35 chapter 35

Accessing his own menu, Toyo yawned as he began equipping his gear in turn. \"Don't worry about it, you didn't wake me. Oh and,\" He gestured to Jae, \"You don't have to whisper. Waking him up while he's snoring is pretty much impossible. Believe me, I've tried.\"

Naomi shook her head in amusement. Placing a hand on her hip, she eyed the door deliberately.

\"Going somewhere?\" Toyo asked as he stood, stretching his back to shake off the dulling pain.

\"A friend of mine just messaged me,\" She replied. \"He needs some help with a quest back in Tolbana. It's nothing urgent, so I was about to go eat breakfast first before letting you guys know I had to leave.\" She offered a cheerful smile. \"But now that you're up, we can both go eat. I'll pay.\"

Toyo cocked his head to the side. \"Are you saying I look poor to you?\"

She shrugged. \"That's neither here nor there. Although, I did happen to overhear you saying something about being broke again for the hundredth time this week not too long ago.\"

Sighing, Toyo shook the handle of Silverthorne at her before fastening the weapon onto his belt. \"I already owe you enough, no matter what you say. However,\" He scratched his morning shadow, \"I think I see an opportunity here.\"

Naomi lifted an eyebrow curiously. \"An opportunity for…?\"

Lifting a finger through the air matter of factly, Toyo replied, \"To go Dutch, of course. That way, since both of us still feel as though we owe the other, we can both compromise and call it even. After this breakfast, all debt on either side is hitherto void. Sound good?\"

Waving a hand through the air casually, Naomi opened the door, flooding the room in the full morning light.

\"I suppose that's fair. Although,\" She added, \"Come to think of it, I didn't feel like I owed you anything after giving you Silverthorne. So, following that rule, maybe you should be the one to pay after all?\"

He stepped past her out into the street, shaking his head grimly. \"Technicalities are just the worst aren't they? They could keep debates going on forever. Better to avoid them all together, I find. Dutch it is.\"

Rolling her eyes, Naomi couldn't help but smile as she closed the door behind her.

There weren't many restaurants in Trevica. As tempting as the smells wafting from each one had been, neither Jae nor Toyo had bothered trying any during their stay. Constantly trying to keep up their funds, they had limited themselves to eating only food dropped by mobs. At the best of times, such cuisine was bland and tasteless. He told as much to Naomi when she asked where they should go.

The look on her face was one of pure disbelief. \"You've lived here for what, two weeks now? And you haven't tried any of the food?\"

Toyo blinked. \"Is it that good?\"

\"Well, I haven't tried any of the places here in Trevica,\" she admitted, \"but each Floor tends to have a particular theme when it comes to food.\"

Toyo nodded thoughtfully as they began walking up the cobbled street. \"So what's the theme for this Floor?\"

\"Eggs.\"

\"Eggs?\"

Naomi nodded happily. \"Egg related dishes are the main specialty here on Floor 1. Which is perfect for us.\"

Toyo held back the urge to laugh. \"Why exactly? I hope you realize how that sounded. I could have so easily said something right there. You're welcome in advance. God, I'm such a gentleman.\"

The cheerful beta tester facepalmed dramatically. \"What the hell are you talking about now? I said it's perfect because we're going for breakfast. What's a proper breakfast without eggs?\"

Toyo pushed a hand through his hair as he grinned mischievously . \"I couldn't agree more.\"

\"Because players stronger than us are already working towards that goal.\" Toyo said firmly. \"Which means those same players aren't there to look out for the weaker people. If the best players won't look out for them, someone else has too. And that's what I think we should do.\"

\"So then,\" Jae said slowly, \"We've reached an impasse.\"

\"Looks like. And I'm not sure what to do about it.\"

It was tense in the room for a moment as neither brother was prepared to back down. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Jae sighed. Standing up, he wrung his hands together and yawned before replying.

\"Well, for starters, I think we should both think it over. Maybe tomorrow, after some much needed sleep, we can come to some kind of compromise.\"

\"I hear you.\" Toyo yawned in kind. \"We've been pushing it with our sleeping schedule. Could be we're just not thinking straight.\"

\"Either way,\" Naomi suddenly interceded, \"I'm glad that's over. It's awkward as hell being the in the same room when you two go at it. Anyway, just so we're clear, the bed is mine.\"

Toyo looked down at the mattress sadly. Oh well. It was good while it lasted.

Toyo awoke with a start, the screams still echoing inside his head. He could feel the cold sweat plastering the shirt he was wearing against his skin.. His heart was beating so loudly, he was amazed Jae and Naomi were still asleep.

What the hell is wrong with me.

Ever since the day those first three players had died, nightmares had begun to plague Toyo's dreams. Every death they had witnessed afterwards only served to add to his tormented nightmares. Opening his eyes, he guessed by the level of darkness that it was still an hour or two before dawn. Forcing himself to calm down, Toyo slowed his breathing until his rapid heartbeat finally began to slow.

Shutting his eyes, he was about to doze off once more when the silence that permeated the still darkness was suddenly broken by the sound of a screen being accessed.

Alarmed, Toyo's eyes immediately darted to the door. Was it possible that someone had broken in? While hardly anyone lived in Trevica, Toyo and Jae had both seen several players passing through on multiple occasions.

The door was firmly closed, and nothing could be heard outside but the faint rush of wind against the wooden walls of the inn. I'm being an idiot. Why would a player break into our room?

And then he heard it again.

Fainter this time, but still containing the familiar digital sound of a screen being swiped aside. Scanning the room, Toyo's eyes stopped as he focused on the bed. The faintest blue light emanated from underneath the blanket Naomi slept on. Straining his eyes, he realized that she was sitting upright, with the blanket over her as she went through her character menu. By her positioning, it appeared as though she had been sitting like that for quite some time.

It's like two in the morning, what the hell is she doing up?

Watching carefully, Toyo did his best to ignore his exhaustion as he tried to see if he could read her screen through the blanket.

*****

Opening his eyes as wide as they could go, Toyo forced himself to keep looking at Naomi. It was then that he realized the room was filled with light. Not from the fire or the candle, but from outside. Glancing at the bed, he saw that the blankets had been neatly folded. The bed itself was empty.

Did I seriously pass out with that sketchy shit going on?

Taking off his blanket, Toyo sat up, his back hurting from sleeping on the hardwood floor. To his right, Jae was snoring lightly underneath a blanket of his own.

\"Oh, morning.\"

Turning, Toyo saw Naomi by the door. Equipping her leather armor and boots, Naomi looked briefly at Jae before glancing back at Toyo.

\"I didn't want to wake you guys,\" She whispered, \"Sorry about that.\"