Emma took a deep, bracing breath as she pushed open the front door to her childhood home, an upscale two-story in the peaceful suburbs. Alex followed just behind, surveying the graceful architecture and manicured lawn briefly before focusing back on his friend. Her body language telegraphed knots of tension that had nothing to do with the early hour.
Striding down the foyer, Emma called "Dad? Are you awake yet?"Heavy footsteps echoed down the stairs as Emma's father emerged - Aaron Ross, late 40s with salt-and-pepper hair and a tidy beard framing kind, weathered features well known to Alex. Aaron's gray eyes crinkled happily seeing his daughter unexpectedly."Emma, sweetie! This is a surprise so early," he exclaimed, hugging her in fatherly affection. His gaze landed on Alex hovering by the door. "And Alex too! Sorry I haven't come by recently to check on your mother...""No need to apologize, Mr Ross," Alex demurred politely. "I know you would v
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Reality Game Changer Chapter Twenty Five
Exhausted silence hung between Emma and Alex as he drove them back towards campus after the intense emotional revelations. Noticing a cafe still open, Alex pulled over, suggesting they recoup with some coffee. Emma numbly agreed.Settling into a shadowy back booth cradling warm mugs, Alex studied his friend's raw expression, eyes still puffy from earlier tears. He reached across the table to grasp her hand."How're you holding up after...everything?" he asked gently.Emma inhaled shakily. "Honestly? Kind of a mess trying to process it all logically..." Her composure crumbled once more."Aw Em..." Alex moved quickly to her side of the booth, wrapping a supportive arm around her shoulders as she cried again into his s
Reality Game Changer Chapter Twenty Six
Taking a deep, centering breath, Alex planted his feet in the lush grass of a wide meadow, peering ahead at the treeline marking the threshold into the untamed wilderness. Nexus had directed him here, to a high-risk area of Elysium Quest called The Overgrowth - perfect for rapidly accumulating combat experience from ruthless plant and beast creatures dwelling within the sprawling forest.According to Nexus, successfully battling through the dangerous mobs and completing resource harvesting objectives in the Overgrowth's depths would provide the last push Alex required before hitting the necessary prerequisite level to attempt the Guardian Ascension promotion class quest."Remember, utilize your augmented sensory capabilities I unlocked to remain vigilant for threats," Nexus reminded Alex through his neural interface. "Channel instinc
Reality Game Changer Chapter Twenty Seven
Golden afternoon light slanted into Alex's studio apartment as Emma blearily opened her eyes, confused momentarily by the unfamiliar surroundings. Then realizing she had crashed at her friend's sparse apartment, everything that had happened rushed back into her mind making it heavy once again.Now glancing at her phone, Emma jolted fully awake seeing the time. "Whoa, I conked out for almost 12 hours?" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"Alex looked up from the notebook he was scrawling formulas into. "You seemed like you could use the rest after all that had happened yesterday," he chuckled while retrieving leftover soup from the mini-fridge. "Here, eat something first before interrogating me."Emma smiled affectionately through her bed-tousled mane accepting the food. Same old Alex, always trying to take care of everyone else even when his world crumbled unrelentingly.Between grateful spoonfuls of hot broth and rice, Emma's gaze
Reality Game Changer Chapter Twenty Eight
When the recording died, the room was totally silent.Emma sobbed quietly. Alex on the other hand was confused because he couldn't piece the information together.“Nexus, can you verify the authenticity of what we just heard?" he asked.“Analyzing data now" Nexus replied.After a few seconds it replied “93% authenticity. I could not analyze any further than that, my apologies"“93% is more than enough to know what Rosaline said was the truth"Still something bothered Alex more. Rosaline told Emma to find a host for Nexus, was it because she needed the Nexus to be activated in a living host before they can be able to locate the Accession System Codex?“Nexus, while you were in the room I met you, were you given any command?"“Command, please rephrase"“Okay, like were you told to find a host based on instructions? Like you were to come out with me or you were, come on you are an intelligent supercomputer you know what I'm talking about" " I have no command whatsoever to follow you, I f
Reality Game Changer Chapter Twenty Nine
The ride from Alex's studio apartment to the South Side of Metropolis took roughly 25 minutes.Alex gazed up at the charming two-story house nestled amongst swaying trees and couldn't believe his eyes. This serene property on the rural outskirts of Metropolis finally offered a chance for a new beginning." Alex, it's perfect!" Emma exclaimed, squeezing his hand excitedly. A quaint stone pathway led through lush green grass up to the front porch lined with pots bursting with colorful blossoms. The aged white siding and dark blue shutters gave the place a cozy, homey feel, like visiting a beloved grandparent's house.Emma was delighted at the open and airy space warmed by golden evening light. This place was ages away from the cold sterility of cramped city apartments, this house wrapped its occupants in comfort. It was a rare luxury.Outdoors, Alex spotted a glittering stream marking the far edge of the property. He grinned, picturing lazy summer days resting on its waters. Nestled on
Reality Game Changer Chapter Thirty
The rich aroma of expertly brewed coffee filled the building as Emma and Alex groaned awake.Entering the quaint kitchen, Alex discovered Nexus by the counter proudly preparing breakfast. “Wow, something smells nice" Alex said as he got down stairs.“Morning Alex. Brush and have a bath before breakfast"“What? Who does that these days? Come on Nexus, just a slice of toast. I'm famished” Alex begged." No, rules are rules. Get yourself clean and you can have breakfast” Nexus replied." Just go take you bath” Emma's voice softly came from behind him "Nexus would not allow you take a bite until you are cleaned up”" Damn robot, I would fry your circuits, loose your bolts and toss your scrap metal into a grinder” Alex said as he rushed back up to have his bath.A hot piping bath after, Alex rushed down refreshed."Wow, Nexus! Everything smells incredible," Emma said, eyeing towers of golden toast and a steaming pot of coffee. "That was pretty fast,” Emma said with a laugh." What? Fast?
Reality Game Changer Chapter Thirty One
The training schedule was slated for two hours every morning but it was completed in less than that.Alex and Emma were eager to know what was stored in Emma's DNA.After refreshing, they headed down to the basement as Nexus had told them earlier.As Alex and Emma descended into the basement the next morning, they froze in astonishment at the entirely transformed space. The shabby arranged equipment from yesterday all had their place and they were grouped. The room was glittering like an ultra-modern laboratory and technology center sleek enough for a mega-corporation's headquarters."Nexus...what did you do down here?" Emma gasped, gaping at the banks of giant monitor screens and expensive-looking equipment arranged into different sections. She noted clear boundaries now delineating a medical research wing, an engineering workshop, a server farm room and even a gaming area with top-of-the-line gaming equipment.Nexus' voice emanated proudly from an intercom system he had installed in
Reality Game Changer Chapter Thirty Two
Alex and Emma were shocked at Nexus’s explanation.“How?" they both asked in sync." How would it be easier for your low processing brains to understand?" Nexus mused " in simple terms, Alex has been around you more than anyone, when you were kids, it was easier for anything to have been easily passed across. For example you must have spent far too much time together across the years and have built some kind of trust”" It's more like a Queen Knight relationship, she trusted you and passed part of the code to you” Nexus explained." So you're saying that she transferred part of the code to me and she had no idea she did?” Alex asked" Precisely” Nexus replied "In a nutshell, the code became further broken into three places, so even if Vyus had gotten me, he would have gotten an incomplete map and he would have never gotten to the Ascension System Codex”" Are you saying the code embedded in my DNA split? Like the was transferred? How is that even possible?” Emma asked" That's somethi