CHAPTER 22: PLANS AND VISITORS

The sun peeked lazily through the huge glass windows of Nick’s luxury bedroom.

Nick groaned into his pillow.

"Hnn, five more minutes..."

PING.

[ⓘ Sunrise: 06:03 AM. Circadian rhythm recommends waking now.]

Nick threw the pillow at the hologram.

"Let me be a depressed dark fantasy protagonist for ONE morning, please."

But he eventually sat up as his hair stuck everywhere like a scared hedgehog.

He rubbed his face.

"Ugh... okay. Start the day. Positive mindset. Don’t freak out. Don’t panic about Merlin. Don’t think about the fact that time is still running over there. Don’t—"

He stopped.

"I’m thinking about it..." (ᵕ—_—)

He dragged himself to the sink like a zombie.

He squeezed toothpaste onto the brush with the energy of a dying grandpa.

After some deep breaths he started brushing his teeth.

"Brushing teeth... is pain..."

He muttered as he brushed in slow circles.

[ⓘ Oral hygiene is important for future kiss scenarios!]

Nick stared at his reflection in the mirror.

"Sure, but I’m not getting lucky anytime soon."

He stared at himself in the mirror.

"I wonder what kissing Merlin would feel like..."

He spat, rinsed, and wiped his mouth with a towel twice the size of his entire torso.

He quickly changed into joggers and a tee.

Next, he stretched his arms.

"Jogging time. Let’s try normal life."

He opened the front door and stepped out—

Only for his soul to freeze.

A smiling Nadine was also jogging down the street at a steady pace.

Just watching her work out was extremely distracting.

Her hair was yanked up in this wild, messy bun that kept slipping loose.

That tight sports bra and tiny short shorts hugged every curve so Nick couldn’t miss the way her plump ass popped out and jiggled with each pounding step she took.

Her nipples were so strained by the intense run they got hard enough to poke right through the fabric.

If you looked closer you’d see there were thick patches of sweat from said nipples.

Sweat poured down her body.

Every part of her was slippery... from behind her ears to the soft flesh of her thick inner thighs.

"Morning!"

She called, waving like they were old friends.

『WHY. IS. SHE. HERE. AGAIN.』 (◉⌓◉)

Nick forced a smile.

"Mo-, Morning."

They jogged side by side.

For exactly three seconds.

"Are you stalking me?" Nick blurted.

Nadine almost tripped.

"EXCUSE me?"

She glared looking half-guilty, half-offended.

"I live here, sunshine." ( ˘ ^˘ )=3

"I mean, yeah, but you keep... showing up."

She snorted.

"Yo, what’s your problem, man. I’m a runner. This is my friggin’ ROUTE. Why are YOU out here? Trying to impress the neighbor ladies with your morning glow?"

Nick blinked.

"Do I glow?"

"Unfortunately..."

She hated the fact she immediately answered that.

Nick puffed out his cheeks to exhale more efficiently.

"And I wasn’t trying to impress anyone."

He gestured to his current activity.

"I’m just jogging."

Nadine smirked.

『Liar. He’s totally trying to act aloof. Cute bastard.』

Nick groaned like an old man internally.

『She really thinks I’m trying to hit on her. Sigh~ I’ll just avoid eye contact. Look at that tree.』

Nick pointed ahead.

"That’s a nice tree."

Nadine stared.

"Are you okay...?"

"Totally fine."

They jogged in silence for a moment.

Nadine stole a casual glance at his sweaty chest.

『Damn... he’s really fit... is this what he looked like under that hoodie yesterday!?』

Nick stole a glance at her.

『Please don’t notice me noticing you I’m just looking at the... THE ROAD YES THE ROAD.』

But she couldn’t hide the slutty smile on her face.

"So~ what’s the plan today? Oooo, I’ll help you... more rude comments? Ignoring beautiful girls~?"

She tapped her chin ignorantly.

"Oh, you already did that!"

Nick exhaled sharply.

He knew he was in trouble either way.

"I wasn’t ignoring you, okay? I just want privacy."

Nadine scoffed.

"Yeah, and I want tax exemption, free latte forever, and Sue to stop threatening to bite me when I steal her fries. Life is full of disappointments."

"You two bite each other?" (¬_¬ᵕ)

"Not the point."

Nick turned up his pace.

Nadine narrowed her eyes and sped up too.

But Nick naturally outran her.

"Wait—HEY—slow—DOWN—!" ˶ˊᜊˋ˶

Her breath became choppy.

"Are you—jogging—or—RUNNING FROM DEATH!?"

Nick looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry. Are you good—?"

"NO—! Oh my god I’m gonna die—"

She slowed to a limp jog.

Nick jogged back and offered a thumbs-up.

"You should drink more water."

"SHUT UP!" she wheezed.

–

–

–

A few hours later, Nick was back from his jog.

But he felt a weird presence around him.

"Hm?"

He looked across the street.

On the third-floor window of the Fox residence.

