SL Chapter 3 Jerry


    Eric entered the cafeteria with Jerry beside him. As always the place was the same. This workplace had stripped all of its worker drones with the ability to socially interact. The multiple deadlines that needed to be rushed, the piled up tasks that didn''t get any smaller the more you worked through them, coupled with the lack of any true vacation, had led to this current situation where the place was quiet, with most gobbling down their meager servings at a fast speed such that they could go back to their terminals. Of course there were still the outliers to this atmosphere, like Jerry beside him.


    This was why Eric was happy about the fact that he would be leaving this place. It was grey, one of the gloomy kind, lacking any burst of color. And he hadn''t even told anyone about his resignation that would be handed in the moment his end of month salary, scheduled to be deposited today, entered his account. Not even his superiors. If he did, they might hold back in delivering it, citing multiple excuses.


    After getting his black coffee, which was strong enough to get him through the day, and a couple of donuts, he stared at Jerry opposite him, waiting for the man to start his reveal, one which had been burning within his throat.


    One light blue pupil, and another red one, stared back at him with amusement flickering within. Jerry wasn''t hetero chromatic, just that he had spent a lot of his meager earnings to get himself a bionic implant, thereby replacing his original natural eye. The abilities that it provided were certainly tantalizing, but Eric had never been tempted to try such a procedure. There were even those that had replaced their limbs, and most of all, those left with only a head, with the rest having been transformed into machine.


    The reason he didn''t fancy such implants was the simple fact that they were too restrictive. Unless you were some rich person, being capable of affording an implant made through programmable matter, allowing for just a simple upgrade through downloading, those like Jerry''s eye, would require going through surgery, for something newer and better to be installed, meaning that unless you were content with the prior abilities, you would have to fork out a massive amount of money to keep up with the trends.


    "Tell me, Eric, my guy. What have you been up to these days? You have been quiet a lot. And now, you actually decided to humor me? There must be something I am missing." spoke Jerry as he took a bite out of his donut, exposing his white teeth. Jerry had a body that was somewhat enviable, since he had a gym membership. Though, Eric had always wondered when the man even got the time to head to such a place as the workload was simply too brutal.


    Jerry''s words made his heart skip a beat, yet, through his lengthy experience with the company, he had learned the art of the poker face. It was the most efficient way to deal with higher ups who expected to gauge your thoughts from your facial expression.


    "I have always humored you." he answered neutrally.


    "Nah! It has always been a battle. Surely you must know how much I have had to do in order to get you to lend me your ear, right?" his gaze was somewhat piercing.


    You had to know that Jerry and himself were not friends. Jerry simply liked to act like he cared about the little guys in the company to attract the attention of the women within the company, hoping to get under their skirts. It also served to enhance his handsomeness when he walked next to a plain guy like Eric. These and more, were psychological tricks he loved to play in order to make himself appear more attractive to the opposite sex. They were all a suggestion of the AI embedded within his bionic eye, no doubt about that.


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    "So... What kind of juicy news are you dangling this time?" Eric decided to move on from the topic as he was absolutely certain, that should he divulge about his intent at resignation, this man would notify the higher-ups at the fastest speed he could. Starting out, he had naively believed that coworkers could be friends, comrades. But betrayals, and the nonchalance with how they had been dished out, had taught him that no one was a friend here. Each one was striving to either, rise up, or survive like a cockroach.


    "Remember that time when our vacation money vanished, with us finding out that it had been embezzled by Senney, the boss'' son?"


    "What about it?" asked Eric, almost breaking out into goosebumps at the memory of this morning. He took a sip of his coffee to hide his other bodily signs, while also pretending to have a particular interest in the topic.


    Of course, there was no one who didn''t have a memory of that debacle. Even now, there were still many that were gnashing their teeth in secret, wishing they could tear the man limb from limb. That had been the company''s promise at the beginning of last year, with many people excited, and having even made plans to travel, maybe even go to another country entirely, yet, everything was derailed with a single executive coming down from the top floors and declaring that the money had vanished, which had led to a kerfuffle that had eventually exposed its whereabouts, which had made even the most angriest of them, swallow down their anger. Why? Because you couldn''t just come out and fight the president''s son. That was tantamount to getting booted out the door of the company, without even a single benefit to your name.


    He leaned in, "Apparently, Senney has used all that money to buy himself an awakening potion. And judging by the fact that he arrived early today, it seems that his awakening was a success. Meaning..."


    "... He has joined the ranks of the Spirit Lords." completed Eric, now worked up. He felt a yearning that brought upon a certain impulse. An impulse to simply get up from his chair, walk out the company building, and go search for an awakening elixir.


    This was the first time he had gotten information that someone close to his circle, even though not within it, had awakened. All that he had heard about awakenings had been mostly on various news outlets, which hadn''t elicited as much excitement as right now, in this moment.


    "There is something that I don''t understand though, why the vacation money. Surely that dandy young master could have asked his daddy for money, right?" whispered Eric.


    "Well... There are rumors that daddy, had imposed a restriction after a certain incident, which triggered the young master''s rebellious streak. Rich kids sure have it good. He didn''t even get reprimanded when that fact came out." Jerry spoke in lament.


    Eric took another sip from his coffee mug, struggling to hold back the frown that was threatening to manifest upon his facial features. Was this how every rich household acted, or was it limited to Senney''s family. Honestly, it was enraging. But, the background of the man was something that couldn''t easily be overcome. And his awakening to enter the ranks of superhumans had also turned the already difficult task of asking for justice into the impossible.


    "...this is the tragedy of the little guy." sighed Jerry.


    "You don''t seem that angry." pointed out Eric.


    "Why should I be? Whether I go on vacation or not, I still get to enjoy my life. Besides, what would be the point of storing such negativity within myself when I don''t have the power to do anything about it? Eric, my guy, it would be better if you let go."


    The vacation money would have allowed him to resign even sooner. How could he simply let it go? Right now, he couldn''t do anything, but as someone once said, the future is in constant flux. Maybe when he advances to become a Spirit lord, a chance to get vengeance might present itself in the future.


    "Hasn''t he always refused to become a Spirit Lord?" asked Eric, moving on.


    "You haven''t explored the virtual world recently, right? Cause you wouldn''t be asking such a dumb question. What year are we in?" Jerry asked.


    "2071."


    "When did his Excellency, Musana become a Spirit Lord?"


    "2021." answered Eric with confidence.


    "That''s right. 50 years have passed. And Mr. Musana has finally decided to host an anniversary event after all these years."


    "What?!?!?" shouted out Eric, attracting the gazes of the other people within the massive cafeteria, before he felt embarrassment creeping into him, prompting him to lower his gaze for a moment.


    But his heart hadn''t settled down even though his face was a mask of stoicism. Musana! His idol, was about to celebrate something, and he hadn''t known about it?!


    Though, he could only blame himself for that. His subscription to the virtual world, coupled with updates had expired about a week ago. And since he had been looking forward to turning in his resignation, he hadn''t opted to renew it right away, holding it off for when he finally got the free time to browse the virtual web.