Morning.
The accursed time where most of everyone is lethargic. Where laziness is brought out and shown in its utmost primitive manner. This is the morning of Saturday which means most people are asleep as it is a free day where they can rest their body and mind from their respective duties.
During that kind of time, Higashi Murasaki was jogging all alone through the road. He does this for five kilometers every single morning, ever since he was a child straight up till now with days where he misses doing so being exceptions rather than the norm. Even though he has stopped learning martial arts it is no excuse to laze off and let his body rot.
With that said, Murasaki continued his jogging without a care in the world. The morning sun started spreading its heat to this part of the earth, giving him a shower of warmth as he moved around the streets.
There was no interruption as he completed his five kilometers of jogging, returning to his humble abode. The house was a simple two floor, but still far too large for the two people living within.
"Oh, you came back already."
And there was his dearest sister. She was wearing revealing tank-top and shorts, a bath towel hanging around her neck. Her matured and supple body revealed… Nope. Bad thought, shoo shoo.
"Yeah, it was quicker than expected."
Done with greeting her he moved and left for the bathroom to take a quick shower to wash of all the sweat that has accumulated. All that was left is to eat and his morning ritual would be complete.
As for the foods, he had since bought some take-outs mid-way during his jog. It was normal for him to buy two portions of food every morning for breakfast, one for him and the other for his sister.
""Let's eat!""
Their family was a non-religious one so there was no praying before meals or any such fancies. They quickly ate with manners, only the occasional sound of their utensils filling the silence as they ate.
The two never eats with the TV on these days, nor do they like talking while eating their meals so breakfast lunch and dinner were always quiet business. Only after finishing their respective meals did they start conversing with one another.
"So, how did it go with the Blue Demon? Did you raise her Affection Point to the max already?"
Blue Demon… Murasaki quickly realized she was talking about Miss Aoi, the blue-haired woman he met at the dojo of Rockingham. He wonders why Erika would know about Miss Aoi considering they never met.
He can be assured of that as he and his sister only played for some hours till now and he was nearby Miss Aoi the whole time he played. It could be that she came and visited the dojo when he was not logged into the game though. That would make sense as well.
"You know Miss Aoi?"
"Aoi? Oh right, I think that was her name. So how did it go with her?"
So she knows her nickname but not her real name. Then Erika most likely knows Aoi from rumors alone rather than anything solid. Maybe Miss Aoi was more famous than he thought among the player base then.
"I fought with her properly once. I won."
She raised her eyebrows.
"Why would you fight against her?"
He tilted his head.
"Why wouldn't I spar against her?'
Erika facepalmed in response. Even now she is still unused dealing with his kind of unusualness.
"Right, almost forgot you were a sparring maniac. My question is, did you think you left an impact on her?"
"…Most likely, though no assurance there since I am not exactly privy to her thoughts."
"Then that should be good enough. According to my guess, she should give you a quest when her favorability is at max. Until then you are stuck training at the dojo with her unless you intend to receive a class that fights with weapons instead of fists."
She glared at him.
"Don't get too close to an NPC though… Or else."
He gulped at the threat. It was rare for her to do something like this so it was truly intimidating when she actually does it. He has to wonder why he shouldn't get too close with an NPC though. Maybe she was concerned with his mental health?
Maybe it comes as part of the package with being a doctor since that is her dream and all.
"Well, hurry up and play the game already. I know you are itching for some physical activities already, you maniac."
He did not bother denying her words. There was no use in doing so when her words were true, though it did strike hard at his conscience. He had yet to realize how odd his intent was until she pointed it out for him.
He wanted to play.
He truly wanted to play.
Into that world where his leg is fine.
Well, now there is only one course of action that he can do.
"See you later." He stood up from his seat.
"Sure thing."
Murasaki left the table without any more words, leaving Erika alone with the dishes.
'He really loves martial arts doesn't he?'
She thought with a smile.
--Ignite Your Soul—
[Welcome back to Harmony!]
He was back within the game world again after a few hours of separation. Even then it was hard for him to sleep and ignore the allure of playing the game instead of sleeping. He had only played for eighteen in-game hours but he was entirely addicted to Harmony already.
And he has no problem with that.
