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Gage concentrated with all of his might on the weight on top of him. As the pressure increased, he struggled harder to force it off of his body. At least this time it wasn’t some girl’s foot.

“Gage, don’t expect your body to be able to move my hand,” he heard Rima say from somewhere outside of the layer of skin and flesh that pressed down on him. “Remember, you’re trying to send a signal to the server, not to your arms and legs. Think of your brain as separate from your body.”

He gritted his teeth and tried to do what Rima said, but try as he might, he could not budge her hand one millimeter. Worse yet, his body started to fatigue; he could feel his shoulders, elbows, and wrists begin to buckle underneath the witch’s palm, and that did bode well for his immediate future.

“This is the most basic skill that needs to be mastered,” explained Rima even as increased her weight on poor Gage. “You’ll note that you have two obstacles to surpass: obviously you have to trick the game into giving you strength, but more importantly, you have to trick your own brain into believing that you have the strength in the first place. If there’s any impulse in your brain that doubts your ability, then whatever you’re trying to accomplish will fizzle and die.”

Rima made it sound so simple, but against the crushing reality of her hand, it didn’t seem to make a difference. After a few more seconds of tense struggle, his body gave out and the hand came down onto him with thudding finality.

“Don’t worry, Gage, it takes time,” the witch said encouragingly as she helpfully pulled him up onto his feet. “But I’m afraid it doesn’t get any easier.”

Gage dusted himself off, wearing a worn but optimistic expression. “I actually kind of like the challenge,” he said. “It’s nice to have goals and things to look forward to. And with a fantastic instructor like you…” he added slyly.

“Quit trying to butter me up,” snapped Rima with a long-suffering look. She got up and went to pour herself a glass of water, leaving Gage to admire the witch’s home – as well as her curvaceous figure. The pair had long since left the forest and had spent the last few hours in the witch’s… penthouse.

High atop one of the tallest buildings in Town, her residence looked like something straight out of a housing portfolio for billionaires. The lack of walls or partitions of any kind handsomely enhanced the stunning 360 degree view of the surrounding futuristic metropolis, and of course the room itself was beautifully appointed with mostly white and clear surfaces, but with accents of color here and there.

Gage stood on a large marble table as the witch returned with a crystal glass, although it wasn’t exactly right to call her a witch. Really, the only reason Gage thought of her as a witch was her choice of clothing: raggedy black dress complete with pointy hat and broomstick. Now, though… while her dress might still be black, it was a slinky, silky piece; and instead of a hat she wore a pair of velvety black pumps. There wasn’t a broomstick in sight.

“You like what you see?” teased Rima.

“I can’t complain,” Gage replied. “Why did you get all dressed up? You got somebody to impress?”

“I like to try different things, I guess,” she said, taking a seat at the table and regarding him with a smile. “You know I’m not nearly as attractive in real life. In fact, my face and body are pretty much a mutilation.”

“That’s pretty blunt, so I’ll be equally blunt: you look magnificent.”

The compliment drew a blush from Rima. “You’re quite the charmer. I want to know more.”

“Well, I graduated from college a number a couple of years ago… I didn’t have much going on, and you know how crazy it is IRL. I decided to go with this; it seemed a bit more interesting.”

“Look, if you feel uncomfortable talking about your past, that’s fine,” said Rima, her voice neutral. “I just want you to know that I don’t buy it.” Gage sighed, but Rima gave him a serious look and pressed on. “You’re the first decent jailbroken person I’ve met, and I’m actually really excited about that. So I’m not trying to sound too cheesy or anything, but… I’m here for you, ok?”

Now it was Gage’s turn to blush. Rima’s kindness caught him off guard – not that he wanted or needed it. She just surprised him. “Thanks,” he paused, taking a deep breath. “I just… didn’t have the best situation IRL. I guess I needed a restart, you know?”

“Yeah, I get that.” Rima smiled. “Anyway, what are you going to do once you’re big again?”

Gage scratched the back of his head. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about it too much. What you’re telling me about being jailbroken and stuff is pretty cool. I actually knew a bit about the neural connection that the game establishes before you told me, but only a few hazy details. I think it would be cool to explore that a bit more. Plus, the game is practically limitless, so there’s always that. What about you? What’s your deal?”

“Well, I already told you about the accident that left me paralyzed and mutilated,” she joked. “That was a while ago; since then my parents have died, but I used to see them almost every day. I still see my sister every once in a while, but it’s kind of like we’re living in different countries. Still, she checks in on me a fair amount. Any friends I used to have are pretty much gone, not that I blame them. I guess I was always shy IRL and that sort of carried over to the game. I was always pretty book-smart, although recently I’ve started playing pranks on people…” She trailed off and her expression turned guilty, although by now she had to know Gage’s scowl was in jest. “It’s crazy, this game has so much power to bring people together, but that very same power also makes the relationships so transient. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I really can’t call anybody here a true friend.”

“Well today’s your lucky day!” announced Gage in his best game show host imitation. “You’re our millionth customer, and your prize is one pint-sized friend.”

Rima broke into laughter before snatching Gage up and hugging him to her chest. “I swear, something about your size makes you just perfect – let’s just cancel the whole thing tomorrow and leave you this way.”

“No, thank you,” shouted Gage from somewhere within Rima’s cleavage. With another laugh, she returned him to the table and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

There was a brief pause. And then: “You wanna have sex?”

Gage was completely taken aback. “No. What? No!” he blurted, only to regret it immediately. He spotted Rima’s look of confusion edged with hurt, and he felt guilty. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

The white-haired beauty attempted to recover. “No, I’m sorry. I’m being ridiculous.” She looked away. “You have Charis,” she add hurriedly.

“No, that’s not it,” Gage tried to explain. “We’re just friends, it’s just that…”

“It’s not weird or anything,” Rima interrupted. “It feels amazing – just like in real life. People do it all the time. You know about it, right?”

“That’s not it at all,” stammered Gage. “Look, please don’t take this the wrong way, I just…” he stared into Rima’s eyes. “I can’t.”

Framed by that blonde-white hair, her face looked so full of hurt it looked like it might crumble to pieces. In the back of his mind, Gage couldn’t believe that Rima had asked him so directly in the first place; girls didn’t normally take this type of approach. But then he had to remind himself that Rima wasn’t as beautiful in real life as in this game. She was probably shy and reserved, and this sort of interaction didn’t come naturally to her – not that he was a total lady’s man, either, Gage thought. The whole situation felt ludicrous.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. “Plus, how would it even work?” he joked, desperately trying to inject some humor into the situation. “I mean, my penis, of course, is huge – you know, proportionately – but I dunno if the big guy could really make a dent.”

Rima choked – from crying or laughter, Gage couldn’t tell. “I guess I hadn’t thought of that,” she said, putting on a tentative smile.

“Yeah, you know –”

“I’m sorry,” Rima cut in. “I’m sorry for being so weird about this. You’re such a good guy, I should’ve known this would be uncomfortable.”

“Don’t worry, I –”

“It’s just that people online are so different. They do this sort of thing all the time, and I guess you were the first person I’ve met that made me want to try, and I just wanted to copy them, and…” she trailed off just before her voice became hysterical.

“Hey, don’t worry,” said Gage as reassuringly as possible. “You’re amazing – really it’s my fault for lacking in certain… departments. I want to make it up to you though, and I think I have just the thing.”

“Huh?” she perked up slightly, giving Gage hope that he could salvage the situation.

“Well, if I remember correctly, there’s something you asked me for a little while ago.”

“What are you talking about?”

Gage put on his most winning smile. “How about I give you that foot rub?”
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