Nova had been sixteen when he first heard of the video game franchise known as Frozen Hearts. He had been friends with a group of gamers who had ordered the newest installment and overhearing their conversations peaked his interest.

  So, one day he took his allowance to a nearby mall and bought himself a copy of the game. It was called Frozen Hearts: Snowdrop Queen and was the third game in the series but the first actual sequel to the main game.

  There were updated graphics, a better combat system and double the amount of worlds to explore. He fell hard for the lore and the environment that was based partially on old European communities visually.

  Eventually, he pyed so much he started to gain a following and with that following came offers to meet up online. This was how he met Lottie who was a pyer from way back in the first game's beta. She wanted to create a guild and felt that he would be perfect for it.

  The dual-toned girl loved exploring the world and beating down the mobs. He found her spunk cool and she found his dedication awesome. It was obvious that they would become the best of friends.

  Nova was still pying with her years ter and felt incredibly close to her. They hadn't really gotten anyone else to join their guild besides two more pyers as guilds needed four pyers to even register.

  But they were clearly the heart of the group and the closest. With a smile, the brunette walked with his best friend and asked. “How has your internship been? You haven't told me much about it tely.”

  Lottie had let it slip that she had gotten an internship at a record bel and he was hopeful that it would lead to her getting a job offer. “It's been really fast paced. The work is hard but I'm sure it'll be worth it.”

  They made their way to a pedestrian bridge covered in snow and carefully walked across it to make their way to the market. In the game there were massive marketpces where you could purchase new weapons or sell any goodies you found for money.

  Nova came here so often that all the pyers and NPCs who worked there easily recognized him just by his face. His appearance in the game was simpler than other pyers with his avatar being tall with dark hair and dark eyes.

  The cssic, edgy character that everyone tried to py as at first but then changed as time went on. As he stepped on the snow, he felt himself remember all the ways Frozen Hearts had developed over the years.

  There had been trends where pyers would be deep into rolepy and everything they did had to do with that. Currently, everyone was obsessed with finishing events and missions before the massive guilds got to them first.

  He wasn't sure if he liked the huge guilds that were starting to dominate the game or if he was just gd there was competition now. Around two years ago, a group of popur streamers formed a guild that had two dozen pyers and took over the entire game.

  Others followed and it morphed into huge guilds ruling over everything. They would rush to participate in company run events and stream themselves stomping on people just pying for fun.

  Sometimes, they got freebies in the form of special outfits and weapons that they would unveil on stream to millions before anyone else knew of them. This was causing some inner turmoil in the game's community.

  As they crossed the bridge and dusted the snow off of their bodies, Nova saw that some of the guilds in question were ahead of them. It must be some sort of deal day for the marketpce as he rarely saw them buying things in the game. They preferred to buy in the lobby.

  The brunette didn't bother to stand there gawking and marched forward to get to the bcksmith area. The marketpce was a collection of tables, stalls, and carts that was a mix of pyers, and NPCs were sellers. From food to outfits to weapons. Anything you wanted, you could probably get it if you looked far enough.

  The marketpce was designed to take up an entire chunk of nd and was clustered together with four ways to walk through it. With two going down and two going up in a straight line to keep chaos from breaking out.

  Snow came from the sky and dusted the ground a soft white with the air being crisp from the cold that snapped at your skin. The way the system allowed you to feel the environment always amazed him no matter how many times he logged in.

  Virtual reality had rapidly advanced over the years, and now you really were in the game world. You felt the snow crunch under your boots. The snow fell onto your hair and melted into a puddle down your neck.

  It wasn't real, but it was real. Nova found it funny, and he marveled like a starstruck kid at the candy store as they entered the crowd. “Do you want to stop and get some of that smoked ham kebab over there?”

  Lottie hummed and licked her lips. “Hell yeah.” The food tasted real with its juicy meat and the smell that made your stomach rumble.

  They went up to a stand manned by an NPC, and the cat woman gdly handed them both a kebab for their coins. She was one of the NPCs who was programmed to only work at the market, and she had the script of being a farmer's daughter. With a smile, she worked and would serve her customers without any compints due to this.

  [PLAYER NOVA PAID ◇ 50 COINS FOR 2 KEBAB STICKS]

  [PLAYER NOVA CURRENT COIN COUNT: 50K COINS]

  “I'll pay you back for mine after tomorrow.” Lottie said with her mouthful of delicious ham and pineapple chunks perfectly smoked.

  He ughed knowing that she really meant next month. It would be annoying to him if it wasn't fake money and she didn't send him vish gifts in real life.

  They had that type of retionship where you sent each other money and presents despite being miles away. His mother was nervous about this at first and didn't allow it to happen.

  Nova didn't bme her for this as after all, Lottie was someone he meant through a video game and was older than him. But after some months and Lottie speaking to her one-on-one, she allowed it.

  This helped them grow closer and he was extremely thankful for that. Still, she constantly brought up the topic of them meeting in person to him.

  He didn't know when that would happen and decided to bury those thoughts as he devoured his kebab. The meat melted on his tongue and the tangy, sourness of the pineapple made his taste buds sing. It was delicious and he wished that he could buy a dozen more to eat.

  There were a ton of pyers he recognized around them and he nodded at them in turn to their cheerful greetings. Some were influencers and streamers he had met over the years that blew up but stayed humble.

  Others were new pyers that he knew in real life and from forums that posted pictures of themselves often. They all were great friends.

  “Ah!” Lottie's excmation directed his attention to where she was staring. Her eyes sparkled as she said with wonder. “That's Ava X!”

  Nova looked closer at the cluster the girl was staring at and slowly realized he did recognize who her attention was on. With a long curly ponytail, a scarred lip and shades stood a legendary pyer. Ava X had been participating in virtual reality games since the early 2030s, when she was in her preteens.

  She had gained fame due to her dedication to advocating for more virtual reality games to be made. Along with this, Ava X created one of the first and biggest indie virtual reality game studios at sixteen.

  As she grew older she put out guides and games in the sphere that many found to be revolutionary. The caramel-skinned woman was a legend.

  It was badass that at twenty three she was so successful. He totally understood why Lottie and others were starstruck by her presence.

  Ava had joined the bandwagon when everyone thought it was gimmick and had poured her everything into making it more diverse. Nova wondered how the success of Snowdrop Queen affected her.

  He noticed that Lottie was still staring with wonder and he smirked. The brunette tapped her on her shoulder to get her attention. “Why don't you go talk to her?” He asked to which she gasped in shock.

  She looked at him like he was crazy but still asked in a hushed almost embarrassed whisper. “Don't you think that would be weird?”

  Nova shook his head and gently nudged her towards the stall Ava X had stopped at, with the woman chatting with a NPC. He felt like in the game world they all were equals so she should just go talk to her.

  Nobody knew who Lottie was in the real world so for all they knew she was actually a well known programmer or a game developer.

  The long-haired girl could be anyone, so she might as well try. “Just go up to her and say anything you can think without being a weirdo. Even if it goes bad it's better than just standing here and staring.”

  Lottie looked like she wanted to hesitate but she nodded with a shaky gaze and handed him her half eaten kebab. “Okay. I'll be right back.”