Midnight slumped down on the bed and closed his eyes. He kicked away his pillow and let the cool dark balm soothe his exhausted mind and aching body.

These past few days he felt like a scarecrow battered by the storms. He was always tired and desperately yearned to get a paid vacation. Paternity or sick leave would be fine as well, but he was healthy and without a child.

Since the game began, any rest has become elusive. All the years I spent, dilly-dallying at home, came back to gnaw my flesh and spirit. They pierce their teeth and scratch with their claws, ripping bits and pieces of my sanity. Heh, the interest is due, I guess...

In the peaceful darkness locked behind his eyelids, he mused and recounted once again. He thought about the past few days and the near future. He sorted the priority of everything and remembered it in and out of his bones. Only by doing so, could he improve efficiency and reduce the waste of sidetrack efforts.

First, I have to buy another bag. That will be another three nickels and even more for additional supplies. For my future exploration, health and mana potions will be indispensable. I will not rely on luck. There is no need to overspend on food. Water will be drawn from one of the wells scattered in the village.

I have to travel light and I can't take my prior loot or reward with me. I don't know if this is good or bad.

Heh, thanks to the special inseparability effect of the epic set equipment, everything somehow fits inside my poor old baby. However, the overload damaged it. The weight reduction function halved, and the durability decreased a lot. I can't stuff other items, and I can't casually bring that bag with me. It will weigh me down. I can only leave it here...

But, this is not an optimal solution. Later, I have to find a better plan... Indeed, all races have their pros and cons. The greatest problem of a half-ling is their lack of physical abilities.

For now, I can manage with my initial Tiny Inventory. However, it is heavy and its space is lacking. I spend too much time running to and fro the forest and the store. It is very inefficient. To summarise, the bag is definitely my ultimate priority. I already got myself a replacement dagger, and I can postpone buying weapons or equipment...

Second, I need to pay the rent. This room costs me four small coppers daily. What preposterous pricing!... Yet, I have no other choice. I can only fork the cash and get a room. Otherwise, I have to say goodbye to the protection from the system and bring excessive weight with me. It will be like begging to get robbed by other players. And if I die, I will lose my stuff...

Sigh, Epic tools are just too precious. I can't be penny-wise and pound-foolish, or I will end up with unbearable regrets...

Third, I can't forget my studies. I have to expand my magic skills. Only this can somehow negate the devastating constitution of this body.

Fourth, I need to pay attention to unknown exposure. In the past two days, I was tailed twice. Sensing hidden enemies through mana flow is simple and I have my ways to escape pursuit. However, I can't be overconfident. It's been ten days already. There should be people with bizarre specialties that I can't detect.

This room is both a form of safety and restriction. The inn is too expensive, it draws attention to everyone who can pay the nasty rent. If I let my guard down, I may get ambushed when I exit or return...

Reaching this point in his thoughts, he rubbed his aching temples. There were just too many things to keep in mind. Most of his short-term problems revolved around the cash.

After two days of constant hunting, his financial state improved a bit. However, spending so many coins on rental was like having holes inside his pockets. The money entered in, only to spill away a moment later.

Damn it. If I knew that Lucky encounter could affect the draws from chests, I wouldn't have opposed my natural desires. What's so bad about getting coins? Why did I put an act and suppressed my inner devils?...

He thought wistfully and felt the aftertaste of poverty linger on his tongue. It was bitter, sour, and annoying.

He licked his lips, opened his eyes, and pushed fought against his lethargy, lampooning, "Wasn't this what I wanted? Didn't I choose this path myself? Heh, I can only keep on going. I will rest inside my grave..." He wriggled like a worm and tried to stand up from the bed. Yet, he faced a failure.

The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak... Wait, this sounds so wrong. I am not a male whore or something!

Phew, laying down was a mistake. My body doesn't wish to miss this opportunity and unconsciously relaxes.

He tried again, but the result was still the same. After his third futile attempt, he gave up on this action. Instead of wrestling with gravity, he rolled until he reached the end. Another flipping motion, and he successfully escaped the clutches of this Mohs 7 hardness piece of furniture. He fell beyond and hit the ground.

