Corra Reist

“No.”

Lalina Gi, owner of multiple hit games as well as the current rising star in all charts—Designer Training Institute—was flabbergasted. “What do you mean, no?”

“I won’t do it,” Corra Reist, semi-retired and owner of a couple of successful publishing houses, said firmly. “Why should I be the editor-in-chief of Dressi? Magazines aren’t my thing, and this whole project is tied to your DTI. You came up with the idea, and now you want me to execute it?”

“B-but I thought you liked it!”

Corra gave a slow, deliberate nod. “I do. I liked it.”

“And you’re obsessed with the lore!”

“Yes, I’m obsessed with it. It’s one of my favorites right now.”

“And you were once an editor-in-chief—”

Corra rubbed her temples, feeling the headache creeping in. “—that was over a decade ago, and it was for a school newspaper, Lalina—”

“So, I formed a team, and they’re all just waiting for you!”

“How is that even related?”

Lalina dramatically sighed. ”Dressi won’t be possible without you. Pleaseeeee.”

Corra narrowed her eyes. “Lalina Gi, I love your game, I love the lore I’ve written for it, but do I really want to leave this marvelous, extravagant, comfortable bed to work for you? No.” She flopped back down, closing her eyes.

“Just a one-year contract! I just need you to set the tone and train the next EIC I’ll find,” Lalina persisted, her voice almost pleading now. She had to take advantage of the heat DTI was currently getting. Corra, her best friend since college, was the perfect candidate. Not to mention, Corra was the best “shark” she knew. If anyone could master the art of giving people exactly what they wanted—and taking their money without them realizing it—it was Corra Reist.

Lalina’s mind wandered back to the past, back to when she first met Corra. They’d been seatmates in Global Economics back in college, a course that Lalina had mostly taken because it was a minor required for her degree. Everyone else in the class was focused on the professor’s hololectures, but she’d spent most of her time designing games on her naoirse. She didn’t even notice Corra at first, who is coincidentally always her seatmate, since they both sit at the same spot all the time.

It wasn’t until a few weeks in that Corra started glancing over at her screen. At first, Lalina thought nothing of it, but then Corra had asked, out of the blue, “You’re making a game, right?”

Lalina had shrugged. “Yeah, just a small one. It’s called Who’s the Priest?—horror, social deception type of game. Kind of like Werewolf but with more layers.” She tried to explain, but in the back of her mind, she didn’t think much of it. She was just trying to finish the second installment of the game—the first had been a sleeper hit with indie gamers, but nothing that could launch her into anything more.

Then, Corra surprised her. “Mind if I watch?”

Lalina shrugged again, not thinking much of it. Corra didn’t seem like the type to be annoying, and Lalina wanted to finish the work as early as possible.

Corra’s eyes lit up as she watched Lalina sketch character models, outline storylines, and tweak algorithms. She didn’t say much at first—just observed, and then later on, started to ask a few pointed questions about mechanics, the story, and whatnot. Then, once she had the full picture of Lalina’s skills, she said something that completely threw her off.

“Hey,” Corra had said casually, “I wanna fund your game. Ever thought about going indie full-time?”

Lalina had been skeptical at first. Is Corra some rich second-generation who’s throwing money around? Trying to play it off, she replied, “I’m not even sure people will play it once it’s done. There’s no guarantee of success.”

Corra had simply smiled. “I don’t need guarantees. I see what you’ve got here—real potential. And I have the means to help turn it into something bigger.”

Fine, Lalina thought. If her money goes woosh kaboom, she’ll just have to make sure beforehand that the contract says it won’t be her fault. She has always been a go-getter typa gal anyway—why not take the chance? What Corra was offering wasn’t just money; it was an invitation into a world Lalina had never considered: the gaming industry. If it doesn’t work out, I’ve still got my degree to fall back on. What’s the harm of making my hobby into something serious, anyways? This is my passion to begin with. Sorry momma, if this takes off I ain’t gonna be an engineer.