The curtains twitched then stilled suspiciously.

As if someone had held them in place.

Nick narrowed his eyes.

『Is someone... spying on me?』

Behind the curtain—

Nadine panicked with binoculars in her hands.

"OMG HE SAW ME! HE DEFINITELY SAW ME!"

She slapped a hand over her face.

"SUSAN WHAT DO I DO!?"

Susan lay on the couch, scrolling her phone lazily.

"Mm. Ignore him."

"I CAN’T IGNORE HIM."

"You should."

"He’s weird!"

"So... forget him."

Nadine whipped around dramatically.

"I CAN’T FORGET HIM. I need to SCORE him."

She tapped her temple with two fingers as her own way of telling Susan to lock in.

"There is a DIFFERENCE."

Susan sighed like a retired war veteran.

"You literally said yesterday he was rude and shit."

"He was. But also... interesting." (¬////¬)

"And?"

"And—shut up." (˶﹏˶ᵕ )

Susan looked back at the ceiling.

Nadine huffed and peered through the binoculars again.

"Ugh—look at him. Carrying ALL that sweat. What is he even doing with his life? Does he have friends? Is he some kinda gym bro maybe? Or is he gonna binge-watch dramas while stuffing his face with those creatine nonsense? Is he gonna do that ALONE? Is he just gonna—"

Susan didn’t hear a single word.

Her mind was elsewhere entirely.

『Nick... where are you?』

She stared at her phone.

At the long, LONG list of texts she’d sent him last night.

[Where are you? Are you safe?]

[Call me, please.]

[Seriously, where did you go?]

[Did I say something wrong? Nick?]

The unread marks glared back at her like cold knives.

She scrolled up.

Her boyfriend Jace had sent her ten messages.

She ignored all of them.

『Why am I like this...?』

She pressed her palm to her forehead.

『It’s weird. I know it’s weird. We’re childhood friends. Not siblings... not a couple... so why do I always get so... controlling? Why do I care so much?』

She clenched her phone gently.

『Why does he always disappear when I’m worried?』

Suddenly—

"AHHH—!"

Nadine’s small scream echoed.

Susan snapped out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"He—he closed his blinds!"

She slapped her forehead repeatedly.

"HE SAW ME! I KNOW HE SAW ME!"

Susan rolled her eyes.

"Then stop spying on him." (¬､¬)

══════

On his way to the kitchen, Nick stopped by the hallway where the massive VR pod sat.

He knew how much of a hassle it was to get a moving company to bring it to his new place.

But he also knew it deserved its own space.

Mainly to avoid his mom or stepdad storming in to yank the plug out without any warning.

『Jeez... that would be catastrophic...』

He placed a hand on it softly.

"Merlin..."

He pressed the panel.

[ⓘ ACCESS DENIED!]

Nick sighed heavily.

"Still suspended, huh..."

He rested his forehead against the pod.

"I hope she isn’t lonely..."

He took a sulking breath and walked away.

══════

A little later.

Nick stood in his living room, hands on hips.

"Alright... potioneering time."

He exhaled.

Then he swiped his index finger through the air like there was a screen in front of him.

A blue info panel flashed open in front of him.

[ⓘ Inventory Panel: OPEN]

His eye twitched.

"Holy crap. It really looks like the game."

Pixel icons.

Segmented tabs.

Cute chibi versions of ingredients in the corner.

Nick leaned closer.

"This is exactly the same UI. Down to the stupid corner slime wearing a chef hat."

He pressed two items.

[Ding! You’ve equipped a B-grade Potioneering Kit!]

[Ding! You’ve equipped an Elven Potioneering Tome!]

Both icons glowed—FWOOOM

They brightly materialized out of thin air and landed softly on the carpet.

Nick clapped once.

"Oh that’s so cool."

He crouched.

The potioneering kit unfolded itself automatically like a very fancy toolbox.

A full info panel appeared:

«B-grade Potioneering Kit»

‣ Quality: B

‣ Origin: Saafron Imperial Academy of Magic

‣ Type: Practical Alchemy Set

‣ Contents:

• Precision Glass Cauldron (Self-heating, 7 levels)

• Mortar & Pestle (Noise reduction enchantment)

• Stabilization Spoon (Prevents accidental explosions... 68% of the time)

• Triple-filter Funnel

• Mana Weighing Scale

• Adjustable Crystal Burner

• 12 Potion Vials (heat-resistant, drop-resistant)

• Herb Press

• Powder Sifter

• Emergency Fireproof Gloves

All items arranged themselves neatly across his living room floor like a merchant display.

"Whoa..."

Nick muttered, eyes wide.

"This is... better than my school lab."

He picked up the «Elven Potioneering Tome» next.

The leather was soft.

Another info panel appeared:

«Elven Potioneering Tome»

‣ Grade: Rare

‣ Difficulty: Intermediate → Advanced

‣ Contains:

• 143 potion recipes

• 51 elixir recipes

• 38 pill formulations

• 10 forbidden formulas

Nick opened it.

