Chapter 13
It’s Isamu’s day off from his part-time job, so he logs into Dream Fantasy in the middle of the day.
「Yep, not many players around.」
Being a weekday afternoon, there are still very few players logged in.
The handful of players who are online seem to know their way around, purposefully walking off in various directions. Isamu doesn’t spot any newbies looking for help.
(No one’s calling out for assistance. Maybe I should use this chance to explore outside the forest!)
With that thought, Isamu opens his menu window to check the map, when suddenly-
「Yo, there he is! Hey, old dude!」
He hears a voice calling out from behind him.
Turning around, Isamu sees two familiar faces.
「Oh, Kaito and Emi!」
It’s the stylish couple he met on his first day.
Their outfits have been upgraded from the plain starting gear to trendier clothing.
「Hey old man! We’ve been trying to find you!」
「Long time no see! We saw you pop up on the map so we came running!」
「Yeah, it’s been a while… Wait, you came all this way just to see me?」
「Yup! We’ve got something we wanna give you!」
Kaito opens his menu window with practiced ease, his fingers tapping a few times.
＜【Kaito】has sent you an item. Do you accept?＞
A system message appears in front of Isamu.
「Take it, man! It’s a thanks for all your help the other day!」
「Oh wow, thanks! What is it?」
Isamu accepts the item and checks to see what it is.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
【Crimson Edge】
Type: One-Handed Sword
Attack: 30
Description: A blade stained deep crimson
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
(This is… insanely powerful. It’s gotta be a rare item.)
Currently, Isamu is equipped with the starting 【Iron Sword】.
The attack stat indicates a weapon’s raw strength. The highest attack you can get from a sword bought at the weapon shop in town is 20.
With that in mind, an attack of 30 is incredibly high.
「Thanks so much Kaito! But this seems like a really rare sword. I can’t possibly accept something this valuable…」
「Don’t sweat it! I’m leveling up greatswords, so a one-handed sword is useless to me anyway!」
「Ah, I see. I didn’t mention it before, but you can actually reset your skill points and――」
Isamu starts to explain that Kaito could respec into one-handed swords to use it himself, but gets cut off.
「Yeah, I know that already! But I’ve made up my mind, greatswords for life! I ain’t gonna use it, so you take it old man!」
「That’s right! This is also our way of saying thanks for before, so just accept it!」
Adds Emi.
Isamu feels it’s a bit much to receive such a grand item in exchange for the little advice he gave. But refusing further would only serve to offend them at this point.
So he decides to gratefully accept their generosity.
「I understand. In that case, I’ll happily take it! Thank you both so much!」
「Yeah!」
「You’re very welcome!」
(They really are great kids… I’m so lucky.)
Isamu is so touched, he barely manages to hold back tears.
In all his years of playing VRMMOs, this is the first time anyone has ever given him a gift.
「Alright, let me equip it right away!」
Isamu equips the ‘Crimson Edge’ he received from them.
The crimson-stained blade, emanating an aura of power, rests firmly in his right hand.
「Ooh, that looks badass on you!」
「Right? It’s a little flashy for an old guy though!」
「Haha, yeah… Thanks again, I’ll take good care of it! By the way, where did you two get this sword?」
「Hm? It’s from the ‘Trial Caverns’ at the bottom of the map. Don’t tell me you haven’t been there yet, old dude?」
「Ah, well, truth is I haven’t really explored much outside the ‘Rookie Forest’…」
Isamu admits with a wry smile.
Kaito and Emi exchange glances.
With a firm nod to each other, Emi speaks up.
「Hey old guy, you free right now?」
「Yeah, I just logged in actually.」
「Then why don’t you come with us to the caverns? We were just about to head there ourselves.」
「Wait, you want me to join you?」
「Hell yeah! The more the merrier when it comes to taking down bosses!」
(There are bosses? Now I’m excited!)
「If that’s the case, I’m in!」
「Sweet! We’ve got one more buddy meeting us, so once he-oh, speak of the devil, there he is. Oi, over here!」
Isamu looks in the direction of Kaito’s gaze to see another familiar face dashing towards them.
「Sieg! Thanks again for all your help the other day!」
「Leon! Good to see you again… Wait, huh? You three know each other?」
Isamu had assumed their other partner would be someone flashy like Kaito and Emi.
He’s surprised to see it’s the studious boy he met on the first day – Leon.
「Yeah, we met Leon on the community bulletin board. Right, Leon?」
「That’s right! Sieg taught us about this game there, and since we had that in common, we became friends. We play together sometimes.」
(Community bulletin board… Come to think of it, I feel like I saw a post by someone named Leon on there before. Guess that explains it.)
「Wow, small world! Great to see you again!」
「You too! I’m so glad!」
「Yo Leon, the old man’s joining us on this run!」
「Really? Awesome!」
「Alright, the gang’s all here! Let’s get this show on the road!」
「「「Yeah!」」」
And so, the four of them set off towards the magic circle that will transport them to the ‘Trial Caverns’.
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