Call me Akuma

Finally, Akuma returned home to Arcology City. Upon entering, he noticed the mess in the house. Determined to make the space comfortable for a good night's sleep, he decided to clean. 

While cleaning, Akuma discovered a small guitar hidden carefully beneath the bed. He recognized it immediately—it was the same guitar Max's father had gifted him on his third birthday. Max's father had a deep love for music, spending hours playing and listening. He often told Max about his dream of becoming a famous musician, a dream he never had the chance to achieve. 

Inspired by his father's passion, Max grew to love music as well. He shared the same dream of one day becoming a renowned musician, hoping to make his father proud. But ever since his father's death, music became a painful reminder of his loss. Each time Max tried to play an instrument; the memories overwhelmed him. 

One day, consumed by anger and grief, Max smashed all his instruments in a fit of rage—except for this one. The little guitar was too precious, too symbolic of his father's love to destroy. So, he shoved it under the bed, out of sight, determined never to look at it again. 

Now, as Akuma held the fragile guitar in his hands, a wave of emotion washed over him. His chest tightened, and his eyes welled up with tears. He stared at the instrument, understanding the weight of the memories it carried. 

And then, without hesitation, Akuma tightened his grip and smashed the guitar against the floor, shattering it into pieces. 

"Now this is funny" he muttered under his breath, his voice cold and detached. 

After a few hours of intense cleaning, the entire house was finally spotless. By the time he finished, it was already midnight. Exhausted from the day's work, Akuma collapsed into bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep. 

After a deep sleep, Akuma woke up early in the morning, feeling a sense of urgency. He immediately reached for his VRUK helmet on the desk. Logging in, he navigated to the link the store owner had given him. Within moments, he found himself standing in front of the Mydoom virtual office. 

"Oh... isn't this a bit early? I still don't have your hacker ready," a voice from within greeted him. 

"I know," Akuma replied, "but I need to know if you'll be done by tomorrow. The servers will be shutting down in two days, and I at least want to enjoy the hack game for one day." 

There was a long pause before Mydoom finally responded, "I can have your game ready by tomorrow at midnight." 

Before Akuma could ask any more questions, Mydoom added, "That's the fastest I can do for you. And why are you standing in the doorway? Come inside. If you need anything else—legal or illegal—everything can be arranged here of course with some money." 

Akuma silently stepped inside. The office was sparse, just a desk, a sofa, and a chair—nothing more than a typical workspace. He took a seat on the sofa and asked, "If I wanted to smuggle illegal items or buy drugs, how would I do it?" 

Mydoom fell silent, contemplating the question. After a moment, he said, "If you want, you can even hire a hitman or kidnap someone. It all depends on how much money you have. With enough, everything is possible here. But before you can access the main black market, you'll need to provide two things: your virtual ID and your VRUK helmet number." 

Akuma knew that these requirements were akin to installing a camera on his forehead and a GPS tracker on his body. The virtual ID revealed both his physical and virtual locations in real-time, while the VRUK helmet number allowed access to video recordings of everything he did in the virtual world. 

"Is this the only way to get into the main market?" Akuma asked, wary of the implications. 

"There's no other way, boy," Mydoom replied. "Everyone here must provide those things. But don't worry about your data being leaked. Even we have a code of ethics. We don't share our clients' data because trust is crucial in this industry. I've done it myself, and this data can only be accessed by one person in this organization: the main boss and an AI that reviews everyone's videos and locations daily. If it detects any suspicious activity, that person will be eliminated without warning or question. So, boy, I'm telling you now—if you have any funny ideas, drop them right now." 

After a brief hesitation, Akuma finally provided his information. He had nothing in his VRUK helmet that could be remotely suspicious; the only thing they would see was the past owner's VRUK helmet video. But now, Akuma had to be careful with everything he does in the virtual world. Mydoom immediately passed the details to the AI for review. After a few tense minutes, the AI displayed the number "2." Seeing this, Mydoom nodded in satisfaction. Without further delay, he opened the door to the main market. 

