and Faythe puffed their faces before accepting the decision. Aech just sighed in relief as he felt the oppression from the two girls was too much for him to deal with.
Aech thought, "Phew! I'm so glad Vex could control these girls or else I would probably just dip out of here."
I asked the girls, "How's Italy? Did you have your fair share of pizzas to eat? And Faythe did you find any souls willing to submit to you during your travels?"
KiaraNyan excitedly said, "Yeah~! The pizzas were sooo good. Maybe you can come with us next time and learn from them. Oh oh oh, we saw the colosseum and there were so many things to do~!"
I rubbed KiaraNyan's head as I listened to her story. She felt so content like a little puppy like always. I just enjoyed her enthusiasm as well as her discoveries with Faythe.
After she finished, I looked over to Faythe and she said, "So far, this world is interesting. It felt as if the gods had left this world long ago but I did find some wandering souls along the colosseum and pointed me to go to Pompei.
From there, the souls were still trapped in agony since the fall of Pompei. I released them from eternal pain and sent them on their way to the afterlife. They revealed that the sun god was angered at that time and wanted to purge humankind. It turned out that Apollo wanted to recreate the flood just like how the Biblical God washed the way to reset the board.
Instead of a flood of water, he triggered the volcanic eruption that wiped out the people of Pompei. Unfortunately for Apollo's plans, he forgot that the only people left to supply him with faith were the people of Pompei. Without any faith, he ceased to exist with the death of the people of Pompei."
I sneered at Apollo's plan and rubbed Faythe's head affectionately, "How ironic. He killed the very people keeping him alive. Either way, you did a great job sending them to the afterlife."
Faythe's face just blushed and covered it with her sleeves but didn't move away from me. It seems she's enjoying head rubs just like Ryvel and KiaraNyan.
I smiled and kissed her cheek before letting go of her. She froze like a statue before KiaraNyan started poking her cheeks to tease her. Faythe immediately lashed at KiaraNyan with shark teeth. I chuckled from the sounds of fighting behind me. It continued for a while before they got tired and yelled out to me that they were going to go visit Ryvel now. They waved before a portal opened for them.
Thanks to their departure, me and Aech finally got back to work on the Slave-I. After a few more days of work, it was completed. The Slave-I in all its glory was massive and domineering to the naked eye.
Any Star Wars fan would screech like a fanboy to see such mechanical beauty before their very eyes. Aech was crying his eyes out and notified Parzival about the completion and it didn't take long before he got to the factory. Parzival started jumping around and touching it like it was his baby. At the same time, I also called the girls to come over.
By the time the girls came by, they sweat dropped as they saw Parzival murmuring, "My precious..."
Aech was looking very embarrassed for being Parzival's best friend right about now. I clapped my hands and told everyone to board the ship and will take a test run in space. We all climbed inside and got to the main control room before I sat down with Aech as my co-pilot. I set the coordinates to go to the Destiny World Sector. I started the engine to prepare for warp.
I said to everyone, "Buckle up! We're getting ready for warp. Aech, pull the switch on my mark."
I looked at my watch as the time clicked, "Mark."
Aech pulled the switch before we all saw space started to bend and accelerated into warp speed. Everyone looked at the scenery with amazement in their eyes. It didn't take long before we saw Earth in its glory as well as the giant white sphere hovering above it called the Traveler.
We didn't land anywhere but just hovered around the area before warping to the other planet destinations like Mercury, Venus, and Mars. It took a while of sightseeing in space before we returned to the factory with the Slave-I landing on the space pad.
KiaraNyan jumped off and shouted, "That was awesome!! Everything was so beautiful from space!"
The others just walked off the ship but they were all still engrossed from the excitement and they couldn't wait to do another ride.
Ryvel commented, "Indeed. To see space first-hand as well as the planets was truly an eye-opening experience. Vex, can you make me a customized ship later for use?"
I replied, "Not a problem as long as it's not too big of a ship. I can make it easily to your specific design. This way you and the girls can use it later. Send me a reference and I'll work on it in a few days."
Ryvel smirked before kissing me on the cheek as she whispered, "Thank you, my love."
KiaraNyan and Faythe heard me and pleaded, "Me too!! But instead of a ship, I want a car to use for racing."
I patted both their heads and sighed, "Calm down, you two. I'll make you both cars to use. Like Ryvel, send me a reference so I can build it."
KiaraNyan and Faythe both cheered and hugged me tightly to show their appreciation. I smiled at their enthusiasm, especially Faythe. She had come out of her shell from being a resurrected god and bonded with KiaraNyan much faster than Ryvel did. This change in her mentality is crucial for our group. I don't need to worry about Ryvel and KiaraNyan since they already experienced one world.
