Lost of Weapon

Woosh!

A grey-coloured VR Cabin opened and Seth came out with the help of his Uncle. 

Seth's Nuclear Family has turned into an extended family due to the sudden rise of Anna and her husband.

To be united, they used some money to pay the debt of some family members and then a family business was established.

Though the Game was a way to earn money, they were pragmatic enough to venture into something tangible.

The moment Seth was out of the VR Cabin, he stood wobbly and spread his hands as if receiving something from the sky. His face was stoic as he….

Guhaha!

Muhaha!

"The Great Dragon sla…"

Ouche!

Seth was hit on the head

"Get a doctor here, Seth is possessed by the Game again," Joseph said mockingly. He was Seth's uncle who helped him exit from the cabin.

Among the new safety measures was having an overseer 24/7 oversee the VR Cabin especially when playing. 

Joseph in particular was an electronic enthusiastic person.

He barely finished college due to his financial situation. But with the new situation, he was hoping to enrol in the university to study Game Science. A new course that was trending.

"Hoo, this Game is hardcore!" Seth uttered as he sat facing his worried mother and sister.

The time for diving was only six hours. From 6 am to 12 pm. It was said it will be stabilized in the future to be 24hrs.

One thing was no one can dive before the set time but one can exit the Game before midnight. Anna was out before 12 that's why Seth found her out.

"Did you get your staff?" Anna's hoarse voice sounded in Seth's ears. He looked at her with a frown.

'Was she crying?' He thought 

"Were you crying?" He asked. She refused to answer and just stared at him.

"Your sister lost her weapon! And she worried she would lose everything without it!" Sara, their mother answered.

"Oh, I thought it was something serious!" Seth said as he leaned back and digested what he learned before coming out of the Game. 

Not knowing when he will be released from prison for Laughing in public, he announced himself as assistant to Madam Mud.

At first, the Prison Guards did not believe him. With his insistence, they consulted with Madam Mud and she answered yes.

She even claimed to be the one that gave him the thing that made him laugh like a mad man just to put him in her testing experiments more. With that, she bailed him out but with a new quest from her. The same as before. Seth did suffer under her hand but he endured.

Why?

He realized one of her concoctions made him run without putting his staff on the ground for more than three seconds.

Invigoration Mud!

That was the name of the new medicine. He pointed its effect to her and to Seth's relief she was beginning to value him. 

And when she asked him why he was keeping up with her. He threw his staff away and showed her his normal walking ability.

She was so shocked to see that Immortal Blessed was a cripple. For her guilty conscience, she gave Seth a lot of medicine and asked him to leave.

The reason was her reputation was at stake, if people knew she was experimenting with her concocted muds on a cripple she will be looked down on.

After that mini-arc, Seth explored the whole village to find the Game's imperfections. And he finds a lot. The reason was he just can't believe that the immersion and everything is as real as real-life.

The pixel wound is one and many other things. Even the NPCs that act as if they were real have some limitations.

But the strangest thing he learned was that it felt as if the Game was the amalgamation of all the other Games he played before.

The good news was he found a job that can earn him EXP and money.

"Seth!" Anna called.

"Hmm"

"What did you find?"

"Nothing much! My advice is to take your time and play the Game and enjoy its thrills."

"You don't understand. This Game is deeper than we all think. In-Office Space I got so many Messages urging me to retrieve the shield. They said it was considered a National Treasure. In the Game too, there was a quest to retrieve the shield in 90 days, if not I will lose it forever"

She was really worried. Her dream was to be the cause for her parents to have a nice and easy life. As she was the only healthy child out of all her siblings and the one that took the brunt of the family responsibility since she was little.

Even after she was married, she insisted on staying close to her mother due to her poor health. Thankfully, Sam was family too as he was raised by their uncle.

Now, out of sheer luck, she changed the family's situation to 180 degrees. She was the happiest. Then a week later things were going out of control. She must be worried and terrified.

Agent Raaz told her if she maintained her rank every month there would be a salary that would further aid the family.

One of their major problems was their mother Sara has poor health and when she was diagnosed it was shown that her medical fee may reach up to 500,000U. 

That was half the money Anna obtained.

That was not the only expense, there was the extremely expensive nutrient solution. The rank of the nutrients is as follows:

Rank A 100,000WB

Rank B  60,000WB

Rank C 50,000WB

Rank D 40,000WB

Rank E 30,000WB

Rank F 10,000WB

Anna herself only got 5 Rank A, 10 Rank B, 20 Rank C, 30 Rank D, and 50 Rank E. 

Sam got only Rank C, D And E. Seth managed to get only Rank E and F. As of now they were using the lowest rank nutrient but the more time spent in the Game the nutrient consumption will increase.

And the nutrients were of utmost importance to the Game. They can't be skipped for various reasons.

Her fear was justified, losing everything she earned in one fell swoop was not going to be easy to handle.

"How many Dragons did you defend against?"

She thought and said, "47!"

Seth looked at her and shuddered. Just his staff that was able to attack two dragons obtain two Attributes that are OP what about her?

'Yes, she may have not faced Terror Dragon but 47 fucking Dragons!'

"My advice is to take your time, learn its hidden rules and enjoy the Game then conquer it. Pressuring yourself will only dampen your ability." 

Then Seth told them how he struggled from the ocean race to the island. How the NPC treated him and other players. What he understood and how he managed to win over Madam Mud.

"You are saying NPC are racists against players in your village!" Sam asked.

"Yep, they are. I take it as some kind of difficulty increment. And then I try to find a solution to that. Now I get myself a free healing session with Madam Mud. And no one will dare belittle me in front of her. In fact, some players are carrying favours with me now. You see from worst treatment to better." Seth said before he asked

"Do you get compensated every time the shield was used"

"She can use a phantom shield with partial attributes!" Sam said.

It turned out she can use the shield avatar and any time the original shield was going to be used, she had to give permission.

If she refused, there would be a mental battle. If the shield holder won then he can use it and if she won he can't use it.

The family sat and discussed their next course of action as no one wants to lose the heaven they found themselves in. And Anna's shield is the key to maintaining it. Without it, almost everything will dwindle.

After that Seth took a good nap. Playing the Game did not remove the need for sleep. Only if someone was using Rank A Nutrients Solution.

The next day he dived back into Asteroids Online with a smile, excited about what would happen.

Seth opened his eyes and found himself in a prison. After he asked why. He was met with a stern warning not to sleep on the street again.

To the NPC they just find his body thirty-minute ago.

Seth realized that from now he needs to find a safe place to lie down before logging out. But what if he was in the wilderness. Thirty-minute before he logged in is more than enough for him to be eaten.

Seth bribed the guard with a Healing Mud and he got to be released.

On his way to a wood workshop to learn some carving work such as mini sculpture making, he heard an announcement.

"Azure people. It's your lucky day. Village Head is seeking Calligraphers and Painters. The pay is handsome." 

"Good, I'm good at painting."

Ding!

_________

[Quest]

Impressed Vulcan Village Head and his daughter with your amazing Paints.

[Reword]

~+10 EXP

~Work in the Village Head minor

~Ten Silver coins

[Accept / Reject]

_________

"Accept"