New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

"I have more than one thing to talk about. But first things first. How did you surpass my level this fast? Did you suddenly go on a PVP killing spree?"

"Funny you would ask that. Yes, I did."

David clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"I thought you understood the concept of 'Everyone needs to be stronger'. Why would you willingly take levels from other players?"

"That's my business. Are you mad because I passed you on the charts?"

David shook his head slowly.

"I couldn't care less about that stupid chart. What I care about is having the players grow stronger and more numerous. I already explained this to you last time."

"Then why are you bringing this up?"

"Because you are making potential assets weaker, dumbass!"

"Trust me on this, David. These men were nothing worth considering as assets. I did the world a favour by making them weaker."

"Tch! You still aren't seeing the big picture. Every player is an asset for the future."

"What do a few players matter in the grander scheme of things?"

"They will outnumber us, Alex! Every human that can stand in their way will be essential. If you make the players weaker already, I came back for nothing."

"Fine! I'll restrain myself from PVP in the future."

"Good," David said, trying to calm back down.

"Now, for the second matter. There will be an update soon. The update will include a time skip inside the game. I need you to delay that as much as you can."

"How am I supposed to delay an update? I don't work at Evo-Gaming, remember?"

"They already set the update. It will automatically schedule itself for twenty-four hours after a player reaches level fifty. I need you to hold on to levelling further than forty-nine."

Alexander's brows furrowed.

"Are you asking me this so you can reach the top again?"

"It's like you aren't listening to me at all... I won't be levelling past forty-nine either. And if you can, tell your friends to do the same. The longer we hold on to this update, the better our odds will be in the future."

"What does this update matter for? Does something happen after it?"

"Not quite something. But once the update goes live, the game will have skipped ten years ahead, and it leaves the kingdoms unprepared for what happens in those ten years."

"And what is that?"

"The invasion starts."

"What invasion? And why would it matter if it's only inside New Eden?"

*Sigh*

"The invasion starts inside New Eden before bleeding out into our world. We need the world of New Eden to hold on longer than it did last time, so we can better prepare over here."

Alexander couldn't quite follow what David was insinuating.

Are you implying that the two worlds are connected?"

"No. I'm saying it isn't two worlds to start with, Alex. New Eden isn't a game. I'm sure you already noticed as much."

Alexander took a few moments to take that info in. He, of course, had noticed the game seemed too real to be just a game.

But he was far from thinking it was an actual place. In his mind, his theory was that New Eden was just the next phase in AI and technology.

David gave him some time to digest this news. He wanted Alexander's help, and for that, he would need to slowly give him more and more info about what would happen.

After a few minutes, David decided he had thought about it enough.

"Now I also have another request. Remember when I said I would need extra money? Well, that time has come."

"Huh? Already? How much do you need?"

"As much as you can spare. My plans are moving along, but money is slowly becoming an issue."

Alex frowned. He still didn't know what David's plans were entirely, and it annoyed him, but he had already agreed to help.

He pulled out his phone, looking at how many funds he had now, but remembered something. Alexander pulled open the EG website and logged into his account.

Once he was in, he looked at his current amount of gold. He had a little over sixteen thousand gold pieces.

He looked at the current exchange rate, and it was still at one hundred dollars for a gold piece. This meant he had a little over a million and a half that he could transfer out of the game.

"Is a million good enough for now?" he asked David.

David frowned slightly, but he nodded.

Alexander pulled out the gold, passing through the exchange function, and sent it immediately to David through a phone transfer.

David received the notification and smiled. He got up, getting ready to leave, before stopping and turning to Alex again.

"One last thing."

David lunged at him, extending his arm to Alex's throat. He was using mana to enhance his strength to intimidate him.

He lifted him by his throat.

Surprise took Alex, but he quickly lifted his hands to free himself.

"Never lay your hands on me again," David said, malice shining in his eyes.

Fear almost took Alexander, as David's form was shrouded in shadows in his eyes. But something washed the fear away as quickly as it appeared, and his strength suddenly grew.

He pried open David's hand before punching him in the jaw.

It was David's turn to be surprised. He had used mana to enhance his strength, so anyone that wasn't doing the same shouldn't be able to break free so easily.

That's when he understood what felt wrong in Alex's house. He could feel trace amounts of mana!

"Leave, before I throw you out from the balcony," Alex said to him, his eyes slightly glowing.

David got back up, laughing like a maniac, before walking to the elevator. He didn't bother with retaliating on Alex, since they were mostly equal in strength.

It thoroughly sparked his interest.

'Things are already changing. This time, it will be alright!' he thought, as he left.