When he returned, Jacob let Aurora and Yuki out. The two little ones were excited as they looked around curiously.
"Don't destroy anything, and don't make too much noise or else I'll have to send you back to the Contract Space," Jacob warned.
With the contract between them, Yuki and Aurora's understanding increased. Even without knowing what he was saying, they understood the essence of what he said.
"I'm going to shower and rest. If you want, I can let you go back to the Contract Space before I go to sleep," Jacob told them.
Aurora and Yuki made a whistling sound as they jumped. Jacob took that as a sign they were fine with being out here and then turned and went to get a clean change of clothes.
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After returning from the bathroom right after taking a shower, Jacob turned on his laptop and took out his smartphone. There were 6 unread messages from Abel. Opening WhatsApp, Jacob began to read:
[Going on a mission?] 17:03
[Hi? Is everything OK? Too busy or no signal?] 17:05
[It's me again. I'm starting to worry, when you see my messages, let me know] 5:59 pm
[Jacob, I got it... Well, we'll talk in person, btw, when can we see each other?] 6:11 pm
[Mom and Dad are worried about you. .. I know things got weird, but now that everything has become such a mess, why don't you come home?] 20:31
[Jacob, seriously, I'm worried to death, answer me!] 21:02
Jacob sighed as he read. Thinking a bit about what to do, he sent an audio message.
[Hi, Abel, I'm fine. I just happened to be on a mission in an area that had no signal. I just came back home... As for going back home... Well, I want to, but not now, but I promise to come back before the new year and apologize to mom and dad.] 21:31
Jacob placed the smartphone on the table and entered the password on the laptop that had just finished turning on. When the smartphone vibrated again, Jacob stopped typing on the laptop's keyboard and saw that it was a message from Abel.
'That was fast.'
[Ahh, yes, yes! I'm super happy you're coming back!] 21:32
After 45 seconds, a 42-second audio message arrived.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
[Jacob, things are very dangerous. I saw in the news that people have died trying to complete missions alone. Even a group of people who ventured into the forest all died. Be careful, and don't do anything rash, okay? Come back soon. Mom and dad miss you so much, and... I miss you too. I love you, mwah!] 21:33
"Haha ha." Listening to the audio made Jacob laugh.
After thinking for a moment, he replied with another audio message. [I'll be careful. You need to be as well. I know how strong you are, but don't let it go to your head, promise?] 21:33
A short audio arrived soon after.
[Tsk, boring… I know. I'm not careless, okay? Dad and Mom... They've been chattering in my ears all day about the same thing~] 21:34
[Haha, I had forgotten, you're doing things with our parents. Okay, I'm going to get some sleep now. We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?] 21:34
[Yes, good night~] 21:34
[Good night, Abel. By the way, if possible, come visit me tomorrow. My current address is: XXXXXX] 21:34
'Not viewed… She must have muted her smartphone...'
Turning off the smartphone's screen, he placed it on the table again and went back to typing on his laptop. Soon he had found what he sought.
[Kidnapped children have been found with limb parts missing, but there is hope!]
Then there was a video of a person completing a group mission and leveling up. Jacob clicked on it and the video page opened. This person was in a wheelchair, and when leveling up, a leg and an arm magically started digitizing. The comments on the video surpassed 1 million. There were all kinds of comments, many negatively saying it was fake, while most believed it, as the video was 4K resolution and didn't look edited.
Jacob wasn't worried about it, as he knew it was real. This could be said as one of the greatest advantages to the new things in this world, especially for those who suffer from a disability. It was literally possible to cure everything, even diseases that were said to be incurable.
For some who had lost hope in life, this was good news, however, not everyone would be able to do a mission alone and most usually needed help from a group to do so. Obviously, there were many opportunists offering themselves for X amount of money...
'So they already found out about it...'
It took longer for them to find out about it before, at least until it went public. 'Well, I was hoping it wouldn't happen the same way it had happened in my previous life.'
Perhaps his quick achievements made people believe more in what was happening and go in groups to complete, even theorizing that it was possible to restore limbs if you could level up. Whatever it was, things were happening differently than he remembered.
Of course, he didn't mind that at all, nor did he want there to be no changes. If he wished for anything to have been different than it turned out this time, it would have been just him simply staying silent and not making any significant achievements, just like the First Player from his past life.
Jacob stretched with his hands in the air, lacing his fingers together and cracking his knuckles. Closing the laptop, picking up the smartphone, seeing that Abel still didn't answer and didn't even see his message, Jacob went towards his room.
Lying on the bed, Jacob opened the Labyrinth system and saw the rankings. In the rankings, there was only him. 'Apparently, no one else has yet won a Labyrinth Key as a reward...'
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Someone knocked on his door very early the next morning. Jacob woke up in a bad mood, but he was almost always a little grumpy when he was woken up.
“Just a minute!” Jacob screamed and went into the bathroom to wash his face.
Looking at the outfit he was wearing, consisting of a white T-shirt and football shorts, Jacob didn't think it was necessary to change clothes and headed for the door.
"Who is it?"
Opening the door, a slender figure threw herself into his arms. At the same time, Jacob caught a whiff of familiar feminine perfume.
Edited by: Azurtha