Ian knocked on the door of Jen’s office. He had arrived a few minutes early to give her his notice before the clock started. He would have arrived even earlier, but she was a very punctual person who always showed up five minutes before her shift. He also noticed that his shifts never quite lasted until the end of hers.

  “Come in,” came Jen’s muffled voice through the door.

  Opening the door, he stuck his head in, “Hey, boss, got a minute?”

  She beckoned him in, and he shut the door behind him. When she got a look at his changed physique, a smile crossed her face as an eyebrow rose.

  “I take it you managed to do it?” she asked, excitement in her voice. When he nodded, she gave him a wide grin. “Congratulations, Ian! I know you’ve worked really hard, and it seems your efforts are finally starting to pay off.”

  “Thanks, Jen. I’m finally able to start leveling like everyone else now, which makes me happier than I thought was possible.” Ian’s smile dimmed. “But it’s also why I stopped in early. I’ve been given an opportunity to become a full-time adventurer, and I’ve decided to take it.”

  “Now that is exciting!” Jen exclaimed, her smile not dimming in the slightest. “When do you start?”

  While it shouldn’t have, that question took Ian off guard.

  “Oh, um, I told them that I needed to put in my notice here first and give you time to replace me. I didn’t want to leave anyone in a bad spot. It just didn’t feel right.”

  Jen smiled and then looked down as if she was making a decision. She got to her feet and came around the desk to stand next to the door.

  “Take a seat, I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “What about the fry machine?”

  “Psh, sit down and don’t worry about it. I’ll be right back.”

  Just like she had promised, Ian was only sitting there a moment before she returned.

  “There we go. Lester is headed back there. He says congrats on the new job, by the way.”

  Ian smiled as she walked back around and sat on the other side of the desk from him. As she looked at him, her smile faltered for a moment before it returned, a little smaller.

  “Ian,” she said quietly. “I have a confession to make. I didn’t want to tell you when you started working here, because I didn’t think you would take it very well. You were just so depressed, and rightfully distrusted everyone. I was so worried about you and felt that it was a secret that I could keep, and it would be alright. But now that you are moving on, I think it’s time for me to tell you.”

  Ian’s smile slowly left his face as he wondered what Jen could be talking about.

  “I’m an active adventurer and have been for a few years. I lied when I told you I had recognized you from Avra’s stream. I knew you because I taught you and Beth during your initial adventurer courses when you signed up to be adventurers at the AO. Many of us grab those shifts for extra spending money or to fulfill contract obligations, though it’s also a way for us to pay forward the help we received as newbies from our predecessors.”

  “But…how? You don’t look like Glade Runner…”

  As Ian watched, Jen’s black hair turned green as the points of her ears grew to extend an extra three inches above their usual spots. Her cheekbones rose slightly, and her face became more angular as her eyes enlarged. Finally, her skin tone shifted to a light purple as her eyes darkened to a dark purple. He could see the resemblance now that he was comparing them, but she was definitely an elven version of herself. Her toned body was also visibly slimmer and at least a couple of inches shorter, which part of him felt was a waste, but she was now beautiful in a completely different way than normal.

  “It cost me 750 SP to purchase the uncommon Moon Elven Heritage skill and the common Emerald Green Hair skill. If you haven’t spent your points yet, I advise you pick up similar skills and choose a new alias before you return back to the AO. Turn them on and never turn them off. Tons of people walk around with their skills active now. It’s not as taboo as it was a couple of decades ago.”

  She looked at Ian’s face until he nodded, showing that he understood. He was going to tell her he already had plans when she let out a deep breath and continued on.

  “To get back to it, I never doubted that you were innocent of all the things she said you did. In the few weeks I was around you and Beth, it was obvious to everyone that she was the center of your world. It was painful to watch the way she preened in the attention she got from the others when she had a perfect boyfriend who loved her completely. She was using your love and attention as a status symbol to showcase how important she was to others.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “I mean, she spent twenty minutes bragging to me about how you graduated top of your class at one of the top engineering universities in the state, and how you were interning at Stratvent to help develop new essence devices. You were smart, funny, attractive, and attentive—pretty much every young 20-year-old’s fantasy. Instead of cherishing the love you gave her, she cherished the social capital she gained from it.

  “It was really weird to see the difference between how she acted when you were present and when you were off doing other things. It was like watching an actress playing a role on stage. I thought it was wrong, but I didn’t feel it was my place to say anything. Ever since she did what she did, I’ve felt guilty, like I should have done something to let you know so you could have saved yourself. The guilt I have felt just…it won’t go away.”

