Chapter 459: Island and Dragon.
[Edward POV]
In the jungle. Alex, Abby and I walked on a muddy road. Alex slapped the back of her neck and grimaced, "Mosquitoes? You even put robot mosquitoes here?"
"That's actually a real one. We are in a jungle." I said with a grin. "Want some mosquito repellent?"
"Of course!" She agreed angrily.
Jacob chose a wrong answer at a troll bridge, and caused us to split up. It was a simple question too.
The question was, "What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?"
He failed to answer that. He and Finneas were still moving forward with the boss fight, as Jacob was competing with Elsa to see who could reach the boss first.
"They are going to lose." I shook my head slightly.
I could've stayed with them, however it would ruin the game mechanic, so I had to use the path given to join them again.
Alex and Abby were also thrown away by the trolls as Elsa and Enid failed to answer their questions.
Alex trudged through the mud in her black boots and complained, "Why did you set up such a stupid game mechanic anyway? I thought this was a D&D thing!"
Abby laughed and interjected, answering for me, "Isn't this fun? It feels like a real world."
"Well, it's not fun if it can't trick you into thinking you're really in another world.." I told her.
She grumbled and said, "At the very least, put some pavement in. There's mud on my inner thigh."
"I can get that for you." I said flatly.
"Get bent!" She scolded me.
Alex was a necromancer. She carried a black staff and wore a tight-fitting black gown, showcasing her entire thick body. For some reason, that was sexier than showing a lot of skin.
Abby wore a priest outfit. She carried a staff, wore a tight white gown, and part of the chest was cut to reveal some skin.
"Eddy, you want to take a rest up ahead?" Alex asked, panting heavily. "A game that uses real life stamina… you're an idiot." She cursed.
I laughed and said, "Sure. There's a travel lodge up ahead."
"Great! I want to rest my eyes for a bit!" Abby groaned, stretching her arms up high. Alex's eyes were glued to Abby's chest, and I caught her staring.
"What– That's… It's really distracting, okay!? I'm not stronger than any man in this regard!" She grumbled and trudged ahead.
A goblin appeared in front of us. Abby quickly got into position and then, blasted a magic spell at the creature.
Alex used a bone skeleton summon, and the bone soldier went to fight for her.
I had the most important role here. To sing.
I strummed my guitar and played a song as a bard.
[VALHALLA CALLING by Miracle Of Sound ft. Peyton Parrish]
"♫♪ Ships on vigor of the waves are skimming. Barren summits to the verdant plains ♫♪"
"♫♪ Each horizon is a new beginning. Rise and reign♫♪"
Alex grumbled and yelled, "Aren't you going to help?!"
I smiled, "I am helping."
A blue glow appeared on Alex's and Abby's bodies.
I sang again, "♫♪Far from the fjords and the ice cold currents
Ravens soar over new frontiers♫♪"
"♫♪Songs and sagas of a fate determined
Shields and spears♫♪"
A goblin tried to ambush me from the back, but I side stepped, letting him fall and kicked his head clean off.
"♫♪ Vows of favour or the thrill of plunder
Pull together for the clan and kin♫♪"
"♫♪Clank of hammers and the crash of thunder
Pound within♫♪"
Alex and Abby began hitting the goblins with their staff. Two goblins managed to sneak up next to Alex and they ripped her clothes. There were circular rips on her clothes that showed her skin and part of her boobs.
"AHH!" She screamed girlishly. Her skeleton soldier got mad and struck down both goblins with his sword.
"What kind of game mechanic is this!? You freaking pervert!" Alex cussed at me.
"♫♪Oh-ho-oh♫♪"
"♫♪The echoes of eternity♫♪"
"♫♪Oh-ho-oh♫♪"
"♫♪Valhalla calling me♫♪"
A huge hobgoblin appeared after the little ones were all dealt with. Abby and Alex quickly hid behind me.
I smiled and twisted the tuning pegs of the guitar. A sharp blade slowly came out of the guitar. I held it and sliced the hobgoblin's head clean off.
"You can fight!" Alex snapped with annoyance.
Abby's eyes lit up. "Wait, Eddy. What will happen if we lose this fight?"
"Simple. The goblins will drag you back to his cave, and make you his wife."
"Ew– You're really a pervert." Alex looked at me with disdain.
"I'm just joking." I looked at her with disbelief. "Once you lose, they will disappear."
"I don't believe you." Alex said, covering her boobs with her hands.
