Kirou was currently lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. It was currently five in the morning. Due to the gaming helmet putting his body into a state of rest while he played the game, his body felt quite refreshed. This, however, did nothing to alleviate the fatigue of his mind he felt from gaming the whole night so he was currently staring off into space.
After spending a few more minutes like this, Kirou eventually got up and made a simple breakfast. After eating his fill and washing up, he did a set of stretches before leaving his apartment. Kirou ran a few miles before returning to his apartment, washed off the morning sweat, and got ready for work. It was after seven when he finally left the apartment for work.
By the time Kirou got to work, it was already 8:30 and his shift started at 9. Kirou spent this time in a daze as well and it wasn't until his shift started that focus seemed to return to his eyes.
Kirou passed the day similar to how he did the ones before; patrolled the building at certain times to make sure everything was fine, secured the outside grounds, spoke to his superiors when they called for him, etc. By the time 5:30 pm rolled in Kirou was seen changing out of his uniform.
"What's been on your mind all day, Brother Wang? Have you run into any issues recently or something?" That voice came from behind Kirou. When he turned around to face the person, it was revealed to be Shang Yin, the person who gave Kirou the gaming helmet on the previous day.
"Even though you went around, as usual, it's almost as if you've been operating on autopilot. It seems like I'm not the only one to notice this either." Shang Yin said this as he pointed at a few guys in the office throwing worried glances at him. Seeing that so many people were able to pick up on his weird behavior caused Kirou to inwardly sigh as even he felt that he was acting weird all day.
"I'm fine. Just something I ran across last night has been on my mind. It seems like I wasn't able to put it to rest like I originally thought." That was Kirou's response as he gave the others a simple apology for his weird behavior during the day.
"Does it have anything to do with Immortal Era? You did just start playing it yesterday after all." When Shang Yin said this, a few of the guys in the office couldn't help joining the conversation.
"You guys are playing that game too huh? How is it for you guys so far?" asked one of the guys. According to Wang Xu's memory, this guy's name was Yun Jifeng. He was well built like a professional athlete but loves playing video games when he can.
"So far so good Brother Yun. And to answer your question Brother Shang, it's not the game itself that had my mind occupied but something personal." Kirou said this while turning to welcome the newcomers.
"Since it's like that then I won't pry. Instead, let's talk about the game itself. How far in are you guys at the moment? I'm a level 15 elf archer in the southern continent." Shang Yin said this while pounding his chest.
"Hmm. You aren't bad for a guy who's normally spending time socializing instead of gaming. I'm a level 17 rogue dwarf on the western continent," said another guy in the office who joined in on the conversation, Cho Jinxun. He was a bit shorter than the rest of the guys in the office.
"As you guys probably guessed, I'm a giant warrior. I'm level 19 and I'm currently in the northern continent," said Yun Jifeng. He had a proud look on his face as he said it. The other guys in the conversation could stop help but look at him in surprise.
"Who knew it was the brutish looking member of our squad would be at the highest level. I wonder what's his secret," said one of the other guys in the group. After hearing that, the other guys in the group couldn't help but start laughing while Yun Jifeng pretended to be angry.
Seeing the group interacting like this, Kirou couldn't stop himself from smiling. The reason for this was that it reminded him of an event in his previous life. He had met a few people like this during that time as well. The members of the group themselves saw his smile and concluded that he must have gotten over what had him in a daze all day. That or he finally is opening up to them, but they decided to hold out on that judgment.
"I just started the game yesterday so all of you are miles ahead of me. I'm just a level 5 halfling weapon master." After Kirou said this, all the laughter in the room died stopped instantly, as if death had passed through. This caused Kirou to raise an eyebrow at the abruptness of the situation.
"Brother Wang, you mind repeating what you just said? I'm not sure that I heard you clearly," was what Shang Yin asked Kirou. He looked quite bewildered by what Kirou had just said.
Not knowing why everyone was shocked, Kirou repeated his words, "I'm a level 5 halfling weapon master. What's up with you guys? It's like you guys are looking at a ghost or something.
Hearing his words, the rest of the guys had no idea whether they should laugh or cry. The reason for that was Kirou's words weren't wrong. They practically were being stared down by a monster, and that monster was him.
"You know what, I've got something to do so I'll leave first."
"Yea, my shift isn't over yet so I'll do another patrol before I get changed."
"I've got a call to make so I'll have to excuse myself as well."
Like that, the group of guys left as if they were running away. The only ones left were Kirou and Shang Yin and even he showed signs of wanting to flee as well.
"OK, spill it. Why did those guys run away as if they were scared of the plague?" queried Kirou as he stared at Shang Yin. Shang Yin really wanted to run but he got the feeling that even if he tried, he wouldn't make it out of the office.
Feeling like he had no choice, Shang Yin finally opened his mouth, "Brother...brother Wang, tell me honestly, was yesterday the first time you truly started playing the game?" Kirou nodded, wondering where this was going. "Well, brother Wang, allow me to point this out to you. It normally takes players three days to get to level 5."
