Ch.10Hard Road

# 10. The Hard Road

“Yaaawn…”

At first, I was troubled by the ‘unfamiliar’ soft sensations everywhere, the warmth, and the subtle body scent that actually made me more alert. But thanks to the surprisingly plush bed and cozy feeling, I managed to sleep well. Above all, I was extremely tired. Without a clock, I couldn’t be sure, but I must have slept for about 6 hours. It’s like the internal clock of an office worker who has to wake up regularly in the morning.

Most importantly, the blanket was still properly covering me, and I hadn’t changed position while sleeping. I was grateful to myself for not having rough sleeping habits.

What if I woke up with my hand massaging somewhere inappropriate? What if our eyes met in that moment of panic as I tried to pull my hand away?

Such mishaps only resolve themselves smoothly in romantic comedies!

‘Wow. She really is beautiful though.’

I stared blankly for a moment. It should be okay to look a little while she’s asleep, right? This was the first time I’d openly gazed at her for so long. Judging purely by her face, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

‘I wonder how many confessions she’s received in her life.’

There’s being pretty, and then there’s being too pretty—someone that beautiful must have had it rough. Or maybe not? Perhaps many men gave up from the start, seeing her as an unclimbable tree. What’s certain is that she must have been bombarded with snacks, candies, and chocolates every year during her school days.

After admiring the former college student with her heavy morning sleep for a bit longer, I got out of bed and stretched. The tavern master hadn’t explicitly said so, but it’s common knowledge that you should check out of accommodations before noon, so we probably had about two hours left…

‘She seems to be sleeping so soundly. Maybe I’ll let her sleep for 30 more minutes.’

I pulled the blanket back up to her neck.

“Mmm…”

Oh shit.

I should go wash my face.

**

Thump-thump-

‘He said he’d be nervous sleeping together… but he slept just fine!’

I’m the only one who couldn’t sleep! Well, I did sleep a little, but still, I couldn’t sleep properly!

Are men’s bodies naturally that firm?

Do men’s bodies naturally give off such a… how should I put it? Ah, right. Such a reassuring scent?

Every time we brushed against each other when tossing and turning, every time our bodies pressed together more firmly, why did I keep thinking it wasn’t unpleasant… that it was actually better than I’d expected?

Am I the only weird one? Am I the only one who couldn’t sleep? Am I the only one feeling this way?

I guess for the Captain, this was just another trivial matter? Was he just being polite when he said he’d be nervous sleeping in the same bed? Was he worried I’d be hurt if he said he wasn’t bothered at all? Was he also just being polite when he said he’d never slept with a woman before? At twenty-seven, with good looks, personality, and abilities, that seems unlikely, right? That must be it?

‘No, no, no, even if that’s true, what does it matter to me! Who am I to care!’

Ah.

I see.

So this is what being nervous feels like.

Is this why the Captain offered to sleep on the floor? Is he also internally nervous? He must be, right?

Come to think of it, I was the one who suggested sharing the bed in the first place. And not only that, I even pulled his wrist to make him lie down after he said it was fine several times…

‘Aaagh! He must think I’m some weird girl. Definitely. Oh, what should I do? This is going to be so awkward!’

You stupid idiot.

Calm down. Let’s not show it.

Wait, when did the blanket fall to the floor?

This is weird.

Anyway, it’s weird, I tell you.

**

After washing my face and brushing my teeth while I was at it, I came out to find KillCutie, who had been sleeping soundly, somehow frantically clutching the blanket.

‘Did she catch me staring at her?’

This was awkward. I know that saying this from a man’s perspective sounds completely unconvincing and untrustworthy, but…

I was looking at her like a living work of art.

Really.

If someone were to shout and ask if I had absolutely zero ulterior motives, I couldn’t deny it, but still, it was true. I agree she’s beautiful, but if someone were to ask me right now, “So, want to date her?” Well…

“You’re up early.”

“The plight of an office worker. Normally, I’d be heading to work on Tuesday, just like any Monday.”

“Ah. I’m glad I don’t have to go to my 9 AM class today.”

“…9 AM classes on both Monday and Tuesday?”

“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday—mornings completely packed. Afternoons almost full too…”

Holy shit.

For an average student that might be manageable, but for a hardcore gamer like her, that schedule is just…

“Why the hell did you make your schedule like that?”

I didn’t mean for it to come out so harshly, but…

“I was trying to pack everything into four days so… ahaha.”

Four-day weeks, I can respect that.

I would have done the same if I could work a bit later Monday through Thursday and not have to come in on Friday.

“Do you know what time it is now?”

“No idea. But I think we need to leave soon.”

“Ah. Then I’ll just quickly wash my face and be right back.”

“Sure.”

The tension eased with talk of work and morning classes. But checking the 250 gold coins in my possession made me anxious again.

‘The value of gold coins seems pretty similar to the game, judging by quest rewards and prices at the tavern.’

At this rate, how long will it take to get properly prepared? Even with minimal equipment, we need weapons and armor at the very least. KillCutie needs a shield too.

‘What if we encounter a situation like in the Starting Room where weapons aren’t necessary?’

No, that’s not right. I’m being too optimistic. Even if we’re lucky enough for that to happen now, the chances of it continuing all the way to the top floor are practically zero. I was getting carried away with happiness because the situation changed so drastically.

“Washing my face with cold water really wakes me up.”

“Did you not sleep well?”

“A bit. But I’m fine. Probably just because it was an unfamiliar place. It’s not bad enough to affect my movement.”

