Chapter 11

[YUMI'S P.O.V]

I was deep in the woods, seeking edible fruits to nibble on later. There's another reason I'm gathering fruits, and it has something to do with the boys.

After discovering they could contact us via the G.A.M.E.S. Messaging section, Heric started a group chat and added me, Angela, and the other Arkane members.

This happened just when I believed I could relax from their presence in my own home in the real world. As a result of Heric's unnecessary remark about my fruit cake, the members kept acting like toddlers and requesting that I make them one.

Fortunately, Angela kindly offered to help me with housework while I cooked the requested fruit cake.

To be honest, I feel like the mother of 14 children, Heric included, and it's tiring! This experience made me appreciate all mothers; I'm not sure how they manage us without going insane.

After a few minutes of walking in the woods, I collected a handful of berries for my dish.

If you're wondering why I'm not buying fruits from the market when it's much easier, it's because I didn't want to waste my money and instead practiced my hunting skills.

If I may say so myself, it is very useful.

I placed the peaches I had picked inside the basket with the help of my partner, Art. I've grown to like my familiar as I've gotten to know her more.

She assists me whenever I require assistance; her power is nature, and she enjoys expressing herself through art. She is very compassionate and does not pass judgment on others.

She reminded me of a devoted dog. I don't deserve someone as sweet as she is. When I see her being so compassionate, it makes me sad for how humanity has devolved in the real world.

"I think this is enough for now," I remarked as I stuffed the last of the peaches into the basket.

"Would you like me to assist you in the kitchen, master?"

"Thank you; that would be very helpful."

We were headed back home when we heard a horse neighing in distress mixed with screams to our right. The unexpected, jumbled noise made me raise my brows in surprise.

I turned to her, and Art instantly knew what I wanted her to do. She gave a nod and flew towards the disturbance to see what was ahead of us, and I followed her behind.

As Art flew closer to inspect the mess, I crouched behind the woods so these people wouldn't notice me spying on them.

"It's a Pegasus and a baby Fenrir!" she telepathically announced. What she said perplexed me. I knew what a Pegasus was, but a baby Fenrir was foreign to me.

"Danger! The animals are in grave danger!"

I swiftly moved from my hiding location when I noticed five hunters around the unfortunate Pegasus, who was heroically guarding another animal, which I assumed was the baby Fenrir.

The humans had a threatening appearance and a desire for both creatures. One of them threw an arrow at the winged horse, causing it to fall to his knees in anguish while the humans celebrated.

"Keep it up!" they exclaim. It was both diabolical and horrifying to watch.

I gasped in shock and instinctively placed my open hand in front of me, pointing at them. "Tornado!" I yelled as a medium-sized tornado swept away the hunters. Away from the creatures.

Despite the departure of those devil hunters, the Pegasus saw me and felt I was a threat. In anguish, he rose up gingerly, still protecting the injured baby Fenrir.

The scene broke my heart. Even the people here are heinous for harming these harmless creatures. As much as I wanted to leave to prove to them that I wasn't as dangerous as they imagined, I couldn't leave the creature in pain.

I lifted my hands to signify that I wouldn't hurt them, and Art did the same.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," I comforted as I took a step closer, but the Pegasus interpreted it as a daring threat and neighed me down.

If only Joseph had been here, he could have helped me. It would have helped this interaction go more smoothly. Nonetheless, I cannot give up, and I must accomplish this on my own.

"Please calm down; we will not hurt you; we want to help and heal you," I said.

But, of course, the creature failed to understand the message. It was still cautiously standing in front of me. So instead, I tried to think of another way to get the message to him.

It wasn't long until I came up with a strategy, and like a lit light bulb above my head, I remembered a statement that states, 'We all have different ways to help us learn.' With that, I swiftly took mud from the ground and converted it into a knife using my imagination.

Art, who was standing next to me, seemed perplexed. "What are you doing, master?" she questioned.

"I'm trying to convey the message in a different way," I said, then slashed my left forearm after looking right into Pegasus's eyes. The pain caused me to scrunch my nose, and my breathing grew a bit heavier.

The Pegasus and fairy were both taken aback by what I had just done. I kept going as I flung the knife to the ground, deforming its shape as I revealed my free right hand and covered it on top of my wound.

"Heal," I chanted. I exhibited the finished product to the horse once it had healed.

"I want to help you," I said, pointing to my healed wound and then to the arrow in its thigh.

If delivering the message verbally isn't enough, I'm hoping that demonstrating it visually will do the trick.

After a few seconds of waiting for its response, he slowly laid down, allowing me to heal him at last. I exhaled a sigh of relief and approached it to begin mending its wound.

[Author's P.O.V]

It was eleven o'clock in the morning at Houndlet Kingdom. Jaeseong was waiting for someone outside a pub, attempting not to be noticed by that someone by pretending to smoke in order to blend in with the delinquent crowd.

Before this happened, he, Yejoon, and Jiwoo decided to work together on a task while the other members finished their groceries.

The three youngest members were waiting for their older members to accomplish their assignment at a nearby café, chilling and relaxing with some cool drinks and cookies.

"Do you think they'll be able to catch him?" asked Jiho.