After all the excitement went away, the girls left one after the other to do their own thing. Parzival was still fanboying over the Slave-I while Aech was only facepalming himself.
I told Aech, "I'll leave the Slave-I in your hands. I'm sure you'll make good use of it. But do let any of the girls use it if they ask for a ride. I'm sure they won't break it with the modifications we did."
Aech's mouth was wide open along with Parzival. They couldn't believe that the ship now belongs to them, even though it was built cooperatively. Aech could only nervously thank me while Parzival urgently shook my hands in thanks.
Aech took the lead and stored the Slave-I into his inventory before he took Parzival and said their farewells. Their avatars went to the portal before setting the factory to Private Mode with an exception to the girls.
The lights of the factory had gone dimmer before I walked to a section of the factory before pressing a pressure plate on the wall. It immediately revealed a doorway leading to the armory and a workstation. There was a large screen taking up the wall on the left side as well as a computer underneath.
To the right of the armory was the wall of guns and various weapons from different series like Destiny, Halo, Overwatch, Gears of War, Darksiders, and many more. Finally to the back of the armoury stood a mannequin where my Bounty Hunter suit was located. It has a cyberpunk feel and style to it.
Suddenly the screen lit up and various contracts appeared. Most are kill contracts while others are scavenging contracts. Most of them are from IOI Industries and they were mostly surveying contracts and scavenging ones. There are kill contracts from various players and funny enough there's one for I-R0k. Though I'm not surprised since he's a ten-year veteran.
I rubbed my chin before selecting I-R0k's kill contract, "Well he would be a good target since he did try to kill once. Time to return the favor."
After accepting the assignment, another person came in with a bunch of different foods on a tray. This man was well-dressed in black with black hair passing his shoulders. His elegant posture exudes years of servitude and pride and his chiseled face would make women scream like it was their dream man. Paired with glasses made him look very seductive and intellectual. This man was Thing.
During the early days of our trial, I modified a IOI tech to fit and register Thing so that he could join us in our adventure. He came up with this avatar and named it, "Thing," as well. Due to having no mouth in the real-world, I synchronized his thought-pattern so he could speak inside. The voice he picked was very alluring to say the least. From the few years Thing had spent in the Oasis, he garnered quite a number of female fans and some men as well. After all, everything goes in the Oasis.
He has a refined, aristocratic appearance, with long, wavy black hair that falls past his shoulders and frames his pale, elegant face. His expression is calm and composed, enhanced by thin, round glasses that give him an intelligent, slightly mysterious air. He wears an elaborate, dark Victorian-inspired outfit: a high-collared shirt, a fitted waistcoat, and a long, sweeping coat adorned with intricate embroidery and metallic details.
Thing calmly asked, "Are you about to head out, Vex? I have some food from the Shokugeki World Sector. They are really wonderful like the anime portrayed them to be."
I glanced to the side before agreeing, "All right, Thing. Let's eat first and then I'll leave for my mission. And thanks as always."
Thing just sipped his coffee and replied, "You're always welcome, Vex."
Our little snack time was a breath of fresh air from all the hustle and bustle from working on the Slave-I. Me and Thing had a pleasant talk as he told me about his adventures in the Shokugeki World Sector as well as going to the Douluo World Sector. Various places really do broaden one's view of the world and oneself. This talk lasted for an hour before I started getting ready.
Thing stood up and tidied up before saying, "Vex, be careful. I'll let Ryvel and the girls know to start playing the first challenge. They got their own vehicles to use so there shouldn't be any problems."
I replied back, "Please do. Just let them know to stash their items here before they play around in the challenge. Countless people had zero out there, so better safe than sorry."
Thing said in the distance, "I'll relay it to the girls. Take care."
The door closed and all that's left is me in the room along with the light from the screens.
I put on my armor and whispered, "Time to hunt."
Clad in a sleek black hooded cloak, he wore advanced mechanical armor that integrates seamlessly with their body, featuring glowing orange and blue accents that hint at high-tech power sources. Their face is completely concealed by a reflective, angular helmet with a sharp, visor-like design, giving them an enigmatic and almost predatory look. Intricate cybernetic components run across their chest, arms, and legs, suggesting enhanced strength or combat capability.
I walked to the wall of weapons before picking out a few guns and a melee weapon. For long-range, I picked the Binary Rifle from the Halo Series. For mid-to-close range, I picked the twin revolvers, Mercy and Redemption from the Darksiders Series. Finally to add insult to injury, I picked the Frying Pan from the Team Fortress Series and dual hidden blades from the Assassin's Creed Series. After double-checking everything, I opened my exclusive portal and left the factory.
