I pick up all my stuff after the class ends. Today is Friday. This means we have two days to relax and do whatever we want in front of us.
“Ricard, Laura,” I call them. “Do you have any plans for this weekend? I plan to spend most of the time capturing more monsters for my dungeon… If you want to join me, help is always appreciated.”
They turn to look at me, their expressions brightening for a brief instant. But then, Laura gloomily counters my offer.
“...aren’t you forgetting about the exams?”
And *Poof!* as if by magic, Ricard’s expression radically changes. Now, he looks as if his soul left his body.
“The exams…” I tilt my head. “What are those, are they tasty?”
She hits my shoulder. “Don’t joke around with this. They’re the final exams, they’re important.
“Oh, you meant ‘those’ exams…” I joke. “I don’t need to worry, I did well until now.”
“Yes, but not everyone’s the same…”
She points to the side, where Ricard is trembling with glazed eyes. “Exams… Oh, no, the final exams are here… What am I going to do…? And I was planning to level up this weekend…”
Yes, Ricard, they’re here. It’s funny that you, who’s obsessed with the undead, is the one whose soul has left its body.
You know what? This is what you get for fooling around by playing games so much that you never studied. Hahaha, look at me! I’ve played a lot too, but I did my homework (sometimes) and studied early so I wouldn’t need a studying marathon later.
Play smarter, not harder! Like me. Hahaha!
I don’t think Laura will have any trouble either, so I ask her again. Ricard? He’s already got his plate full.
“So… do you want to help me?”
“Sure, but, hmm…” She hesitates to continue, biting her lower lip. She fidgets with her hands, twirling her fingers around. “But… But, only if we go alone, you and me.”
“The two of us…?” I’m sure Clara won’t like it, but it’s ok. It isn’t as if I have to do everything she wants. “Fine by me. But is there a reason why you want to be alone with me?”
It can’t be she wants a date with me, can it? No, no. A date inside a game isn’t a date at all, it’s impossible. She must want to practice something when only I am present, I’m sure that’s it.
She hesitates. “No, it’s just…”
“NO!” *PAM!*
Ricard slams his fist on the nearest table. I swear I could hear something breaking, but the table seems fine, so was it Ricard’s fist?
“I can’t allow it!” He continues. “We’re a team, so we must play as a team!”
I decide to taunt him a little. “Aren’t you angry because you must study and can’t come with us? Maybe you shouldn’t have spent so much time playing DMA.”
“That’s…” He turns his head around, avoiding eye contact. “Don’t try to change the topic. We’re talking about the League of Evil here! How dare you break the rules and try to play without me. If I can’t, then you can’t either.”
No, regardless of how you look at it, it’s you who’s changing the topic to avoid being embarrassed. Also, your true intentions are showing, didn’t you notice?
“But we never made such rules.” I counter.
“Of course we did! From the moment we created our team, we swore to stick together forever. This includes…”
As he continues rambling on and on, Laura and I exchange a look and agree to stop talking about this. We’ll continue when he isn’t around.
Why should we stick to his invented rules? It’s his own fault if he’s in this predicament.
“Ok, Ricard, stop!” I stop him from continuing his eternal explanation. “Do you really have no time free? It isn’t a good idea to spend all the time studying either, maybe you could spare one or two hours a day…”
When I stop him, he starts glaring at me. But then, when I mention the ‘breaks’, he looks at me as if I was his savior.
Oh, shit! He might start worshiping me now… I’ve already gotten my hands full with that stuff, so you better not join them.
“Ah! You’re right, I’ll need a break or two, of course. Maybe one every half a day… no, every hour… perhaps I can squeeze one every half an hour… One hour of playing for every half of study doesn’t sound too bad.”
Tired of listening to Ricard, Laura hits him on the back. “What are saying? Of course, this won’t do. One break or two is fine, but using the breaks as an excuse to play instead of studying is completely different. Do you really want to suspend?”
