Chapter 34 - Renewed Energies

Arthur had three ongoing quests at the moment. One was about Yuki, his pet, which for some reason the rewards still didn’t show up. It was certainly because the game wasn’t expecting someone to be unable to change the ownership of the tamed beast...

The second quest was the one with Louise to bring back the ores and herbs. And now, another hidden quest.

Well, not quite yet. Arthur had to find clues about it to unlock said quest. The system warning him about the quest didn’t mean he would get it. That depended on other factors.

Once Louise and Arthur were inside their room, she jumped on the bed, finally resting after such a long time.

"I’m dead tired," she said. "It’s almost morning, no?"

It was around 1 am. Louise didn’t have a digital watch showing the time like he did...

Arthur could still play for a while. It was afternoon back on Earth. But there was no need to stay logged in. In fact, logging out for a few hours inside that tavern would grant him bonus EXP to use later on when fighting monsters!

There was just no way Arthur would leave the mountain village and go fight monsters in the dark without a proper source of light. Nighttime was quite hard for new players, so most didn’t even go out when it was so late.

Dying meant losing the precious EXP, and the loss of EXP was pretty damn high. No one wanted to risk it.

Louise was so tired that she was almost sleeping while Arthur was still lost in his own thoughts.

"It might take me around 33 hours to return," he said, "so yeah."

He would have to wait for the next day to play again for 10 hours straight.

Arthur lay down on the floor right next to Louise. She was a little... shy about it. But it didn’t last long. The moment Arthur pressed the log out button, his body disappeared, and he was back in his old apartment.

"Ahh, my head," Arthur complained as he took out the game helmet and got out of bed.

Playing the game was still tiring, even for someone who was used to it. He opened his fridge, grabbing some eggs and bacon to fill up his stomach.

The city of New York was lively, with lots of noises coming through his windows. His apartment didn’t have the best soundproofing.

However, when playing the game, he didn’t hear anything from outside, so it didn’t matter much. It wasn’t affecting his gameplay, and that was what mattered.

Arthur ate something and left his apartment. There was a nearby gym where he went to hit a quick workout. Nothing crazy, just moderate weight.

It was also there where he trained boxing. Not because he wanted to become a fighter, but having trained reflexes when playing the game helped, so players tried all different kinds of sports to improve that somehow.

After working out, Arthur took his protein shake and just chilled inside his apartment while reading some game news and, of course, clips about the game.

Lots of players were recording their own findings and experiences in the game. Quite entertaining to watch.

"I should find this hidden quest, complete that one with Louise and level up in the region. Level 10 before heading back is my goal!"

Arthur was writing down his game plan to stick it in his mind. After getting back to the city being level 10, his goal was to craft some better equipment for himself, and a bow for Point Blank to get herself a contract.

Late afternoon, he visited the hospital to see how his mother and stepsister were doing. Both were still in a coma.

He sat beside their beds, unable to hold back the tears.

"I’ll get enough money to save you, I will!"

There was no better thing to give him motivation than seeing them in that state.

After Arthur returned home, nothing different happened, so he just rested and eagerly waited for the next day to play again.

On the following morning, Arthur went straight to the shower and ate something before entering the game.

While eating breakfast, he read some game news again and saw something interesting.

A tournament! The game company was already thinking of a tournament. The E-sports scene was showing up.

Last time, during Arthur’s first life, it took them a little longer to announce the first tournament.

’Did my appearance change things?’

That was the only difference from back then. Or did something else happen?

Either way, Arthur was excited for it! The players, during the tournament, would have their levels capped to whatever the company wanted for that specific tournament.

But the equipment could still be used, that is, if it wasn’t over leveled. If the tournament was locked at level 20, the equipment could only be level 20 or less.

However, that was just the best advantage Arthur could have! With his class, crafting the best equipment for his current level wouldn’t be hard.

Winning the first tournament was possible, and with the win came money and sponsorship, both things that he needed to save his family.

Once back in the game, Arthur returned to the same room where he had been the other night. Lots of hours had passed since, more than a day.

He went downstairs, surprising the tavern owners.

"Aren’t you Lady Louise’s friend? She said you would vanish and show up out of nowhere, but I thought she was just joking."

The mountain village was so isolated that it had yet to get in contact with players, so the NPCs didn’t know about them yet.

"Do you know where she is?" Arthur asked.

"Outside, I think. Near the lake."

Arthur left the tavern. It was around midday, and now he could see clearly how the village looked. It was gorgeous.

The houses were all made of wood, simple looking, but they had their charm. Everything was clean, with lots of flowers and other plants that worked as decoration.

But what caught the most attention was the view from up there. Arthur walked over to the mountain’s edge, looking down. He was above everything else in the region! That was one of the tallest mountains.

He saw the beautiful snowy scenery, glancing at the city of Snow Pine.

’That’s Ray’s tower,’ he thought.

Arthur could even spot the area where the beginner village was, but he couldn’t see any player, obviously. His vision wasn’t that great.

He took a photo through the game’s system and posted it on the forums with the caption ’on top of the world.’

Always chasing views, he was. Getting that ads money was always a good thing.

Anyway, Arthur talked with a few villagers who were working in their farms. They pointed out where the lake was, which wasn’t far from the village, only a two-minute walk.

Louise was taking a swim there. She was quite surprised after seeing him.

"Finally back," she said. "You should try this lake. This is a thermal lake, meaning the water is hot. So good."

Arthur didn’t know much about this place from his previous life. Was it a hidden gem? He could see it turning into a place where players came to relax, with the thermal lake and hot springs in the region.

’Should I delete the photo to avoid players crowding this place?’

In the end, he didn’t delete it. There was no point. But maybe buying some property in the region to get money from players might be a good thing to think about in the future.

Anyway, Arthur jumped into the lake as well. The water was really nice. Louise wasn’t lying about it.

"So, while you were away, I looked up a few things about the mystery the tavern owner told us about. I think I know where we can look. Wanna go check it out?"

"Of course! Lead the way."

Arthur left the lake, not staying more than five minutes in it. Not because it was bad, but because he wanted to complete missions and get his EXP...