Assassinate Wonderwind [Book 1 Completed!]

Four years ago.

“I can’t believe this will be your first tournament.” Vasili laughed, speaking Thai. “It’s about time we started dominating the tournament scene.”

He sat atop a large rock in The Celestial Order’s practice grounds—a forest with loads of pine trees and mossy ground, taken from somewhere in northern Europe. The teleport location had jokingly been named the “Wildfire Forest” due to the amount of time Veyra spent practicing fire magic.

At least she hoped it was jokingly. She had a feeling a lot of the members didn’t really like her lately.

Vasili, her boyfriend, was different though. He and Annath were the only ones who knew she was paralyzed. They understood why competing in a tournament was so hard for her, and they did everything they could to support her anyway. Today, in Thailand, she’d finally prove she wasn’t a cheater.

“It’s starting in three hours, is it not?” Veyra said, giving him a side-eye. “You’re doing everything except warming up! Do you just expect me to carry you again?”

“I would hope so,” he said nonchalantly. “I’m pretty much your personal support mage.”

She pouted at him.

He shifted his posture and spoke a bit more seriously. “We’ll steamroll this one with our eyes closed. It’s just the Bangkok two versus two. It won’t be like fighting Syntrix. Most of our opponents aren’t rankers.”

“Still,” she said. “I’m going there to show off my quick-casting. If I’m even a little off, people will think I’m a cheater. I need to take this seriously.”

And preferably you should as well, she thought.

“Fair enough,” Vasili said, leaning back. “We still have three hours, though. If you warm up now, by the time we go through all the walk-ins and bullshit, you’ll just be tired and dizzy.”

She lowered her casting orb, pausing. “Walk-ins?”

“Yeah?” he said. “We’ll have to make our appearance to the pods, of course.”

That sounded terrifying. Her real face wouldn’t be broadcast all over, would it?

“It’s not as awesome or prestigious as you think,” Vasili said. “We’ll sweep all the Thai noobs and that’s that. Annath will finally calm down.” He smirked down at her from his high seat on the rock. “I’m way more excited just to see you.”

She looked away, feeling her face redden a little. That was also terrifying—meeting her boyfriend. She’d already applied makeup to make her freckles look a little less horrible, but no amount of self care would improve the downgrade that happened when she logged off from VR to real life. She had sent him pictures, and he sent her heart emojis, but the filters made the lighting look way better…

She really just hated this. But everyone wanted to see her compete, so that was what she had to do.

“Remember that I can’t carry you in real life,” Veyra said. “It’ll be the other way around.”

“Yeah, you’ve reminded me seventeen million times, Veyra. We’ll have a good time together. No need to stress it.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Why would I need to promise to have a good time?” He laughed again. “We’re dating.”

She kept pouting back at his grin. He said nothing more. What did that even mean?

Veyra sighed. She felt lucky to have a boyfriend, but she wished she understood his head better. Half the time, she couldn’t tell whether Vasili was joking or not.

He’ll take care of me, Veyra told herself. Then I won’t need to bother mom with every task. He can assist me as well.

“I guess we just need to win,” Veyra said. “We need to get ready, right? We had to be at the venue at least an hour early. I should log—”

The words got cut off as a flurry of familiar system messages hit her with a bright red warning triangle appearing in her vision.

[Health Risk!]

[You are malnourished. You have been playing without pause for 1:53 hours. It is currently 11:21 PM.]

[The virtual pod had detected a risk of vomiting.]

[Continuing to play is a severe health risk. You will be forcibly logged out.]

[Time until forced log-out: 0:59 minutes]

Vasili hopped off of the rock. “A forced log-out?”

Veyra bit her lip. “Should be a false alarm. I felt good when I woke up.”

“So you can compete today?”

She nodded.

“Alright. I’ll start getting ready,” Vasili said. “You said you can move in a car, right? You’ll need me to pick you up?”

“I fit in the passenger’s seat. The… wheelchair folds to the back.”

“Then, see you at your apartment. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes with you so close. I can’t believe we’re basically neighbors. We’re really just meant to be together.” He laughed and opened his arms to offer a hug.

Nervously, she accepted it.

“The forums will quiet down now,” he said softly. “Or maybe not. They’ll be shouting praise.”

“Mm,” she said.

Vasili smiled at her and for one last time, said, “I can’t wait to meet you.”

The timer ran out, and the log-out sent her to the real world.

***

The dizzying feeling of falling through the floor immediately told her that this hadn’t been a false alarm in the slightest.

