“Hell yeah!” With a celebrating shout he bumped his fist into the air, but quickly realized what a bad idea that was when he had just finished working out for half an hour straight. William almost stumbled as dizziness threatened to overtake him, but Rolands massive hand steadied him effortlessly.

“Easy there, your stamina is still regenerating. Just sit down for a bit, and maybe eat some of that applesauce to speed up the process”, his drill instructor suggested as William already settled down on one of the benches, with the man in plate armor still standing stoically. “Although I’m not sure how you managed to get your hands on the stuff yet, the harvest only started today.”

“Oh, really? I helped some folks earlier with preparing the apples, and they gave me a jar as a reward.” William unscrewed the jar with an audible pop and the sweet, lightly acidic smell immediately hit his nose. But without a spoon at hand, all he could do was to take a big swig straight from the jar, the semi-liquid substance easily running down his throat and subfusing his taste buds with its incredible flavors. William didn’t even have to look to know that his stamina had substantially regenerated from this. “I also got a weapon skill from cutting so many apples, Small Blades Mastery”, he added after swallowing his mouthful.

Roland only chortled at that second comment, an entirely inadequate sound coming from the otherwise stern drill instructor. “Sounds about right for a fresh Aspirant like you. For me, it happened while helping raise a new barn, hammering in nail after nail. I had the Blunt Weapon Mastery before noon.”

“Honestly, it almost feels like cheating, but you won’t hear me complain.”

“Unlocking the skills isn’t exactly difficult, but then further raising them is another story. I doubt you’re gonna get any more ranks with Small Blades doing mundane tasks. Besides, it’s much more time-effective to do actual combat training with them.”

“Aww, really? And I thought I could just grind out those ranks by going back there tomorrow”, William quipped and sloshed the remaining applesauce around in the jar. A short inspection after focusing on the object told him that twenty-six of the initial thirty tablespoons were still left. Plenty to snack on later!

“Mhm.” Roland clearly wasn’t in a very humorous mood. “Considering you did unlock the skill, I suggest we also get you some training with the appropriate weapons. I remember you went for the spear earlier today, but having two or three trained weapons to fall back on depending on the situation is always a boon.”

“Plus, I can’t even lift a spear yet, so daggers it is, for now”, William commented with a deep sigh. He really didn’t want to play a rogue.

“We can at least try it. Remember your gloves, those should alleviate some of the stamina loss. And if you start the day with a hearty breakfast, that’ll also help.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. That reminds me, I should’ve probably spent some time earlier to find and rent a room..”

“I doubt you’ll find any spare rooms at the taverns at this point, considering the flood of Travelers that appeared in Ardania. But since you’re under my tutelage, the bunks at the barracks are available to you, and there’s always room for another”, Roland offered, turning towards the garrison as a sign that this whole conversation would wrap up soon.

“Hmm.. I did promise to meet up with my friends today, they’re Travellers too. But I doubt I would even find them at this hour, and I really need some sleep.” Especially considering that the sky had turned a deep black already, and the only source of light were the sconed torches lining the walls of the training field.

“There’s no point in training anymore than this anyways, and I still have plenty of duties to attend to, so we’ll call it a day here. But don’t expect tomorrow to be this easy as well!”, the drill instructor half-threatened.

“Yeah, about that..”, William tried to respond a bit too leisurely, and the harsh expression in Roland's eyes quickly sobered him up. “No! It’s not that I want to quit or anything, but.. I did promise to fight with my friends as their frontliner. Assuming I find them by tomorrow and they want to head out to explore, would that be possible?”

“Already trying to shirk your duties on the first proper day of training? And even more so, by gallivanting around outside the city? Don’t be stupid, you’re just gonna get yourself killed.”

“But that’s why I came to this place! I don’t want to hang around the city all the time--”

“Boy, that’s the last thing you’ll be doing in my training”, Roland interrupted him with a growl.

“Point is, I’m here for adventure and not to just train all day.”