Abby laughed and pulled Alex's hand. "Don't get angry. We're already at the lodge."
It was a log cabin, placed there for the adventurers to go and have some rest. We were still in the real world after all.
"Can we make it in time for the boss?" Alex asked. "The wedding's tomorrow you know?"
I inhaled slightly and said, "Honestly? I don't know."
"Well. At the very least the bride and groom are really enjoying the campaign." Abby added.
Jacob was a barbarian. And Elsa was a gunslinger. They had a bet. Whoever reached the boss first, would have the final say on their honeymoon destination.
I laid down on the hard straw bed and sighed.
"Whose idea was it to make this so realistic?" She asked, annoyed as she sat on the bed next to mine.
"Not me. It was Abed's."
"That guy huh." Alex grumbled again.
"Hey! I found something good!" Abby approached us, bringing some bottles of alcohol she found lying around.
"Frieren's spirit nectar?" Alex narrowed her eyes at me disdainfully. "Dwarven fire spirit? What's with the names?"
"Just try some." I laughed slightly. "Oh, this is amazing!" Abby exclaimed as she downed the spirit nectar straight from the bottle.
"A bachelor-slash-bachelorette party won't be complete without any booze." I said as I drank the dwarven fire spirit from the bottle too.
Alex sighed and took the bottle from me. "Fine! I'll drink it."
Her face turned flushed as she drank the alcohol. Abby's face also was flushed, and she sat next to me, pulling on her shirt.
"Is it hot in here? I feel so… hot."
"The Frieren one has some ghost pepper in it." I laughed.
"What are you doing? Get away from my boyfriend." Alex pushed Abby away and sat in the middle, separating both of us.
Abby wasn't backing down and she hugged Alex next. "You're hot too."
"Shut up." Alex blushed a bit.
I picked my guitar, played a relaxing melody as we hung out in the cabin.
Alex asked Abby, "What's the progress on your pursuit of a… romantic partner?"
Abby grinned slightly.
"Honestly? Not great. The best part of all the dating is… when Eddy comes back to chase the men away. And the short, few minutes of conversation I have with him before a new guy appears."
Alex laughed and said, "Sounds like you're waiting to date Eddy–" She paused abruptly. "Wait a minute."
Alex turned to Abby and asked seriously, "Are you still… in love with Eddy?"
My fingers stopped abruptly. Abby replied with no hesitation, "Yes. I am."
Alex's eyes went blank, and I looked at the girls with disbelief.
"But it's fine. I'm already satisfied with being the most special girl to him." Abby replied and hugged my left arm.
"You mean, the first amongst the long line of girls who threw themselves at him?" Alex was quite mad and she hugged my right arm obsessively.
I was taken aback. It was the first time ever she showed me her possessive side.
I love it.
"No, I mean, really special. Incredibly special." Abby taunted.
Alex rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Yeah Yeah. So special. Special needs too."
"Are you drunk?" I whispered to Alex.
"Maybe." She replied cutely. "How are you so special to him?" Alex asked angrily.
"Because I know his secret." Abby giggled.
"I know his secret too. No, I know his secrets.." Alex emphasizes the 's' sound on her last word.
Abby's smile froze and she stammered, "Well. Do the secrets you know are the same as the secrets I know?"
"How should I know? It is called a secret for a reason." Alex grimaced.
"Then, on the count of three, we should say what his secret is." Abby suggested as she stood up in front of Alex.
"Fine!" Alex stood up too.
"Wait. Girls–" I tried to stop them, but it was too late.
"One two three!" Abby counted quickly.
"He can digitize himself and enter the internet/ He can duplicate himself."
Abby turned to me in shock, "You can duplicate yourself?"
"You can digitize?" Alex also has the same shocked expression.
"Um…" I froze under the girls' gazes. Abby's gaze was excited, but Alex was irritated.
"How many abilities do you have?" Alex complained.
Abby laughed and said, "So. I'm still special!"
"Abby, how do you know that?" I asked.
"Oh, I have an esper ability when the world had that era. So I could digitize myself too, and find your traces there." Abby replied casually.
Alex sighed and said, "That's unfair. Still. He told me his secret. You found out yourself. So it's different."
Abby finally sighed and said, "Yes. It is different. Unlike you, I couldn't stay by his side. I couldn't earn his trust like you did."
I stood up and said, "I think we should not talk about this anymore–"
"Shut up Eddy." Alex scolded me. "This is all your fault, you weirdo."
I threw my hands in disbelief and sat back down.
