Game’s Dogma

“Cheers!”

A group was bustling about and shouting in the private room, drawing attention from the other diners. Guys subconsciously landed their gazes on Idyllic Poet’s demonically attractive figure, yet she didn’t seem bothered at all as she downed another glass of fragrant liquid.

“Ahh! This is nice!”

Dumbgirl seemed puzzled at her expression and asked seriously, “Big sis Poet, does this drink really taste that good? Can I try it too?”

Idyllic Poet lightly knocked Dumbgirl’s head and said, “Your master told me to look after you. If he knew I gave you alcohol, he’d kill me!”

“Big sis Poet, don’t knock my head. I’ll become dumb,” Dumbgirl said with a frown.

“Where’s the boss? Why isn’t he here?” Yim Ho asked.

Windstrider—Cheung Fung, in real life—smiled and closed the door to their private room. “The boss never joins our offline activities.”

Zephyrwolf took out a cigarette and chimed in, “It’s better that way. We feel more at home without him here.”

Before he could light the cigarette, Idyllic Poet glared daggers at him and growled, “You dare to smoke when Dumbgirl’s here? Do you want to get your ass kicked?”

“Fine, good guys don’t fight with women…”

Sasaki laughed in a befitting manner of the young master of Ki Industries and grinned. “Save the act for others, everyone knows you fear nothing but the boss and women.”

Zephyrwolf grunted and couldn’t refute. After a few drinks, Yim Ho also loosened up and was no longer tense. He scratched his head and asked, “Have you guys ever heard of a rumour about the boss?”

“A rumour?”

“Ohoho.” Yim Ho sounded like bards who spoke of tales in exchange for drinks and meals right now. “They say… the boss isn’t a human! He’s a game master!”

“Cheh, thought you were gonna tell us something good for once.” Zephyrwolf snickered.

“I’ve also heard it before. The boss is simply overpowered to the point that players cannot even imagine going up against him. It’s not like the rumours are baseless too, considering the boss never really goes offline. It’s a real mystery,” said Windstrider. “No matter how realistic Real World is, you still yearn for activities in real life at some point.”

Sasaki suddenly pointed out, “Wait, I’ve seen the boss go offline before.”

“I know, but it was only for a brief moment. Just once as far as I remember too.”

“Cut the guesses,” Danting interrupted them with a smug look. “Did you guys forget already? I’ve been following the boss before the game was published. Do you think I wouldn’t know whether the boss is a real guy or a virtual game master?”

Yim Ho seemed intrigued by Danting’s statement and asked, “Well, so you know the boss’ real identity?”

Danting replied haughtily, “Of course!”

“Then say it!”

“The boss won’t let me.”

“Cheh…” They all sent ridiculing gazes at Danting, the magic swordsman who rocketed into fame in a single fight.

At that moment, Dumbgirl scratched her head and said, “I remember papa calling himself Drako Yau.” She continued sipping on her juice afterwards.

Danting widened his eyes and rushed over to cover Dumbgirl’s mouth. “You… You guys heard nothing!”

Yim Ho, Sasaki, and Windstrider had already buried their heads into their phones, completely ignoring Danting. They all gasped after a while.

“This guy’s outrageous… Assuming it really is him.”

“Drako Yau, former chairman of Jubilant Games, the leading game company in the First Eastern City. His father, Yau Ngou Tin, was the one who forged the company’s foundations.”

“Exemplary academic achievements from a young age, studied at the top university in the world, graduated from the Faculty of Programming and Game Design as the top graduate.”

“He was five years younger than everyone else when he graduated because he was a genius grade skipper. His thesis is considered the gold standard in the gaming industry even now.”

“Damn… Our boss is the real deal.”

They were all left speechless. While they already knew their boss was no ordinary person, they still couldn’t help but feel their hearts trembling when they realised they were working for a former chairman of a leading listed company in the gaming industry.

The next day, Drako Yau arrived at the conference room of Dragon Alliance to find only his companions present. Danting was looking around nervously and seemed afraid of making eye contact with him.

Sensing that the atmosphere was somewhat odd, Drako Ya asked, “Why are you guys standing here instead of levelling up? Is this a rebellion?”

They planned on raising hell to figure out their boss’ identity, but his cold voice struck a heavy blow to their morale. Greenstone was oblivious to their plan because he didn’t attend the gathering as well.

After a while, Zephyrwolf lashed out. “Are you Drako Yau?”

Drako Yau was startled upon hearing the question. He instinctively turned to Danting, who cowered like a rat and quickly shook his head in denial.

“It wasn’t me! I swear! It was Dumbgirl!”

Dumbgirl put on a cute face and asked, “Uncle Dan, did you call me?”

Drako Yau was the one left speechless this time; he realised what had gone wrong. Yesterday, he had sworn before Hui Chuk with his real name—and Dumbgirl was present. Considering Dumbgirl’s personality, she didn’t spy on him on purpose, but she’d naturally blurt his name out whenever someone asked.

It gave him a headache. Although everyone present was trustworthy companions, his current identity made things too complicated to explain with just a few words.

After pondering for a long while, Drako Yau decided to come clean. He had come to certain realisations after yesterday’s events. After all, he couldn’t do what Tigeroar did. Tigeroar was an extremely calculating person, so much that even his lover didn’t know his identity. Drako Yau knew that wasn’t something he could pull off even if he wanted to.

“I am a Maverick.”

The word “Maverick” broke the awkward silence. For a silent person like Drako Yau to tell everyone his side of the story was no easy task, but he still tried his best nonetheless. He skipped the unimportant parts and went straight to the crucial parts.

However, his unbelievable tale turned his companions into mute statues. They were so stunned they couldn’t utter a word, let alone come up with a response.

Not a story or novel, but a real person trapped in a game?

“Tigeroar is also a Maverick. On that day, during the quest with only Greenstone and Yim Ho present, Tigeroar died to the mysterious person. Actually, telling all of you this has its benefits. I think you’ve all felt it already. This game isn’t as simple as it seems.

“Zephyrwolf, the Vitality Mantra I taught you, you’ve sensed its effects in the actual world too, don’t you?”

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