...

Real World

Shin got out of his Gaming Cabin.

He immediately logged out of the game right after making all of the necessary preparations that he wanted both in Calderock Town, alongside that certain place on Blind Abyss Empire where they hid the Teleportation Formation that the Central Order had created.

And this time, he was quite surprised that he was not assaulted by the foul smell that used to 'greet' right after he logged out of the game.

"Is it already fixed? Or has my nose gotten used to the smell?" muttered Shin before going to the bathroom for a quick shower.

It was already four in the morning so it was time for Shin and the others to do their daily morning routine. And right after doing his morning training and taking another quick shower, he immediately headed on towards the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.

When he walked down from the stairs, he was quite surprised that the girls were not present in the place to freeload some breakfast.

"Are they not here?" Shin asked Arthur who was busily browsing on the current trending topics online.

"Surprising, isn't it? I am also quite confused about that, especially Big Sis who loves your cooking," said Arthur with his eyes still fixed on the virtual screen in front of him.

Then he turned his head towards Shin after a brief moment of pause. "So, I head to their place to ask if they want to join us for breakfast. But from what I've seen, all of them seem to be quite busy with their own stuff."

"Big Sis has some urgent business to take care of, so she has no time to have their breakfast. Lorraine says that she is on a diet while Alice needs to apply for some leave of absence from her company, so both of them were skipping breakfast too," he explained before turning his head back to the virtual screen once again.

Shin knitted his brow for a moment when he heard that before asking. "What about Cloe?"

"Ah! About her-… Hmm… Actually, I didn't see her earlier but the girls said that she was acting a little strange these past few days and only staying in her room," replied Arthur after some thought before quickly adding. "You should talk with her later. I have a feeling that it was because of what happened recently."

Hearing that, Shin pursed his lips a little before nodding his head and heading towards the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.

***********

Meanwhile, there was a pair of young men walking along the streets of a certain neighborhood.

"Hey, are you sure that there is still some Villa available here? From the looks of it, every place here already has its owner," asked Jerimiah while turning his head left and right.

"But the agent aside that there are still a couple of available villas here," nodded Vincent while looking at the virtual map in front of him.

"Then why didn't he come with us?" asked Jerimiah instantly.

"He said that he needs to prepare some papers before going alongside some catalogs of the available villas. So, he will meet us there," replied Vincent nonchalantly.

Then he turned his head to a certain direction before adding. "Oh~! We are here, let's go."

"You know what? How about we just rent a luxury room in the Hotels? We are only staying on this continent for a year or two after all," said Jerimiah while stretching his waist a little.

"You know me, I don't trust those places at all. I prefer having a place of my own rather than being spied on by the neighboring room," said Vincent instantly.

Hearing that, Jerimiah suddenly shook his head before saying. "Tsk! That d*mn over-cautiousness of yours. I've already told you, not everything told by the Clan is true."

"Tch! You and these crazy teachings of your family – that is why I told you to go out a little and socialize with other people at the very least," he added with a dejected tone.

A few moments, they finally arrived at the location that the real estate agent had told them about. But they couldn't find the guy that they were looking for.

"He is still not here?" muttered Jerimiah with a knitted brow.

After that, he turned his head left and right before heading towards a wooden bench not far from them. "Let's take a little rest then."

He was about to take a seat on the bench when he suddenly saw someone walking out of the villa across the street while carrying a paper bag on hand. "Ah! That's-…!"

*********

Right after having their breakfast, Shin left Arthur and Leonard to deal with the dishes as he was planning to head over to the villa beside theirs to check on Cloe and ask her to eat some breakfast.

He was walking out when suddenly heard a familiar voice calling his in-game name.

"Brother Sickarius!"

Turning his head towards that direction, Shin saw an unfamiliar young man waving at him and running towards his direction.

"Eh!?" Shin was taken aback by the sudden call especially when he couldn't fully recognize the person running towards him.

He was quite suspicious at first, but as the young man got nearer to him, he was starting to feel that he might know this person. And when he finally got a good look at the latter's face, he was finally able to identify who he was. "Eh!? Brother Lawless? What are you doing here?"

Right after arriving in front of Shin, Lawless, or rather Jerimiah Smithson in the Real World, immediately hugged Shin tightly while saying with a loud laugh. "I did not expect that we are going to meet here! I thought you are from the Capital City of the Main Region? Why are you in Eastern Sea Region then?"

Cough! Cough!

Shin felt that he was going to suffocate due to how hard Jerimiah was hugging him. "W-wait! Bro-brother Lawless, I think you are about to kill me."

"Oh! I'm sorry about that! I forgot that I'm not in our country. You are not prepared for our country's customs," said Jerimiah as he let go of Shin.

Then he patted Shin's shoulder while saying. "Hahaha! So, why are you here?"

Ugh!

Shin felt that his shoulders were being pounded by a huge hammer as Jerimiah patted him. 'The heck? Such a strength, is this really who people greet each other in the Lost Soul Continent? I'm afraid normal people are going to get injured just by exchanging greetings.'

Fortunately, Shin was a Martial-Artist with a solid foundation which was why this was nothing to him.

After a slight thought, Shin put up a smile before replying. "To answer your question earlier, I'm here because I am enrolling in the Magical Ace Academy."

"And this is our house, obviously," he added while pointing his thumb behind him.

A few moments later, Vincent finally caught up with Jerimiah and greeted Shin. "It's been a while," as he offered his hand to Shin.

"Oh! Brother Faker!" replied Shin as he extended his hand, shaking Faker's hand. After that, he immediately asked with a joking tone. "How come you are not greeting me with your so-called country customs."

Hearing that, Vincent couldn't help but chuckle a little before replying. "More like how he personally greets people," while shaking his head bitterly.

'I knew it!' thought Shin to himself before turning his attention towards the luggage that they were carrying.

"Did you guys just arrive? And are you two looking for a place to stay?" asked Shin.

"Oh! Actually, we arrived yesterday afternoon. And yes, we are currently hunting for a place where we could stay," replied Jerimiah instantly.

Hearing that, Shin's eyes suddenly turned wide while asking. "Yesterday? And you two are still looking for a place to stay? Don't tell me, you two haven't slept yet since then?"

"Yep! You are right about that," answered Jerimiah while nodding his head. And after a quick pause, he suddenly added. "As for us not having a good sleep since last night, it was not a big deal. After all, we are Martial-Artists so this kind of thing is nothing."

"Moreover, we are even trained not to sleep for at least a month. So, this is practically a trivial thing compared to that," he also added in a nonchalant manner.

'I'm not sure if it is actually something that you need to brag about,' thought Shing to himself while looking at the two with the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

He then took a brief pause to calm himself down before asking. "So, have you guys found a good place to stay yet?"

"We are planning to buy a villa around here but the agent that we contacted earlier is not here yet," replied Vincent while nodding his head.

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but took a look at the villa behind him and the neighboring villa where the girls were staying. 'I guess I know why those guys don't want to go to this area.'

"If you don't mind, how about you guys get inside for now and have a talk later. I need to do some things first so I can't entertain you for now," said Shin while pointing behind him.

"Sounds good!" said Jerimiah without any hint of hesitation.

After that, Shin invited the two to go inside while calling out. "Arthur, Leonard! Brother Faker and Brother Lawless are here, can you guys accompany them for now? I need to head over to the other house to check on Cloe."

"No problem! Just let them in, we are going there in a moment!" replied Arthur from upstairs.

Hearing him, Shin looked at the two and gestured to them to head inside. And immediately after that, he quickly headed towards the neighboring villa.

"Let's see what is wrong with this girl first."

...