“N-no, I don’t want to…”
“Then, will you study or play this weekend?” Laura pressures him by pointing at him. “If you don’t put your shit together, you’re going to turn into a useless person. And, did you know…?” She makes a nasty smile. “...girls don’t like useless guys… Fufufu.”
“Ah, uh…” Ricard stutters, his face bright red. “I, I…”
Oh, wow. I didn’t know you could convince him like that, Laura. Though I don’t think it’ll work if I were the one who did it. At least, I hope it won’t work… It’d be scary if it did.
“So, are you going to study or not?” She steps away, giving him some space to calm down.
He gulps. “Ah, huh… yes. I’m, going, to… to… to, study, of course.” I can almost see bitter tears falling from his eyes.
But this sure is amazing, I never thought I would live to see the day when Ricard didn’t know what to say. I’ve never seen him struggling so much to talk. Usually, when he starts talking, it’s like an unending stream, but now…
Both Ricard and Laura are putting on awkward expressions, so it’s up to me to break this weird mood. And I have the perfect way to do so.
“*Khm!* Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you before…”
I make a dramatic pause and they eagerly wait for me to continue. Heh, I feel important.
“I asked my older sister if she could help you two improve, and she said she’s too busy.” I calmly observe as their expressions dull before continuing. “Instead, she said she would prepare an easy course inside her own dungeon for us to go and train.”
“Yes! Yes, yes! Fucking yes!” Ricard starts jumping around. “Finally, it’s my chance to show my knowledge that’s comparable to a pro player to a so-called pro. I’ll make sure to impress her, and then she’ll admit I’m better, and my popularity will reach the sky! Hahaha!”
Yeah… good luck with that.
“But won’t she need a lot of time too, to create the course?” Laura asks, ignoring Ricard. “Would it really save her any time at all?”
“She said she’ll reuse some of the stuff she prepared for me and Clara,” I answer. “She also said she wanted to show me my place, so she’s in fact the one who’s most interested in this…”
“I understand.” Laura stops and gives me a pitiful gaze. “Your relationship isn’t as good as I expected, huh?”
“No, well... It’s… it’s difficult to explain.” I awkwardly scratch my head, recalling our love-hate relationship.
“So… when are we going?” Ricard grabs my shoulders with so much strength I feel they’re going to break. “I can anytime you want. I have nothing to do this weekend.”
“Didn’t you say you were going to stu–”
“Wait, we can talk about this later.” Laura interrupts me in the middle of my retort. “We’re the last ones, we’ll be late to the next class if we stay here.”
“You’re right. Let’s go.” I say.
“I’m ready, I was waiting for you,” Adds Ricard. Hey, Ricard, how do you have the nerve to say this when you’re the one who was wasting our time a second ago? “Let’s talk as we walk,” He continues. “Andreu, what do you think will impress your sister the most? My battle skills or my game knowledge?”
Hmm… nothing?
Should I pop his bubble now, or wait until later? Hmm… I’ll be funnier if I wait, so I’ll let him be happy for now.
“Impress her…?” I put a hand on my chin to make him believe I’m taking this seriously. “I’m sure you’ll impress her if you beat her in a one-versus-one combat.”
“Is that so!? Then, I guess I’ll have to train and give my all!”
I pat his back. “I’m looking forward to your victory.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Does anyone want to make a bet with me? I’ll bet everything I have on Ricard’s defeat… Hahaha, what an easy way to make money!
Laura stares at me, furrowing her brows, disapproval written on her face.
Why do you look at me like that? What did you want me to say? Even if I know there’s absolutely no way he’ll win a fight against my sister, shouldn’t I be cheering for him, as his friend?
I put my index finger on my lips, making a signal for her to stay silent. She nods.
Ricard never took me seriously when I said my sister was one of the top players. He’s been playing along, but I’m sure he still thinks I’m bragging. He’s so focused on his own greatness, that he can’t see the reality around him.
