Second World Online

Chapter 22: Chapter 21: THE EAGLE’S EYE BEHIND THE FOG AND THE GOLDEN KNIGHT’S PATH TO FREEDOM

The cold wind blowing from the peaks of the northern mountains carried the scent of woodsmoke and the metallic tang of raw meat from the valley floor. I crouched silently on a branch of a giant pine tree jutting out over the gorge cliff, staring intently at the primitive military camp spread out across the giant stone crater below.

Obviously, I wasn’t careless or foolish enough to simply jump down and charge in with my bow drawn. The situation at this [Area Boss: Goblin King] lair was on a completely different level of complexity compared to when I defeated the Grizzly King in the Eastern Forest yesterday afternoon.

In the Eastern Forest, the bear king was a solitary predator ruling its territory alone without any minions intervening. I could freely utilize the tall trees to conduct one-on-one guerrilla warfare, shoot its eye, and then fade into the shadows using the combination of [Stealth] and [Slow Walking] without worrying about other monsters ambushing me from behind.

But in this northern crater? The word "alone" didn’t exist in their vocabulary.

I narrowed my albino eyes, scanning the entire perimeter of the camp, which was enclosed by a fence of sharpened palm logs. At every corner watchtower stood two to four [Goblin Sniper - Level 10] armed with poisoned shortbows. In the central area, among rows of dingy leather tents, hundreds of [Armored Hobgoblin - Level 12] patrolled in small squads of five to eight, accompanied by Goblin Hounds with acute senses of smell capable of detecting intruders using ordinary cloaking skills.

Even more terrifying, right at the inner defense line surrounding the Goblin King’s grand tent a massive tent constructed from mastodon ribs stood eight massive elite warriors: [Mercenary Orc Captain - Level 16]. They wore thick steel plate armor and wielded giant double-bladed axes emitting an intimidating, deep red aura.

"This is no longer a solo hunting ground; this is an open military fortress," I whispered softly to myself while tracing the ironwood surface of my [Laminated Longbow (Silk Ver.)].

If I recklessly fired even a single arrow at the Goblin King sitting on his stone throne in the middle of the camp, the magical energy resonance and the area boss’s roar would immediately trigger the aggro of every monster inside the crater! In a matter of seconds, thousands of poisoned arrows, iron maces, and giant axes would rain down on me from all directions.

No matter how great the accuracy and arrow velocity of my new laminated bow, my albino Elf body was still a thin-blooded archer with fragile physical defense. A single slash from an Orc Captain’s axe or being swarmed by five hunting hounds would be more than enough to shred my health bar to zero and send me back to StoneBrook’s resurrection altar with a painful death penalty.

"Knowing when to retreat is the mark of a true veteran player," I decided firmly, extinguishing the intense curiosity that had flared in my chest. Conquering this fortress required a large clan army or a group of high-level elite parties with a solid composition of Tankers, Healers, and Area of Effect (AoE) Mages. A solo player like me had no place on an open, mass-combat battlefield like this.

Exotic Race Experiments and Tactical Analysis

However, just as I was shifting my position to climb down from the pine tree branch, the corner of my eye caught a peculiar movement behind a dense thicket of bushes on the opposite cliff slope, about four hundred meters from the Goblin lair.

There, behind the dense, dark thorny bushes, were four short silhouettes with moss-green skin crouching and peeking toward the Goblin King’s camp. At a glance, their physical appearance was identical to the ordinary [Green Goblin - Level 8] patrolling the outer forest.

However, there was something very unusual about their behavior. These green creatures weren’t holding rusted bone knives haphazardly, weren’t letting out idiotic giggling laughs, and weren’t patrolling with the rigid, repetitive AI patterns of monsters.

Instead, one of them appeared to be raising an antique brass telescope to observe the guard rotation patterns on the wooden Goblin towers, while another creature was seen sketching map contour lines on a piece of virtual parchment using a quill pen!

