Some minutes ago.
Aurora dashed out of her house and hurriedly made her way to Zach’s inn.
“I am so stupid…” she said while stomping on the ground in frustration.
“Why did I not realize it before?” she asked herself. “He has been asking me every day about my physique…”
Zach always asked Aurora about her physique because he wanted to ascend with Aurora, but it was taking more time than he thought.
“And why did I forget that he said he would ascend when he reaches level 20! He is level 21 now! He must be wanting to ascend,” Aurora groaned in frustration.
“I will go and tell him to ascend without me. I am sure he was waiting for me so we could ascend together…” Aurora stopped on her words and doubted herself. “I am talking about Zach here. He always disappoints me and betrays my expectations. I shouldn’t expect that he wanted to ascend with me.”
Aurora was right and wrong at the same time. She was wrong because Zach was indeed thinking of ascending with her, but she was wrong because he was certainly going to ascend without her.
“No.” Aurora shook her head and muttered, “I should think about myself right now.”
Aurora increased her pace and started running.
‘I will go and tell him to ascend without me. I don’t want to drag him down. I don’t want to be a burden for him. I don’t want to be a useless person to him.’
“But…” Aurora stopped in front of the inn and clenched her fists.
‘Why is it so hard to say goodbye to him? It’s not like we will never see each other again. I will work hard and ascend within a week.’
‘Still… my heart stings. Maybe I should tell him my feelings before he ascends? But… what if he doesn’t feel the same way?’
Aurora gasped and wondered, ‘What if he rejects my feelings? Then it would be so awkward to see him again. Or… what if he still has feelings for his ex?’
Aurora slapped her cheeks and muttered, “Be optimistic, Aurora. You are cute and beautiful. There are so many players who asked me out. And all the males stare at me whenever I pass by somewhere. And even Zach stares at me sometimes.”
‘Yes. I am sure he feels the same way about me. Otherwise, why would he keep asking me about my physique? That’s right! He wants to be with me.’
“But… if he truly feels the same, then he would want to be with me. I will eventually drag him down…”
Aurora was having a major dilemma in front of the inn. Luckily, it was a late night, so most of the players were sleeping, and no one was outside to see Aurora.
‘Alright. I will not confess to him, but I will tell him to ascend without me. I will tell him to… wait for me…’ Aurora’s face flushed when she thought that.
“Let’s go.” She gathered her courage and entered the inn. However, she was going to be disappointed soon as her expectations were going to be betrayed once again.
She went upstairs and stood in front of Zach’s room.
‘What if he is sleeping? What if I was overthinking, and he was not thinking of ascending?’ Aurora was getting cold feet after coming so far.
She knocked on the door, and someone opened it after some seconds.
“Yes?” A female player was staying in Zach’s room now.
Aurora’s face turned pale after seeing a girl answering Zach’s door. Her mind stopped working, and her body froze.
‘Why… is a girl in his room?’ Aurora wondered. ‘No. I must be mistaken. I knocked on the wrong door.’
When Aurora glanced up to check the room number, it was Zach’s room— number 69.
‘It’s his room! What is going on?! Why is there a girl in his room?! Is she a maid?!’ Aurora pushed the woman aside and entered the room.
“Excuse me?!” the woman stopped Aurora and said, “What do you think you are doing?”
“Where is he?!” Aurora shouted.
“Who?” The woman was visibly confused.
“Zach. Where are you hiding him?!”
“There is no one here. I just got this room an hour ago,” the woman informed.
“…!” Aurora quietly left the room and dashed to room number 72 at the end of the hallway.
She knocked on the door, and Kayden opened the door.
“Uhh… what?” Kayden was surprised to see Aurora on his door.
“Where is Zach?” Aurora asked impatiently.
“Huh? He didn’t tell you?” Kayden wondered. “He was going to ascend tonight.”
“Why… he didn’t tell me…”
Dejected and disappointed, Aurora left the inn and walked towards her house.
“What was I thinking?” Aurora muttered in a disdainful tone. “Just because we spent some time together and cleared dungeons and towers, doesn’t mean we had a relationship.”
“I doubt he ever thought of me as a friend…”
[DING!]
[You have received a special quest!]
[Reward- 100 physique points!]
“And that’s what happened,” Aurora told the entire story to Zach, who was listening to her with mixed expressions on his face.
“What was the quest?” Zach asked curiously.
“Do something you would never do.”
“What… did you do then?”
Aurora didn’t say anything and simply averted her gaze from Zach.
“… what did you do?” Zach asked again, this time, a little worried.
“I made a promise,” Aurora replied.
“Hah?!”
“I promised myself that I won’t eat crepe again, never ever,” Aurora replied in a low voice.
Zach raised his brows and asked, “And that worked?”
Aurora quietly nodded and said, “It did.”
“What was the penalty?” Zach asked with a curious and concerned look on his face.
“All my stats will reset if I ever eat crepe again.”
“… are you out of your mind?!” Zach shouted. “Why would you do that? And don’t you love crepes?!”
“I love something more than crepe now.”
“…” Zach face-palmed himself and muttered something under his breath.
After seeing Zach acting like that, Aurora bit her lips and asked, “Do you hate me so much that you don’t want to be with me?”
“It’s not like that. I am angry because you acted so reckless.” Zach let out a weary sigh and moved his hand towards Aurora.
“…” Aurora stared at Zach’s hand with a confused and puzzled look on her face.
“Let’s go,” Zach said in a calm voice and grabbed Aurora’s hand.
“…!” Aurora’s face flushed, but she didn’t stop Zach. She held his hand tightly and followed Zach’s lead.
Zach and Aurora stood in front of the portal and glanced at each other. They nodded with a smile on their faces and entered the portal to ascend to the first realm.
‘Father. You said I shouldn’t lose sight of the moon of my life while counting the stars. However, father, my sky has no stars. There is only one moon, and it’s right within my grasp.’
***
Total players in the game 507769
0 new players logged in.
102 players died.
=====
[Weekly Quest.]
«200 power stones or 50 Golden tickets – 1 chapter.»
«500 power stones or 100 Golden tickets – 3 chapters.»
====
Author’s Note – This is one of my favorite chapters of this book. The next chapter is the aftermath in the real world.