His mouth fell open.

"This stuff looks... amazing."

He flipped pages rapidly.

"Half of these don’t even need rare ingredients...?"

He was smiling like a little boy with a new toy.

"And they still produce mid-tier potions?"

He blinked.

"They even found a way to use less ingredients to brew elixirs of high quality? Like the Lesser Spirit Vision Elixir only requires some grams of rosemary, clean water, and crushed lunar petals? That’s it?"

He flipped again.

"A Mild Mana Circulation Enhancer with only common herbs and one mana crystal shard? Bro..."

He kept flipping.

Then he actually choked.

"WHY do all these have a 12% success rate!?"

He smacked the page.

"Of course... of course it can’t be easy."

He rolled his eyes.

"God forbid I succeed at something."

He rubbed his face.

"Okay... I’m not a good alchemist. But I gotta try."

He snapped the kit open with determination.

He strapped on the apron.

He tightened the gloves.

He fastened the belt of tools like a fantasy barista.

"Alright... I am READY."

He raised his hand.

"System—can you transport all the ingredients in my inventory here?"

A tone rang.

[ⓘ AFFIRMATIVE. STAND BY.]

Nick raised a brow.

THUD!!

The entire house shook as enormous wooden crates dropped from the air one after another.

Nick jumped back.

"DUDE! WARN ME!"

Dust swirled.

He coughed and pried open the first crate.

Inside—

Shimmering ingredients sat beautifully in rows.

Panels popped up for each item as he touched them.

Nick nodded like a chemist.

"Good for stabilizing mana mixtures."

He reached into another crate.

"Ooooh, an Azure Slime Core Fragment..."

"These are great for texture!"

Next crate.

Nick grinned pleasantly.

He was surprised he hauled this much ingredients.

Actually, a lot of them were from Merlin’s garden.

"Oh hell yes."

Another crate.

Nick held one petal like a sacred treasure.

"These are supposed to be rare in-game. How does Merlin have so many?"

He opened more crates, muttering the whole time.

"Okay good for enhancement potions..."

"Useful... trash... expensive..."

"Oh damn look at that glow—"

He tied his apron again, pulled a face mask over his nose, and cracked his knuckles.

"Alright. Time to—"

FLASH—!!!

A blinding white light shot through the windows.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

Nick sprinted toward the backyard.

══════

Across the street.

Still holding binoculars like a military scout, Nadine took a few steps back in shock.

"WHAT WAS THAT!? I— I just saw a BRIGHT LIGHT come from his backyard!"

Susan didn’t look up.

"Not our business."

"IT WAS LIKE HE SUMMONED SOMETHING."

"Not. Our. Business."

Nadine zoomed the binoculars further.

"BUT—BUT—"

Susan texted Jace.

[I’m worried about Nick.]

Jace replied instantly.

[I don’t know what to tell you. He probably just got tired of school and left.]

Susan rolled her eyes.

"That’s not like him... hopefully..."

══════

Back to Nick—

He burst into the backyard with a stick in hand.

The grass was scorched in a perfect circle.

And lying motionless at the center was a woman.

A knight.

A very beautiful one. She looked European.

Long black hair spilled across the grass like silk ink.

Her armor was rough, dirtied, scorched at the edges.

A tattered red scarf hung from her shoulder.

Nick froze.

"What the... are you a drunk cosplayer?"

No response.

He poked her breastplate with the stick.

Tink──tink!

"That... feels real. Holy crap. Is she from one of those super weird... orgy cosplay parties the estate warned me about...? She must be committed to the role."

He sighed.

"Well... I would be insane to leave a dehydrated LARP enjoyer in the sun."

He bent down and slid an arm underneath her.

『She’s quite small too.』

If she was any smaller she’d be a real life chibi lady.

He lifted her.

Her body was warm. Surprisingly light.

Her scent was faintly metallic and sweet.

Then—

Her eyes opened.

Deep. Crimson. Clear as gemstones.

Nick’s breath caught.

His knees almost buckled.

"O... oh— damn. Those are not contact lenses—"

She stared at him in confusion.

A blue panel appeared instantly beside her face.

[ⓘ UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL DETECTED]

Initiating Scan...

[STATUS REVEALED!]

[Name: Knight Commander Melis Varn]

[Level: 56]

[Race: Enhanced Human]

[Rank: A-Class Spellblade]

[Title: Royal Commander of the Sixth Order]

[HP: 1,000 / 18,850]

[MP: 6,500]

‣ Affiliation: Data Lost

‣ Attribute: [Fire Magic] [Shade Magic] [Barrier Magic]

‣ Skills: [Sword Mastery] [Battle Aura] [Magic Sense] [Blade Resonance] [Accelerator]

‣ Personality: Stoic, noble, surprisingly naive, stubborn yet capable of change, loyal and protective

Nick stared at the panel.

Then at her.

Then at the panel.

"Fuck..."