Chapter XXVI: Meeting at McDonald's
I didn't figure out if Set was the reason the boy was glaring at me in class. I wasn't going to come right out and ask him, if he had nothing to do with Athena or Set then I'd sound crazy, but I did put myself in positions where he'd be able to come to speak with me.
He didn't so much as give me a second glance during any of these opportunities. When we met in the hallways, he wouldn't even look at me. During class, I'd see him glaring at me, but as soon as he noticed that I noticed, the guy would look away like he was shy or something.
I did find out that he was part of Sylvie's friend's group, but that was about it. I could ask her about it or tried to find out his name, but the truth was my attention was occupied by school and Dynasty.
Going to school again brought back a lot of old memories. I remembered how much I hated getting up early and spending hours in a classroom. I put up with it for my father the first time around. I didn't like any of it.
And I liked it a lot less in my second life. I had a mission now. A real mission. I needed to save the world and the best way that I knew how was through video games. Ironically. And school was seriously cutting into my video game time.
When I agreed to go back to school for my mom, I had forgotten how much I hated it. Now that I was suffering through it...
Fine. I did dislike school, but I don't remember it ever annoying me this much. If I'm to be honest, my dear reader, then I'd say it had more to do with keeping me away from Dynasty than any true feelings of annoyance.
Every day after school, I'd spend a couple of hours grinding with my friends, but they had to leave. Then I'd log back on at home and keep going. I explored the Infernal Forest and the surrounding fields. I searched for quests, hidden items, and materials. I found the best hunting spots, which wasn't an easy feat by any stretch. It involved more than looking. It involved dealing with info brokers.
I used the items and information to help my friends level up as quickly as I could, which was a lot easier with the best hunting spots available. We only had a week to deal with the big boss or the quest line would restart. Even if we were the ones to find Mireille against, we'd have to do it all over.
Sunday was the only day I had completely off from school. I would trade going to school all day Wednesday to get the weekend off, but I didn't get much choice in the matter. I was a school kid. Who was going to listen to me?
I got up late Sunday. Can you blame me? It was the first night I got to sleep in since I started school. It was noon when I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing. I could have slept in a little longer, but I felt nice and refreshed regardless.
Kanade was calling me. "Allo."
"Calixte?"
"Speaking."
"Can you meet us at McDo's in half an hour?"
With a shower, that was cutting it a little close... "I think so. What's up?"
"We're going to hang out before going to Joyful Flourish."
"I guess that's doable. Should I bring my account card?"
"Please."
We didn't need to bring our copies of Dynasty anymore. Dynasty was the most popular game on the Neural Sphere and Joyful Flourish had a copy for each one of the headsets.
"Did Euphie reserve a room?"
"She did it on Friday."
"Then I'll see you in a little bit."
Clicking end, I had half a mind to fall back in my comfortable bed and just go to sleep...
Reluctantly I dragged my lazy ass out of bed and washed up. When I was a high school student back in the eighties, I didn't give a shit about fashion. I didn't care what I wore. I didn't pay attention to clothes at all. Growing up the son of a French pop-rock star, I had fashion beaten into my skull. My wardrobe was shamelessly vast.
Black skinny jeans were my go-to, and I added silver chains to the waste. What can I say, I liked the classic look. A white tank top with the gold pendant my mom got me for my birthday. It was heart-shaped with two pictures in it. My mom and me in Tokyo.
Black or blue hoodie... We'll go with blue. And a nice pair of sneakers. I rode the elevator down and stepped into the afternoon air. It wasn't cold, per se, but I could feel Autumn fast approaching. My second favorite season, beaten only by the summer.
They were waiting for me at the cafe-style McDonald's. It still looked way too fancy to be a fast-food joint. "What can I get you?" the register girl asked.
"A cheese royal with bacon. Swedish Flurry. Rustic Croissant. One large order of fries, a medium Caesar salad, and a large coke."
"That will be twenty-five euros."
To took out my phone to pay, holding it to the scanner. Technology had come a long way from the eighties. I had a credit card my mom gave me for emergencies, but it was the only card I carried these days. I used StarPay for everything else.
"I saved a seat for you," Kanade said. I set down across from Euphie.
"Euphie, when is our reservation?"
"From three to nine. It would have been longer, but tonight is a school night."
There was no helping that. It was nice to get to hang out with my friends for a couple of hours before we logged on. Speaking of logging on.
"So, I'm thinking today we hit up the Blue Lake. It's in a northern section of the Infernal Forest and there are a lot of high EXP mobs that are weaker on land. If we can stay on the lake shore, it should be easy."
"Here is your order, sir," one of the workers set my food down. Damn, that was quick, even for fast food. I wonder if they already had my food made. Jeez.
Dipping a fry in ketchup, I continued: "First I need to go see an old friend."
"An old friend? In Dynasty?"
I nodded at Amos. "Yeah. We played the beta together. She's a skilled crafter."
"We can go see your friend, but we were thinking of challenging the boss in front of the dungeon door."
"We still have a few days, we shouldn't rush this." We had made some food process leveling, but if we had time, we could level more.
"When the week is up, we'll be in school. We have most of the day today to challenge the boss, so we don't have to worry about getting home. Or staying up all night."
"All good points," I admitted. I dipped the second fry into the McFlurry. Despite time constraints, we were leveling at a considerable pace. We might not be able to devout as much time as some other people, but that was somewhat offset by knowing about the best hunting grounds before they were completely hunted dry. "I guess we can try. If the boss kills us, we can level some more and try again later in the week."
"Later in the weak? Why don't we just go again when we respawn?" Kanade asked.
"If you get killed in a dungeon or a labyrinth, you can't enter it again for twenty foru hours. That boss is inside the dungeon at the very highest level, so we'd have to wait."
Amos leaned across the table, ignoring his burger. "Is there anything you can tell us about the boss? You were a beta tester, weren't you?"
"Well yeah, but I never took part in this quest. By the time I got to the dungeon, it was already open."
"So we're going in blind?"
"Not necessarily." I pulled out my phone and opened one of the group chats I was a part of. "After the beta, I kept in touch with a few friends. One of them fought the boss guarding the door. He should have some good tips and we can work on a strategy."
And here I was hoping for a nice day out with my friends. Dynasty was important and so was saving the world, but a guy had to live. I was at that age when making memories was important.
"For a little bit. The sun is shining and I want to go do something in the real world for once."
"Like what?"
"Let's go watch a movie. Or we can go look around Parc Monceau. Sure, it's a little touristy, but it's beautiful."
***
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