Chapter 12: Chapter 12: DAWN IN THE SECOND WORLD AND THE WARMTH OF REAL SUNLIGHT
Concentration fully focused on a single point often causes people to forget the continuous flow of time. That was what happened to me throughout the rest of the night in StoneBrook’s grasslands. Under the constant glow of the twin moons that slowly faded in the west, I continued moving like a silent shadow dancing among the grass. Drawing the bowstring, holding my breath, locking onto the target, then releasing the arrow with absolute precision. I repeated that ritual hundreds of times without boredom, targeting every night rabbit and green slime that came into my line of sight.
When a thin mist began to descend and the golden-orange light of dawn slowly cut through the darkness of the eastern sky, I finally lowered my wooden bow. My character’s breath came out slowly, leaving a faint vapor in the cold morning air. I stretched my fingers, which felt very light and responsive, then opened my virtual status panel to see the results of my hard work throughout the entire night.
========== STATUS ==========
Name : Syl
Gender: Female
Race : Elf
Trait : Albinism
Level : 7
EXP : 100 / 800
Health : 60 / 60
MP : 180 / 180
Stamina: 100 / 100
========== ATTRIBUTES ==========
STR : 2
INT : 24
DEX : 23(+10)
AGI : 3
VIT : 2
Attribute Points : 6
========== SKILLS ==========
Slow Walking Lv20
Stamina Regeneration Lv10
Bow Mastery Lv20
Power Shot Lv10
Wind Element Lv5
Wind Arrow Lv5
Water Element Lv2
Water Ball Lv2
Carpenter Lv1
Skill Points : 60
========== Equipment ==========
Standard Hunting Wooden Bow, Glade Walker’s Bracer (Epic)
I stared at the rows of digital numbers with slightly widened eyes. My character level had only increased by one to Level 7, a very slow achievement for a full night’s hard work, since grassland monsters gave very little experience points. However, my main attention was on the skills table.
"It turns out several of my main skills have already reached their level cap..." I muttered softly while stroking my chin with my pale fingertips.
The skills [Slow Walking], [Bow Mastery], and [Power Shot] had all locked at their maximum level. Below the skill names was a blinking yellow indicator text: [Requires Breakout]. Although I currently had 60 Skill Points safely stored in reserve, the process of breaking through three skills at once wasn’t something I could do instantly in the middle of an open field.
I looked at StoneBrook’s sky, which was now fully brightened by the morning sun.
"I don’t have enough time right now. I should save this breakthrough for later."
I stored the wooden bow back on my back, turned around, and walked back through StoneBrook’s increasingly busy city gate, filled with players who had just woken up and were preparing for morning hunts. My main destination this time was the merchant stall district in the western corner of the city.
Upon arriving there, I immediately found Kitsuna’s emergency stall. The Beastkin girl from the Fox tribe was tidying up several pieces of fabric on her wooden table, her orange ears twitching lightly as they welcomed the morning.
"Yo, Kitsuna. Is my armor order ready?" I greeted as I approached her stall.
Kitsuna looked up, and the moment she recognized me, a wide smile bloomed on her face, which was adorned with tribal markings.
"Ah, Syl! You came right on time! Of course it’s done. I even stayed up for several hours to make sure the stitching quality on these wild boar leather layers was in the best condition!"
She bent down to retrieve a neatly wrapped cloth package from behind the table and handed it to me. The moment my palm touched the package, the game system’s item description window immediately appeared before me, displaying very satisfying INT and DEX stat increases according to the order contract I made last night.
I didn’t immediately equip the new leather armor set in this open space because I didn’t want to attract even more attention from the male players around the market. With a single finger swipe, I transferred the entire new leather armor set into my dimensional inventory slot.
"Thank you very much for your hard work, Kitsuna. See you again," I said while giving a respectful nod.
"You’re welcome, Syl! Come back if you need armor upgrades in the future!" Kitsuna called out, her fluffy tail waving cheerfully.
After finishing the armor matter, I left the market area and headed toward one of the nearest NPC inns in the city’s safe zone. I rented a quiet small room for a few hours using some silver coins, locked the door from inside, then lay my Elf body down on the available wooden bed. I closed my eyes and said [Log Out].
Ssssshh... Clack!
The soft pneumatic hiss echoed again as the thick glass cover of my medical game capsule slowly rose. My physical consciousness reunited with my real body in the real world. The first thing I did was glance at the large digital clock mounted on the medical room wall.
03:00 AM.
I let out a long breath, savoring the quiet silence of the night inside the house. An overwhelming drowsiness suddenly attacked my brain’s nervous system, a natural side effect after hours of full brain synchronization in the game. Logically, I should move my physical body from inside this capsule to the soft medical bed in the middle of the room.
However, moving my paralyzed and weak real legs at one-third past midnight felt like it required an enormous amount of energy. Moreover, the interior design of our family’s high-class medical game capsule was already equipped with an extremely soft ergonomic anti-bedsore mattress that comfortably supported my spine structure.
"Ah... I’m a bit lazy to move to the bed," I muttered in a very hoarse and soft voice. "This game capsule is also quite comfortable..."
In the end, I decided to remain lying inside it. With the capsule’s glass cover left wide open to maintain good circulation of the sterile room air, I closed my eyes and let myself drift into a dreamless deep sleep.
"Young... Master, wake up. It’s time for breakfast and medicine..."
