CHAPTER 280: NOTHING WORTH HAVING COMES EASY [PART 2]

A minute of silence passed before Dim Dim spoke once more.

"Dim Dim," Dim Dim said, still looking at the stars in the sky.

The Dim Sum God’s answer offered no help. It couldn’t tell the young man how the game Endless Leveling Online knew about the future events of the world.

Dim Dim, Lily, and Cupid might be the game’s mascot, but Eriol, the God of Games and the one managing the game, never let them see or know anything about it.

Eriol had simply used his ability to create a simulation similar to future sight and compiled these events in the game that he was making, hoping that someone out there would be able to find the solution to the problems that the world of Arcana was facing.

Yes.

Endless Leveling Online was a game that revolved around the World of Arcana, and the characters that were fated to help protect it from destruction.

Dim Dim made sure to assure Alex that everything he had experienced so far was real, not just part of a dream.

The world of Arcana was real, and the people that lived in it were real people.

They weren’t NPCs, and the Dim Sum God made a point to thank Alex for not treating them like so.

"Dim Dim." Dim Dim turned around and gave Alex the beady-eyed look, which made the young man cough lightly.

"Okay, I admit that I just made up the part about Chuck getting *bleeped* by Princess Xenia." Alex admitted.

Such a thing didn’t happen in the story, and frankly, he didn’t know if Chuck and Princess Xenia’s marriage arrangement had been canceled in the story.

The young man then walked towards the window, picked up Dim Dim, and placed the latter on top of his head.

"You know, I didn’t know how many times I wished to transmigrate to this world and become a Protagonist," Alex said softly. "But now that I’m here, I understand that it’s not a trouble-free world. The Heroes and Heroines are living their lives to the fullest, not knowing what they will face in the future.

"There are many times when I feel like I should just enjoy my life and not worry about the problems in the future. But deep inside, I know it’s impossible for me to do that. As long as I am here in Frieden Academy, I will get involved in dangerous situations whether I like it or not."

"Dim." Dim Dim nodded.

"But you know what, Dim Dim?" Alex smiled faintly. "I don’t regret saving Charles. I don’t regret saving Vaan. And I don’t regret giving Eris the medicine that will cure her sickness."

Dim Dim smiled faintly and listened to the young man’s recollection.

"I don’t regret being sent to this world. It’s just that... the process of how you guys sent me here was... traumatizing."

Dim Dim giggled after hearing Alex’s complaint about being sent to Arcana through a cannon.

"I want to live a great life," Alex said softly. "And die a great death. That is what I believe in the past, and even now, that is still my belief. But in order to get that ending, I need to work hard, right?"

Dim Dim’s usual playful tone faded, his voice soft but steady. "Dim Dim."

"You’re right, Dim Dim." Alex agreed. "Nothing worth having comes easy."

The little bun looked out the window at the stars. "The road will burn your feet... the climb will scrape your hands... but when you hold it in the end, you’ll know it was worth every step."

Alex blinked once then twice before picking up the little bun in his head.

"Since when did you learn to speak long sentences?" Alex asked.

"Dim?" Dim Dim blinked innocently.

"You’re still denying it huh?" Alex lightly squeezed the little bun’s cheeks, making the little bun wiggle from his hands, trying its best to escape.

Truth be told, Alex didn’t know if Dim Dim was just saying "Dim" or speaking in sentences because he always understood what it was saying.

In the end, he stopped squishing its squishy cheeks and placed it on the windowsill, the two of them both looking at the stars in the sky.

Stars that were very different from the stars that were seen from Earth.

"Hey, Dim Dim, at the end of this journey, I pray for everyone to live a happy ending," Alex said.

Till now, he hoped that Kael and Princess Yvraine really got the happy ending they deserved as both of them rose up to become part of the stars in the sky.

"Dim." Dim Dim also wished the same.

It also hoped that the young man who had been sent into its world would be happy and get the ending he wished for.

But like it mentioned earlier, nothing worth having comes easy.

Life would not always have sunshine and rainbows.

There would be storms and cloudy days when you feel like everyone and everything were against you.

Days when you feel that everything you do was wrong, and nothing you do would change it.

There were many people who suffer everyday for many different reasons.

But that was what life was all about.

Only by experiencing hardship would you feel the sweet taste of success.

Only by experiencing hunger would you appreciate how great it was to be full.

Truth be told, Dim Dim wanted Alex to be a little selfish.

Since the day that he was sent to the world of Arcana, the young man always had a goal in mind.

His first goal was to help Charles Lambert reunite with his family.

His second goal was to save Vaan from his pitiful fate.

As for his third goal? Dim Dim didn’t know about it.

But it could vaguely feel that Alex understood that in order to achieve that goal, he needed to be strong enough to reach it.

It was the God of Arcana, but it had lost most of its Divinity when it created the world.

Dim Dim was powerful and powerless at the same time.

Gods were said to be omnipotent and omniscient.

But was that really the case?

Dim Dim wasn’t omnipotent nor omniscient.

And frankly, it also believed that none of the Gods in the Temple of the Gods were like that.

They might be strong, and some were indeed extremely strong—more than most Gods.

But even they couldn’t possibly know everything about the world.

Even Eriol, who had created countless simulations and had compiled these events in the game of ELO, still wished for others to look for endless possibilities.

He encouraged people to find different endings.

Allowing diversity to flow into the world, proving that there was such a thing as "Free Will".

And he chose Alex because he was the only one who managed to change the fate of Charles Lambert.

A pitiful person who wasn’t supposed to be in the academy with him right now.

"Let’s go to sleep, Dim Dim," Alex lightly patted the little bun’s head. "Tomorrow is another day."

"Dim!" Dim Dim smiled and jumped towards Alex’s bed, and tumbled on the bed sheets while giggling.

Chuck wasn’t in the room because he said that he was working on something and had holed up in the laboratory of the clock tower.

Ever since he returned from the Heracle Mountains, the teenage boy had matured a bit.

But he also acquired a new quirk, which made Alex scratch his head from time to time.

The teenage boy had also gotten into a lot of trouble in the past few days because of this new quirk of his, which Alex believed was still stuck with him after accomplishing the trial in the Heracle Mountains.

In fact, it wasn’t only Chuck.

A few of his members still hadn’t broken free from the roles that they had played, which definitely had touched their lives... for better or for worse.