But Laura knows the truth. I’m sure Clara shared my sister’s real identity with her, and she knows how deep of a hole Ricard is digging for himself right now.
Well, a humility injection won’t hurt him.
Maybe, after losing like a pathetic worm, he’ll start playing more seriously and will turn from a walking encyclopedia to an amazing player.
Hey…! Don’t look at me like that! I can dream, okay!?
“This can’t continue… I must do something or I’ll be left behind. Think hard, Clara… I must solve this problem!”
I roll on top of my bed, hugging my favorite slime plushie. I must solve this problem soon, but I can’t think of any solution.
I’m being left behind by Andreu in DMA. He’s already level 7, but I’m still at five. His friends are leaving me behind too. Ricard was always the highest of us all, and Laura is managing to keep up somehow.
…I believe it’s thanks to the succubi in her dungeon, but I can’t be sure.
At first, it was okay thanks to the nerds in my class, but I demanded too much from them and now they’re avoiding me. It’s partly my fault, I was too pushy… but I don’t know how to approach somebody else, I’m scared of being hurt. I put on a nasty front and treated them harshly, so they wouldn’t hurt me, but the only thing I achieved was making them scared of me.
I regret my actions now... Didn’t I act the same as those kids back then? The same they did to me… I hate myself for it now, but I don’t know how to apologize.
For the tournament, I received help from my brother and his friends. They all helped me level up to level 5, so we could have a good chance at winning. Andreu felt it was his duty, and Laura didn’t dare say no when he asked her to help me level up.
Ricard on the other side… as soon as I promised him to put lots of weak units in a special area for him to farm, he immediately agreed. He might know everything related to the game, but he’s too easy to manipulate, hehehe.
But I can’t keep asking them for help all the time, they have their own lives and stuff they want to do…
Now the only one who regularly comes to my dungeon is Eva, the classmate who stopped me from putting pressure on the nerds. I’m sure she does so out of duty because she believes herself as the class representative, that she must help everybody.
I’m fine with it, I don’t care what she thinks. The problem is that it isn’t enough if she’s the only one…
If I could spend as much time as I wanted inside the game, I might not have this trouble. I could be like Ricard, and forget about everything else.
But I don’t have so much free time. Next year I’ll start my university life, and I must spend as much time as possible preparing for the entry exams.
“Maybe I’ll have to ask Marta for help. I’m sure she can help improve my dungeon, and if she puts in a good word, as Anthemia, my dungeon will surely gain popularity... Yes, let’s do it.”
I decidedly stand up from my bed and walk to her room.
*Knock, knock*
“Fuck off, Andreu!” I hear Marta shouting from the other side of the door. I’m not surprised by her shouts, I’m used to it.
“It’s me.”
“Oh, ok.” She opens the door. “You can come in, Clara. I’m sorry about that. Andreu just left and I thought he wanted to bother me… Did he tell you about your team training? Is this why you came?”
“No, he didn’t tell me anything. I came for something else.” It looks like, after this, I’ll have to go and pester Andreu until he tells me everything. “Can you help me with something?”
“You need my help?” She tries to hide it, but she’s happy I’m asking her. “Sure! What do you need?”
“You see… it’s about my dungeon…”
I start explaining my current situation. She listens calmly, but can’t hide the smile growing on her face as I continue explaining.
“Most players create one or two ‘private’ areas inside their dungeons: areas where their friends can farm, train, etc.
If you’re one of these players, be careful with them. Since they must be connected to the main dungeon, if the players find them, either by luck or because somebody told them, they’ll consider them as part of the dungeon and go inside. Depending on the ‘private’ area you created, and the dungeon you’ve created, this will be very bad, and harm your dungeon’s ratings.
For example: you don’t want players that dive into a ‘realistic’ dungeon to find a farming area; or those that come to your ‘farming’ dungeon to find a training passage filled with deadly traps.”
- A tip from a veteran DMA player.