Above the heads of those four short, green-skinned creatures floated bright green ID names, the absolute symbol distinguishing human players from non-player characters (NPCs) or wild monsters.

"Gosh... they’re actually players who chose the Goblin race!" I hissed in amazement, leaning my head forward slightly to get a clearer look from the tree.

In Second World Online’s character creation menu, the developers at Chronos Tech truly offered insanely flexible immersion. Aside from popular standard humanoid races like Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and high-tier Beastkin (like Kitsuna’s fox race or lion/wolf races walking on two legs), the system also opened up the option to choose exotic monster races or minority races (Monstrous Races), including Goblins, Kobolds, and even pure Orcs!

Seeing those four Goblin players hiding on the cliff slope without being attacked by the patrolling Goblin monsters around them, I immediately realized the terrifying tactical advantage of this often-underestimated race.

"Because their physical form, digital pheromones, and base race are identical to the monsters in this northern region... the monsters’ detection radius toward them becomes extremely small, or even remains neutral as long as they don’t land the first attack!" I analyzed with eyes sparkling in admiration.

What an absolutely brilliant infiltration and reconnaissance tactic! They were leveraging their racial camouflage advantage to safely observe blind spots, calculate the Orc Captains’ patrol intervals, and record the weaknesses in the Goblin King fortress defense formations without fearing being swarmed by monsters at every step. If the fortress weakness map information they recorded were sold to large clans planning a raid next week, those four Goblin players would surely become wealthy overnight and be flooded with gold coins!

Watching them, my mind suddenly drifted to another unique phenomenon I had witnessed while strolling around the StoneBrook town square a few days ago.

The choice of races in Second World Online truly wasn’t limited to walking on two legs. I remembered seeing several players from the Beast sub-race who literally chose avatars in the shape of large wolves, leopards, or horses walking on four legs across the city’s stone floors!

Every time I saw those four-legged players walking across the market, I always felt amused yet amazed imagining how complex the control burden they had to endure inside the Full-Dive medical capsule pods must be.

In the real world, the human brain is evolutionarily programmed to map motor signals to only two arms and two legs. When the Chronos Tech system mapped a human’s brainwaves into an avatar with four lower limb support legs or an extra tail that could be moved consciously, the sensory adaptation must have been extraordinarily taxing!

I remembered seeing a Level 1 beginner player with a silver wolf avatar tripping over his own feet and crashing into an NPC’s wooden barrel in front of a tavern because his brain was confused trying to coordinate his front-left leg and back-right leg simultaneously. It took days of motor balance training before those beast-race players could run agilely through the forest without tumbling like newborn deer.

"Transitioning from a paralyzed male body to this white-browed, well-endowed female Elf body already required a mental adaptation awkward enough for me... let alone having to learn to walk on four legs like them," I laughed softly to myself, shaking my head at the diversity of ways people enjoyed this VR world.

After satisfying my curiosity by observing the intelligence gathering of the Goblin players across the valley, I took a deep breath and refocused my attention on my own character’s condition. I waved my right hand in the air, summoning the main system interface to check my hunting harvest over the almost three hours of slaughtering dozens of Orcs, Hobgoblins, and Goblins in the northern hills.

========== STATUS ==========

Name : Syl

Gender: Female

Race : Elf

Trait : Albinism

Level : 12

EXP : 30/ 2200

Health : 70 / 70

MP : 200 / 200

Stamina: 100 / 100

========== ATTRIBUTES ==========

STR : 2(+1,5)

INT : 27(+6)

DEX : 26(+10) (+6)

AGI : 3

VIT : 2

Attribute Points : 15

========== SKILLS ==========

Slow Walking Lv23

Stamina Regeneration Lv12, Stealth Lv5

Bow Mastery Lv25

Power Shot Lv15, Vital Shoot Lv5

Wind Element Lv7

WInd Arrow Lv7

Water Elemtent Lv2

Water Ball Lv2

Carpenter Lv10

Skill Points : 60

========== Equipment==========

Laminated Ironwood Longbow (Silk Ver.), Glade Walker’s Bracer (Epic), Set Armor Kulit Babi Hutan (Common) Accessories: Oak Ring of Strength, Pine Beaded Bracelet, Carved Wooden Earrings

A satisfied smile bloomed on my lips once again. Without realizing it, the intensity of consistent guerrilla hunting using my new masterpiece weapon had boosted my character’s level by two ranks, jumping from Level 10 to Level 12!

