Dungeon Core Online 57 Chapter 57

Silence followed Rue's statement, and James was certain they could hear the gears turning in his head. Rue's father? That made sense, she seemed extremely realistic as an AI. The person behind her creation had to have been a rather skilled developer. But then again, was she really an AI? What if she was human? But, what would that mean? Were the other cores aided by humans as well? That would go against what Xander had told James in the beginning, wouldn't it?

The thoughts rushed through James's mind faster than he could process them, and all he could do was take a drink of his apple juice, his hand trembling slightly, while he glanced between the two. He could really go for a glass of whiskey right about now.

"Did I break him?" Rue's voice was slurred, and the pixie, back to her usually drunken nature, lightly poked James on the cheek. Her antics pulled him from the torrent of thoughts, and he shook his head, bringing himself back to reality.

"What do you mean, your father?" James looked deep into the Pixie's liquor addled eyes. She was a really cute drunk, and she was really close. For a second, James felt his mind slip again, before he brought his mind back to the topic at hand. Now was not the time for his teenage hormones to get the better of him, even if Rue was-

The pixie leaned closer and opened her mouth slightly, a grin on her face. James wasn't sure if she was about to whisper an answer to him, or something else, but a second later, a small wall appeared between the two. Had Xander just cock blocked James?

"How about we continue our conversation?" Xander's eyes narrowed as James turned back towards the developer. Though there was now a literal wall between James and Rue, he was sure the pixie was glaring as well.

"How about you-" Rue's response started, and then suddenly stopped, behind angry muffled screaming.

"You've said enough for now Rue." Xander's eyes flashed with amusement, and James bet the sadistic man had just gagged his pixie. This man definitely had a complex about him. No wonder Steve had rebelled so much against the man. However, James silently wished Steve hadn't caused him the trouble. Why couldn't' Blank have gotten the advantage? Then Xander would have reset that dungeon, and James would have been tied for the top dungeon core around.

"Do you enjoy picking on helpless little girls?" James was back in his white knight mode, and his voice held unbridled anger as he narrowed his eyes. Alright, his hormones were still slightly in control.

"First." Xander waved a hand, and the wall between James and Rue disappeared, showing an angry Rue, with sure enough, a cloth wrapped around her mouth, her eyes filled with rage. "I am doing the two of you a favor. If I let her continue to speak, she may share secrets that would result in you getting removed completely, no matter what protections are in place, and your memory being wiped."

At that, Rue's struggling stopped, even as James felt a shiver of fear pass through him. There was the threat of memory altercation again. What was going on?

"Second, Rue should know if she were to spread these secrets, what would happen to her." The pixie's shoulder's slumped, and it seemed she was starting to sober up quite quickly.

"Third, I will explain what I feel is necessary to you and discuss our way forward. After which, I'm thinking I will call it a day for your time in DCO. I can't remove what Steve gave you, but I can eject you from the game for the last 24 hours of in game time. A minor time penalty that still pales in comparison to what Steve gave you."

James opened his mouth to argue the point, but immediately thought better and closed his mouth. He was certain someone such as Xander could come up with much more unique and cruel ways to mess with James and Rue, and he really didn't want that. No gamer wanted to have to be constantly weary of a god-like figure messing with them, that just wasn't any fun, and James was really enjoying DCO.

"Fine." James replied. "What can you tell me? Who is Rue's father?" James paused just a moment, just long enough to see irritation cross Xander's face, before adding. "Sir." James was a gamer too. Even though he didn't have the power Xander did, that didn't mean he wasn't going to be belligerent in any way he could, especially after watching Xander practically abuse his pixie.

"You know James, I see a bit of myself in you." Xander's face took on a smirk, and he took another drink. "Had you been around when I was your age, we might have been friends, perhaps."

"Doubtful."

"Hmm, alright, rivals." Another drink. "And I would have relished beating you to the ground, in every game we played in."

Xander set his drink down and waved his hand dismissively. "But, that is neither here nor there, and I have to get back to playing my own game very soon. So, let us be quick about this."

A piece of paper appeared before James, along with a pen.

"Sign this, it is another Non-disclosure agreement. Essentially, what I am about to tell you is between you, me, and Rue. If you even so much as make a peep about this to any one, trust me, not even your parents will be able to protect you."

James had no idea what his parents had to do with any of this, as they never mentioned what they worked on for the government. However, as he picked up the pen to sign, his eyes widened as he saw two cosignatories below where he was signing, one for his mom, and one for his dad.

"What-" James finished signing even as he began to continue his question. The moment the ink was on the page though, Xander cut him off.

"Did you not know James? Your parents are a part of this experiment as well. The entire government is a part of this experiment. And, the best part of all of this." Xander's eyes flashed with joy. "The people playing have no idea."

Chapter end