Darkness. The soft feeling of the pod's leather against his back. The body refused to move, like it was locked in place.
Fang Raon was back in the real world.
"Ah…"
He suddenly frowned.
It felt like the soles of his feet were on fire, like he had run for miles on a hot road, but it was strange since he hadn't moved.
His body also felt sluggish and heavy with exhaustion.
Sure, he ran on the hot sand beach for many hours, and he was exhausted because of it, but that exhaustion shouldn't have traveled from his virtual body to his real body.
'What the hell is going on?'
Fang Raon wondered.
He thought by logging off he could escape the feeling of exhaustion, but he was wrong, as the sensation lingered, causing confusion and concern.
'This is really strange!'
When he had logged previous times, sure there were some strange sensations all around his body, but he just thought it was because his real body was lying on the pod for many hours.
'…I already know that this Virtual Reality Pod isn't the same as everyone else's because it's specially modified with my illness in mind.
'However, can that virtual body also affect my real body? It shouldn't be possible for my virtual body to have any impact on my actual physical condition, right?'
Fang Raon just didn't know.
He couldn't hear anything except the soft humming of the Virtual Reality Pod as it was still turned on.
There was occasional shuffling of feet behind the door, but there was no one else in the same room as him.
"Chaewon!"
He shouted and waited.
It took about one minute, and the door opened, and someone walked towards the Virtual Reality Pod.
When the person got closer, Fang Raon noticed something was off.
The person was heavier than Chaewon based on the sound of footsteps, the smell was different, and the person's breathing was more labored.
'It's not Chaewon…'
"Ah, there you are. We were starting to wonder whether you were going to stay there the entire night!
"While the pod might feel nice, it can be worse for your back than the good old bed."
The nurse said.
She then opened the pod, carried Fang Raon out, and lowered him into the bed. Her arms carrying him were much bigger than Chaewon's.
"Thanks… Where is Chaewon?"
Fang Raon asked after settling in the bed.
"Her shift ended an hour ago. She came here to give you a little late-night snack, but you were still playing."
The nurse said, and tucked Fang Raon in with the blanket.
'…Her shift ends at nine. I must keep that in mind.'
Fang Raon thought.
The nurse then closed off the lights and left the room.
…
Real world, somewhere in the world.
Clink~ Glug~
With messy hair, Rock poured some whiskey into his glass and went to the living room to watch television.
The television was showing a football match. It was at the closing minutes, and his favorite team was down by one goal.
"Tch, always losing."
Rock plopped down on the couch and sipped on the drink.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
In that moment, his phone went off on top of a glass table, and Rock put the whiskey glass down and saw the number calling.
[Granddaughter <3 is calling!]
He accepted the call and pressed the phone against his ear.
"How's my beautiful granddaughter doing?"
Rock crossed his legs, took his whiskey cup into his other hand, and kept drinking.
"…Grandpa, how is the vacation going?"
A sweet voice came from the other side, and it sounded like it came from a young woman—around twenty years old, maybe slightly younger.
"Boring, I am dying out of boredom!"
Rock said with a grin.
"…Is that so? I heard from Auntie that you are bringing some strange boys to play that game with you!"
The sweet voice said with fake anger, but it also clearly sounded amused by her grandpa's antics.
"I had to get rid of that boredom somehow. I lost. Did you hear about that? What a crazy fucking day. I never lose!"
Rock grumbled and finished the drink, but he was still feeling thirsty and walked back to the kitchen to pour another one.
"Yes, I heard about that… Is he another project of yours? You will always get disappointed when your projects don't match up to your sky-high expectations."
The sweet voice said.
"Eh, this isn't any project. I am just wasting my time while waiting for my daughter to finally allow me to return back there.
"Are my students missing me? They are right? I am already thinking about countless ways I can tortur—I mean teach them!"
Rock asked with a smirk.
"…Actually, I have never seen your students happier. They seem to dread the day you are coming back, giggle~"
A giggle sounded from the other side of the phone.
"Tch, those bastards, I will make them wish they were never born!"
Rock let out an exaggerated "hmph" and drank the whiskey straight from the bottle this time around.
"What is that new friend of yours' name? I hope you at least asked for it."
The voice asked.
"…Yes, the name is..."
Rock closed his eyes, and dug deep into his memories, as he never asked for the name, but the name was shown during General's Game.
"Fang Raon—that's the name!"
He said and let out a deep sigh.
It truly took a lot out of him to remember that name, as he wasn't that good at remembering names.
"…Fang Raon?"
His granddaughter sounded surprised, as if she could remember that name from somewhere, and he then heard the sound of keyboard tapping.
"Granddaughter?"
Rock asked.
"A moment, Grandpa. I think I heard that name somewhere!"
His granddaughter said, and a moment later, she let out a surprised gasp as she found something, and then she said.
"I thought his name sounded familiar. Earlier today, he Solo Cleared second, third, fourth, and fifth floor.
"Black Online Forums have been talking about him all day!"
Rock looked surprised, but then he smirked and gulped down the whiskey and arrogantly said with a haughty expression.
"I guess I have a knack for finding talented people. I am so fucking good. I don't know how I do it, but I sure am the greatest!"
"…Grandpa, is he interested in joining Rose Records?"
She asked.
"I haven't asked!"
Rock said.
"…Miranda is on the sixth floor currently, handling the new recruits, and she told me that she is going to have a training exercise in a couple of days.
"You could have Fang Raon participate in that."
She said.
"…Meh, I'll think about it. I will see if he survives my tortur—training exercise tomorrow. I think he won't be able to handle it, but we will see!"
Rock said with a grin.
She tried to tell him to go easy, which Rock ignored completely, and ended the phone call right away.
"Going easy? Bah, who the hell does she think I am? I am known as Demon Instructor, Rock Rose!"
He was completely drunk.