I can't click the log-out button...
What's happening? Could it be that there's something needed to do first here before leaving this game? With the way NPCs interact with each other and with other players, is it possible that this game is entirely a different world? or a handmade world? Is this still a game or real life? because this game is too realistic. After overthinking a lot, I decided to close my menu and think that maybe, it was because I'm still in a tutorial phase that I can't leave yet. That this game restricts any possible way to skip or stop the tutorial. Even with such an undecorative place, its somehow feels cozy to sleep in. I waited for Pixi first then she arrives after a while.
"Apho! I'm back" Pixi greeted me as she enter the room. I wave my hand in response because my body starts getting heavier than expected.
"I'll sleep now," I told her then tucked myself into the blanket. I can gradually feel my body heating up, I don't know if it's due to the heat I felt earlier or worse, I might get a fever since I overworked myself today.
"Did you seriously wait for me just to tell me that you're going to sleep??" Pixi shockingly asked but I didn't bother replying to her. I really hope I don't get sick now like for an RPG world, would they go beyond to implement sickness? They wouldn't, right? right...?
Apparently, I feel hot and heavy after waking up... I indeed got sick in this world. I look around and see Pixi sleeping on top of my blanket. Good that I am aware that I sleep calmly and don't move around that much, or else sleeping with me is hell for Pixi. My head isn't dizzy as I would feel when I'm sick. I checked my menu while still on the bed as I wouldn't want to disturb Pixi from her slumber. My mana somehow is depleting slowly. It's going lower rather than regenerating and it reached 40 now. Do I have some skills activated without my knowledge? This heat I'm feeling resembles the same when I fought that large slime but it's more of an irritating feeling.
I checked my Character stats and check the skill set that I saw last time when Pixi was tutoring me. There it is! some sort of passive skill I'm experiencing, the "burning passion" effect. It has a timer of 1 hour and after I tap it, it shows me the description of it
"First Effect: Triggers when you feel the adrenaline rush in your body. Uses Mana overtime to alleviate the feeling of fatigue and enhances one's Power and Speed by 10% to 40%." That's the reason why it became easier to kill that higher-level large slime. But that was just the first effect, there's a second one.
"Second Effect: When you're not of the battle for 1 hour, It uses mana overtime again to reduce the pain of an exhausted body, tending to feel 'heavier'" It's ironic that it makes your body not feel the body pain, but makes you feel so heavy you'll feel more tired as ever. It's like compressing all your fatigue into a big one. There's another effect to take note of below the second effect in an italicized font.
"When the skill is activated, the user will feel 'hot' and the second effect last at the same amount of time the first effect is used" The heat I'm currently feeling and the current timer ongoing explains it all. In summary, the passive skill activates to buff my stat then after an hour of inactivity, the duration of the buff is the same duration of this heaviness and hotness I feel. And I am definitely not sick which is good news.
I closed the skill set and slowly push my way out the bed without disturbing Pixi sleeping on the blanket. We met yesterday as I slept a lot after that incident with Yulia but now she's the one who's sleeping heavily. I grab my sword underneath my bed equip my sword on my waist and decided to stretch and warm-up my body even if I feel heavy. My morning stretch when I was in my world is only my arms and neck as I would extensively grind RPGs in my room and occasionally leave my room to get some food or drinks. But today, I warmed up my whole body, ironically feeling hot still, and walk outside to stroll around. On the first floor of the inn, I am greeted by a demi-human cat.
"Good morning, player. Meow name is Felicity, the owner of Felinyaa Inn~ How was your stay here nyaa?" the catgirl with the typical normal clothing of an RPG character that you meet inside a wooden inn, asked while holding a wooden serving tray. Her fur is like the ginger cat that Yulia has in her backyard.
"Name's Apho. It's good. What's the food on the menu?" I asked her as I looked around the Inn. For the first floor, it seems like a dining cafeteria with a reception area on the left side.
"Here's the menu, you can sit first and pick what you want after. Thank you for staying in!" she then left to check on the second floor. Probably fixing the rooms that other players rented. It's a big inn compared to typical normal inns that mostly have 4-6 rooms only. For the accommodation of many players, Inn business is a pretty good choice.
I walked to the nearest empty seat and then look for the menu. The breakfast menu has 2 types of rice; egg fried and normal ones then has a variety of breakfast meals, and even has a kiddie version for it. My breakfast was mostly cup noodles and energy drinks but I seldom cook for myself whenever I crave some eggs. I raise my hand indicating that I will order some food and then a kid with cat ears, also a ginger color fur, went to me with a notepad on hand.
"What can I get for you?" She asked me while wiggling her tail. I simply point her to the meal that I wanted which is a sunny-side-up egg with egg fried rice. She took note of it and then leaves without saying a word. She must be the little sister of the owner catgirl earlier.