Lalina rolled her eyes at her younger self, remembering how she hadn’t thought to look Corra Reist up before making the deal, it was just one search away in the Starnet! She was just that impulsive. But, here she was—Corra, the fox who’d managed to persuade her into turning Who’s the Priest? into a full-fledged series, each installment with crazier lore than the last. Corra basically helped form Lali Games, with her as the owner and Lalina taking on the role of creative director. Lalina had the vision, the passion, the drive. Corra had the resources—and the intuition to know that games weren’t just about coding and graphics. They were about stories. They were about music, atmosphere, emotion—and Corra, with her background, had quickly realized that games was another industry where she could exercise her creative muscle. It was a perfect fit.

Lali Games grew quickly, and the indie game that had started as a small passion project turned into a studio under the umbrella of Corra’s larger company, Orraz. Eventually, Lalina became a co-owner and Corra took a step back into the background, now just offering creative input on the lores of all the games, managing the brand, and making sure Lali Games kept expanding into other game genres. Lalina ran the show, while Corra was behind the scenes.

“One year? That’s even worse. Lali, once again—yes, I like your game, yes, I like the lore, but do I really want to get up right now? No.” Corra’s voice was muffled by her pillow. “Lock the door on your way out.”

Lalina felt the familiar frustration rising. Corra was a chronic napper. She dozed off at the drop of a hat, and had made it her life’s work to sleep as much as she wanted. It had been her goal for years to get successful enough that she could spend the rest of her days in bed.

Many finance and business gurus had speculated about Corra’s sudden retreat from the public eye in her 30s. Her drop from the spotlight had raised all kinds of theories: Had Corra had cancer? Was she secretly pregnant and raising kids? Was she planning something huge? Had she offended some bigwig?

Nope. She just wanted to sleep.

Her PR team had initially been eager to clear up the rumors, but when they realized the true reason for Corra’s disappearance would sound too unbelievable, they let the speculation run wild. And, honestly, it worked out just fine for them. Free publicity. It wasn’t as if Corra cared so much about what people have to say about her anyways.

Meanwhile, Lalina was out here, slaving away to create more games because it’s her only source of entertainment in life. If she tried to retire early like Corra, she’d die of boredom. Seriously, she couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to just... sleep all day. But Corra had always been a sleepyhead.

Out of concern, Lalina had once dragged her best friend to get a full-body exam. To everyone’s surprise, Corra was perfectly healthy. Lalina had dropped it after that, but every now and then, she’d drag Corra for a jog—just so she wouldn’t turn into a vampire, considering how much time she spent indoors.

Corra hated the sun. Her bedroom had blackout curtains, and Lalina was honestly surprised there were even windows in there.

A few days later.

Lalina burst into Corra’s bedroom, a big grin plastered on her face, excitement practically radiating off her. She had finally figured out what Corra wanted. She could practically hear the soft whoosh of victory as she laid out her pitch.

“I am hereby announcing my bribes!” Lalina cleared her throat, and talked in a fake posh voice. “A super-comfy memory foam mattress that reclines, has 24/7 temperature control, a self-cooling duvet and pillows, and it has wheels, all you have to do is install the remote control software in your naorsi! It’s the latest bed set from Sleepi, and you must have it, I insist!” Lalina sighed dramatically as she continued. “Next, a brand new full body massage chair from Comfie, your favorite massage chair brand! Then, I’ll get you a fully paid vacation month in P. Terra, there’s a newly opened resort in one of their rainforests areas, particularly in their Meleth Sanctuary. You can wake up to seeing one of your favorite animals everyday!”

She grinned wider as she waits for the other’s response.

Corra, however, didn’t even look up from what she’s reading in her naoirse. She didn’t even look like someone who had just been offered an entire vacation and luxury tech. Anything that has to do with sleep and comfort can get real expensive, you know? Lalina gritted her teeth in thought as she now finally notices how Corra barely reacted, and at that moment she knew that this bribe is a no-go.

