"Hu…what happened? Is the quest over?" Arthos asked as he looked around the room. The enemy robots were all lying on the ground. Most looked hacked and smashed to pieces…as if they had been dropped off a cliff…or mangled by a bear.
"Yeah…we won…no thanks to you, scrub," replied an annoyed girl.
"Just quit…you don't belong here," said a boy.
Ignoring their comments, Arthos looked around and spotted Wain laying on the ground nearby. It appeared he managed to defeat one robot but was overwhelmed by the second one…probably the one that defeated Arthos.
'I let him down,' Arthos thought, disappointed in himself.
"Hey Wain…wake up….you ok? Wake up."
"What happened? Did we win?" Wain asked in confusion as he struggled to regain consciousness.
"We got our asses kicked," Arthos said smiling thankful for Wain's assistance earlier during the fight.
The two stared at each other for a moment, then the two burst into laughter. Win or lose, they had fought a battle in Avalor. That alone was an unbelievable experience.
"Losers…hopeless," muttered a boy.
[…]
As soon as Day 1 tutorial ended, Wain went straight to Arthos' room. He knocked on the door eagerly.
"Hey Wain," Arthos said casually…hiding his excitement.
"Did you see that! The robot was like pssshh, and I swung like this woosh, and it went backwards…brrk…oh man, it was awesome! Just awesome!" Wain exclaimed with excitement as he reenacted the fight scene.
The two boys laughed as they recounted their version of the day's battle…like two veterans swapping old war stories.
"Hey Arthos, was it just me or was the whole tutorial strange?"
"What do you mean?" Arthos asked.
"How do I say this…it's just that normally in videogames the tutorial is only 15-20 minutes…and it normally happens in a small village or somewhere friendly looking. Avalor's tutorial is 7 days long! With 1,000 other players watching you…feels like being back in gym class. Worst of all, there is a real trainer there shouting instructions at you all day long…it feels like an army boot camp…I wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly do push-up and running." Wain explained.
"Yeah, good point…but like the trainer said, this is more of a job orientation than a video game. If we do well, we could make some good money and get out of this hole…I hate this place…and the damn internet is terrible." Arthos complained.
"Yeah, I saw you freeze mid-fight…it was too bad we could have beaten those robots. Maybe from now on, we should stick together in case one of us freezes or lags." Wain said with a hopeful voice.
"Yeah, I think that is a good idea. Plus, there is no way those "metas" will ever accept us into their group…all we have is each other." Arthos said with sincerity.
At that same moment he felt guilty for trying to ditch Wain earlier…despite his awkwardness he was useful…he was very smart and had keen insight…and was not too bad of a fighter either. On top of that, the metas (players from wealthier families that could afford private avatar lessons) would never accept two scrub-orphans like Arthos and Wain.
"Why do you suppose we have to wait seven days to customize our avatars? Normally in videogames you get to do that right away…in Avalor the starting avatars all look the same and slowly change and adapt to our unique play styles," Arthos asked.
"Hmm…good point. Maybe it's a psychology thing…kind of like when you hatch a pet chicken. You feel more attached to it because you took care of it from day one when it was a chick." Wain answered as he thought about that odd feature as well.
"Hey Wain…so what's the deal with those four players in our group that refused to fight…they didn't even equip a weapon…it was like they didn't care about being there." Arthos asked as he recalled the four players in their squad.
"I'm not sure…but I think those four are "keepers." Wain answered.
"What's that? Never heard of that," replied Arthos.
"All players are divided into two groups, heroes and keepers. Everyone knows about heroes…they are the ones that run around killing mobs, looting dungeons, and completing the big quests. Keepers, on the other hand do not fight. They are supporting roles like smiths, enchanters, craftsmen, traders, scholars, and merchants." Wain explained.
Arthos thought for a moment, then asked, "why would a player want to do that."
"Money…there is a lot of money to be made as a keeper. For example, some of the best smiths can charge over a million Nanocoins for high end swords or armor. Traders and merchants often make steady income without all the risk of dying and starting over. Also, if you consider the amount of Nanocoins you need to spend to maintain your equipment and raid supplies…it's expensive and risky being a hero fighting on the frontlines."
"That makes sense, I guess…" Arthos voice trailed off as he thought about it. He had never considered any other profession other than being a hero. It was his childhood dream.
Arthos didn't mind being an orphan. His earliest memories were of his mother…he couldn't remember what she looked like, but some memories were engrained into his very soul. He remembered her breathing…slow and calm as she held him close to her. He remembered her voice, soft and warm like a baby's blanket. Most of all, he remembered here eyes…her gaze full of wonder and love. She died when he was a toddler and, as a result, was placed in an orphanage.
As State funding for orphanages dwindled, he was moved around from orphanage to orphanage until he arrived at Last Stop Orphanage…the poorest and most overcrowded center. Last Stop was not its real name…it was just the nickname bestowed upon it. The adoption rate at Last Stop was close to 0%...being assigned there was pretty much Social Services giving up on kid. Hence the name "Last Stop."
Having been transferred from orphanage to orphanage, Arthos knew his future was uncertain and he may not stick around long enough to make friends with the other children. He tried to force himself to not care about the other orphans…but he couldn't help it…something deep inside acted on it own. He instinctively worried about the other orphans, especially the little ones, and he often risked himself to protect them.
"Hey Wain…umm…about today…well, don't let those guys get under your skin." Arthos said thinking about the mob of players that insulted and belittled them earlier that day.
"Na…I'm ok…I'm used to it." Wain replied with a bright smile.