After asking my contacts where they last saw I-R0k's location, I tracked it down to the Forest of Endor in the Star Wars World Sector. As soon as I landed, I deployed aerial drones to see any sign of I-R0k.
It took an hour or so but the drones finally located him skulking around an Imperial Bunker with stormtroopers dead on the ground. I had a drone stealthily lay down an explosive charge right above the door while I got on to the roof of an Ewok hut as I pointed the Binary Rifle at the entrance.
I was prone looking through the scope and thought, "Whatever he's looking for will be mine eventually."
Earlier when I was setting up the ambush, I made sure to use a Space-Blocking artifact to prevent I-R0k from running away. While waiting for a few minutes, I-R0k finally appeared with a data pad on his person. It seems like he couldn't put it in his inventory while still near the bunker.
I immediately set off the charge but unfortunately I-R0k felt something off and had bubble shield from Halo ready. It protected him from the charge but it also depleted the shield.
I-R0k yelled, "Come out!! I know you're here. But you'll fail just like the re–"
Before he could finish his sentence, I fired a shot at his head but dodged at the last moment causing him to lose his entire right arm. The arm disintegrated on the ground while various coins and equipment were spilling out. He ran for cover while bandaging himself and replacing his amputated arm with a tentacle arm.
I put away the binary rifle before I stealthily rushed over to his location with both Mercy and Redemption ready to fire. I-R0k peeked from his cover and saw me rushing towards him and his left arm transformed into a skull energy rifle as he fired shots at me.
I dodged his shots while firing my own to him. I went into cover before firing a few more shots as I moved closer and closer to him. Every one of my shots were breaking chunks of the bunker. Each shot gets more and more accurate towards I-R0k's position.
I-R0k yelled, "Fuck!! If not for this data pad, I would've blasted this guy already!"
I-R0k could only curse his luck that the day of him zero-ing out had come. Without missing a beat, he started running and gunning like I am as we exchanged shots. I depleted his shield and disabled his leg as he fell down to the ground. He managed to hit my chest where I concentrated the shield and only took out thirty percent.
I sneered and thought, "Not bad for a decade-long player. Unfortunately, not good enough."
I stowed Mercy and Redemption before dashing straight to I-R0k and appeared in front of him as if I teleported there. I used one of the hidden blades to cut off the gun, rendering it useless before I placed the other hidden blade on his neck.
I-R0k froze and asked trembly, "W-Who? Who are you?"
I answered grimly, "Just a person passing by."
I-R0k couldn't process the information as if a crow was flying above him cawing, "Baka.. baka.. baka.."
I chuckled at I-R0k's expression and said, "I'm just fucking with you. I took a contract to kill you. I heard you had ten years worth of shit so I was very tempted. So I have to ask, how do you want to die? Do you want the quick way or the funny way?"
I-R0k stuttered, "Wai- Wha?"
I made a decision for him and said, "The funny way it is."
I released a recording drone and set it to record. I then pulled out the Team Fortress Frying Pan and bonked him on the head. Each bonk let out a funny sound and it didn't take long before I-R0k zero'd out and all his savings were up for grabs. It took about a minute or two before all of his loot piled up from his body. I just grabbed the pile and sent them over to the inventory.
I sighed and said, "Mission complete."
I took down the Space-Blocking artifact and signaled my ship to land. I boarded the ship and warped away from Endor space. After getting out of warp speed, I opened the World Sector Gate and returned to the main lobby of the Oasis.
I walked over to the Genshin Impact World Sector and opened a private world to Inazuma. I changed back into my normal outfit and walked through Inazuma City and ended up in Tenshukaku. I sat by the Sakura Tree before I took in the beautiful scenery. Cherry blossoms were falling with the wind brushing through me.
I murmured, "Such a beautiful world. I hope I can visit this place again in the future."
I opened up my menu and sent the completion of the kill contract on I-R0k as well as the humiliating video as proof. Not long after, I received my payment and funny enough, the video went viral when the person who hired me had a huge grudge on I-R0k. The video became a meme as many people started making short edit videos and spread throughout the OASIS.
Another fact spread through the mercenaries in the darker side crowned me as a dark legend for taking down I-R0k and even humiliating him in the process. Many people in the darker side of the OASIS were enemies with I-R0k and were the sources of the I-R0k's loot.
Seeing him zero out praised me as a legend for taking down a decade long player. Horrifying stories will occasionally pop out either by zeroing out year-long veterans or destroying clans in the dark. They found out my avatar name and made sure not to be in my sights. The name Vex became synonymous with Death. After all, no one wants to die in the OASIS.