“Right, so do tell me, how are you gonna survive more than a handful of encounters without any proper combat training? You don’t even have any armor, let alone a weapon. Even a single swarm of Bashers would run you into the ground.”

“Thanks for the encouragement”, William grunted and crossed his arms with a grimace. This again? When would the game allow him some freedom?

“Well, I won’t stop you if you want to get yourself killed, but that would be a terrible waste of your life. I’m certain your friends would prefer the alternative, and actually being protected by you, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yeah, sure.. guess you’re right”, William reluctantly played along and took a deep breath. No need to overreact and possibly ruin this mentorship. Even though Bertram offered to help him out in that case, it would’ve been pathetic to seek him out not even a day after arriving here. “I doubt I’ll even find them anytime soon. Ardania is just absolutely massive.”

“Indeed, but I will have to cut this short now”, Roland said and stepped close to him, before handing William a small, green badge made from wool with a stylized shield crossed by two swords. “This will indicate your status as a trainee of the guard, so you can use these facilities whenever necessary.” And after his drill instructor handed the item in question to him, a quick inspection revealed further information about the object.

Guard Trainee Identification Badge (uncommon). This small, woolen emblem indicates your allegiance with the City Guard of Ardania as a trainee. While equipped, your reputation with the City Guard is set to ‘Reluctantly Friendly’ and allows the unobstructed entrance to low-security areas controlled by them. Warning! This does not protect you from arrest, persecution or attacks due to suspicious or criminal activities!

“I hope the warning is clear enough. We’ve already had two of you new arrivals get their hands on one of these and then try to ransack the armory. We will not tolerate that kind of behavior”, Roland added with an especially stern tone in his voice, and William almost felt a cold sweat run down his back.

“P-perfectly clear, sir”, he stuttered back, and hurried to equip the badge through his inventory screen. Dragging and dropping it into one of the three empty ‘medal’ slots, the badge disappeared for a brief moment, before appearing on his chest again, the woolen fabric seemingly sewn into his shirt. “Uhh.. that’s not permanent, is it?”

“Of course not. Equip any other piece of chest armor, and your badges and medals will appear on it instead”, Roland quickly explained, and already took a step back towards the barracks. “If there aren’t any more questions, I will turn in for the night. Since you Travellers apparently somehow can’t be roused from your sleep except on your own volition, and you won’t be able to keep up with morning drills anyways, I expect you back here by the ninth hour at the latest. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. I will try to be awake in time.”

“Good. Barracks are that way. Dismissed, trainee”, the drill instructor nodded in one direction before strutting off back towards the front building, presumably the administration.

“..If that is ‘reluctantly friendly’ with this guy, I don’t want to see neutral and below”, William mumbled under his breath, and then quickly scurried off towards the indicated barracks. Unlike before, the one guard on watch in front of the entrance didn’t even mention anything, and let him through after a quick glance at the emblem. The inside of the building was pleasantly warm despite the solid stone floor and unadorned, worn wooden walls, most likely due to the torches lining the corridors at regular intervals.

“Can I help you with something?”, a flat, matter-of-factly voice called out from the counter right opposite of the entrance. The man behind it seemed so plain and indifferent to his surroundings, William would’ve missed him if he hadn’t spoken up.

“Uhh.. I’m a new trainee, and Roland-- I mean, Captain Roland told me this is where I could find a place to sleep.”

“That is correct. Trainee quarters are in the left wing, all the way to the back. You can’t miss it”, the dull man told him with a side glance, entirely disinterested in any further conversation.

William nodded and followed the indicated direction. Along the way, he passed several rooms with wide open doors where guards went about their evening routine, most of them more occupied with relaxing after their shift, with the occasional display of discipline when one was maintaining his equipment. None of them minded or even noticed him, and it was just in Williams interest as well. He really just wanted to logout right now, hopefully not having worried his parents too much at this point.