"Of course, they're all strong in their own ways, and I'm sure Yejoon Hyung will be threatening the criminal with some kind of gun," Seungjae replied.

Milton spotted Seungjae not eating any of the food he got for them as Jiho took a piece of cookie and ate it. He told him that he got it for everyone and that he shouldn't be hesitant to consume some of it.

"Are you trying to kill me? I'm allergic to sweets in this realm, remember?" remarked the youngster, staring at him in disbelief.

"Sucks to be you," Jiho joked as he continued to eat. This irritated the child, and he averted his gaze, trying to contain his rage.

As much as he enjoys the powers given to him in the game, the fact that he is allergic to sweets, to him, is unfair. He won't be able to consume Yumi's fruit cake because of his weakness.

Even in the café where they were, he couldn't get anything but black coffee. Everything on the menu was either sugary or contained sugar.

As Seungjae sipped his bitter coffee and Milton fixated on his cookies, Jiho exclaimed, "Hey, hey, the criminal is outside!"

To them, it was like watching a live movie of someone fulfilling his task of catching the evil guy.

When Jaeseong saw his target exit the tavern, he pretended to blow his final smoke before dumping it on the ground and putting out the fire as it distorted back into mud.

He proceeded towards the target and behind him, seamlessly and magically tying the target's shadow with his thread without the target realizing. After the deed was completed, he continued to walk away.

When Jaeseong knows that his victim is in danger, he grins proudly. He then employs his illusion ability by having his clone, who was dressed in a detective suit, tap him on the shoulder.

When he did, the target fled for his life, knowing that Jaeseong was on his way to arrest him.

"Oh, he's running away!" Milton exclaimed, intrigued.

While the target was running, you'd think Jaeseong would be chasing after him, but that wasn't the case.

Despite the fact that his target was sprinting away from him, the child strolled calmly in the direction his target went.

The members who were watching were taken aback by the boy's laid-back demeanor.

"Is it just me, or is he starting to get all cocky ever since he got his power in this realm?" Milton wondered.

"Jaeseong Hyung will always be Jaeseong Hyung, no matter which world we are in," Jiho stated.

As the target kept running, Jiwoo suddenly obstructed the target's escape from Jaeseong. To avoid being caught, the target backed up and ran in a different direction.

But this is exactly what these boys wanted, as the victim, who thought he was about to flee, saw twomeow in his way.

The Pakemin attempted to shoot him, but the criminal miraculously dodged all of the shots and survived. This action, however, prompted him to panic, leaving him with no option but to begin climbing the structure next to him.

The lads, on the other hand, anticipated the foolish criminal's moves and had Yejoon surprise him on top of the building with a handgun as a threat to terrify their target.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked, a smug expression on his face.

The target's eyes widened in fear, and he realized he was done for. He couldn't jump because he was so high above the ground, and doing so would be suicide. But he couldn't go any further because Yejoon could shoot him to death with the gun he was holding.

It's a no-win situation. Either course he takes will end in disaster.

Jaeseong had just arrived at the location where his target was stranded. He tightened his grasp on his string and shouted, "You ain't going nowhere," as he pulled the man's shadow down, dragging him to the ground.

A hard, bloody fall was what the culprit expected his death to feel like, but what he felt and landed on was a soft trampoline built by Yejoon.

The trampoline was immediately warped by the musician, allowing the target to fall to the ground. Jaeseong rolled the criminal onto his tummy and handcuffed the target, while Yejoon jumped to the ground, accomplishing their mission successfully.

"That went faster than I expected!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"Good job, twomeow!" exclaimed the gamer before returning the Pakemin to his board.

"Let's go get our rewards!" Jaeseong exclaimed happily as he led them to the Poffice guild.

After a few minutes, the three members returned to the members at the café, who are now with the rest of the members, including Heric.

"Oh, hey! Welcome back!" Joseph said as he waved.

"I heard you three went on a dangerous mission," stated Seongho.

"Jaeseong wanted to earn money, so when he saw that catching a wanted criminal costs a fortune to whoever finds him, he didn't hesitate to bring us into it," Yejoon explained.

"You got your reward?" Minjoon inquired.

"1 diamond coin each, baby!" Jaeseong exclaimed triumphantly as he handed them the coin. It glistened brilliantly in the sunlight, drawing a gasp of awe from the boys.

In the gaming world, that diamond really did cost a lot of money. A diamond costs a million when the money value of this planet is compared to the money value of the earth.

Nickels equal digits, tenths equal bronze, a hundred equals silver, thousands equal gold, and a million equals diamonds.

It is safe to say that the three boys are wealthy in both areas. That is a significant accomplishment in both realms.

"Hyung! Treat us to some food!" joked Yuto.

Everyone cheered at the prospect of receiving free food, but Jaeseong declined right away. He'd be able to treat them someday, but this wasn't the day.

He reminded the boys that Yumi had made the fruit cake that they had requested. Angela was with Yumi, and they were both making a feast for their lunch, according to Heric.

The frowns on Seungjae and Sujin's faces immediately brightened, and their melancholy lifted.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Seungjae as he and Sujin gleefully rushed back to Yumi's cabin, the rest trailing after.