Free Gamed (A Standalone Romance Novel) (Bad Boy Romance) by Claire Adams Page A

they fought others and earned their evolution. Dark Flag did not make it easy to sit
down and start playing.
    It had taken me
three days to evolve into an avatar I wanted to play. "Wrong,
newbie," I said.
    The underling
jumped at me and I knocked it back with an easy sequence. I could have killed
it, causing the other player to have to wait an hour before rejoining the game,
but the hand-to-hand combat was a good distraction.
    The underling
found its footing again and picked up a rock. "I'm not helpless," it
said.
    "You're not
smart either," I sent my avatar forward with a sharp kick.
    The rock slipped
out of the underling’s hand and we grappled again. Underlings used teeth and
nails to fight, but my leather jacket and pants, purchased in Black Wall City,
kept me safe. I punched it back and we circled around again.
    Just when I
thought it was going to attack again, the underling spotted a Green Elf and
decided to go after easier prey than me.
    All in all, it was
five minutes of distraction. I still had enough time to wander to the high
cliffs and look down on the Black Fields, or I could finally accept a quest and
start playing the game in earnest.
    The redwood tree
nearest me had a carving of a sideways “S.” The symbol meant a Soothsayer was
near. Soothsayers could be fought for Fate spells. Or, if you found them and
asked, they would assign you a quest.
    I searched amongst
the tall trees for the telltale glow of a Soothsayer's trail. Their footprints
glittered before fading and after a quick search, I found some that still
sparkled. I followed the trail until the Soothsayer appeared.
    "Will you
fight for your Fate, human?" it asked me.
    "I wish a
quest," I said. I knelt in front of the Soothsayer. The first time I had
encountered one, I did not kneel and it knocked me out for ten minutes for
being rude.
    "Your quest
will not be easy. It is far beyond the Black Fields, far beyond the capability
of a mere human," the Soothsayer said.
    "I want to
try."
    "Then you
must travel far and find the warlock that will lead the Southern clan. He holds
a Portal Key. Use that key to enter the dragon's cave. It has been too long
since it flew. The Black Fields must be scorched, you must release the
dragon," the Soothsayer said.
    The game was
evolving based on the players that dominated. The creators had certain ways of
leveling the playing field such as plagues, natural disasters, and dragons. It
was my quest to activate one of those levelers. That also meant I had the power
to warn people or lure them to the Black Fields and eliminate my enemies.
    My first instinct
was to find Owen and tell him about my quest, but before I could leave the
Pitch Forest, I was stopped by another player. The Green Witch was unnaturally
voluptuous, as most female avatars were. Her iridescent green dress clung hard
to her curvaceous frame and even as she spoke to me, her avatar struck several
sexy poses.
    "Don't go
that way. Clansmen are all over the trail. It’s not safe," the Green Witch
said. "Unless you have something to trade."
    I did not dare ask
what she had traded for safe passage. "Thanks, but I think I know some of
them."
    "This isn't
the Light Clan. It’s new, started by a Thief King. They play dirty," the
Green Witch said. "They have Thrall Spells. You can lose two lives or be
stuck watching them play for a full 24 hours."
    I thanked her and
made my way cautiously through the Pitch Forest. I needed to follow the trail
out to the Black Fields, but I barely knew how to play, much less how to play
dirty.
    I heard the
chatter the closer I got to the trail. The Thief King was building a camp among
the redwoods. Once avatars were well-established, they could actually create
dwellings. Base camps or homes allowed a player to recharge without leaving the
game.
    I stopped and
studied the command menu. I needed to know how to walk silently. I also needed
to know how to hide. I wanted to hear what they were talking about.
    "I know
there's a way to make