Chapter 2: Proposal
"MARRY ME."
Rissa froze for a second and then giggled lightly.
"Master, have you been hacked?" she asked jokingly.
"Have you not seen the latest news about a competition in the game posted in the official website?" he asked her. "A competition for husbands and wives."
"Competition?" Rissa wondered.
She opened the game's site and found a new game competition. She frowned at what it is. Seriously? A PvP Matches for married couples?
*** PvP Couples Tournament
*** PvP Competition for Couples is here! Test yourself, and your spouse at a chance to prove the strength of your love by going against your fellow married players. Elimination for each server will start in a month, and every server's winners will represent them against other servers in the first ever cross server contest of A Lost Ghost World. Do you and your partner have what it takes to become the number one couple?
***Price: 10 B Game Coins, 10 B EXP, Phoenix Armour Set for Husband & Wife
Rissa's eyes widened at the price of the competition.
"Did you mean the PvP Couples Tournament?" she asked KyleEmbers.
"Yes," he replied shortly.
"You came to find me because of it?" she asked him again. "Why me, though?"
"You're the only female player among the Top 10 PvP Rank List of Blazing S-City," he answered.
Rissa thought about the offer in front of her. She just got divorced; does she want to get married again? Her marriage with ClearWater was for quest purposes, now it's for a tournament. Can she really consider it? But then again, if it wasn't for the fact that she needed a husband to complete quest back then, she would not have formed that kind of alliance with ClearWater. It is just a game after all, it's not like she's getting tied in real life. And this time, the Great Master KyleEmbers is the one who is offering her marriage. He is recently ranked one in the whole ALGW. Rissa is sure that with him as an ally, they are already half-way to the top. Not to mention, the price of the tournament was too appealing for her. Rissa's character is a Female Swordsman in Red Clothes; of course, she would like to get a hold on the Legendary Phoenix Armour Set. It's an armour set of Level 9 equipments made from the fire of a legendary beast in the game: something obviously better than her whole Garnet set which are only Level 7.
"Let's do it then," she finally agreed. "Let's go to the Temple of the Winged Goddess together."
"Hold up," KyleEmbers stopped her. "I need to prepare for it."
"Prepare for what?" Rissa asked in confusion.
"The wedding, of course," he answered. "See you in three days at 8 pm."
"You actually don't have to," Rissa said. "All we need is a public witness. Since we're only getting married for the tournament, why make the wedding big?"
"I'm KyleEmbers, the number one player in the whole A Lost Ghost World," he responded with a smirk. "I can't have a casual wedding."
With that, he left her in the bottom of the bridge. Rissa then realized her future husband must be a narcissist, but for some reason she herself doesn't understand, she likes it.
*
A small smile escaped the man's lips as he logged out from the game. Step one, check. He might need to work hard for this one. As he starts planning it on his mind, one of his roommates suddenly entered their room.
"My dearest brothers! We finally got a chance to end our single lives!" Chad exclaimed, only to earn no response from his three roommates. "Hey, brothers, can't you give me more reaction?"
"Chad, you're the only one among the four of us that makes being single a big deal," Kian retorted. "I'm happy being single."
"That's exactly why you are single, Kian!" Chad sighed. "I am serious, you know?"
He sat down on one of the seats in the middle table and faced Kian who is currently grooming his hair. Their last roommate, Harmony, was sitting on his bed, playing with a rubics cube.
"I met a very pretty girl a while ago," Chad boasted. "Do you know the School Belle?"
"Jennifer?!" Kian exclaimed to them. "Chad, you met Jennifer?"
"Interested now, huh?" Chad smirked.
"What about her, Chad?" Harry asked. "Does she like you?"
"Of course, Harry!" Chad exclaimed. "I'm such a hot guy. How could she not like me?"
His roommates just shrugged and he cleared his throat to continue, "Anyways, I waited for her to contact me, and she finally did today. She told me that her computer has broken down and asked if we could fix it for her."
