Page 36 of Confessions of a Virgin on a Dating App
“What do you mean?” I asked.
A teasing grin crept across her lips. “You forgot, didn’t you? Today is the PvP event.”
Shit.My face fell. With so much drama in my personal life, I completely forgot that I had signed up. The PvP, or player-vs-player, event was different than our normalCreatures & Cryptsgame. It was something Devin ran at the shop a few times a year, where instead of an adventuring party battling against CM-controlled enemies, players fought directly against each other in arena-style combat. It was one of my favorite events at Critical Games, and there was always a prize for the winner.
This time, it was anyCreatures & Cryptsbook on the shelf. And I’d been eyeing the special edition ofCremara’s Horde of Dragonsfor weeks.
I desperately wanted to win.
And I hadn’t even put together a character.
I slammed the door as I bounded across my bedroom. Cassidy laughed as she reminded me through the door that the event was for level five characters. I dug through my desk drawer, pulling out a spare character sheet and a pencil, flying through the pages of myPlayer’s Guideso fast that they gave me paper cuts.
A small bubble of excitement formed in my stomach, banishing my previous self-deprecating thoughts.
At that moment, my dating woes didn’t matter.
I had a competition to win.
I was still scrambling to put my character together an hour later, while Cassidy, Aaron, and I sat huddled around a table at Critical Games.
Cassidy and Aaron were sitting next to each other like always, having a heated discussion on the effectiveness of using thehurryspell in PvP combat. I picked up on bits and pieces of their conversation, and I was eager to chime in with my own opinion. But I still needed to finish writing down my freshly made character’s spells.
“Tortoisefolk, huh?”
My shoulders hunched. I knew that voice.
I craned my neck over my shoulder, and sure enough, Devin was hovering over me, wearing a black sweatshirt with theCreatures & Cryptslogo across the font and his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his dark grey jeans. Hissnakebite piercings held silver studs tonight, and the ones in his ears were tiny red d20 dice.
And, as usual, he had total disregard for my personal space.
“Yes.” I slid my character sheet to the right so he had a better view, pointing at it with my pencil. “High armor class, and high wisdom for a cleric character.”
“Battle cleric subclass?”
“Of course.”
“It’s just interesting,” Devin noted, hunching forward to examine my character sheet. As he did, his sweatshirt sleeve brushed against my shoulder, sending a weird shiver down my spine. “I’ve never seen anyone play a tortoisefolk for a PvP event.”
“Well, my giant tortoise-person is going to kick everyone’s ass.” I smirked.
Devin chuckled. “You do that. Good luck.”
I hunched my shoulders as Devin walked away, burying my thoughts in my character build for the next ten minutes. Once I’d finally calculated the last stat and penciled in the last spell, I lifted my head and took a moment to surface. The shop was packed—at least thirty contestants hovered around the six large tables in the gaming area. The air was heavy with conversation, with many patrons flipping through theirPlayer’s Guideslike I was. Character sheets were strewn everywhere, and the rolling of pencils and dice clattered across the tables.
Behind the counter, Devin was with one of his employees, a short blonde guy with a thick beard named Jordan. Jordan wore a bright baby-blue t-shirt and a pair of tan khakis, making him a stark contrast to Devin’s usual all-black appearance. The pair hovered around the cash register, deep in conversation. The PvP matches were always crowded events, and Devin usually needed extra help to keep things running smoothly.
I flicked my eyes to the far corner of the gaming room, where the hugeWargaveltables had been converted toCreatures & Cryptsarenas for the event. I knew Devin had a knack for miniature painting and terrain building, but I hadn’t realized the extent of his collection. There were four tables, each set up with intricate miniature forests full of trees, rocks, and scattered ruins to use for cover. Devin had a shelf full of painted miniatures for people to borrow, and curiosity pulled me toward them. I plucked a small Infernal character off the shelf, pinching it in my fingers as I inspected the paint job. It was incredible—not a single dab of color out of place, with full shading, a dark wash, and so much detail that even the character’s rucksack had tiny silver buttons.
I was so immersed that I almost dropped the little figure when Devin whistled. The shrill noise pierced through everyone’s conversations, causing them to fall silent.
“Alright, everyone.” Devin clapped his hands together, stepping between the tables. I quickly placed the miniature back on the shelf and scurried over to my seat. “Here’s how tonight’s event is going to work: there are thirty-two of you, which makes my life easier, because that’s exactly eight people per table. There are four tables, and the first round will be single elimination. Drop to zero hit points and you’re out. The winners from each table will then face off in a final round. The top four players will get a dice set of their choice, and of course, the grand prize is anyCreatures & Cryptsbook on the shelf.”
Excited murmurs rumbled through the crowd, and Devin had to whistle to regain everyone’s attention.
“If you haven’t had your character’s stats checked by Jordan yet, please do so. Otherwise, we start exactly at 1 p.m. Good luck!”
I grabbed my character sheet off the table and walked toward the counter, where a small line had formed for Jordanto approve everyone’s characters. I knew that small mistakes were inevitable, but Devin’s priority was to make sure no one was blatantly cheating.
