"HellWitch, I..."
I did not know what to say. "Sorry" was overused. "Thank you" was inappropriate. I stamred a mix of both, hoping that my sincerity would go through but it only invited laughter from HellWitch.
"I guess it was worth it to see you looking so guilty," HellWitch smiled at .
"Antares, let's give it our best shot, okay? I hope we will be the ones to save them all."
HellWitch extended her soapy hand at . I took it gratefully.
"Thanks, HellWitch."
"And by the way, maybe we should continue washing the dishes."
"Oh, right."
It was good to clear up the situation between us, but I was slightly disappointed with the outco. For so reason, I had been hoping that she would truly like . Who did not want to be liked?
HellWitch and I finished our chore twenty minutes later. After admiring the result of our hard work, we said our goodbyes and parted for the night.
The next morning, the four of us t again for another day of hard training. Again, I got two levels while the others only got one each. I trust that with this speed I was going to be able to catch up real soon.
Cecilia hit 141 and she was very excited to get to 150.
"I never thought I would co this far, you guys," she said while we enjoyed our lunch on a safe platform.
"I thought that I would always be level 110 sothing, never reaching the fourth job, never coming this far."
Munching on a tuna and egg sandwich that Cecilia prepared for all of us, HellWitch queried, "And what changed?"
"The ga," Cecilia answered as a matter of factly. "It all started with BlackPuma's disappearance. And then I feel like the ga slowly unravels."
Wait, that was not quite right.
"It doesn't start with BlackPuma's disappearance," I corrected Cecilia.
"It starts with the Dinsional Master's appearance," Lazarus piped up.
"Yes, that."
The two girls exchanged looks before they stared at us apprehensively.
"I guess one can put it that way. What triggered the Dinsional Master's appearance again?"
"The Giant Mushroom..." I said subconsciously.
"The what?" my three friends asked in unison.
The Giant Mushroom. I proceeded to tell them about and DragonTalon spending the night at Kitty's and Wolfhound's farmhouse. How the night ended wonderfully but then we were woken up by the Giant Mushroom bouncing its way down to the farmhouse.
"Right. The sudden appearance of the mini-bosses..."
Cecilia leaned back using her arms as support.
It felt like ages ago.
"No, the mini-bosses were the result of the Dinsional Master's appearance. Even though the Dinsional Master was announced after the mini-bosses appeared," HellWitch rubbed at her chin.
Cecilia nodded furiously.
"That makes more sense. Why would the mini-bosses appear out of a sudden? Soone must have orchestrated their appearance. Who else but the Dinsional Master?"
"So why would the Dinsional Master appear?"
That was a question that none of us was able to answer. If not for the ominous things that happened afterward, we might have passed it off as a ga update.
Wait, a ga update?
I turned to Cecilia. She played the ga the longest among the four of us.
"Say, Cecilia, how was it when the other raids were updated?"
"What update?" she gaped at .
"You know, the raid updates... the events..."
Cecilia laughed. "Oh my. Antares, there had never been any raid updates or events until the Dinsional Master made his appearance."
"So you are saying that for the longest ti, nothing similar happened in Afterlife Dream before?" I still couldn't believe it.
Cecilia nodded. "Yup. Nothing. This is a first."
The mystery deepened. Or maybe we did not look at it closely enough. At any rate, we were still stuck in the sa spot. We had no other way but to move forward. And hopefully, we would be able to find out what triggered the series of incidents.
After three days of training, Livina and ZhaoYun finally showed up on our training map. They imdiately complained when they saw our levels.
"God damn it, you guys could not wait long enough until we made our decision??" ZhaoYun was beyond unhappy.
The four of us were a little dumbfounded. We had agreed not to pursue the matter just in case ZhaoYun and Livina decided to not take part. That was why we moved on with the training without waiting.
"Well, uh..."
I could hardly explain.
Livina pursed her lips. "Sorry for taking a long ti to think. I believe we are ready now," she said while exchanging looks with ZhaoYun. ZhaoYun smiled and nodded at us.
"Let's make it happen, guys. Let's save Afterlife Dream."
"Thanks, guys," I sincerely said. I was so touched that my tears were about to fall. Thankfully the girls burst into tears so I had ti to wipe the tears off my eyes before they dropped.
"I am so glad... Livina!"
Livina, HellWitch, and Cecilia went to do a group hug. The n, I an, the boys just nodded at each other in a masculine way. That was the unspoken rule, I thought. Then ZhaoYun put his arms around and Lazarus.
"Sooo, boys," he grinned. "Ready for so leveling?"
After our party was complete, we picked a bigger training ground to facilitate our training process. Just for the fun of it, we decided to level to 150 at the sa ti. This ant that so of us had to step off the training ground once they were at 99.9% at level 149.
Cecilia was the one to reach that milestone.
And then HellWitch. Then Lazarus. Then ZhaoYun. Then Livina. And then I was left alone.
It felt rather lonely, training alone.
I could not imagine doing that with all my friends gone. And so many of them went away already, one way or another. I was only at level 148, around 50%. A long way to go still. At least two more days. Three if I was not motivated.
On the second day of my solo training, HellWitch ca to sit on the safe platform to talk to while I trained.
"Heya," she greeted .
"Hey," I said, mildly surprised to see her. "Why are you here?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I thought that you might be lonely training alone, so I co to accompany you."
I laughed. "Yeah, it has been quite lonely indeed."
HellWitch crossed her legs and watched train.
"You know what, we have been friends for so long but I never knew your na."
Hmm?
"My na?"
"Yeah, your na. Okay, maybe that is not the right word. Your na back when you were still alive."
For a mont, I had to think. I had not used the na for so long that I almost forgot it myself.
I stopped killing the monsters for a while and stepped on the safe platform. HellWitch was still sitting there, cross-legged, and waiting for to answer.
"Daniel Weston," I answered.
She smiled and held her hand out in my direction. I took it and pulled her to her feet.
"My na is Lara Baker. Nice to have t you, Daniel Weston."
After two more days, we were finally there. It was a wonderful morning when we finally reached level 150 together. This ti none of us were able to contain our tears. We did it. We made it. We were finally level 150.
A lot of gaphones were shot into the sky to celebrate our achievents. And then I got a ssage from Kitty.
"Antares, let's have dinner together one last ti in my farmhouse? Bring your friends with you, please."
Of course, I agreed. We gathered at Kitty's and Wolf's farmhouse for dinner that night, enjoying ourselves one last ti before we faced the Dinsional Master.
When I went to sleep that night, I sohow felt like that night a long, long ti ago in the hospital. That I was going to wake up in a completely new world, and start a new life.
In a broader sense, that might not be wrong. The six of us were going to et with the Dinsional Master, and we were going far, far away. Hopefully, we would be able to co back. And hopefully, we would bring our missing friends with us.
The Dinsional Master's reign of terror had gone on long enough, and we wanted it to stop. It was ti to bring back the Afterlife Dream that we knew and loved.
The morning sun brought with it an unusual warmth. It was as if the ga knew that we were heading toward the end. Kitty gave a peck on the cheek. Her eyes were glassy and red.
"I am not going to say goodbye," she said with a trembling voice. "Because I know that we are going to see you again. All of you," she added, throwing glances at the other five in our party.
"See you all again."
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