Hearing his words caused Kirou to narrow his eyes slightly. "What do you mean it normally takes three days? I was able to do it in one night quite easily. If not for the fact that I logged off early this morning, I might have left at level 6."
Those words cause Shang Yin to jump in shock. "My brother, my senior brother, please tell me you are joking?" Kirou shook his head while facing Shang Yin. This caused Shang Yin to release a sigh before speaking up, "Brother Wang, it's like this, for the first five levels I had to fight monsters outside of the start village to receive any experience to level up. It took me three nights of grinding to accomplish this. It was only after level 5 that I was able to collect quests from the villagers to gain more experience that way. The game itself has been out for two weeks now and I've only just managed to get to level 16 last night. You see the problem now?"
"So due to me doing something that took you guys three days in just one night got you guys so scared as if you've seen a ghost? That's preposterous." Kirou said this while looking at Shang Yin with some doubt.
"Brother Wang, it's not the fact that you were able to get to level 5 in just one night that caused this reaction. It's due to the fact that you were able to accept and do quests for the villagers from level one. What's even more shocking than that was that you did this as a halfling weapon master." Shang Yin said this in one breath with a wry smile on his face.
"What's me being a halfling weapon master got to do with it?" asked Kirou in confusion.
"According to the game's website, Half-lings on a whole need 30% more experience to level up than all other races. This is due to them having more traits than the others and helps to balance them out. On top of that, weapon masters have no skill tree so whatever skill you used to hunt the monsters had to be self-developed. And even further than that is the fact that to get as much experience as you did, you had to complete each quest with a grade above B rank. Now you tell me, Brother Wang, knowing all this, wouldn't you think you were facing a ghost if you were told this by someone else?"
It was only now that Kirou understood why those guys ran away. They truly were facing a ghost alright, and that ghost was him. He did indeed find it weird that he found so many players still in the beginner village when he started the game but he just chalked it up to them holding back in order to complete quests with a higher grade. He never realized it was just that hard to level up. For players like Shang Yin who are actually good at the game, it took them three days to get to the level where they could do quests freely. For normal players, that must have taken them at least a week if not longer and he just pulled off what took them so long in less than ten hours of gaming. That truly is shocking.
"So that means the guys that ran away..." started Kirou.
Shang Yin had a wry smile on his face as he finished the statement, "... ran home in order to game. They don't wanna be caught by the guy who started two weeks late in less than a week." After Shang Yin said that he couldn't help the sigh that escaped his mouth.
Going over the series of events that happened from he got over his daze until now caused Kirou to start laughing. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt. Seeing him laugh, Shang Yin was unsure what he should make of it. After a few minutes of laughter did Kirou finally calm down from his high.
"That was a good laugh. You guys are a riot." Kirou said this while calming down his breathing.
"Well, what do you expect. Us gamers are naturally competitive. We take everyone as an opponent and so far you're a serious enemy," replied Shang Yin while shrugging his shoulders.
"I can see that. What I find funny is that you guys are competing with a guy who'll be specializing in lifestyle classes." Kirou said this with some mirth.
The words caused Shang Yin to momentarily freeze after he heard them. He repeated the scene a few times in his head before turning to face Kirou and ask, "Brother Wang, you mind repeating that for me? I could have sworn I didn't hear you correctly a few seconds ago."
"You heard me right the first time. I won't be competing with you guys for levels or dungeon records or anything like that. I plan to play this game in a relaxing manner." Kirou said this as he started walking out of the office.
Shang Yin was momentarily shocked before he gave chase after Kirou. When he caught up he couldn't help speaking, "But that seems like a waste. The fact that you could level up so fast means that you could probably catch up to the front runners nearing the second continent in a few days. Why spend your time advancing as a lifestyle player?"
"Simple, I play this game to relax, not to compete. If I couldn't take advantage of those lifestyle classes then I probably wouldn't have taken the gaming gear from you yesterday," Kirou explained this patiently to Shang Yin.
"If you ask me, that seems like a waste of talent."
"That it is but not everyone plays the game for the same reason and not everyone enjoys the game the same way. You do it your way and I do it mine."
"Okay, ya weirdo. I've got to head back now to grind some levels myself. I get the weird feeling that a certain someone who claims he's a lifestyle player will be leveling up like crazy soon. I don't want to be caught up just yet," said Shang Yin. They were both going in the same direction but Shang Yin wanted to run ahead.
"Sure, go for it. Just a bit of advice, try talking to the NPCs. You never know what you might find out from them." Kirou said this as he waved at Shang Yin.
"Thanks for the advice." After saying that, Shang Yin ran away as if he wanted nothing more than to appear at his house.
Seeing his fleeing figure, Kirou couldn't help shaking his head. Today was quite an eye-opener for him.
'I guess I should probably take it slow over the next few days. I wonder if I can make a hideout in the game itself?' Kirou was intrigued in testing out that thought but he decided to put it off for now.