Besides the level increase, my dimensional storage slot was also crammed with quality loot. I had managed to gather more than 30 pieces of Thick Orc Leather (Uncommon), 45 pieces of Scrap Hobgoblin Iron Plates, a dozen bone knives, and cash that now overflowed to reach 1 Gold Coin and 15 Silver Coins!

"Very satisfying. Time to head down and return to the city before my real-world treatment schedule expires," I whispered while shifting my position on the pine branch, preparing to jump down.

However, at the exact second I turned my body and gazed far out toward the northern mountain fog bordering the horizon, a crystal-clear, unusual golden bell chime suddenly echoed directly inside my motor nervous system, accompanied by a flash of blue light glowing in the center of my field of vision.

Ting!

[System Notification: Hidden Trigger Condition Met!]

[System: You have conducted intensive visual observation of high-level targets from a distance exceeding 400 meters without being detected for more than 30 consecutive minutes.]

[System: You meet the requirements to unlock the rare passive skill: [Eagle Eye] (Level 1)!]

[System: Unlocking this skill requires sacrificing a cost of: 5 Skill Points (SP). Do you wish to master it now?]

I gasped, my movements on the tree branch instantly coming to a complete halt. "A rare passive skill... [Eagle Eye]?!"

I quickly read the detailed description of the skill just offered by the system:

====================================================================

[Eagle Eye] - Passive Skill (Rank: Rare / Archer Tree) (Level 1)

====================================================================

Effect 1 (Optical Zoom): Grants the player’s pupils the ability to perform visual zoom focus on distant targets up to 3x magnification.

Effect 2 (Distance Accuracy): Reduces accuracy penalty degradation and gravity/distance damage drop-off on shots exceeding 50 meters by 20%.

Effect 3 (Weakness Highlight): Enhances visual sharpness to spot armor joint gaps and vital points on fast-moving targets.

====================================================================

My red eyes widened. This was a god-tier dream skill for a Sniper Archer! In Second World Online’s physical mechanics, arrow shots exceeding the effective range of 50 meters would usually experience damage drop-off and trajectory deviation due to gravity and wind arc. With this passive skill, I could execute lethal precision shots from much more extreme distances while keeping accuracy and damage fully intact!

However, my eyes immediately glanced at the sacrifice cost: 10 Skill Points (SP)

"Ten SP points... this is quite expensive," I muttered, weighing the options.

As my character’s level grew higher, acquiring SP became increasingly rare and valuable. Spending 10 SP at once just to unlock a basic-level passive skill felt like a heavy budget expenditure.

However, it took my analytical brain less than two seconds to make an absolute decision.

"I’ll just take it! This visual magnification and long-distance penalty reduction skill is worth far more than keeping dead SP in savings!" I decided firmly.

I pressed the [Confirm] button on the virtual screen.

Clang!

Five of my SP points were deducted, leaving a balance of 50 SP. At that exact second, a refreshing sensation like drops of ice water suddenly seeped into both my red eyeballs. I blinked reflexively.

When I opened my eyes again, the world around me seemed to have changed dramatically!

The thin, pine-scented fog that had previously shrouded the northern valley now felt as though it had been pulled back. Color contrast sharpness, spatial depth perception, and environmental texture details skyrocketed manifold!

I focused my gaze toward the opposite cliff where the four Goblin players were hiding earlier. Magically, my vision performed a smooth, natural optical zoom-in without triggering any dizziness! I could now clearly see the ink strokes on the paper map being drawn by a player named Shadow_Runt from four hundred meters away!

