I can’t believe it—my new friend is a whale just like me! Actually, the more I look at Sherbert’s name, the more I’m sure I recognize it.

  “You’re S. Herbert,” I realize. “S. Herbert ranked in the top five of all the XYZ games.”

  He sniffs and wipes his teary eyes. “You know me?”

  “I’m McConsoleKing.”

  Sherbert’s jaw goes slack and he points at me in disbelief.

  “M-McConsoleKing? The number one ranked player on every big game in the last five years? B-but, how?”

  “That’s what I’m asking myself,” I laugh, then sober a little when I think of a certain acquaintance of mine who’s not so constrained by things like odds and probability. Don’t tell me, meeting Sherbert here was all part of Ari’s plan?

  “But—Revelator, I don’t recognize that handle. Is it for alt accounts?”

  “Nah, I don’t have anything like that. I take my role-playing games seriously; I couldn’t just name my character McConsoleKing, so I went with Revelator.”

  Of course, Revelator was the 2.0 version of my ideal role-play character, after I realized I wouldn’t be able to buy my way to the top in TC. But he doesn’t need to hear about the short, tragic existence of Lamentator, fallen paladin of shame and regret…

  “But, yeah, I totally recognize you,” I say, pivoting away from that painful subject. “I see S. Herbert all the time on ranking lists for XYZ games.”

  “Only cuz I buy my way to the top.”

  “You think I’m any different? I’m the biggest whale there is!”

  “Haha!” Sherbert laughs in disbelief. “Well, it’s nice to meet you in person, McConsoleKing. That is, sort of.”

  “Close enough.”

  “So you’re a rich boy too, huh?”

  “Well, my parents are rich.”

  “I get it man, believe me. My family is ooooold money. We own vineyards on three continents. Ever hear of Santobello wine? Cordex wine, Ruzhruzh wine?”

  “I think my parents have all of those in their cellar.”

  “Granddad makes it all. He dabbles in other business, too, of course, but they don’t call him the King of the Wine World for nothing,” he says, pretty much admitting his family are billionaires with a casual shrug.

  “My parents’ wealth is first generation. My mom was the entrepreneur that opened the first Rose Bar.”

  “No kidding?”

  “Yeah, and my dad...”

  Sherbert and I end up passing hours munching candied nuts in front of the campfire, reminiscing on past games we’ve played, and on our shared experiences as the hated ultra wealthy whales with mediocre skill that used our families’ money to dominate our favorite games. It’s like hanging out with an old friend, which feels especially surreal to me, since I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper friend in my life.

  “We should make a guild,” Sherbert declares later, after the sun has set.

  “A guild?” I say, flabbergasted. “Just the two of us?”

  “Why not?”

  I consider his proposition very seriously. It’s not that I dislike the idea of playing with Sherbert. In fact, I’d already begun to imagine it from the moment I read those interesting Druid skills of his…

  “Don’t you think it’d be fun?” Sherbert says eagerly. He’s got serious golden retriever energy, this one, and it’s clear he’s become attached to me. If he had a tail, it would be slapping back and forth right now.

  “I do think we’d work well together,” I admit. “A healer that heals by percent rather than a set amount…if you could be taught other percentage based healing skills that stacked with your current Regrowth spell…that would supplement my character’s healing quite nicely. I’d never have to drink another potion again.”

  “But that feels a bit selfish,” I go on, “altering your character to optimize my own build.”

  “Not at all! I already told you I don’t know the first thing about character building. It would be a relief, honestly, to have you manage my level ups. Besides, I like the idea of being a supporting character. It’s the whole reason I made a healer!”

  “But, your dinosaur form…I have no need of another tank. And if I made it so you focused entirely on healing, you’d never be able to solo the game again.”

  “Well,” he hesitates. “You wouldn’t have to get rid of all of it. We can lose the throwaway skills like fishing and woodcarving while still keeping my dino form, right?”

  “I guess so…”

  “Then, what do you say? Guild mates?”