Looking around he was at the Rockingham citadel, the spawn point for all players within the Rockingham areas. He walked away, with the destinations till being the dojo. However, there was an interruption barely after he took a few steps.
"Miss Aoi?"
Right, there was the blue-haired beauty sleeping while leaning on the walls of this citadel. She was sleeping soundly, her soft breath making the tiniest of sound in a rhythmical manner He decided to approach her.
There was a Player who saw that and made an evil smirk with his mouth. He has noted the strange woman and tried to approach her, but was suddenly attacked by said women while she was still asleep!
After seeing that many other players tried to approach her and try to wake her up as well thinking it must trigger some kind of quest, but none of them succeeded as they would be attacked ferociously when approaching her.
As for screaming at her, it did not work at all. She must have slept quite soundly to not hear the screaming, which only deepens the player's suspicion of this being some kind of bizarre quest.
'Oh, here comes another challenger.'
Many players in the known expectantly watched in hope of seeing the man getting beaten. These players were all people who had tried the same and failed miserably. Thus they decided to hang out and see others embarrass themselves to remove their own feeling of shame from failing the quest in public.
"Miss Aoi, are you okay?"
'Heh, words alone won't do anything.'
Thought everyone in the surroundings. However unexpectedly, the woman responded to his words!
"Nn?"
She rubbed her eyes, letting out a small yawn with her mouth covered by her hand.
How? How could this happen!
The other players could not believe their eyes. Nobody else has succeeded in waking her up no matter what they said. They screamed to hell and back till their ears were red and yet she did not wake up, and now he managed to wake her up with those soft whispers?
Shit, was it because he called her by the name Aoi? The other players genuflected in response to his success.
"Ah, you! YOU!"
After seeing Purple from the East Miss Aoi suddenly has an expression of rage on her face. The other players rejoiced. Haha! Looks like he will still get beaten up like the rest of them after waking her up anyway! Right, there was no way clearing a quest they all failed could be done so easily.
However, what she did next made them all genuflect even harder.
"You idiot! Do you know how worried I was?"
She ran into his chest and hugged her arms around his waist tightly.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
She pushed her head into his chest. She has been waiting in front of the citadel all this time after he died out of famishment up till now. He had stopped paying somewhere past twelve in the night and it was currently seven in the morning. That equates to twenty-eight in-game hours! This woman had unexpectedly waited for him at the citadel for more than an entire day!
"Do you know how worried I was? It was the first time I saw somebody dying in front of me!"
Right. The reason she has done so was that she is worried about him! He was the first real friend she has a favorable opinion of excluding the idiotic Noccult, and then he suddenly died in front of her eyes! You could imagine how shocked she was when that happened.
NPC does not know how the Adventurers' system works. After seeing that Purple from the East did not revive even after quite some time, Aoi got flustered and feared that he might have truly died!
"Miss Aoi, whatever might be the problem?"
However, Purple from the East has no idea of all those facts. All he knew is the fact he was suddenly hugged by the beautiful Aoi and got called an idiot by her. Therefore he cannot help but be confused, especially by the sudden affectionate hug.
"You idiot!" Was her articulate response.
Left without help Purple from the East tried to solve the puzzle himself without the help of others. She is hugging him affectionately while calling him an idiot, so her actions should be fueled by worry.
Then another piece of hint was her words about how worried she was because it was the first time she has witnessed death. Thinking back that renders the previous deduction meaningless, considering how she outright said so herself. Nice going there, Sherlock.
Nevertheless, death. That was the key point within that line. She was worried about him because he had died. Thinking logically that should only be natural, considering people usually don't have multiple lives. However does Miss Aoi not already know that he is an adventurer, and thus is immortal within this world?
"Please do not worry, Miss Aoi. I am an adventurer, so death within this world does not bother me."
"You think I don't know that you idiot!" She sobbed. "But you just took so long reviving that I just… Hic."
Ah, she was crying. This is not good. Bad. Super bad. Extreme bad. Bad to the second power. Wait that doesn't exist? Man is he bad at math.
Purple from the East was left helpless against the woes of the Blue Demon. It was awkward not returning her hug so he slowly patted her head instead. He was not so shallow a man to take advantage of her erratic state so that was the most he could do to comfort her while she was still panicking inside.
