Chapter 17
"Kyun!"
A small rabbit with a body covered in leaves let out a shriek before turning to light. A single mana stone dropped from it.
Caleb immediately picked it up and swing his sword again, slicing the other rabbit who rushed toward him. Its HP reduced to zero in a single slash before dropping a Mana Stone.
He never ceased his movement, however, and let out a moon slice to the right side, attacking the remaining two rabbits in the area.
The bluish beam perfectly hit and burst into their bodies. The two rabbits let out a unison shriek before bursting into light particles.
Caleb stored the mana stones after defeating all the monsters.
With his diminishing stamina, he decided to rest on the boulder on his rear to recuperate.
While resting, he shifted his gaze to his front to glimpse the small river of the place.
The cavern was covered with ravine walls covered in crystals of various sizes protruding everywhere.
It caused the surrounding areas to be bathed in this mellow light, as the river also shone faintly because of it.
He reached this area after walking for an hour searching for a place to farm Mana Stone. The place was the home of the small rabbit monsters he had slain not long ago.
They were called [Leaf Rabbits] and all of them were level 1 monsters with lower health points and slower attack speeds.
For Caleb, this was the perfect farming place because of the nature of his quest. For the others, however, this place was not that great.
Since the rabbits living inside this cavern only give 1 exp and rarely drop an item, except for the Mana Stone.
It was a loss of profit to stay for too long in this place.
But Caleb was unconcerned by this as he checked his inventory. Five hundred mana stones were stored there. After farming leaf rabbits for two hours, he finally got the necessary stone for his quest.
Now done with his business in this place, the only thing that was left for him was to turn in his quest to Mayor Brix Lionhart. However, the system announcement rang in his head a while ago, reminding him of the remaining time until the server would close.
Thirty minutes are left until the server shuts down, and all of the players in the world of Legacy will be forced to log out.
He paused and thought about the exit of this dungeon and surmised that it would take some time before he could leave the place. He also needed to deliver his quest, and lastly, the time was already evening.
Monsters will become more active as their prowess slightly increases.
In his previous life, he also experienced hunting at the night, and it was the hardest thing to do. The difficulty of killing a single monster would rise, so it would not be wise to grind at night unless you are specialized in perception and deceit like the Theif Class.
Because of these things, Caleb chose to stay in the cavern and scanned the surroundings before logging out.
His vision immediately went black and a second later, he could not feel his body as if he was fleeting in endless space.
Click!
A metallic sound resounded in his ears as he feels the helmet in his head loosen a little.
As Caleb could feel his hands again, he instinctively moved and lifted the game helmet.
Opening his eyes, he could see a familiar ceiling above him as he shifted his gaze to his side and saw a small light coming from the slit window in the room. In the corner, the clock continued to tick as its small arrowhead was slowly approaching 6.
It was still early in the morning. Even though he spent fifteen hours inside the game, it was still equivalent to twelve hours in real life. The game "Legacy" was surely advanced in levels compared to the past VR games.
Crawling out from his warm bed, Caleb walked to his bathroom before opening the faucet and then washed his face. After washing, he lifted his head, looking at the mirror as he checked his face slightly, his mouth displayed with a wide grin.
Two months had passed since he had been reincarnated and gone back to his 19-year-old self, but he still couldn't seem to move on and the event was still fresh in his mind.
However, he was very thankful for this second chance and after reminding himself to not waste it, he walked out of the bathroom.
He changed his shirt and put on a gray one before opening the door of his room. He stepped up the stairs, walking down to the first floor.
"I'm wondering what I can make for breakfast," he muttered, hands on his chin. Since he was mostly alone in his previous life, he learned to cook and make some decent dishes to prepare for himself and occasionally for his girlfriend.
When he began to earn money in the game, he began to order food from restaurants or chain restaurants for breakfast. But, in the end, nothing beats a home-cooked meal. It was in a league of its own when compared to some commercially prepared foods.
And his skills remained unaffected, but he couldn't expect to use them in his second life!
When he entered the kitchen, he was surprised to see a figure already standing there.
"Oh, you're awake already? Perfect then, help me wash the ingredients."
The figure noticed him and quickly ordered around as if it were natural.
"...Mom? Why are you still at home? How about work though?"
Caleb asked the woman in front of him. It was his mother.
He asked these questions because he was confused.
Normally, his mother would leave the house at five or six a.m. to avoid getting stuck in traffic.
But she, on the other hand, was not only in the kitchen, but she was still in casual clothes!
'Was she fired by the company by chance? Or maybe just a day off...'
Caleb pondered, trying to figure out the real reason but he received a confusing response instead.
"What? Did you mess up your head while sleeping? Of course, I'd be at home, it's Sunday!"
Her mom responded quickly to Caleb.
'...so there were no problems if it was really Sunday...do I get overly excited and forget the date?'
He realized now that he had no idea what day it was yesterday. He assumed he forgot because he was too excited to be back in the game.
He quickly apologized to his mother and went to her side, picking up the ingredients as he cleaned them.
His mother looked at him for a moment, puzzled, before returning her attention to prepare the food.
Because his mother was present, he would have to rely on her cooking skills. He would eat it whether it was good or bad. After all, his mother's cooking always has a special taste to it.
Caleb smiles while thinking about it before returning to his work.
After cooking their breakfast, they eat together as they slowly enjoy the taste of homemade dishes.
His mother inquired about the message he had left on his door the day before. He responded slowly, explaining the details of the virtual reality game Legacy. Explaining the function of the portion where he can play while sleeping.
She expresses her concerns after learning about it, but Caleb goes on to show her videos of previous VR games and how they demonstrated the user's safety.
His mother has little awareness about these things, especially when it comes to gaming because she is too preoccupied with her work. His mother was relieved after seeing the video and cautioned him not to overdo it.
He, on the other hand, simply nodded. Even though his mother could be stern at times, he could tell she was always concerned about him.
He went to exercise and follow his daily routine after their breakfast. This has been his daily routine for the past two months to physically improve. It was effective even though it consisted of repetitive and basic workouts.
He aspires to be physically strong not only in the game but also outside of it.
Caleb has really embraced his tenacious attitude. He choose to do these things even though it was hard for him at first. He keeps repeating in his head that this is for the sake of himself and his mom.
Self-control was also a strength!
It was the quality to distinguish the fittest to survive. If he doesn't have self-discipline, he would never succeed and accomplish his goals in the future.
He was back in his room in the afternoon, reading some notes he had written over the previous two months. It was packed with information about the game and things he needed to review. His plans are in order and the conditions it requires were also listed. He needs these papers to constantly refresh his knowledge about the game. After all, he has no perfect memory.
Caleb spent his time in this manner while also waiting for the server to reopen.