Kit spent the entire day feeling despondent, consumed by thoughts of how he could earn enough money in the game to fulfil his dream. When Kat arrived home, she found him lying on the couch in a state of depression, gazing blankly at the ceiling. "What happened while I was at work? You were in such a good mood this morning," she exclaimed.

Kit forced himself out of his negative thoughts and greeted his sister. "It's nothing, Kat. How was your day at work?"

"Don't 'nothing' me, Kit," Kat retorted as she playfully hit the back of his head. "You better tell me what's going on."

Knowing that his sister wouldn't drop it until he told her, Kit finally opened up. "I did some research on the conversion rates and realised just how much I would need to earn in order to keep playing."

“Is that why you're upset, Kit? You've only been in the game for five days. It's natural that you haven't earned much money yet. Some players have been at it for years and still struggle to make a living.” Kat stopped and gave Kit a stern look. “Remember, little brother, you mentioned having a treasure map. Why don't you start by searching for that before giving up? There's no point in doubting yourself before even trying. So let go of those negative thoughts and have faith in yourself.”

Kit smiled at his sister; she always knew how to reason with him. If she hadn't come home, he would have continued spiralling into self-pity. Ever since their father passed away, he had a hard time staying positive.

Negative thoughts would consume him and intertwine with past anxieties until he felt trapped. But now, thanks to Kat's wise words, he realised he still had time to figure things out before the next instalment of money for CAL was due. She always helped him think rationally.

It took Kat's presence to redirect Kit's thoughts onto the right track. He let out a sigh and mentally reminded himself to work harder on improving his thought process. Ever since his father passed away, he felt like he had stopped growing emotionally, despite being 18 now. He needed to put in the effort to become the responsible adult he was meant to be.

Kit flashed a grateful smile at his sister for bringing him back to reality. "Thank you, Kat. You always know how to snap me out of my foolishness."

"That's what sisters are for. But now we need to have a serious conversation," Kat declared with an intense look.

Suddenly, Kit grew anxious and worried as her eyes bore into him. What could this be about? He sat quietly, waiting for her to speak. "What did you make for me to eat this week? I nearly ran out of food and had to ration myself with what little you left me," Kat scolded. "Who told you it was okay to make such small portions for your beautiful sister?"

Kit emitted a small laugh, half expecting his sister to scold him or reveal some major news. But instead, she was fixated on her own hunger, as he should have anticipated.

Brushing his hair back, Kit offered, "Kat, just tell me what you're craving, and I'll whip it up for you." As he lowered his hand, he caught sight of the bracelet on his wrist and remembered that he had an issue to address with his sister." But before we talk about food," he began, raising his wrist to Kat's attention.

Her face lit up with delight upon seeing the sparkling piece of jewellery. "I knew you'd love it. Go ahead, tell me I'm the best sister in the world." Kat's eyes danced mischievously.

"I'm actually considering how to get away with murdering you right now," Kit stated flatly, narrowing his eyes and flashing an evil grin.

Kat's lower lip jutted out in a pout. "Come on, little kitty, sheath those claws. If you know what the bracelet does, you should be thanking me as your best sister ever." She cocked her head to the side, her eyes wide and innocent.

"Kat, I had a damn Loli voice and a pink dress. Why would I be thanking you?" Kit exclaimed, emphasising his frustration.

"Pfft, ahaha! But it came with a Loli voice. I wish I could have seen it. You must have sounded so adorable..." Tears started to well up in Kat's eyes as she imagined Kit with a sweet and delicate young voice. His narrowed gaze showed he was not amused.

"Oh, and Kit, can you remember to take a video next time? I really want to see it," Kat finally paid attention to him. But Kit was still giving her the death stare. If looks could kill, she'd be six feet under by now. "Ahh, don't look at me like that. So the bracelet worked then?"

"Yes, it embarrassed me. Are you satisfied now?" Kit huffed, thoughts of revenge running through his mind.

"Kit, don't give me that look. It worked, didn't it?" Kat raised an eyebrow in question.

"..."

Kit chose to ignore his sister's attempts at reconciliation. He was still angry that she had played such a trick on him. He knew she had a mischievous side, and he was tempted to do something similar to her as payback. A wicked smile briefly crossed his face before he hid it.

