[Servers will close in one hour. Please find a safe place to log out.] Leon gave a small sigh as he read the message. Already time? He felt a little dejected it was already time, so he focused back on his books.

He was currently in the Wizard’s Tower, where he was reading up the basic material for Summoners. It included an overview of some of the common paths.

Alvin was right. There are tons of paths. Leon noted with amazement as he read. He would have to choose a path as he progressed.

There were tons of paths for summoners, some of which Leon expected, like Beastmaster or Elemental Summoner. Others Leon hadn’t expected, like Necromancer and even Arcane Puppeteer.

Leon closed his eyes and reviewed the top five most popular summoning paths.

First was Elemental Summoner. The person would summon forth the spirits of the four elements and fight using their power. It sounded simple, but the spirits had complete control over the elements, making them incredibly powerful. However, the spirits were often fickle.

To my surprise, Necromancy was second. Morals were questionable in Souls Online and as a result, darker paths flourished. Necromancy was the act of summoning the dead either as skeletons or even their fully intact body having all their power.

Third; Beast Whisperers. Leon recalled, and it was simple: you would contract wild or specifically bred beasts and summon them when needed. You could contract everything from a simple wolf to a phoenix.

Fourth was an even bigger surprise when I first read it; Demon Binder. Demon Binders would trap or bind a demon to their whims, making it basically a slave to them. Although contracts were the demons’ bread and butter, some people used it against them.

Last but not least, were the opposite of Demon Binder; Celestial Caller. As the opposite of Demon Binders, they would call and ask angels and other divine beings for their help. Of course, this did not come cheap.

There were many nuanced paths, like Plant Caller, Golem Maker, Dream Weaver, and so forth. But Leon could only find a few mentions and nothing intricate about them.

What’s the best path for me? Leon tried to envision his future and eliminated certain paths he didn’t conform to. Necromancy was the first to go. Leon had no interest in messing with the dead, purely for a moral reason.

Continuing on, Leon quickly discarded the idea of Demon Binder and Celestial Caller. He had no interest in owning demons as slaves, even if the stereotype of demons being awful were true.

Slavery was against his morals. And relying on something as whimsical as the mood of the divine beings didn’t sit right with Leon.

So it’s between Beast Whisperer and Elemental Summoner or another lesser-known path. Leon tried to come up with a path that attracted him but failed to think of any. I guess it’s for the future to decide. People usually decide on a path much later.

Leon noticed the timer only had a few minutes remaining and thus he relaxed in a nearby chair. The chairs of the Wizard’s Tower had magical circles specially crafted in them, making them extra comfy. I’m going to miss these chairs. Leon thought as the timer ran out.

[Time is up, hope you had fun playing today! Closing servers…Logging out…Prepare to wake up in your actual body.] Leon felt his consciousness being pulled from his body as he floated in a dark space, the same dark space he was in when he started.

[Servers Closed. Time until servers open: 13:59:50] The timer was slowly ticking down. After doing some quick math, Leon deduced it was now 8 am. He found a button that deactivated the helmet and soon his eyes opened to his actual body.

Leon felt oddly refreshed, even though he’d been gaming the entire time. I suppose those naps were necessary after all. He had been a little sceptical before, but allowing the brain to rest was necessary.

His body felt a little off because of his avatar being healthier, and the lack of mana he had got used to.

After a few seconds, the discomfort was gone, and he headed to the living room. “Good morning, sis! The game is awesome!” Leon’s excitement was immediate.

Rose laughed, “I’m glad you like it, so what did you all do in there?” She was interested in Leon’s day.

“Well, first off I wandered the slums and found a quest.” Leon explained about Moe’s and Jack’s task for the rabbits.

Rose felt surprised when she heard about the existence of such a quest. Then again, who looks like a slum kid when buying this game? She quickly knew the reason the quest went undiscovered.

“After that, I went to the Wizard’s Tower and learned magic!” Leon nearly went starry-eyed as he recalled the feeling of magic.

“No surprises there. I figured you for the spellcaster type.”

“Well, duh, do you see me wielding a giant sword?”

“Anyway, I got to choose a class soul and felt very attracted to the summoner class.” Leon got back on track.

“Summoner? That’s…I see.” Rose was hesitant to call Leon out. It didn’t seem like he knew why the Summoner class attracted him so much.

Summoners in her past life had another name, ‘Loners’. People who would substitute their summons for players and try to become a one-man army type of player.