At the end of the hallway, a door with the clearly indicated ‘trainee quarters’ waited for him, leading into a much more cramped sleeping area lined on both sides with narrow cots. Several of them were already occupied, either by a person or their belongings resting on it. Only a handful were still awake, and they only acknowledged William with a quick glance, before returning their attention back to their own business.

He liked that. No one was pestering him. This was nice.

Choosing one of the cods towards the middle of the room, since the ones furthest away from the door were already occupied, William settled down and took a deep breath. This was his first day in Eternium then, huh? In comparison to his ventures into other MMO’s, he had barely achieved anything, but at no point did he feel unfulfilled or unaccomplished. This game was an entirely different experience, and he would go along with whatever the devs intended for first time players to see and do.

Sliding the jar of applesauce underneath his cod, William stretched out and rolled up the thin pillow into a more tolerable position, before laying down. Should he just try to sleep here, or would this body automatically fall asleep when he logged out? The cod might not be the most comfortable, but William already felt too sleepy to go on much longer. His eyes closed only momentarily, before his mind went fuzzy and a faint feeling of vertigo overtook him - then he was back in his bedroom.

The first thing that William noticed was his absolutely bone dry throat, as if he had just dragged himself through a hot desert in the middle of the day. With wheezing breaths, he fumbled with his headset until he got off and then reached for the water bottle, his arm protesting from the lack of movement for so long. Once he managed to get the cap off, William was chugging it with the vigor of a dehydrated man finding an oasis. The enthusiastic sounds escaping him could be very much misinterpreted as well.

No more overextended play sessions, that’s for sure.

After emptying the whole liter of water and regaining his senses a bit more, William sighed a deep breath of relief and hunched over, much like his virtual body in Eternium would. Not taking care of bodily functions was a chronic issue when your hobby was video games, but this was an entirely different caliber. It felt more like waking up from a coma, minus the loss of mental and physical faculties.

Not that he’s ever been in a coma, but that’s what he imagined it to be like.

Then again, William didn’t feel too tired or exhausted from all this after having regained his senses for a bit - it was the exact opposite even. Aside from his dry throat and, now that it announced itself, yawning hunger, he had gone through way worse gaming marathons. But regardless, he would still make sure to logout regularly, at least to drink a bit and eat something. Otherwise, his parents might get too worried and yank his headset off at the wrong time.

And speaking of eating, his stomach reminded him even more vehemently that it required food. Quickly putting his headset back on its pedestal and grabbing his phone, William slumped down the staircase and headed towards the kitchen. Considering that it wasn’t even five in the evening, there would be no dinner ready yet, and his mother was in fact in the early preparation phase of what looked like a pork roast.

Despite her generous age in the mid-fifties and generally good health, his mother was already visibly aging. Particularly her hair had steadily grown into a matte gray from the gorgeous blond that he sadly hadn’t inherited.

Before he could even say anything, she had already noticed him. “Ah! There you are, Billy. We were wondering when you might finally get up. I didn’t try to wake you, like you asked, but I was getting worried. Was it that captivating, hm?”

Like always, her warm, caring and slightly croaky voice put him at ease. It was like having a mother and grandmother in one, doubling down on the loving care. “Honestly? I could talk all evening and you wouldn’t have heard half of it”, he quipped and shuffled over to the kitchen table where he grabbed himself some fruit to snack on.

“Is that so? Well you could at least try, I’ll be busy here for a bit”, she offered with a hearty smile and looked over the shoulder to him, the same gray-green eyes he carried gazing at him. “And you could make yourself useful as well and chop some vegetables!”

William had to hold back a chortled laugh at the eerie similarity to the women he had cooked the apple sauce with, and opted to start with a little retelling of that time while he snacked on a pear and helped his mother with preparing dinner. And even though she was the least tech-savvy out of the family, not even having played the usual mobile games someone of her age might end up with, his mother was a fantastic audience to have. After all, she had plenty of practice with his younger self anytime William had gushed about a new game.

