"Rosalina...please take me down the mountain, I have to do something," I voice out, as I try to move away from the bed and take the blanket off me. She looks at me with confusion, a vein popping on her head.
She grabs the blanket and places it back on me, her demeanor cold and unforgiving. "The moon is about to rise. Fighting any type of creature would only worsen your condition," She insists, a degree of intensity visible in her eyes. "Pushing oneself when one is not capable of moving, is a move only fools would make,"
I look awkwardly at her and sigh, taking off the blanket again. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that...I have somewhere to be in right now. Not with slimes...but with someone important." I speak with a similar sense of intensity to my voice.
I hope my voice can reach her somehow...and eventually persuade her that I'm really not doing this because I want to continue naively fighting slimes, but rather, for more important reasons.
She only glares at me with an indifferent look in her eyes, her mouth slightly agape. She tries to say something but only ends up saying nothing.
"Do as you wish," She speaks after those moments of contemplation. I smile with relief...happy to know that she won't argue with me any further on this.
I'm sure she can sense my desperation, and she probably must have understood my intentions.
"Remember not to hurt yourself, you now hold the responsibility of being entangled with me," She answers, as she walks away silently and gives me the room to myself.
I only smiled at her from afar, as it was evident that this...this was her way of telling me that she cared about me. In her own, contractual-wife way.
"Thank you, wife," I mutter to the air, not expecting her to hear my words...but a slight flinch from the way she walks tells me she heard my soft murmurs.
...and yet again, it's not like she cares about it.
Thus, standing up from my bed...I figured that the best course of action I could take right now was to start walking and quickly get down this mountain.
Which...would take more effort than necessary given how weak I feel right at this very moment.
With a soft sigh, I walk down the mountain, being greeted by a fleeting and beautiful sunset that descends further and further with every step I take...
It's as if I'm seeing a live painting being done right in front of my eyes.
The skies that were once predominant with colors of blue, start to fade into colors of yellow, while the splotchy clouds of white darken into hues of red and orange, gracefully moving in the sky...
It's mesmerizing...and it's secretly helping me walk down the mountain with much ease, albeit, the frustration felt in my current situation.
...and soon after, 2 hours and 30 minutes pass. The once bloodied ethereal sky now turned into a void of pitch-black darkness...of course, with beautiful twinkling stars glistening the atmosphere.
It was fascinating...but priorities are priorities...and my mother is my mother.
I walk as fast as I can to reach the beam of light, hoping that my fatigue and headaches will allow even this much movement to be comfortable.
Thankfully, I was able to reach the beam of light with less pain than expected, making my journey feel a bit lighter than usual.
I log out of the game with my head aching incredulously, the pain reeling with such intensity that I couldn't have imagined.
I sigh, as I try to stand up, but find myself rather fatigued and almost stumbling.
In the end...I only manage to rest in my bed, as the shadow of what looks like my mother comes into my room.
She was holding a bowl, a spoon, and a glass of water. She sets the glass beside my desk, but even if she's this close...I couldn't tell what expression she had on her face right now.
However, the closer she came to my face, the easier it was for me to know what she looked like right now.
And to my avail, she's pissed...and rightfully so.
"You should take care of yourself more and not get hurt," My mother speaks, as she forcibly and angrily shoves a spoon filled with soup into my mouth.
I look at her with shock, as the liquid brings an intense warmth to my mouth...almost scorching my tongue.
"Ma..." I weakly interfere, but she quickly shuts me off with a click of her tongue. "I know you boys are always so competitive with your games, but remember to take a break whenever you can," She says warmly, a look of concern flashing in her eyes.
She quickly feeds me another spoon filled with soup and clicks her tongue again. "If you end up like this again, I will restrict you from playing with...whatever that is," She says, looking in the direction of whatever VR equipment I had in my room.
It's good to know that she doesn't actually know what type of game I'm playing...
I smile at her thankfully, knowing that other mothers would have just cast their sons away and treated them as failures...but my mother, despite being naggy and often annoying, would only do this because she cares for me in the end.
"Thanks, ma," I weakly say, as a warm smile appears on her face. She continues to feed me some soup, quickly shifting her expression into annoyance. "Don't let me do this again. You're a grown man," She teases, as she always does.
"I won't," I respond...but in reality, I don't know what is to come in the future. One thing's for sure though, I won't let her feel like she has to take care of me again.
...after my mother leaves, I immediately look up at the ceiling with a dazed expression on my face. I don't understand what's happening, or why...why Charming Beauties works like this. It's as if the status conditions I've felt in that game are carried on into the real world.
It's true that the game allows your nerves to be connected to it, but if so...then it didn't have to feel this intense.
Nonetheless, perhaps that's why many people don't necessarily delve into the depths of the RPG features the game has...because people are scared of pain and feeling like sh*t. But I can't deny...it feels nice, albeit a little ominous.
For a second, I almost felt like I was transported to another world...but right now, it's not my priority.
Right now, I should focus on building up my stamina and breaking my current limit. I must become stronger...but I should also remember to not make my mother worry.
Seems like I'll have to re-evaluate the "strength" that I'm capable of...