Of course, 99% failed and had to switch classes. She knew Leon didn’t like crowds or strangers and was likely to try this route.

Leon was a little confused about her comment, but didn’t dwell on it. “So after a small nap in the inn, I went to the forest.” Leon continued to tell the story, including his Elite wolf fight.

“But then, right as I had finished the fight, someone attacked me.” Leon said with a downtrodden voice.

Rose turned serious hearing Leon's tone. “Did you get their name?”

Leon nodded, “Someone called MadSmile.” He said with mixed emotions. Rose frowned as she recognised the name.

He had been an infamous player in her past, always picking on those he found to be weak. He was nothing but a giant bully.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Until one day he messed with the wrong person. He attacked and killed a cousin of one of the largest and most powerful guild leaders.

He begged to be forgiven, but the guild was out for blood. He got killed all the way to level 0 and had to change his name and face to end all the pain. After that, he disappeared, and no one heard from him again.

“So what happened?” Rose asked with a concerned tone. Leon took a deep breath.

“I ran away. He had got the loot, but I lived.” Leon’s emotions riled up again, thinking back to the events. “I-I wanted revenge. I spent two hours preparing, and lured him out and then…I killed him.”

Rose was silent as Leon described the events. It was clear they had an incredible impact on him.

“Am…Am I a bad person, sis? In my anger, I spent hours coldly and methodically planning everything and even finishing it.” Leon’s hands trembled as he could feel the meltdown coming.

It was Leon’s biggest concern. His initial meltdown started as he punched that tree. He thought he had cooled off after that, but it only really ended when he killed MadSmile.

Why was he that hellbent on taking revenge? Did this point to underlying mental problems other than autism?

Rose said nothing and stood up to sit next to Leon. She gave him a one-armed hug and whispered. “You’re not a bad person. I’m actually proud of you. You stood up for yourself against a big bully.”

Although she said that she knew it would be far from over, MadSmile was only stopped because a massive guild forced him. Leon wasn’t a massive guild, he was just one kid. MadSmile, if you dare to hurt Leon, I will end you myself. She mentally declared.

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Meanwhile, a man in his early twenties with brown short hair just woke up on his bed and he was in a bad mood, “Dammed kid, I swear I will find you and kill you over and over.” He murderously swore. This was MadSmile, known in his real life as Jack Farton.

Yes, that was his actual last name. He despised it, which led to him being bullied a ton as a kid. Kids called him ‘Jack Fart-a-ton’ and ‘Jack’s Farts’. There were more, but those were the primary names.

Whispers echoed in his head to do something about the bullying, and soon enough, he gave in to the whispers. Jack fought back and did other things as well. He bullied others for the fun of it.

He noticed the amount of power and control one could leverage in such a position. He needed such control and power. Jack gained the respect of his school and classmates and nobody dared to make fun of him again.

When he left school, he found that he still enjoyed tormenting those weaker than him. However, as an adult, it would be bad to be on public display. So it turned into a guilty pleasure, something he did in secret to relieve his stress.

Souls Online was the perfect place for Jack. Jack changed his name and appearance enough to avoid recognition and engaged in stealing from and bullying weak people. He had thought Leon was nothing but a meek child, one of his favourite types to torment.

“Even that dammed gang turned its back on me due to him. How was I supposed to know they had rules for kids?” Jack complained as recalled being chased out of the slums after not finding Leon in the forest.

“Better prepare yourself, Tempest. I won’t stop until you’re under my boot.”

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Back at Leon’s place, he had calmed down significantly because of Rose’s support. “Thanks sis.” He said as he returned the hug.

He let go quickly after and Rose got the hint as she also released him and asked. “What happened next?”

“I was exhausted and wanted to sleep at the inn again, but then I met that woman again.” Leon mentioned the earlier meeting with Luna and that she had got the rabbit’s soul.

“I attempted to appear tough to avoid being targeted again, but she easily saw through my facade. She basically forced me outside as we watched the moon.” Leon explained his talk with Luna and how she offered to be his friend.

“Wow, already on a first date? Little Leon’s all grown up.” Rose sniffed in mock sadness.

A tinge of embarrassment and anger flared up in him as he fired back, “So when are you and Daniel going on a first date? Can’t have me beating you, can you?” Leon and Rose bantered for a bit.

“After my nap, Luna called me and spotted a Super Elite.” Leon continued with the story of the fight with the Super Elite and Luna’s close combat skills.

