Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 60: New Faces

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"Sorry about that, young man. I didn't know I amped up my [Strength Enhancement] skill a bit too much..."

"At least you apologized," I groan as I rub my head in pain. "My [HP] hasn't gone down, but I have a feeling I can feel this outside the game later."

"Hahahaha! I'm glad it's nothing serious. Though I never imagined that just pumping my [Physical Enhancement] would do such wonders when it comes to working through the furnace! It's like when I'm working a bunch of orders in my prime."

Prime? Wait, does he mean that his real age is the same as his avatar? I want to ask him that, but it might offend him.

"Well, we might as well introduce ourselves..."

"No need. I've seen your names in the news lately. Besides, I hope your brother doesn't still have some migraines from me earlier."

"D-Don't worry about it..." I said. "I just need to catch my breath."

"If you say so. The name's <Wallaby> and I'm one of the crafters of [Force Blade] in charge of weapon and armor maintenance. It's nice to meet both of you young heroes, Wind, and little Kazu."

I witness Kazu shaking his hands with Wallaby as I manage to recover from the minor headache and approach them.

"Hear that, Wind? We're heroes!" Kazu excitedly says to me after the handshake.

"I don't know. Being called "heroes" is a bit exaggerated for me. But I'm glad that you're not like the other players who have constantly hounded us."

"I have a belief that it is rude to follow a person in an unhealthy fashion because of those "trends" as you kids call it, so you can try to relax here for a while. Rest assured that the others will ensure you're safe from them."

Huh? Guess my suspicions just turned into respect towards Wallaby.

"So, what's your interest in visiting this facility before the guild dinner?" he asks.

"We're just waiting for Star's cousin to arrive, but we were hoping to use your facilities for a while to restock our expendables until this whole mess has calmed down."

"Plus, we hadn't repaired our weapons since that hidden [Quest] because of our exams. I don't want to break my [Plasma Staff] during another battle. It did so much for both of us back in <Tested Wilds>," Kazu said as he frowned upon staring at his staff.

"I see. If this is important to you two, then you're free to use the crafting stations after dinner. I'll negotiate with the boss about it and see if I can get permission to visit there until then."

"Wait, are you sure about that?!"

"Yeah, we don't want to take advantage of your hospitality because of our unwanted attention problem," I add.

"I understand your concerns, but I don't want you, folks, to die because of lack of equipment. If it all goes well, you might consider as honorary members of the Force."

Honorary members, huh? I can see Kazu has no objections to this and with all that he's said so far, I can say the same without any hesitation.

"Thank you again, Mr. Wallaby."

"Oh, just call me "Ol' Wally". It works well better than my full virtual name. Just make sure you two be careful when trying to do some [Experienced Crafting] things. I heard a kid created a barrage of lightning bolts after finishing his staff. Sure, I like his style. But who in the right mind did so without any testing away from the public without knowing the risks and consequences?"