Dungeon Core Online 84 Chapter 84

"And, who exactly is BLANK?" The way Xander phrased his statement, made James feel like the lead developer knew exactly who BLANK was. That didn't help James at all though. He had never heard of any gamer named BLANK before, across any game he played. And James had played a lot of games.
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"BLANK are the only gamers to rival my ability. In fact, they are the only ones who could probably best me." Xander's eyes filled with something James doubted he would ever see from the man. Pride, for something other than his own ability?

"They, as in plural?" That didn't make sense. Dungeon Core's were run by a singular player and an AI. Xander had been quite specific about that.

"Oh yes, as in plural."

"But-"

"Don't worry, it is two players James, and no AI. They both log in together, and they log out together. When they are offline, they only manage the game through the DCO app, unlike every other dungeon core, which has an AI constantly active in the game."

If that were the case, the fact those two had reached Tier 2 Rank 7 was even more impressive. Just how good were these two?

"Who are they?"

Xander's grin widened. "They're my children."

James's mind stopped when Xander said that. His what? Xander had kids? Someone actually got past his egotistical, self-serving…

"Well, my adopted children." Ah, there it was.

"You adopted children?" James still couldn't believe that fact. Xander did not seem the kid type.

"As I peaked in the gaming world, I was growing bored. There were no more challenges for me. So, I decided I would create my own perfect nemesis. A gamer that could present me with the ultimate challenge. Of course, developing an AI to do just that seemed, less genuine. So, I went on a mission, and eventually found not one, but two children, who had the potential I was looking for."

Xander spread his arms wide. "They were both far ahead of their peers, outcasts as a result of their unique intellectual skills and traits. I took them in and began to teach them all I could. As they grew, their bond with each other became stronger than any you could imagine. They trust each other 100% and can work together to overcome any and every challenge. Suffice to say, they have bested me at nearly every game we've played."

"And…now they're in DCO as a dungeon core?" James really didn't like where this was going. He had been relieved to hear Xander wasn't able to mess with his experiment in a way that would instantly eliminate James and Rue. However, it seemed Xander still had a trump card.

"Obviously if I was forced to make a special case for you and Rue on behalf of your parents, I was going to take the liberty to add one more factor to my experiment." He grinned. "Besides, I wanted to see what would happen if I were a dungeon core, but obviously, for my experiments sake, could not take on both roles."

"So, you put in your children, the two who can best you, the self-proclaimed greatest gamer, into your experiment." Xander's eye twitched when James added the self-proclaimed portion, but otherwise the developer did not give in to his comment.

"Precisely." Xander's grin widened. "And, you've gone and done me a tremendous favor by making them mad."

"But I didn't do anything." Of all the people, Xander knew James had purposefully cheated. Well, other than obviously having Rue nudging him along with guiding knowledge, but hey, that was what having an AI was for, right? Or had she been giving him additional secrets that maybe she shouldn't have. A quick glance at Rue, his devilish, tricksie pixie, confirmed that one. She had totally been sharing information with him she probably shouldn't have.

"Oh, you're right about that. You just got unlucky when you received Steve's achievement." The old man leaned down. "But BLANK doesn't know that." James could see the victorious glint in the developer's eyes. He was really enjoying this.

"Well, couldn't you tell them? I mean, they are your kids." Seriously, would it be that hard for Xander to tell his kids James hadn't cheated. After all, if anyone had access to extra knowledge, it had to be…

"I could." Xander moved away from James and turned his back to James, his arms clasped behind himself. "But that would be less fun."

"Less fun? What the h.e.l.l does that even mean? Besides, how are they even going to knock me down a notch? Why am I even getting scared? Dungeon's can't interact with each other to that degree any ways." Could they? James hadn't seen anything of that nature. Which meant James really had nothing to worry about. He had been afraid Xander would try to punish him, implying he had broken the NDA. But he obviously hadn't, and the only ones who knew James had received some sort of edge was Xander's kids, who were an exception themselves, so everything should be…

"Actually." Xander turned, clapping his hands together in joy. As he did, a window appeared across James's screen

DCO DUNGEON CORE ALERT- BLANK has officially reached Tier 3 Rank 1. As such, dungeon gates will become operable on the next immersion. Patch notes will be provided with the update, which will begin upon logout. The update will go live at 00:00:01 of day 2 of BLANKs time zone (PST).

"Starting tomorrow, they can."

Dungeon Gates? A new update? Blank just jumped from Tier 2 Rank 7 to Tier 3 Rank 1? What the h.e.l.l was going on?

"What is going on?"

"I guess you will have to read the patch notes." Xander chuckled darkly as his form began to fade away. "But trust me, tomorrow you're going to rue the day you crossed BLANK." The last thing James saw of Xander was the smirk on his face at his painful pun.

James turned to look at his pixie, who was trembling slightly, out of rage, fear, or disgust, James wasn't sure.

"What are we going to do Rue?"

The pixie turned looked at him, and her eyes narrowed. The wave of emotions crossing over her face solidified into a single one. Determination. She was serious. For the very first time, Rue was dead serious.

"We are going to win."