Chapter 25: Trouble, Trouble (Part 2)

"Mass… producing [Rare] weapons?" Juliet's gaze darted between the two men. Was Julian really some kind of famous blacksmith?

"We… we should stop," Juliet took in a small gulp as she realized… she might just be in the presence of a legendary blacksmith.

"Oh… okay," Julian nodded silently, grateful for the excuse to step away from the attention. He looked at Juliet, his eyes softening. "Will you be here tomorrow?"

"T… tomorrow?" Juliet blinked in surprise. "You… you still want to work with me?"

"Yes…?"

"I'll… be here, then?" Juliet awkwardly chuckled, "I'll… I'll clean up here, Sir. You can… you can go with your friend."

"...Sir?" Julian was slightly confused by Juliet's sudden change in demeanor, "Then… I'll see you tomorrow?"

"S…Sword Junkie, wait up!" As Julian left the stall, the stranger quickly followed him.

"Uhm… what do you want?" Julian could really only scratch his chin as he glanced at the stranger, "I'm… actually about to sleep."

"Ah, I know the best inn here! Follow me, Sword Junkie. Follow me!"

"...Right." Julian… well… he was incredibly weirded out as the stranger bowed to him before gesturing to him to follow.

Julian followed the man through the crowded streets of Ethaca until they reached a small inn, and as soon as they stepped inside…the stranger started bombarding him with questions.

"You have no idea how much of a following you're gaining back on Earth, do you!?" the stranger raised his voice.

"What… what are you saying?" Julian's eyes widened as he looked at the other patrons of the diner. And to his surprise, none of them really reacted aside from some curious glance.

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I forgot you were a Newbie," the stranger waved his hand, "This place is owned by a Player, and all of the people here are Players."

"All… of them?" There were probably around 20 of them there—if one would think about it, these were 20 millionaires back on Earth… well, except him.

"What… do you want from me?" Julian did not really think much of it anymore as he wanted to sleep. He promised MEGAN he would only craft a single blade… and it ended up being more. If he doesn't go back to Earth soon, he knew he was in for some proper sermon.

"A collab," the stranger continued to follow Julian even as he went to the counter to pay for a room, "You and I do something together. This will be very beneficial for the both of us. You see, I interview newbies that seem like they have the potential to make it big in—"

"I'm… not really interested," Julian shook his head, trying to avoid the man's persistent chatter. "I'm just doing Otherworld for… fun."

"Why did you turn on your stream, then!?" The stranger wagged his finger, "...Is this the image you want? Mysterious and aloof? Someone's already doing the concept, but if that's what you want, then we can go with that. Women usually dig that, and you're incredibly handsome too—did you pay Humanity Engineering a premium to enhance your clone's looks?"

"What…?" Julian grabbed the key that was handed to him by the innkeep, "I… have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not… interested."

"But think about it!" the stranger persisted. "We could do something huge, you're obviously a very talented blacksmith. And the way you hacked those goblins? You're some kind of soldier, aren't you!?"

"Huh?"

"Were you sponsored by someone, or did you participate in the Otherworld Project with your own money!? I could even help you back on Earth! Set you up with other famous streamers and—"

"Please…" Julian cut him off, raising a hand. "...No. But, thank you for the offer."

The stranger blinked, clearly taken aback by Julian's sudden firmness. "You… you sure?"

"Yes." Julian nodded before heading up the stairs.

"You're going to earn a lot of money!" The stranger raised his voice even further and pointed at his eyes, "Look! I have live chat installed and they are going crazy about you!"

"...Money?" Julian's steps slightly halted. But after a few breaths, he just continued up the stairs. But of course, as someone with keen eyes and someone who has met more players than he could count, the stranger noticed this sudden hesitation.

"Money, huh…" The stranger smiled,

"...My name's Cyrus! I'll… I'll see you in the real world, Sword Junkie. Innkeep! Give me a room too!"

***

Julian was now lying on the bed of the inn. It was hard, but it didn't matter at all. The day had been… intense. And now, it was time to return to his world of darkness.