"Hic… Idiot… Hic…"
That lasted on for another minute or so, though it felt like an eternity and a half to him. She raised her head from his chest, facing him eye-to-eye and smiled. It was such a cherishable view that a tint of red inadvertently rose to his cheeks.
"I'm glad you are safe."
"Glad to be safe as well."
He nodded. She laughed at his response. Thinking back it was a rather stupid line, so he merely scratched his cheeks while hearing her melodious laughter. Seeing the beautiful Miss Aoi having fun is a personal enjoyment of its own to him.
"So, is the dojo still open?"
However, Murasaki is a martial arts maniac to the very bone. He threw the interesting mood between the two away like yesterday's garbage and moved on for his martial training. Aoi frowned for a second before nodding.
"Yes. Does that mean you still intend to train at our dojo?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
She smiled once more. She noticed she has been doing that a lot more often recently, not that she minded it very much. It was never a bad thing to smile unless said smile was used to cover up for hidden grief and sadness.
In the past, it was rare for her to make an honest smile. She was constantly alone without and friends with the only exception of Noccult, who she could not get close to in fear of him misunderstanding her intentions. But now she has a true friend by the name of Purple from the East.
'You are my only friend.'
She looked towards the impassive man. He was tilting his head while looking at the surrounding players, who were genuflecting so hard their jaws were open wide. He does not understand what is happening but decided to take a screenshot of the sight before him anyway.
"Well then, should we head for the dojo?"
She asked. She has been waiting for him there for a whole twenty-eight hours. At this point, she was hungry and tired beyond belief. That much worry for someone she just met is a tremendous amount that he cannot help but wonder whether she has a screw loose in her brain. Of course, he did not make that opinion known.
"Sure thing."
The obedient dog. That was what his sister called him when she was pissed with him. He is the type to follow orders faithfully without much thought or ingenuity like a loyal dog. Yet no matter how loyal a dog is it still is a dog. So she was basically calling him stupid while also complimenting his loyalty towards those he held dear.
Considering he knew he was an idiot that does not seems like much of an insult. So whenever she called him so he would simply make a thin smile while bearing her annoyance. His sister was the type to accumulate stress so depleting those stresses on him is a good thing in his opinion.
The two walked towards the dojo in quietness. There was no conversation made during the whole journey. He does not know about Miss Aoi but he personally appreciates silences so the walk was not awkward for him though no conversation took place.
On the other hand, Aoi was embarrassed beyond belief for her emotional outbursts and for suddenly hugging him as well. She intends to bring it up yet has no idea of where she could start. It would do her no good to bring it up and embarrass herself from the act.
'Maybe that is why he did not bring it up. So it would not be awkward for me.'
If so then she was thankful for his consideration. She did not know what possessed her to do something so bold out nowhere. It was the first time she hugged a man that was not connected to her by blood.
She was also thankful to him for not doing anything indecent towards her while she was in her frenzied state as well. Indeed he did pat her head but then again she has put him in an awkward position by suddenly hugging him so she considers it to be no fault of his.
Before either of them realized it they have reached the safe haven that is the dojo. In the first place, the dojo was merely a few minutes of walk away from the spawning point that is the citadel.
"We've arrived."
The two entered the dojo with those quiet words. Purple from the East started the most basic of exercise. The realism in Harmony was no joke. If he tried to train for hours without exercising first then he will undoubtedly gain cramps sooner rather than later. With that in mind, he started stretching his limbs.
However, during those quaint moments, a small trembling sound echoed. Purple from the East looked towards Aoi who has a blush on her face.
Right, the sound just now was made from her stomach rumbling. Thinking back she has only eaten once during her twenty-eight hours of waiting for Purple from the East due to fear of missing him while she was eating. One could see how worried she was from that act alone.
"Umm, I intend to take some meals. Would you like some as well? Don't worry I will not ask you for money." She added after seeing his helpless expression.
"…Then, thank you for your kindness."
In all honesty, he does not need any food right now considering his satiety level is full from respawning, but it would be rude to deny her offer when she was being so considerate towards him. Therefore he decided to simply accept her kindness.
"Then let's go to the back."
She gestured for him to follow her. He was confused but followed her order anyway. As expected of the obedient dog. The two went their merry ways to the back of the dojo and arrived at a relatively small house. Thinking back it would have been awkward to eat at the dojo so that should be why she invited him here.