In the mirror reflection of a dewdrop on a pine needle near my face, I could see a mesmerizing physical change in my Elf avatar: surrounding the ruby-red pupils of my eyes, there was now a thin, faintly flickering golden ring emitting the piercing gaze of a supreme apex predator bird of prey.

"Incredible... with these eyes and this bow, not a single monster can escape my aim," I muttered in amazement, a satisfied smile spreading across my face.

With renewed enthusiasm burning brightly, I leaped down from the ten-meter-high pine branch, landing on the ground covered in dry fallen leaves with extremely light movements without making the slightest rustling sound, thanks to the combination of [Slow Walking] and [Stealth].

I walked briskly, leaving the danger zone of the northern hills, following a descending cobblestone path leading toward the outer grassland plains bordering the North Gate of StoneBrook.

However, just as I was crossing a narrow rocky cliff about eight hundred meters from the city gates, my pointed ears caught the loud clanging of colliding metal and a volley of combat instructions shouted in a very familiar baritone voice.

CLANG! BOOM!

"Hold the left flank, Kael! Livia, focus your healing magic on my main shield now! Don’t let these damn Hobgoblins break our formation!"

I stopped in my tracks, brushed aside a pine branch by the side of the path, and looked down toward the source of the sound in the lowland area below the cliff.

There, a small party of four players was engaged in a fierce battle against two raging [Armored Hobgoblin - Level 12]. At the very front, holding a gleaming broadsword in his right hand and a massive iron shield in his left, stood a knight in highly conspicuous, thick golden armor.

Every time the Hobgoblins’ spiked iron maces slammed into his tower shield, the golden knight didn’t budge an inch from his stance. He withstood the multi-ton impacts with the physical resilience of a true Main Tanker, buying safe space for his teammates a Rogue wielding dual daggers (Kael), a female Cleric in a white robe (Livia), and a fire-element Mage to launch counterattacks from the monsters’ blind spots.

"Arthur?" I muttered softly, my eyes widening slightly.

The golden-armored knight in the front line was indeed my close real-world friend and my first mentor in SWO: Arthur!

However, thanks to the new sharpness of my [Eagle Eye] skill, my eyes immediately caught a major detail change in the muscular young man’s appearance. On the center of his shining golden chest plate and on the shoulders of his red cape, the crowned golden lion head emblem the official crest of the giant [Golden Lion] clan had completely vanished!

His grand clan cape had been removed, replaced by an ordinary, dull grey traveler’s cloak. My noisy best friend was no longer wearing the identity of a top server clan on his body!

SWISS! THWACK!

As I was observing them from the top of the cliff, one of the severely wounded Hobgoblins suddenly spun around, leaped past Arthur’s shield blockade, and raised its mace to smash Livia, the Cleric who was casting a healing spell completely defenseless!

"Livia! Watch out!" shouted Arthur in panic, his position too far away to execute a shield intercept in time.

Without thinking twice, my right hand moved as fast as lightning with the reflexes of a national champion archer. I drew an arrow from my quiver, nocked it onto my bowstring, channeled [Wind Element] and [Power Shot], locked onto the right eye of the airborne Hobgoblin, and released my bowstring from the top of the cliff from a distance exceeding seventy meters!

SWISS... SWUSS! THWACK!

GROOOAAR!

The green wind-drill infused arrow shot out, slicing the cliff wind with a sharp whistle, defying gravity thanks to the Eagle Eye effect, and embedded itself absolutely through the Hobgoblin’s right eye mid-air before its mace could touch Livia’s head!

[Critical Hit! – 410 Damage!]

The Hobgoblin’s remaining HP instantly evaporated without a trace! Its massive body was hurled violently sideways and exploded into millions of golden particles right before the face of the pale, shocked Cleric.