A very gentle female voice, calm in rhythm and full of warmth, slowly penetrated the layers of my sound sleep. I slowly opened my eyelids, blinking several times to adjust my visual focus to the morning sunlight streaming through the window curtain gaps.
The first sight that greeted my consciousness was Mira’s beautiful face leaning near the edge of the game capsule, looking at me with her beautiful eyes filled with relief and deep concern. Seeing such sincere beauty before me at the start of the day, a faint smile unconsciously formed on my pale lips.
"Good morning, Mira..." I said in the typical voice of someone who had just woken up.
Mira was momentarily stunned seeing my smile, before a very faint red blush crossed her cheeks. She returned the smile with the elegance of a mature maid.
"Good morning, Young Master. Your breakfast and regular medicines are ready on the table."
I nodded slowly, then began shifting my body to get up from inside the medical game capsule. With the guidance of Mira’s warm and sturdy slender arms supporting my fragile body weight, we walked slowly toward the folding dining table in the corner of the room near the window.
The moment I sat down in the comfortable chair, the aroma of warm food greeted my nose. However, when the bowl cover was lifted, I could only sigh deeply in silence. The menu before me was still the same: a bowl of bland finely ground wheat porridge with green nutrient extract that looked very mushy.
I picked up the spoon with resignation and began mechanically feeding myself the food. While chewing the boring porridge, a flash of memory about Second World Online’s features suddenly crossed my mind.
"If I remember correctly... there’s also a food system in the game," I thought while staring at the silver spoon in my hand. "But since there was no Hunger Gauge system on the first day of launch yesterday, I completely forgot about it. They say SWO’s nerve immersion technology can replicate digital food taste up to 99% similarity with the real world. Later, I should try it when I log back in. I want to taste real grilled meat that I haven’t eaten in a long time."
After successfully finishing the rest of the porridge with what remained of my willpower and gulping down the entire series of medicines Mira gave me, I reached for the thin tablet lying on the table to check the latest server information developments.
Sure enough, on the official SWO website’s homepage, there was an important update announcement that had just been released by the developers a few hours ago:
[System Update Note: Second World Balance Adjustment]
Implementation of Hunger System: Every character now has a Hunger Gauge indicator that decreases periodically based on physical activity intensity and stamina usage. Players are required to consume food to prevent reduction in HP, MP and Stamina regeneration.
Optimization of Cooking Sub-Class: This update was implemented so that players who take the cooking production skill have a more useful and significant economic role in clan communities and the general market.
Bug Fixes: Fixes for several visual texture errors in the environment and optimization of data traffic on the official community forum.
I nodded in understanding while reading the note. This update was a very logical step to strengthen the real-life simulation aspect of the game, while also giving fresh air to non-combat crafters.
This time, I didn’t choose to immediately jump back into the medical game capsule after finishing with the tablet. My real soul felt the need for a little change of atmosphere after spending the entire night in the cold digital grassland.
"Mira, please take me outside today," I said while turning to my loyal maid.
"Understood, Young Master. Please prepare yourself," Mira replied promptly.
Mira took my special wheelchair from the corner of the room, helped move my fragile body from the dining chair onto the wheelchair’s padding with extremely careful movements so as not to trigger joint pain in my bone marrow. After making sure my sitting position was comfortable enough and a thin blanket covered my lap, Mira began pushing the wheelchair through the bedroom door, along the long house corridor, until we finally went out to the backyard garden.
The moment the large glass garden door was slid open, a pure and fresh morning breeze immediately swept across my face. The air outside felt so good, vastly different from the sterile air of the filtration machines in my medical room. The morning sunlight at past eight o’clock felt just right warm, gentle, and rich in natural vitamin D that my leukemia body desperately needed.
As in the usual ritual I often did when my body had energy, Mira pushed my wheelchair along the garden path surrounded by neatly maintained orchid flowers and green plants, until we finally stopped right beside a large koi fish pond.
The clear surface of the pond water sparkled like a mirror under the sunlight. The moment my wheelchair’s shadow approached the pond’s edge, more than a dozen large koi fish with beautiful red, white, and gold patterns immediately swam toward the surface, opening their mouths as if greeting my arrival.
A feeling of pride and warmth suddenly rose in my chest as I watched those water creatures. Most of the koi fish swimming lively in this pond were ones I had personally chosen and bought with my own savings several years ago, before this leukemia truly robbed me of all physical freedom.
Mira bent down slightly and handed me a small container of fish pellets. I took a small pinch of fish food and threw it into the middle of the pond with a relaxed hand movement.
Splash... Plop!
The pond water instantly churned as the koi fish competed for the food I scattered. The rhythmic sound of water splashing, the smell of wet soil from the surrounding plants, and the warmth of the sunlight slowly caressing my skin created a truly sacred atmosphere of peace.
After the fish food container was empty, I handed it back to Mira. I leaned my entire back and head against the wheelchair’s backrest, folded my arms over the blanket on my lap, and slowly closed my eyes. I intended to just sit back and enjoy the warmth of the morning sun that still felt gentle and soothing.
However, the combination of exhaustion from the all-night gaming session, the relaxing effect of the medicines starting to work in my bloodstream, and the extraordinary comfort of the open nature apparently worked like the strongest sleeping pill. Without realizing it and unable to resist, my real consciousness slowly faded again. Beside the calm koi pond, under the protection of the warm morning sunlight, I once again drifted into a very peaceful deep sleep.
Comments