Second World Online

The midday rest period in the real world had passed, marked by the finishing of a bowl of bland porridge and my medication schedule strictly supervised by Mira. True to the promise I had made with Alya, at exactly one in the afternoon, I laid my body back down into the Game Capsule.

After going through the system authentication process and the Full-Dive sensation that always amazed me, my eyes opened and were greeted by the wooden ceiling of my inn room in StoneBrook city.

I got up from my virtual bed. The stiffness and aches gnawing at my real body seemed to be left behind in another dimension. As Syl, the Archer Goddess of the Albino Elf race, my body felt incredibly light, full of energy, and ready to run through a storm.

However, before I began hunting, there was one pressing matter I had to resolve.

"Ugh... my mouth feels like it’s still full of the bland residue from that porridge," I complained while rubbing my throat. "I need something with a strong flavor. Something to cleanse my tongue."

Without wasting time, I stepped out of the inn. The afternoon atmosphere in StoneBrook was much hotter and busier than the morning. The streets were filled with the hustle and bustle of players shouting to offer merchandise or searching for party members. Ignoring the crowd, my steps were directed straight toward the row of food stalls across the street, looking for the stall belonging to the Dwarf chef who served the heavenly roast chicken yesterday.

Fortunately, the wooden stall billowing savory smoke was still in the same place.

"Uncle! What’s your special menu this afternoon?" I greeted as soon as I arrived at his counter.

The Dwarf player turned from his large cauldron, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his apron. Upon seeing me, a wide smile instantly bloomed. "Ah, my loyal Elf lady customer! The weather is quite hot this afternoon, but I have a menu that will make your stamina soar sharply! Spicy Herb Wild Boar Soup! Only 20 Copper Coins!"

Hearing the words wild boar, my left eyebrow raised slightly. "Wild boar meat? Isn’t wild monster meat usually very tough and has a pungent earthy smell?"

The chef laughed heartily, patting his round belly proudly. "Hahaha! That’s if a Novice chef cooks it, Miss! I’ve upgraded my equipment to the Intermediate tier. With a special pressure cooker and a boiling technique using mint leaves and secret spices, that tough meat is now as soft as cotton! Want to try?"

"Two bowls!" I answered without hesitation, tossing coins onto his table.

A few minutes later, I sat on a wooden bench while inhaling the aroma of the thick, brownish broth served in front of me. The smoke billowed, carrying an incredibly rich scent of black pepper, garlic, and meat broth.

I took the wooden spoon and slurped the broth.

Thump!

My eyes widened perfectly. The flavor truly exploded on my tongue! The broth was exceptionally savory with the perfect level of spiciness, instantly warming my virtual chest and stomach. When I bit into a piece of the wild boar meat, my teeth pierced the meat fibers with extreme ease. The meat was tender, juicy, and left absolutely no wild odor like I had feared. The meat’s fat melted in my mouth, delivering an intoxicating sensation that made me almost cry with happiness.

This player was truly a culinary genius. Spending time dealing with wild animal meat in a VR game required high dedication and understanding of spices.

In less than ten minutes, the two bowls of soup were gone without a trace, completely erasing the bad memory of the bland porridge in the real world. A small notification appeared in the corner of my vision.

[System: You consumed ’Spicy Herb Wild Boar Soup’ (Quality: Good). Gained Buff: Maximum HP increased by 50 Points and Stamina Regeneration Speed +15% for 2 Hours.]

"Perfect," I smiled in satisfaction, wiping my lips and standing up. A full stomach, active buffs, time to pick up the little fox.

I opened the interface panel and selected the Friend List menu. There, the name [Yuuki] glowed green indicating that she was online. I immediately typed a Private Message (PM).

[To Yuuki]: Where are you? I’m near the town square fountain.

After merely a few seconds, a reply came right in with a tone as if I could hear it directly in my head.

