Impact (1)

"I crawled through a river of filth, but I didn't come out clean on the other side," Rin grumbled, laying flat on the ground after climbing out of the hole.

Elise was the first one to climb up, and her state was just about the same. Lastly came Luke, who was the most filthy and dishevelled, not to mention wounded, with several rat bites.

"I knew I shouldn't roll on with your ideas." Rin eyed his friend accusingly. "Look at what it did to us."

Luke had no argument to counter that.

"At least the gems will be worth it," Luke said.

He clutched his pouch and tossed it in the middle of them. It included the last prize he got from looting the transforming rat as well. It simply returned the Stain of Sin with a few kinds of gems, which included Rin's most desired green ones.

The next one to toss their collection was Elise, and lastly Ulysses, who had kept his share of killing the boss monster, even though none of them could use copper-ranked gems at this moment.

"Should we distribute gems now?" Luke suggested.

"Sorry," Elise said immediately, her face pale and sickly. "I'm out."

In the next moment, her avatar disappeared from the ground.

"Hmm," Rin hummed, ready to log out as well. "I have the exact thought in mind."

"Rin, wait a minute."

"What is it?" Rin turned to lie on his stomach.

"Didn't you feel anything wrong with the dungeon?" Luke asked.

"I felt more than enough things wrong that I want to log out right at this moment," Rin replied with some indignation. "I'm fine with all pain and realism, but not with this disgusting dungeon. Whoever was in charge of this disgusting dungeon really needed to hear a piece of my mind."

"All that seems fair," Luke agreed, "but don't you have anything to share about the dungeon not clearing after we dealt with the boss and its counterparts?"

"Well, there is probably more to it. You have noticed how extensive the caverns were."

"So we haven't cleared all of it yet," Luke croaked tiredly. He turned his head to look back at the hole.

"Nope," Rin said before Luke could even propose anything. "I ain't going back there, even if my life depends on it."

"But—"

"No, buts," Rin grumbled. "Find me something better. It can be more challenging than this. I'll help you to clear it, but not this disgusting dungeon. Also, I'm out. Prolly won't be back in a few hours."

Ulysses disappeared as well, leaving Luke groaning on the floor.

Luke guessed he would have to log out as well, but after he took care of his wounds. The Ring of Healing was on cooldown, so he won't be able to use it, not to mention his wounds were in too many places to all be healed with the ring at once.

Thankfully, the farm had some first-aid kits.

***

Rin's heartbeat rose similar to all the other times as he returned to the real world. He let out a long breath and clutched the bottle of water.

Relieving his sore throat, he found it was about afternoon, still an hour away from his evening walk. With that time in hand, he decided to help Seth in keeping the pub for some time. It was his place, after all. Although he hadn't put much thought or effort into building this one, he kind of likes the peacefulness it brings.

Changing into a full-sleeved shirt, Rin came down into the pub.

Nobody was laughing at The Laughing Drunkards at this time of the day, as there were only a handful of regular customers present. A couple of teens were still in their discussion over the game, an Oldman busy with his newspaper, and a young lady working on her story on her laptop. These were regular customers.

Most people came to the pub because it was a cosy palace, whereas for some it was just closer to other places, and the drinks were good.

"You're up," Seth said, lifting his head from the paperback he was reading.

People in this part of the world really preferred physical things that they could touch and feel more than augmented reality. That was one of the reasons Rin chose this place.

"Your sister called a couple of hours ago," Seth told him.

"Which one?" Rin lifted an eyebrow.

"Elle The Eldest," chuckled Seth. "Your appointment is next week, Saturday. She asked if she should come to pick you up."

"Hmm," Rin mused, humming. "Does she have free time? Anyway, I'll call her later."

Seth nodded. "So, how's your play going? How much of what has been going on in the circle is true?"

"Brutal," Rin answered, "as for the other question, I don't have much context to answer that. But If I have to give my opinion on the game, I'll choose the same word again. Brutal."

His caretaker rested the book on his lap and arched an eyebrow, curious. "Brutal, you say," he said, "you sound like you're liking it."

Rin shrugged.

"Not planning on returning?"

"Nope." Rin didn't need to think to give the answer. It was pretty clear to him from the day he retired. "I retired, being the best; can't go back and be a sore loser, can I?"

"Well, it's not that bad," Seth said, not believing him completely, "is it?"

Rin shrugged again, refraining from discussing more on that topic. Well, as far as he was concerned, his condition would only let him be a good substitute option for most teams. But that would frustrate him even more.

Besides, Rin wanted people to remember him as the best, not as some mediocre player.

They discussed some topics about the game. Rin shared his experience while the older man entertained him with what's been cooking up in the media. There was actually an active petition going on, asking for Stephen Archer to step down from his role as the director of Avalon.

Rin chuckled out loud, finding that there were already over a million players who signed the petition, not that it surprised him.

"I really might have liked this guy," Rin said, "for his mentality. If only he wasn't a cheater."

Rin chatted with Seth on various topics, from the hot topics of the VRMMORPG to the ever-delightful conspiracy theories. Until a boy came to stand on the counter.

"Mr Denver, is that you in the video?" The boy held up his smartphone to show a person fighting wild wolves.