𝑶𝓋𝐥xt.𝗇t
“Got everything?”
“Yes, thank you.” Jesse carried the bags to the car while walking beside the elderly woman. He was still feeling awkward because he didn’t enjoy taking things for free.
After putting both his and Matilda’s bags in the trunk of the car, he opened the door and entered the back seat. Matilda sat beside him and told the driver to take them back.
“What are your plans for today?” asked Matilda as they drove away from Wealth Boulevard.
“I think I will be exercising a little bit.” Jesse replied. He still had to be careful because of his disease. Thus, he couldn’t do anything reckless when he was exercising.
“Are you free tomorrow? There is someone I would like you to meet.”
“Tomorrow…” Jesse sighed and felt very bad. “I am busy tomorrow.”
“Oh, what about the day after tomorrow then?” Matilda asked gently.
“Mm, sure. I think that will be fine.” Jesse replied with a smile, relieved that she didn’t get mad. He was slightly ashamed that he couldn’t meet that certain someone because there was the quest, which he had to participate in.
“Good. Wear those clothes to the meeting.” Matilda hinted at the new clothes he received. Jesse nodded and glanced out of the window at the passing buildings. He observed them silently while waiting for the car to reach its destination.
After a short while, the car reached Terran’s Street and parked right in front of the apartment complex. The driver got out of his vehicle to open the door for both Jesse and Matilda.
After Jesse stepped out of the car, Matilda said. “When you are washing those clothes, remember to wash them separately from your other clothes. They are made from Charma Fabric, and their durability would weaken if they were washed with clothes made of different fabrics!”
“I understand, thanks.” Jesse bade his farewells and entered his apartment with the bag in hand. He took a deep breath, kicked his shoes off, and hung his jacket from a clothes rack. He then sat on a couch in the living room and checked the fancy clothes.
“I have to go buy more clothes another day. This time, something cheaper.” Jesse wryly smiled. He was thankful for getting these clothes for free and decided to use them only for special occasions, but he needed way more clothes.
He then went to his bedroom and put the clothes in his wardrobe. He put them on hangers and then returned to the living room.
During the car ride back home, he got hungry again. Thus, he went to the refrigerator, took out the remaining leftover soup, heated it up in the microwave, and then ate it while checking the news on his phone.
After eating, he washed the bowl and put it back in the cupboard. He then opened a video app on his phone. It was called as ForeverTube. Everyone could upload their own videos there. The biggest videos have billions of views.
Many people started their careers as video makers for ForeverTube, making millions and millions of crowns. At one point, even Jesse thought about becoming one as he was stuck inside his home, but he would have needed a computer for it.
“This is the video I found…” Jesse whispered and opened a video he had seen a few days ago. He then leaned the phone against a glass cup so he could see the screen while standing further away.
He didn’t press the play button yet and returned to his bedroom. He crouched and pulled something from under the bed. It was a solid-looking wooden stick, which he found a few days ago during his morning jog session.
He then returned to the living room and pressed play on the phone screen. The video started playing, showing a middle-aged man sitting on the ground with a sword in hand. He wore a black yukata with a white sash around his waist.
“Welcome to my first video about swordsmanship and its basics.” The middle-aged man said and nodded to the camera. “In this video, I will be teaching about footwork. Footwork is the core principle of swordsmanship!”
The middle-aged man stood up and put his sword in front of his body. Both hands on the handle. The camera then zoomed in, showing only his legs. He then moved his right leg forward, putting all his weight on it while keeping his left leg back.
The camera moved backward, again showing the middle-aged man.
Jesse mimicked it by grabbing the wooden stick with both hands, moving his right leg forward, and putting weight on it. However, he couldn’t avoid the sharp pain that appeared suddenly.
‘Argh, already hurting.’ He shook his head and focused on the video with deep intensity.
The middle-aged man then started swinging the sword while moving his legs as he moved forward. The man’s movements were precise and fast. He was clearly a veteran swordsman.
The man swung the sword in a wide arc, cutting through the air with great speed and precision. He then again used his footwork to move around the tree while delivering swift slashes on its bark.
Jesse tried copying it, but he looked amateurish and clumsy. He almost tripped on his own legs and could’ve injured himself if he had fallen. That caused him to stop moving.
‘It’s simply too dangerous for me to do this. Shouldn’t I just practise this in-game? No… I need to use my time in-game efficiently and while I am logged out, I should focus on exercising and training.
‘This is the only way to catch up to the top players. I will never be able to defeat Barbarian and the others if I am too afraid to practise!’
Jesse gritted his teeth, turned back to the phone screen and even though his legs were already hurting, he continued mimicking the footwork till the sky turned dark.
…
Cerberus took a deep breath as he meditated in the open-air veranda. The rain had stopped, but the air was still moist and cold. Yet, he didn’t’t care about any of that as he was in the deep world of meditation.
Whenever he meditated, he believed that he was seeing his own soul, shaped like a person. However, whenever he tried moving closer to his soul, his meditation gets interrupted.
“Ugh, again.” Cerberus opened his eyes. He looked confused as he didn’t know what to do. “I feel like there is something about meditation in this game that we don’t know anything about. The game developers are hiding something.
“I am sure this is a way to get even stronger.”
Whoosh—chains appeared out of nowhere and slashed through the air while traversing towards Cerberus. Strangely enough, there were daggers at the end of the chains, making them several times more deadly!
Cerberus unsheathed his sword and deflected the flying daggers. The daggers stabbed into the wooden wall of the dojo, but then, a figure flew across the sky while using the stuck daggers as a way to pull herself across the air.
“I was meditating, can’t you see?” he asked in annoyance and sat back down while sheating his sword.
“Mm.” A little girl with adorable face landed on the veranda and pulled the daggers out of the wall. She wrapped the chains around her waist and put the daggers on their small sheaths.
“Why are you meditating? Are you expecting a fight against someone strong tomorrow?”
“Perhaps. I will be prepared.” Cerberus said with a slight smirk.
“Mm.” The little girl then looked around and asked. “Everyone gone?”
“Yes.”
“Mm, I wanted to talk to him.”
“To who?” Cerberus turned around to look at the little girl.
“Not your business.” She showed her tiny tongue and entered the dojo.
“Hmph.” Cerberus turned away from her and closed his eyes again. ‘Inner Power. Inner Power… Inner Power…’