The next morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the faint clink of porcelain in the kitchen downstairs. It was almost peaceful, almost like nothing had happened yesterday night when I did an amazing drift worthy of a viral TickTock video.

Though, I am not free from the wrath of the older sister, sadly.

I sat up and took another glance at the notebook and pen on my desk, which Eirlys personally given me as a part of me being grounded for my mischevious acts. I then sighed and glanced up at the giant sticky note on the wall that said in her own terrifying cursive handwriting:

"100 times, or you're cut."

I didn't know what cut meant in this context, and I am not adventurous enough to find out.

I rubbed my eyes, sat down, and started scratching out the words:

I will not put Hailie in danger.

I will not put Hailie in danger.

I will not put Hailie in danger.

I will not put Hailie in danger.

I will not put Hailie in danger.

I will not put Hailie in danger.

…

By the time I hit number ten, my hand was already cramping and I started flicking it violently. My handwriting had gone from decent cursive to caveman scratches, and most importantly, my brain had started screaming at me that life was too short for this medieval-style detention. What was this, Hogwarts punishment with Umbridge? Except instead of carving scars into my hand, I was carving boredom into my soul, way worse!

So, like any reasonable, chronically-online baddie that gives zero fuck, I shoved the notebook under my pillow, opened up the hatch, swiveled in my seat, and fired up my pod.

Logging into Darkmoon Adventure VR felt like diving into cool water after baking under the sun too long. The loading screen swirled, and when I blinked open my eyes, I wasn't in my stupid grounded room anymore. I was in the game again, and I needed to visit a place…

Beginning City, for some cheap yet surprisingly stat-worthy item, expert mathemagicians claimed. I sniffed in the streets of cobblestone, with fountains spilling clear water, and faint lute music in the distance. The air was cleaner than real life could ever hope to be.

I came prepared this time around, after a few annoying encounters I had with now-dead players. I had bought a little cloak with a hood that shadowed my face, mostly because I didn't want people bothering me with, "Oh em gee, a gurl gemur?! Show tits or gtfo" as if I'm a rare monster spawn. No thanks, I wanted to stroll in peace without attracting some desperate knight wannabe or sugar-daddy wizard… Albeit, the latter sounds not bad.

The city itself felt… quieter, when I first logged in, the streets were swarmed with fresh players stumbling around, their starter swords and staves clinking like cheap toys, and yelling loud rumbling questions that no one could answer.

Now? The majority had moved on, probably off grinding at level 10–20 camps, which, good for them, baby steps, y'know~ Yours truly had long outpaced that crowd ever since day one, currently sitting at level 42, with Hailie trailing behind at 21.

She would catch up, eventually, if she stopped getting distracted by side quests about flowers or injured bunnies. Or have days where she couldn't get online and had to take extra classes.

I pulled my cloak tighter around me and stepped into one of the best shop in the area near the city square.

The place looked nothing like the beginner weapon stalls that lined the fountain, it was way more pronounced and stood out like a sore thumb.

The shopkeeper was a thin man with a curled mustache, his vest buttoned too tight over a belly that spoke of wine and fine roasts. He gave me a look, half respectful, half measuring, before going back to polishing a gleaming breastplate behind the counter

And oh, the shelves, oh lord Mary-ah, the shelves! Rows of armor and weapons lined the walls, each piece practically glowing with polish or enchantment.

There were racks of swords arranged by length and style; curved sabers, broad claymores, slender rapiers that looked like they belonged to nobles dueling over which poets is better even though they didn't read either.

The armor sets were displayed on mannequins: plated chestpieces with gilded edges, leather harnesses reinforced with enchanted stitching, chainmail that shimmered faintly blue as though humming with magic. A rack of cloaks near the back fluttered ever so slightly as if whispering secrets to one another.

