[Chat]
Trainwreck22: "How hard did this guy get hit by a train? 💀"
SkeptiKing: "Is this guy an idiot?"
TaxiBro99: "You call a taxi. Obviously. A taxi."
Nokia tilted his head. "Uh… how do I do that?"
[Chat]
AuraNerd44: "What do you mean how??"
StreamerStan: "You're an influencer, bro."
FlexFlexor99: "All you gotta do is walk to the curb and raise your card."
Still confused but desperate, Nokia walked to the edge of the street. The sidewalks were empty, no traffic in sight. Taking a breath, he lifted his Bronze Aura Card into the air.
In an instant, a sleek taxi shimmered into view, pulling up smoothly beside him. The door popped open automatically.
Nokia's jaw dropped. "This life…" he whispered, sliding inside. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen."
The taxi glided forward, neon lights flashing across the windows. Nokia leaned back, buzzing with excitement.
"Can't wait to see what they've set me up with," he chuckled. "My own house, my own food… and I don't even have to pay for it."
As the taxi rolled on, the city began to change. Neon lights dimmed, replaced by flickering street lamps. Cracked sidewalks stretched out, walls tagged with graffiti.
Nokia's eyes narrowed. "Driver… this part of town looks… I don't know a bit sketchy."
As the drive continued, he saw more and more of the run down and derogated community. Homeless people huddled against alley walls, smoke rising from makeshift fires, and men exchanging things in the shadows. The stench of decay and sewage thickened with every block.
"So... this is where they decided to put me."
The taxi pulled finally arriving in front of a horribly battered building. Sections of wall had collapsed, leaving dark holes along the side, a broken window rattled ominously in the wind, as broken streetlight cast the place in sickly yellow taint.
Nokia peered through the window of the taxi, unwilling to get out.
"And here I was thinking I had left New York for good..." Nokia sighed.
The driver looked back over his shoulder. "Well, this is your address. Have a good night… Nokia."
"Thanks"
Stepping out of the cab, Nokia's boots splashed into a shallow puddle that reeked of sewage. The foul air hit him like a slap to the face.
"Sewage... Always sewage." He said looking at his system messages
[📜 System Message]
[🏢 You are in Unit 104]
"So not only in a dump…" he muttered coldly. "But the first floor, too. Figures."
The door creaked open to his apartment as the wind knocked it open showing him the way inside.
"Well at least security is tight enough so that only the wind blowing can open the front door." He muttered as he made his way to his room.
swivel! swivel! swivel!
Nokia heard a strange sound coming from behind him but as he turned he saw nothing there
"Hmph who knows what kind of pests are running around in in this place" Nokia groaned
Room 104 Nokia saw on the door at the edge of the hall. The room sign was hanging diagonally on its last peg and was swinging from the gust of wind blowing into the building.
"Welp here goes nothing" Nokia sighed, opening his door.
Opening hs door he came to see a complete disaster of a room.
There was broken glass all over the floor, what looked like mud in the bathroom sink and rodents scattering across the charred and damaged floor. Also what looked like giant claw marks ran across the walls.
"Did this place get attacked by a bear or something?" Nokia thought, shaking his head.
swivel! swivel! swivel!
Nokia heard the sound once again, but as he turned, he once again found no sign of anyone or thing behind him.
"Am I hearing things now? I need some rest... and a shower..." He said, continuing to look around.
As he rounded his way around the kitchen he saw no shower or any type of bed for him to reprieve himself of the day. Only a small closeted bathroom with a toilet and a sink.
"No shower no bed, yeh this is way worse than Manhattan" Nokia groaned falling to the floor. "So much for living the life of an influencer how much aura do I need to take a bath around here.
[Chat]
LaughTrack99: "L apartment 🤣"
HumbleStart: Humble beginnings, my friend. We'll make it farther. 5,000 followers, here we come!
AuraBro77: Don't worry Nokia, you'll make it through this. You've been through worse.
Trainwreck22: Yeah man, remember when you literally got hit by a train and fell into a sewer? Now You're TRAINING to get out of the SEWER! W CONTENT LOL
[...]
Nokia lay flat on the hard floor, staring at the cracked ceiling. For the first time, he was starting to understand just how far he had to go. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Yeah… this is pretty bad. However…" His eyes hardened. "I won't let it get me down. I had negative one million Aura once. Who knows? Tomorrow, I might have positive one million."
swivel! swivel! swivel!
As Nokia took a breathe to rest, a small black pebble swiveld across the floor out of his field of vision. The pebble appeared like an ink blob emitting an ominous presence about as it went, but for its incredibly small size it seemed completely harmless.
Nokia, completely unaware, began to close his eyes in preparation for bed.
A faint chime echoed in the room.
[📜 System Message]
"User ignores system" Nokia said closing his eyes
[📜 System Message]
[📜 System Message]
[📜 System Message]
"Alright fine! What is it now"
[📜 System Message]
[It's time for your nightly routine.]
"Nightly routine?" Nokia muttered.
[Aura Farming Mode: Activated]