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+5 Cans Of Potato Chips

Mei told herself the potato chips weren't the last straw to getting her to buy it. She just felt like the ability to chat quickly and without embarrassing herself was worth it... yeah... that was it. And the chips were cheaper than in real life and calorie free! They were also going to be good restoration items with the benefit of 1000 HP and MP per can.

...

Mei immediately felt a craving for the potato chips. Gingerly, she took one can out of her inventory and took off the seal and hastily stuffed 5 whole chips into her mouth at once. Mmm... tastes like Pringals. Too bad they seemed to be original flavour. Mei liked the sour cream flavour more.

As she crunched noisily, Umuton turned toward her.

"They have potato chips in the game too, umu? Damn, I want some too now!" The skeleton sighed. "Too bad being a skeleton makes me unable to eat! I think I'll try going for the ghoul evolution so that I can savour the food here, umu."

Mei stared at him with a slightly exasperated look. Him repeating 'Umu' over and over again started getting on her nerves.

"By the way, why did you choose to be a skeleton anyway?" she asked.

"To look fa-BU-lous! Umu." Umuton got into a ridiculous pose.

More like to seek attention, thought Mei. It was obvious from his outfit alone.

There was a moment of silence as Umuton did not say more after she didn't respond to his pose. Except for the constant sound of chips being crunched and the footsteps of passersby. The can soon started getting emptier as a minutes fast. Normally, she would have eaten them faster, but she wanted to eat slower as she might have to wait for a while.

"Hey!" 

Just as Mei was about to finish the last of the chips, a shout came from afar. Mei saw a short man with a beard run towards them.

"Oh, Mark ke ke ke ke ke ke is here!" said Umuton.

"Hi. Sorry for being a little late," said Mark as he wiped droplets of sweat from his face.

"Oh... don't worry about it!" Mei smiled as she stuffed the last chip down her mouth. "You were pretty fast!"

"Fast! Fast as in-"

"Tom!" Mark interrupted Umuton. "It's not appropriate to make dirty jokes in a place like this."

"Oh?" The skeleton somehow looked amused. "Weren't you fine with those without her around, umu? I cannot stand for this, Markekeke! I yearn for gender equali-"

"He likes to make dumb jokes." said Mark.

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"Oh... haha..." Mei got slightly uncomfortable. She put the chip can into her inventory.

She decided to change the topic before it got more awkward.

"Mark, you look so different than in real life!"

Mark still had a similar face, but he looked much older. He had a long brown beard and was somewhat short, only around 1.5 metres tall (5 ft). He wore a metal helmet with a spike on each side and full plate armour. It was apparent that he had chosen 'dwarf' as his race.

"It's VR! Nothing wrong with that" grumbled Mark.

"I didn't say there was." smiled Mei.

"You don't look too different, except for being skinnier and the purple hair. Didn't you say you didn't care about getting fat?" teased Mark.

Mei pouted, earning a grin from Mark.

"It's different than real life!" she said after a while of being unsure of what to reply.

"Sure." Mark shrugged. "By the way, how did you get equipment this fancy so early? You're not telling me you went the pay to win route, are you?"

"What? No, I got an in-game loan," said Mei hastily.

"You can do that? I should have done that long ago, umu!" said Umuton in surprise.

"Where did you get the loan? I can get some awesome equipment early like that!" Mark seemed rather excited.

"The cashier at a clothing shop loaned it to me..." answered Mei awkwardly.

"You need to take us there later!" said Mark. "But for now, we should get going. We've got a lot to do today!"

Mark beckoned to them as he started walking forward. Mei stared at him oddly. Was it just her or did he seem a bit hurried today? Perhaps he had some chores later? But regardless of the reason, she followed with Umuton trailing behind closely.

"Where are we going?" asked Mei.

"We're going to the forest area here." Mark displayed his virtual map to her, something party members were able to do. "Over there, we can find special plants and animals as food ingredients!"

Mei was slightly dismayed that they were going to a forest after her previous experience, but the thought of delicious food made her a lot more enthusiastic.

"Lots of hot elves too!" Umuton chimed in.

"Oh," said Mei.

As they walked, Mark and Mei talked to each other about various things. But despite knowing he was Mark, her good friend in real life, she still found it somewhat odd to think of the dwarf as the same person. His voice sounded the same at the very least, which helped her associate the dwarf with Mark better.

~~~~~

A mouse-sized cockroach scurried around its terrarium excited as fingers lowered a piece of delectable steak before it. It hurried began ripping off tiny chunks and swallowing them.

Watching the little insect, the man who had lowered the treat in smiled.

A few knocks came from the door.

"Who is it?" he shouted.

"It's Mythia!" the voice that replied sounded slightly flustered. "I'm here to report something of interest!"

Mythia? Who the heck was that? Probably just some random member in his guild that he didn't pay attention to. He walked away from his terrarium and took a seat on one side of the dining table in the room.

"Come in," he said.

"Yes sir!" the voice answered. 

The door was opened gently as a woman with bluish hair entered the room. She stood nervously before him.

"You may sit." he gestured towards the chair on the opposite side.

"Yes sir!" she said as she moved the chair gently before sitting. She stared at his outfit carefully, not missing the words 'Atteus' engraved neatly on his silver nametag.

"Now, what is it?" Atteus asked.

"There are reports of strange people claiming to be from other worlds in the Newlands!" said Mythia.

"...That's it?" the man sounded disappointed.

"They also revive in a new body in a different location after dying, making them basically unkillable!" Mythia added quickly.

"What? It shouldn't be possible for a soul to get used to a new body so fast! This goes against the laws of... and the system's interference with souls... it shouldn't be possible..." Atteus mumbled to himself for a while before looking at Mythia once again.

"We need to head off right away! Inform them!" he shouted excitedly.

"I will inform the guild!" said Mythia as she stood up and pushed in the chair. She then rushed out and shut the door, but not before bowing to him.

"Let's go, Hundy," said Atteus as he took the terrarium off the top of the table.