The vertigo sent pressure up her mouth in an instant. She swallowed it back. Waking up from VR was said to be dizzying for normal people as well—but for her, it was like receiving a punch to the gut. Every. Single. Time. Today even more so than others. She held her hand over her stomach, praying to the gods nothing would shoot out of her mouth now.

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Just one day, she thought. Please let me feel good for one day. After that, I can spend a week hugging a bucket, just one day!

Heavy breaths and tight focus on not puking somewhat helped. Even with her condition, vomiting was often a decision. Involuntarily puking her guts out only happened during the worst days. Unpleasant as it was, she fought the feeling. Slowly, the awful vertigo calmed to just regular dizziness.

“Mom?” Veyra called.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Mom’s voice came from the couch, just out of view. They’d moved to a new, more accessible apartment five years ago. Her childhood home was a bit too cramped for Veyra to move in.

It didn’t take five seconds for Mom to stand up and open the pod’s door. “How was your warm-up?”

“Good,” she said. “We’re leaving soon.”

“And how are you feeling?” Mom asked.

A bit more hesitantly, Veyra calmed her breathing and said, “Good.”

Mom eyed her suspiciously.

Then Mom grinned, reaching in to lift her out of the pod. She first gave her a peck on her head, hugging her. “I can’t believe I was born in time for VR to be invented,” Mom said with a laugh. “It’s truly amazing. My daughter is really competing in an esports tournament!”

Veyra smiled as she was carried to the couch, but most of her attention still went to keeping her stomach calm. As long as the dizziness didn’t grow worse from something sudden, she could hold on.

On the couch, she said, “You shouldn’t give me kisses, Mom. I have a boyfriend now. And I’m seventeen already.”

“Have you two kissed yet?” Mom asked.

Her face went red. “Uh… Kind of? Not on the lips.”

Mom just smiled. “I can’t wait to meet him. Should I come with you to the venue?”

Veyra thought about it. Having Mom with her would have definitely made everything a lot easier, and less stressful. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Vasili to help her with everything.

But how embarrassing would it be to have her mother with her for the first time she met her boyfriend?

“No,” Veyra said. “He’s coming with his car to pick me up.”

Mom kept eyeing her. “And are you sure he’ll be respectful with you?”

“Um… yes?”

The answer wasn’t nearly confident enough. Mom only grew more doubtful. “I’ll follow you and stay near,” she said. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Mom, I’m feeling good today, I don’t need you to—”

A burp came out on its own, and a warm feeling crept up her throat, touching her tongue. She swallowed it back just in time. The apartment got blurrier as she held her head with her hand.

“Veyra…” Mom said, crossing her arms. “Are you absolutely sure you’re feeling good enough for a car ride right now?”

She bit her lip, suppressing any tears that tried to come out alongside the awful twist in her stomach. Her heart thumped heavily.

At the same time, her phone buzzed. Someone was calling her. Probably Vasili.

She picked it up and answered the phone.

“Yeah?” she said.

“It was building four B, right? Which apartment?”

Mom kept watching her, as if telling her this wouldn’t end well.

But the tournament started in under three hours. She had to be there early. If she skipped this as well, her guild would kill her. She’d be kicked out for sure.

“It’s apartment thirty-two,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll come grab you,” he said. “See you in a bit.”

“See you.”

The call ended. Veyra took a deep breath. Adrenaline began pumping, combating the urge to puke. It helped just a little.

The buzzer rang. “Can you let him in?” Veyra asked.

Mom faced Veyra, not moving. “Are you absolutely sure you’re feeling well right now? You wouldn’t want to puke in his car, right?”

She suppressed more tears. “Yes! The tournament is starting, mom. Just let him in.”

Hesitantly, mom clicked the door open on the buzzer. He’d just need to take the elevator to the third floor, and he’d be here. Don’t puke. Don’t puke.

“Can I drink a bit more?” Veyra asked. “I’ll need to make sure the game pods there don’t think I’m malnourished.”’

“Of course,” Mom said and brought her the smoothie tumbler from the fridge. “Some food might help feel better.”

She took a sip. The taste of what was essentially sugary baby food wasn’t bad, but the sensation of anything half-solid in her throat was revolting. Her body gave an immediate no. This was a mistake.

The doorbell rang.

Oh gods, this was a mistake.

Mom went to open the door past the corner. “Helloo,” mom said, definitely smiling.

A more awkward, “Hey” followed. “Is this… Veyra’s apartment?”