A momentary silence enveloped the battlefield below the cliff. Arthur, Kael, and Livia turned in unison toward the top of the stone cliff where the green lightning arrow had originated.

I lowered my bow, deactivated my [Stealth] skill, and leaped down from the five-meter-high stone cliff with an exceptionally graceful floating movement, landing lightly right in front of Arthur’s party formation. My boar leather armor fluttered gently, while my silver-white hair shone under the northern fog.

"Yo, Arthur. Looks like you’re having a bit of trouble guarding your backline today," I greeted casually with a slight smirk.

Seeing the figure of the albino Elf girl with the black-and-cream bow standing before him, Arthur’s eyes bulged wide. The next second, an exceptionally signature, booming laugh erupted from the muscular young man’s throat!

"SYL! GOSH, IT REALLY IS YOU!" Arthur cheered, stabbing his broadsword into the ground and spreading his arms wide, almost hugging me before I took a step back with a cold warning glare that made him chuckle awkwardly. "Hahaha! That crazy arrow shot from the sky in silver-green... I knew right away that no one else on this server could pull that off except you, the Elf Goddess currently going viral nationwide!"

Arthur’s three teammates Kael, Livia, and the Mage stared at me with eyes sparkling with profound awe and respect. They whispered hysterically to one another, realizing that the figure who had just saved their Cleric’s life was the legendary solo player who had defeated the Grizzly King and became the number one trending topic on national television last night!

After brief introductions with Arthur’s exceptionally friendly and polite new companions, I looked straight at Arthur’s plain, emblem-free golden armor chest.

"Arthur... where did your proud golden lion clan emblem go? Why are you walking around without a clan crest now?" I asked curiously.

Hearing the question, Arthur’s boisterous laughter slowly subsided, replaced by a wry smile and a long sigh laden with the relief of a man who had just lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders. He rubbed the smooth surface of his clean golden armor chest.

"Ah... that arrogant clan crest? I threw it in the trash bin outside the clan headquarters this morning, Syl," Arthur answered in a calm yet firm voice, his mature eyes looking at me without the slightest regret. "I officially quit [Golden Lion]."

"Quit? Why?"

"Because that clan’s principles and way of playing have become completely rotten and no longer align with my adventurous spirit, Syl," Arthur explained, folding his arms across his sturdy chest. "You must already know about the wood and metal market chaos today, right? Since the server expansion announcement last night, the leaders of the big clans, including the Golden Lion guild master, turned into a bunch of greedy, money-crazed monsters!"

Arthur shook his head with an expression of disgust. "They ordered all clan members, including front-line combat divisions like mine, to forcibly buy up market materials, oppress small merchants, and intimidate independent crafting players into working as factory slaves for copper coin wages below fair market value! They even cut regular members’ potion rations to hoard stock to sell at exorbitant prices to new players next week!"

Arthur clenched his fist, slamming his armored gauntlet against the surface of his tower shield, triggering a proud, resounding clang.

"I entered this world of Second World Online to seek true adventure, to experience the freedom of fighting like a knight, and to forge genuine friendships... not to become a digital corporate pawn or a market middleman executioner oppressing weak players! When the guild master ordered me to force my own friend Kitsuna the fox craftsman to hand over her entire stock of armors at dirt-cheap prices this morning... my patience ran out."

Arthur grinned widely, patting Kael and Livia on the shoulders beside him. "So, I threw my vice-captain badge right into the guild master’s face and walked out of there! Now, I am a free adventurer! I formed this independent party with Kael, Livia, and my true friends who were also sick of big clan politics. We might not be filthy rich or have the backing of a giant guild anymore, but we fight with real honor and happiness!"

Hearing such a principled, honest, and brave explanation from Arthur, my respect for this best friend of mine jumped manifold. Beneath his childish, loud, and noisy demeanor, Arthur was a man with a true knightly soul who couldn’t be bought by gold coins or top server clan power.