"How did it break down?" Harry asked as he was more interested in the laptop than meeting the girl.
"I think the internal memory's broken," he replied.
"How boring," Harry commented. "That's a piece of cake for you."
"No wonder you both are single!" Chad exclaimed to the two of them. "Have it like this. We fix her computer, and take her out for dinner."
"I'm interested, but what if it's not us that she likes?" Kian asked Chad as he pointed Kyron.
"Kian, we must be humble," he responded after sighing. "We're not after Jennifer, the most beautiful girl in our school. It's her friends that we're after; we can just leave her to you-know-who."
Hearing what his roommate said, Kyron decided to speak up and said, "I am getting married in the game. I'll introduce my bride to you one day."
The three of them turned their heads to him because of what he said. Did they hear him right?
"You're getting married in the game?!" Chad exclaimed to him.
"Yes, and since I'm now basically my fiancée's husband, I don't think it'll be appropriate for me to go and fix another girl's computer," he smiled at them as he stand up and pat Chad's shoulder. "You can go if you want, but I'm not coming."
"Oh, wait!" Kian and Chad grabbed him by his shoulders.
"Kyron, can we meet the girl?" Chad asked.
"Let us meet her, Kyron," Harry commented as he got down from his bed. "I want to know what kind of woman succeeded in melting your heart."
A small smile appeared in his lips as he answered Harry's curiosity in his mind. Then, the four of them set their laptops on the center table of their dorm and logged in together in the game. Kyron lead them to where she usually hangs out, and fortunately, she was online.
MonkiRum: Are you the one who bewitched our Kyle?
Rissa peaked at her game when she heard a message alert. She was reviewing her essay in her dorm. She frowned when she found herself surrounded by four men, including her future husband.
AgedRaven: Are you the one who our Kyle bewitched?
RissaStar: Uhm... who are you?
KyleEmbers: They are the fixed members of my team: Mozhata, MonkiRum, and AgedRaven.
RissaStar: Hello! ^_^ I heard good things about you.
"Whoa, she's really our sister-in-law!" Harry exclaimed and turned to Kyron. "You really do have a fiancée."
"I can't believe you are getting married," Kian commented in disbelief. "What happened to your title as the Eternal Bachelor?"
"This is good! Good job, Kyron!" Chad exclaimed. "People won't discriminate us anymore. I get so mad when they keep calling us the Singles Club."
"RissaStar?" Kian read. "Her user ID sounds familiar."
"RissaStar? Ah! She's the only girl in the Top 10 PvP Rank List of our Blazing S-City Server!" Harry exclaimed. "She's 4th, the one below Chad, and the one above Kian."
"Hmm? Doesn't that mean she's ClearWater's ex-wife?" Kian's question made them looked at Kyron.
Kian just couldn't help but asked her about it.
MonkiRum: Are you ClearWater's former wife?
Rissa wasn't sure how to answer his question. She was embarrassed to admit it. Because even if her relationship with ClearWater was more of pure acquaintance, she did become his wife. Thankfully, KyleEmbers answered on her behalf.
KyleEmbers: She did trust the wrong person before. Don't hold it against her.
MonkiRum: I see. We must admit that there are really some jerks that exist in the world.
AgedRaven: You're one of them, MonkiRum.
Mozhata: ^ That I agree. Don't worry, Sis-in-law, our brother Kyle is way better than that ClearWater. Forget about him.
MonkiRum: Sis-in-law, wanna hit the dungeons?
Mozhata: Good idea, let's go to the dungeons!
AgedRaven: Sis-in-law, are you in?
When they noticed that she wasn't responding, the four of them looked at one another and turned to Kyron.
"I didn't offend her, did I?" Kian asked him. "Did I make her back out of your wedding?"
Kyron was about to respond when they heard their laptops rang for message notification. Kian sighed in relief when he saw her response.
RissaStar: Sure.
Mozhata: What took you so long to reply, Sis-in-law?
RissaStar: My roommate just asked me something. Let's go?
