...
Cough! Cough!
Shin could not help but cough violently when he tried to suppress the foreign force that invaded his body after receiving Cloe's punch.
He was about to say something more when he saw Cloe aggressively pounce at him for another time, seemingly trying to kill him.
But when he was preparing to defend himself, he suddenly felt something soft pressed on his chest followed by a pair of arms wrapping themselves around him.
He was stunned for a moment before smiling bitterly. He felt some wetness on his chest, clearly indicating that this girl was currently in tears.
He gently wrapped his arms around her while softly patting and stroking her back. "It's fine. I'm here safe and sound in front of you, don't you see?"
"You are still such a crybaby despite growing so strong," he added in a joking manner to lighten the mood, earning him a soft punch from her.
It took quite a while for him to calm her down, which made him quite helpless.
They sat on his bed after quite some time before asking. "Have you calmed down now?"
But when he did not receive a reply, he offered instead. "Or are you feeling hungry? I can cook something for you before we can talk."
It was at this moment when Cloe finally opened her mouth. "We-... talk first. Tell me everything."
"I am planning to tell you about it anyway-... along with Leonard and others," he tried to dodge the topic at first but quickly rejected the idea after seeing her sharp and dangerous glare. "But-... I guess I will tell you first."
'She never changes. She is still quite intimidating and scary when she is truly angry,' he thought to himself while wearing a bitter smile.
Shin sighed for a moment before scratching the back of his head "Where should I start?"
***
Real World
World Gaming Organization Headquarters
Carlos was having another headache after watching a certain recording projected inside his office. He stared intently at the player who was the main character of the recording before sighing.
"I am wondering why it is so peaceful just recently because this troublemaker has not done anything big for quite a long time. But it looks like he only has given us a little 'vacation' to prepare us for an even bigger mess."
"Why of all times? Why when the United Cup is underway? Is he not planning to train with his team?" he sighed in full helplessness as he paused the recording.
It was the moment when the player in the recovered had killed his opposition with a final strike that even Carlos had to admit that it was an impressive feat.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"So, the information that we are going to release will be in the form of lore dump and background stories of certain areas, events, or even artifacts. We will hide the true information among these loads of information as some sort of clues that the players need to explore."
"This way, it will not much unfair to the others. They will still have to spend quite a lot of time and effort reading the history of the game before they can find these easter eggs."
"It will be up to them whether they want to follow these clues or not."
He then paused for a moment before continuing. "But this information will be limited to the earlier contents that are almost been forgotten. Those at are too close to the progression of the mainstream players will still be on hold."
"The purpose of this project is to make the newer players aware of some secrets of the game and let them catch up with the others at a much faster pace. It will also nurture them into new experts that will fill the gaps created by the Miracle Players and Apex Gods of the game."
"Another thing, the quests and clues meant for hidden and special quests are to remain secret, particularly those that can produce drastic changes in the pace of the game."
"Based on these conditions, only the quest from level 50 and below are to be chosen by the team. Level 60 should be the limit."
Carlos continuously nodded his head as he heard these. "That is much better than what I have expected already! We can start with the plan."
"The strategic team is already listing out the quests that meet our conditions and writing up the background stories that are to be posted on the official website," said Lohengrin.
"That's good!" Carlos was quite satisfied with the result before suddenly remembering something. "Oh! What about Troy? What is that guy doing right now?"
"Department Head Troy?" Lohengrin paused for a moment as he tried to recall something before answering. "I heard that he is quite busy these days. He has been pushing the Development Team quite a lot from what I have heard. They are having quite a lot of overtime as well."
"They said that Department Head Troy is saying that have been inspired by something. And the inspirations have been passed down to his people and they have been since then."
He then took a table and searched for something before projecting another timetable. "He even has proposed a series of events in the last few meetings. His team has produced quite a lot of questlines already – five of them are even at major quest level."
Carlos was quite surprised when he heard that and looked at the timetable. "Since when that lazy bum has become this productive?"
Lohengrin shrugged his shoulders. "I am not sure either. But I heard that the chairman is quite pleased with his actions."
"Of course, those from the other departments, who have to be busy due to his proposals, are cursing him because of the loads of work he has dumped in them," he added with a slight shake of his head.
Hearing that, Carlos felt that something was not right. "Why do I feel something is amiss?"
That was when he heard Lohengrin's next words. "It feels like he is acting like a hardworking ant that is preparing for the storm that is about to come."
"Ah!"
Something seemed to have struck Carlos' head when he heard those words. "D*mn! That guy is accumulating many projects while our 'guy' is not present."
"He must be preparing to watch the 'adventures' of his favorite player for a 'movie marathon' after a 'long' hiatus."
......