[From Yuuki]: Wait a sec, Brother! Wait right there! I’m running there now, don’t go anywhere!

I closed the panel and leaned casually against the edge of the circular stone fountain pond in the middle of StoneBrook’s town square. This place was the most popular gathering point for players. While waiting, my sharp eyes scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar figure.

Not long after, from the direction of the main road, the crowd of low-level players seemed to part slightly. Some female players could even be heard squealing in adoration.

"Wow, so cute! Whose pet is that?"

"That’s not a stupid pet, it has no collar! That’s a Beast race player! But why is it so small?"

From the gap in that crowd, bounded a small four-legged creature. A perfectly clean, snow-white furred fox, with a thick tail puffing out beautifully behind it, and a pair of triangular ears standing erect. Its size was truly only as big as a puppy.

The little fox ran toward me. As soon as the distance between us was down to two meters, she braked her steps, looked at me with a pair of sparkling ruby red eyes, and opened her mouth wide.

"Kyuuu! Kyip! Yip!"

The sound that came out of her snout wasn’t a human voice, but rather the characteristic squeaks and little howls of a fox cub.

I was stunned for a second, trying to process the absurd sight in front of me. Then, my laughter broke out. I laughed out loud until I had to hold my stomach. My chatty little sister was now in the form of a tiny animal that could only squeak!

Suddenly, my private message panel blinked consecutively.

[From Yuuki]: BROTHER DON’T LAUGH! So annoying!

[From Yuuki]: This game system is too realistic, you know! Because I picked the ’Beast’ race, I wasn’t given human vocal cords by the system at all! I can only bark and squeak! All my communication to other players has to be through PM or Party chat!

Reading the message full of capital letters made my laughter even louder. "Hahaha! Oh my goodness, Al. So you really became a mute wild animal? No wonder you don’t speak using the Voice Chat feature! Hilarious!" I teased directly, because Alya could clearly hear my real voice normally.

Feeling mocked, the white fox let out an annoyed snort which actually made her look even cuter. She hopped forward, raised her front left paw, and slapped my shin with her soft paw pad.

Smack!

A number [-0] floated up from my head. The little fox’s paw slap didn’t pierce the defense of my leather armor at all, let alone deal damage.

"Ouch, ouch, it hurts so much," I mocked with an affectedly flat tone.

Without hesitation, I immediately squatted down and used both my hands to catch the little fox. I lifted her body, which turned out to be quite light, and began stroking the fur on her back and behind her ears.

"Kyuuu..." Alya initially struggled and protested via PM, but slowly, her Beast race instincts took over. Her bushy tail started wagging on its own, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the strokes of my hand.

"Wow... your fur is seriously super soft, Al," I murmured in amazement, feeling the silky texture on my virtual fingertips. Chronos Tech’s machine technology truly rendered every strand of this fur with a physical perfection that made people addicted to petting it.

As I held her at face level, I only just realized one interesting thing.

My avatar was an Elf with silvery-white hair due to the Albinism trait, pale skin, and possessed a pair of blood-red eyes. And Alya, her fox form was a fox with pristine snow-white fur, with a pair of ruby eyes that were also red.

"Look at the two of us," I said while smiling, pointing toward the reflection of both of us on the surface of the fountain pond water. "Both pristine white with red eyes. You’re just like my magical pet or holy guardian. Our aesthetics really match."

[From Yuuki]: Hehe, a cool coincidence right? You look like the Moon Goddess, and I am your holy fox! The albino twins combo! Hurry, Brother, invite me to the Party!

I smiled and opened the system interface. I sent a group invitation, and within seconds, Alya’s status indicator appeared beneath my Health Bar.

[System: Player ’Yuuki’ (Level 8 - Beast Fox) has joined the Party.]

"Alright, since we’re in a group now, you don’t need to bombard my PMs anymore. Just use the Party communication channel, you can send telepathic messages through there," I instructed.

