Back in the kitchen Mumsy had just opened up the next tab, 'store'.
"Store, now we are talking! Come to papa!" I said, squirming in my seat from excitement, "finally getting to some fun stuff like unlocking cool new abilities or walking through walls and being able to taste through your eyes!"
"Please, don't talk about stupid things. We still have much to cover and your little citrus brain is already struggling to keep up." she chastised in a no-nonsense tone. "Your players get points from the quests you set, however, you get credential credits to spend at the storefront. This is a credit based structure. You receive them depending on your player's overall effect on progressing the realm, and you can spend these virtual bucks on both rewards for your avatar and to upgrade your headset functions. That being said, if they do nothing of note, you will receive little to no payment and can be subjected to debt to the store. If the debt is not paid back, features will be confiscated or locked in your menu."
"Don't forget to visit periodically, because sometimes random events, flash clearance sales, or maybe a new Mumsy recipe is released." she said all highly of herself. She stood there proudly trying to puff out her small chest.
'Yeah, right. Like I would waste a credit on a stupid recipe that I would probably burn anyways. No, thank you.' I inwardly scoffed as she closed the page to go to the main menu.
"Stop losing focus, Lemon! We are almost done with this beginner's guide." said the old bat with the slanted eyes.
Like the other ones before it, the door was pulled, freeing a box, but this time with the word 'history' on top. "At the moment this page is blank, minus the tutorial pages you've already completed, but as you explore the realm, it will slowly start to fill. Things like the maps of the world's terrain, the events of its inhabitants and the status of your progress will all be stored here. It will be an easy way to keep track of the world as it's growing. Your inventory, credits and abilities will also be kept here. This is basically an archive from the beginning to the end of this realm, a receipt in chronological order. All information here is automatically updated, so feel free to use it as a reference in the future."
With that the box disappeared and I was looking at Mumsy standing in front of her stovetop. "Now that that is finished, I'd like to direct you to that beautiful picture of a snack on the wall to your right." she gestured toward a selfie she took and framed of her with a plate of tomato pasta.
*Inward gagging noises*
"This is my icon. It is currently lock so you cannot disable my feature, but you can think of it as a help button. It even has a FAQ section. Click it if you are in a pickle, and I will be there to assist you, just don't get too wild, Mama needs her me time." she commented as she proceeded to wink.
I scrunched up my face in pure disgust. 'If she thinks that's a snack, I'm for sure going on a diet.'
"You don't have to worry, once I get the hang of this, I doubt you'll hear a peep from me." I snapped back trying to not mentally visualize this virtual "mama" getting wild.
'huhhhh' I caught a shiver.
"Alrighty, sounds good. Now, let's go remote." as she spoke a shimmering light covered my computer screen. The light was so blinding, I instinctively closed my eyes and threw my hand up over my face as a shield.
*Swoosh*
"Ok, let's get to those headset mechanics." I heard coming from right next to me. I opened my eyes to see a roughly 4' 11" tall, middle-aged oriental lady adjusting her apron and pulling out something from the pocket. It was a piece of cloth that she used to tie up her hair like a bandanna. I was so startled I about knocked my chair off when I abruptly stood up.
"What the hell is going on?! How did you get out of the monitor?!" I exclaimed almost spitting in her face.
"Calm down", she said waving me off, "Why are you yelling, and more importantly why are you so surprised? We are in the void where things like this are possible. You didn't think it weird that your past's life apartment stuff just showed up? You can conjure anything, with enough practice, but most of it isn't practical." she huffed like this was not ground breaking information.
"So you are saying I can think of my favorite jalapeno-onion burger from Minnie's' and that yummy fried rice from the restaurant on 33rd street and it will just appear?!" and as soon as I said it, I began to concentrate on it really hard causing it to pop right in my hands.
"Well, yes, you can, but..." As she spoke I began chewing and let out a teary sigh, "Yes, I really needed this! It tastes just like I remember. Maybe this place won't be all bad." I sobbed with a mouth full of burger, but then it hit me as I went to swallow, the burger disappeared like it was never there. "What? What just happened?"
"Like I was trying to say, you are what we would just call a soul and don't actually need to eat. When you were 'eating' that sad excuse for a meat patty, you could 'taste' it due to the memories you have of the ingredients. However, when you went to ingest that slop it vanished like it came, back to void, leaving you with a sensation of longing like something is missing. I hear it can leave reincarnated feel unsatiated and some even go mad from it. It's like having the best ingredients in the world, but no pot to cook them in. It's sad, really." she answered almost sympathetically.
My euphoric high crashed just as fast as it came.
'I really hate this place...'