“That’s all nice,” Corra said, her voice soft, a lazy drawl threading through her words, “but, uh, I’ve already ordered one of those chairs. It’s arriving tomorrow. You do remember that I’m basically one of Comfie’s brand ambasaddor, right? Oh, right, I didn’t order it, I just confirmed the shipment since they gave it to me for free... " She paused, as if considering Lalina’s over-the-top excitement. “The bed, too. Sleepi is also one of Ali’s companies, you do remember that, yes? I’m just waiting for the shipment to land. I was already promised that bed even before it’s even produced—”

“—so that’s how Ali got you to help her in her business deal in the capital?!”

Corra deadpanned. “When have I ever done something free of charge?”

Lalina just got her brain bamboozled with that information, and quickly reverted some of her frustration to the faraway Ali. “That girl betrayed me! I got scammed—!”

“Also, as for the newly-opened resort in Meleth Sanctuary... do you really think I live under a rock like you? I may nap a lot, but that’s it, I don’t shove my nose to overwork all day developing games despite having a full house team, unlike some people in this room,” she rolled her eyes and looked at her pointedly. “I’ve got a whole catalog of all resorts there is in all planets, even those that are just about to be built, here in my naoirse,”

Lalina blinked. She dramatically lied down on the ground, and looked at Corra who was looking at her blankly from the bed. “But you don’t wanna freeeee vacationnn?”

Corra snorted amusedly, and her eyes twinkled in laughter as she yawned. “Oh, it seems that your bribes are insufficient, milady.” She imitated Lalina’s ridiculous posh voice earlier. “I hereby declare you...rejected.”

“Nooooooo,” Lalina grumbled. Fine, it’s still early game anyways. It’s not like she’s not used to doing a whole bunch of shenanigan bribe attempts whenever she tries to get a huge favor from Corra. The last time she did, it took her 20 attempts to get her to be a speaker at a business convention. That was a 3-day conference, and so far her most outstanding achievement—she got Corra to endure being awake a lot for 3 days. This time, she’s asking her to basically be awake a lot for a year. Granted, she’ll still be able to nap a lot since Lalina will make sure of it, but it’s understandable that she has to come up with something that tickles Corra’s brain. Pretending to be pitiful doesn’t work now.

She exhaled, shoulders slumping, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Fine. You win this round,” Why is it so hard to persuade Corra? Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh, she internally grumbled.

But then, as if pumped with chicken blood, she jumped up out of her current position, lowkey stunning Corra with her random burst. “BUT! One of these days, you’ll give in to me, madame, and I’ll make sure of that.” she declared with her ridiculous posh voice as she decisively went out.

“Okay, goodluck. Be careful on your way home,” Corra amusedly dismissed, closing her eyes in trepidation. She’s definitely got a lot coming.

...

Lalina was pacing again. She couldn’t sit still for too long. Every time Corra shot down her ideas, it only pushed her further to figure out the magic combination that would make Corra say “yes.”

This time, she had her game plan: Numbers. Stats. Projections. She’d heard people say that to get someone to commit, you had to show them just how much was at stake. The future. The big picture. So that’s exactly what she was going to do.

She approached Corra’s bed again, this time with a holopresentation floating from her naoirse. Her fingers were practically tapping against the holoscreen as she displayed the most dazzling statistics she could find. Downloads. Monthly active players. The fast growth of DTI, the buzz around the game, the potential profits for launching Dressi. All of it. Corra had to see this.

“I’ve been compiling all the numbers,” Lalina said, enthusiasm barely contained in her voice. “DTI’s stats are growing like wildfire. We’ve got 2 billion active players last month! That’s almost a third of the population of this planet — imagine if we reach other planets, and basically the whole planetary system of Azgarbi, just like we did with Who’s The Priest?!” she rambled on. “We’re number one in fashion games right now! Dressi can take it even further — fashion magazines are huge, but we’re going to make it something more. A fusion of the virtual and real. I mean, the possibilities are endless! If we get this right, we could be the next big thing in both fashion and gaming!” she exhaled, giddy with all the thoughts of expanding DTI to its fullest.

