Sitting on a bench, in a park near the beach, John looks at the vast sky as though trying to figure out something. Took a deep breath and let it out. Whatta day! While looking up in amazement of how the sky is truly infinitely high, he thought of different possibilities. He sips his matcha milk tea while trying to recollect how his day is about to end. Gentle breeze comes every now and then to play with his unruffled hair.
"I am happy." He whispered to himself. He tries to draw a smile on his lips. He sips his matcha milk tea once more to finish the one last drop and crumpled the empty cup, ready to be thrown in the side garbage bin. He taps the garbage bin, and said "Good job for today!".
He stood up and prepared to go home. He took his bag and walked his way home.
John is a regular office employee. He graduated just recently and luckily landed on a job. He was employed as an encoder for local logistics company. All day he just type in codes needed in processing the documents needed to import and export the goods their company is handling.
Back in the school, he was nothing special. He is one of the chair warmers in the class. He doesn't say much and a little bit shy and timid. So working as an encoder really fits his personality. He doesn't need to talk much, just him and the computer all day long. He would prefer going out alone, and avoids crowded places except for a computer shop. He has a penchant for computer games even at his age he never outgrew it. Well, he does not plan on quitting any time soon though.
He is not going home early on a Friday. He is heading to his favorite transmigrating cafe. It is now all over the city. Just like the milk tea, T-cafes are quite popular in this time. The cafe is regulated by the Ministry of Technology, yes, a branch of the Government. Years ago a scientist has proposed the Transmigrating Technology to the government and was fully supported. Now, after 10 years, its services is like selling like hot pancakes.
John usually goes to his favorite T-Cafe during fridays and whenever he is sad, lonely and sometime even happy. He enjoys playing games and kills time with it. The Transmigrating Cafe is very similar to Virtual Reality but you will be able to feel the pain and emotions while you are on the character you portray.
"Hey!" said John as he enters the cafe.
The old man wiping the bar counter nodded at their patron. "Beer for you John?" asked the bartender.
"Nah, I just finished my matcha!"
"You are too old for that!"
"Nope, I am just on my perfect age for that!" as he prepares his cubicle and tucked in the protective cube. The cube is like a dentist chair where you can actually lie down and sleep, but this is more comfortable.
As soon as he enters his key password, a light scans his whole body, and clothed him with a special suit that would enable him to penetrate the world of virtual reality!
Zoom!
"Healing potions, 2 silvers only!" said the merchant-John. John's last logged in this character was few days ago. He wanted to be a merchant in the medieval time. In this game, each character aims one thing, to become someone like a mage, a swordsman, a thief, and a healer to fight off the monsters outside the castle.
He can see by the looks of the dress code what roles are actually preparing to be heroes. Nah, this is not for me. He said when he read the storyline of the game but I do want to experience this and he clicked that most harassed and underrated characters - the merchant.
So he chose the most useless as what his friend swordsman would say, "Why being a merchant? Why not a swordsman like me? I can immediately fill my money stacks with my collected bounty. I am strong and agile. I can easy defeat monsters."
"We'll,... you are right!" At that moment, he was actually contemplating of re-joining with a new role in the game. The merchant was quite boring for many but for him it was different. "...at some point, but, I don't know. There is something in this role that I like." answered John.
"You do what you want to do, adios amigo!" when he popped in his teleportation dust, it didn't work! "Dang it, could you load me 15000 teledust John?"
"Sure Amigo! Here you go!"
Then automatically 15000 silver coins deposited in his stash. "That swordsman is indeed quite rich to load for a year's consumption! Good thing I just loaded my inventory with 30000 worth." Quite satisfied, he checked his inventory and secured his treasury.
"Ok, what's next for me?" with a smile, he greeted anyone who passes by and sell everything he has in his inventory. Actually, it was that question that made him stick to this role, he just knows he is someone who is satisfied at what the role can give him, he likes it best when pretending to be someone he is not. "I am no hero, I am just a merchant!"
"Teledust, Healing Potions, Love Potions!" from time to time he would shout to get the attention of the passers-by. Sometime he would attract the attention of the, notorious thief in the town.
Skilled in the shadows this role often gets away with every mischief he has unleashed in town. John the merchant would sense the incoming danger, but he just lets the thief, he can detect characters lurking in the shadows, but he lets the kid, shop in his inventory, and run!
We'll most of the items that are not secured such as apples and fruits and mana potions are usually the favorite picks of the thief.
"There you go. Pick that! Yes, because it'll make your fart a killer!" and the thief did just that. He looks for some guard, but saw no one, he smiled and immediately run with his takeaway, without paying.
John suddenly appear and took off his invisibility cloak, "Oh well, that kid never learns, that stealing from me would be most utterly useless. One... Two... Three... boom!"
The kid who run away with the fart killer potion disguised as an apple suddenly farted hard that John could hear even miles away! He chuckled.
"Oh that must have killed someone!" John continued laughing, a satisfying laugh in bullying the thief. He then composed himself, and started to sell again with this traditional way of calling the customer.
As a merchant, for quite sometime now, he still does not know why he chose the role. The question still bugs him up until now. Being a merchant is not that bad after all, he usually concludes his day with this line, but is it really or he is just trying to convince himself?