Out of boredom, I check the menu more to see what they have. I noticed the cost of meals with meat cost really expensive. It cost 100 silvers which is 1 gold for a 1-person worth of food. A kiddie version still cost 80 silvers. Comparing that to my breakfast that only cost 10 silvers. It's my exact remaining money for today. I wonder if Pixi has her own money to buy her food. Another one that caught my eye is this "mystery meal" that is emphasized on the left corner of the menu paper with some sort of signature, probably from the chef here. I will ask that later because it doesn't have another description about it.
The catgirl kid who took my orders finally came back with my breakfast. A bowl of egg fried rice that is still smoking steam with a small plate that has the sunny-side-up egg, slightly burnt on the edge, and a bit runny yolk.
"uhhh eat well mister," She said then left after giving me my food. I wave at her as she smiles and wiggles her ginger fur tail. It sure does look appealing especially when the bowl of fried rice is still smokingly hot. I grabbed the plate of the cooked egg and then slide the egg on top of the bowl of egg fried rice. I then slowly eat it with a spoon. The fragrant smell of the egg fried rice is already top-tier as it is and having the crispy texture on the sunny-side-up egg is a great combination. It sure tastes better than when I cook on my own knowing how basic how to cook an egg and fried rice.
Around me, there are a lot of players with their own party consisting of 2 to 4 players per party that are eating in this place. I finished eating and paid the server cat with the 10 silvers I have left. The silver coins are faintly warmer due to my heating hand. I checked my skill set again and I still have 30 minutes to go before the burning passion passive wear off. I decided to go back up to check on Pixi, who is somehow still sleeping in our room, and the catgirl who has the wooden serving tray is fixing the bed with Pixi still on the blanket.
"Sorry if my companion is still asleep" I closed the door after entering.
"Ohh I don't mind, but it could be better if you wake her up now. She shows no sign of waking up afterall, what a deep slumber" She smiled at me then I picked up Pixi on my palm.
Her size is approximately from my pinky tip to my thumb tip and she's not so heavy at all She looks comfortable sleeping on my palm as she curls and smiles. I tap her belly to tickle her then tap her cheeks to annoy her and she truly woke up looking irritated.
"nghhh 5 more minutes..." She went back to sleep on my warm hand. Does my heat passive skill the reason why she slept on top of my blanket? Guess I will give her 25 more minutes to sleep before my passive wear off.
"Aren't she such a cute fairy~" The cat girl said as she finished doing the bed. Even in a hot situation my body feeling, I feel warm hospitality she radiates.
"So does your little sister. Your family runs this inn I assume" I told her then I sat on the chair to lay my hand on the table.
"Yes meow family happily run our lovely inn~ and sister? oh no no no~ it's our cute daughter Miyu who works as a waitress here nyaaa. Meow husband Nekonoir is a great chef while our son Riku works as the receptionist. He's good at mathematics like his dad~" She explained with her hands on her face as she got flustered while mentioning her family.
She has that warm aura because she's already a caring mom of 2 kids. They have such a healthy family with a healthy business. Speaking about her chef husband, it reminds me of the special menu they have.
"What's the mystery meal on the menu?" I initially asked her to kill some time.
"Interested in it? meow hubby is experimenting with meals to be part of the menu. It can be either disgusting which is meowst of the time nyaaa, a weird decent meal, or by miracle the best meal you could taste nyaa~" She swept the floor one last time as she talked about the mystery meal. We kept doing some small talk then she said she need to go down and help her family at their inn. I checked my skill set again and good timing, it's 1 minute left on a cooldown. Pixi slowly wakes up as the heat on my body gradually lessens.
"Apho?.." Pixi stretches and rubs her eyes while still staying on my palm.
"Good morning" As the burning passion skill disappears, my body feels much lighter than before.
"How long have I been sleeping?" She slowly flapped her wings and lifted herself up. I stood up and moved my arm around before it gets too numb from muscle inactivity.
"Longer than mine I suppose" I answered her then prepared myself to go out again for another day of adventure. I wonder when I can get home...
.
.
.
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"Let's eat breakfast first! do you still have some silvers Apho?" Pixi flew to my left shoulder, suggested, and asked me as we left the room.
"I already ate and got no silvers anymore" I answered her while walking down the stairs.
"Ehhhh!?? I want to eat first!" She then flew to the nearest empty seat available.
"You have your own silver coins, right?" I asked her and sat down the chair.
"Yeah.." she pouted and the daughter of this inn went to us and got Pixi's order. I waited for her to eat while drinking some water. She got the kiddies' meal of 2 small-sized fried mashed potatoes, which are technically hashbrowns but it's not hashbrowns on the menu. We then set off after she pays 6 silvers but Pixi said she didn't eat that much today and I owe her a big meal later. Why do I need to feed my tutorial fairy...
-To Be Continued