That was the last word Jung heard from the system before she abruptly disappeared. 'What's going on? Where are you?' he asked, losing the link as if she were gone.
About five to ten seconds later, the same thing happened to Nero as the cat spawned in his heart with a weak connection, but at least she was there.
'That's strange,' Jung considered. 'She said she was sorry; I think she will be back soon enough.' He had faith in the system and thought her departure wouldn't last long.
So he waited, sitting on his bed and examining the outside scenery. Unfortunately for him, hours went by, and there were no signs of her return; even Nero remained silent.
Jung fell asleep quickly after, lost in thoughts and the quietness of the night. His dream was as peaceful as it could get, yet when he woke up feeling refreshed but with a need to tease the system, no one answered his call.
'What a bummer.' Not losing his manner, he left the comfort of the bed and joined his parents for dinner.
"You are leaving in one week," Baki said in a low tone, unable to fully accept the need to let him go, expressing his struggle.
"If I knew you would miss me so much, I would have never agreed," Jung taunted his father with a mocking smile.
"These boys will drive me crazy one day," Lisa protested and laughed. She was in the same boat, but she did a better job masking her true feelings.
Of all the worlds Jung had lived in, Maskera was most comparable to Earth, excluding the magic and geography aspects. It had 12 months, divided into four seasons, each with a different climate. Time zones worked in a similar fashion, and adaptation became easy for him.
It was 17 October of the year 514 after the Fracture, marking the near-extinction of humanity. His trip would last seven days, and Lisa and Baki furnished him with the details before his departure.
"You know that your mother and I met each other in that academy, right?" Baki asked, reminiscing about his past.
Lisa went in a different direction. "Arcane Academy is the most renowned institute in this world." She pointed out more informative details that Jung might not be aware of.
"The acceptance rate is not high, but with your talents, it should be doable," Lisa persisted. "Just be careful; you don't have to push yourself. You know that there is a place for you to return to, right?"
Despite how stoic she acted most of the time, tears covered her cheeks. Baki was with her on that matter, as his face became ugly while his nose wiggled.
"Mom, Dad, don't be like that," Jung said casually. "Of course, I am going to come back. Where would I go if not here?"
He wanted to promise that he would bring Elara and might have been confident in doing so, but his words would change nothing. On the contrary, it might cause more worries in their hearts. So he swallowed the words he wanted to utter and listened carefully.
Although Jung wanted to explore the surrounding city and scam players on the side, he spent all day with Lisa and Baki, attending to all of their warnings. 'Time well spent,' he thought, reaching for his bed.
Yet, his steps halted. Slowly walking toward Elara's room, he peeked inside, examining her toys that had been left in loneliness, untouched. Jung had a hard time holding back his tears as he talked with his parents, but as soon as he entered the room, his demeanour collapsed.
With tears rolling down his face, the proud Rebel and even Hero played with her toys. It wasn't his first time doing it, but he felt emotional on this day. The system already gone and Nero dead asleep, Jung felt lonelier than usual.
"I will bring you back, and we can play together," he promised himself once again and went to slumber.
The morning quickly showed up; he asked the system and still got no response as her quietness prevailed, and with the truth that Nero still resided in his heart, Jung was confused. 'Players are still here, the other system is working just fine. What's the matter with you?'
He left the home, changed his appearance, and smirked in his trademark fashion. 'I am going to pocket their pills.'
That's exactly how Jung spent the past seven days. He couldn't tell his progress or use the new skills without the system, but based on the intensity in his body, he could say with 100% certainty that his Rebel archetype was on Tier IV and the Hero on Tier II.
It was only his speculation, though. With no new abilities, there was no way to prove it.
He had a rough time operating without inventory as his access to pills and various other items was severed and not only did he have to incorporate new ideas to scam players, but entering dungeons and clearing them was a challenge he went to great lengths to overcome.
Thanks to the system players owned, it was fairly easy to swindle some pills. His standing in their minds stayed firm, even though some wanted revenge. HugeP and his handlers were enough to restrain them.
Jung wanted to clear the weakest dungeons to hoax valuable loot from players, but with no taming pills in his arsenal, no amount of cons could overpower this urge.
Life didn't wait for him, as he spent most of his time fighting and collecting resources, he used the remaining moments of his day with Lisa and Baki.
It was a nice gesture from Jung, and both of his parents appreciated it immensely. After an entire week of operating in the system's absence, it was time to leave.
October 24th dawned, and it brought unease and fear. The blame for this endeavour fell on his parents, who couldn't contain their anxiousness and woke him up early in the morning.
Jung opened his eyes and closed them right away. He wanted to sleep more; who knows when he would get another chance to roll over in his bed?
As he tried to find peace in Baki's shouting, he heard another sound. It was a familiar, soft, eternal voice he wanted to hear all this time. A single word, containing two vowels and countless meanings.
[Sorry…]