The five of them entered the nest of bamboo mutants, and were attacked by four of them. Rissa wasn't surprise that her companions are great players; after all, they are the fixed team of the Great Master KyleEmbers. It was the first time she went in the dungeon that she didn't spill more than a quarter of her HP.
The boys, on the other hand, are impressed. She deserves to be in the PvP Rank List. Not all players can play with them well since they are players with high levels, and it was her first time in the team. But even so, she didn't even ask them for help. Her level is even near to them. She's really strong, that they recognize.
"So, when's the wedding?" Mozhata asked as MonkiRum heal them after their encounter with the mutants.
"Three days from now," Rissa answered honestly.
"Three days from now?! But that's-" AgedRaven paused and turned to KyleEmbers. "Kyle, did you really have to choose such day to get married?"
"Is it a bad day? Are you busy then?" Rissa wondered and turned to her fiancé. "Should we move it?"
"No, its fine, I can make it," KyleEmbers's response made his team members stare at him in disbelief. "It's the best day to get married."
"Oh, I need to go now," Rissa told them. "My roommates and I are going somewhere. I'll see you in three days, then."
They bid her goodbye, and the boys logged off, too.
"Did you really have to choose such auspicious day to get married?" Chad asked Kyron.
Kyron just shrugged and left the room.
*
Rissa and her roommates are working on a group project in their dorm. They are solely focused on their task, and managed to finish it after two hours. After that, Gracy went out to get their lunch that she asked Brix to buy with Joy. Rissa logged in to her game, while Yana started her work.
Yana is a member of the students' body council in Computer Science. She has access to their department's forum, as well as the school's forum. She was randomly reading post when she came across one blog that was shared in the school's forum.
**A So Called Beauty of our School has a Sugar Daddy? Just what has the world will become? By Alexander Pride
**I saw one of our so called beauties of our campus, coming out from a luxury car. She was dropped in the West Gate of L University. What a pity, she's indeed a beauty.
Yana's eyes widened when she recognized the girl in the issue. The blogger blurred the lady's face so it wasn't obvious, but a good friend that she is, she knew it was Rissa. That was she wore last week, when she went out to tutor someone.
"Rissa, someone just implied that you have a sugar daddy," Yana informed her.
"What?!"
Rissa immediately went to Yana and saw the pictures herself.
"That was when Ms. Lopez dropped me after tutoring Patrick," she stated. "Who the heck is that guy? Judging something by appearance without knowing what it really is, who does he think he is?!"
Rissa was angry. It was a rare sight, even for Yana. But she can understand where she's coming from. After one moment, Joy and Gracy got back with their food. They notice the tension in the room and Gracy asked.
"What's going on?"
Yana looked at Rissa who was obviously frustrated and answered, "Someone shared a blog in the school forum. And that blog implied that Rissa has a sugar daddy."
"What?!" the two exclaimed and went to see the blog.
"Who the heck is this guy?!" Joy exclaimed.
"Alexander Pride, his name sounds familiar," Yana stated, and it hit her. "Ah! He's the second year representative of the International Relations Department! I think he's always present in university wide student council meetings."
"Can we find out more about him?" the three of them turned to Rissa because of what she said.
The look on Rissa's face is making them scared.
"Ahm, why don't we talk about this after eating lunch?" Gracy suggested.
She signalled Yana and Joy to pull her away from the computer but they failed when she quickly took the mouse, and by the time they noticed it, she already hacked into the Students Information Database of the L University.
"Rissa, you're a bad person, did you know that?" Gracy said.
"The guy works at the Youth Research Committee every Monday and Friday," Rissa ignored what Gracy said. "He's pretty established. He's an editorial staff in their department's newspaper."
"Rissa, don't you think that's too much?" Yana nervously asked. "You can just hacked into YRC's computer and see his browsing history. You might pick up something there."
Rissa smirked, while the two stare at Yana at disbelief.
"You did not just give her an idea," Gracy commented.
Joy then went to Rissa as she opened the browsing history of YRC's computer and what she saw made her frown in disgust.
