Bao couldn't help but grin after sending a message to all of his family members, informing them that he got the job at the net cafe. Sitting on the small bed in the cabin, he swelled in the memories of his past which made him realize that ironically his life made a turn for the better since he started playing VR again. Not only did he get a job just a few days after being released from the rehabilitation centre, something he couldn't even do before becoming a reality junky, but also his body started to regain some muscles. Only his social life could still be considered a mess, especially the relationship with his parents. Still conflicted between "they did the right thing to help me" and "they betrayed me, their own son", he did not know how to talk or interact with them. At the table, they barely talked to each other and if it wasn't for the television running in the background, an awkward silence would have prevailed. When thinking about how his parents betrayed his trust and deliberately threw him into that hell called rehab, he felt how anger welled up deep inside of him but what got even more on Bao's nerves was his father's behaviour. Not even once did he hear an apology on the contrary he was even scolded for not getting a job immediately. Nevertheless, his fault for all that happened couldn't be denied either, and Bao was fully aware of that.
A long-lasting sigh left his mouth. It wasn't like regretting the past would have any use, he thought.
"Now let's go take a look at what that shitty AI did this time." He mumbled before lying down and inserting the cable in his hand.
"Summary of player Daniel completed. The avatar took a quest to hunt horned rabbits and passed out from severe blood loss in the middle of the forest when attempting to complete it."
"Fuck", Bao cursed. "I hope he didn't die there."
He jumped up from a bed, wrapped in blood-soaked bandages all over his body. Some of the cuts and bruises remained untreated, making the stinging pain even worse
"Ugh, why does the AI always mess everything up!", groaned Bao.
"Who is AI?" Only now did he realise Elincia sitting right beside the bed. "And of what absence are you talking about? I was with you the whole time and you didn't move an inch."
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Shocked by her presence Bao turned around, his mouth wide open from being startled by her voice.
"I... I must've had a... a nightmare or something" He scratched his head and lowered his eyes.
She stared into his face for several seconds without saying anything before waving with her hand.
"Whatever. I wanted to talk to you about two urgent things. First of all this self-destructive behaviour of yours must stop!" -her eyebrows formed an arrow pointing right at her nose- "I understand that you want to grow stronger and show your family how far you've come in the city but there will come a time where I won't be able to help you. My magic is not almighty and there are injuries even I can't heal."
Under normal circumstances, the actions of the AI would have made complete sense. Usually, Bao too would try to level up by killing weaker mobs in the area until he would have been able to one-hit them. But given that there were no mobs weaker than him and that he only had one avatar he could play, he would always risk his life when grinding since the game implemented permadeath.
"You.. you're right. I'll try to be more cautious in the future, I don't want to be a burden to you."
The elf nodded.
"The second point is related to our research about eternal slumber." A small pause gave him time to realize what she just said. "After talking again to Samwell, I..."
"Samwell?" Bao interrupted her promptly.
"Ah yes I forgot you didn't even know his name. It's the prince's name, so you better remember it. Now let's get back to the topic. He told me how he saw a gigantic tower during his stay in the soul realm, as big as nothing he had ever seen until that day. It stood in a giant crater surrounded by what seemed to be the ruins of a long-forgotten city and reached high up towards the sky by piercing through the clouds. Small lights on it blinked and illuminated the surroundings in the rhythm of wing beats."
"From the look on your face, I assume that you know where that city lies."
"Yes. But it won't be an easy task to reach it. The location is a faraway land of a fallen kingdom which is now reigned by demons or even worst. Contact to any kind of human beings in the region has long since been lost. The biggest problem and danger are probably the iron golems protecting the tower or so the survivor stories say."
"Survivors?"
"Of the purging force that was sent to retake the kingdom, or rather the land since the population has long since perished."
"How many were sent?"
"An army of ten thousand men."
"How many survived?"
"Five-hundred. And only a handful are still living today."