Luca had just stepped into a space where his surroundings were changing.
In the middle was a river dividing the two boundaries, and Luca saw many players gathered there. Some were heading towards the moss-green river, while others chose to follow the path of the sea-blue river.
What was unusual was that no one was traveling in the middle of the river, the largest one.
Amelie stood in the water of the blue river, facing Luca.
"I found you!"
Luca turned to look at Amelie and Cassian, who were following behind.
"I know you have many questions, but we should go to the 'main platform' first and then figure things out."
Hearing Cassian say that, Luca held him back and asked the questions he had in his mind.
Amelie led the way across the blue water, while Luca followed, with Cassian walking beside him. The water was shallow, only reaching his ankles. It glowed like jewels in this pitch-black space.
Finally, at the end of the river was a waterfall, and Amelie jumped in.
"Let's go."
Cassian said, then grabbed Luca's hand, and all three fell like the others.
When Luca woke up, he found himself in another place, but this time it was nothing short of a Roman amphitheater.
"We've arrived!"
Amelie laughed as Cassian climbed into a spectator seat and sat down.
"The purpose of today is to help you, so…"
Before Cassian could finish speaking, Amelie lunged at Luca and punched him, giving Luca no time to react.
"In short, just hit me!"
Luca understood that his training had begun.
Luca tried to fight back, but all his blows were useless. Amelie dodged them and retaliated with a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to follow, but for a chosen actor like Luca or Cassian, it wasn't impossible to see.
The problem was that Luca's reaction speed couldn't keep up with his own eyesight, and he was being relentlessly attacked by Amelie.
"Luca, I don't mean anything by this, but if you keep acting like this, how are you going to survive in the game or fight those deranged people outside?
Amelie pouted, hands on her hips, watching Luca struggling to breathe, leaning against the corner of the wall, his whole body bruised.
"You hit me too hard!"
Luca groaned while Cassian used tools from his doctor's bag to treat the superficial wounds.
"While strength isn't the deciding factor in the game, you should at least have some self-defense skills."
Cassian slightly corrected Amelie's words while finishing the treatment.
"After the training is over, I'll teach you how to use your powers."
Luca nodded.
"Okay."
After a few hours of fighting…
Luca lay motionless on the floor, and Cassian sighed.
"Amelie, don't you know what it means to hold back?"
"It's not my fault! Lord Orion personally asked me to be Luca's opponent, so I had to do my best!"
Luca lay there, reminiscing about Amelie's final punch.
_____________
Amelie swung her fists repeatedly at Luca, who was trying his best to dodge.
"Hey, what kind of weakling are you? Try fighting back!"
Amelie tried to avoid hitting Luca's vital areas, but she didn't give Luca any chance to retaliate or rest.
"How can you be a girl and be as strong as an elephant?!"
Luca gasped, unconsciously uttering those words.
Amelie just stared blankly, her attacks slowing down unconsciously.
"Like an elephant!?"
Amelie recalled.
_____________
Amelie hugged the box of cookies she'd just bought from the market at a very low price because it was on sale.
"La la la~ I wonder what Lord Orion is up to? I'm sure he'll like my gift!"
As she reached the door, she overheard a conversation near Orion's office.
"Hey, haven't you heard that Lord Orion loves small, weak animals?"
Leon chuckled to Lyse, who was still asleep, oblivious to everything around her.
At that time, the group consisted only of her, Leon, Lyse, and Lord Orion. Elias was only a part-time member, not yet officially a member; it was merely a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Lyse nodded, lost in her sleepwalking.
"I saw him playing with the bird perched on his windowsill, interesting, isn't it?"
Leon burst out laughing while talking to the sleepy Lyse.
Amelie listened as Leon recounted how Orion liked small and cute things, and how she had become less assertive, worn more dresses, and tried to appear cute in order to attract the man who seemed straight out of her stories.
_____________
Back to the present.
Yet Luca dared to compare her to an elephant, and in terms of strength at that… That was an insult!
Amelie mustered all her pure strength and punched Luca straight through the wall.
_____________
That's what happened that led to Luca being treated by Cassian.
"That's enough training for today."
Cassian said while Amelie was still angry about it. Luca gave up.
"Sorry."
Amelie just looked at Luca and sighed.
"I'll let you off this time! If Orion didn't value you, you wouldn't get away with it!"
