Episode 39: A warning.

I stand up and stretch my arms. Suddenly my surroundings become red. I'm blinking my eyes and rubbing them. Avriel is looking at me with confusion. A screen suddenly appears in front of me.

[WARNING!]

[YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IS TOO LOW!]

[YOUR BLOOD SUGAR IS TOO LOW!]

[YOU WILL BE FORCED TO LOG OUT BY THE SYSTEM!]

[SEEK FOR IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION!]

...

...

...

[WE HAVE REQUESTED AN EMERGENCY SERVICE NEAR YOUR AREA]

[ESTIMATED TIME ARRIVAL: 5 MINUTES]

I open my eyes and it's nighttime. I remove the helmet and I don't feel anything different. I slowly stand up from the pod and check Emma's pod, but she's not in there, so I guess she's in the living room or her bedroom.

The system requested an emergency service for what?

As soon as I get out from the pod and step my foot on the floor, my vision is getting blurry and a massive headache appears like something just hit the back of my head so hard. I fall to the floor and I can faintly hear Emma's voice.

"Trevor?!... Hey!... What happ..."

I'm slowly opening my eyes, but what I see is just the whole room is spinning and my head feels like it's getting hammered. I immediately close my eyes, and now I feel like I'm floating and spinning. The light is making me dizzy even though I'm closing my eyes. I groan in pain, lift my hand, and hope Emma is here in my bedroom because I want her to turn off the d*mn lamp.

I hear a woman's voice coming towards me, but it's not Emma's voice and a male voice. I don't know who they are, but they suddenly turn off the light, grab my head and turn my body. Then they roll me to the other sides. The headache is slowly fading away. They're carefully moving my body and it feels good. A woman's voice is coming from my right.

"Are you feeling better?"

I groan and nod weakly. Then they keep doing it for quite a while. The lady's hands smell nice, it makes my headache disappear.

"You can open your eyes now."

I open my eyes and it surprised me that they are nurses. What surprised me the most is that the hands that smell nice are actually the hands of the male nurse. I look at him with disbelief and want to ask him what kind of perfume or lotion is he using, but then I realize it sounds like I'm trying to hit him, so I'm not going to ask him that.

I'm squinting my eyes to look at the time, it's 11 p.m. and I feel relieved since I fell unconscious only a few hours. I furrow my forehead while looking at them.

"Where am I?"

The female nurse is looking at the IV bag.

"You are in the hospital. An emergency request came from your pod and the hospital sent an ambulance to your house and brought you here last night."

Ah, so the system really requested an emergency service for me. Wait, last night...? So I've been here for more than 28 hours. I remembered when I logged out, the time was 7 p.m. If that's the case, I lost 28 days of in-game time. The last time I checked the quest countdown is around 74 days. So I still have 46 days.

I try to sit down but my head won't move. It's like my head doesn't want to get up. The male nurse gently pushes me down.

"You need to rest... Your condition is still unstable."

I'm rubbing my head and look at the male nurse.

"When can I go home?"

The female nurse smiles and looks at me.

"Tomorrow morning if your condition is getting better tonight. But, if your blood pressure is still low, you will have to stay here for another night."

I nod with understanding.

"I see, thank you."

The female nurse smiles.

I asked them about what happened to me and turned out I was having vertigo because of my low blood pressure and blood sugar. Because I played excessively and letting my brain worked too hard. So basically I need to rest.

The nurses are done checking my condition. The female nurse is pointing at the button that is hanging on the wall.

"If you are having nausea or a headache again, or anything you need from us, you can press that button. Get some rest, and have a good night."

I thanked them and then they left.

I look around to check how many patients in this room and there's no tv in here. I'm adjusting the bed so I can lean on it. It's boring in here. Then I check the desk beside me. My phone is there and I immediately grab it.

Emma messaged me. She told me to message her when I woke up. I sent her a message and in just a second after I sent her the message, she called me.

"Are you okay? How's your head?"

"I'm fine now."

"Trev, you shouldn't be playing for too long. Look at you now."

"Yeah, I never thought that it would be this bad. Oh, by the way, what am I missing today?"

"Oh! You should check the news! I'll send you the video link you now."

My phone vibrates and I put Emma on a loudspeaker. I click the link that Emma sent me. The title of this video is [Kingstar's first appearance on TV].

A gold-haired lady is sitting in front of a tall brown-haired guy. They both are speaking in Germany so I click the subtitles that are provided by the video.

The lady is looking at Kingstar.

"Mister Schneider, we heard about the announcement from the Voice of the World that you and the players from the Aarus Empire's faction failed to retrieve the item that was stolen. What is your statement about it?"

Schneider is resting his elbows on his knees and is clasping his hands in front of his face.

"We don't know who he is and have no clue about him either. We were warned by Seven Diamond and Lothair Ermes, but it was too late for us to prepare. On the night the item got transferred to the Alenbeliard Fortress, he already stole it."

The lady nods and looks at her tablet.

"Is it true, that he was alone?"

Schneider sighs and nods.

"He was, but he was equipped with some kind of equipment that we all have never seen. We believe that the equipment that he used are legendary items."

They continued the interview about the incident for quite a while. It seemed that Kingstar admitted his defeat. Well, even if he has toxic behavior, he admitted his loss and apologized for it. That's what a leader should do and I respected him for that.

The lady then claps her hands.

"Oh, speaking of legendary items. Are you going to join the auction in the Alliance Kingdoms?"

Schneider nods.

"Yes, Queenstar and I will be there for the auction. We have prepared for the auction. It looks like there will be so many competitors in the auction. I heard there will be celebrities and businessmen that are ready to spend millions of dollars for this."

The lady is shocked. Schneider nods and lifts his hand.

"Actually, we are currently in the Alliance Kingdoms territory. The reason why we want to go to the Alliance Kingdoms is..."

Schneider looks at the camera.

"If you are watching. We, the three factions agreed to protect the last item that you are looking for and we will be waiting for you there. You won't be able to steal from us this time."

The lady's mouth is wide open.

The interview ends not long after that. Emma is humming in the background.

"Umm, Trev."

"Hmm?"

"Ivonna asked me to tell you this. She said that she wanted to meet you when you're back. She will be waiting at our base. She has something to say to you."

"I see... Do you know what does she wants from me?"

"I think I know. You're going to steal something from us this time, right?"

I'm not replying to her question. Emma sighs.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Trev? Ivonna has been quiet lately. I think she's worried and has been thinking about this, you know?"

"I see. I will talk to her when I'm back."

Emma is humming with understanding.

"Anyway, call me when you're discharged from the hospital. I will pick you up."

"Okay, thanks, Em."

"No worries. I'll go to sleep now. Good night, Trev."

"Good night."

Emma hung up the phone.

I look at the forum on my phone. So many people were disappointed at Kingstar, not just him, but towards Seven Diamond and Lothair Ermes as well. They were all complaining about it. Some are defending them and some are blindly blaming them. Now, all eyes are on Ivonna. Some of them are threatening her for something she hasn't done. I shake my head with disbelief.

"Complaining even though it is also their responsibility as a player."

I sigh and rub my head. I put down my phone and readjust the bed. I lay down and staring at the ceiling,

"Ivonna wants to see me, huh? What the hell am I suppose to tell her?"

I closed my eyes and fell asleep.