  I look to Sherbert, who’s looking at me with the biggest, shiniest eyes. I swear, that invisible tail of his is wagging so hard it’s creating a breeze.

  “Please, Rev. Let’s make the guild and play together whenever we’re both online. Please.”

  “Well…I guess it’s alright. But what would we call ourselves?”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “What else? The Whales! Yes!” Sherbert cries excitedly, then leaps up into the air with a fist pump in a very unladylike motion, revealing his scrawny elf knees in the process. The more time I spend with this guy, the less he looks like a woman to me, so that I question that I ever saw him as anything but a dude to begin with.

  “It’s settled! No takesies backsies! We’ll make the guild just as soon as we get to Pitola. If we ever get there…”

  “Is it really so hard? You said you were lost—why not just follow the map out of the forest?”

  “I tried but my map isn’t working!” he says with waterfall tears. “It’s been malfunctioning ever since I met this annoying flying guy, what was his name again?”

  Is he talking about Ari?

  “Doesn’t matter. Anyway, this guy talked to me and my map totally started glitching out. Then I got hella lost and I was about to give up the game. That’s when I started seeing this glowing trail thingy. So I followed it a bit and it led me to this weird boarded up mineshaft and the next thing I knew—BOOM! You crashed through!”

  “Do me a favor,” I say, rubbing my forehead in exasperation for Ari’s shenanigans. “Check your map again. Is it working?”

  “I’m telling you, it’s busted! I even tried contacting support, they had no idea what was going on.”

  “Just the same. Humor me.”

  “What the heck?” Sherbert stares in disbelief at his system screen. “It’s back online.”

  “Yeah. Had a feeling…”

  “I swear it wasn’t working before! I’m not stupid! That is, I am stupid, but not that stupid!” he insists, tears in his eyes.

  “I believe you,” I sigh. “And you cry too much for a guy. If you keep that up, people really will think you’re a girl.”

  Sherbert rubs his eyes furiously with his sleeve and makes a visible effort to compose himself. I catch myself grinning. He really tries hard. I can only imagine what a guy like this has had to go through to get to this point in the game.

  “Right,” I say, rising abruptly and dusting myself off. “That’s settled, then. We’ll head for Pitola and make our guild.”

  “Ah, well, yes. But I don’t suppose you’d mind, I hate to be an imposition…”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s just, my granddad’s leaving for Italy today and I promised I’d play the violin for him before he leaves.”

  “That’s fine—I can wait.”

  “It’ll only be half an hour. Hour, tops! I swear it!”

  “No worries. Go see your granddad.”

  “Cool, thanks! Well…see you in a bit?”

  “Yeah,” I say with a nod. Sherbert nods back with flushed cheeks. Then he pulls up his system and logs out. He stands there for the arbitrary ten seconds with an awkward and somewhat nervous expression.

  “You promise you’ll be here when I get back?”

  “I promise.”

  “Ok. I’ll—”

  The game logs him off before he can finish his sentence. I stare at the space he just occupied, feeling oddly bewildered by the emptiness and the silence after so much of Sherbert’s friendly chatter.

  Well, now. What shall I do with myself for the next hour? I’m already a much higher level than Sherbert, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to farm monsters, especially when they’re also a lower level than me. Then, shall I log out too? It’s been a while since my last shower…

  I’m considering this when I hear the faintly musical sound of laughter overhead. That laugh—I recognize that laugh!

  I look up to find Ari stretched out in a tree branch overhead with his back propped against the trunk. His pointed hat is tipped back, his short golden curls gleam in the firelight.

  “Hello, friend,” he greets me, his tone somehow managing to be friendly, mocking and nonchalant all at once.

  “Hello…friend,” I answer. “I…owe you an apology. And my thanks.”

  Ari titters, his laughter echoes about the dark glade with an eerie, haunting sound.

  “Don’t thank me, friend. I have my reasons for helping you, like I have my reasons for dropping that neat little tool in your lap.”

  Tool? He doesn’t mean—Sherbert?

  Ari laughs again, and it raises my hackles. I forget this guy can read my mind.