"A very good and righteous decision, Arthur," I said, giving a firm nod of appreciation. "A greedy clan like them truly doesn’t deserve a golden shield from a knight like you. I’m sure you and your new party will be far more successful and happy on this path of freedom."

"Hahaha! Of course, Syl!" Arthur laughed proudly, his face brightening again. The next second, he looked at my new laminated bow, his eyes sparkling with martial enthusiasm. "Speaking of adventure... Syl, the four of us are planning to head deeper down toward the rocky gorge west of this northern forest to hunt packs of Level 14 Mercenary Orcs. We have a Tanker as solid as a rock and a great Healer, but we’re still missing one high-explosive, long-range Main DPS to shatter their thick-skinned defenses."

Arthur extended his large hand toward me, looking at me with warm hope and enthusiasm.

"How about joining our free party for this afternoon’s hunt, Syl? With your eagle eyes and storm arrows in our backline... we can slaughter every Orc in that gorge and harvest gold coins together in a matter of hours! Let’s show those arrogant clans what the true power of an independent party looks like!"

Hearing such an enthusiastic and genuine invitation from Arthur, accompanied by the hopeful, sparkling eyes of Kael and Livia who were eager to play alongside the server’s legendary goddess, my heart truly felt tempted.

Hunting with Arthur and his solid new group would surely be incredibly fun. With Arthur ready to absorb every monster attack on the front line with his giant shield, I could stand safely at extreme range without needing to bother with hit-and-run tactics or draining my stamina to sneak around anymore. I could fire Wind-infused Power Shots to my heart’s content and gather experience points at an absurd rate.

However... At the exact second I intended to open my mouth to accept his invitation, an internal warning alarm in my head rang out, jolting my consciousness.

I shifted my gaze to the top right corner of the game system interface, spotting the indicator: [Time Elapsed: 04 Hours 12 Minutes].

Without realizing it, I had been inside the world of Second World Online for over four hours non-stop since logging in after lunch!

I looked down at the pale white palms of my albino Elf body. In this VR world, I did feel as powerful as a god, able to leap among tree branches and kill giant monsters in a single shot. However, I could never forget the physical reality binding my existence in the real world.

Out there, inside the sterile room of the grand Wijaya family mansion, my real body Rian, the young man battling leukemia was lying motionless inside the mattress of the medical Game Capsule. Four hours was the maximum duration recommended by Doctor Karin and Mother for a single neural dive (Full-Dive) session for an intensive oncology patient like me, to avoid triggering cellular dehydration, bone marrow fatigue, or hypoxia in my motor nervous system which was currently recovering.

"I cannot be selfish and push myself... my real body needs water, medication, and actual rest right now," I whispered in my heart, suppressing my curiosity regarding the Orc gorge hunt.

I raised my face, looking at Arthur and his party members with a gentle smile laden with guilt and polite refusal.

"I’m sorry, Arthur... and everyone. Your offer is truly very tempting, and honestly, I really want to join you guys to slaughter those Orc hordes this afternoon," I answered in a calm and deep tone.

I shook my head slowly toward the northern valley battlefield. "But... I’ve already been inside this game for far too long today. My mental concentration has reached its limit, and it’s time for me to log out and return to the real world to rest."

Hearing my refusal, Kael and Livia momentarily showed slightly disappointed expressions at missing the chance to adventure with the solo legend. However, Arthur’s reaction was completely different and deeply moving.

My muscular best friend didn’t whine, didn’t force me to play for another five minutes like an addicted gamer, or ask foolishly why I had to leave just when things were getting exciting.

As the only person outside my family who knew the secret identity behind Syl’s avatar as a true best friend who knew full well how hard Rian’s struggle against blood cancer was in his real-world wheelchair Arthur’s eyes instantly softened with profound understanding and care.

Without needing to utter a single word that could expose his friend’s medical secret in front of his teammates, Arthur immediately straightened his posture, nodding firmly with an exceptionally supportive, warm smile.