I pick up all my stuff after the class ends. Today is Friday. This means we have two days to relax and do whatever we want in front of us.
“Ricard, Laura,” I call them. “Do you have any plans for this weekend? I plan to spend most of the time capturing more monsters for my dungeon… If you want to join me, help is always appreciated.”
They turn to look at me, their expressions brightening for a brief instant. But then, Laura gloomily counters my offer.
“...aren’t you forgetting about the exams?”
And *Poof!* as if by magic, Ricard’s expression radically changes. Now, he looks as if his soul left his body.
“The exams…” I tilt my head. “What are those, are they tasty?”
She hits my shoulder. “Don’t joke around with this. They’re the final exams, they’re important.
“Oh, you meant ‘those’ exams…” I joke. “I don’t need to worry, I did well until now.”
“Yes, but not everyone’s the same…”
She points to the side, where Ricard is trembling with glazed eyes. “Exams… Oh, no, the final exams are here… What am I going to do…? And I was planning to level up this weekend…”
Yes, Ricard, they’re here. It’s funny that you, who’s obsessed with the undead, is the one whose soul has left its body.
You know what? This is what you get for fooling around by playing games so much that you never studied. Hahaha, look at me! I’ve played a lot too, but I did my homework (sometimes) and studied early so I wouldn’t need a studying marathon later.
Play smarter, not harder! Like me. Hahaha!
I don’t think Laura will have any trouble either, so I ask her again. Ricard? He’s already got his plate full.
“So… do you want to help me?”
“Sure, but, hmm…” She hesitates to continue, biting her lower lip. She fidgets with her hands, twirling her fingers around. “But… But, only if we go alone, you and me.”
“The two of us…?” I’m sure Clara won’t like it, but it’s ok. It isn’t as if I have to do everything she wants. “Fine by me. But is there a reason why you want to be alone with me?”
It can’t be she wants a date with me, can it? No, no. A date inside a game isn’t a date at all, it’s impossible. She must want to practice something when only I am present, I’m sure that’s it.
She hesitates. “No, it’s just…”
“NO!” *PAM!*
Ricard slams his fist on the nearest table. I swear I could hear something breaking, but the table seems fine, so was it Ricard’s fist?
“I can’t allow it!” He continues. “We’re a team, so we must play as a team!”
I decide to taunt him a little. “Aren’t you angry because you must study and can’t come with us? Maybe you shouldn’t have spent so much time playing DMA.”
“That’s…” He turns his head around, avoiding eye contact. “Don’t try to change the topic. We’re talking about the League of Evil here! How dare you break the rules and try to play without me. If I can’t, then you can’t either.”
No, regardless of how you look at it, it’s you who’s changing the topic to avoid being embarrassed. Also, your true intentions are showing, didn’t you notice?
“But we never made such rules.” I counter.
“Of course we did! From the moment we created our team, we swore to stick together forever. This includes…”
As he continues rambling on and on, Laura and I exchange a look and agree to stop talking about this. We’ll continue when he isn’t around.
Why should we stick to his invented rules? It’s his own fault if he’s in this predicament.
“Ok, Ricard, stop!” I stop him from continuing his eternal explanation. “Do you really have no time free? It isn’t a good idea to spend all the time studying either, maybe you could spare one or two hours a day…”
When I stop him, he starts glaring at me. But then, when I mention the ‘breaks’, he looks at me as if I was his savior.
Oh, shit! He might start worshiping me now… I’ve already gotten my hands full with that stuff, so you better not join them.
“Ah! You’re right, I’ll need a break or two, of course. Maybe one every half a day… no, every hour… perhaps I can squeeze one every half an hour… One hour of playing for every half of study doesn’t sound too bad.”
Tired of listening to Ricard, Laura hits him on the back. “What are saying? Of course, this won’t do. One break or two is fine, but using the breaks as an excuse to play instead of studying is completely different. Do you really want to suspend?”
