Penny was sitting on the couch with a notebook in her hand as she began to do what she did best when she needed to think: taking notes.
She had questioned her uncle about practically everything related to his experience so far while playing the ga and then cross-referenced what she could find on the internet via her phone and the ga’s official website.
While Adam went off sowhere, she had focused on gathering information in any way that she could, and the more she looked, the more an unsettling feeling began to settle in her chest. The technology behind the ga was miles ahead of others of its kind, yet had no marketing presence upon release.
She then took into account the company behind the ga. Mythica Studios. But it had no history, and even the supposed headquarters was not listed.
Penny scribbled the na in her notebook, then circled it twice. She had checked corporate registries, scanned forums, even ran a basic search through archived news sites. Nothing turned up. No interviews. No developer diaries. Not even a press release.
It made no sense. A ga like this should have had massive fanfare. Big trailers. Developer hype. Leaks from alpha testers. But there was nothing. Just the ga. Sitting on the market. Fully ford.
And sohow, it was real. The things Adam described, the footage she had seen posted online, the details on the website that read more like a sealed invitation than a product page. All of it tugged at sothing deep in her mind. A mix of fear and excitent that left her fingers twitching with an even stronger urge to log in herself.
She stared at her notes, then slowly closed the book.
Sothing about it all was wrong. But that didn’t matter.
She needed to see it with her own eyes.
If there was more to this world than what Mythica was letting people see, she wasn’t going to figure it out from the outside.
Whatever secrets were buried in that ga, she was going to find them. Not because she wanted to expose them. Not because she was scared.
But because she was curious.
And curiosity always won.
Just as Penny reached for her notebook again, the door opened and Adam walked in carrying a plate in each hand. The sll of toasted bread and lted cheese filled the room before he even said a word.
He took one look at her with legs curled on the couch, pen behind her ear, eyes fixed on sothing miles away and let out a soft sigh.
"You forgot to eat again," he said, setting one of the plates on the coffee table in front of her.
Penny blinked, like her brain had to switch tracks. Then her stomach growled.
"I was thinking," she said, reaching for the plate without protest.
"I figured. Grilled cheese and sweet potato fries. You’re welco."
She took a bite and closed her eyes for a second. "Okay, I did forget. But this is perfect."
Adam sat across from her, watching her chew with the kind of fond patience that ca from experience. "Did you find anything?"
Penny set the plate on her lap and nodded. "Yeah. I found a company with no history. A ga that ca out of nowhere. And a lot of players who are treating it like it’s normal. But nothing about this is normal."
Adam leaned back. "So nothing we didn’t know already. Are you still planning to go in?"
She didn’t hesitate. "Absolutely. The only way to figure this out is from the inside."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought you might say that."
"What?"
"I ordered a headset," he said, picking up his own plate again. "One-day shipping. Should be here in the morning."
Penny stared at him. "Seriously?"
"I know that look," Adam replied. "You weren’t going to change your mind. I figured if I can’t change your mind, I might as well support you the best I can. Though I do wanna say for the record that I am against you getting involved"
She smiled, warm and a little touched. "Thanks. I an it."
"Don’t thank yet," he said, grabbing a fry. "You’re about to enter a rabbit hole that makes zero sense."
Penny smiled behind another bite of grilled cheese. "Noted. Opposition logged. Ignored anyway."
Adam rolled his eyes. "Obviously."
She grabbed her notebook again, flipping to a blank page. "Alright. Tell more about what I’m walking into. Anything I should watch out for?"
Adam tapped his fingers against the side of his plate, his expression thoughtful. "If you’re serious about going in, there are a few things you should watch for."
Penny flipped to a clean page in her notebook, pen at the ready.
"First off, goblins. Don’t underestimate them. They always travel in groups and have a nasty habit of using bait tactics. One shows itself to get your attention, and the rest ambush from the sides. They’re not just mobs. They actually plan things out."
Penny scribbled quickly. "So never assu I’m fighting just one."
"Exactly. If you don’t see the others, it probably ans they’re already behind you. They’ll also test your reactions. The second you show hesitation, they pounce."
She nodded. "Good to know."
Adam took a sip from his drink before continuing. "And... keep an eye on other players. Especially the guys."
Penny paused, her pen hovering. "Why? You run into trouble?"
Adam looked at her, then away. "Let’s just say after what happened with Lily in the town square, I’m not assuming anyone has good intentions unless they prove it."
Penny’s brows lifted slightly. "Huh."
She waited for him to go on, but he didn’t. Instead, he grabbed another fry and focused on his food like the conversation had already moved on.
She considered asking. It was clear sothing had happened. But she also knew better than to push when he was like this.
So she just gave a small nod and returned to her notes. "Okay. Treat goblins like little war strategists and male players like potential problems."
Adam gave her a pointed look. "Until proven otherwise."
Penny grinned. "Got it. I’ll be the friendliest paranoid person online."
He shook his head, but he was smiling now. "That actually might keep you alive longer."
She laughed, tapping her pen against her notebook.
"I’ll take that as a complint."
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