That’s odd. I don’t remember a player named Luna. You’d think with a soul in the tutorial and skills to kill a Super Elite she’d soar. Rose tried to recall Luna.

But as Leon continued about the sensitivity setting and some lack of gaming skills, it was clear to Rose. A hidden talent that didn’t have the support to grow.

She mentally shook her head. How many had the same fate in her past life? Too many to count. Even she herself fell under that umbrella for a while.

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In another place, a woman with long black hair woke up on her bed. She let out a small breath of wonder. “What a game. I wasn’t wrong in buying it.” She said this was Luna known in real life as Kate Kingsleigh.

Kate was the heir of her father’s martial arts dojo and she didn’t mind it, as she loved martial arts and fully embraced it. Her family ran the dojo for generations. “Tempest was right. That dojo in the village was the answer.”

She had got a Fighter class soul as she passed the tests of the dojo master. She found his skills impressive. Everyone could smash rocks with enough power, but it took skill and control to break a rock exactly how you wanted to.

Kate remembered her blunders in the game with the sensitivity and general lack of thinking outside the box. I can finally see what Dad and the others were talking about.

Her father advised her to be less rigid, and others echoed him. She assumed they meant she wasn’t flexible enough.

She thought about Leon as she muttered, “Autism, huh? I probably should learn a few things about it. I don’t want to lose him as a friend.” Leon was a kind person, and she didn’t want to insult him unintentionally.

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Leon was unaware that he had accidentally inspired Luna to learn about autism and if he knew, he would’ve been a little honoured. He continued where he left off with Rose.

“After that fight, I got to level 10 and finished studying various paths of a Summoner.” Leon quickly explained the paths, although he was fairly certain she already knew them. Rose knew them, but still listened.

“So what path are you going for?” Rose asked. She had a guess, but wanted Leon to explore it for himself.

“I don’t know. I can’t decide between Beast Whisperer and Elemental Summoner,” Leon answered, making Rose nod, exactly as she thought.

“You’ll find it out in the future.” Rose didn’t give any advice. A path was synonymous with oneself, and if given outside help, it could bottleneck the path completely.

He just realised she hadn’t told him about her side yet, although he knew why he was still going to tease her about it. “Oh right! A player called ‘Titania’ made it to the mainland first. What about you, sis?” He asked ‘innocently.’

Rose stiffed a little at the sudden question, “W-Well I’m also on the mainland, who knows maybe I’ll see her,” She didn’t like to lie to Leon and told a piece of truth.

Leon smiled mischievously. “Oh, so they’re a woman? And you’re also on the mainland? Pure coincidence, probably.”

Rose broke out in a cold sweat, “Y-Yeah must be…” She did not know why she didn’t just tell him already. It was just a name and Leon could keep a secret.

Yet before she had the chance, Leon got up, “Whoa, look at the time! I can’t keep Mr Palmer waiting!” And quickly left, as he couldn’t contain his laughter anymore.

In a flash, Rose found herself alone and quickly realised the truth. “That little…He figured it out already.” She knew the cat was out of the bag on that one and that Leon was just messing with her.

“Hmph! I’ll show him when he gets back!” She declared as she cleaned the dishes. However, one couldn’t deny the smile she had on her face.

She couldn’t help but think back to Leon’s enthusiasm. When was the last time I had that much fun playing Souls Online? Rose came to a shocking resolution that she never had that much fun.

Even after I killed that Bronze Bear I felt nothing, no, I felt even further pressure. Despite Rose’s experience playing the game for ten years, the Bear was a hard fight. It required an hour of tirelessly fighting and cheap strategies until it dropped dead.

Did she have fun in her first life? No.

Slave work was no fun and after she and Leon found the Half-Legendary item, things changed little. Their situation got much better, but for her, it was all work. I even stabbed Leon in the back. Rose bitterly recalled some events.

Not that she literally stabbed Leon in the back. They discussed who the item should use. Leon had trusted her fully, and she soared, but in return, she got too busy. Too busy with gaining power, and because of that, she shoved Leon to the side.

I can’t believe I was ever that stupid. Rose still beat herself up for those events. Especially as she now could see how different it could’ve been.

After the events with their father, she tried desperately to have some connection with Leon again. But it was futile, as he had mentally shut down completely.

Things will be different now. I’ll make a guild, but I’ll always have time for Leon. She declared mentally with determination in her eyes, things were going to be better this time. She wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.