Bang

"Ouch. It was not the best strategy, but what matters are results..."

He brushed the dust away and rubbed his hurting shoulder. Awakened by the pain, he crawled beneath the bed. His nose twitched, inundated by the scent of rotting flesh.

The decomposition of the meat is quicker than expected. Yes, it is because it's warm and dirty. The perfect environment for the propagation of bacteria. It will be fun if I start a pandemic and kill everyone inside the village, myself included in the bunch... What a waste. I lack the skills to sustain a chilling spell for days or hours.

Heh, if I meet the reincarnated Lord, I'd have to bow my head and mutter an apology. First, I killed her with my dick exposed. Then, I butchered her remains and even let them rot beneath my bed. What a heartbreaking ending to a powerful existence...

He rubbed his teary eyes and ignored the odor. He crept closer to the loot, and soon his mystical perceptions stirred. His eyes turned serious and he swiped his gaze on the wooden flooring. A second later he found a tiny, invisible structure plastered to the floor. On closer inspection, the structure lacked the vague spiritual luster that only mages could perceive and it looked slightly crooked.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

When I was away, someone sneaked inside my room. No, someone or something got beneath the bed...

He sucked a breath and rushed to check his items.

The spell was an earth-based design without any strong or visible effects. To minimize its mana cost for prolonged sustaintment its sole meaning was to fracture under tremors scattering throughout the ground. And with his current skills and the complexity of written magic, the vicinity the spell could cover was just the space beneath the bed.

A couple of high-strung seconds later, he finished checking everything and noticed many tiny nibble marks littering the meat. He blinked to clean his tears resulting from the pungent odor and heaved a silent sight.

My bag is untouched, and nothing is missing. The perpetrator seems to be a mouse...

It must have been attracted by the smell. Heh, now, I have another thing to do. I have to dispose of these remains before I get complaints. The owner of Merriment and Luck is a rather pricky fellow. Even if I give him more coins, he will kick me out. He is a rare Lesottian who has principles and a bottom line...

He used his hand to swipe the spell, erased it, then bit his left forefinger and used the drop of blood to draw another one.

This time, he switched the connection from burst to link. Keeping the spell ongoing in the periphery of his brain was taxing and could distract him in a fight, but at least he would know the moment the nasty rodent returned to wreak havoc.

But seriously, mice. Wasn't this the best inn inside Lesotte? I pay 4 scops, yet I have to deal with rodents! Mice...

He was grumbling and crawling backward when he stopped in place. After repeating the word a couple of times, a fragment of his memory was brought above. It was a memory that happened to pertain to mice. It was about a male player who was even shorter than a half-ling. He had thick gray fur, typical mice ears, a long scaly skin-colored tail, and lovely whiskers on his face.

Didn't I stumble on a mouse-like player in the past few days? Yes, it was a person from the Monstrosity race. They are not unseen, but I have never met another mouse...What was the sub-species called? A Covert Night Mouse... Rodents are considered vermin. They are weak, but good at stealth. This makes them hardly popular with players. I bet my hat that there are less than two or three such players in Lesotte. And now, I just happened to stumble on a mouse gnawing at my stuff. Is it a coincidence?

It wasn't very strange and this inn indeed had some mice-related problems. He had confirmed it long ago. However, when it came to safety he always acted cautiously. Thus, he racked his brain to think and analyze the problem from another point of view.

I regularly check my items. When I left to hunt, the spell was well and functional. Then the creature came precisely when I was away.

I left around 8:45 am, and now it is slightly after 2 pm. The time frame is in the daytime, and mice are known to be nocturnal mammals...

Another thing. Albeit dead, this is still loot gathered from a snake boss. The bones, scales, and poison glands are rare or unique in grade. They contain minute amounts of residual aura. The aura of a snake should be enough to scare common animals, especially the mice. There are no monsters in the village and the size of the marks doesn't match the teeth of a true Covert Night Mouse. Instead, they resemble the nibbles of the field mice. Yet, it or they dared to approach...

Despite the food in front of it, the creature left before I could return...

