Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

004.4 | The Crystal Forrest

Unmoving, Leon is so focused on his game that he almost forgot why he is here. It doesn't often happen as this young master really valued his working hours. This slip of mind is maybe due to the unexpected cancellation of classes and playing together with someone he is comfortable with. 

He had already guessed that playing in a dungeon will cost time. He bargained with Aud-01 since he didn't want to miss any of his plans today. Who would have thought that his premonition really happened even though they are just doing some speedrun? 

Playing inside the dungeon, he kept his eyes glued to the screen. His left hand waltzed around the keys, inputting the commands to activate spells. The unmistakable sound of typing filled his surroundings that some people passing by could not help but look. His right hand wasn't idle as it maneuvered the mouse, moving it in angle, going to one side, pushing to the front, while clicking the right and left buttons in succession. 

Leon indeed preferred playing the Virtual Game, but it doesn't mean that he is a vegetarian when it comes to keyboard gaming. He had played games before the present, to which all need precise hand coordination. 

Leon is also wearing his headphones that lessened the noise disturbance and maximized the game influence made his focus more concentrated. Not being able to hear his actual surroundings, his mind was absorbed deep in a game. The game developers boasted about their impressive sound score that could defeat reality!

They did their work very well!

Thus, the game-focused young master didn't notice his phone vibrating a hundred times since twenty minutes ago. Or if ever he did see it, he just simply ignored it. Who will call him in this hour anyway?

In times like this, one could just simply steal his things face to face. Or maybe sneak around his back and give him a head chop - this is the best time to kidnap the young master!

Shin really wanted to do that. He has that little intention of doing that!

Shin, for some unknown reason, has terrible sleeping habits. He waked up very late and didn't like people waking him up. His attending butler could not count how many alarm clocks have been tossed away from this guy's bad morning temper. The discipline an athlete should have wasn't present on his bones. 

Yesterday, their class received the notice of class cancellation. The students are ecstatic and started planning to do some one-day activity. Shin also wanted to have fun, so he told Leon about his plans of going to the newly opened amusement park. This place gets crowded during weekends, so having a day off like this is lucky. 

As to why two single men would go to an amusement park by themselves...

Leon arrived at the agreed time. Shin? He overslept. The moment he's up, it is already an hour past their meeting time. He hurriedly fixed himself and skipped breakfast. Leon has been messaging him since early morning, so he is sure that the guy is already at school. So, he called Leon to check over the situation. 

Who would have thought that the sophisticated gentleman who never ignored messages and misses any calls did not answer his phone? Shin thought that maybe Leon is doing something, so the call got ignored, then he called once again. But after ten minutes of hearing the unattended tone, he started to worry. 

Creative images started to appear in his mind. Perhaps, that kind young master got into an accident? Or maybe, he got kidnapped? Various headlines on possible tomorrow's news about Graham Family's most beloved young master went missing filled his brain. His quick thinking ability sometimes made this guy stupid. 

And so, he did not stop calling Leon's phone. He opened the GPS function to see Leon's phone location. The signal is traced to be inside the school. Shin halted. If the phone is in school, then Leon must be safe. It's impossible for Leon to get kidnapped. 

It may appear ridiculous to say that he trusted the school's security system more than his home security, but that is reality. The federation placed great importance on education, so all educational institutes were installed with the best protection, just a bit inferior from the military. If one wanted to harm the students, intelligent people would do it outside the school or be executed instantly.

Shin started to think that something is wrong. He keeps on calling Leon's phone even after he arrived at school. He hastily went over the area where the GPS marked Leon's location. He is about to repeat another call when he found Leon just leisurely playing a game while his phone sat on the table vibrating.

Shin could not help but clench his teeth. What is this i***t doing? Did he not know that people are worrying?!

He walked over to demand some explanation but stopped when he is at arm's length. He had a better idea. Slowly sneaking from behind, he leaned closer, one hand to touch the end of the headphone, and so as the other, suddenly grabbing it up while blowing his one ear with air. 

Leon, who did not expect such a cruel prank, yelped and abruptly stood with all force up, hitting Shin's chin in an impact closer to an uppercut. Shin almost bit his tongue as he backed up, feeling that his jaws that seem to get dislocated. Leon also felt the pain on his head that got stabbed by Shin's jaws. 

The two boys both went K.O.

"What the hell," Leon cursed, holding his head while clinging his life to the chair he's about to fall.

"It hurts..." Shin cried, holding both of his tears and chin. He made a few biting gestures to test if his jaws are still intact. Feeling the pain subsided but still have a bit of sting, he gave Leon a tearful look. "Why did you suddenly stood up?"

Leon wasn't able to hear the question and still groaning from the bit of pain. He glanced at the person who blew a crazy strong air on his ear. Seeing the person, his face turned from surprised to grim. It is as if saying, Oh, you're here now? 

Shin found this expression unpleasant as he stood up smiling with a nerve ready to burst. Did this guy just look at him disgustingly?

"Ah... Aren't you cheating on me?" Shin haughtily asked. 

"Cheating?"

Leon shook his head as he returned to his position, ignoring Shin's words. It's not important anyway. Right now, all he has to do is to get back in the game and position his self. The formation is already broken, so they have to repeat the process. Shin is still watching.

"I can't believe this," he gave Leon an unbelieving look. "Are you even human?"

"Be sensitive. You see that I'm playing?" Leon said without looking at him.

"Sensitive? Are you not the one who is insensitive here," he crossed his arms. "I've been calling you since five minutes ago, but all you did is sit there and play. You didn't even dare to look on your phone. It is only a foot far from you!"