"That guy is a pervert," Joy commented. "No wonder he's shallow minded."
Rissa smirked as she started gathering evidences. She will confront the guy, and she will correct his world view. He should have known better than to imply that something like that. After that, she turned to her roommates and smiled.
"Let's have lunch."
"Rissa, you're evil."
*
"Excuse me, which one of you is Alexander Pride?" Rissa asked the room she just entered.
It was the day after she was accused of having a sugar daddy. Without thinking twice, she went to the International Relations Department to find the guy. Looking at the room, only few students are left. Rissa managed to gain their attention, including the guy who stood up with call on his name.
"Why are you looking for me?" a good looking guy approached him. "Wait, you're Neri-"
"Yes, I am," she rudely cut him off. "I came here to ask you, what will the country's face to other sovereign countries when they find out we have a pervert diplomat, if you did get the position in the future?"
"Excuse me?" the guy asked in confusion and irritation.
"You browse porn sites when you are working in YRC," she said coldly. "Not only you are neglecting your job by doing something you're not supposed to, you're also using resources founded by the government for your personal interest. Do you know that that's corruption?"
"What did you say?!"
Rissa smirked as she approached the computer that is connected to the projector in the room.
"You work on YRC during Mondays and Fridays," she started as she displayed the browsing history of that office' computer. "Your work duty starts on 6 pm to 11 pm. During this time, the computer in the office of YRC is connected to this IP, and this IP is connected to an international porn site."
What Rissa showed earned more attention of the few students that are still on the room. They were amused at what she just showed in front.
"You! How could you arrive to that conclusion without consulting me first?" he asked angrily.
"I simply thought the way you did when you saw me got off of that Lamborghini," her response made him froze.
She then showed him her Tutor Application.
"This is my application filed in the Student Affairs Department," she continued. "My employer is Ms. Tricia Lopez, widowed. She has an eleven years old son. I helped him with his Math and IT History. This is Ms. Lopez' social media account. She has pictures with her car along with Patrick, her son. It's the same four wheels that I came off with a week ago."
"I see," Alexander stated. "You're here to have me take down that blog. Am I right?"
"You see, I can forgive you for shallowness, rudeness and for having a weak reasoning, but don't you think you owe me an apology?" she questioned him. "You posted that blog and implied I have a sugar daddy. If your way of thinking is like that, what will be our country's face when you become a diplomat?"
"Are you here for revenge?" he approached her.
"I'm here to save our country from future embarrassment," she directly told him. "Better correct your way of thinking, you still have time. Don't drag our country's face for being shallow. Not all people are as empty-headed as you."
With that, Rissa left the room. Joy was waiting for her outside and together they left the building to meet their roommates in the cafeteria.
"Did you teach him a lesson?" Joy asked.
"Of course," Rissa replied. "By the way, can you attend my wedding on the game two days from now?"
"Huh?" Joy asked in confusion. "Aren't you married already?"
"I got divorced, but I was proposed to," Rissa sheepishly said. "It's KyleEmbers."
"KyleEmbers?!" Joy exclaimed. "That legendary player?! Oh my god, Rissa, why didn't you tell me that you guys are friends?!"
"I only met him two nights ago," Rissa defended. "So, will you attend?"
"Of course!" Joy exclaimed. "I'll log on to my NewbieJoy account. I can't miss the wedding of the Great Master!"
On the way to the cafeteria, they passed by a bulletin board that was surrounded by girls. Their curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to check it out.
Announcement!!!
What: L University's Basketball Tournament
Who: Computer Science Department vs. Biology Department
Where: L University Gymnasium D
When: Thursday, 5 pm
Rissa and Joy looked at one another and squealed. It wasn't because of the match, but because of the poster they used. It has the silhouette of their Star Senior. That means that he's playing, right?
"Master Kyron is playing basketball again!" Joy excitedly exclaimed. "We can't miss this, Rissa!"
"Let's go and tell Gracy and Yana!"