“N-no, I don’t want to…”
“Then, will you study or play this weekend?” Laura pressures him by pointing at him. “If you don’t put your shit together, you’re going to turn into a useless person. And, did you know…?” She makes a nasty smile. “...girls don’t like useless guys… Fufufu.”
“Ah, uh…” Ricard stutters, his face bright red. “I, I…”
Oh, wow. I didn’t know you could convince him like that, Laura. Though I don’t think it’ll work if I were the one who did it. At least, I hope it won’t work… It’d be scary if it did.
“So, are you going to study or not?” She steps away, giving him some space to calm down.
He gulps. “Ah, huh… yes. I’m, going, to… to… to, study, of course.” I can almost see bitter tears falling from his eyes.
But this sure is amazing, I never thought I would live to see the day when Ricard didn’t know what to say. I’ve never seen him struggling so much to talk. Usually, when he starts talking, it’s like an unending stream, but now…
Both Ricard and Laura are putting on awkward expressions, so it’s up to me to break this weird mood. And I have the perfect way to do so.
“*Khm!* Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you before…”
I make a dramatic pause and they eagerly wait for me to continue. Heh, I feel important.
“I asked my older sister if she could help you two improve, and she said she’s too busy.” I calmly observe as their expressions dull before continuing. “Instead, she said she would prepare an easy course inside her own dungeon for us to go and train.”
“Yes! Yes, yes! Fucking yes!” Ricard starts jumping around. “Finally, it’s my chance to show my knowledge that’s comparable to a pro player to a so-called pro. I’ll make sure to impress her, and then she’ll admit I’m better, and my popularity will reach the sky! Hahaha!”
Yeah… good luck with that.
“But won’t she need a lot of time too, to create the course?” Laura asks, ignoring Ricard. “Would it really save her any time at all?”
“She said she’ll reuse some of the stuff she prepared for me and Clara,” I answer. “She also said she wanted to show me my place, so she’s in fact the one who’s most interested in this…”
“I understand.” Laura stops and gives me a pitiful gaze. “Your relationship isn’t as good as I expected, huh?”
“No, well... It’s… it’s difficult to explain.” I awkwardly scratch my head, recalling our love-hate relationship.
“So… when are we going?” Ricard grabs my shoulders with so much strength I feel they’re going to break. “I can anytime you want. I have nothing to do this weekend.”
“Didn’t you say you were going to stu–”
“Wait, we can talk about this later.” Laura interrupts me in the middle of my retort. “We’re the last ones, we’ll be late to the next class if we stay here.”
“You’re right. Let’s go.” I say.
“I’m ready, I was waiting for you,” Adds Ricard. Hey, Ricard, how do you have the nerve to say this when you’re the one who was wasting our time a second ago? “Let’s talk as we walk,” He continues. “Andreu, what do you think will impress your sister the most? My battle skills or my game knowledge?”
Hmm… nothing?
Should I pop his bubble now, or wait until later? Hmm… I’ll be funnier if I wait, so I’ll let him be happy for now.
“Impress her…?” I put a hand on my chin to make him believe I’m taking this seriously. “I’m sure you’ll impress her if you beat her in a one-versus-one combat.”
“Is that so!? Then, I guess I’ll have to train and give my all!”
I pat his back. “I’m looking forward to your victory.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Does anyone want to make a bet with me? I’ll bet everything I have on Ricard’s defeat… Hahaha, what an easy way to make money!
Laura stares at me, furrowing her brows, disapproval written on her face.
Why do you look at me like that? What did you want me to say? Even if I know there’s absolutely no way he’ll win a fight against my sister, shouldn’t I be cheering for him, as his friend?
I put my index finger on my lips, making a signal for her to stay silent. She nods.
Ricard never took me seriously when I said my sister was one of the top players. He’s been playing along, but I’m sure he still thinks I’m bragging. He’s so focused on his own greatness, that he can’t see the reality around him.