But before he fell asleep, he whispered, "...[Guidance.]"

[STATUS]

Name: Julian Winters

Class: No Class

Level: 5

Health (HP): 75/80

Mana (MP): ??/??

Stamina (SP): 121/150

Strength: 9

Agility: 14

Vitality: 6

Mana: ?

Perception: 15

Free Points: 6

Skills:

You have no skills yet. Please select a class as soon as possible.

Abilities:

Hyper Instinct - Due to some unknown factor undetected by the [Guidance of Artemis], your senses are highly abnormal. All Skills affected by Perception will have increased effectiveness.

Active Quests:

Master of Shadows

Explore the world to gain more quests.

[End of STATUS]

"Oh, I leveled up…?" Julian blinked, "Is it… from those people I killed?"

He didn't really know what to feel about that. He just killed people, and instead of being punished, he was rewarded with strength instead.

"Huh..." And he wasn't really aware of it, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

This… was slightly exciting, wasn't it?

"Since I always seem to find myself weak and wounded…" Julian whispered to himself, "...Put 3 into Vitality and 3 in Strength?"

"!!!" And once again, his body felt like it was being thrown into a grinder—and without even realizing it, his body shut down, and he drifted into sleep.

***

Julian woke up, blinking as there was once again nothing but darkness in front of him. He was back in his original body. His real body.

He sat up, stretching his arms. And finally, his body wasn't as weak as it had been the last time he woke up, which made sense. He had only been gone for… eleven hours? Maybe less?

Perhaps today was going to be a peaceful day.

[Julian!]

But then, a scream in his mind caused his entire body to almost convulse.

[Julian! You're finally back!] MEGAN's voice echoed through his mind, frantic and desperate. [Julian, something's happened!]

"MEGAN, what's… going on?" Julian immediately grabbed his cane on the side of his bed and stood up.

[It's Ellie!] MEGAN's voice trembled, [A… a hospital called and said she's in the ICU!]

"The… hospital?"

And all of a sudden, Julian's blood ran cold as the words of the Guidance of Artemis echoed in his mind: [Many will suffer.]

Is it possible… that the punishment was also capable of bleeding into his real world? Could Ellie be the one paying the price? His real body did receive his clone's ability... It made sense—after all—if his clone's abilities were mysteriously adapted by his real ability…

...then extending the punishment to his world wouldn't be beyond what the gods of Artemia could do.

Or is this just a coincidence?

"When... when did this happen...?"

[7 hours and 32 minutes ago!]

That was way before he failed the penalty, and even before they reached Ethaca and entered the Tower of Mana.

"MEGAN, which… hospital is it?" Julian tightened his grip on his cane.

[It's the Clevesky General Hospital on Sky Net!] MEGAN's words came out fast, [I already called a taxi for us. ETA: 12 minutes. It has to go around, and there's a traffic jam because of the air control servers—]

"Where's the window?" Julian cut her off, feeling his way to the desk where his face mask should be lying around.

[Huh?] MEGAN sounded confused.

"Point me to the window," Julian quickly secured the mask over half his face again, "We're meeting the taxi halfway."

[...The taxi is still above us, Julian. Between the Below and the Sky Net.]

"Even better…" Julian found the window by feeling the heat radiating from the glass, "Tell it to stay there."

[Wait, you're not planning to…] MEGAN stammered, [Julian, calm down and stop trying to prove to us that you're stupid, we already know. I know I told you about Daredevil and Spider-Man, but—Julian!? Julian…!?]

Without waiting for her to finish, Julian swung the window open, stepping up onto the ledge. The city hummed far below, the busy streets hundreds of feet away. He took a deep breath, attaching his cane to his waist and then twisting slightly to face the building. His fingers… digging and sinking through the concrete like it was foam.

"MEGAN… for both of our sakes," Julian whispered through his mask, "...Don't make a mistake when you tell me where to grab and land."

[Julian... even for you... This—]

But before MEGAN could respond, Julian kicked off the ledge with all his strength. His body explosively shot upward, hugging the wall of the building as he soared higher.

[---is crazy!!!]