Well, it wasn't like everything was bad in the game.
Alex also noted a few satisfactory things. His pain tolerance was at a sufficient level. There was no point in working on that anymore, and his running speed and stamina were also decent.
At the very least, working on the construction site helped him a lot.
He also realized another weak point in his training. If possible, he needed to learn some quick hand tricks.
In a city environment, a thief would have more advantages in gathering important stuff compared to others.
Alex sighed and looked at the alley in front of him. Unlike the trial game, there were a lot of beggars and homeless people there. He looked at them with fire in his eyes, but he controlled himself from walking there.
That was not an area where he could walk out unscathed. He needed to find some connection with them. Only then could he hope to learn those things.
Alex looked at the sunset and took a deep breath. All these thoughts of how he could improve himself calmed him a little.
He looked at the surrounding buzz. Some shops in the area had already opened their bright LED boards. The number of people in the market also increased.
After living here for the last four years, this place sure taught him that no matter what happens, you must always move forward. Those who drowned in self-blame and stopped could not survive for long.
It was much better to use this time to do the things he could. He also knew that it wouldn't be long before his second game.
It could happen randomly after the two-week break.
Alex stood up and looked toward the local bar. "No matter how bad it was, I still passed, right? Fck it, let's think of other stuff tomorrow. Tonight I'll drown myself in beer."
With that thought, he took out his phone, messaged the other three, and walked towards the bar.
...
Alex had just reached his floor when he heard a shout.
"Congratulations!" Clap! Clap!
He looked up and saw the three of them standing in front of his door with many black polythene bags in their hands.
A smile formed on his face as he showed them a bunch of polythene bags in his hand. "I wasted so much money for nothing."
Solmb snatched the polythene bags from his hand and looked inside. His eyes went wide as he pointed at Alex with a shaky finger. "You... haha, that's my rich little brother! Let's go and drown together, everyone."
Solmb shouted so loudly that they heard shouts from the neighbors.
Carl elbowed Solmb. "Hey, control yourself. You don't want these guys to tell your wife, do you?"
Solmb stared at Carl but said nothing. It was clear that he once again fought with his wife.
Alex didn't want more drama outside, so he unlocked his room, and all four of them rushed inside.
Russell and Carl went in first and moved the table to the side while Solmb arranged the snacks and beer bottles on the ground. This wasn't their first time doing these things.
Alex went to the kitchen and took out a glass set, along with a few plates for the snacks.
Soon, all four of them sat down on the floor. None of them said anything as Alex took out a whiskey bottle that he had just bought.
They stared at the bottle with stars in their eyes. Well, even he was excited to drink whiskey today. After all, rarely did he spend so much on drinks.
Alex poured a bit into the four glasses. He looked up and asked, "Do you guys want to add water?"
Solmb clicked his tongue, "Nah, don't add that stuff to my drink. I like it raw."
Carl shook his head at Solmb's words. "You're a fool. A bit of water enhances the taste, you know. Alex, just a few drops of water for me."
Alex nodded and looked at Russell, who was frowning at the whiskey. He knew this guy didn't like whiskey at all, so he said, "Hey Russ, no need to frown so much. I'll add beer to your drink."
Russell shook his head. "No, big brother, I can't mix other things in my first drink. It's your celebration, so let's leave it raw."
Solmb nodded with pride on his face. "Hehe, kid, now you're talking like a man. Good, you're following the rules of the party."
Alex sighed at this party rule. He said nothing about it, as he didn't want to listen to Solmb's lecture once again.
He poured into the last glass, and then all of them picked up their glasses. The three of them looked at him, waiting for him to start.
Not wasting any time, he raised his glass and said, "Cheers, everyone."
Tink!
Three other glasses tapped on his glass, and three of them shouted, "Cheers!"
Everyone chugged down the whiskey in one swift gulp.
As Alex placed down his glass, he saw that, unlike other times, no one rushed for their next shots.
All three of them stared at him with excitement on their faces.
Russell asked him, "Big brother, what happened in your game?"
Carl also asked, "What kind of game did you enter?"
While Solmb just pulled out a beer bottle and passed it to each of them.
Alex closed his eyes, thinking about how much to say. After living here for so long, these were a few people he had formed a bond with. He didn't mind helping them a little, as long as it didn't affect him.
With that in mind, he opened his eyes and said in a serious tone, "Well, it was the dog tracking scenario with some extra add-ons."
Carl asked, "Are you talking about the scenario where hunters need to track down the dogs and kill them?"
Alex nodded his head. "Yeah."
Solmb slapped his thing in excitement. "Well, that's quite a common game scenario. I've seen hundreds of such trials in the past few years."
Russell also nodded. "Big brother, it must've been a straightforward game for you, right?"
Alex shook his head. "I have similar thoughts in the start, but when the actual thing started, it was far more difficult than looking through screens."
Carl squinted his eyes. "really? I mean, searching for the dog will take time, but it should be easy after that, right?"
Alex popped open the beer bottle with his mouth; taking a big gulp, he shook his head. "Nope, I almost died fighting that dog."
"What!"