Abel had been hunting down Coralcarapace Sentinel's for the past few hours and their stats increased by 15% now that the lunar bane cycle was at half moon. He hadn't come across another monster type yet but the second level seemed even more expansive than the first one.
He wasn't sure how big this floor was but the area he had mapped out so far was just as large as the area he had mapped on the first floor. He was currently taking a break, eating some of the barbequed lobster meat he had made earlier when he saw a notification pop up in his interface.
*Ding*
User Frank the Tank would like to add you as a friend, Accept?
Yes/No
User Mellific would like to add you as a friend, Accept?
Yes/No
'Frank the Tank… seriously Bahahahahahahahahaha'
Abel couldn't hold back and started laughing out loud till he was almost out of breath. He accepted both friend invitations before sending them a message each. He sent a message to Frankie first and then to Melissa.
"Frank the Tank huh? Man, you really made me laugh hard with this one. Don't reply, you only have 10 copper coins when you start so don't go spending half of it just to reply back with a silly jab. I plan to log out to make dinner so be sure to log off in an hour."
"Mell… how embarrassed do you feel on Frankie's behalf? Hahahaha… keep your starter coins and don't reply, I'd rather you tell me in person anyway. I'm going offline to make dinner, I already told Frankie but make sure to log off in an hour."
After chuckling some more at Frankie's avatar handle, he finished up his food and backtracked to an area that was assuredly clear of monsters before pulling up his Panel and logging out. Once he was back in his user home, he saw his forum notification tab flashing with a new message and he couldn't help but let out a sigh.
'I'm going to turn into an old man if I keep sighing like this. Ugh… I ended the last conversion pretty clearly, I wonder what this chick wants now.'
"Hey there~ I checked the local library but they didn't have any biographies about her. I then asked around the city and eventually heard a story-song from a bard about Lady Reverie, the fair maiden with a starlit sight! I don't remember the entire song but it was really nice… anyway, I gave him some coins and asked him about it. He didn't know where she lived but he told me that she was still active in the State of Branagh. What should I do now? Please give me some ideas, I feel so lost and I have no clue what to do (╥﹏╥) "
'How the hell should I know? I've never been there before…' Abel let out another sigh mixed with frustration.
He thought back to the journal he read and went over the old Battlesmith's encounter with the Dreamweaver. Fortunately, the old man wrote about that meeting in great detail as though it had some special meaning to him. The old Battlesmith had actually gone on an adventure with the Dreamweaver but he didn't end up writing about it. Abel thought for a minute before writing out a response.
"The record I read mentioned the author's meeting with Lady Reverie. It was at a place called moonshine rock on Glimmer Mountain near the capital city, I have no clue where that is seeing as I've never been to the State of Branagh. But she seems to go there on every full moon for some reason, why don't you try there? Though the author of this journal was a fifth-tier professional at the time so I'm not sure if its feasible to go there at your current level."
He quickly logged out of his user home, hoping to finish dinner and log back on before she replies. He still couldn't understand why she was being so friendly and he didn't bother thinking about such superfluous things. He wasn't delusional enough to think she was interested in him seeing as she knew absolutely nothing about him so he didn't bother to think about it further.
Abel got out of the pod and went to the kitchen in the main house. It was a little eerie how quite and dark it was, usually the lights would be on with the sound of the TV or Frankie and Melly's lively chatter could be heard. He made his way to the kitchen and started boiling the pasta while he got to cutting up onions and mincing some garlic to make a pot of Spaghetti Bolognese.
It was something quick and easy to make while also fulfilling. He got some minced meat out of the fridge and made a note on the pad in the corner about being out of onions and minced meat now. It was Grandma Meng's old notepad and they all got used to using to writing out the things they were currently out of for the next grocery run.
He put a dash of olive oil in the pan and added the chopped onions and minced garlic, sautéing it over medium heat before he added the minced meat. He then got a can of tomato paste and added it in along with some basil, thyme, salt, pepper and dried oregano. He pulled out a couple of tomato's and made quick work in chopping them up before he added them with a dash of Verdelique red wine and a bit of water.
He stirred it for a couple of minutes and had a small taste to make sure it didn't need any more salt or other seasonings. Once he was sure it was good, he reduced the heat and covered it with a lid, leaving it to simmer while the pot of pasta was cooking.
The great thing about this meal was the short prep time and easy clean up afterwards. He left the pots to cook on their own and headed back to his room to take a shower. By the time he finished, the food should be near done while Melissa and Frankie would be out of their pods too.