She walked towards the gate to exit the 'main arena'.
Cassian, after restoring Luca's condition to a basic level, said:
"Okay, we'll start your ability control lesson tomorrow. You need to rest. Also, tomorrow I'll take you to our guild in the game."
"Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome."
Luca also walked out of the 'main arena'. Upon exiting, he returned to the 'backstage'.
Luca decided to take a walk around to see if he could find any more information.
He was about to leave when he stopped, realizing he was in a bit of a hurry, especially since he had a date with Vien. He decided to put that aside and find a way to escape the game.
"Do you need help, newcomer?"
Luca turned around and saw a woman with thick, flowing brown hair and deep blue eyes. She was wearing a light moss-green blouse with delicate puff sleeves and a long, earthy brown skirt with a figure-hugging corset.
Luca found her very familiar but couldn't remember who she was.
"I'm Wendy Johnson, nice to meet you. Just call me Wendy."
"I'm Luca."
Luca replied.
"I want to get out of the game. Do you know how?"
Wendy nodded and approached Luca.
"You have to activate its mark, which is the tool for entering and exiting, as well as your power."
"You just need to think about the place you want to return to."
"Oh… thank you."
"You're welcome."
Luca nodded and immediately thought of the guild's break room in the real world and how he had been transported.
He didn't notice Wendy looking at him strangely and taking out a card from her deck.
"The 'Wheel of Fortune' card reversed? We'll meet again soon."
...….
Luca returned to the break room, his wounds having healed. It wasn't too late now; after all, time inside the game was different from time outside. Time passed much faster inside the game than outside, though Luca didn't know exactly how much.
Getting up and leaving, Luca had finished his training with Amelie for the day. On the way, Luca encountered Seraphine coming out of Orion's office.
"Have a good day, and may the Lord bless you."
After saying that, the girl left with the stack of documents. Although Luca was curious, he didn't want to interfere. He respected her privacy.
Luca exited the museum through the back door, intending to take a walk around while Vien finished work so they could go shopping together. But little did Luca know, Vien was already waiting, drinking coffee on the sidewalk.
"Oh, Luca? You got off work early?"
"Yeah, but Vien, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I handed over all my work to my assistant and was planning to wait for you to finish."
Vien smiled brightly and got up from her seat and walked over to Luca.
"So, shall we go?"
"Yes, let's go."
The two of them strolled through the market, surrounded by vendors, shoppers, and children running around.
"No matter how many times I look at this place, it's still so different from my city."
Vien chuckled as he looked around, and Luca just followed behind like a tail.
"So, where should we go first?"
Vien looked around and then pulled Luca towards a nearby clothing store.
"This store is quite famous; let's go in and try it out?!"
Luca nodded, seeing Vien's excitement.
As soon as they entered, the staff looked at them and welcomed them into the shop. Everything was fine. Vien found several outfits for Luca to try on. They came in various styles, materials, and colors.
"How many more outfits do I need to try on...?"
"And this one too, Luca!"
Vien enthusiastically helped Luca choose outfits. Of course, Luca didn't need that many, but he couldn't refuse.
In the end, after much deliberation, Luca only chose four outfits he liked best. Luca knew Vien would pay, so he didn't say anything and let Vien pay for both.
They went to a few more shops just to buy some supplies or shoes; of course, Vien bought most of it, while Luca almost refused everything. Even though Vien was the one who bought things, Luca still felt pity when he saw the amount of money disappear in front of him.
Luca noticed another strange habit of Vien's when they bought food along the way. Vien invited Luca to a pastry shop to buy pudding, and a moment later he went to buy vinegar and poured it over the pudding, enjoying it with relish.
Luca watched in silence. He wondered if he would dare eat anything like that. He'd rather gnaw on cakes from Mrs. Mary's house than eat such strange things.
"You think it's delicious...?"
"Yes! Do you want to try some?!"
Luca shook his head repeatedly.
"Go ahead and eat; I'm not hungry yet."
Vien just nodded and enjoyed the unique combination he had just created.
After a fun and somewhat chaotic trip to the market with Vien, Luca returned home and, after closing the door, went straight to the sofa and lay down.
"Should I go into the game world to learn more…?"
Luca sighed.
"Never mind, I'll go tomorrow anyway. I need to rest and enjoy myself now."