"Hey Kit, why won't you look at me? Did it not work?" Kat's voice held worry and concern. Kit decided to let her worry for a bit as payback for what she did.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Kat's eyes pleaded with Kit as her words did. "I only got the bracelet because I wanted to protect you from any psychological attacks in the game. I was worried something might trigger you and I wouldn't be there to help. It was the only way I could think of to keep you safe."

Kit halted his vengeful thoughts and considered Kat's words. When he had transformed into her favourite manga character, the effects of the death fish had disappeared. At the time, he had attributed it to being shocked by his sudden change in appearance. But now he realised it was the bracelet that had shielded his mind from those traumatic memories.

His desire for revenge against Kat faded away. She had given him the bracelet for his own mental well-being. Kit scolded himself for his childish thinking and remembered how much his sister cared for him and always wanted what was best for him.

He felt guilty for even considering tampering with Kat's food. It was just he really hated the fact he might need to always change into a dress to cross a river in CAL.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Kit's eyes lit up as he asked, "Kat, is it possible to remove the dress and Loli voice from the bracelet?" He was filled with hope at the thought.

Kat's expression turned remorseful. "Unfortunately, no. It's part of a limited-edition series between CAL and the manga. The character you transform into has high psychological defence, and if you say a certain catch phrase, you can even protect your friends from mental attacks."

She whispered the phrase in his ear, but Kit shook his head. There was no way he would use that catch phrase, especially not with a Loli voice. Images of Kat being stuck on the toilet flashed through his mind once again at the mention of the phrase.

"Thank you for your help, Kat. The bracelet did work, and it was worth the money, but I don't think I'll be needing that catch phrase," Kit said with a sigh. As much as he didn't want to use the bracelet again, he knew it was worth it for the protection it provided. He resigned himself to wearing a dress when crossing rivers.

The next two days flew by as Kit cooked meals for Kat to eat during the week and contemplated how to improve his cooking skills. Before he knew it, it was time for him to log back into CAL.

Lying inside the capsule, Kit waited for the clock to strike 10am. As soon as the time hit, he closed his eyes and initiated login. When he opened them again, he was back in the room at the Inn. Mars sat across from him, just waking up. "Ready to go, Kit?"

Kit couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, Mars, I'm ready."

"Oops, sorry. Hello, Kit." Mars got out of bed and headed towards the door.

"I talked to my dad about going to the forsaken state," Mars continued. "He said we should teleport to the town first and then find a guide. We're not strong enough to brave the wilderness on our own yet, so we might have to convince an NPC to take us where we need to go."

"Teleport?" Kit looked at Mars with confusion.

“Luckily, we can use a travel gate to transport us to a nearby town near the mountain range. The challenge will be finding one that is close enough. Most towns in this forsaken state don’t have access to a travel gate due to their small size,” explained Mars. “This will significantly decrease our travel time. Can you pass me the map of the forsaken state? I want to see which town would be the most suitable starting point for us.”

Kit handed over the maps to Mars, feeling relieved that their journey would be shortened. While he was wallowing at home, he had roughly estimated how long it would take them to reach the treasure's location on the map. It would have taken them around six months to even get close to the mountain range.

But with the use of a travel gate, they would have plenty of time to find Monak's treasure before Kit's deadline for paying back his debt to Kat. He couldn't help but feel overjoyed at the news. This also meant he would have enough time to find a location for his dream restaurant. Kit felt like he was floating on cloud nine.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs in the Inn, Kit made his way over to the Inn keeper to ask for directions to the travel gate. The Inn keeper pointed them in the direction of the eastern entrance to town. After setting the destination on his map, Kit remembered they needed to fetch Pint and Snowball before they left.

Anxiety washed over Kit as he thought about Snowball and hoped he had been taken care of while he was logged out. He couldn't wait to give the little ball of fluff a hug and feel his worries disappear. "Oh man, I totally forgot in all the excitement. Let's swing by the stables first and hopefully Snowball will catch up with us," Mars suggested.

Stepping outside of the Inn, Kit was greeted with a loud yip that rang in his ears. A small, black fluffy object came bounding towards him. A smile instantly spread across Kit's face. "Snowball! I missed you!" he exclaimed happily.