“And what about Chelsea, did she have fun too?”, came the innocent question when his story reached a lull, giving him a stark reminder that he hadn’t checked in on her or Robert.

“Uhh, you know.. the game is pretty big, we didn’t have a chance to meet yet. I think they’re busy enough with their own adventures.” Which was really all he knew at this point, but William was already typing up a message to their shared chat room, in case this might reach them some way.

“That’s unfortunate, but I’m sure you will find each other tomorrow and you will have a grand old time together”, was her almost innocent response, and William couldn’t help but smile at that. If she knew that he had pretty much conscripted himself into the city guard and would spend most of his time on actual, physically exhausting training, she would probably call him crazy - and suggest he should do that in the real world instead of a game.

“Mhm, I hope so too”, was his last comment as he handed her a bowl of peeled and chopped carrots and other assorted vegetables. Luckily, this time he didn’t end up cutting himself.

“Can I at least expect you for dinner, Billy? I’m sure you want to get back to it soon enough, but I’d rather see you get at least one good meal in that scrawny body of yours”, the half-scolding, half-caring comment came with a scowl from his mother.

“Yeah, that was the plan. Not much to do ingame anyways right now.”

“Good. Dinner should be ready in about two hours then, so don’t miss it”, she told him while putting the tray with the pork roast and vegetables arranged around it in the oven, and William already knew that the whole house would smell absolutely divine in no time.

“Alright, just let me know if I can do something for you. I think I’ll get some fresh air in the meantime..”

“Go ahead, don’t let me keep you. Please tell your father about dinner as well, if you see him anywhere. He’s been pretty restless lately.”

“Will do!”, he called over his shoulder as he was already leaving, heading from the kitchen and through the dinner room out onto the back patio, being immediately surrounded by a far too warm and not windy enough afternoon. If it weren’t for the countless trees and shrubs providing shade all over the property, their gardens would be worse for wear already. Not to mention living in one of the few regions not yet severely impacted by droughts helped a lot to create this safe haven for countless animals.

Where surrounding properties kept their yards neat, tidy and almost sterile to an obscene degree, what with their white-picket fences and short-cut lawn, Williams family had always followed a more “wild, untamed” approach to their garden. Only the small area directly adjacent to the house was used as a lawn, whereas the rest was allowed to grow and flourish naturally, with only a few paved paths leading through the meadows of wildflowers, their myriads of colors a perfect motive that William had captured year after year in all its glory.

On top of that, it was also far easier to maintain their property that way, which could easily hold and feed a small herd of cows if it were used for that. If you let nature do most of the work for you, and if you can live with never winning a neighborhood award for the prettiest lawn, there was more time to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells that came with it.

Following the gentle slope down towards the edge of their property directly next to a slow, quietly gurgling brook, William was met with the familiar sight of a short, slightly hunched-over man in an old, beaten-up apiarist suit. Even though his face was obscured by the netted headpiece, William knew that right underneath it were a mop of shaggy blonde hair, much like his own, and startling bright blue eyes, that he sadly hadn’t inherited.

Clearly deeply engrossed in his work to provide the tender, loving care for each of his precious honey bees, William's father didn’t even notice him approaching. Only when the lanky young man cleared his throat did the retired beekeeper react.

“Oh, William! Don’t sneak up on me like that”, his slightly hoarse voice called out from behind the net screen, its poignant German accent still lingering despite having lived most of his life outside of his home country. “Are you done playing already? It’s only been eight hours”, the old man quipped as a follow-up.

“You wouldn’t be joking if you had seen any of it. Yes, it’s that good. Just walking around the city was a surreal experience.” Staying at a respective distance as to not disrupt the swarms of bees buzzing around, and of course not to get stung, William settled down on a small outcropping in the meadows, his usual spot when watching his father.

“Is that so? Then I’m glad you got everything you were hoping for. Truth be told, I was still a little skeptical. All of the things you told and showed me seemed too good to be true.”

