'Mmm this is surprisingly delicious, is this seriously a game?'

Wiping my mouth with a cloth I push the finished plate away from me and the waitress comes over to take it.

"That'll be 10 silver." The waitress says such a serious thing with a straight face

*pfffttt* I spit the water I was drinking in surprise

"10 silver?! That's twenty percent of all my money! Tasty food is on a whole other level huh..."

I open my inventory and grab out 10 silver, 20% of my money gone in one meal… Handing the coins to the waitress I take my leave.

Entering the empty street a gust of wind blows past me, the flowing air tickling my skin. I stare up at the sky and take a deep breath. 'So this is virtual reality huh? If I didn't know better I would think this was all real.'

The sun begins to set as I make my way back to Malek's house. From what I can tell there are five real life hours of light and three real life hours of dark, meaning fifteen in-game hours of light and nine in-game hours of dark, though this can probably change depending on where someone is located. I started the game about halfway through the day cycle so I've been on for over two real life hours by now.

(probably just going to base everything of in-game time because the story will focus on the game, will make sure i stay aligned with real time.)

Arriving at Malek's home I go to check on him and he isn't in the bed where I last saw him. 'I thought he said he hasn't slept for days? What's he doing walking around instead of sleeping?' I venture back down the stairs, but this time the lights are already on. Looking around I see him reaching up and grabbing a variety of books and stacking them up beside him.

"Well, what are you waiting for? It's time to get started." Malek calls out to me.

'How did he know I was here?'

"Ummm, started doing what? Are you finally going to teach me magic?" Does this have something to do with the books he has stacked up?

"S-started?! AS IF! You are a hundred years to early to be starting magic! First you must learn the nature of this world."

*Ding* >

_____

Learn the secrets of magic under Great Wizard Malek

Rank: Unknown

Rewards: Unknown

Accept all tasks given to you by Malek and achieve a certain mastery in the use of the arcane arts.

[Yes/No]

Failure to accept will prompt Malek to remove you from his home and not accept you back.

____

"Okay, I accept your offer" I had no idea Malek was so great as to be called 'Great Wizard' I will accept whatever lessons he decides in hope that it will benefit me more than standard magic.

"Of course you accept it, you are the one who asked in the first place! Now sit down." Malek walks over to the table and brushes off all the books and paper that rested on top of it. "Here you are." he places the stack of 30 books on the table to replace the clutter.

"Does it matter where I start?" I give Malek a questioning glance 'how long is it gonna take me to read thirty of these books?'

"D-does it matter where you start? OF COURSE IT MATTERS! These books are a series on the nature of magic in our world, you start from the beginning and read all of them until you are finished. Once you are done come find me and I will give you your next task."

I agree to read them and Malek heads upstairs.

'This is way too many books to read, I am trying to use this as an escape not as a second school.'

Opening the first book I begin to read 'The world and it's nature by Malek Aestrum the Fifth Great Wizard'

'What?! This guy is actually a great wizard? By whose standards can this guy manage to be a great wizard, if anything he's just a shut in who doesn't sleep… but I guess it makes sense why he has all these books.' I begin to question why Malek is even in this city.

After reading the book for what I assume is about five hours I get a system message.

*Ding*

_____

You have increased your stats through reading

INT +1

WIS +1

______

You have begun to grasp the nature of magic giving you a new skill.

Skill:

*passive*[Spiritual Observation LV 1]: With your knowledge of the world you can begin to understand the flow of magic in the earth and the air.

Spiritual observation assists in controlling the flow of magic in the world.

Air Affinity +1%

Earth Affinity +1%

_____

'Sweet! I actually got increased stats just from reading, and a new skill. Not sure how this skill helps me right now though...'

Placing a bookmark in the book I decide to log out and eat something, even though I can eat in the game it doesn't actually fill me up.

"Log out."

"Verifying Combat Status… Logging player out."

"Exit system."

-----

Checking my phone I don't find any new text messages. I head to the kitchen and start cooking scrambled eggs and toast.

'At this rate I wonder how long it will take for me to read all 30 books, but if I do I should have some huge advantage over others.'

Eating my eggs I go online to see if my other friends have gotten the game.

First I go on skype and message my tumblr mutuals. Saru said he would be playing as some form of necromancer. Anastasia said she would play as a witch. I go to check my steam friends, but none of them are online. I make sure to text Maddy informing her I'm a human, though I doubt we will run into each other anytime soon.

I decide to log back in and keep reading, being a Saturday I can spend more time than usual on the game.

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