ID ???
[Did you see the video posted on the forum yesterday about the Black Beast Knight teaming up?]
ID Flying Brick
[Of course! I’m a devoted Merushi fan; I won’t miss a single video she posts! Merushi’s singing is the absolute best!]
ID ???
[Then go to the beginner zone right now and find the Black Beast Knight. Figure out a way to bring him to our guild, or at the very least, lock down his area of activity.]
ID Flying Brick
[No way, can’t you get someone else to do that? I’m going to participate in the Kingdom’s Hunting Festival. The first-place reward is an admission ticket to the Epidaurus Theater! That’s Merushi’s first concert in this game!]
ID ???
[We need the Black Beast Knight’s Special Skill to defeat that hidden BOSS. If you don’t go, I’ll PK you.]
ID Flying Brick
[Our arena win rate is 50-50, who’s afraid of who?]
ID ???
[No, I’ll PK you in real life.]
"German Arch Bridge Takedown, Triple Combination Punch, Broken Back, Cross Lock, Groin Kick! Oh no—bizarre images are starting to pop into my head."
Flying Brick, an Advanced player holding the dual throne of Pay-to-Win and hardcore grinding, could easily tank attacks from the strongest Ancient Dragon Species with a calm smile. Yet now, he was clutching his head and convulsing on the spot as if he had suffered a fatal blow.
[This Foreigner must be suffering from a Growth Period withdrawal, which is why he attacked you.]
The Chicken whispered into Blaze’s ear.
"How could this be!" Blaze, who had been holding a minor grudge, immediately felt deeply pained upon hearing that the Foreigner had fallen ill.
Foreigners were the Blessed fighting on the front lines to protect the world. They devastated their own bodies in various ways to safeguard this world, only to suffer from this kind of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.
As a native, he absolutely had to kick the Foreigner—who had just escaped one perilous situation—straight into another. He needed to continually subject the Foreigners to danger, over and over, just to keep their minds sane!
Suddenly, Flying Brick dropped to one knee, offering his primary weapon to Blaze with both hands.
"Please, please accept my offering and forgive my rudeness."
[Eight-headed Ama no Murakumo]
[A symbol of a Hero, obtained only by defeating an eight-headed, eight-tailed Monster. It is also an evil Sword. If offered to the Sun, you will win the Princess’s heart.]
When an NPC got angry, you offered them an important item. Then, once this NPC’s Qi settled down, you simply stole the item back.
"I cannot accept this. This weapon can only be wielded by the Hero who defeats the Eight-headed Great Serpent."
"This is already the best thing I have... Huh?" Flying Brick snapped his head up. His bewildered expression looked as if an Evil Dog that constantly bit people had suddenly smiled warmly and greeted someone in Human language.
Blaze coughed lightly. He understood this Foreigner’s shock; all Foreigners held the default assumption that he couldn’t communicate.
Speaking up so suddenly would definitely arouse suspicion.
Fortunately, after obtaining the Night Watcher Profession from the Tree of Life, he had come up with a comprehensive cover story.
"The forest’s Tree of Life has withered. It used its remaining Power to lift my Curse and entrusted me with a quest.
"Foreigner, if you truly wish to earn my forgiveness, please channel that guilt into protecting the peace of the forest. The forest will thank you and bestow upon you a special reward."
Normally, at a time like this, a Foreigner would joyfully accept. Without a doubt, this was the type of quest Foreigners loved most: "Only one person knows" and "Has a special reward." However, Flying Brick’s expression surprisingly underwent no Transformation; he even seemed to lack motivation.
"A special quest, huh? Sounds like it’ll take a long time," Flying Brick said, hanging his head, completely lifeless and drained of Qi.
Seeing Flying Brick’s low spirits, Blaze immediately asked, "Foreigner, do you have some kind of trouble?"
Flying Brick glanced at Blaze and looked around. He found a rock that had been overturned by his attack, sat down, and patted the space beside him, gesturing for Blaze to take a seat.
After Blaze sat down, Flying Brick steepled his fingers over his mouth and let out a faint sigh, exhaling his Qi.
"Actually, I have a shameful secret. I’m a shut-in."
"Oho~" Blaze didn’t understand the term ’shut-in,’ but fortunately, Flying Brick simply wanted someone who wouldn’t understand. Thus, Blaze didn’t ask any questions, allowing Flying Brick to talk to himself.
"The catalyst was two years ago. In order to play this... ah, in order to masterfully control my body in this world, I decided to do the bare minimum of physical fitness activities.
"That day, the Sun was blazing hot. I complained about my older sister who had kicked me out, planning to find an arcade to play pinball and waste away my Life.
"Then, at the park, I saw her—a young girl playing instruments and singing all by herself under the scorching sun.
"The sweat the girl shed struck my heart. My soul was deeply moved by her courage and dreams.
"From that day on, I decided to strive for the best, to work hard at Life...
"To become a shut-in who firmly stays in his room, sweating it out and supporting virtual idols, no matter what anyone else says!"
Blaze felt incredibly thankful that he was currently wearing a helmet. He knew his expression was definitely a blatantly fake, awkward smile, while Flying Brick only grew more agitated as he spoke.
"But I encountered an insurmountable Kan—gaming and virtual idols simply couldn’t mix. It was like you can’t have your cake and eat it too. But this game... this world gave me a chance to have it all!
"Massive traffic, a huge market, and countless successful cases finally made those greedy capitalists decide to launch idol activities in this world!
"A month from now, the Epidaurus Theater will host this world’s first-ever virtual idol concert!
"Right now, I should have been at the Kingdom’s Hunting Festival, wielding my Great Sword to fight for that crucial admission ticket. But..." Flying Brick’s excited emotions plummeted to rock bottom in an instant, and he leaned against the rock as if he had completely burned out.
"Instead, I surrendered to the threat of physical violence and gave up on the Hunting Festival. In the end, my love for virtual idols only amounts to this."
"Epidaurus Theater... ah." Blaze knew of this place.
The Epidaurus Theater was the Kingdom’s largest opera house. Every Singer or performer dreamed of performing on that stage. Being able to perform at the Epidaurus Theater was, in itself, a symbol of strength and fame.
Listening to Flying Brick’s rambling, Blaze suddenly remembered that Nun with the beautiful singing voice. She had given him an admission ticket and invited him to go.
"Foreigner, is the admission ticket you’re talking about this one?" Blaze opened his inventory and pulled out a ticket.
Flying Brick’s expression changed from careless to blank, and then from blank to eye-bulging disbelief.
"Ahhhhh—an admission ticket! Where did you get that!"