“I’m serious, and I’d love to show you at some point. Although.. it’s not gonna be easy, since you can’t really look over my shoulder to watch.” Even though his father was far more into his life-long profession as an apiarist, he had always shown genuine interest in Williams own hobbies, whether that was art or video games. Him and his mother just were that kind of people.

“Maybe someday, when they don’t cost an arm and a leg anymore. And even then, my little workers here need me. I can’t just play games all day, you know?”

“I know, dad. But who knows? Maybe they can realistically simulate the behavior of honey bees, and the game would recognize you as a Master ranked beekeeper”, William chuckled and saw the question mark form over his fathers head.

“What do you mean, the game would recognize me?”

“Right, I didn’t even tell mom about it. You see, when you first enter the game you get tested in all kinds of stuff to determine what you’re good or bad at. For me, the game actually gave me the objective to paint a portrait of a woman. It was like an exam at art school.”

“And you’re saying this is intentional then? I would be tested in beekeeping?” His father snorted, as if in disbelief at the notion of that.

“I would assume so, yeah. I guess they want to provide people with a unique experience while still giving them something they’re familiar with. Like, I even got a skill that improves how well I draw within the game because of that.”

“Aha! And supposedly, I would get a beekeeping skill then? That does sound like fun.”

“It was! The game even ranks you based on how good you are, and considering you’ve spent some fifty-odd years on beekeeping, I bet you would start out with a massive boost!”

“Hmm.. you have me intrigued, but I don’t know if I would even have the time. Plus, who would keep your mother company if we’re both playing games while laying around like corpses? I doubt you could talk her into giving it a try.”

“Guess you’re right. But it’s not like the game is going anywhere, it’ll be around for years considering how sophisticated it is. There’s no rush.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to try if it was easier to get into. But I just don’t have the time for it right now, even in my retirement. There’s still too much for me to do. I could never give up my precious little workers here for ones in a digital world.” The adoration and affection in his voice for his work was as clear as day, it always was.

“I know, don’t worry. I would never get between you and your hives. Not just because I don’t want to get stung to death…”

A hearty belly-laugh was the response to his quip at the end. “Only if you try to take their honey!”

William couldn’t help but chuckle, before the two of them fell into a lapse in their conversation, and enjoyed a comfortable silence that was only accompanied by the soft murmur of the nearby stream and the occasional strained grunt from his father as he worked. It was a most familiar sight that put him at ease and reminded him of simpler times with less worries and responsibilities in his life. Early evenings spent outside with fresh lemonade and sandwiches carried over by his mother as he drew whatever his heart had desired, often taking inspiration in the man that had always provided for him.

Under different circumstances, William would’ve helped him with some of the work right now, but it would take too long to change into his own suit and walk back here before dinner was ready and they would have to call it a day.

“Ah! Dinner, of course!”, William called out as he remembered his mothers words, and startled his father with the sudden outburst. “Mom says dinner is another two hours, and probably much less by now. Maybe an hour and a half? Sorry, should’ve said so sooner.”

His father just waved off with one hand. “Doesn’t matter, she would yell for me anyways. But thank you for telling me regardless.” Before turning to his work again, his father sniffed the air for a moment and William could tell a smile spread across his face underneath the headpiece. “Ahh, it’s a pork roast today? She’s really been generous with us lately.”

“Honestly, you could probably sniff out a bee hive in the middle of a forest with that schnozz of yours. I can’t smell anything but flowers and your smoke can.”

In a motion as if to tap the side of his nose, even though the visor prevented him from it, his father gave him another look before focusing on the work in front of him again.

Just in that moment, Williams' phone buzzed in a familiar rhythm that indicated someone had responded in their shared chat room, and his hand shot into his pocket to dig it out. Sure enough, a message from Robert awaited him, quickly followed by several more.

R: dude

R: what was that

R: I just spend 9h on a damn tutorial

R: best game ever lmao

“..You’re kidding me.”