  Ian closed his eyes and took a deep breath to center himself. He knew what she said to be true, even if he didn’t want it to be. Hindsight was 20/20, and he knew Beth had played him like a fiddle. He had beaten himself up enough over the past year. That Ian was dead, and he was going to try to keep him buried.

  “It’s not your fault,” Ian said. “There was nothing you could have said that would have made me accept who she really was. She played that role for years, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. When I look back and think of how my life would have gone if I would have not ever decided to chat her up at my first party in college…how much better would my life be right now?

  “But that’s the problem with thinking about all the ‘what ifs.’ At the end of the day, I still have to live with the decisions that I made up until this point. Nobody made them but me. There were moments in my relationship that I now see were red flags, even though I supported her decisions and reasoning at the time. I mean…eh, I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s just depressing to think about how stupid the old me was.

  “But the important thing to know is that it wasn’t your fault in any way, shape, or form. And I think it’s about time for me to stop dwelling on it as well. I’m about to start a new life, and I don’t need any of that baggage weighing me down.”

  Jen wiped a tear from her cheek, “I still wish I could have done something. I feel like I should have done more—”

  “Please, don’t feel guilty about anything,” Ian said as his breath caught in his chest. “I-I owe you everything, Jen. You gave me a job at a time I didn’t think I—I—,” tears began falling down his face as everything became blurry. “I honestly wouldn’t be here today without you being there at that moment, giving me hope.”

  Arms wrapped around him as his head was pulled into Jen’s shoulder. Ian wasn’t sure how long he cried, but he could hear Jen’s soothing voice whispering comforting things into his ear as she held him. As he gently pulled away, he wiped his eyes and saw Jen’s tear-streaked face smiling down at him.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “Don’t ever be sorry for being yourself with me,” Jen stated, cutting him off. “I know you don’t have a phone, but I’m going to give you my phone number since I am sure you are going to get one soon. If you ever need to talk about anything, I want you to call me. Unless I am in a dungeon, I can always be reached, okay?”

  “Jen, you are the best friend I’ve ever had,” Ian replied as he put the paper with her number in his wallet. “I’ll text you as soon as I get a phone, so you can do the same.”

  “I’d love that. Now, don’t you have a job that you need to get to?”

  “Yeah, let me go toss on my uniform and I’ll hop on the fry machine,” Ian said with a smile.

  Jen started laughing, “Ian, wait! You don’t actually work here; you know that, right?”

  Ian stopped and looked at her with a puzzled look.

  “You. Don’t. Work. Here.” Jen said with a playful smile. “I figured you actually knew that. It’s why you’ve only ever worked on my shifts. There are three other shift managers that work here too, you know. The regional manager doesn’t care because it helps keep everyone under full-time to have you fill shifts, and everyone else likes it because it makes their jobs easier.

  “What?”

  “Your position doesn’t exist. For how smart you are, you have some serious blind spots.”

  “But how have I been getting paid then? The money has to come from—”

  “Stop!” Jen said as she sighed. “Listen. If you want to do something to help me, go become the best adventurer you can be and catch up with me so we can hang out in a dungeon sometime. I know the probability is small, I mean I am only level 312, but it has taken me nearly four years to get that far.”

  “If you are that high, why are you still working as a manager at a fast-food restaurant?” Ian said playfully before the realization kicked in, and he looked at her embarrassed face. “You’ve gained nearly 160 levels in the past two years…so you could have easily quit around level 150 if you ran dungeons with a decent group or were a powerful solo player. So, you stayed here for me?”

  Jen slowly nodded her head, “I was able to support myself through the dungeon probably a month after you started. But our friendship was worth staying here for.”

  Ian felt his chest tighten again as he nodded, “Thank you, Jen.” He took a deep breath again before smiling at her and adding, “So…you planning on keeping this job?”

  Jen snorted and began chuckling, “The first thing I’m doing when you walk out that door is to put in my notice.”

  “Then let me get out of your way,” he said as he laughed and stepped towards the door before stopping and turning back.

  “Oh, by the way,” he said with a smirk as he activated Conceal Identity, “I had already gone through with what you suggested earlier. Since my new life is starting and I’ll be leaving my old name out of the public eye, next time you see me, I’ll be Zero.”

  A grin blossomed on her face as her elven features and hair changed back to the Jen he was used to, “I’m looking forward to keeping track of you, and thank you for trusting me.”

  “I’ll catch you later,” he said as his skill dissipated. Waving, he walked out, leaving one of his only friends smiling in her office.