Slurp! Slurp!
A young man sat in front of a brand new capsule in the corner that seemingly was more luxurious than any furniture or even the bed in the room while eating an instant noodle cup.
He hadn't realized it before as he didn't look around, but the latest VR capsule had been installed in place of his old capsule. The latter was also gone and couldn't be found anywhere.
Slurrp–
But that wasn't a problem. He couldn't use two capsules at the sa ti, anyway.
And if he had to choose between the old and the new one…
"Gulp!"
He would choose the latest generation one.
"Huff… That was delicious. Thankfully, I found it before the expiration date. If I forgot about it, then it would just be trash in this room waiting to be found."
Max stood from his bed and threw the empty cup into the trash can.
It was already 5 PM, an hour before his livestream. He wanted to lay around the bed and rest more, but he had a promise.
'Nina wanted to talk about sothing in her Lobby. What is it, I wonder?'
This afternoon, his long-ti friend suddenly ssaged him that she wanted to talk with him. He asked whether he should go to the restaurant or not, but she said to et her later in her Lobby. She would invite him.
Entering his new VR capsule, which was the sa model he used in the test yesterday, he fitted his body perfectly and entered the VR world.
A vast grassy plain greeted him with nothing but a single tree and a set of a table and a chair. Max sat down and opened the Knight's Journey forum, which was filled with recent news while waiting for Nina's invitation.
[Breeze has gone worldwide!]
[The truth behind Flexy and Breeze's collaboration!]
[Veteran and Newbie, Versus! StoneSword's pair versus Breeze and Flexy's fair. Exciting battle!]
The threads were filled with the program announced by Biozone Entertainnt. But it wasn't only that.
[The new Synchronization Test world record. Breeze or LilyPixel?]
[Our Breeze has broken the world record! He's growing!]
[Mysterious newbie who broke the world record. Is it Breeze or LilyPixel?]
[Veteran and Newbie, Versus! Or rather, 4 veterans, 1 newbie, and 1 monster, Versus!]
People also discussed the recent news spread by the reporters and Biozone Entertainnt. One of the 3 newbies who joined the program had broken the synchronization test's world record in the testing phase.
It was big news that was not only talked about in the Knight's Journey forum but also everywhere else. However, the people who often stayed in the forum had two guesses.
It was either Breeze or LilyPixel. MadLad seed to be forgotten, but unfortunately, his skill was not up to par with both of them.
LilyPixel was FortSiege's world record holder with StoneSword. Her skill was already known and acknowledged by the Knight's Journey community.
anwhile, Breeze had a bizarre skill even though he was a newbie. He was the hotcake among the players, and no one doubted his skill, especially those who tried to wall run and failed. They had acknowledged him already.
"That MadLad guy is so pitiful. He's a skilled player, but it's just that." Max muttered, resting his back against the chair.
Lily was good at movent, and she was beautiful. People were bound to rember her with that combination.
On the contrary, MadLad had nothing more to offer besides his skill. That was why he beca a shadow in this program.
Ding!
At that mont, a notification appeared in front of Max. It was an invitation to join a person's Lobby. The inviter was Nina.
"Talk about perfect timing."
He pressed 'accept,' and the scenery changed.
The greenery around him turned into a concrete jungle. In the middle of that was a small room made from glass, complete with wooden furniture that looked elegant. It was a simple kitchen bar.
tal utensils were hung neatly behind the counter—and ceramic plates were stacked on the side of the sink.
"Ah! You're here!"
A cheerful voice greeted him. Nina, wearing a modified chef outfit that looked feminine, leaned forward toward Max, who sat on a chair in front of the counter in his real appearance.
"Of course. You invited , after all." Max responded with a smile.
He noticed that the girl looked rather different from usual. She seed to be a bit down.
'What happened?' He asked in his mind. 'She's not the type to call to her private Lobby out of nowhere. From what I rember, she would only do this if there was a big problem plaguing her mind.'
"That's right, hehe." Nina giggled and scratched the back of her head. She suddenly stopped and gasped, "Ah, are you sure you can talk with right now? Aren't you busy with your new job? I don't bother you, right? Didn't you always stream at 6 PM?"
"Huh?" Max raised his voice slightly. "How did you know? I didn't tell you about that yet…"
It wasn't like he didn't want to tell her, but he didn't want to make Nina worried. Being a strear wasn't stable, and before, he wasn't even sure he could make money from it.
But after what happened two days ago, with Flexy transferring 15 thousand dollars to him, he planned to tell her about his new 'job' soon. To think she would find out about it before he could have a chance to was surprising.
"I read about a new strear event in the morning news. Hehe, you're famous now."
"Not that famous if compared to Flexy and StoneSword." He chuckled dryly, "Anyway, what do you want to talk about? I will listen to it as long as you need to."
While streaming was important, Nina's matter ca first. He was truly indebted to the girl for not outright ignoring him. And he wasn't an asshole who forgot about the favor he received.
In his mory, Nina had never called him before.
"I called you to congratulate you." Nina exclaid with a bright smile, "We need to celebrate it, don't you think so? Congratulations, Max!"
She was lying.
For so reason, Max was able to tell that much.
His expression fell down, "I am happy that you congratulate , Nina. However, please be honest with . I can at least lend my ears to listen to your problem."
After saying that, he looked at Nina's reaction. Her smile fell and turned sad.
"I can't hide anything from you, huh?" She muttered in a sad voice as she walked to the chair next to Max.
Sitting down, Nina poured water into a glass cup and drank it slowly.
"Will you hear what I want to say? Please… I don't know who I could consult with."
"Sure." Max looked at her and nodded, "That's what I am here for, right?"
Hearing that, Nina smiled again, tears trailing down her cheeks, "Thank you, Max."
Then, she began to tell him about her worry.
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