I emerged from the Whispering Caves as the sun was rising over the starting town. Level 12. Epic weapon in my inventory. Overpowered skills that could delete bosses.
Then I saw her standing near the town fountain and my stomach dropped.
Emma Clarke.
She looked exactly like she did on launch day in my previous timeline. Long brown hair, green leather armor, a Ranger with a wooden bow slung over her shoulder. Level 1. She was reading a quest description, her face scrunched up in concentration the way it always did when she was trying to figure something out.
God, I remembered that face.
In my previous timeline, I met Emma right here. Day one. She was lost, couldn't figure out where the archer trainer was, and I helped her. We partied up. Spent the whole first week grinding together, staying up until 3 AM on voice chat, laughing at stupid stuff.
She made the game fun. Made me forget I picked the worst class.
By day six, she asked if I wanted to meet up in real life. Got coffee. She showed up in this tight dress, ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, then "forgot" her wallet. I paid. Didn't think much of it.
The next day she needed help with rent. Said her roommate bailed. I didn't have money but she cried and said she'd get evicted. So I did something stupid.
I took a loan from my guild.
Yeah, that's a thing in EQO. Guilds give out gold loans that you pay back with interest. It converts to real money. I borrowed 50,000 gold, about $500 real dollars, to help her.
She promised she'd pay me back. Said we were in this together.
A week later she needed new gear. Then she needed money for her phone bill. Then groceries. Every time I said I couldn't afford it, she'd get quiet. Distant. Then she'd smile and touch my arm and say "I just really need help right now. You're the only one I can count on."
So I kept taking loans. Kept paying for everything. Kept thinking if I just helped her enough, she'd stick around.
Two weeks into knowing her, I was 200,000 gold in debt to my guild. About $2,000 real money that I didn't have. They were threatening to report me to the game admins for defaulting.
That's when I found out.
I logged in early one morning and saw Emma in the main city. She wasn't alone. Ryan Foster was there. The guild leader of Apex Legends. Level 67. Rich in real life and in game.
They were standing close. Too close.
Then he handed her a legendary weapon. A bow worth at least 500,000 gold on the market. She threw her arms around him. Kissed him. Not a friend kiss. A real one.
I just stood there in the crowd watching.
When she finally logged off, I confronted her. Sent her a message asking what the fuck I just saw.
She didn't even try to lie.
"Ryan can actually provide for me," she said. "You're sweet Jake, but look at yourself. You're broke. In game and in real life. I needed someone temporary until I found someone real."
Temporary.
I'd put myself in debt for her. Real debt. And I was just temporary.
She blocked me after that. Ryan made sure everyone in the game knew about it too. Posted screenshots in zone chat. Made jokes about "beta males buying girls who don't even like them."
I heard later that Emma did this to other guys before me. Find someone nice, bleed them dry, move on to the next wallet. I was just the idiot who fell for it.
I was just another name on her list.
Standing here now, watching her struggle with the same quest she struggled with last time, all those feelings came rushing back. The anger. The humiliation. The betrayal.
But this time I knew what she was.
And she had no idea I knew.
Emma looked up and saw me. Her face brightened immediately. "Hey! Excuse me, do you know where the—wait, level 12? How are you level 12 already?"
I walked over, keeping my expression friendly. Easy. "Got lucky with a good grinding route. You looking for the archer trainer?"
"Yes! I've been wandering around for like twenty minutes." She smiled at me. The same smile that made me fall for her last time. Warm. Real. Except now I knew it wasn't.
"It's in the building behind the blacksmith. Kind of hidden. I'll mark it on your map."
I sent her the location and she actually touched my arm. "You're a lifesaver. Thank you so much."
Physical contact. That was her move. She did it in my old timeline too. Started with little touches, then "accidentally" standing too close, then asking to party up.
"No problem," I said. "You just starting out?"
"Yeah, first day. This game is overwhelming." She laughed. "I'm Emma, by the way."
"Jake."
"Nice to meet you, Jake." She looked at my robes, my level, then back at my face. "You seem like you really know what you're doing. Any chance you'd want to party up? I promise I won't drag you down too much."
There it was. Right on schedule.
In my previous timeline, I said yes immediately. Was thrilled a pretty girl wanted to play with me.
This time I knew exactly what she was doing. Finding someone useful to carry her until someone richer came along.
But this time, I had a plan.
"Sure," I said. "I was actually about to do some quests in the newbie zone anyway. Could use the company."
Her smile got wider. "Really? That would be amazing."
We partied up and I took her through some starter quests. The same ones we did together last time. She did the same things too. Pretended to be bad at combat so I'd help more. Asked lots of questions about the game that made her seem interested in learning, but really she just wanted attention. Laughed at things I said that weren't even funny.
It was all the same routine.
Except this time I saw through it.
While we fought low level monsters, she started with the personal questions. "So what do you do when you're not playing?"
"Data entry job," I said. Same answer as last time. "Nothing special."
I could see her mentally file that away. Not rich. Just a regular broke guy. Good for now, but temporary.
"I'm between jobs right now," she said. Which was her way of saying she was looking for someone to pay for things. "Trying to figure out what I want to do."
We played for a few hours. She hit level 3. The whole time she kept the act going. Touchy. Flirty. Interested.
And the whole time I played along.
Because here's the thing Emma didn't know: I wasn't the same desperate guy from last timeline. I was level 12 with knowledge of every money making strategy in the game. In two weeks I'd be level 30. In a month I'd be level 50 with gear worth thousands of real dollars.
And Ryan Foster? I knew exactly when his guild recruited. I knew which dungeons they'd try to monopolize. I knew which rare spawns they camped.
I was going to take everything from him before he even knew it existed.
Emma would see me rise to the top. She'd watch me become the richest, strongest player in the game. And when Ryan was just another mediocre guild leader with nothing special, she'd come running back to me like I knew she would.
And that's when I'd tell her no.
That's when I'd show her what it felt like to be "practice" for something better.
"Thanks for playing with me today," Emma said as we logged off. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Definitely," I said.
She smiled like she'd just won something.
She had no idea what was coming.