"Of course, Syl! No need to apologize at all!" Arthur exclaimed in a reassuring, enthusiastic voice, tapping his own tower shield shoulder with a fist. "The adventures and monster hunts in this world aren’t going anywhere; they’ll still be right here waiting for us tomorrow! But maintaining your own stamina and fitness is the absolute, non-negotiable number one priority!"

Arthur waved his large hand toward the city gates to the south. "Go get plenty of rest, eat a delicious meal, and recover all your energy, champion! Tomorrow, or whenever you’re ready and energized again in this game... the doors to our free party will always be wide open to welcome the Elf Goddess to hunt together!"

"Thank you for your understanding, Arthur. See you tomorrow, Kael, Livia... I hope your Orc hunt succeeds in earning plenty of silver," I said while bowing slightly in a signature Elf gesture of respect, which was immediately answered with enthusiastic hand waves and friendly smiles from Arthur’s three companions.

I turned around, stepping along the outer grassland path with a heart feeling exceptionally light, peaceful, and warm. Leaving Arthur to fight alongside his new companions under the northern fog left no lingering regret in my heart. I knew my best friend was on the right path, surrounded by the right people.

About fifteen minutes later, my footsteps carried me across the North Gate of StoneBrook.

The atmosphere inside the city in the late afternoon approaching dusk seemed increasingly crowded and bustling with dozens of independent miner players pushing carts filled with iron and silver ore from the newly opened western mines toward the crafter market area. The joyful shouts of miners who had successfully broken the large clan monopoly echoed back and forth across the street corners, creating an exceptionally lively and dynamic frontier town atmosphere.

I walked quietly, slipping past the crowd of miners without attracting attention thanks to my tightly closed cloak hood, directing my steps straight toward the safe zone area in the city center where the two-story inn building owned by the town-managing NPC stood with its lanterns glowing warmly.

Upon arriving inside the inn, which smelled of cinnamon and warm drinks, I approached the wooden receptionist desk.

"Good afternoon, Uncle. I’d like to extend the rental of private room number 204 on the second floor for tonight," I said while placing two silver coins on the NPC receptionist’s desk.

"Ah, young Adventurer from the northern forest. Your room is ready and clean. Have a good rest," the friendly NPC innkeeper replied while handing me a carved iron key.

I walked up the softly creaking wooden stairs, traversed the quiet second-floor corridor, and opened the door to room number 204. After entering the clean room equipped with a wooden window facing the stone city square, I immediately closed the door and turned the security lock slot until it clicked twice ensuring my character’s virtual body was under absolute safe zone protection that couldn’t be infiltrated or attacked by other players while I was offline.

I removed my boar leather armor, carefully leaned my masterpiece [Laminated Ironwood Longbow (Silk Ver.)] against the corner wall near the head of the bed, and then lay my albino Elf body down on the clean cotton-sheeted mattress that felt exceptionally soft and comfortable supporting my back.

I lay gazing at the wooden ceiling of the inn room while taking a deep breath, absorbing the entire journey and the extraordinary achievements I had carved into the Second World today: from crafting the masterpiece silk-laminated bow, mastering the [Carpenter] skill, breaking past Level 12, observing the terrifying power of the Goblin King’s lair, unlocking the god-tier [Eagle Eye], to witnessing my true friend, Arthur, breaking the chains of clan greed to find his own freedom.

Everything in this digital world was moving in an exceptionally positive direction, as bright as the hope of medical record recovery awaiting my real body out there.

With a peaceful smile gracing my Elf body’s thin lips, I closed my ruby-red eyes in the silence of the StoneBrook inn room, summoned the main system interface panel in my mind, and whispered the neural disconnection command phrase that would bring me home to the warmth of my family’s embrace in the real world:

"System... Log out."

Syuuuuttt...

A blinding glow of white immersion light slowly swept across my consciousness, fading away the silence of the stone StoneBrook inn room, carrying me flying across the boundaries of the quantum ocean toward the warmth of dusk awaiting in the real world.