“Huahhh!”

I woke up shouting a battle scream. Huh? It seemed my mind played a trick on me again.

I was a high level player in RoyalRoad and just fought against tons of enemies with my glittering blade. I had some kind of weird armor on and didn’t look like myself anymore. I was something different.

That would have been too good. Me playing RoyalRoad. Hah. What a joke. But slowly it came to my mind. I am playing RoyalRoad. I have the game!

I turned around. I wanted to be that same guy again. But on instinct I looked on my clock and panicked. It was already midday. I jumped up in a hurry and got dizzy all over again. I hovered from left to right and tried to get on my feet again. I fall over my backpack and hit the ground hard. Well, actually I didn’t hit the ground I hit everything that was on it. Trousers, trash, magazines, books, clothes, leftovers... Ihh, leftovers. I really have to clean up from time to time.

My shirt was all gooey. I threw it into the corner and were in a hurry. I had to get to school fast.

But then it hit me like birdshit would hit me when I would run after a gorgeous girl.

I. Had. Holidays!

I roared out a shout full of happiness. Not to the world but all to myself.

The apartment was empty. My mom was nowhere to be seen. I looked around and found a sheet of paper pinned at my door. Was it there all the time? Strange.

“Dear Jason, ‘that would be me’,

yesterday I received a message from your father.

I really love you child, you may not think so but I do.

I am going to search for him.

Money is on the table if you need to buy food or something else you need.

I still love your father.

Don’t hate him. Don’t hate me.

Everyone makes faults in life.

Do your best.

In love

Mom

Only then I realized there still was this snoring noise.

Scenes went into another. Everything went blurry.

It was an audio backup which repeated itself over and over again.

I cried. Not just once but.. but.. I don’t know how often I cried. I was furious. Angry. Frustrated.

She still loves me? Where did she get that from? From her small little peanut brain? From some Tv-show? Or was it an article inside her fucking magazines? I hated everything at that moment and could steer my rage at anything. I hit the wall with all my might. Once. Twice.

My world fell into darkness.

When I woke up again I felt terrible. My right hand hurt like hell, trash all around me and my head felt like it was going to burst to million pieces just like Arug did. Too bad I wasn’t ingame.

I calmed down, cooled my hand, washed myself and put some clothes on which somehow got torn away from my body. They were shredded on the floor. I examined the flat. The wall was smeared with blood. Exactly at the point where I hammered my fist against it.

After all this I couldn’t believe it but I felt great. I was free, had enough money for the time being and time to do anything that I wanted to do.

I made some pancakes. Any angriness I ever felt was gone.

This outbreak was brilliant.

I could do anything. And anything - anything I wanted was RoyalRoad.

Finally the political and social lessons at school came in handy. The bank accepted the money without a word and opened up a new account for me. I deposited all of the money. The account filled from scratch to 5000€. I don’t know where my mother had all that money from but what would it bring to think about it? Nothing.

I called Mr. Humble and told him everything. Weird thing was that he wasn’t surprised.

He he held a speech about ancient times of heroes and made examples of some unknown people who have done the same and I interpreted it as my mom won't let my dad go. He offered me help and I accepted it gratefully after I gave it some thoughts.

Work hard, play harder.

That were his last words. I searched for a part-time job for the holidays and found one near school. It was a delivery service. Therefore I had to get my old bike out of the cellar. I felt great. Unbeatable. Limitless. I drove my first delivery on which more and more followed. Somehow I liked it.

Later on I met up with Mr. Humble he showed me the way inside school on holiday times and questioned me out. What I did on the first day, where I went, which people I became acquainted with and so on. It may sound boring but I told him most. Left some parts about Failariél out.

He sounded interested. He knew Arug as well. It was strange to see that so many people knew him. And somebody like me who started playing a day ago was witness of his dead. What fate has in handy for some guys is really unbelieveable.

He wished me good luck after we went through the big school. The corridors had appeared as they would never end. But I stood before my own capsule again. My own. Happiness and joy streamed through my body. I locked the door. I began to play right after that. The carpet felt great as it always did. As always, hah.

Black particles rushed with great speed beside me. The login process was really amazing. Wonderful if not beautiful.

The town was still in uproar when I arrived at my location. The fountain’s statue, a huge mermaid covered by starfishes, opened up a hole for water which streamed out of almost every pore of her body. She sparkled in the sunlight. Butterflies flew around her and the bitter frost wasn’t as cold as it was the day before. Or maybe everything just seemed so because I was finally inside my real world. The world where I could become anything.

“Did you hear about what happened to Arug?” Some strange guy asked me as he handed me a newspaper? He didn’t look healthy.

“Yeah. But thanks for the newspaper.” I put it into my inventory which was made up of some instant use pockets and my main inventory which was just cloud storage. System storage.

The first page didn’t give off the ‘hey read me I am interesting’ feeling. It was more the other way round. Unstructured without any idea of graphic design or how it was called here.

Failariél was not on which I noticed sadly. Maybe she will login later on. Hopefully.

People around the fountain had their time of their lives but they didn’t even realize it. I went past them. Not just them but past hundreds of users or NPC’s which I couldn’t distinguish sometimes.

The trainer didn’t see me at first. I poked him to see how he would react. Well, if he did notice it he didn’t show any sign of reaction. He didn’t turn or something like that, his eyes were fixed on the player who still smashed the scarecrow. What a weird guy.

“Hey trainer. Today is really a great day if there wasn’t that one fact. Weather ain’t as cold as before. But Arug isn’t among us anymore...”