KillCutie said as she stretched, tying her loose hair back into a ponytail. Seeing her in a t-shirt and sweatpants made me think we should get some clothes that fit in with this place. I deliberately ignored the glimpse of her slender waist and navel.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“The plaza first.”

The tavern was quiet in the morning, but the plaza was lively. I could see the painter Huen drawing in one corner, and the flower-selling girl Deren smiling as she called out to customers. After looking around for a while, we sat on a bench in a secluded spot.

“Let’s continue our conversation from yesterday. One by one?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll start with a fundamental question. This place is a tower, and as such, it’s a world isolated within the tower.”

I shared my thoughts with KillCutie. She nodded in agreement.

“When you think about it, there are many strange things. Why would there be taverns with lodging in a city with no transient population? And three of them at that?”

“There wouldn’t be.”

“And this multi-layered fortress that could easily be called a citadel. There’s no need to build something so excessive when there’s no threat of enemy invasion. Unless it’s the hidden preference of Eden Gard’s lord.”

“That’s right.”

“Also, thinking about Eden Gard’s story, resistance against the Empire and the Demonics was a significant part… but there’s none of that here? If this is truly a ‘neutral’ area?”

Just as Eden Gard appeared on the first floor, other regions might appear on different floors, but those would literally be different floors.

“Exactly. When you think about it, it’s strange from the beginning. How did we even get here in the first place? Where does this space connect to? How much can the people here perceive?”

Questions naturally flowed between us.

“I guess for now we can only interpret it as them creating a replica of the entire game and cramming it into the limited space of the tower.”

“With appropriate adjustments and unfriendly reward design, right?”

“Tsk…”

What we’ve gained so far are a few titles that we can’t even feel the effects of yet, and (probably) a few extra ability points compared to those who will come later.

And 250 gold coins.

500 gold coins between the two of us.

It’s bleak.

“Captain.”

“Hm?”

“We’re going to the weapon shop, right?”

Wow, our thoughts are exactly the same.

Well, we’ve known each other for over a year and synchronized our movements down to less than a second during raids, so it’s not that strange, is it?

“We have to. Honestly, the more we talk about it, the more I think digging deeper into the tower with our current information won’t immediately help our strategy.”

“Throwing us in without basic equipment is really, I still can’t believe it.”

“I usually prefer to gather as much information as possible and base our strategy on that, but since there’s no clear answer… we need to check equipment prices and recalculate our budget.”

We both got up from the bench and walked through streets that felt familiar yet new, creating an odd sensation. Meanwhile, we discussed other matters, like whether she had allocated her extra ability points, if she also had no useful skills like me, and whether skills might require some ridiculous conditions to learn rather than just a simple one-click acquisition.

As we shared information and tried to stay positive, we faced the reality we’d been trying to ignore at the weapon shop.

“The cheapest is a thousand gold?! For basic swords and armor that clearly have low durability!!”

“And I need to buy a shield too…”

“Wait. How much do we actually need then?”

Essential equipment: sword, armor, helmet. Shield (for KillCutie).

And what’s currently semi-essential: pauldrons, vambraces, greaves.

A rough calculation puts it at over 10,000 gold?

Add to that potions and things we never had to worry about in the game, like food and various camping supplies…

“Trash game.”

“Trash game.”

“…”

“…”

Is this even a game?

I mean, they give us an overpowered title with a 10% growth bonus, but they couldn’t throw in some basic equipment? Seriously? There must be a reason for this. Is the genre changing on us?

We sighed simultaneously. Then we looked up at the sky briefly and ended our lamentations. No matter how much we complained about the game being trash, nothing would change if we didn’t move.

“We don’t have time for this. We need to grind hard.”

“Right. Should we split up like yesterday, do everything we can, and meet back at the tavern?”

“That’s the plan. We need to scrape together everything we can.”

I’m sorry to Huen who kindly told us about it yesterday, but the modeling job that seems time-consuming will have to be put on the back burner.

Let’s go.

Into the world of grinding.

**

“Wonder if we can clear this before work.”

– Even if we clear it on the next try, it’s still a problem.

– It’s 7 o’clock.

– Even if we clear it right away, it’ll be past 7:30?

– 7:30? More like 7:45 or 7:50.

“I’m starting to see double…”

– Wow, raid leader, your stamina hasn’t died yet~ I’ve been like that for an hour already.

– Ah, so that’s why you’ve been stomping the floor so much?

– Sorry. But age doesn’t help.

– When you get older, you should sleep lying down.

– You jerk.

The raid members laughed as they spoke, but it wasn’t entirely a joke, which was bitter. Unlike my 20s when I pulled all-nighters regularly, my stamina as a 30-something office worker was pitifully low in comparison.

Regardless of how strong my will was, I couldn’t ignore the physical limitations. The practical issues were the same.

“No matter how I look at it, we should give up on this try. Some people failed to get their day off approved.”

– Just one more time.

“Let’s just clear it at a relaxed pace this time. The boss isn’t going anywhere, but a damaged performance review won’t come back.”

– Okay.

– Now that you mention it, I’m suddenly feeling very tired.

“Everyone worked hard. Let’s meet tomorrow—I mean today—at 9.”

When I turned off my computer after giving up, my body went limp with disappointment, but at the same time, my mind felt a little lighter.

‘Let’s get some good sleep first.’

Heh, good luck to those whose day off requests were rejected!

Maybe I’ll just sleep for about 12 hours for now?