The hospital was pretty far away from T-Minus 20, and it was almost dark by the time Mino arrived. A pang of guilt struck Mino when he saw a dark-haired, middle-aged woman with the years visible on her face sit on a bench outside the hospital with a pair of crutches next to her and a white cast around her foot and lower leg.
"Mom!" He called out while jogging the last part.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized as soon as he got close.
"Oh, it's fine." Mino's mother grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down on the bench next to her.
"You were busy with work, right?" In that case, there was nothing he could do about it. Work was more important than picking up her when she was perfectly fine on her own.
"Actually…" Mino hesitantly rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at the ground between his knees. After a moment's hesitation, he explained to his mother how the construction site gave him the rest of the day and tomorrow off so that he could tend to her but how he had instead gone to Brett, asked for work, and somehow ended up playing a VR-game for several hours.
Violyn looked at her son as he told her what he had been up to during the day just like when he was a kid. She saw the guilt on his face as clear as day, even in the shadows cast by the streetlight above them. But she also heard the joy in his tone as he prattled on about Kode.
She patted him on his arm.
"So, you left your poor old mother here in the cold to play games?"
"I'm sorry, mom!" Mino bowed his head in apology.
"No, I won't have it. There's only one way you can earn my forgiveness." Violyn raised her head haughtily.
"I'll do it!" Mino said without a shred of hesitation. Anything for his mother's forgiveness.
"Carry me." She held out her arms.
Mino did not sigh. He would have done that anyway even if she didn't put it under the guise of doing it as a way of apology.
Mino stood up and turned his back to his mother, bending down slightly in front of her and putting her arms over his shoulders. Just like that, he gave his mother a piggyback ride. At least she carried the crutches on her own.
Mino worked in construction, and he was used to carrying heavy stuff. Still, his mother was too light.
He was silent as he walked toward their apartment building until his mother started asking him questions about the game.
It was the first time she had seen such a happy smile on Mino's face in years, maybe since his father left. There was no way she could blame him for enjoying himself a little when he had been working since before he was old enough. She was happy for him.
Besides, it was Sisyphus Online. She had heard her coworkers and the customers at the store talk about it. She hadn't heard many details, but it was a ground-breaking game that had already started to influence society from what she had heard.
If she had been wealthy, she would have already bought Mino a capsule. Boys should be playing games, not breaking their backs. Unfortunately, all she could do was silently support him. She rested her head on Mino's shoulder.
Breaking her leg would strain their finances even further, but maybe it had been a stroke of luck if it made him discover Sisyphus Online. She just hoped Mino would have enough time and energy to spend some time on it. He deserved it.
By the time they arrived at the apartment, it was already past dinner time. Mino and his mother were both very hungry. But if they wanted to be able to turn on the lights, a pan-fried bundle of shredded potato each would have to do.
After eating, Violyn didn't argue with her son about who should take the bed. She knew it was no use when she was injured. Mino would just leave the apartment if she tried to insist and sleep outside.
The next morning, Mino prepared another potato for his mother before setting off toward T-Minus 20 to waste the day playing games.
Kode was already there. Still there. Cinder couldn't be sure. But whatever the case, Kode was in the village going around harassing people who looked like newbies.
Cinder couldn't understand why Kode would be going around doing something that seemed so boring when the game was so realistic. Wouldn't it be at least a little more entertaining to try and climb the Mountain or enjoy the scenery outside the village?
But it was none of his business. The only thing Cinder cared about was that he had someone to hunt boars with as soon as he got a new and shiny mace.
Cinder and Kode set off toward the Mountain again and climbed until they reached the ridge, which signaled that they were outside the village's safe zone. From here on out, they would have no trouble finding monsters—boars, at least.
After the mishap from last time, Cinder had learned from his mistakes. He should not get hit, and he should not get overconfident. Two ironclad rules of monster hunting.
The rest of the monster hunting could be dealt with on the fly. Tap the boars here and there with his mace. Don't get hit by Kode's arrows. Keep the boars' attention on him. Don't last hit unless he wants to carry the monsters to the village by himself.
Simple things that weren't absolute rules. If he broke those, the most that would happen would be something inconvenient. It was manageable.
However, it became a lot less manageable when Kode decided to answer the question about whether he had returned to the game after sleeping or had stayed on while Cinder was logged out.
He had stayed logged in. He needed to log off. But he had given Cinder and approximate schedule for when he could play and they could work together to reduce the Mountain's boar population.
Now, Cinder was alone.
That made hunting boars more difficult. But more than that, it made earning Tokens more difficult.
But not all hope was lost. Kode had given Cinder a tip.