Chapter 93 Arthur’s Brother

The two of them sat in that small wooden boat and started talking about life. Arthur wanted to understand exactly what had happened to Eddy.

At first, he had believed it was only a coincidence, that the two of them, despite sharing the same fate, weren’t connected in any way. But that wasn’t the case.

The more they talked, the more Arthur realized something.

Eddy, or rather Edward, his real name, was about the same age as Arthur’s biological brother!

Arthur’s father had split up with his mother, and because of her worse financial situation, she couldn’t get custody of both children, only one, who was Arthur. His brother stayed with their father, who moved to Canada and married again.

Arthur’s mother had also married a man who already had a daughter, the stepsister who was in a coma as well.

Eddy had put down his fishing rod and was sitting with both hands on his head. It was too much information for him.

"So we’re brothers? Are you serious? I still can’t believe it."

Arthur sat down beside him. He was in shock over the revelation too, but what unsettled him most wasn’t that Eddy was his blood brother. It was that Eddy had been killed in the same way!

So both of them had been stabbed and sent back in time, while Arthur’s mother and stepsister were in a very strange coma. And, from what Eddy said, their father, who was also Arthur’s father, had disappeared.

Basically, everyone connected to their family had suffered some kind of consequence.

"I’m not one to believe in higher powers, but it’s obvious something strange is going on with us. Everyone in our family is in ruins..." Eddy sighed deeply. "The ones who are doing better got stabbed. What the hell is this?"

Indeed, considering the whole situation, Arthur and Eddy were the only ones who had been given a second chance to change something.

"How long has our father been missing?" Arthur asked.

"A year before the game launched. I’m doing better these days, but I still want to find him... Man, I can’t believe you’re really my brother."

Eddy stood up and hugged Arthur. It had been so long since anyone in his family had hugged him that Arthur froze.

Even though, deep down, the two didn’t really know each other, having been apart their whole lives, Arthur still felt that Eddy was part of his family.

The hug lasted a few seconds. When it ended, Arthur looked at him, frowning, a pertinent question on his mind.

"Did Dad never tell you about me?"

He found that strange. After all, their mother had told him about Eddy, though she never gave his name, only that he lived in Canada. Arthur had even considered going to meet him in person, but with the coma situation, he’d been unable to. Staying close to his mother and stepsister, who had been present his whole life, had been what mattered most.

Eddy shook his head.

"No, he never said anything to me."

That was strange, something Arthur would definitely try to find out more about.

Arthur explained to him the situation with his mother and stepsister. The main reason he was playing Chronos Online was to one day be able to help them.

And, of course, he asked whether Eddy would consider coming to live with him, maybe bringing his mother along. It was risky, absolutely, considering the stalking Arthur had recently been through, but he still wanted to be close to his family.

Besides, that was Eddy’s decision too, and he was more than excited to go. In fact, he already wanted to log out to buy the tickets.

"Of course we want to live with you! My mom is going to be so happy to find out you exist. After Dad disappeared, she got kind of sad and aimless, and she’s always close to me, making sure I don’t disappear too. I know she’s going to love meeting you!"

Arthur let out a rare, genuine smile.

"Let’s talk more about it after the tournament, okay? I have to go to Japan anyway, so let’s plan your move for after that."

"I think that’s better too."

The two added each other as friends and stayed there fishing, talking about life, everything one wanted to tell the other. Arthur didn’t even notice the hours go by.

And of course, during that time, they kept competing to see who could catch the biggest fish. Arthur, with his passive, Tide’s Fortune, got a 10% boost to catching rare fish and treasures, so he was always ahead.

Eddy, however, had focused heavily on fishing, so his profession level was higher, which kept him competitive.

Arthur felt a strong tug on his fishing rod. Standing, with both hands on the rod, he braced one foot on the edge of the boat and started pulling the fish in, fighting against it.

It was heavy and strong. Those traits alone told him it could be a good specimen.

As soon as he pulled it out of the water, he saw a beautiful, multicolored fish with a back covered in venomous spines that would hurt anyone who tried to touch them.

It was a rare fish found in high-altitude lakes, which meant it wasn’t all that easy to find.

[Spiny Rainbow Fish (Rare)]

[Size: 75 cm (29.5 inches)]

[Weight: 12 kg (26 pounds)]

Eddy even stopped fishing to help his brother, removing the fish from the hook. Luckily, it was easy to store once it was off the rod: you just had to put it in the inventory.

The fish would stay alive in there, fresh, and perfect for cooking later.

"Yeah, I guess you win this one," Eddy admitted, sitting down in the boat and leaning back on his arms. "Man, I’m still stunned. Cinder, the famous player, is my brother in real life? That’s insane."

Arthur sat down beside him, propping his fishing rod against the boat.

"And how do you have that huge griffin? I thought I was the only one lucky enough to get a flying mount this early. It was hard to get, even with all the advantages I have."

Eddy had wanted to tell him about it from the start. He was just waiting for the question, the perfect opportunity to brag a little.

"You’re not the only one with a special class, you know. Mine is a magic class, and it’s called Deep Sea Sage."

"Deep Sea Sage? And how the hell did you get that class?"

Arthur had gotten his after years of playing the game, then dying and going back in time with the same class. But Eddy had only played for 3 months, so how had he already gotten a class like that?

"For some reason, I spawned inside an aquatic civilization, and I got the class there. I don’t get it, but my initial spawn was bugged."

The same thing that had happened to Arthur.

"And how does the griffin fit into that?"

"So, I got it from an NPC who came to the aquatic civilization to trade. He gave it to me. I think it was just luck. At least I got lucky once after all the crap that’s been going on lately..."

"Got it. And what do you plan to do now, brother? Any plans?"

Eddy looked out at the horizon, staring at the lake.

"Right now, explore the world and fish. My class is peculiar, you know. I get a bit of EXP for my combat class even when I’m fishing. I think it’s because I’m tied to the waters. And I can also breathe and move really fast underwater, which is great for killing aquatic monsters, and that makes leveling up by killing monsters in lakes, rivers, or even the ocean so much easier. And you, brother, what do you plan to do?"

"I have some quests right now that I need to do alone, but after that, we can do some things together, even if it’s just fishing."

Eddy slung his arm around Arthur’s neck.

"I’ll work hard to stay at a high level, so we can do some quests together every now and then."

"What do you think about us clearing a dungeon at the bottom of this lake?" Arthur suggested. "We just need to reach level 25 first. I want to clear it solo for the rewards, but we can go in as a duo afterward too."

Eddy got excited right away. Not so much because of the dungeon, but because he’d be doing it with his brother.

"I was wondering what that structure at the bottom of this lake was. I tried to get in but couldn’t, now I know why. I’m still level 17..."

"Then we have a lot of work ahead of us. You need to level up fast."

Excited, Eddy started putting away the fishing gear. The two were focused on reaching level 25 as soon as possible.

Arthur left the boat, but Eddy stayed.

"It will be faster if I stay here and kill the monsters in the water," he said.

While he stood there, Arthur went to the nearby forest to look for monsters to kill. Level 25 was really close.