Five hours flew by and the sun had begun to show itself in the sky above Beginner Town. Even so, Hiro was still preoccupied with slashing the monstrous tree trunk that was slowly getting thinner.
Just a little more. Just a little more and it would finally be chopped down.
He was confident in his ability and kept hacking and slashing the tree until morning had begun to rise.
And—
BANG!
At last, the gigantic tree's trunk was broken and it fell backward onto other innocent trees behind it.
Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Hiro also fell backward, lying on the ground with erratic breathing.
However, just as his back touched the ground for a brief second, a strong earthquake suddenly came from the ground where the remaining trunk was still attached to.
Hiro sat up out of surprise. The massive earthquake in the forest even woke up Liberty, who was deeply sleeping.
However, it did not last long.
The earthquake lasted for only a few seconds.
[Congratulations: NightFall has successfully completed the Rare Quest [The World Tree's Challenge].]
After a broadcasted notification appeared in front of them, moving on the air, a shining parchment scroll suddenly came out of the tree trunk connected to the ground and floated toward Hiro.
And he quickly touched the approaching parchment to receive his reward.
Ding!
[You have obtained the Awakening Sword Combo Skill scroll (Rare).]
[Awakening Sword Combo Skill (Active) - Utilizes combo attacks to deal a high amount of damage. The higher the skill level, the higher the maximum combo limit. (Maximum combo limit up to 27x.)]
[Reach job class level 35 to activate the skill.]
Even though Hiro was impressed by the description of his newly-acquired skill, he still couldn't use it yet as his level hadn't met the requirement.
He suddenly felt hopeless, even the world level cap didn't allow him to at least try what he got.
At the bitter reality, he once again fell to the ground and looked up at the sky that had turned orange. The morning was coming soon.
With the (Rare) tag on the item, he just hoped that the item would still be in his inventory when the game officially launches.
If it doesn't, that would mean he practically wasted five hours of his time.
"Hiro! Are you okay!?"
Hiro raised his thumb to signal that he was fine.
The night felt so long and exhausting. He wanted to log out and get some rest, but he remembered his promise to Liberty.
'Ah, I have to walk her home. Be a gentleman, Hiro…'
After resting for about half an hour, he kept his word and walked Liberty home. On the way, he felt sapped of all his energy and was very hungry.
"I'm so hungry," Hiro muttered.
He couldn't take it anymore. His stomach was already growling in protest.
Liberty glanced at him.
"You can eat at my house. I can cook for you."
"That's not it, Libe. I have to eat, and I mean actually eat. Not eat in-game, actually eat."
"Eat in what game are you talking about?"
Hiro heaved a long sigh. He still hadn't gotten used to it. The girl truly thought of the world of LSO as the real world!
He didn't know how or where she got the thought from, but it was definitely troubling him a little.
After being with Liberty for days, Hiro was sure that the girl was the extreme type of player who also cosplayed in the real world.
"Are you okay, Hiro?"
"I'm fine, just hungry."
In truth, he was really curious about the place she considered home.
'How real are the houses in this game, for those two to think of them as their real houses?'
Hiro was thinking about Liberty and Jacob.
He looked at Liberty, who had been stealing glances at him for a while now. When the two's eyes met, the girl hurriedly looked away, her face red.
'Isn't she overreacting a little?'
Despite how much was on his mind, he didn't voice any of them and continued to walk in silence.
Hiro was surprised upon arriving. It turned out that in Beginner Town, there was an area akin to a housing estate with houses that all looked the same. None of the buildings were too big or too small.
Liberty opened the door to her house, a building made of stone. It had no paint nor decorations, and even the door was only an ordinary wooden door.
Hiro entered the house following her and bowed to greet, causing the girl to look at him with confusion.
He couldn't get rid of his habit.
"I'll change for a bit then cook you something. Wait here, okay?"
She then quickly left.
Hiro chose to sit on a sofa in the first room, the room he assumed to be the guest room, and waited there.
From the outside, the house Liberty was living in didn't seem any different from the other houses around, but its interior was full of furniture, complete with anything one would possibly need in a house.
Despite the minimalistic concept, the combination of grayish black from the building's stone material gave the house a luxurious impression.
In the room Hiro was in were several sofas and a fireplace with a small fire keeping the room warm and cozy.
The luminous yellow light from the lamps above made the atmosphere in the room very comfortable. He even yawned from the sleepiness and comfort of the place.
If he hadn't remembered that he was still in-game, he probably would've slept in this house right this instant.
"Hiro, I forgot I'm out of cooking ingredients. I only have this at the moment, I hope you're okay with it."
Liberty came out with a bowl of boiled potatoes. However, that wasn't what took him aback.
The girl had changed her costume into a thin, semi-transparent white silk sleepwear. He could even see her light pink underwear underneath.
"Here, dig in!"
He blinked a few times before receiving the bowl of boiled potatoes from Liberty's hands. Out of reflex, he put a potato into his mouth and ate it while trying to clear his mind.
'This is bad, I can't stay here for too long!' Hiro thought while trying to keep his head down and sight away.
However, Liberty pulled a wooden chair in front of him and sat there with her chin on her hand, peeking at Hiro who was trying his best not to look at her.
"Are you okay, Hiro? Does it taste that bad?"
Hiro raised his head to look at Liberty. She now had a sad expression on her face.
It looks like his actions made her misunderstand.
"No, that's not it! The boiled potatoes are tasty! It tastes just right, a little sweet…"
His eyes subconsciously moved to the girl's plump chest.
"Soft… solid… round… beautiful…"
"Eh?"
Hiro snapped out of his daze and shook his head. His review for the boiled potatoes strayed too far!
He looked at Liberty's confused expression.
"So you like it?" the girl doubtfully asked. It seems that she didn't realize what he reviewed was something different.
"Of course I like it. I wonder, how would holding it feel like…"
"..."
"I-I mean planting it."
"Huh? Planting it? Hiro, you're going too off-topic. Looks like you're just that sleepy, so why not sleep here?"
Liberty didn't realize just how messy his mind had become because of her enticing appearance.
"Sleep here?" Hiro's face turned red, and it wasn't because of the warm boiled potatoes.
"I m-mean you can sleep on the sofa and I'll sleep in my bedroom! Don't think of anything strange, you pervert!"
Liberty stood up from her seat and walked away. She brought him a glass of mineral water and left it on the guest room table before walking backward to another room.
"Libe."
"Hm?"
"Thank you for accompanying me. Get some rest."
Liberty's face reddened. Hiro's genuine words surprised her, making her not know how to act.
"Mmhm. You too, Hiro."