Colt looked around his house to check he had not left anything behind. ‘I won’t be back for a while.’ He thought as he touched the wall by the door. Colt bent down and picked up his heavy bags before opening the door.
The rain hammered down as a wind that threatened to carry him away blew with all its might. ‘Damn, it’s cold!’ Colt shivered as the driver sent by Rebel Energy took his bags from him. He locked the door and hurried to the black car before slipping into the back seats.
“Took you long enough.” Mike chuckled as he punched Colt’s arm.
Colt groaned before nudging his brother with his elbow. “I wish they’d told me they were picking you up first. If I’d known, I would have kept you waiting longer.” .
Mike rolled his eyes as he peered out the car window. “This could have waited til morning, you know. What possessed you to do it tonight?”
“Hm, you and I have a training session first thing in the morning. Moving in tonight lets us get unpacked and settled. There’s no way I could’ve done all that in the morning. Besides, aren’t you excited?”
“I was until you mentioned training.” Mike scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “But I guess you want to go over some things before the others arrive.”
Colt nodded as the car weaved in and out of the late-night traffic. The dull light from the street lights illuminated his face, allowing Mike to notice that his brother was contemplating something.
“C’mon Colt, What’s up?”
Colt sighed and explained the situation with Bargrux and Nar’Kozz. Mike had not ascended in the game yet, so he had missed the commotion before everyone logged off. Mike frowned as he listened, but he did not interrupt. Instead, he focused on every detail that Colt shared with him.
“I see. Usually, that would be a tricky situation.” Mike nodded as he smiled at his brother. Sure, the dwarves are allies. You’re aware they’re holding something that can gain the attention of Gods. So you’re thinking it’s a difficult thing to bring up. But you’re wrong.”
Colt’s eyes widened as Mike shrugged before continuing. “You’re there God now. Act like one. Demand to see it! If they ask how you know about it, just glare at them. That should be enough to make them think you know because you’re a God. It’ll also stop them from trying anything in the future. Since they can’t be certain of what you do and don’t know. But be vague. Just demand to see the treasure they seized.”
Mike laughed at Colt’s incredulous expression. “Be more aware that you’re a God to the NPCs. Not a King. You can afford to be more arrogant with them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they took arrogance for confidence in your power over them.”
Colt nodded in agreement. ‘Mike’s right. We have to start acting like real Gods.’ Colt sighed as they sat in silence for the rest of the journey.
The car pulled into a private garage at the back of the building that would serve as Ragnarok’s base. In doing so, Mike and Colt failed to get a good look at the building from the outside. However, the weather would have prevented them from seeing much anyway. The driver told them to go ahead while he dealt with their bags.
As soon as they set foot inside, Jay grinned at them. “Welcome home, boys! Who is up for a tour?”
“Thanks, Jay, that’d be great.” Colt smiled as he looked at his brother. “Mike, this is Jay. He’s our contact with Rebel Energy.”
“Yeah, we spoke briefly when he wanted to use my game name for the products. It’s nice to meet you in person.” Mike said as he shook Jay’s hand. “Now, about that tour…”
The trio laughed for a moment before Jay led them through the corridor, toward the main entrance. Colt smiled when he saw the main entrance. The main wall was full of glass panels, that would allow plenty of light in during the day. A large semi-circular white desk stood between two modern staircases that led to the next floor.
“As you can see there are plenty of chairs and couches for any guests to wait on before meeting with you. The welcome desk is large enough for three receptionists. We could only get one on short notice. He starts tomorrow along with the chef and Paul. Now, up the stairs.”
Jay showed them around the gym, the training room that was already full of training weapons, the recreation room, the dining hall, the game cabin room, the conference hall, and finally, the offices for the upper members of the team.
It was a far cry from what he had at Camelot, but it was still impressive for a new team. ‘It’s a good start. I thought it’d be at least a few months before we found anything. Jay hasn’t wasted any time.’ Colt nodded before spotting Mike also nodding approvingly.
“Thanks, Jay. This place is perfect for us right now.”
“No problem. Now the dorms are down the hall there and take a left. The best rooms are at the end. I suggest you get settled in before Paul arrives tomorrow.”
The brothers thanked him again and walked him out. Of course, they locked the doors since there was no security staff yet. Colt obviously chose the best room. It sat on the corner of the building, so two windowed walls looked out over the park adjacent to the building. However, the rain was too severe for Colt to be bothered going out on the balcony to enjoy it.
After he unpacked, Colt enjoyed a long bath in his en-suite before settling into the king-size bed. Before he could think too much about anything, his eyes were opening to the sound of his alarm!
‘Damn! When did I fall asleep?’ Colt cursed as he jumped out of the bed to throw on some loose clothing. He barged out of his room to find Mike waiting for him.
“You ready?” Mike chuckled as they headed for the training hall.
“Yeah, it should be interesting.” Colt smiled as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. “We should be able to learn something from Paul.”
Mike clicked his tongue as he stared straight ahead. “I’ve never been very good at this kind of thing.”
“Same, I’ve only ever trained inside of games. So this is new to me too.” Colt shrugged as they entered the Training hall where Paul was already waiting for them.
“You’re late,” Paul said as he shook his head.
Colt checked the clock on the wall behind Paul and a frown appeared on his face. “We’re ten minutes early.”
“Being ten minutes early is to be five minutes late. From now on you’ll be fifteen minutes late to do a warm-up before we start the training.” Paul scoffed before beckoning them over to join him on the mats.
“Forget the warm-up for today. If you suffer because of it maybe you’ll learn a lesson. Let’s start by testing your abilities. Grab whatever weapons you prefer.”
Colt immediately moved to pick up a weighted wooden spear that had a padded ball on the end instead of a tip. Against another wall were several wooden shields of different styles. When he chose the tower shield he found the weight of the weapon and shield were a bit too much for him to handle. However, he decided to stick with it.
‘I need to get used to it since it’s what I use in the game.’ Colt thought as he returned to the mats while his brother browsed the range of training weapons.
“Since you’re ready we’ll start with you while Mike figures out what weapon best suits him. Prepare yourself.” Paul said as he picked up the dual short swords by his feet.
Colt raised his shield and lifted the spear to point it at Paul. However, his arm trembled from the weight as his eyes narrowed to study his opponent.
Paul shook his head before dashing forward and avoiding Colt’s spear. Paul spun on his right heel to strike with both swords at the edge of Colt’s shield. Colt stumbled as the shield was over to the right side of his body, interfering with his ability to wield the spear while exposing the left side of his body.
Paul then struck four times with the flat of his wooden swords against Colt’s ribs. A sharp pain spread through Colt which forced him to release his grip on the shield. Colt cursed as he tried to escape from his instructor’s onslaught, but Paul punished him every time he exposed himself even the slightest.
Less than two minutes passed before Colt collapsed on the mats with Paul pointing the tip of his swords at Colt’s throat. ‘Damn, I didn’t land a single blow. I couldn’t do anything!’ Colt frowned as he realised how lacking he was compared to Paul. He had some confidence in his abilities before the fight, but Paul had torn that all apart.
“Not bad. I’ve seen worse.” Paul limited himself to saying that as he helped Colt to stand back on his feet. “If you want my opinion, you’re ill-suited to this style. You can pull it off in the game only because your stats are superior. But if you come across someone on your level, with greater skill in using their weapon. You won’t stand a chance. I suggest you seriously rethink what style you want to use going forward while I deal with your brother.”
Paul grinned sadistically as Mike chose his weapon…