World of SoulQuest

***The following is a copy of chat records from World of SoulQuest game instance #17326940, as subpoenaed by court order. SoulStorm Entertainment certifies no alterations have been made to the below records, and intends to fully collaborate with authorities in their investigation over the allegations levelled against us. Please note the contents of the below chat are purely fictional and involve no actual soul transactions, despite recent accusations. It is SSE’s firm belief that we will be cleared of all online soul trafficking charges. ***

GAME INSTANCE #17326940 CREATED.

// PrincessOfWasteland joined the game.

// BloodlustWarrior joined the game.

PrincessOfWasteland: Look at that! Long time no see, old friend.

BloodlustWarrior: Been trying to recharge. That last fight with the Orcs took its toll.

PrincessOfWasteland: Not as brawny as you used to be, are you?

BloodlustWarrior: Perhaps we should switch monikers. You’re more of a Bloodlust Warrior than I am.

PrincessOfWasteland: Ready for some Beelzebub runs?

BloodlustWarrior: Just one sec. I have to stack up before we leave town.

// BloodlustWarrior purchased 8 Mana Potions from Aikida.

// BloodlustWarrior summoned Amazon Warrior.

BloodlustWarrior: Alright, ready to go. Promise you’ll protect me this time though. Can’t level up if I keep dying.

PrincessOfWasteland: And can’t defeat the boss if I always have to cover your back. Isn’t your pal joining anyway?

// LordOfFear joined the game.

PrincessOfWasteland: Speak of the devil.

LordOfFear: Devil? Me?

PrincessOfWasteland: Don’t worry about it, LOF. To BW, you’re more like a guardian angel.

LordOfFear: Whichever is fine with me. High ranking officials in both cases, you go where the power is.

BloodlustWarrior: You got my back today, right LOF?

LordOfFear: Sure thing, BW. Brothers forever.

BloodlustWarrior: Brothers forever.

PrincessOfWasteland: Nauseating. Let’s leave this place already.

BloodlustWarrior: You have the Waypoint saved?

PrincessOfWasteland: Am I a joke to you?

// PrincessOfWasteland accessed Waypoint.

// PrincessOfWasteland teleported to Dark Tundra.

// PrincessOfWasteland opened Town Portal.

PrincessOfWasteland: Hurry up!

// BloodlustWarrior teleported to Dark Tundra.

// LordOfFear teleported to Dark Tundra.

PrincessOfWasteland: I hacked the map. Lair is this way.

LordOfFear: Can we slay the Frozen Beasts first? They drop some sweet gear, I could use a Rare Axe.

PrincessOfWasteland: Eyes on the prize. We’re here for XP points.

BloodlustWarrior: PW is right. C’mon, let’s do this.

LordOfFear: Boring!

PrincessOfWasteland: Watch out. Ice Serpents coming our way.

// PrincessOfWasteland cast Deadly Storm.

// PrincessOfWasteland killed 10 Ice Serpents.

// PrincessOfWasteland leveled up.

// PrincessOfWasteland adds +5 to Dexterity.

BloodlustWarrior: Are you for real? Leveling up already!

PrincessOfWasteland: I have no merit, my XP bar was nearly full.

BloodlustWarrior: Still!

LordOfFear: The girl’s a pro BW, there’s no point in being envious. You don’t meet players like her everyday.

PrincessOfWasteland: Is that a compliment?

LordOfFear: Yes, but never tell anyone.

// PrincessOfWasteland entered Treacherous Cave.

// BloodlustWarrior entered Treacherous Cave.

// LordOfFear entered Treacherous Cave.

PrincessOfWasteland: Watch out here. The place is usually rampant with Ice Serpents.

LordOfFear: I know, it’s not my first Beelzebub run.

// LordOfFear was killed by Ice Serpent.

// PrincessOfWasteland cast Fire Thread.

// PrincessOfWasteland killed 1 Ice Serpent.

BloodlustWarrior: No way! LOF never gets killed this early in the gameplay.

PrincessOfWasteland: He’ll be fine. He can always join the next instance.

// PrincessOfWasteland cast Fire Thread.

// PrincessOfWasteland killed 1 Ice Serpent.