"I'll go get the foods, so you should just take a seat for now."
She said before moving towards the back of the house. He did not think twice before following her orders and taking a seat at the dining table. He was honestly quite nervous considering he was eating along with a woman in their house, especially when it was with a stranger she barely met one day ago.
However, he did not let it show on his face, as it must have been more awkward for her who was the one to invite him here. Burdening her with his worries would be atrocious when she was so kind towards him.
Soon enough Miss Aoi returned with two plates of food. He smiled while looking at the small thin paste above the foods. Extra nutrients for an effective body-building process, it has been a long time since he ate those.
"Ah, maybe I shouldn't have put them on the foods?"
"No, I am thankful for them."
After serving the dishes, the two ate their respective plates in pure silence. It was getting rather ridiculous in his opinion, but his habit denies talking while eating sustenance. Therefore it was left for Miss Aoi to pick up the silence.
"I have seen that your skills are sharp. Might you be a trained individual in your world as well?"
Therefore she decided to open a conversation by choosing to talk about martial arts, a topic she was familiar with and assumedly the same for him.
On another note, NPCs from Harmony are aware of the fact that adventurers came from another world, all because players told them so. In the words of the developers 'NPCs in Harmony are adaptable'. Since the players told them the truth it became widely known among the NPCs that Adventurers are from another world.
Returning back to the topic at hand though, Purple from the East swallowed his food before answering the query.
"I was a martial artist in the past." He said. "However that career path ended when my dominant leg was permanently injured."
The mood between the two soured with those words. Both of them felt guilty, Aoi for bringing the topic up and Purple from the East for dragging the mood through the mud. Both of them opened their mouth at the same time.
""I'm sorry.""
The two blinked in puzzlement as they looked towards one another.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"For spoiling the mood. And you?"
"For bringing up bad memories."
The two looked towards one another with an expression of incredulity, before opening their mouth again at the same time.
""Why would you—""
Both stopped. Purple from the East shook his head with a laugh at the constant sync between the two. It was rare for people to constantly say the same words at the exact same instance, twice in a row nonetheless. It was a rare occasion worth laughing at. Aoi was of the same opinion as well, as she started laughing with a hand in front of her mouth.
"Well, that was interesting," Purple said. "Please do not worry about my injury. It has disappeared once I moved into this world. Within this place, I can once more become a martial artist, which is a dream comes true for me."
"Oh, so wounds disappear when you teleport into this world?"
"Well, to be exact my original body is still wounded. The body used within this world is merely a replica without the debilitation."
"Ho~~"
After the joyful mood was restored the two continued to eat in silence. A few minutes passed as they finished the dish served in front of them. It was a pleasant lunch in his opinion. It was a bit discomforting to eat those extra nutrients again after a long time without them but it was not unbearable.
Besides, they came with an added perk
[You have eaten Aoi's Lovely Homemade Nutrient-filled Cooking]
[Physical strenuous activities will yield 50% increased effectiveness for the next 10 hours]
This buff will let his training be much more effective compared to previously. To the training-loving Purple from the East, this was akin to adding wings to a tiger. This only means more motivation to train for him. Ten hours in Harmony equals two-point-five hours in the real world, so spending that much time training within the game was more than acceptable.
Done with their meals Aoi put carried the dishes into the back again, presumably where the kitchen lies. After finishing up she and Purple from the East returned towards the dojo area. Purple from the East started some basic exercises in preparation for his training.
"You're going to train again already?"
"Well, there is no use in procrastinating."
The buff from Miss Aoi's food only lasts for ten hours, he has to make the most out of those ten hours if he intends to take advantage of the buff.
[Through constant training your Strength has increased by one (+1 STR)]
[Through constant training your Dexterity has increased by one (+1 DEX)]
[Through constant training your Constitution has increased by one (+1 CON)]
[Through constant training your Strength has increased by one (+1 STR)]
[Through constant training your Dexterity has increased by one (+1 DEX)]
[Through constant training your Constitution has increased by one (+1 CON)]
[…]
[Your satiety level has reached 0%. You have died.]
A dreadful feeling of déjà vu filled the mind of Aoi.