Corra didn’t react. She didn’t even look up from the holobook floating from her naoirse. Sighing, she said, “Look, can’t I just be a consultant?”

“Look, Corra,” Lalina continued, tapping the holoscreen to bring up another graph that showed projected revenue from Dressi’s collaborations with famous designers and streamers. “This is real money. This is something that could redefine the world of fashion games, and I want you to set the tone. You’ve got the experience, the expertise—ain’t everybody saying that Corra Reist has a midas touch? Everything you work on turns into gold. You always set the standard high, and I want that for Dressi. Besides, don’t you wanna help this poor old little me? The twins love playing DTI, y’know. Sigh, what if their Aunty Cory helps to make it bigger...” Lalina showed her best pitiful face.

Corra snickered as she mentioned her twins. 5 years ago, Lalina adopted Gabi and Davi—she found them abandoned, in a stroller capsule, on their way in P. Rnessi to a business meeting. They have long wormed into Corra’s life, as she is basically the godmother of the two 7-year old children. Wow, she thought. Lalina really brained her brains out if she actually thought of using the two against her. It almost worked, but unfortunately for Corra, she needs something more that would actually be a solid motivation for her to actually work a whole year.

“Yeah, that’s all nice,” Corra said, voice languid. “But I don’t want more meetings—”

“—I’ll take care of that!”

“I also hate stuffy chairs—”

“—done!”

“Okay, I’m convinced,”

“Yes—!”

“But only for 50%. Congrats, but brainstorm more for the other half,”

Lalina groaned.

A few days later.

Lalina just got back from another day of trying to convince Corra, and she even got her cold cocoa drinks and coconut pies, but she didn’t budge for the other 50%! Ugh. What does Corra really really like? Corra isn’t a materialistic girl, she’d be fine anywhere as long as she can nap well and eat well. Her splurges aren’t designer stuff, mansions, or showy vacations—instead, they’re all just nap-worthy things. This girl is the type to brag about her new Sleepi and Comfie stuff, and she doesn’t keep the old ones, she sells them to “not waste money”, as what she said!

People normally keep their excess with them and have a huge house to accommodate all sorts of trinkets, but Corra? Yes, she lives in a high-end neighborhood—only because she doesn’t wanna be bothered by the paparazzi—but she has the smallest house built in there. Her reason? She doesn’t wanna clean a lot. If you tell her to just hire a cleaner, she’ll say, “Of course I’m hiring a cleaner. Isn’t it cheaper if she only has to clean this much?”

Lalina swears that Corra is definitely gonna be the end of her. At most, her big purchase has to be that huge chunk of land her house is sitting in and the high walls she built around its perimeters. Obviously this is for her obsession with being recluse and faraway from neighbors. Lalina rolled her eyes when she remembered Corra babbling about being a lord immortal from the novels of ancient Earth—

She paused. Hold on, that’s it— xianxia!

Her mind raced back to their earlier conversations, when Corra had talked about her obsession with xianxia novels — the cultivation stories, the magic, the elaborate worlds of gods and immortals. Lalina may be forgetful, but she knew it was something Corra was passionate about. Something she couldn’t resist.

Lalina rushed back to her office, dialing Corra’s number without a second thought.

The phone barely rang once before Corra picked up, groggy and disoriented. “Lalina, your bribing appointment with me was just done earlier, I swear—”

“No! No. I just had an idea,” Lalina interrupted, her voice quick and excited. She could feel the spark of inspiration catching fire. “I just remembered something.”

Corra hummed. “Wow, the forgetful Lalina remembered something. I’ll give you a trophy later,”

“Hear me out, okay? Xianxia-inspired collections, updates, items.”