One coincidence could happen. Two were still considered normal. But when three, four, or more stacked together, things became abnormal.

No, forget the boss's aura! I can change into a cat!

Just the other day Anna asked me what magic made my pupils vertical. Only then, did I notice that even in my half-ling form there are some odd persistent changes in my body. A regular mouse wouldn't be bold enough to venture into a cat's den. Isn't this considered suicide?!

He felt alert. He left his thoughts to wander and remembered an item that still lay inside his tiny bag. He hadn't sold it because its grade was rare and the effects were very curious.

It was a well-closed vial filled with murky pink liquid. The liquid came from the globule of the Fairy Object he had found before. It had many uses, but the most interesting one was the strengthening effect it had upon familiars! This indirectly proved the existence of such beings.

A Monstrosity player with the subspecies of a Covert Night Mouse. A strange common mouse sneaked inside my room. The existence of familiars... Could this be...

He narrowed his eyes, sneezed, and rushed to crawl out. He felt a bit perturbed and nervous but wasn't too afraid. Covert Night Mice were physically weak and lacked proficiency in magic. At most, they could use stealth and some surprise attacks. He wasn't scared of a single mouse. What worried him was that the fourth point he had to keep in mind was already reality. Someone with ulterior motives had locked on him! And their motive was unclear!

The unknown is the most nerve-wracking. I lack information and can't make the best decision. Is he a friend or a foe? No, a friend wouldn't sniff around my room.

There are three choices. A curious innocent soul, an information dealer, or an active enemy.

It's not the last. From the state of my spell, I believe the infiltration happened a couple of hours ago. If this perpetrator was malevolent, I would have already suffered from a targeted ambush from one or many players.

He is smart and crafty. He should know that I am a mage judging by my race. Then, if he wanted to rob me of my stuff, he wouldn't waste time and risk exposure. Once I am dead, because of the penalty, I won't be able to pay my rent tomorrow. Then, this room will be unlocked. He just has to rent it and snatch my bag away.

Heh, no one will go that far for simple curiosity. This means he is an information dealer. For now, he is still unsure of what to do with me. Should he get to know me, or sell me out for cash? He must-

Ping Bang

A notification broke the silence. Spooked by the alarm, Midnight snapped awake and rushed to stand up, but his head was still beneath the bed. He hit the edge and hissed in pain.

"Fuck, damn it." He sucked a breath and rolled around, rubbing at the bump. The pain resembled hitting your pinky in the corner of a table, or the strange pain one felt after quickly munching on an ice cream. He bit his lower lip and staggered to his feet in anger. "It is one thing after another. Can't I have a rest? At least, let me gather my thoughts and finish my analysis!"

Cursing at the AI calmed him down. He felt that this personal grudge against Euclex's God would soon upgrade to the status of a mortal enemy. The system, obviously, had a thing or two against him! It always made snarky remarks when he gathered stuff, provided him rewards with double edges, and had impeccable timing to annoy him.

Inside the room, he was relatively safe. Thus, he postponed the prior topic and pulled the new notification.

|Personal Announcement

Congratulations on meeting the requirements to fight for a City Entry Ticket.

Requirements:

1. Ten days post-release.

2.1. Interact with all natives in Lesotte.

2.2. Reach a certain ability threshold.

2.3. Survive a connected seven days inside the game.

Rules:

To get a City Entry Ticket, pass the Test of Worthy.

Challenge Options: Monster Subjugation, Collecting Coins, Creation Challenge, Brains over Browns...

Details:

1. You can't know the details of a challenge option before it is selected.

2. You can select only one challenge option at a time.

3. Your selection can be changed a maximum of two times.

4. Forgoing your selection and changing it is equivalent to a failure.

5. In case of three failures, forceful account termination will take place. The following Mute Penalty is 2 months Earth Time. Meanwhile, the player won't be able to create a new account and will lose all items, properties, and special skills from their old account.

6. There is no time limit for this test.

7. Rewards are given upon success:

City Entry Ticket - Choose your city-state and have one chance for free-of-charge teleportation.

Unique Chest - The type of chest depends on your challenge options.

Note: Please work hard to escape the village!|