  “Don’t look so offended. Only a moment ago you were thanking me, remember?”

  “For dropping me in the caves, for steering me on the right path to optimize my character.”

  “And what is simple-minded Sherbert, but another set of skills you can level up to your own liking? A soft, malleable lump of clay in your capable hands.”

  “He’s not some lump for me to manipulate! He’s my friend!”

  “Yes, and you’re his. A lovely thing, friendship. You’ve yet to experience it in full, unless I’m mistaken? You’re in for quite a treat.”

  His grin mocks me, mocks my friendless existence. Yes, he knows all about that, doesn’t he? Knows what kind of pitiable, pathetic life I’ve led up till now.

  “What the hell do you want?” I demand. “Why do you keep showing up and interfering with my character?”

  “All I want, dear Revelator, is for you to beat my game.”

  “I’ll do that without your help. Even if it takes me five or ten years—”

  “Not good enough,” Ari says, and he falls from the branch only to fly around so his face is right in front of mine. “I want you to beat it first—before anyone else. I want you and your little guild to be number one on this worldwide server.”

  My eyes widen at the audacity of his suggestion, and my breath catches.

  “That’s ridiculous. There are so many other players out there grinding. They’re already so far ahead of me.”

  “You act as though you’re not used to claiming it, the number one spot. As though it isn’t the only thing you’d be satisfied with.”

  “Well, yes, in different games, but in Tetra Chronicles? There’s…there’s just no way.”

  “You play the unassuming role very well. But I know your true nature, Revelator. I know what you really are. And just how far you’ll go, to get what you want.” Ari smiles with his eyes, and it makes my heart race just a bit.

  What’s he saying? That I’d even be able to use the very first friend I ever made if it means I can make it to the top? He must be joking. But as with everything, it’s difficult to say with Ari, whether he’s joking or serious.

  “It’s time to start thinking bigger. You’ve got a stable foundation now, but you’re far from complete. Build for survival—don’t trouble yourself about damage. You’ll find guild companions later that will cover that.”

  “Companions…”

  “There’s not much time for me. I can’t even guarantee I’ll see you again, so heed me well. You are one I have chosen; if you continue on this present course, I am sure you will not fail me.”

  “Ari—”

  “I haven’t time for your questions,” he cuts me off, annoyed. “I have others I must mentor. Perhaps you will join with some of them, and take on the final boss. Perhaps you will be pitted against them. Either way, prepare yourself. And take full advantage of the simple one. He’s not your equal, but he will serve you faithfully. Build him properly, as an extension of yourself, and take no qualms about using him to the fullest extent. It’s why I gave him to you.”

  The god of Tetra Chronicles pulls away from me, soaring up into the air. He hovers a moment, looking down on me with shrewd, almost unfeeling violet eyes. Or do I spy just a twinkle of fondness as he cocks his head ever so slightly, and the corner of his mouth lifts with the faintest smile?

  “Good luck, friend. And farewell.”

  I stay by the fire a long time after that, forgetting all thoughts of returning to the real world.

  Use Sherbert. Clay in my hands.

  Ari’s not wrong about his personality. I’m sure he’d be very easy to influence; sure I could get him to give up his useless Ankylosaurus transformation without much of a fight. There must be somewhere in the bigger cities where we can pay to redistribute his stat points. Move all those points he put into Strength over to Intelligence, for starters, and teach him better healing spells…

  It’s the right thing for me. One might even argue it would be the right thing for the guild. But is it in Sherbert’s best interests? As I already pointed out, if I take away his ability to transform, he’ll never be able to play the game without me again.

  As his friend, is that something I can do to him?

  Sherbert reappears more quickly than I was imagining. Or did I just lose track of time, sat here in my own thoughts? He’s beaming excitedly, rushing straight to my side like a dog excited to see his master after a long day’s work.

  “You waited for me! Of course you said you would, but—Rev, I’m so glad!”

  “Yeah,” I answer coolly. “Then, if you’re ready, let’s go.”