"I see, it is my fault," Leon rolled his eyes. "I will listen to you once you understand how time works."

"What? Are you saying that I am not good, ah?" Shin ignored the message and insisted on his idea. 

"Did I say that? Did you hear me say that?" Leon sneered. You said that yourself.

Shin did not refute, but he still feels offended. He slumped to the nearby chair and grumpily stared at Leon. The deep frown coming from his thick eyebrows seems to highlight his deep-set blue eyes. He crossed his arms and snorted, openly expressing his dissatisfaction. 

"At least answer your phone. You didn't answer my calls, so I thought something bad happened to you."

The statement made Leon pause. He slightly lowered his head, peeking at the phone on his side. Indeed, a red light blinks on the upper left corner, an indicator telling the owner that a message or a call has arrived. He felt a bit guilty and degraded the speed of his hands. Shin only heaved a sigh and pulled the chair to sit beside Leon, watching the game on the screen.

"Oh, isn't this the 125th floor?" Shin commented. "Hey, that's Aud."

"Yeah..." Leon slightly nodded.

"Eh..."

There was silence in between them. There were no sounds because the game is currently in headphone mode, and the set is currently in Shin's hands. It feels like he is just competing for fast typing than really playing. Though, it made Leon calm a bit. He can take this light suspense to fight off the earlier mood.

"I'm feeling that you are really cheating on me. How dare you," Shin cried.

"Cheating?" Leon rolled his eyes.

These two are like best friends for so long. Shin cried his fake tears while Leon just ignored him. It always happens even inside the game. Well, Shin just dropped it and held the earphones on his ears. He watched the screen and searched for the other player. He spoke: "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!"

When Leon-36 suddenly went out of commission, Aud-01 continued attacking the monster as if the other player's loss didn't give him any disadvantage. Though, he was a bit worried about what might have happened to Leon. He remembered that that guy said that he is outside. He should not have been in an accident, right?

Looking at his character's position now, everyone could have just laughed their guts out seeing Leon-36 lying on the ground copying the stance of Sadako. After a round of tackling the giant, Aud-01 looked down to know if Leon-36 is back when he noticed that the player is no longer there. Wondering if he logged out suddenly-

"HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!"

Looking up, the elf jumped high in the sky, sending a massive blow of gust towards the giant. He then landed a strike of his staff on the head, cracking it up again. The player quickly stepped back, hopping down to met Aud-01.

"Hey, how's your day? Still playing games?"

Aud-01 stared at him for a while. The one talking is not Leon. It must be someone else. Maybe somebody took his character while he is playing? That would be impossible. Aud-01 knows how his members move, and this one is sure Leon is controlling Leon-36. Somebody could've-

"Shin, is this you?"

Shin grinned upon reading this through the chat. Though, he pointed at the screen and looked at Leon.

"So, why is he typing?" He asked.

"Sore throat," Leon answered.

"Oh, you're sick, Aud?" Shin dubbed Leon-36.

Aud-01 made a straight face and ignored the noisy person. 

"Hey hey hey, why won't you answer me! Heeey!"

It must be weird for a character to have a different voice than usual. Even though Leon's playing is still the same, hearing a voice that is not suitable for his character is a bit different. Aud-01 felt horrible and even shivered from fright. He could feel his goosebumps rising, wanting to kill Leon-36 more than the monster. 

Shin will not be the chatterbox number two if he won't talk, so he started pestering Aud. Usually, Leon would just mumble or ask a few questions during a battle. The boy takes good care of his image and only troubles people when he is really on the spot. On the other hand, Shin will bring trouble to prove his worth. 

"What? Why? I am here! I am here! Look at me!" Leon-36 made a good attack. "Whoa! Look at that! Can you see that? I never thought you could also do that. Hear me out..."

"Shin, Shut up!" Aud-01 typed.

"Awww... Aren't you going to ask why I am speaking instead of Leon?"

"Just stop talking. I'll lose my concentration."

"Haha, looks like he's irritated," Shin chuckled.

By just seeing the situation, the deviant spawn boss is sure a hard-to-defeat monster. Getting out of the concentration zone will make a difference in the game. Leon is still in place due to his excellent concentration; that is why Shin's random rant didn't disrupt him. However, what amazes Shin is Aud.

He still managed to type complete sentences despite the playing speed.

"So, what do you think? Will you guys try to summon the last boss or something?" Shin asked. 

"I wonder," an answer comes after. "Maybe Leon will stop. It seems that he's waiting for you again."

"Aw, don't you want to play with me?"

"Do it using your character. And please stop talking."

The game didn't last long. After breaking in a few times, the second boss fell on the ground with a loud thud. It seems that they only activated a moving deviant spawn than teleporting one, so they managed to do it faster. The earth stopped shaking, and the fog went away. It all returned to normal. 

Leon slumped his back to the chair. He was a bit tired from just playing it, and he looked at Shin. His friend took charge of the game now. Aud-01 opened his satchel and returned the sickle that he used.

"So, are we going to continue, or not? I am up for another round!" Shin asked.

"We may, but don't you guys have something to do?"

Shin looked at Leon. Leon just shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, it looks like we have to go now," Shin replied.

Shin removed the earphones and handed them out to Leon to finish the game. The players on screen collected the droppings they obtained from the giant and rolled for it. Some of the droppings are rare materials, while the others are common goods. They didn't manage to get any equipment.

"I guess this will be all for this time," Leon-36 said.

The players are about to say goodbye when Aud-01 called them back.

"Have you guys opened your Disboard?" Aud-01 asked.

The two guys looked at the message before looking at each other. The silence answered the question.

"Then you better open it now. Something just came up."