Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 74: Changing the Game

Huh? Game? Birthday?

!!!

"Oh, shoot! I almost forgot!"

"Almost what?"

I quickly turn to my friends, having realized my mistake. Thankfully, everyone isn't staring at me as I briefly cover my mouth out of embarrassment. I then sigh and say, "Kazuki's birthday. I promised my Dad I have to buy something in conjunction with his birthday gift for him. Thanks to those events, I almost forgot about it."

"Oh. Why didn't you say so? If you like, we can help you find a gift for you."

"It's not that easy. You see..."

I explain everything regarding our plans as well the chance that we might rent a small space for the party.

"Ooh... I see what you mean. Although we might try to find one at the second-hand stores if possible as long you don't take your brother along to avoid ruining the surprise," Damon says.

"And I'll see if I can find something in some online stores and a couple of my online friends. It's everywhere right now, so it's not hard to find if you search through the right sites," Zac casually adds. "And yes, I'll watch my budget this time when going through them."

I smile at their small gestures. They really are the best when it comes to my situation.

"Thanks, guys. You're lucky you guys get to be the guest of honors for Kaz's party."

"No probs. Speaking of which, what about our online friends?"

Oh, yeah. I did exchange phone numbers with Star and Annie's players, so I'll see if they're available that day. Besides, there's no way Annie will miss Kazuki's birthday once she hears about it. As for Ol' Wally and Azel, I guess I'll have to consult Star, or rather, Arin since she and her cousin have a close connection to them, and not just in the game as members of [Force Blade].

"I'll see what I can do. Though we can't exactly celebrate it in the game, especially when if it's offline for maintenance."

"Good point," Damon says with a hum. "We might as well do a small early birthday party just in case."

But before we can continue, we hear the bell ring, forcing us to sit at our respective desks.

"Let's continue this on Discourse tonight, okay?" I whisper.

"Okay/10-4."

With that, we start our next class.

----

A few hours pass and with Zac and Damon in tow, I pick Kazuki up from school and we stopped by at the 2010's cafe to have a little snack for ourselves. As usual, Damon and I order a latte smoothie and a double-sized hamburger for Zac while Kazuki has a chocolate chip banana parfait. We have a small chat about school and our plans for the upcoming winter break.

It isn't until Zac grins at us after we finish our chat. "So now that's school is almost over for this year – well, at least until winter break's over, I guess – Are you guys planning to head over to that new location for the new update?"

I raise my eyebrows when he says this. "Update? You mean that maintenance notice that we saw on the official site, right?"

"Yeah. They just got an official announcement on its expansion a few days ago as well more information that just released today."

"Expansion? What is that?" Kazuki asks, which I'm a bit curious about that term's meaning as well.

"Well, you remember that devs have to put several fixes and updates called a patch during maintenance, right? You can think of the "expansion" not only as a big patch to the game, but it's also a key where you can unlock new stories and adventures for us to explore in <Volo>!"