10 On the Inside

     The more I think about it, the idea of us being a group of three now becomes something that might be more beneficial than I think. 

 

     It does make sense if we want a versatile team to make quests go along faster. Tanks, from the way the system described them, boast higher defense out of all the starting classes at level one. It only stands to reason that it will continue that way the longer someone levels up. They also have a good attack stat, but nowhere close to what a Warrior class character could have. 

     It made me wonder if we should start expanding our horizons to new people, as well. Having an Archer would come in very handy during stealth missions or when our target during a quest is a long-ranged fighter, essentially fighting fire with fire. 

     Just then, Veronica sat up and pulled off her headset. She didn't look angry at all. In fact, she smiled. I didn't understand why but she then said, "Tomorrow, early in the morning, we need to play more with that guy. I think he'd be a great help!" She exclaimed. "Hey, hey, hey… I have neighbors."

      Like I said before, fighting her was like trying to fight an immovable object. She would not budge no matter what. I just nodded in response and decided to lay back down on my bed.

     There's still a lot to figure out about Royal Star. It seems a lot like other VRMMOs, but it has this feeling that it is more than what it is on the surface. This is definitely meant to have some form of realism. There are no level requirements for equipment since my current sword was a massive improvement compared to my previous one. That definitely would've been something you'd be level 5 to get. EXP is also given to kills when you use them multiple times. My best and only skill at the moment has an EXP next to it, and it sat at (40/50) when the battle with the ants had ended. 

     It had me thinking, though… if this game can host so many players at once… and it's all under one server… 

     Does that mean that even if her and I are logged out, major stuff can happen in the blink of an eye in the game?

◇◇◇

     "Lord Dundran! We have been given reports that the ants swarming the mines have been dealt with but moments ago!" 

     A knight announced. He was bowing before a man in blue, silk robes with a cane in one hand and a glass of red liquid in the other while sitting upon a throne made of gold with red cushions on the seat, arm rests, and the back. In front of him would be one long blue carpet where the knight knelt upon, his head pointing downward towards it. "And how can we be so certain?" Asked the Lord, who appeared quite old with his long gray hair and visible wrinkles upon his pale face. 

     The knight did not dare put his head up, he merely held up a note, and there it was written that the recent infestation of ants were exterminated by an unknown party. "Here, my lord! This is an official notice given to me by High Commander Kaiser!" The knight added. 

     The Lord grew visibly irritated. "And why is he not here now telling me this himself?" He asked. The knight stammered, "U-Um, you see… m-my Commander has business to attend to in our neighboring country, Daises!" 

     A sigh was expelled, and the Lord motioned his hand upward. "Stand, young knight. You have done well taking the place of High Commander Kaiser. I shall have the guards notify the miners of this recent development, along with a public announcement to my people. You may leave." He said, and the knight stood up, bowed, and walked away. The Lord looked over to his wife, who sat upon a throne with the very same design, she looked back at him with a smile and a loving gaze in her beautiful red eyes. She wore a dress of the same color as the robes her husband had. "You seem to be in a good mood." She mentioned.

     "Why wouldn't I be? This is a momentous occasion. Although, I wish to see those warriors who slayed the monsters be found and brought to me posthaste." The Lord said to his guards, who nodded and went out of the throne room to find the warriors.

     "What shall you do with them when they are brought to us?" Asked his wife. 

     "My beloved Elaina, you needn't worry. Those brave fighters have saved the people of our city. If they did not, then I wouldn't have doubted the thought of those ants growing in large enough numbers to begin exiting their home and making their way to our home. I shall merely reward them for their success. It is the least I can do." Lord Dundran answered his wife. He looked out to the closed doors at the other end of his room, and waited for his knights to come back. 

     Elaina sighed, and looked behind her throne to the large window that overlooked the other half of their city. "Just remember, darling… we must leave soon to arrive at Lord Arthur's abode. There is much to discuss with him and the other Lords. If Kaiser is in Daises, then there is no doubt that he has business with Lord Kiara. She seemed to be in a bit of trouble, last I heard."

     "Indeed. I worry for her future. Maybe this meeting of Lords will help in our future endeavors? All that remains is for us to wait and see what unfolds. 

◇◇◇

     I stood up and walked into the kitchen, grabbing two cans of soda. The other one was tossed to Veronica, who just barely caught it with the tips of her fingers. She soon cracked it open with me in unison. The satisfying noise it made was music to our ears. 

     I considered the idea of celebrating our recent accomplishment. We were able to beat the Ant Warrior even after his buff. Veronica sat next to me and she tapped her can with mine and took a sip. I chuckled before taking a sip of my own. To me, it was pretty obvious on what to do next. "I have some stuff in the kitchen. You wanna help me out with making something?" I asked her. She was taken by surprise but nodded in response, then the two of us went over to the kitchen and I opened up the refrigerator. Before I could even reach my hand into the thing, Veronica was already grabbing stuff: onion, chicken, hot sauce, potatoes, bacon, and cheese. "I already have an idea on what we should have. This is something my parents always made so I wanna take a crack at it." She explained. 

     Because I was not looking forward to my place going up in flames, I decided to look up a recipe with the same ingredients she had. 

     Her and I then followed the directions carefully as to not make any accidents happen.

     "So, you know how to cook?" I asked.

     "Yeah! Not as good as my mom, but I'm able to make a few things that end up being pretty tasty. What about you?" She returned the question to me. 

     "I'm kinda in the same boat. But, I just buy some stuff I can put into the oven, like chicken tenders and stuff like that. Although, occasions like this make me more willing to actually make something." 

     The more we did to make this stuff, the more excited I got. It started to smell pretty good with the hot sauce covering the potatoes and chicken, and the onion we chopped up was dropped evenly on the top of the chicken and the potatoes. We then took the bacon we had out of the oven. The recipe called for cutting the bacon into small pieces and doing the same thing we did with the onion. 

      Afterward, we had to mix everything around so that the hot sauce was able to get onto everything we put on it. 

     The last step was putting cheese on top of everything and putting it into the oven. 

      It was a lot of preparing and waiting, but from the smell of it? It seemed to be worth it. I'm actually pretty good with spicy stuff, and since Veronica was the one to bring up the idea of making it, she seemed to be the same way. Her and I then finished our sodas since having something carbonated and spicy together was not a good combination, even if you are good with heat. 

     In fact, we decided on pouring glasses of milk. This is because milk is actually good with combating spice. It was just in case the spice did end up overpowering us. We did have to mix a few other sauces together with the hot sauce to add a bit more heat to it. Regardless, we were excited for the food.

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