A loud silence filled the atmosphere, and Lalina can barely contain her grin. She knows she got Corra with this one. Why didn’t she think of this earlier?! If she can recall, she’s sure she actually bought Corra some xianxia novels when they were shopping a few months ago.

“Go on, I’m listening,” Corra impatiently said on the other end.

“What if... Dressi can help you have xianxia-themed items? You’ve always loved those types of stories, right? What if the first Dressi issue’s theme is that? We could do it in the game and the magazine. Custom outfits. Accessories. Real life xianxia clothes and in-game clothes. It would be a dream come true for anyone who loves those novels, it has a huge fandom since you re-popularized this genre, right?—and you’d get to play around with the designs!”

“Hmmmm,”

“Is that a yes?”

“I get to finalize which designers to pick and which models to hire, right?”

Lalina’s heart raced. She had her hooked, now to reel her in. She stepped closer, lowering her voice to a more serious tone. “Think about it, Corra. You’re a brand ambassador for Sleepi and Comfie. We can even get Ali on board, too. I’m sure we can come up with xianxia world items relevant to her products, who knows, maybe she’ll come up with bed and chair accessories that are xianxia-themed?! It will be iconic!”

Corra’s hand flopped lazily onto her blanket, the smallest of smiles playing at the corner of her lips. “Hmmmm, I don’t know...”

“C’monnnn, Cory, you’ve got connections that no one else has, and your name is enough publicity. Plus, you’re the one I trust to kick this off. That is why I need you. For me, please?” At this point, Lalina knows Corra just needs a little more push, but one cannot be too sure; she has to beg properly.

Corra sighed in the background. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”

“Please?”

“One year, Lali. The first issue better have everything I want. And I’ll need an extra Sleepi mattress for my office, with a Comfie chair ready for me there. I’m not about to start running this thing in a chair that isn’t as comfortable as my personal one here at home. You don’t like me working from home, and it’s a hassle to move my stuff,”

Lalina practically leaped into the air, her face lighting up with victory. “Deal! You got it! You’ll have everything you need, I swear!”

Corra leaned back, clearly amused, knowing that on the other end of the call, Lalina was practically bouncing on her feet. “You’re still going to be doing all the work, right? I’ll just give you advice and take naps in between. But don’t expect me to attend all the meetings.”

Lalina grinned ear-to-ear. “As long as you help guide the vision, you don’t have to lift a finger. I’ll handle the rest. Besides, I got you the best team, you know? And... you will attend the meetings when I need you to, because it’s all going to need your input.”

Corra shook her head even though the other won’t see it, but there was a gleam of fondness in her eyes. “You drive a hard bargain, but alright. One year. And you better buy me another batch of hardback xianxia novels.”

Lalina laughed, nodding enthusiastically. “Done. You’ll have them before you know it. This is going to be amazing, Corra. Just you wait.”

Corra flopped back into her pillows, clearly settling back into her comfort zone. “I’m sure it will be. Just... don’t expect me to stop napping. If I’m going to do this, I’m doing it on my terms.”

“Of course!” Lalina said, grinning from ear to ear. “Your terms. Always.”

“Whatever. Say hi to the twins for me,”

“I will!”

Corra hung up.

Lalina could barely believe it. The Corra Reist is finally on board! Her Dressi dream was officially in motion.

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Azgarbi (ah-zig-gar-buh) - a planetary system consisting of 13 planets, 400 moons (excluding moons of asteroids), and 3 asteroid belts.

Naoirse (neyr-shuh) - a flat, diamond shaped metal device with a stone in the middle. Azgarbians usually wear it on either their wrist, fingearm or neck. This serves as an all-in-one tech gadget, as well as an identification proof of their citizenship

Starnet (star-net) - basically the internet of the entire Azgarbian planetary system

P. Terra (pi-teh-ruh) - a tropical planet in the Azgarbian planetary system

P. Rnessi (pi-ruh-neh-si) - the coldest planet in the Azgarbi planetary system

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