Good Food

Cinder looked at the plate of steak, fried vegetables, and potatoes like he could taste it with his eyes. It was, in essence, a simple meal. It was more luxurious than anything he had eaten in years. It was just a meal inside a game, but without realistic it was, Cinder didn't mind comparing it to reality.

Bruno just nodded for him to dig in if he was so hungry.

Cinder did exactly that, With rough movements, he cut the meat, potatoes, and vegetables into tiny pieces, stabbing one of each with his fork and putting them all in his mouth at once. Cinder closed his eyes and savored the savory, rich, sweet, and filling taste of delicious food.

Tears welled up in his eyes as the food on his plate disappeared one tiny piece at a time.

'I have to show Mom this…!' Cinder swore to himself.

***

After dinner, Cinder wandered around Rata, taking his time while enjoying the view and the fresh air before depositing most of his Tokens in the Sisyphus Online Open Market terminal. He didn't convert them yet, though, since he wasn't done for the night.

It was getting late, but Bruno had served an early dinner, and there were still a few hours left of sunlight. He could hunt another boar or two before calling it for the night.

Kode logged in and joined him before he could leave the village. Together, they turned the one or two boars Cinder had planned on hunting into five, getting a total of twenty-five Tokens from them. They split it evenly with Kode getting the odd Token out.

With the sixty Tokens from the deer, Cinder had earned over seventy Tokens in a single day. The Naturalist bonus on a few of them was reduced, but the majority still had the bonus intact.

He converted all of his Tokens into a total of thirty-one dollars. It was a little less than he would have liked, but it was a lot of money for playing a game. Cinder almost couldn't believe it. That was even after he had paid the fee for the capsule.

Still, it had only been because he had been lucky enough to find a deer that not only had wandered down from above but also carried a cursed item that weakened it enough for him to kill. It would be hard to repeat such a fortuitous encounter.

That meant he had to go to work tomorrow. But tonight, he was celebrating with a dinner not quite as fancy as the one Bruno had shared with him. There was no meat or vegetables, but there were several potatoes, and after shredding them, he added a dab of oil when frying them.

Violyn hadn't left the apartment due to her fractured ankle, but she had managed to make a call and have a self-employed friend give her something to do. She had assembled handmade jewelry for her friend's online store during the day.

Cinder thought she should get as much rest as possible now that she was injured, but he knew his mom. She would go crazy if she didn't have anything to do. So, he didn't press the issue.

Instead, he talked about how great Sisyphus Online was and how one didn't even have to be a gamer to play or enjoy it, subtly hinting to his mother that there might be something else she could do while waiting for her leg to heal.

Violyn picked up on his not-so-subtle subtle hints.

On his next day off. On that day, she could accompany him to the T-Minus 20 place and try out Sisyphus Online.

That was one week and one day away. Cinder didn't mind. By then, he might be able to more reliably provide her with a good meal, even if it's just in the game. He wanted his mom to be able to taste good food again regardless of virtual or real reality.

Cinder slept more easily than he thought he would since his mind was so active, and he went to the construction site early the next morning, energetic and excited for the day to be over so that he could stop by T-Minus 20 in the evening and get a quick session in with Kode.

While working, slinging bags of cement mix, shoveling sand, and wheelbarrowing rocks, Cinder kept thinking about how he could make enough money to quit his job.

He might be getting a little ahead of himself, but it was definitely a possibility to play Sisyphus Online instead of working on the construction site to make a living. He was thankful and all to the boss and the other guys who had helped him out for several years now. Without them, he never would have gotten this far.

But construction work was hard labor. It also didn't feel as great as playing Sisyphus Online. 

The excitement from fighting the monsters, almost dying, and improving with each mistake was addictive.

The method of earning money was also so simple. Gather Tokens, exchange Tokens for money. Done.

Working a jog was a whole process of clocking in, working, working, and working for two weeks before getting his wage. Sometimes, he got the money in his bank account. Other times, it was an envelope with cash. Occasionally, it was a mix of both.

It was reliable in that he would get money as long as he had the hours. But what if something happened in those two weeks and his puny savings ran dry? He would have to live on rats and bedbugs.

With Sisyphus Online, he could work like a beast for an entire day straight and just kill eight boars, which would get him twenty Tokens right now if he was lucky. That was less than ten dollars if he didn't have to use any of them on clothes or equipment.

But on the other hand, he could make thirty bucks in one quick strike if he was lucky. If he was even luckier, he could make over two hundred by earning five hundred Tokens in one day like his buddy Brett had done.

'Ah, I have to thank him.' Cinder clocked out, tired but excited.