"Wait… What?"
I couldn't breathe when I heard that the Paladin-class Adamas was the true heir to the Camelot throne. I had absolutely no thought of the throne or of power. My main goal is to become a strong person and get out of this virtual world as soon as possible.
"Why are you guys dealing with such things? Don't you want to leave this world?" I asked, shocked and disappointed, especially after hearing King Camelot was an Adamas.
I noticed Robert's hand was trying to get close to my leg, especially the part where the dagger hit. He pulled it so fast that I screamed in pain while holding my leg, constantly bleeding.
"AAAKKH!"
"Why did you pull it out, damn it?" I asked, annoyed by Robert's attitude.
"Are you feeling pain?" asked Robert. I nod; of course I feel pain.
"We want to get out of this world too, but there's only one way," Robert replied.
He was seen taking his drinking bottle, opening the bottle cap and pouring clean water on my stab wound. I winced softly, but slowly the pain started to dissipate.
Robert tore off his clean clothes and started wrapping the cloth around my leg, covering the stab wound I got from the man's dagger. I noticed the blood from my leg had stopped, indicating that my wound was closed correctly.
"What? No one has explained to me how to get out of here," I answered, curious.
"Inside the royal palace, there is an ancient gem. There are four of those ancient gems in the world," said Robert, reaching out to help me up.
"Each kingdom has one gem; they name it according to their own culture," continued Robert, leading me down the hill of the forest.
"What is the function of the ancient gem?" asked Evan, curious.
"Didn't you read the manual? First, the kingdom will start a special ritual by combining the four gem cores into one. Then, the gates of light will open, and the people of the whole kingdom will be out of this world," replied Robert.
"Not the entire world? Only the kingdom performs rituals?" asked Evan. Robert nodded.
It's strange. Isn't everyone here on the same server? If one person left this world, the rest would definitely be able to do it. After all, it will only lead to war and death on some sides.
"Then there could be war with each other," I said, Robert agreeing.
In order to seize ancient gems from other kingdoms, the only way is to start wars or tough negotiations. I don't think I'm the only one who wants to get out immediately, but the people here think the same.
"It's dangerous! I didn't expect the way out would be like that," I replied, not expecting the steep path I had to go through to leave.
"You will not only meet a steep road in other kingdoms but on Adamas in your own kingdom," said Robert. I did not understand his words.
"What do you mean?"
"People who have lived here for 2-3 years, they think the world is better than they expected," Robert replied, leading me down the path to lower ground.
"That way, the real world will not be as beautiful as the current world. Especially when we can do everything over and over again, for example, sex," continued Robert.
"You can do it a few times with an NPC and experience the same pleasures as the real world, but you won't be able to get her pregnant. It just comes because of the dopamine boost in the brain," said Robert, seemingly stopping his steps.
He then sat me on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk while he drank his drinking water. Then, Robert suddenly asked me a question I had never thought of before.
"Have you ever had sex?" asked Robert. I shook my head.
"That's good. If you have, your main challenge is not war but lust in your body," Robert answered.
The man started tossing his water bottle at me. I opened the bottle cap and drank the water slowly; it felt refreshing and made my thirst go away quickly.
"How do you know about dopamine and all that?" I asked, curious.
"I used to work as a doctor, a neurologist. I studied the workings of the virtual world through the logical and medical side until I came to a frightening conclusion," answered Robert.
"What is it?" I asked, getting more and more curious about the truth of this virtual world.
"The longer you stay here, the thinner your body will become in the real world."
"But they must have given us IV fluids," I replied, making sure.
"That's not enough. Even when they provide vitamins and nutrients in liquid form, we can't absorb them to the maximum. It's different if we eat whole foods," answered Robert.
It's true. I've heard that nutrients and vitamins will be lost if you don't eat them whole. But, I'm sure the people who work on this project will do their best for the healing of their patients.
But I'm not sure how long I can survive in this world. Anxiety comes because of uncertainty. I'm afraid if I stay here too long, it will cause me to be lulled by the pleasures of a fake virtual world.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" I asked, curious.
"You have to get strong, train with someone strong, and take over the throne of Camelot. Then, start a war with two human kingdoms and one demon kingdom and save everyone in Camelot," answered Robert, explaining in great detail the grand plan for me that had been devised by him as well as the kingmaker.
I was silent for a while, my head turned to the sky, watching the clouds move so naturally as in the real world. There's no interest in me joining Robert's plans, maybe that's for the best, but I don't want to kill humans.
"I won't. I'm going to be strong and go to several kingdoms to discuss this," I explained, insisting on rejecting Robert's plan.
"Let the other Paladins do the work," I continued.
Robert's face went wide. He must have been surprised by my statement. He had killed his friends, kidnapped Paladins, and told him the evils of this world. However, I can't entirely agree.
"You don't want that?" asked Robert.
"Yeah. I will carry out the path of peaceful diplomacy to save everyone," I replied confidently.
"All right. Then where are you going to do the ritual?" Robert asked, beginning to narrow his eyes.
"Somewhere neutral, it could be in the Demon Kingdom," I replied, guessing.
"You don't believe in what you say? What do I need to say again?"
I fell silent when I saw Robert standing in his red armour. My eyes fell on him, and I saw his serious face staring back at me.
BUGH!
"AAKHH!"
Feet covered in iron boots flew over my head with a bang. Again I had to face down on the ground while spitting, watching the blood gush out of my injured mouth.
"You're the most naive man I know. I clearly said that only Adamas in the kingdom who held special rituals could come out, you want to do it in demon territory? You want us all to be stuck here forever with no ancient gems available?!" groaned Robert, his face flushed red as he pointed at me roughly.
"Do you get it now? The only—"
"The only way to get out of here is to fight against them," I replied, looking at Robert angrily. The man always treated me harshly.
"That's right, and for that, you have to be the King."