“Yep,” Mom said. “You must be Vasili? Wonderwind’s best support mage?”

He laughed awkwardly. “Well, a top five hundred player, yes. Not as good as Veyra, though.”

Oh my god, it’s getting worse, Veyra thought. Why had she invited Vasili in? There was no way any game pod would let her in right now.

Mom shook hands with Vasili before they both appeared in the living room. Mom walked in, while Vasili paused on the doorstep, spotting Veyra.

“Hey…” she said, keeping her head still, avoiding sudden movements.

A slight smile was twisted on his lips, but the expression looked awkward. He looked like a salesman coming to inspect a car they’d bought, only to find dents all over not shown in the pictures.

“You live here, huh?” Vasili asked, inspecting the apartment instead. “Just a small apartment still?”

“Well… Yeah? I kind of live in VR.”

He snorted. “Fair enough. So, how should we do this? Can you get to your wheelchair?”

She felt like she was sinking through the floor, both literally and figuratively. “Uhm, I’ll need to be lifted on.”

Vasili glanced at Mom, lifting his eyebrows. “She can’t get on by herself?”

“It’s certainly easier if someone helps her,” Mom said. “You’ll need to learn how to lift her. She can move in a car, but she’ll need help getting seated.”

“Ah… Right.”

He stood around, wondering what he was supposed to do. Mom glanced at Veyra, as if asking is everything okay?

She forced a smile as a positive answer.

Mom had to show Vasili how to lift her to a wheelchair. First, they pushed the chair next to her. Mom then instructed, step by step, on how to move her to a different seat. Vasili wrapped his arms around her for the lift.

And that was when her throat burned, the little sip of smoothie already threatening to come out.

No, not on top of him! Her heart raced a million times a second, as she forced her mouth shut. Not now!

Vasili struggled to move her up, being short and clearly not strong in real life. He grimaced from exertion as he lifted her, placing her awkwardly on the seat.

The moment his hands were off of her for even a second, her efforts were overruled, and she burped puke all over herself.

Vasili flinched backward, away from her.

It didn’t stop. She closed her eyes as her stomach twisted, pushing everything out onto her lap. The first bit was just the smoothie she’d just drank, unprocessed. White, disgusting liquid followed, like a baby spitting out milk.

Mom had her bucket ready in a flash as the next wave of stomach acids fell there. Mom held the bucket and said something to her, but the words didn’t register.

Through her tears, Veyra glanced at Vasili, who stood stiff in utter bewilderment. Not hateful, not especially supportive—just shocked.

Veyra buried her face inside the bucket, hiding from the world around her. Another few waves followed, but the puking calmed down quickly enough, replaced by tear droplets thumping against the mess.

“I’m fine,” she eventually said. “I can get going now. Mom, I’ll need to change clothes. Quickly!”

Mom was already grabbing paper to wipe down puke from her lap. She kept the bucket nearby. “Are you sure?” she then whispered. “Maybe you should skip this one?”

“I can’t skip the tournament!” Veyra said. “I’ve skipped going anywhere for months!”

She glanced at Vasili on the opposite end of the room, though he wasn’t looking at her at all. Instead, his eyes were glued to his phone.

“Veyra?” he said, voice concerned. “What’s this?”

“What?” she asked.

“You’re banned?” Vasili said.

Huh?

Another burp forced into her throat. Mom lifted the bucket just in time for the next wave of stomach acid to fall there.

“You’re banned, Veyra!” he repeated. “You just got banned!”

“What?” she repeated.

Vasili got close now, showing something on his phone. “You just got banned! Wind Virtual banned you personally!”

She stared at the post with no idea what she was looking at.

“Are you serious?” Vasili said. “You got banned? Were you cheating all this time?”

Silent tears fell down her face.

“Calm down,” Mom said, placing a hand to block him from getting closer.

He pushed forward anyway. “Veyra, what’s going on? Why are you banned?”

She buried her face in the bucket, crying, puking. Vasili repeated the question more aggressively.

The words blurred. The apartment blurred into arguing and shouting she didn’t understand. The next thing she understood was the door closing shut as Vasili was led out of the apartment.

Her tears really broke through then. She wept into the bucket, loud enough for Vasili to probably still hear.

Mom rushed over to immediately hug her.

“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “It’s okay, Veyra. You did nothing wrong.”

For the next hour, Veyra wept into Mom’s arms, while her phone exploded with messages, all of them either confused or hateful.

Vasili blocked her account and they never spoke again.