Ambrose tossed the drenched clothes to dry in the bathroom. He hoped they would be dry enough for tomorrow. He then walked to the bed, completely naked, as every single piece of cloth was covered in mud.
“That fight sure removed my sleepiness.” He combed his hair with his hand. He had also taken a bath in-game, as his avatar would still be in the same state in which he left it when he logged back in.
To get rid of unnecessary hustle tomorrow morning, he planned on just doing it tonight.
After putting his clothes to dry, taking a bath, and cleaning his entire body, he didn’t feel like there was anything else left to do in-game. Thus, he pressed the logout button.
…
“Mm…” Jesse opened his eyes and took off the headset. He tidied up his messy hair and continued lying on the soft bed for a little longer, thinking about the fight. 𝑶𝓋𝐥xt.𝗇t
He always knew he wouldn’t be able to win against the muscular fellow in a fist fight. He was built like a brick house, after all. However, he didn’t care. It wasn’t hard to tell where the animosity came from.
“A jealousy is a dangerous thing. It also brought me momentarily down a dark path. It ain’t worth it.” Jesse thought aloud, and a face popped up in his mind. A sweet face belonging to a silver-haired girl.
“Hmm…” Jesse sat up and stood up from the bed. It didn’t even take a second for him to falter and almost fall. Luckily, the wardrobe was near, which he was able to lean against.
“That was close…” He looked down at his legs, which felt like they were chained against a boulder. They just didn’t listen to his commands to move!
“These… useless things…” Jesse sighed and sat down on the ground. The room was eerily dark, only light was from the headset, which he still left on without turning it off.
As he couldn’t move anywhere either way, he silently looked down at his new body. His hair length had also reached past his shoulders and was in dire need of a haircut. He then noticed that his left hand wasn’t feeling painful anymore.
He hesitated before removing the bandages and throwing them to the side. His knuckles had a few minor scars, but otherwise, the hand looked perfectly healthy.
“I am… healing faster?” Jesse shook his head after such a ridiculous idea popped into his mind. However, it would sometimes take months for an injury of this caliber to heal.
At that moment, he also remembered a promise he had made not so long ago. He wanted to try exercising to see whether it would help him become stronger in the game.
“Right… should I do it now…” Jesse looked at the state of his legs and immediately knew that most of the exercises were off the table as he couldn’t even move them. However, there were a few he could try.
He laid down on the cold floor, just like he would be laying on the bed. However, he then moved his hands behind his head and lifted his entire torso into a sitting position before moving back down.
A burning sensation appeared in his abdomen.
He was trying abdominal crunches.
“Whoo…” Jesse took a deep breath and did it again. The burning sensation got even stronger. He then very carefully laid back down. He was being very careful not to accidentally hit his head on the floor, splitting it in half.
Even doing such a simple exercise was very dangerous for him.
“I am… in such terrible shape.” He let out a tired chuckle. Even though he received a new body that looked like it would belong to a professional swimmer, his actual shape was horrible, as if the new body was just a disguise, hiding his real form below.
“Now… I understand how I couldn’t feel any stronger in game.” Jesse sighed. “There are no shortcuts to success… I have to train myself to increase my strength.”
Without further ado, he continued doing the exercise while the burning sensation became unbearable in his midriff region.
His body was soon shaking from the insane pain, and he felt like his entire skeleton was breaking apart.
“Argh…” Jesse slowly laid back on the ground and shook his head vigorously. “No more… I’ll go sleep.”
At that moment, Jesse swung his eyes open with bloodshot eyes.
“I have done nothing in my whole life. That ends today!” Jesse gritted his teeth and finished another abdominal crunch. This time, it wasn’t just a stomach crunch but a full-body one.
His legs, which were previously immobilized, finally moved.
…
Alice, dressed in her short-sleeved shirt and black running pants, reached her home after her morning jog. After opening the front door, she saw her parents about to leave for work.
“Ah, Alice.” A short-bearded man smiled. He was carrying a suitcase on one hand and his car keys on the other. “Want us to take you to the clinic today?”
“Ah, I have a free day today.” Alice said while wiping off her sweat with a towel. She took the shoes off her feet and rubbed her toes as she felt like she had a rock on her shoe during her run today, making it rather uncomfortable.
Her mother had similar silver hair, which fit her gray eyes and long silver eyelashes. Her body proportions were outstanding, giving an idea of what kind of woman Alice would be in adulthood. She also had her hospital card in hand.
“Don’t play all day, alright?” Her mother touched her gently on the shoulder and left through the open front door, followed by her husband.
Alice waved at her parents as they drove off from the luxurious neighborhood. The roads there were wide, spacious, and tree-lined, with well-kept sidewalks. It was clearly a rich neighborhood, as every house was grand and elegant, with freshly painted walls and manicured lawns.
After they left her sight, she closed the door and rushed immediately straight to the third floor, where she entered the spacious room, which was already bigger than Jesse’s new apartment.
She laid on the bed, put the VR headset on and smiled as she pressed on the button.
“I hope today will be good day!”
…
After opening her eyes, Serenity was planning to leave the room and meet everyone at downstairs as it was their meeting spot before they departed. However, she came across unexpected scene.
Layla was on the ground, prostrating with her forehead touching the floor.
“I am so sorry!”
“Eh, Layla?” Serenity was stunned and wanted to help her friend up. “What are you doing on the ground?”
“I failed you!”
“Huh?”
Layla raised her gaze, her eyes were tear-ridden. It also looked like she was prostrating on the ground for long time, waiting for Serenity to come online.
“You gave me one task and I failed!”
“What?” Serenity tried to think about the task she gave her and only one thing came to her mind. Her face bleached. “A-Ambrose? What happened!”
At that moment, door swung open and enraged-looking Leprechaun entered the room.
“Where is Teddy and this Ambrose guy?! They are paying the damages, we won’t take a single silver from our finances!”
“Teddy… Ambrose…” Serenity felt light-headed and had to sit down. She hung her head low and wanted to kick something.
“I am sorry, please don’t hate me!” Layla hugged her legs and begged with tearful face.
Serenity looked at her crying friend and shook her head gently.
“I won’t hate you. Let’s go downstairs and I want to hear what happened.”