2 Something New

"...?" Zayden raised his brow in slight confusion upon hearing the words that were coming out from his sister's mouth. "...like what?"

"Well, maybe something like trying out a different sort of style?" she pondered on the idea. "Perhaps something different from your usual one at least. Or maybe it just might be that you need a break from the game instead?"

"...trying out a new style or taking a break, huh?" Zayden chuckled slightly whilst patting on Jisa's head. "That would be nice. But... I've got matches to participate in, so there's that."

Moving his hand away from Jisa, the young man soon moved towards the kitchen area of his home where he was greeted by the clean tabletop. In the next moment—his attention turned towards the top cabinet where he opened it. Then, he took out an instant cup noodle stored within it.

Noting that Zayden had taken out the instant cup noodle from the cabinet, Jisa shot a glare at him. "Eh? Instant noodles again?" with a pout, she helplessly saw that Zayden had made his way over to the electric flask sitting by the counter.

"Yeah. Is there anything wrong?" he questioned in a casual manner whilst pouring hot water into the noodle cup. "I've got a meeting with my guildmates later to plan for an upcoming match, so a quick meal is what I need."

"Jeez! You call that a meal?" she scoffed. "Eat something proper for once! It's not healthy for you if you continue eating noodles all the time."

"Yeah, yeah... I can't help it, alright?" he uttered out helplessly. "Maybe when I find the time, we could go out and eat something 'proper' for once. It's been a while since we went to a restaurant or something, right?"

"What? You know I can cook, right?" Jisa blinked in a dumbfounded manner at her brother's statement. "You could've just asked me to cook a meal for you!"

"...eh," at Jisa's reply, Zayden could only put on a conflicted face.

"Huh? What's that reaction supposed to mean? Do you hate my cooking?!"

"N-No... It's not like that!" Hurriedly letting out a cough, Zayden quickly corrected himself. "It's just that... You don't really cook when I'm out of the game..."

"Well, that's cause you never asked!"

"B-But, I did!"

"Since when?"

"Those times when I asked you to cook during the night?" he sighed helplessly. "Yeah... You refused every single one of them..."

"That's literally because you asked me at one in the morning!"

"And yet you ask why I only eat instant cup noodles..."

"Ahem. That's a different case! Right now the time's noon, right?" she reasoned. "So it means I can cook for you!"

"It's fine, Jisa." Zayden calmly shook his head. "I told you that I've got a meeting, right? So this meal will have to do."

"Sigh... What do I even do with you?" Hearing her brother's refusal, Jisa sighed with helpless breath as she quickly left the living area, soon making her way towards her room.

"Aha... Sorry," with a silent mutter upon hearing the slam of the door from his sister's room, Zayden's attention soon turned towards the cup noodles. "..." with a slight frown, his thoughts soon reflected on the conversation they had earlier. "...a different style, huh? Perhaps I should give a change of pace a try for once."

…

After some time of waiting for the noodles to be ready—Zayden soon chowed down on it and finished the dish. Moments later, he made his way over to his room and then entered into the capsule, logging into the game: [ Spiritual Warriors ], a VRMMORPG which was a mixed variety of aspects from many genres.

Made and developed by the Shuzien Company in Japan, it was largely spread across the globe and was praised to be one of the best games of the modern generation, beating many of its competition.

With its smooth and advanced dynamics that almost felt real, its clever AIs of NPCs and the story of the world within the game—Everything seemed to be like that of a second world, an alternate reality for the players which appealed to many.

Though not only that, besides the MMORPG aspects of the game—Spiritual Warriors also had a wider branch of gameplay, being the first to introduce the concept of a VRMOBA game mode, named [ Crystality ]. The mode had a very competitive environment, with its own pro scene and E-Sports League. Thus, many players would also often play within this game mode.

This was the same for Zayden, and his character [ Shinto ].

At the top of the unified rankings, Shinto was a widely renowned player who was famous for his strong control in battle, his excellent battle strength and his dominance in PVP—Especially in Crystality.

He was at the peak of all players, a mountain that was difficult to cross.

This was Zayden.

…

[ Logging into the game… ]

[ Player (Shinto) has come online. ]

Within the quiet town of Ramun, situated by the eastern coasts of the Kingdom of Zemul, the player [ Shinto ]—stood on the stone grounds of the town whilst taking in the fresh breezing air. However, he didn't have much liberty to enjoy the environment as he was soon bombarded by various whispers from players who saw that he came online.

"Oh? Heya, Shinto! You've come online again, huh?" Crowelin, the one who stands on the seventh seat of the unified rankings, whispered.

"OI! OI! OI! YOU DARE COME ONLINE AGAIN?!" Arceus spammed. "FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME!"

"Are you ready for today's meeting?" Rienla, the one who sits at the fifth seat of the unified rankings, whispered.

"..." Taking a glance over to the countless whispers and messages he had received with a sigh—Shinto strolled through the quiet streets of Ramun where no player was in sight whilst selectively replying to the rising mountain of notifications.

He was thankful that he only had to pay attention to the whispers he received. Had there been any player in the vicinity, most of them, if not all—would've flocked over to him upon sight of Shinto.

After all, seeing the first ranked player walking through the streets, players wouldn't think twice to approach him as it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the real deal themselves.

But, even if there were to be players in the vicinity, there were means to conceal his identity. For one, Shinto could just go unnoticed via equipment such as a cloak that would hide his face from plain sight.

Though, even if such conveniences existed, Shinto preferred not wearing anything over his head. But it was but a dream with the fact that he was a recognizable figure in public. Thus, as the first ranked player in the unified rankings and owner of many titles—Shinto was forced into typically hiding his identity when in public.

"...phew. I don't have to hide myself this time," nodding his head with slight satisfaction, Shinto began replying to the whispers one by one—finally reaching to the end of his messages, where only Rienla's remained.

"Yeah." Without wasting any time, he replied to Rienla. "We're meeting up at the guild's base as per usual, right?"

"Yes. Are you far from there?" Rienla answered.

"Not really. I'm currently in Ramun right now," he responded as he turned to look at the in-game time where it was currently 2'o clock. "So, I should be in Erendak before three."

"Great! Then I'll see you there." As if replying in a delighted tone of voice, Rienla quickly ended the whisper with Shinto.

"...that's done with," sighing inwardly, Shinto solemnly turned towards the bright blue sky of Spiritual Warriors where he soon stared at it. "...I guess I should be making my way to Erendak now. I don't want to get an earful from anyone if I'm late..."

Shaking his head in a tired manner, the young man began walking on the stone path of Ramun, quickly making his way out of the town. His next destination was now to the city of Erendak, where the base of his guild stands.