"Saras Gayen! Are you reading those dusty old books again?" Nina Gayen's shout preceded her entrance as she banged open the door to her son's room. As she expected, she found Saras sitting on his bean bag, holding a paperback copy of World History: The Ancient Civilizations. She snatched the book from his hands and tossed it into the pile of other books covering a range of topics from politics to economics related to Earth. "Look at Ellie's daughter, Stivi. She has already reached Level 3 in the Dreamverse VR within two hours of its launch. Why are you still lounging at home?" "I am not lounging! I am studying History…" Saras protested, looking at the book pile before turning his gaze towards his mother. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him as if he had committed a grave sin by not entering the game as soon as it was launched. "You are turning 25 this year. If you don't play the Dreamverse VR now and join a good guild, how will you find a wife?" Thus started his journey as he once again navigated the VR scene through the mysterious game Dreamverse VR that was said to hold the keys to Human Evolution.
"Congratulations, Deathless BigSoftie!" Inui said with a smile as they climbed the stairs.
Inui looked up at Blacksmith Avad's room with a forlorn expression and said, "Ever since our senior apprentice Mika left, Teacher has rarely left his room. He has also not visited the Smithy in the past few weeks."
"I am glad he decided to accept an apprentice now. Hopefully, teaching you will help him get over Senior Mika's departure." Glancing at BigSoftie following behind him, Inui said with a smile.
The two had reached the top floor at this moment and stood in front of Blacksmith Avad's room. The mellow orange glow of the evening sun shone through the windows of the tree, casting long shadows on the stairway.
Inui stood before the door and looked at BigSoftie. Seeing that he had caught up, Inui knocked on the door.
"Who is therre?" The gruff voice asked from within the room, sounding a little annoyed and very drunk.