“Pastries half off!” A baker shouted from the doorsteps of his establishment.
Alongside him, many street vendors were calling out to passersby, trying to entice them with their delicious food and drinks.
It was a rowdy atmosphere.
In a corner stall that sold handmade crafts and souvenirs, Ambrose twirled a brass key with slight rust on his hand.
His body leaned against the stall while the stall owner chatted with other customers. He listened with a distant look at their conversation, not caring much.
At that moment, he saw a silver-haired girl with a bright sundress and a smile that seemed to light up the entire market. She easily became the center of attention, capturing everyone’s attention with her radiant energy.
“Jesse.” Alice grabbed the corner of her sunhat and covered herself from the heat of the sun.
“Alice.” Ambrose greeted her with a nod. “Here.”
With the flick of his wrist, he threw the brass key towards her at very restrictive speed. It landed in her hand with a soft clink.
“The address is in the message.” Ambrose said, and he turned around to walk away after his business was finished.
“Ah, thank you.” Alice whispered softly and watched as he walked away.
She could sense his dislike, even though he tried to shrug off the past.
“I understand…” Alice pocketed the brass key and turned to leave.
A few pedestrians looked at the scene with gossiping expressions. They thought the handsome man and beautiful young woman were together.
However, in a shocking twist, the handsome man ignored her as if she were nothing but a stranger.
As the two walked in opposite directions, the gap between them seemed to widen like an endless chasm.
Even though it wasn’t said out loud, the fragile relationship cracked apart like a shattered mirror. They were now nothing but strangers to each other.
…
The crimson moon hung high above Amaterasu, creating a layer of eerie darkness that shrouded the once peaceful landscape.
On one of the streets, a man dressed in a black poncho walked down the sidewalk, eyeing the surroundings with a calm look.
He then approached the door of one of the surrounding stores and saw that there was a ‘Closed’ sign dangling in front of the door.
He double-knocked on the door and waited with his arms crossed, his eyes still looking around the street.
Creak—the door then slowly opened, and a head popped out.
“Is it clear?” Bella asked with a hint of caution. She was dressed in a low-key dark-red cloak with a hood over her head, her eyes peering out from underneath.
“Yeah.” Ambrose opened the door wider for her and watched as she walked out of the store, eyeing the surroundings with caution.
“First time outside this late?” He asked and closed the door.
“Yeah…” Bella replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “The city isn’t safe during nights…”
“You’ll be fine with me.” Ambrose grabbed her by the hand and led her away from the store. “The real threat is beyond the walls.”
“Mm.” Bella nodded, feeling her fear slip away as she felt the warm hand of Ambrose’s in hers.
“Let’s join the party.” Ambrose said while walking hand-in-hand with her and opening the party interface.
At that moment, his eyes opened in surprise.
“Oh, I can change the XP distribution percentage.” Ambrose said out loud.
“Oh, you can?” Bella was equally surprised, as this was the first time she tried the party system.
“I might be able to change it so that you receive 99 percent and I receive only one percent of the XP.” Ambrose said while looking at the interface. “I can’t put it so that you get it all.”
“No, don’t do that.” Bella said firmly. “You’ll get nothing otherwise.”
“Oh, I don’t mind.” Ambrose said. “We won’t go very far either, and the XP I’ll get will be nothing but scraps.”
“But still…” Bella shook her head. “Let’s keep it equal.”
“Nope.” Ambrose chuckled. “Compromise. You’ll get 75%, and I’ll get 25%, deal?”
“Finee, deal.” Bella rolled her eyes and wryly smiled.
Ambrose changed the distribution percentages and then sent a party invitation to her. She immediately accepted, and her name appeared at the party.
At that moment, they both saw a group of players seated at the steps of a nearby stairs that led to a closed balcony garden. They were all dressed in black and seemed to be in deep conversation.
However, when they heard footsteps, they quickly turned their attention to the two figures who were walking hand-in-hand. They couldn’t see either of their faces, but they recognized one of them as male and another as female.
Also, seeing their hands intertwined, they knew that they were a couple.
“Hey, you.” One of the players nudged his chin up and increased the volume of his voice. “What side are you on? Veterans or alliance?”
His friends also looked at them with suspicion, one of their hands grabbing the shaft of their weapons.
Bella slowed down her pace and hid behind Ambrose.
“Sigh.” Ambrose sighed, drew his wooden sword, and his muscles tensed.
The players narrowed their weapons as they looked at the non-threatening wooden sword, and they drew their weapons as well.
“I asked you a fucking que—”
“Slash of the Six Worlds!” Ambrose screamed from the bottom of his lungs, and with an Inner Power-infused slash, he created an attack that decimated the players and destroyed the side of the nearby building.
The attack was full of destruction and chaos.
Nothing was left of the players except several brown pouches and their dropped items.
Bella watched with a slack jawed expression and saw notifications flash by her on the screen.
She then saw that she had leveled up for the first time in her gaming career!
It wasn’t just one level.
She jumped straight to level 5!
“I-I leveled up.” She couldn’t believe it, and she looked at her boyfriend with a shocked expression.
“Nice.” He smiled and patted her on the head. “We should probably hunt for players instead, but I feel like that will paint a target on our backs. Not worth it.”
“Y-yeah…” Bella looked at her interface and bit her nail. “Where should I assign those points…”
“Wait till we return.” Ambrose said with a smile. “Then we can decide.”
“Mm.” Bella nodded with a smile.
“We should probably hurry up.” Ambrose said, and he snatched Bella from her feet, suddenly carrying her in a princess carry.
“Ah.” Bella wrapped her arms around his neck, looking at him with a curious expression. “What is this?”
“Just watch.” Ambrose looked towards the starry sky, then his leg muscles swelled, pumping strength into his body, and then, like a missile, he shot into the sky like a superman.
“Ahhhh!” Bella screamed in exhilaration, her eyes fixed on Ambrose as he soared through the night sky.
“This’ll be much faster.” Ambrose laughed as they hovered several kilometers above Amaterasu’s night city.
Bella was too afraid to look down in case she would pass out after seeing the distance to the ground.
“Hold tight.” Ambrose kicked the air and launched towards the far-away Crow Forest at incredible speeds.
Bella closed her eyes, only feeling the wind in her hair and the whistling sound of the wind. She could feel her heart racing with excitement and fear.
Yet, when she instinctively opened her eyes, she saw the most beautiful sight in the entire world.
The starry sky was mixed with hues of amethyst and crimson. It looked like a scene taken from a fairytale. The scene was filled with a sense of magic and wonder.
It was as if she could see the entire universe with its twirling planets, millions of stars and far-away galaxies.
“Whoah…”