As Akuma stepped inside, Mydoom spent the next half-hour introducing him to the dark underworld of the virtual black market. 

The main market resembled a typical shopping mall, but with one glaring difference—everything on sale was highly illegal. Stalls offered a horrifying array of goods, from children sold into slavery to exotic animals that had gone extinct. Even human meat was available for purchase. Akuma spent nearly half the day wandering through this twisted marketplace, taking in the sights and the grim reality of it all. 

After a long and unsettling exploration, he finally logged out of the virtual world. 

In the real world, Akuma went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, but his mind was already immersed in thoughts of the virtual world. After cooking, he quickly washed his hands and feet in the bathroom. 

He ate his dinner swiftly, his focus already shifting back to what truly mattered—YGGDRASIL. Once his hunger was satisfied, Akuma returned to the virtual world with unwavering determination. He was on a mission to master the game, or at the very least, to gather as much information as possible. No detail was too small to escape his notice. 

With a digital notebook in hand, Akuma dove into his research, tirelessly gathering information throughout the night. Sleep was a forgotten luxury as he scoured every available resource with unrelenting focus. By the time morning light seeped into his room, Akuma showed no signs of slowing down. He paused only briefly at noon for a quick meal and a bathroom break before resuming his relentless pursuit of knowledge. 

He collected every piece of information he could find—skills, items, strategies—anything that might give him an edge. Akuma absorbed the knowledge like a sponge, relentlessly honing his understanding and preparing himself for the challenges that awaited him in YGGDRASIL. 

Most of the information Akuma found on the Internet was publicly available or common knowledge in YGGDRASIL. Important details, like skills, player information, strategies, and item descriptions—especially regarding world items—were very limited. Big guilds kept this information highly secret, so Akuma had no way to access it except by purchasing it from credible sources. He spent almost 20,000 on the information, but it was worth every penny because what he received was invaluable for his future. If he could, he would have spent more on additional information, but there weren't many people who could provide that kind of data. Plus, he didn't have enough time to track them down. Reluctantly, he had to accept it and move on. 

When everything was done, Akuma powered on his old video camera and recorded himself for at least ten minutes, scheduling it to be sent as a delayed message. Afterward, he set an alarm for midnight and went to sleep. 

------- 

A young girl walked into Mydoom's office, knocking softly on the door before politely asking, "May I come in, sir?" Mydoom in his chair, granted her permission. Before she even had a chance to sit down on the sofa, he began speaking. 

"I want you to gather information about a boy named Akuma. The name is probably fake. I want his real name. He is somewhere between 17 and 20 years old. Here are his photos," Mydoom said, passing her a set of digital images of Akuma. 

"I also want every detail about this boy. Recently, he transferred money to me—find out where that money came from and whose name is on the account." 

Before the young girl could respond, he added, "I'll give you your payment once you've completed the task. Now, go." 

The young girl gave a polite bow and quietly left the room. 

Mydoom sat alone in his chair, mumbling softly to himself about Akuma. 

"That kid is so strange. From his looks to his demeanor, he does not seem like a spoiled rich brat. But then, why is he spending so much money on a game that is about to shut down? This does not add up. Could it be because he wants access to the black market? But he could do that without spending so much on the game. Or... maybe he's a journalist—or worse, a police officer—investigating the underworld. 

But his suspicion rating, on a scale from 1 to 10, is only at a '2,' compared to my '3.' If he were undercover, wouldn't it be higher? He would have been killed if his suspicion rating were above a 5. Still, I need to know more about this kid before making any moves. 

I cannot risk losing everything I have built just because of greed. I still need to bring my family into the arcology city. They're still out there, breathing that filthy air, especially my mother and father. I need to make money as quickly as possible before it's too late—but I must do it carefully. One wrong move, and all my dreams will be destroyed." 

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The Beggar King is asking for stones to feed his family. 

Also, Beggar King has left a few pop culture references and memes. If you find them, comment, and Beggar King will give you a like.