It was expensive, like, disgustingly expensive. Most of the armor was priced higher than the average newbie even had in their entire savings. But it was a good thing, I guess, to incentivise players coming back to Beginning City even when they've progresseed, these items were worth it for their prices, fitting for people level 30 and above, these was special.

I trailed my fingers along a mannequin's plated gauntlet (somebody gonna match my freak?) and felt my reflection warping in its shine. It wasn't like the ragtag junk I had been scavenging off monster corpses after selling the ones I got from the Lion's Parade... This was the kind of gear you bought when you were ready to be somebody.

After a few minutes of pretending to "browse casually," while holding back the urge to lick everything on sight, I pulled up my inventory and sighed at the gold count, painful, but manageable… Even after all that grinding, this was still horrible.

In the end, I bought a set of light plate armor, quite sleek, form-fitting, and built for speed rather than brute defense. The metal gleamed faintly silver, the kind of shine that made you look stronger than you actually were.

On top of that, I snagged a cloak for speed stat, its fabric was black but laced with faint crimson stitching that shimmered whenever the light hit it, perfect for making me feel cooler than I was.

Then of course, main course! A new sword, a one-handed blade, well-balanced, its hilt wrapped in dark leather that actually fit comfortably in my grip, unlike my current chipped junker.

I didn't buy a new shield because I'll be leaning towards a more dexterity-focused build.

When I stepped out of the shop, the weight of the armor against my body felt different. It wasn't that heavy, cause good gear never is, it was more reassuring, made any dumbass felt like they're invincible and ready to take on the world.

Oh god, consumerism… I'm so wet right now.

Like the difference between wearing pajamas and wearing a tailored jacket.

I tugged the cloak (the one that hides my face, I meant, I got the speed cloak inside) tight and started wandering the streets again, mulling over my next step.

Let's see what's on the agenda, shall we…

I was still just a Squire, a glorified unpaid intern really, with less perks than Podric. And now that I had both time (thanks, Eirlys, for grounding me) and new gear, I figured it was about time to think forward.

The path to becoming an Apprentice Knight wasn't far, level 45 was the threshold. I was at 42, just like, what, a few hours of grinding? The tricky part was the unlock condition, from what I remembered, on top of hitting level, you had to help ten players in need.

Help… In need.

The system never specified what that even meant, I hadn't got much time to test things out in the VR version, either. Was giving someone a health potion "helping"? Did picking up some dude after he tripped over a slime count? Or did it have to be big, heroic gestures, like saving someone from a dungeon wipe? There was no counter or progress bar for the thrill of progression.

I leaned against a lamppost and sighed under my hood. How the hell was I supposed to eyeball what counted? If I helped nine people but the system only counted three, that would be the most soul-crushing thing ever.

Still, I figured I'd wing it, I'll find some people, toss them a hand, check if anything triggered, I had nothing else to do until Hailie and I get into contact again, anyways. After writing my promise 100 times, I still need to wait a week in solidatary confinement.

Just as I was plotting my day of heroic good deeds, the sky above the city darkened faintly. I looked up to a pulsing red text that cut across the world like a divine proclamation.

[World Announcement]:

A Level 66 Raid Boss has appeared in the forest adjacent to Mok Town.

My heart jumped.

Mok Town? That was only, what, thirty minutes from Beginning City if I sprinted? Practically walking distance.

I felt the thrill shoot up my spine, a raid boss came perfectly when I needed it to be. A chance for chaos, for loot, for glory! And maybe, just maybe, if I played my cards right, if I focus on saving people for a minute or two, that had to count toward my Apprentice Knight unlock, right? Surely.

Grinning under my hood, I tightened the straps on my new cloak, adjusted the sword at my hip, and started running toward the gates of Beginning City, my boots clanged against cobblestones as I weaved past the thinning crowd, every step pumping adrenaline through me.

Mom's Spaghetti.

One thing I wondered though… What kind of boss would that be? Even when I know its level and location, the devs could've just add a random ass enemy like a frog or something and up its stats.

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