Galaxy Gym.
Located in Lime City, one of the big cities in the United Nations, it was a big gym with many branches with its main and first main location in New Eden city.
Many people liked this gym because it was affordable, comfortable, and had complete equipment. But, if only those were their sell points, then this gym wouldn't be able to survive or have more than a hundred branches.
No, the main selling point of this gym was the VR room and the synchronization test. Many people who loved VR, especially gamers and streamers, would join this gym. They also sponsored many streamers, thus getting more people interested in it.
Because they sponsored many streamers, some of them actually live-streamed inside the gym to promote it. An In-Real-Life livestream wasn't strange at all at this age. And those who did that sometimes were bodybuilding streamers.
However, today, a variety streamer visited the Galaxy Gym in Lime City due to his contract. He needed to do an IRL stream of his workout inside the gym and the VR room to his viewers.
"It's packed to the brim! Look at this! Even with this many people, there is still free equipment that we can use!"
That streamer was talking to a drone, more specifically to the camera connected to the drone. He had bright orange hair and an energetic personality that could infect other people with his spirit.
This guy was Flexy. And inside, he regretted taking the Galaxy Gym's sponsorship.
'I just want to stay at home! Why should I exercise at the gym when I have full equipment in my home? This is strange… I don't like it.'
Yes, Flexy hated being outside. His manager, Lisa, needed to force him by threatening him. Even now, she stood a bit away, controlling the drone and shooting Flexy's face perfectly. A scary smile was plastered on her beautiful face.
'Damn it! But there is a VR room here, at least. I will finish my workout quickly and show it. Trying that co-op with the newbies here might also help me get used to the program.'
Flexy put on an energetic smile and raised his voice, "Let's start with jogging! It will only be 3 KM, and then we will move to another workout. Preparation and warming up are important; don't forget that!"
Saying so, he hopped on the treadmill and began his workout while talking to his 14,610 viewers. It was a bit lower than usual, but it was understandable as it was still 9 AM. Not to mention, it was Monday. People were still working at this time.
However, he didn't care. He only half-assed this stream anyway. His real stream was tonight, from 8 PM until morning. This was why he hated going out in the morning because he was still sleepy from his stream last night.
'I just want to go home and sleep.' He whined in his mind as he kept up his cheerful expression and began to lift weight.
Flexy's workout only lasted for 30 minutes. At that moment, many people entered and exited the gym.
When he finished, his body and tank top were drenched in sweat. Even if it was a 30-minute workout, it was optimized to build his muscle and brain activity, thus further helping him to stay online in VR with fast movement for longer.
"That's my workout! How is it? Are you guys inspired?" Flexy asked his viewers as he wiped his body with a towel given by Lisa. "After this, we will check the VR room. I somehow want to play Knight's Journey co-op here, hahaha. I wonder if this gym has a game?"
With a big smile of being freed from the workout, Flexy went to the VR room located on the other side of the gym. The drone and Lisa followed him.
Unlike the gym area, where loud noises filled the room, the VR area was quiet. Many latest-generation VR capsules were lined up against the wall, divided by partitions. Colorful lights decorated the ceiling, giving the room a bright but quiet atmosphere.
"Shh! We can't talk loudly here. Even if the people inside the capsule can't hear us, that will break this silence. So, I will pause the stream until I am inside my Lobby. See you guys again! Enjoy this upbeat music while waiting."
The camera in the drone was deactivated after that, and Lisa changed the live streaming screen into a waiting animation. Having a manager to control the stream made everything easier for the streamers. It was her duty to make sure it ran smoothly.
She smiled softly and turned off the hologram screen from her smartwatch.
"That was wonderful, Flexy. Now we just need to return to the studio and continue our stream there."
"Yaa, what should I do? I suddenly want to play here and get some practice." Flexy scratched the back of his head.
"Look, there are many newbies here, right? And I noticed some capsules have Knight's Journey game booting up. Maybe some of them are willing to play co-op with me? Of course, I will go anonymous."
"Is it to prepare for that?" Lisa asked, pushing up her glasses. Her sharp blue eyes flashed a strange glint as she considered the pros and cons of this decision.
After a while, she nodded in understanding, "I guess there is nothing wrong with it. This will be good content, as your stream has also focused on Knight's Journey lately. Besides… I am happy you are willing to work hard to promote this place as you should be."
"Haha…hahaha… I-Indeed, I worked hard. So I will connect to my stream account inside."
Flexy entered the nearest empty capsule and quickly entered his Lobby. The login program was entered automatically by scanning his biometrics. It was a fast process that everyone didn't need to worry about, and when he entered, he appeared in the Knighted Lobby. It was where he logged out last time.
'Let's set it quickly and continue the stream.' Flexy thought as he quickly set his stream and changed the screen.
As he did so, he started Knight's Journey and chose the co-op and not the story mode this time. He was surprised when an invitation appeared on his face just as he entered. Not only that, the invitation was for the fort siege!
'Lucky!'
The stream had also started, so he decided to take this opportunity!
"Hello, I am back! It seems that there is someone who played Knight's Journey here. Let's join them and do a co-op!"
Flexy accepted the invitation, and he appeared in a large field. Beside him was a knight character with a boring design similar to his. That character had two axes behind his back, a strange choice of weapon, and kept his nickname anonymous.
"There is finally someone accepting my invitation. People refused my invitation after seeing I only played Knight's Journey for around 8 hours." The character chirped in, "I am counting on you, bro!"
Hearing the inviter's words, Flexy couldn't help but smile. He seemed like an energetic person who could help his content. Not only that, the other party seemed to be a newbie.
People who were invited through the local server could see the inviter's information if they clicked the profile. However, Flexy didn't do that because he knew that people who played in here usually weren't that good anyway.
But to think the other person was a newbie. This was perfect for his goal of training for the program.
So, he shook the player's hand and laughed.
"Hahaha. Let's have fun!"
Both of them started the co-op afterward. In the middle of the run, Flexy couldn't believe what he saw and froze, resulting in him getting killed by a barbarian.
His chat laughed at him, but he ignored them due to surprise.
'What the heck is that newbie's movement? Is something like that even possible?'