Soru.

"Ah… Haah…" My nails were bloodstained as I dragged myself to my temporary cabin-like room. I slumped down on the bed and looked at the wooden ceiling.

The sky was very dark, which made me finally log out of the game. I have been in the game for a very long duration of time, and the weird thing was that I don't feel hunger.

I hadn't eaten for over a day, and still, it felt like I could stay without eating for longer periods of time.

The translucent holographic screen emerged out of thin air, and I shakily pressed the log-out button.

Then, everything became dark.

…

"Oww!" After waking up from my semi-asleep state, I felt pain all over my body. It felt eerily similar to how I felt inside the game, but now it was way more vivid.

I took off the VR Headset and placed it on the desk. Then, I sat up to see my body. There wasn't any sign of physical damage, but the pain was still very vivid.

"Weird…"

Slam!

Out of nowhere, the door to Liam's room was opened with a loud slam. His sister, Alice Ward, slammed the door open with her pale-looking face.

"Alice?" My brows furrowed as I saw her state. She looked disheveled and extremely shocked.

"Brother…" Alice saw the headset and gulped down her shock, "You should come downstairs…"

"Alright…?" I stood up and followed my sister as we walked down the stairs and reached the living room.

There, my parents looked serious while looking at the news broadcast. Every time they changed channels, the same news station's broadcast was happening.

I sat down on a small wooden chair that creaked under my weight. Then, I began listening, and it didn't take long for my face to show clear disbelief.

The news anchor talked about some fantasy-like things that shouldn't be possible. He spoke about the game itself was able to affect the real world.

The avatar was connected with the real-life body, and it's possible to grow stronger via the avatar.

Everything sounded unreal, and I first shrugged it off as a hoax.

Then, the news anchor talked about the weird sensations. Like, the body didn't feel the same, and sudden spikes in pain came out of nowhere.

After I dropped my gaze, I looked at my nails, which felt like they were peeling off slowly. There was clear pain everywhere in my body, but I didn't know where it came from.

'It's actually real…' Then, there was also some muscle pain. It was like my body had grown stronger overnight.

"Liam…" Iris turned around to look at me, "Is your body… Having any of those symptoms?"

Luke and Alice also turned around to look at me. Their faces showed clear curiosity.

"Yes…" I admitted. The faces of my parents and sister changed. They looked like they were in denial but also wanted to believe.

Everything they had heard past hour seemed ludicrous.

"Then…" Iris bit her nail and came to a conclusion, "We should visit the hospital tomorrow."

"What?! No fucking way!" I shook my head vigorously.

Luke sighed and said, "Apparently, there are scientists that would want to learn more about it. So, everyone who has even the slightest symptoms is encouraged to visit them in any hospital."

"There is no fucking way I would go there as a lab rat." I stood up and stomped out of the living room.

While running upstairs, I heard my parents telling me to reconsider and that the sudden change in my body could be dangerous.

I ignored it all and entered my room. I locked my door there and went back to the bed. Even though the night was arriving, my body didn't feel tired.

It felt energetic, and the pain was slowly seeping out of my body.

"Might as well go back there." I took the headset into my arms and lay down on the bed. Then, I wrapped it around my head and pressed a button on the side.

Then, the helmet again began crackling and letting out weird electric sparks. The black-haired man was oblivious that his body was twitching in agony.

Letters of different languages flashed in the visor, and then, Liam's body stopped twitching as his consciousness was again transferred into the mind of an aspiring marine.

…

"Hmm…" I was preparing for the pain to assault me. But it never came. My body, for some reason, felt very healthy.

I stood up from the bed and was about to reach the door. Then, I saw a newspaper in front of the door, littering the ground.

I picked it up and began to read the first page.

"Search for Monkey D. Luffy had not been progressing…" Again, that name was brought out, and also, reading the name, Monkey D. made me remember Garp, whose surname should have been identical.

"Maybe they are related…" I folded the newspaper and put it below the desk. Then, I left the room.

After reaching the first floor, I heard distinct voices, with one of the rooms bright in the light.

There was a slightly ajar door, which showed several young men and women talking with each other while seated around a table. The room they were in seemed like a small library.

I opened the door slowly and attracted everyone's attention. Among the young men was Dante, the black-haired young man who defeated me in a spar.

He was also the first to greet me, "Yo, Liam, right?"

Other young men and women looked somewhat disinterested at me. They knew that I was weaker than them but also older. The chances of me actually succeeding in Marines could be very questionable.

"Yes," I replied and looked around the library. Then, I found a seat at another smaller table. There was a small shelf next to me with dozens of books, and I grabbed the first one that interested me.

It was a book about something called "Soru," I wasn't sure what it meant, but I opened the first page.

Then, footsteps rang behind me, and Dante got seated next to me with curiosity filling his looks, "Oh, Soru. That's part of Instructor Garp's private collection."

"Private collection?" I frowned and asked, "So, this is his private library or something?"

Dante nodded, "This is his home, after all."

"I see…" My curiosity peaked, and I again concentrated on the pages. But then, other footsteps came behind me, and a cold-looking young woman saw the book I was holding.

"Hmph, you will never learn that." Her brows scrunched up as she saw the book.

I looked at her with a twitching eyebrow.

Dante sighed and said, "Sorry about her. Her name is Ava, and she usually speaks out what she thinks without caring about other people's feelings."

"Oh." After hearing his explanation, I shrugged my shoulders. I don't mind honest people. I would rather be with them than with people that hide something behind their facade.

Ava sat next to another chair and pulled a book from the shelf. Then, she began reading in silence while still curiously glancing at the book Liam was holding.