Gwen stood awkwardly outside the tall, boxy apartment complex that resembled something out of a slice-of-life anime.
Rows upon rows of nearly identical balconies lined the high-rise, and the low murmur of life inside could just barely be heard from where she stood — cars honking, doors slamming, someone playing overly dramatic anime music two floors above.
The complex had at least six floors, and each tenant lived inside what could generously be described as a "single-person coffin apartment."
She crossed her arms.
"Are you sure he's home?" Gwen asked, eyebrow twitching slightly.
James was leaning casually against the stairway rail, scrolling through his phone like he had nowhere better to be.
"Yeah, relax. We graduated. We're basically unemployed gods now. Hanging out is all we've got left."
Gwen sighed, arms tightening. "I didn't even want to come. You said we were grabbing brunch, not tracking down Arlo."
James smirked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "C'mon, you're not the least bit curious? He carried you all the way home last night. Man deserves a thank you. Or a forehead flick."
She grimaced. "I didn't ask him to."
"Doesn't mean he didn't do it. Chivalry's still alive — barely. And besides…" he stepped up to her with a sly grin, "he did try to ask you out, didn't he?"
"That's none of your business," Gwen shot back.
Her voice had bite, but her ears tinged a suspicious red.
James laughed and gestured to the building. "Fine, fine. Just call him already. Let's see if he's still curled up in bed crying over your rejection."
"Fine." Gwen pulled out her phone and tapped Arlo's contact.
The dial tone hummed… then cut.
"The number you are trying to reach is unavailable."
She blinked.
"What?"
James perked up. "Try again."
She did.
Same result.
He tried calling himself.
His brow furrowed as the same cold, robotic voice came through.
"…He blocked both of us?" James muttered.
"That doesn't make sense," Gwen said, her expression tightening. "He didn't seem mad or anything."
Without a word, James marched toward the side of the building, Gwen following with confused steps.
They circled around the corner until they found the landlady — an older woman with a towel slung over her shoulder and a basket of wet clothes she was hanging up in the sun.
"Ma'am!" James called out, approaching quickly.
She glanced back, then chuckled. "You're one of Arlo's friends, right?"
"Yes! Thank you. Is he home?"
"Gone." She tossed a towel over the line with a snap. "Left early this morning. Handed in his keys, said he was going to Valemire or some town with a name like that. Long way from here."
"Valemire?" Gwen and James echoed in unison.
The landlady nodded and held up the key. "He was talking about starting over."
James's mouth dropped. Gwen's brows creased.
"Starting over?"
He whipped out his phone and opened their chat thread.
Arlo hadn't replied to his last message. Worse, his profile picture was gone, and his online status was grayed out.
"What the fuck happened to you, man…" James muttered under his breath, staring at the empty chat screen like it had personally betrayed him.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere far off the main roads and closer to forgotten lands, Arlo sat in the back of a half-empty bus, squinting at the glowing blue screen floating midair in front of him.
"Inventory?" he muttered, sitting up straighter.
"...Neat," Arlo said, glancing around to make sure nobody else was seeing this.
Everyone else on the bus either had headphones in or were asleep.
One guy was drooling against the window while another girl was curled up like a shrimp with a half-eaten sandwich still in her hand.
Arlo cleared his throat and swiped to the next panel.
He blinked.
'NTR Points... Damn the system has it's own currency...'
He cut himself off and looked around again.
Nobody was looking.
He didn't know why he felt afraid but still, it was better to be safe than sorry.
He exhaled and tapped onward.
A mirror-like panel slid out beside the window, showing a cartoonish version of him with wild bed hair and tired blue eyes. His "Sex Appeal" rating was marked Below Average – Work on your jawline.
"Damn."
He sighed and rubbed his chin. "Guess Gwen was right."
He opened the last tab.
A small exclamation mark blinked in the corner.
Arlo stared and then he slumped in the seat, he would need to get to Valemire first before anything and then he would begin.
This new path in life...