After tweaking my resume a bit and sending it off, I headed to the kitchen to see what there was to eat.
To my dismay...
(Nothing... Did Owen eat everything?) was my first thought upon seeing the empty fridge.
Sharing an apartment meant sharing the kitchen, and well... I'm not very skilled at cooking, and it's clear that Owen is even less so. We usually buy fast food and rarely cook.
(I want something quick...)
"Oh well, I'll go out and get something for dinner," I said resignedly.
*Open the door.
*Sigh.
I sighed as I looked at the night sky.
(Totally different from the game, I can't see a single star...) I thought, looking at the dark, polluted sky.
"At least there's a moon."
*Close the door.
I closed the apartment door and headed to my favorite fast food place.
--
*Footsteps
*Voices
"Hey! Have you seen this new game, what was it called?... I think it was Tower of something."
"Yeah, they say it's extremely realistic, so realistic you die from a gunshot! That's crazy."
(In real life, you can die from a gunshot too, ha, ha, ha.)
As I walked towards the place, I could see some people talking about Tower Of Conquerors, the game where I was someone powerful.
*Footsteps
*Step-
Upon reaching the place, a sight made me pause.
(That car...)
Indeed, a luxurious convertible was in the parking lot. Everything seemed normal, until you realized who it belonged to.
(It's the track team captain), I recognized him immediately.
What's this guy doing here? The likely answer is 'her'.
My ex, who also lives relatively close to my apartment, just a few blocks away.
(...)
"It's never too late to learn how to cook," I told myself as I veered towards a grocery store.
(I'm not avoiding anything, no, of course not.)
You don't have to be a genius to know why that guy's parked in that fast food place and with whom.
(I'd rather save myself the trouble), I thought as I selected a few ingredients at the store.
It's not that I haven't gotten over my ex, it's just that it really bothers me to see them together.
(Especially that guy...)
Jonathan, the track team captain, is a rich kid who, although he doesn't explicitly say it, looks down quite a bit on humble people like me.
Why do I think like this? Because this guy has used his influence to mess up the lives of other classmates he didn't like.
Look into any harassment case at my faculty and you'll see he's been involved in some indirect way.
(Plus... that stupid grin of his...), there are few things in this world that can annoy me, seeing that guy smiling is one of them, especially when he looks me in the eyes...
It's like he's saying "Loser".
"Sir, it seems like you entered the wrong code, please try again," the cashier said as she noticed my PIN was incorrect.
"Oh, sorry," I replied sheepishly...
--
*Footsteps
As I returned to my apartment complex, in the hallway where my apartment was, I heard some footsteps.
!!!
*Quickly hide
"Oops," I couldn't help but exclaim and quickly hid.
A beautiful young woman with scarlet hair and eyes as blue as the sea, dressed in a black sweater, dark skirt, and high boots, appeared before my eyes just a few meters from my apartment door.
(What's this bitch doing here?), I thought, a little annoyed.
That woman is my ex-girlfriend, Rosse.
The woman who brutally shattered my heart with a simple phrase: "I'm in love with someone else."
*Complicated gaze
She gave a complicated look as if debating whether to knock on the door or not.
(I don't owe her money, do I?), I thought to myself as I reviewed my recent interactions with her...
-Ignored her.
-She ignored me.
(No, I don't owe her anything, so... did she borrow money from Owen?), I debated in my mind the reasons for her unexpected visit.
Owen is a very kind person, so it's possible that she asked him for some money or something similar.
*Looking at the sky.
At some point, she gave up and looked up at the sky, where the moonlight illuminated her face.
*Heart...
Seeing her like that made my heart skip a beat, just one beat...
(Now that I think about it... doesn't she look a bit like Rebecca?), I couldn't help but draw comparisons between her and the woman I met today.
Red hair, blue eyes... some similar features...
(No, let's stop right there, I think I'm seeing things that aren't there), I thought it was just my imagination playing tricks on me again.
*Sigh
She sighed and turned to leave, not without giving one last glance at the door of my apartment.
*Footsteps
*Footsteps
It wasn't hard to avoid alerting her, and unaware that I was watching, she left...
I stayed hidden for a few minutes in case she came back, and during those minutes, I thought of something curious.
(Now that I think about it, Eva is prettier.)
Sure, it was just a poorly made joke on her part, but... thinking about my 'virtual fiancée' made me feel better.
I came out of hiding and went into my apartment to cook something.
After seeing Rosse, I have to admit that the food I made didn't taste very good.
"Tomorrow will be a better day," I said eagerly as I looked at the VR capsule while lying on my bed.
--
-6 am-
*Clack!
*Clack!
"...hmmm," I rose from bed a bit groggily.
*Turn off alarm.
*Stretching.
"A new day, a new adventure," I told myself, excited to start playing.
(But first, let's see how my tutoring application is going.)
Normally, they shouldn't take long to respond in these cases. This is for a simple reason:
"Time is money when you're doing poorly in studies," I remembered the classic phrase from one of my old teachers.
(Especially if you're a troublesome kid...)
"Let's see... email... Nothing? Well... they'll probably respond in the afternoon. If not, I'll just apply for something else," I didn't let the lack of response affect my mindset.
(Should I talk to Owen?), I didn't forget the reason why I have a capsule, but...
*Snores.
"..."
(Well... I guess I'll get ahead.)
*Zum! (Capsule opening)
(Comfortable.)
*Chas! (Capsule closing)
As the capsule closed, I saw the familiar silver lights I saw yesterday.
(Here we go!)
*I closed my eyes.
「You can open your eyes.」
Upon hearing that voice, I opened my eyes, finding myself standing in the same pure white world where I performed the calibrations.
[Available Worlds:
-Calibration, Free
-Tower of Conquerors Online!]
*Click!
I tapped on the name of the game, just like yesterday.
And so, the white world began to darken slowly...
--
When everything lit up...
[The tower welcomes you back!]
[Information you might be interested in:
-Humanity expands! New private establishments have been founded by other players, check them out!
-Collection completed! The Public Muta-gen Laboratory and the Public (R&D) Laboratory have officially opened.
-A tough war! Humanity is losing the war with a total of 0.004% allies killed! Get revenge for your fallen comrades and join the conflict!]
(Looks like we're losing the war), I thought calmly despite the bad news.
If you think about it, it's normal for us to be losing. After all, those goblins are very hard to beat, and it takes a lot of ammo to even kill one.
(And many of my comrades only have a pistol and a spare magazine...)
[Your friend 'Luke' has given you 30% of the shares of 'Luke Industries' (Private R&D Laboratory)!
You will benefit based on the performance of the building.]
(Looks like he kept his word, heh), I thought, a bit amused seeing that.
"Time to get moving," I said and got out of bed right away.
*Stretching
*Groo!
As I stretched my body, I could feel a slight sense of hunger.
"Let's eat something first," I said and took out the military ration we were given yesterday.
*Chomp! *Chomp!
As I chewed on what was probably jerky, I remembered my days in the military.