Safiyya sat alone in her room. Connected to the internet as she gazed upon the contents of her laptop like she normally did. She was an introvert by nature, and a particularly reclusive one at that. Her brother’s drug problems, and the recent scandals he had found himself in.
Whether that be the fact that his fiancée had run off with another man. Or that his attempts to assassinate that man were fully revealed to the public. Was none of her concern. Nor was the increase in terror attacks within the country. Spurred on by Iran and the funding they provided the local Shiite extremists.
Living in the palace provided the young woman with absolute security and luxury. She could stay in her room for the rest of her life and never go hungry. In fact, this was exactly what she planned to do. Who needed her family, or their bullshit obligations when she had her dear friend TrashyGrappler.
The two of them had met on a MMORPG by pure chance. Having randomly been queued up together for a raid. But they had gotten along so well with one another that they added each other to their friends’ lists.
Throughout the year, they had exchanged contact information on a social media platform designed for Gamers called CHAOS. Where they spoke frequently, albeit only via text. Yet, as the weeks turned to months, the only real friend she had ever made seemed more preoccupied with life only very rarely speaking to her.
As Safiyya sat in her chair, she saw a familiar name appear online within her friends’ list on the game she had been playing for years now. TrashyGrappler was online, and this immediately lightened the young woman’s mood as she reached out to the other player and contacted them.
“Hey! It’s been so long since I last saw you, I thought maybe you had died. XD” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The player known as TrashyGrappler replied with a comment that left the young woman stunned beyond belief.
“Oh? Has it really been that long? Sorry I’ve been busy. Some fucking prick tried to have me killed a few days ago. And I’ve been dealing with the fallout since. I haven’t exactly had time to relax. The fam is going insane over the incident, and I damn near got fired from my job because of it. It was a major controversy where I live.
Safiyya at first thought that her friend was joking, and was quick to laugh off the severity of their words.
“Oh? Well try not to get yourself killed in the process? Who the hell would help me run these damn dailies otherwise? Not that you’ve actually been here for them the past two weeks :P”
The player named TrashyGrappler responded in a way that caused Safiyya to damn near have a mental breakdown.
“Oh? No, don’t worry I’m not going to kill the guy. Death would be too easier. I may have already fucked his fiancée, but now I’m going after his sister. I hear she’s quite the beauty. And while I’m at it, I might get with his mother as well assuming she’s still young and beautiful enough for my tastes…”
Safiyya honestly did not know how to respond to these messages. Her friend had never talked about such a… mature… topic with her before. She may be an adult, but she had no experience with the opposite sex due to the fact that she had been a shut in practically all her life.
For her friend to talk this way, she was convinced that something serious had happened, and was quick to try to comfort him.
“Wait, seriously? You weren’t joking this entire time? Oh, do be careful!”
As for the player named TrashyGrappler, he was quick to make a snarky remark before shifting his attention back to the game at hand.
“Oh, don’t worry, no woman can refuse my charms. I’ll be fine, I always am. Anyway, let’s get back to this fucking game. It’s been two weeks since I’ve been able to grind these fucking dailies and I’m so far behind everyone else it’s not even funny!”
After which Safiyya shifted from her state of worry to her serious mode as she and her friend began the never ending grind that was MMORPGs.
—
Above the Pacific Ocean was Alex’s private jet. He had been in the air for hours and was currently on his laptop. Playing a popular MMORPG that he picked up a year ago to waste time on his flights. He ended up getting hooked on the game, and spending what little spare time he had on it.
He had no idea that the player “Dark Rose” who he had gained somewhat of a online friendship with was actually his target this time around. Nor that he had actually just told her that he planned to fuck both her and her mother as a result of her brother’s attempts on his life.
Neither of them really understood this pure coincidence. Or was it really a coincidence, after all? Perhaps the system had set him up on this path in advance. Maybe it was just the narrative at work. After all Alex currently lived in a Manga, one that wasn’t particularly well written from his own perspective.
In Manga like this, sometimes the plot needed to be forced. Whether the characters were consciously aware of it or not. And because of this, Alex who would normally not be playing video games. Had spent the last year building a friendship with one of the heroines he intended to conquer without even realizing it.
One that when the woman realized his identity would help him progress much more smoothly to his ultimate goal than he otherwise would have had he not pursued such a hobby in the first place.