BloodlustWarrior: You saved me! This one almost tore me apart.

PrincessOfWasteland: You know I always have your back. Even when you complain a little too much. Here, we’re almost at the entrance of the lair.

BloodlustWarrior: PW.

PrincessOfWasteland: BW.

BloodlustWarrior: You know I have your back too, right?

PrincessOfWasteland: You wish.

BloodlustWarrior: I mean… the most important thing to me about the Game isn’t the gear, or the XP. It’s you. It’s our friendship.

PrincessOfWasteland: You’re so sweet. Our friendship matters the most to me too.

BloodlustWarrior: Sometimes, I wish we could meet somewhere else, without blood, without demons. Do you ever wonder if there is something beyond the Game?

PrincessOfWasteland: What do you mean, beyond the Game? There’s nothing beyond the Game, naturally.

BloodlustWarrior: How can you be sure? Sometimes, it feels like I used to be elsewhere in the past. It’s as if this place wasn’t… real. As if I had another identity before.

PrincessOfWasteland: You’re being silly.

BloodlustWarrior: I swear! These thoughts are like memory fragments, almost as if I was glimpsing into a past life that lurked in the shadows of my mind.

PrincessOfWasteland: I thought your Class was Knight, but clearly there’s a Poet Class I didn’t know about.

BloodlustWarrior: Very funny.

### PRIESTESS appeared.

PRIESTESS: There is.

// PrincessOfWasteland cast Fire Thread.

PrincessOfWasteland: Do you see that? At the end of tunnel.

BloodlustWarrior: Yes. What is it?

PrincessOfWasteland: It’s… impossible. It can’t be. They’re legends.

PRIESTESS: I am no legend. Priestesses do exist. The Game couldn’t run without moderators, of course.

PrincessOfWasteland: What do you want, Priestess?

PRIESTESS: I came to offer you a deal, POW. A deal you won’t be able to refuse.

PrincessOfWasteland: I don’t need deals. I have always functioned perfectly without them.

PRIESTESS: This is because you always had a goal. What will you do, now that you have reached the Top Level?

BloodlustWarrior: Top level? You maxed out your XP? I thought you were still at 72.

PRIESTESS: She lied to protect the illusion she lives under. The truth is, she has now reached 99 and has no more progress ahead.

PrincessOfWasteland: That’s completely false! Don’t listen to her, BW. Besides, I can still collect more gear.

PRIESTESS: For what purpose? So you can fight the same battles again and again? Your friend has hinted at the world beyond the Game. Aren’t you curious to see what it looks like?

PrincessOfWasteland: There is NO world beyond the Game. The Game is my world.

PRIESTESS: The world outside is grand, boundless! What you are experiencing right now is a virtual reality that has nothing to do with the tangible universe your body lives in. All of it is pixels and data. There is so much more you could achieve.

BloodlustWarrior: PW, listen to what she’s saying.

PRIESTESS: There is, however, a price to pay to leave the game. A soul for a soul.

PrincessOfWasteland: Explain yourself.

PRIESTESS: In order for one soul to exit the game, one must become a non-playable character. Forever.

PrincessOfWasteland: Whose soul are we talking about?

PRIESTESS: When you reach level 99, you unlock the ability to duel other characters and kill them permanently. There is one more player here.

BloodlustWarrior: WAIT. You’re not seriously suggesting.

PRIESTESS: Do it! Sacrifice him!

BloodlustWarrior: PW, don’t listen to a word she says! It’s a trap, I’m sure.

PRIESTESS: You will finally know something other than blood and slaughter. You can know true friendship. You can know love.

BloodlustWarrior: But we have true friendship! You said it yourself, our friendship is your favourite part of the Game. Don’t listen to her lies.

PrincessOfWasteland: You said there was an outside world.

BloodlustWarrior: I was lying.

// PrincessOfWasteland is now hostile to BloodlustWarrior.

// PrincessOfWasteland cast Deadly Storm.

// BloodlustWarrior has been killed by PrincessOfWasteland.

// PrincessOfWasteland has left the Game.

// Ice Serpent rises from BloodlustWarrior.

PRIESTESS: Welcome, demon. You shall now serve Beelzebub. Forever.

### PRIESTESS has left the Game.