After sorting everything out the general finally allowed Liam to leave. From now on he would be considered a chosen one, which would increase his security even more. He was certain that something like the kidnapping wouldn't happen again in the future.
When Liam returned home, he was warmly welcomed by Serena and Merida. His sister was rather anxious about him being late, so he had to comfort her for a while.
Only when Serena calmed down did Liam find time to care about the previous challenge. Sprawled on the couch he looked like he was about to dose off any minute but in his mind, he was communicating with C.
C, can you repeat my options?
[Please pay more attention in the future, player Liam.]
[Possible rewards:
1. A considerably strengthened body.
2. Choose one item with a level requirement below level 50.
3. Valuable Information
4. Location of an ancient ruin matching your current abilities.
You may choose two, Player Liam.]
What attention? Wasn't I in trouble because you forced me to fight?!
Liam rolled his eyes as he contemplated his options. His attention was immediately drawn to the fourth point. It appeared this reward was quite rare.
Even if he didn't know if there was a need to visit this ancient ruin in the future, he felt that there must be a reason for C to show him this.
Locking one choice he continued to ponder. He thought about Master Baker and the dojo. Since it would be out of order for the upcoming six months, he might not be able to train much.
Considering this, his choice finally fell on point number one but he had an additional request.
C, can you hide my strength? I don't know if the army will send someone to protect me in secret. It would be strange to suddenly improve so much in a short time.
[… request is reasonable. Permitted.]
Liam smiled faintly thinking that sometimes C was quite easy to talk to. But his smile suddenly froze as a strange power came from the console, forcefully driving into his body.
Liam felt a tearing pain. It was as if all his cells were forcefully elevated to a new level. His bone and marrow were assaulted, putting him through hell.
Serena and Merida had already gone to bed. He didn't dare to scream in pain no matter how much he would have loved to. Liam forcefully bit his lip, causing blood to run down his chin, looking tragic and painful.
His eyes reddened as well, threatening to fall out of his head. C showed no mercy as it reshaped his body. This was the price to pay for the sudden surge in strength.
Liam didn't know how long it took when the pain finally subsided. He laid on the couch, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. He started at the ceiling, his eyes filled with resentment.
C, are you trying to kill me?!
[You wouldn't be alive if this was my intent, player Liam. I merely elevated your body to the third stage of martial arts, marrow strengthening.]
Wow, f*ck you!
[Warning! Don't spout vulgarities.]
Liam's body trembled as he emptied his lungs and closed his eyes. He tried to distract himself by checking the second reward. Following his will, a map mysteriously appeared in his head.
The young man was amazed, studying it closely. It showed a large area around Red Oak City. So far, he didn't bother to study the geography of Falva Star much. But now he felt some curiosity.
On the map one could see the city marked by a small symbol, surrounded by forest to one side and empty fields to the other. Grey lines marked the trains and streets respectively. Along the lines one could make out army checkpoints from time to time, built to defend against the beasts inhabiting Falva Star.
At the edge of the map, one could find another city connected to Red Oak, which was Five Lake City where Radiant Shield and Bloody Edge went to college.
And deep in the forest, in a hilly area, a red spot blinked, marking the ancient ruin C revealed to Liam.
The young man couldn't deny that he felt some curiosity towards these mythical places which facilitated the swift growth of humanity and even the other races. Only his newfound responsibility towards Serena held him back from exploring these dangerous places.
But if C guaranteed that this ruin matched his current abilities...
Liam shook his head. He would see what the future holds. For now, it was time to get Serena a place to settle down. A nice flat in their planned gaming house would be a good start.
Dreaming of the future Liam's eyelids slowly got heavy.
Time to go to bed.
Liam jumped off the couch. With a startled shout he lunged himself through the air, landing heavily on the floor. He stumbled forward until he finally managed to stop his momentum.
Frozen in place Liam kept quiet, swiping his eyes over the room. Suddenly he flinched. He looked towards the side, seeing a door open and Serena carefully peeking her head out.
Notching her brother the young girl dropped her vigilance, asking with tired eyes:
"Liam? What was that just now?"
"Ha... uhm... don't worry. I dreamt..."
"Dreamt? Did you have a nightmare?"
"No, I dreamt of the game. I was slaying a powerful monster, moving at incredible speed. Apparently by body reacted and I jumped around the room."
Liam showed a gentle smile trying to hide his embarrassment. Serena stared at him sceptically but eventually she was too tired to care for her brother's antics. Turning around she left the door open, advising her brother:
"You should also go to bed."
Liam sighed in relief following Serena's advice.
Soon a new day broke. Liam woke up early as always. After a swift breakfast he pondered where to go since the dojo was unusable but he didn't want to forsake his daily training.
At this point it was a fixed part of his routine and Liam would feel uneasy if he didn't train for a day.
He had heard before that many players went to parks ever since the news about training skills broke. He wasn't keen on doing the same, feeling that those places might be quite crowded. But with no better options he decided to go there.
Maybe it's not that bad. At least in the morning. But I feel more and more that we need a gaming house...
Liam left the house, entering the car brought by his two bodyguards. Reaching the city's famous park surrounding the majestic red oak he almost wanted to turn around seeing the huge number of people.
Luckily the park was big enough and Liam was able to find a relatively quiet corner. He went through some training which helped him to get used to his newfound strength.
When it neared 9 o'clock, he prepared to enter the game. The park emptied but some players still stayed. Although it was advised to play in quiet places, there were always people who just had no better options.
Liam knew that as time went on people would slowly adapt and get more tolerant. Just like him now, who wasn't afraid of spending the day in the park, especially with his two bodyguards looking over him.
Soon the game turned online. Liam calmed down, waiting to travel to Crunaboul. But the seconds ticked by and nothing happened.
Liam furrowed his brows, pressing against his console, thinking that it might not fit correctly. But he was still stuck in the real world.
Taking a deep breath he asked in his mind.
C? What's going on?
[Player Liam, your console is still in the state of charging.]
Charging? How?
[Your console used up a lot of energy to defend against the void.]
Liam closed his eyes, forcefully preventing himself from lashing out at C. It took him a few seconds to come to terms with the situation.
How long will it take?
[Three hours left, player Liam.]
Liam sighed in relief. He feared it would take days, making him miss the first guild war. Adjusting his mind he had to change his plans. Fortunately, he could still message his friends, telling them not to worry and asking them to increase their level for now to prepare for the guild war.
Next, he went back to training, focusing on the game's skills. His bodyguards were surprised to see him stand up again. Liam could only inform them of the importance of ranking up skills.
This was not a lie. As the bosses increased in power it was indeed not enough to stubbornly raise one's level. At least if you had the ambition to stay in the lead.
Thus, Liam wasn't overly anxious deciding to make use of the opportunity.
After three hours he sat down in exhaustion. His mind had calmed a lot as he admired the beautiful scenery and the majesty of nature represented by the red oak.
Now it was finally time to enter the game. His vision blurred and Liam found himself back in Duabalis City.