Chapter 32- Survival Game
Zach and Aurora left the dungeon and stopped at the summoning point— where the players were spawning at a crazy speed. Even though that wasn't the only spawning point of the game.
"So many players are getting transported here, unknown to the fact that their lifeline is hanging on the thin thread which can snap at any moment…" Zach uttered in a solemn voice.
"If it's thin, then it must be sharp too," Aurora remarked. She glanced at Zach and continued, "Sharp enough to survive."
"Sharp enough to cut others' lifelines…" Zach asserted without looking at Aurora.
He gazed in the direction of the town and uttered, "Let's go."
After walking halfway to the town, Aurora sighed while glancing at Zach. Zach was walking ahead of Aurora, so he couldn't see her, but he heard her sigh.
"What's wrong? Why are you sighing?" he asked.
"It's nothing."
"As far as I know, people sigh when they are either bored or frustrated," Zach remarked with a soft chuckle.
"I am both," Aurora retorted. "This sucks. Why do players have to walk all the way to the town from the dungeon? They should have at least created portal points."
"This is just a beginner's realm; more like a tutorial stage," Zach asserted in a solemn voice. "The real game starts on the first realm."
"If that's the case, then this tutorial is too hard," Aurora muttered under her breath.
After walking for a while, they finally reached the town.
"Do you want to join me for lunch, or should I say dinner?" Zach scoffed.
Aurora's face flushed after hearing that. She never expected to be asked out by Zach. However, her expectations were going to be betrayed soon when she realized she had misunderstood his invitation.
"Of course, you have to pay for your food," Zach added nonchalantly.
"Argh!" Aurora groaned loudly as she tried her best not to show her dissatisfaction on her face.
"Was that a growl? Then I will take that as a yes," Zach snorted after looking at Aurora's face.
They went to the restaurant and ordered food. Zach ordered some meat and vegetable dishes. While Aurora ordered crepe and salad.
"How can you eat salad?" Zach asked with a shocked expression on his face.
"With my mouth?"
"Stop with that lame joke. It's not funny." Zach raised his brows and uttered, "You need to eat some healthy food that can give you energy. This is a game, a survival game, and you need to stay as healthy as possible."
"I have to follow my diet schedule as a princess. I am not allowed to eat certain things, especially the ones that can give me a stomach ache…." Aurora said while looking at Zach's dish.
Zach knitted his brows and asked with a puzzled and curious look on his face: "Do you maybe have weak metabolism?"
Aurora nodded in response and said, "My mother said I had many near-death experiences due to my health, so my diet was always strict."
'What about crepes then?!' Zach wanted to ask that to Aurora, but he wanted their conversation to end so they could eat in peace.
DING!
The bell rang as the door of the restaurant opened, and Shay and Kayden walked in. Zach was facing his back at the door, so he couldn't see them, but Kayden recognized him at first glance.
Kayden and Shay approached Zach with a "Yo!"
Zach was chewing the food, so he waved his hand in response.
Kayden placed his hand on Zach's shoulder and said, "Where have you been?"
After swallowing the food, Zach gulped down and replied, "In the dungeon."
"Heh!" Shay smirked and commented, "Well, someone's taken a liking to this game."
Zach shrugged his shoulders in response and gestured to Kayden and Shay to join him for lunch.
"Neh, we just ate," Kayden answered. "How come you are—" Kayden stopped when he saw Aurora.
"What's wrong?" Shay wondered. "Why are you—!"
Shay frowned his face and yelled, "Why is she here?!"
"Oh! It's the creepy boy from yesterday," Aurora uttered while eating a crepe. She then glanced at Zach and asked, "Is he your friend?"
Zach ignored Aurora and turned to Shay. "Shay, don't you have something to say?"
Shay sighed and glanced at Aurora with a nervous look on his face. "I am sorry for yesterday. I was agitated and took out all my anger on you. I shouldn't have done that, and I am truly ashamed of myself."
Zach smiled a little and knitted his brows at Aurora, who was focused on eating the crepe and ignored everything Shay said.
'Savage…' Zach and Kayden thought the same thing.
"Anyway!" Shay turned to Zach with a baffled expression on his face and said, "So you were fooling around with this girl?"
"Her name is Aurora."
"That's not the point! Why are you hanging out with a girl when you already have a girlfriend?!" Shay exclaimed.
"Who says I can't hang out with a girl if I have a girlfriend?" Zach uttered casually and added, "And besides, we broke up."
"What?! When?!"
"Last week."
"On your birthday?!"
Zach shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.
Shay was bewildered by the news, but Aurora seemed more affected by the information than anyone else.
'He had a girlfriend?! I never thought he was the type to get a girlfriend. But they broke up…' Aurora smiled inwardly. 'Wait! Why am I happy about it?! This is sad news… for Zach.'
After eating the food, Zach and Aurora went to the garden. Zach wanted to go back to his room and get proper rest, but Aurora said she had something important to talk about, so he had no other choice but to follow her.
"What is it?" Zach asked with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Do you…" Aurora muttered something under her breath.
"Do I, What?"
Aurora took a deep breath and gathered her courage to say: "So I have bought a house and it's big enough for four people to stay. So I was thinking… maybe… you would like to stay at… my… place?"
She continued with a flushed face: "I mean, you are a cheapskate, and you think of saving money, so you can save enough money if you stay at my place. I can even cook for you, so free food."
Aurora insulted Zach as though it was completely normal. She looked at Zach with a curious and anxious expression on her face and waited for Zach's answer.
****
Total players in the game 86786.
12535 new players logged in.
2525 players died.