Kit lifted Snowball into his arms and received a big, slobbery kiss in return. He couldn't help but laugh at the dog's excitement; it made him feel warm inside. Kit had missed Snowball so much while he was away. Holding the little pup in his arms, all of his worries seemed to disappear. They made their way to the stable to get Pint.

Thankfully, retrieving Pint from the stable was easy. Kit had been worried that the horse might have become unruly due to not getting his usual supply of beer. But Mars assured him that there was plenty left for Pint during his time in the stalls.

With Pint by their side, they headed towards the eastern gate. Mars consulted a map to find a suitable destination for them to teleport to. "So, did you figure out where we're going?" asked Kit with anticipation.

“There’s a village about a week's journey from the base of the mountains. My father called it Red Splash village. It's rare to find towns in this forsaken state; most places with people are just small villages or hamlets, like Sweet Meadow.”

“The state is way behind the others in development. Even the two cities within its borders have a population of only 5 million each, while other states have cities with over 1 or 2 billion people. The forsaken state is definitely lagging behind in growth.”

“I'm not sure if we should head straight to the city. It might be difficult to find a knowledgeable guide in such a small town. But then again, someone from the city might not know the area as well as a local.” Mars frowned as he looked at the map, unsure of what would be best.

Kit decided to let Mars make the final decision on their travel plans; after all, Mars was more familiar with CAL than Kit was. Mars folded up the maps and handed them to Kit for safe keepings.

Kit raised his hand and declined the items being offered to him, but Mars firmly placed them in Kit’s hand. “They will be safer in your pouch.”

"Fine.” Kit tucked the maps away. “But I trust your instincts when it comes to finding what we're after. After all, you're the official restaurant adventurer. So, when we go exploring, I'll follow your lead." Kit held back from mentioning anything about Monak out loud; he knew Mars would understand without needing to say it explicitly. He turned his attention to Mars, curious to hear their plan.

However, Kit was taken aback by the silly expression on Mars' face. There was a twinkle in his eyes and a wide grin plastered on his face. Why is Mars grinning like that? Never mind, who knows what goes on inside the man’s head.

"Let's hire a local guide," declared Mars. "I don't want us to waste too much time traveling if we can avoid it. Even with the map, we don't know what dangers lurk around or if it will be easy to find the cave."

"And there's not much information on the map beside the location of the red cross and the name of the cave," added Mars. "We could end up searching for quite some time before finding the entrance. And since you have limited time to make money, we should try to locate it as quickly as possible. Have you calculated how much you'll need?" Kit blinked at Mars' question, grateful for their genuine support in helping him raise enough funds to continue playing CAL.

"I'll need 3 platinum and 150 gold crowns each month to keep playing," Kit stated, trying not to sound too desperate. "Hopefully, what we find will be enough to sustain my game play until I can get my restaurant up and running successfully."

Mars' expression shifted from surprise to concern upon hearing the amount Kit needed.

"Is that all you need? Are you sure your calculations are correct?" Mars asked. "It doesn't seem like enough to cover your expenses. Maybe we should increase it to at least 5 platinum per month, just in case something goes wrong, and you can't continue playing with me."

Kit was stunned by Mars' response. He had thought that even 3 platinum would be a stretch for his restaurant profits. Now, Mars was suggesting an increase to 5 platinum. Kit's heart warmed at the thought of Mars wanting him to earn more so they could continue playing together.

Having Mars as a friend was truly valuable. Kit was willing to put in the effort to maintain this friendship, knowing it would be worth it. "Okay, I'll listen to you," Kit promised. "I'll do my best to earn 10 platinum each month."

"How did we go from 5 to 10?" Mars raised an eyebrow.

"5 for you and 5 for me. We share everything, remember?" Kit replied.

Mars chuckled at his response before a mischievous look crossed his face. "Alright, but if I stumble upon any hidden treasures on my adventures, you have to split them with me too."

Kit smiled, feeling warm and contented until they arrived at the travel gate. A new sense of excitement bubbled up within him as he gazed at the massive stone archway. The next stage of their adventure was about to unfold.