'I should share this current dungeon's information with the girls, I owe them one for agreeing to take Frankie and Melly out leveling. I should wait though, they're still too low leveled for this place…'
Abel stepped in to the shower and thought over many random things. Shower thoughts always seemed to be haphazard and illogical, jumping from one thing to the next without any reasoning behind it. A short 10 minutes later, he was refreshed and reapplying the last of his ointment on his less gruesome looking wounds. When he stepped back in to the house, he came across an excited Frankie and Melly coming out of the spare bedroom.
"So… how was it?"
"No wonder you're always online! I'm half tempted to quite work entirely and just start gaming full time." Frankie let out a sigh before he carried on "I can't afford to though, I don't expect I'll be lucky enough to find an ore worth 5 gold coins a couple of days after starting."
"Well it was 3 days but, you do you…. Frank the Tank hahahahaha" Abel couldn't hold himself back and made a jab at his best friend. He would laugh whenever he called out his online name in full.
"What's wrong with the name I chose? I'm obviously going to be my girls' meat shield so it makes total sense!"
"Frankie, would you just shut up…" Melissa replied with her hands covering her face, finding herself embarrassed on her boyfriend's behalf.
"The food should be ready, we can talk about your first time over dinner."
"Abe! Don't be gross!" Melly fiercely rebuked Abel over his mischievous double entendre and made their way to the kitchen.
After draining the oily water from the pasta and setting up the table, they sat down for dinner and even poured some wine to go along with the food. They would rarely drink unless it was a special occasion and the couple's first experience online definitely counted as one in Abel's books.
"So, tell me everything about it, how did it feel? What did you guys do? Have you gone to the training citadel yet?"
"Of course, what did you expect us to do? Go shopping with 20 copper coins on us?" Frankie replied while he was eating but shut up after Melly smacked him on his shoulder for speaking with a mouth full of food.
"You were right, it really is different. There's no comparison to going in this virtual world and watching a movie in a pod. Although the immersion is the same, the fact that you can freely move and explore where ever you wish adds much more dynamic than simply staying still and seeing things in third person." Melly replied in fascination as though she was recalling the experience and continued after a pause. "The smells, the sight, the architecture, the interaction… it's really quite amazing. How could they make such a detailed world full of people with their own lives and destinies? Every single detail is accounted for, how on earth did they do it? Other virtual games might have been immersive but none of them came close to this-this… I don't know how to describe it!"
"Hahahaha I told you guys. I had the same reaction… actually, I kind of made a joke of myself when I first logged in" Abel honestly said as he recalled his actions when he first went online.
"What did you do?"
"Well, I started jumping and hopping around to make sure the dimensions of my body were the same as reality before I went to the training citadel."
"You're the ugly and fat jumping newbie?" Frankie asked in mock surprise after hearing Abel's explanation.
"What? What are you talking about…" Abel asked perplexedly, this was the first he was hearing of this.
Frankie went on to explain how around 10 days ago, there was a ruby red-haired newb who was jumping around like a crazy fool in the middle of the central square. People assumed he was a fat guy in reality that had changed his proportions way too much so he was unaccustomed to his virtual body. There were also some rumors going around that this same guy was a loner and wouldn't party up with anyone.
'What the… since when was I fat and ugly… wait, what's wrong with being fat or ugly? Screw this, the people that spread these rumors are probably jealous. Yeah that's it, they're jealous!
At first, Abel just looked on blankly as though he was feeling lost but moments later, his eyes regained their sharpness. He didn't care what random people would think of him, he knew himself better than anyone and he had nothing to be ashamed of even if he wasn't good-looking in the "normal" beauty standard set by society.
"*cough* Well I am that guy but as you very well know, I'm neither fat nor ugly. Even if I was, who cares? See, this is just more proof that you should never believe rumors… wait, where did you hear these rumors in the first place? You already made in-game friends?"
Melly and Frankie couldn't help but chuckle at the turn of events. Even though they were both pretty sure the person in the rumors was Abel, they didn't care as they knew they were baseless. But it was fun seeing Abel's reaction, especially after his teasing of Frankie's silly name.
"Just some chit chat with a few players in the square. When we flashed in to the game, it was clear we were new from our starter clothing. People that are killed and can re-enter the game after a day would usually have a weapon on them or at least a spatial bag."
"Did you guys finish the obstacle course yet?"
"Of course, though Melly struggled for a bit in the last segment with the ropes."
"I didn't struggle! I just failed it twice but on the third try I got the hang of it and passed it easily."
Abel smiled in response, he was happy he could do this for them. He hoped they could really do well in the game, well enough to no longer have to put up with things they see but are unable to do or have themselves. Whether it was a nice honeymoon in the future or just some gadget they always wanted deep down but couldn't afford, Realm Quest could give them a chance to build a more prosperous future.