The Strongest Wizard

Physical Bountiful Harvest Versus Virtual Harvesting.

20th December 2018

A few moments later, as I was preparing some refreshments in the kitchen to welcome our arriving parents from the airport, we heard the doorbell ring and the apartment's door creaked open.

"Tao Po...! Where is everyone...! Za...! Zairon...! Where are the both of you hiding, eh? Come over, Tatay brought some gifts for you from our province. You can heat them in the oven or eat them chilled. Whichever you choose...!!!"

The moment Zairon heard our parents coming in through the door and had brought some pasalubong from the province, he rushed out and greeted them. Zairon held both Nanay's and Tatay's hands and blessed them as they entered into the living space.

I soon joined them as I brought along a jug of chilled lemonade, complete with four tumblers and set them at the living space coffee table before I grabbed both my Nanay's and Tatay's hands and blessed them on my forehead.

"H A I Y O O...!!! Oh, Diyos Ko ...! Ano iyon sa iyong mga kamay at paa? Isang bagong fashion fad o ano? Bitawan mo ang aking kamay, anak na babae. Napakabigat nito!!!" Nanay was screaming right into my face and ear that I nearly pulled her back with me. She was complaining that her arm felt heavy when I took hers and blessed them on my forehead earlier. Hahaha...! No wonder he old lady was screaming as if she had seen a mouse running about in the house, asking for pasalubong also, I think. Hahaha...!!!

I completely forgot to remove my wrists and ankles weights off before welcoming them. Nevertheless, the secret is out so they have to accept that their daughter would be like ZENA within three months into the MMORPG - The Lord Of The Red Dragon. Hahaha...!!!

=*=

After explaining the ankles and wrists weights that looked like a flaming bracer in some other MMORPG, my parents finally relented that I had taken the path of being a NEET. The knew that I would devote myself fulltime in lying down in my futuristic carbon fibre coffin and play games all day long and shun from the public eye.

Furthermore, after getting the Bachelor's Degree in Game Design and Programming, they thought that I had gotten the gaming capsule for work. Hahaha...!!!

"Nanay...how could you be so bad, ah? You and Zairon had labelled my gaming capsule as a coffin. Wuwuwu. Not fair, you know. I will surely come out and do some stretching, Nanay."

"No one would be able to play in the gaming capsule for 24 hours stretch unless the gamer had found a diamond or gold mine and decided to farm it until the gamer would be able to fit all the slots inside his or her storage. Hahaha...!!!"

I laughed so hard that my parents thought that I had gone insane and was ready to immerse myself fully into the game once I entered my bedroom and locked the bedroom door behind me.

"Haiyah, daughter... Don't you come and lie to us lah. Where in the world there are gold and diamond mines anymore? Those gold and diamond mines had all discovered. There is no more left for the prospectus to go and dig around, eh. Unless, of course, it is inside your nose...!!! Bwahahaha...!!!"

Tatay was the more jovial, and he loves to make fun of everyday things. He was considered as a happy-go-lucky guy and would face problems head-on and turned into some joke. He rarely had a grim look on his face except when he was feeling constipated. Hahaha...!!!

After explaining that I had the wrists and ankles weights all the time except for showering and pooping (of course I had to remove them or else, the paperwork is not complete), my Tatay pinched his nose and looked at me from top to bottom. He laughed at me while he was doing that, of course, while my Nanay was trying to pinch her hubby in a jokingly manner on his arm as he flexed them proudly.

=*=

The pasalubong that my parents had brought back from the provinces were the Magnolia Buko Pies or milky coconut pies that we missed so much. I would make it cold inside the refrigerator and eat it on its own and need not be heated at all. Zairon was the total opposite as he preferred his warm and fuzzy. Hahaha...!

We sat down in the living space and had a family discussion on what they had gone through back in the provinces. This time around, they reported about the bountiful harvest of both corn and rice.

They were happy that they were able to procure some cavans or sacks of rice and corn after winnowing. The farmers those who engage my parent's services, would usually not be bothered with the piles of corn or rice that was in the reserve tank of the dry kilns.

Husks and other whatnot would be inside the reserve tanks of the drying kiln. The farmers knew that it would be a hassle for the maintenance personnel to open up the reserve tanks to extract the contents inside. My parents would not give up such an opportunity.

Since they were born as farmers before, they knew how hard life was during that time. They would roll up their sleeves, hiked up the skirts and trousers and go through the reserve tanks and gotten hold of their bounty. Yes, siree. What they had achieved from their efforts was not wasted at all...!

"You know, ah, Za... We got more than six cavans of rice, each weighing more than 65 kilograms and got more than five cavans of corn as well. It is a waste if we don't go around and dig the reserve tanks right?" Nanay was ecstatic as she mentioned this to me since the bounty she had received from the reserve tanks were not for sale. But then, the rice and corn would be for the poor and needy instead.

"It's the same thing over for me too, you know. If let's say we farm a gold mine with the rest of the gamers from the same guild, we would be getting shared EXP and whatever we harvested would be ours. We could do a trade and exchange it for credits which in turn, convert it into real money here once we make in-game banking transactions."

"Not only that, if we kill monsters, we could earn credits and loot which could trade as well if they are not in use at all."

I explained earnestly, as I recollect how I used to grind and farm together with the new members of the guild once we had enough reputation points to establish a guild.

"Hey, Za. When is the MOMOK game going to start? It's on Christmas Eve, right, if I recall? Could you put it off and have Christmas Dinner together before you hibernate inside the gaming coffin?" Tatay inquired as he looked up from the stack of report papers in his hands.

"It is not MOMOK game, Tatay. It is MMORPG, and it sure sounds similar. Yeah, Tatay. It is on Christmas Eve and don't you both worry, alright? It would not take too long. I just need some time for me to log in, and then establish which part of the country that I would land." I spoke up reassuringly as Zairon gave me the eye and he knew my some time would not be mere minutes, but it would be at least some hours once I had entered the gaming capsule.