But Laura knows the truth. I’m sure Clara shared my sister’s real identity with her, and she knows how deep of a hole Ricard is digging for himself right now.
Well, a humility injection won’t hurt him.
Maybe, after losing like a pathetic worm, he’ll start playing more seriously and will turn from a walking encyclopedia to an amazing player.
Hey…! Don’t look at me like that! I can dream, okay!?
“This can’t continue… I must do something or I’ll be left behind. Think hard, Clara… I must solve this problem!”
I roll on top of my bed, hugging my favorite slime plushie. I must solve this problem soon, but I can’t think of any solution.
I’m being left behind by Andreu in DMA. He’s already level 7, but I’m still at five. His friends are leaving me behind too. Ricard was always the highest of us all, and Laura is managing to keep up somehow.
…I believe it’s thanks to the succubi in her dungeon, but I can’t be sure.
At first, it was okay thanks to the nerds in my class, but I demanded too much from them and now they’re avoiding me. It’s partly my fault, I was too pushy… but I don’t know how to approach somebody else, I’m scared of being hurt. I put on a nasty front and treated them harshly, so they wouldn’t hurt me, but the only thing I achieved was making them scared of me.
I regret my actions now... Didn’t I act the same as those kids back then? The same they did to me… I hate myself for it now, but I don’t know how to apologize.
For the tournament, I received help from my brother and his friends. They all helped me level up to level 5, so we could have a good chance at winning. Andreu felt it was his duty, and Laura didn’t dare say no when he asked her to help me level up.
Ricard on the other side… as soon as I promised him to put lots of weak units in a special area for him to farm, he immediately agreed. He might know everything related to the game, but he’s too easy to manipulate, hehehe.
But I can’t keep asking them for help all the time, they have their own lives and stuff they want to do…
Now the only one who regularly comes to my dungeon is Eva, the classmate who stopped me from putting pressure on the nerds. I’m sure she does so out of duty because she believes herself as the class representative, that she must help everybody.
I’m fine with it, I don’t care what she thinks. The problem is that it isn’t enough if she’s the only one…
If I could spend as much time as I wanted inside the game, I might not have this trouble. I could be like Ricard, and forget about everything else.
But I don’t have so much free time. Next year I’ll start my university life, and I must spend as much time as possible preparing for the entry exams.
“Maybe I’ll have to ask Marta for help. I’m sure she can help improve my dungeon, and if she puts in a good word, as Anthemia, my dungeon will surely gain popularity... Yes, let’s do it.”
I decidedly stand up from my bed and walk to her room.
*Knock, knock*
“Fuck off, Andreu!” I hear Marta shouting from the other side of the door. I’m not surprised by her shouts, I’m used to it.
“It’s me.”
“Oh, ok.” She opens the door. “You can come in, Clara. I’m sorry about that. Andreu just left and I thought he wanted to bother me… Did he tell you about your team training? Is this why you came?”
“No, he didn’t tell me anything. I came for something else.” It looks like, after this, I’ll have to go and pester Andreu until he tells me everything. “Can you help me with something?”
“You need my help?” She tries to hide it, but she’s happy I’m asking her. “Sure! What do you need?”
“You see… it’s about my dungeon…”
I start explaining my current situation. She listens calmly, but can’t hide the smile growing on her face as I continue explaining.
“Most players create one or two ‘private’ areas inside their dungeons: areas where their friends can farm, train, etc.
If you’re one of these players, be careful with them. Since they must be connected to the main dungeon, if the players find them, either by luck or because somebody told them, they’ll consider them as part of the dungeon and go inside. Depending on the ‘private’ area you created, and the dungeon you’ve created, this will be very bad, and harm your dungeon’s ratings.
For example: you don’t want players that dive into a ‘realistic’ dungeon to find a farming area; or those that come to your ‘farming’ dungeon to find a training passage filled with deadly traps.”
- A tip from a veteran DMA player.
