"Character Development Task?"
Kurose Akira raised an eyebrow. Who would've thought that gifting Loserine a jigsaw puzzle would trigger a hidden quest?
When he looked back at Loserine, he saw the undead knight lift two skeletal fingers, delicately pinching a puzzle piece and beginning to fit it into place.
Yet the skull atop her neck was completely hollow—every single piece seemed to require painstaking deliberation before being set down.
"Hope you have fun~"
Akira removed his VR headset, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
At least now, the guild's wooden table was finally safe. He just hoped Loserine's skull wouldn't explode too soon from overthinking.
After returning to reality, Akira washed up briefly, then crawled into bed and fell asleep.
The next day.
After getting dressed, he headed out the door.
"Sister Ling" was actually named Liu Ling. Her shop was close to Akira's place—a small noodle shop only a few dozen square meters in size.
Since the entire shop was run by Liu Ling alone, she needed to hire a server during busy holiday periods.
Coincidentally, Akira needed money to support himself, and that was how the job began.
Oh, right—Liu Ling had a younger sister named Liu Xue.
She was seven years younger than Liu Ling and the same age as Akira. But for some reason, Liu Ling was reluctant to let Liu Xue help out in the shop.
Apparently, she was worried it might affect her studies?
For Akira, though, that was good news. If Liu Xue worked there, he'd lose his job.
"Sister Ling, I'm here."
Akira walked into a shop called "I Want to See You Once."
It was only six in the morning, yet the place was already packed with customers eating breakfast.
"Akira, you're here!"
A beautiful proprietress wearing an apron emerged from the kitchen, carrying two steaming bowls of plain noodles. The aroma filled the air.
"I'll help you."
"Eat something first. You need energy to work."
"Okay."
…
In the blink of an eye, afternoon arrived.
Liu Ling's noodle shop was usually busiest in the morning and at noon. By mid-afternoon, there were far fewer customers.
As a result, their own lunch was pushed back to four in the afternoon.
"Good work—here! Your favorite seafood noodles!"
Liu Ling placed a steaming bowl of seafood noodles in front of Akira. The rich fragrance alone was enough to make anyone salivate.
Akira thanked her gratefully, picked up his chopsticks, and dug in without hesitation.
After a full day of work, he was starving.
"Slow down. I'll go call Xiao Xue."
Seeing how ravenously he was eating, Liu Ling covered her mouth and laughed, then headed into the back room to call her sister.
Slurping noodles, Akira glanced toward the half-closed door.
From inside came Liu Ling's gentle, slightly husky voice."Xiao Xue, pause your game for now. It's time to eat!"
"Got it."
"Can you take off the headset first?"
"You go eat. I'll be out soon."
"..."
Slurp, slurp—
Akira kept eating while listening to the sisters talk.
Although Liu Ling was only twenty-five, her tone didn't sound like an older sister's—it was more like a mother's.
Even though she wasn't married, she carried a distinct wife-like aura.
That was probably because their parents had died in a car accident a few years earlier, forcing Liu Ling to drop out of school early and shoulder the family's burdens.
Before long, Liu Ling came back out, muttering, "Honestly, Xiao Xue is way too obsessed with games. I really wonder if it'll affect her studies."
"It probably won't," Akira said, gulping down half a bowl of soup. "She's always been top five in the entire school."
Hearing that, Liu Ling visibly relaxed."As long as it doesn't affect her grades, it's fine. She can play however long she wants."
"What game is she playing?" Akira asked curiously.
"Seems like a VR game? Xiao Xue says it's the most incredible game she's ever seen—the visuals are just like real life!" Liu Ling recalled.
"Really?"
Akira couldn't help but feel curious. Could Liu Xue be playing the same game he was?
As the thought crossed his mind, Liu Xue stepped out of the room.
Compared to Liu Ling's gentle, mature charm, Liu Xue felt more like a gamer girl next door.
Her jet-black short hair was a little messy, but it couldn't hide her clear, delicate beauty. While she was nowhere near Ivsha's level, among students she was definitely school-idol material.
"Good afternoon."
She greeted Akira softly and sat down to eat her noodles obediently.
Akira simply nodded in response.
Even though they were classmates, their relationship was honestly pretty average—barely exchanged a few words in an entire week.
"I'll go clean up. You two eat slowly."
After bringing out a plate of side dishes, Liu Ling headed back into the kitchen.
Left alone, Akira and Liu Xue fell into a subtly awkward silence. He could almost feel the air congealing, like a heavy frost settling in, oppressive enough to make it hard to breathe.
Akira took out his phone, casually picked up a piece of crispy fish, and popped it into his mouth—his eyes never leaving the screen.
On the display was a live feed connected to the game world.
Loserine was piecing together Along the River During the Qingming Festival.
Even though she had become undead, losing most of her memories and cognitive ability—her mind completely hollow—her obsessive dedication toward certain things seemed untouched.
Her diamond-bright bone fingers delicately picked up a puzzle piece. After several minutes of deep contemplation, she placed it down.
…Wrong spot.
She picked it back up, swapped in another piece.
Still wrong.
Loserine froze in place, lost in thought.
Pfft—
Akira couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
A little skeleton spacing out?
Judging by the puzzle's current progress, Loserine probably wouldn't feel bored for the next month.
"Akira, can I ask you something?"
Suddenly, Liu Xue's gentle voice reached his ears.
"What is it?"
Akira put his phone down and looked at her with curiosity. She wasn't the type to initiate conversation—she must've run into a real problem.
"Do you know any way to catch mice hiding in dark corners?"
She set down her chopsticks, lifted her head, and looked straight into his eyes with a gaze as clear and bright as spring water.
"Catch mice? You've got rats in the noodle shop?"
"No… it's in a game."
"A game?"
Akira's eyes sharpened.
Could it really be that much of a coincidence?
Had Liu Xue also gotten access to that mysterious game?
"Are you talking about Explosive Rats?"
"How did you know!?"
When Akira said the words "Explosive Rat," Liu Xue's pupils widened in surprise.
Seeing her reaction, Akira immediately understood—he'd just met another player in real life.
With only a hundred thousand closed-beta slots worldwide, he hadn't expected to know someone else playing it.
Maybe this was fate.
And judging by things, Liu Xue's progress seemed a bit slower than his.
That made him a senior now.
"If you want to lure out Explosive Rats, go to the shop and buy a Light Spell Scroll. One scroll only costs two copper coins."
Akira offered advice, thanks to Ivsha's hands-on teaching that had shown him how useful Light spells could be.
"Light spell? Does that really work…?"
Liu Xue's beautiful eyes flickered as she murmured in disbelief.
"Why would I lie to you?"
"I believe you! I just didn't expect you to be playing that game too."
Her gaze shifted, surprise clearly mixed into her expression.
"I didn't expect it either," Akira shrugged.
"Um…"
Liu Xue suddenly looked curious. Lowering her voice, she asked,"Can I ask… what rarity is the adventurer you recruited?"
Her tone was soft, but the anticipation was unmistakable.
After thinking for a moment, Akira answered calmly,"Elite."
"Elite?!"
The moment she heard that, envy spread across her pretty face, admiration flashing in her eyes.
She'd thought recruiting a Rare adventurer—only a three percent chance—already made her incredibly lucky!
And Akira had pulled an Elite, with a one-in-ten-thousand probability?!
What kind of absurdly lucky bastard was this?!
Take this—eat my kick!