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: Test! Test! Wow, it works! Okay, Brother, where are we going hunting now? I need a lot of EXP to chase Level 10 so I can evolve tonight!

I set Alya back down on the ground. The little fox immediately shook her fur, getting ready for action.

"Our destination today is north," I answered firmly, my eyes looking far toward the stone gates at the edge of the city. "We will hunt Orcs. The monsters in the Orc Gorge are in the Level 12 to 15 range. For you who are still Level 8, fighting them with my help will provide massive Experience Points because of the tier bonus effect from monsters higher leveled than the player."

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: To the north? Wow, my friends on the forum said, after the Goblin King Boss was defeated yesterday, the magic gate in the north has been shattered. Many high-level players have already started pushing into Area 2 beyond the gorge.

I nodded as I started walking down the city street, with Alya trotting along beside me, drawing many pairs of eyes.

"True. From the information I read, Area 2 in the northern region has reportedly turned into a toxic swamp ecosystem and a giant mangrove forest," I said with a slightly excited tone.

As a woodcrafter, geographical ecosystem changes were the thing I looked forward to the most. The pine and ironwood forests around StoneBrook were starting to get boring. A swamp forest would definitely hold types of wet trees possessing high elasticity, perhaps very suitable for making water-resistant Longbows or water element magic materials.

Not to mention if combined with the Alchemy profession I just picked up. Swamps were always synonymous with poisonous medicinal plants, mutant toads, and blood-sucking leeches, high-grade materials for Intermediate-level potion experiments.

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: If that’s the case, why don’t we just go straight to the swamps, Brother? I can burn those swamp leeches using fire magic! The EXP would definitely be crazier!

Hearing Alya’s highly ambitious suggestion, my steps slowed a bit. I stared at the virtual digital clock located in the top right corner of my field of vision. My playtime had only run for twenty minutes, leaving one hundred minutes before Mira’s medical alarm dragged me back to reality.

I sighed softly, the tone of my voice lowering. "I am also very curious to see that swamp directly, Al. But... we don’t have enough time."

The little fox down there looked up at me with slightly tilted ears, a perfect gesture of confusion.

"The travel distance from this town square, passing through the forest, breaking through the Orc Gorge, until arriving at the border of Area 2 takes a very long time if traveled on foot. Especially since there are no mount systems or teleportation portals early in this game," I explained logically. "My login time is heavily restricted. Doctor Karin only gave me an absolute two-hour limit per day."

I looked down and gave her a faint smile. "If we force ourselves to walk to Area 2, my time will run out just on the journey. I will be forcibly logged out halfway there, and you will die a silly death ganged up on by swamp monsters alone. So, for today, the most efficient target is the border gorge. We harvest Orcs, collect material drops for me to sell, and make sure you hit Level 10."

Understanding the physical limitations of my real self, the white fox nodded firmly.

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: Ready, Brother Rian! I promise not to be a burden! Let’s go slaughter those giant green pigs!

"Good. In that case, let’s speed up our journey. Grip the ground tightly, Al."

I smiled widely. It was time to test the new toy I had painstakingly bought using Skill Points yesterday.

I raised one hand and channeled Mana from within my body down to my feet. "System, activate [Wind Walk]!"

At that very moment, a transparent green high-pressure whirlwind current enveloped my pair of leather boots. My feet felt as light as goose feathers, as if the gravity holding down my body had just been reduced by half.

"Let’s race!" I exclaimed, and my Elf body immediately darted forward like a bullet shot from a cannon, leaving a trail of strong wind behind me. The 40% movement speed increase truly made my crippled AGI stat insanely fast!

(Party Chat) [Yuuki]: Cheater! Brother is cheating using magic! Wait for meee!

Alya didn’t want to lose. Using her four-legged mechanics, she positioned her tiny body low across the ground. Her hind leg muscles sprang, and the white fox instantly darted tailing behind me, looking like a flash of white light cutting across the StoneBrook grasslands