“Oh. Yeah, I heard the news. Really something. I have known him since I was young. He was like a grandfather for me. He didn’t change in all this years.” Now he looked at me. His eyes didn’t show sadness but happiness wasn’t inside them either. His stare was quiet and peaceful.

“You finished the quest I gave you?” He broke out of his ‘being-away’ stare and turned the dialogue around.

“Yeah I did finish the quest just before Arug was killed... actually right after it. Here.” I gave him the note. He slightly nodded and asked if he could keep it.

“You don’t mind if I keep this note or? It really means something for me. You see I don’t have much belongings of him.”

“No problem. Keep it. I still have this dagger.” I showed it to him.

He was taken aback.

“That dagger... it was Arug’s favourite weapon. It was the only weapon he couldn’t identify in all of his life. It was a secret for him as it was for everyone else. Keepsake it well. Oh and about this katana style.” His face went to that of an earnest trainer again.

“I could teach you the skill.”

Now I was astonished.

“That would be really great.”

“For a man, or better said for an elf, who gets acknowledged by Arug this is nothing. My last favor for him if you could say it so.”

----------

Quest: Learning from the professionals

Description: The trainer asked you if you would accept his training. It will be hard and cruel. Training is everything for that man so be prepared or die painfully! Beware.

Difficulty: ?

Objections: Finish his training successfully.

Possible rewards: Skill, weapon?

---------------

“Do you still want to accept it? It will be hard. And if I mean hard then it will be harder then everything you ever did until now!”

His tone made me back away few steps.

“The harder the better. I accept your challenge.” I was determined to finish the training successfully not just good but well. “I will turn around every stone on my path, I will slay every monster stronger than I am and I will graduate! I will become the best!”

“That’s determination I see there. But if you can keep up to it then it’s something different. Let’s go to my house to begin the training. Just say when you are ready and we will be going.”

His eyes were fierce. Full of hope but there was something in them that made me fear him.

The way was long. We ended up climbing a hill. The magnitude of the landscape didn’t escape my grasp. Fields full with blossomed flowers. Purple, blue, gold and every rainbow colour there was. The flowers shinned beautiful in the sunlight. Some sparkled some absorbed the light and emitted pure darkness.

You honour art in its natural form

Art doesn’t just consist of manmade pieces

It can just as well be a nature formed rock foundation

Or a blossoming field

New stat: Art

Art + 1

Cool. Already a new stat. What does it bring? Well, I will still have time later on.

On the top of the hill was a little house. Little compared to the hill but still big enough to fit an entire army. It just seemed little. We were too far away. We didn’t speak another word on the way. I was determined and what he was I really didn’t know or could have guessed it. Something around monk peace or so. We were at the last hundred meters.

“From now we will begin the training. I know that you have 24 days left in town before the government nullifies your restriction. Therefore we will split the training into 3 parts.

The first training period consists of physical exercise. Every part last 8 days. We will make breaks when I think it’s the right time for it.”

I was confused. Didn’t he say we would go to his house first?

“So, what is my first exercise?”

He took out some weights from his inventory.

A system window popped up

------------------

Item obtained: Wearable weight vest (20 pounds)

Defense: 5 Durability: 60/60

Description: A vest with integrated weights. It will help with training.

Offers great defense for the beginning as well.

Can be upgraded by adding weight to it.

---------------------

Only now I did realize that the weights were actually a vest.

“This will help you with your training. 8 days ain’t much for physical exercise but under my lead it will be more than enough to get you ready.” He said. He grinned at the part with leadership.

I equipped the vest. It was heavy. Really heavy. But I endured it for my goal.

“Okay, I am ready for the training.”

“Then start by running the hill up and down. Go, go, go. I will run with you!”

It was the beginning of hell. I ran and ran. My legs hurt already after some time and all my muscles ached. He hunted me up and down. Always a few steps behind me. If I slipped he wouldn’t catch me, but hit me instead. “Concentrate!”

I felt as if I were running for hours, darkness swept over us and the moon enlightened our way.

Ages went by. Hour after hour. At some point I thought that I couldn’t endure it anymore but I took one step after another always watched by him. It looked like he had red eyes in the dark which were fixated on me. Just another step! Just another one. Anoth-

“Okay, time for a break. My wife made food and I am hungry as a bear. I could eat an entire flock of cows!” I didn’t deny it. Maybe not an entire herd but a cow at least.

“Thanks god. A break.”

“You tired? That was just warm up training. You are lucky that my wife made food so early.”

He laughed.

“Let’s go to my house.”

I couldn’t believe it.

My legs shook after every step. I could feel the power in my legs fading slowly. There wasn’t much energy left.

System alert

We detected that you run your game via a modified capsule which isn’t patched at the moment

Initialising update...

Installing upgrades...

Installing upgrades...

Upgrades installed

From now on you don’t just train your virtual body inside the MMORPG but your real body as well

Additional information were sent to your capsule

What does that mean? I train my body in reality as well? A modification?

Slowly pieces fitted together

The abnormally big capsule, the way Mr. Humble spoke and the message just now

Isn’t that awesome?

Vitality+1

Vitality+1

Strength+1

Dexterity+1

Suddenly I received some status upgrades. Some stats evolved. I don’t know if the upgrades changed much but then I realized that I still had the 10 remaining points from my level ups.

I improved my strength and vitality stat 3 times and put the last 4 remaining points on dexterity. I figured out it would improve me so that I could finish the quest without problems. But well the instructor is always open for surprises...