Alex turned to Abby and asked, "So. Do you want to date him or something?"
"I don't want to take him away from you, if that's what you're asking." Abby replied.
Alex gritted her teeth slightly and sighed deeply. "Now you're making me all confused."
"That's good." Abby grinned slightly. "Like when you're experimenting in college. You start confused, then you slowly figure it out."
"I never experimented in college." Alex replied meekly.
"You didn't?" Abby was shocked. "Why not? That's the best period for you to–" She gasped and turned to me, "You did this."
"Why am I getting blamed here?" I was flabbergasted. "What is in that drink?" I picked up Frieren's tequila and checked the ingredients.
Abby and Alex laughed, and they exchanged glances slightly. They whispered for a bit and then Abby smirked slightly.
"Well Mr Bard. I think we should give Alex what was taken away from her."
Abby pointed her staff at me and said, "I cast. Darkness."
Nothing happened to me.
"No. Wait. That's my spell." Alex said and took out her staff. "I cast Darkness."
A blindfold appeared on top of my eyes.
"I cast, 'restraint'." Abby said gleefully and a vine appeared to restrain me to the headboard.
"Um, girls. This is going way too far." I said calmly. I could remove the vines or blindfold anytime I want, but I wanted to know where they were going with this too.
"Well Eddy. We can't have sex, since we promised. But this…is a loophole." Alex laughed. "Besides. It's my chance to take back what you took away from me. My right to experiment."
Both of the girls moved next to me on the straw bed and took off my pants.
…
"Where did you go?" Jacob asked as he had finally slain the dragon. It took him three tries, which meant he died three times before finally completing the quest.
It was almost sunset and we needed to go back home soon to make it in time for the wedding tomorrow.
Alex and Abby walked beside me with embarrassed expressions. My skin was glowing slightly from what they did to me. My shoulder was less tense, and my chest felt less tight.
Elsa sat on top of the dragon head and scoffed slightly, "I could sense the lustful stench from all three of you."
"What?!" Wolf-girl Enid jumped towards us and began sniffing. "You bastards! Were you having sex while we were fighting for our lives?" Enid complained.
"Um, I have no part in this since I'm just a victim here." I raised my hands up and walked to Jacob. "Hey, you finally won. Did you check the loot?"
"What loot?" Elsa's eyes glittered.
"The chest behind you." I pointed at them. All of them turned around and saw a treasure chest there. Jacob and Elsa opened it up, and it was filled with gold coins and jewellery.
"Wait. Eddy. Is this real?" Elsa gasped as she bit on one gold coin.
"Yup." I replied casually. "Consider it a wedding gift."
Everyone gasped in amazement, forgetting what Alex, Abby and I did before we came here.
Jacob decided to share the loot with everyone else. We brought it back to the ship and sailed our way back to California.
The news of our bachelor party was spread to the news sites by one of Jacob's football friends, and reporters camped out by the docks to get a picture of me and my friends.
But before that happened, Alex, Abby, Jenna and Enid came to my room and had a girl talk while I was still in there.
We dressed normally now, and Enid asked the question first. "So, are the three of you in a relationship now?"
"That depends on Alex." Abby laughed. "I found her hot, so I wouldn't mind it if we got into a throuple."
"Shut up." Alex blushed slightly. "I was drunk."
"You should drink a lot more." I quipped.
"You!" Alex turned to me angrily.
"You bind and blindfold me, don't turn the blame on me now."
Alex lowered her head and said depressedly, "I know."
Jenna sipped champagne and added, "It's actually fine, don't you think?"
"Why do you say that?" Alex turned to her with expectations in her eyes, wanting to hear a slight comforting word for this situation.
"See. Alex. Edward, is a billionaire." Jenna added slowly.
Alex interjected, "So, he deserved to get all the girls he wants?"
"Again. You did this." I interjected.
Alex grumbled and said, "Stop it."
Jenna laughed and said, "No. Not that. It's something else. Do you remember the Epstein case?"
Everyone in the room was shocked.
Two years ago, I had basically dismantled the entire Epstein operation, took everyone involved to justice, and basically crippled the US government for a few months before rebuilding it with people who cared about the people.
A lot of information that came out from the case was nightmare material, and everyone in the country knew about it.
"When people become a billionaire, they lose their humanity. They go to warzones and hunt people there. They r*ped kids, they ate them. They kill them."
"Stop- Jenna. What are you trying to say here?" Alex grimaced.
