Invitation

A ray of light shines upon Adam's face through the window. Slowly, his eyelids move and open awake to a turnoff television and an empty couch beside himself. His ears perk up as he hears the sound of cooking and humming from the kitchen. 'That's probably Rose.' he thinks. He takes his phone on the coffee table and sees some messages from Allen.

"Hey, Adam. What is your level? I see that Carl is already on level 50. I know that you are still the strongest player but I can't even see your name on the level ranking anymore."

"I'm level 10. It has something to do with my level. No worries though. Anyway, can you do a background check on me on these 4 people? One of them is named Clark Pearson. He is Rose's boyfriend. And the other 3 guys are someone I have some beef with.

*Picture*

Not long after Adam sends the messages, a reply is accepted. 

"Woah! What happened to these people? What did they do to get you so pissed off? You don't kill anyone, right? It might be hard for me to get you out of prison right now."

"No worries. It is totally justifiable this time. They did some unsavoury things. I want to know everything about them though. If it is possible, find out if they play Terra too and if so, what is their server?"

"Yeah, sure. Give me a few days though. My father is a little busy these days."

"Alright. Anyway, have you read about the guild creation token? Apparently, some guy in the forum gets it from the class advancement quest."

"I have been trying to get my hand on one. But it is quite hard to get since the only way to get the token is by choosing the hard difficulty and above."

"Hard difficulty? Is there a different difficulty for the class advancement quest?"

"Yeah. There are easy, normal, hard, hardcore and hell. There is nothing special about hard and below except the difficulty. Starting from hardcore, there is an additional condition: if you fail to meet the requirement or die trying, you will not be able to gain a class and can't even try again. There was a guy that tried hell difficulty but no one knows what happened to him. I tried to find him but the best I could find was he is now missing for a few days now."

"Is it possible the guy was recruited by a big company and was hidden away?"

"No. Because people don't even see him in-game. In this time where people are levelling up like crazy, there is no way they allow him to slack off."

A movement appears at the corner of his eyes and Adam sees Rose coming out of the kitchen with 2 plates of pancakes and a maple syrup. 

"Anyway, I'm going to eat now. I will probably not gonna log in today and accompany Rose today. A word of advice though, increase your strength as much as possible. Preferably if it's permanent type and not from equipment."

"Okay. I also need to go now. Tell Rose I said hi. Bye."

"Bye."

As Rose puts the plates onto the coffee table, Adam also puts away his phones. They eat together while talking about the recent event and also their plans for the future. 

After they finish eating, Rose takes the plates and walks towards the kitchen to do the dishes. Suddenly, Adam remembers an important thing he needs to do. He opens his phone and places an order for a new headset for Terra. He wishes to give it to Rose so that she can also play. He has a theory that the reason Rose lost the other day has something to do with the fact that the trio might actually be playing the game. And just like him their physical ability is enhanced thus resulting in them being stronger and faster.

After Rose comes back from the kitchen they hang around watching the television while talking. A few hours pass, when his doorbell rings and Adam stands up to open the door. He opens it and sees a woman dressed in official business attire standing in front of him holding a box.

"Hello. Are you Mr. White?"

"Yes, I am. How may I help you?"

"I am Wanda Mayr, the head manager of HG in this sector. I am here to deliver your order and an invitation letter to our office."

"Invitation?"

"Yes. Our CEO wishes to meet you. He will be here in a few days if you decide to accept the invitation. There is no pressure for you to accept it. Our CEO has already planned to come here anyway even if you don't accept the invitation."

"I see. I will go. I assume the details are in that letter." Adam says while pointing at the letter in Wanda's hand.

"Yes." She replies as she hands both the packaged headset and the letter. Adam receives them and both of them exchange a few more words before she leaves. Adam closes the door and sees that Rose is behind the wall peeking at Adam.

"Who is that? You're girlfriend?" Rose asks giving Adam a teasing smile. Adam replies with an unamused look and says in a flat tone "A sector manager from HG comes to give me an invitation. Also to deliver this." Adam points at the box and hands it to Rose.

"What's this? VR headset? For what? I thought you already bought one?"

"It's for you. I want you to play the game too."

"What? Why? You know I am too busy to play right? I need to go to class and all."

"Let me show you something first." As he says that he moves close to Rose and lifts her up with one hand. Rose kicks and pushes Adam as he handles her like a kid. He then proceeds to move to the couch and lifts it with another hand. Rose suddenly stops moving and just stares at Adam with wide eyes. 

"What? How are you so strong? You don't even look like you go to the gym."

"This is what I want to show you. I am a lot more stronger now. Stronger than a normal human. And I gain this strength just as I start playing Terra."

"Wait. Are you telling me the game makes you stronger? How is that possible?"

"I don't know. But I do know that the game is the one making me stronger. I suspect that the guys from yesterday also played the game. That's why I want you to also play it."

"Are you sure that it is the game that makes you stronger? What if it's something else?"

"I highly doubt there is any other reason. There are also some people who have already noticed the changes in the forum. It is just that there are very few changes, and they are not sure about it."

"Then, how come you are so strong?"

"It's because in-game, I am multiple times stronger than I am now. It is not an exaggeration to say that I am thousands of times stronger than my IRL life."

Rose looks thoughtful as he finishes speaking. She stares at the headset for a moment and takes it from the table.

"Alright. But I am not that good at playing games. How am I going to get better?"

"No worries. I have a few ideas on how to get you stronger. Even if you get the worst skill ever."

Rose just smiles at Adam's words although her eyes show that she is distracted by other thoughts. Adam knows that face but decides to let it be. Sometimes the best way to help someone is to let them be. He will help her with what he can when she asks for it. Meanwhile, Adam sets up the headset for Rose and calls her to her room (previously the guest room). She lays on the bed and Adam turns on the headset.

"What level of immersion should I choose?" 

"I suggest going with the highest one. With that one, you will feel like it is real. One more thing that I need to tell you. Well, a few but once you finish the tutorial, send me a friend request. It should be easy since my name is supposed to be at the top of your list since we know each other in real life."

And with that Rose falls into slumber as her consciousness enters Terra. Adam exits Rose's room, goes to the front door and properly locks it. He also closes all the windows and locks them. He then goes to the kitchen, takes out 2 bottles of water and leaves 1 in Rose's room. He goes to his room and wears the headset. 

It seems like he is playing today after all.