Jenna shrugged and said nonchalantly, "I mean. Edward kept his humanity. He helped a lot of people. So if his vices are women, I guess that's fine. Since that's the best option compared to everyone else in the list."
"So you're saying, since he didn't diddle kids, he could get any woman he wanted?" Alex was a bit angry.
"Consensually of course." Jenna laughed. "I mean, I get what he's trying to do. What you both tried to do. To be a normal couple, have a good relationship, get married and have children. But Edward wasn't normal in the first place. You also aren't normal in the first place."
"I'm not normal?" Alex was flabbergasted.
Jenna nodded and said, "Yeah. You didn't realize it? You're like a mini Eddy."
Enid added, hugging Alex's arm slightly, "Not in the player's way. Like in the mind way. You're a genius too. So you lack a certain social adaptability."
"I don't want to hear this. All of you are bitches." Alex said, grabbed me and Abby and led us away. "We need to talk."
In the next room, Alex stood in front of us, hands on the wall as she trapped both Abby and I at the same time.
"Be honest. Why?" Alex turned to Abby and asked.
Abby sighed and said, "Really? You really want me to be honest?" She smiled pitifully.
Alex was taken aback and said, "Yeah. Be honest. Do you really love him? Because I'm not going to let him go."
"Aww–"
"Shut it." Alex stopped me before I could say anything.
I realized I had been very passive in this situation. Maybe I was secretly anticipating it?
Was Alex not enough for me?
Was I already broken beyond repair?
Abby grabbed Alex's arm and pulled it down softly. "You know, I'm a forensic scientist?"
"Yeah… so?" Alex was confused.
"In the field, I saw a lot of… tragedies." Abby's tone turned dark. "So, I kept clinging to the source of light that will bring me out of my dark places. And it always has been Eddy."
I turned to Abby and looked at her intently. Alex noticed it and was slightly upset.
"So, I don't mind even if you guys used me. I needed it. Since if I was alone, in the lab, and I kept encountering these… horrible, inhuman cases… I might lose my mind." Abby added.
"You can quit you know." I told her. "You don't have to keep working there. I know it's your dream, but if it's really bothering you, you can start over. You're still young."
Abby laughed and said, "Eddy. I thought of that before. But, I realized, even if it cost me my sanity, I want to help people get justice. That's what I've been put in the world to do."
Abby turned to Alex and quipped, "Which is also why I have like two-three hours of free time in a week. The rest of the time, Eddy is completely yours."
"I haven't decided to share him yet!" Alex snapped. She thought about it and sighed.
Alex turned to me and asked, "Eddy. Were we mistaken in the first place? Is normal never for us?"
"I–"
Alex took my hesitation as I was agreeing with her. She sighed and said, "Maybe we should find what's actually normal for us. I think, we need some time off from each other."
"Wait. What you're saying? You want to take a break?" I was startled.
"Yes. Just… until I figure things out." Alex replied.
I went silent for a bit. By this time, I should've been used to getting broken up with, but it still hurts every time.
Alex and Abby left me alone. Abby didn't want to be with me without Alex's permission, so she wanted to wait until Alex came to a decision.
…
At the port. As we got out of the ship, the reporters were swarming the area. My security teams guarded the area to open up a path for us to walk.
"Mr Newgate! How do you address the rumors that you went to a certain island just now?" A reporter spewed out some accusatory questions.
Alex saw it and was startled.
"Are you not going to answer that?" She whispered to me.
"Not really. Every way I answer, they'll put their own spin on it." I replied casually.
Alex has never been on this side of the treatment before.
"Mr Newgate?! Do you think basking yourself in opulence and grand adventures is a good use of your resources?"
"Shouldn't you go out there and help people?"
"Mr Newgate?! ANSWER OUR QUESTION! ARE YOU DONE HELPING PEOPLE?!"
Alex's face turned darker as she heard all of the questions. No one cared about the trip's purposes. All they cared about was shouting criticism, hiding it as an investigative question.
I had a lot of followers, but at the same time, a lot of enemies. Even if the politicians nowadays wanted to help people, they feared me and tried very hard to discredit my reputation.
Since my influence was too big, they worried that I would support their opponent and caused them to lose the election. Therefore, I kept getting attacked by the media even though I kept helping people all over the world.
"Eddy." Alex called out to me. "Speak for yourself."
"It won't work Alex. I'm already tired of this." I replied with a bitter smile on my face.
Alex looked at me worriedly and then decided to show a middle finger to the reporters. I was baffled and cackled as I saw it.