I gasped in exhaustion as I hid under the row of desks. I couldn't keep this up for much longer. If only I hadn't gotten so careless, this wouldn't have happened in the first place! Regardless, there were only a few steps until the exit. Just a bit more and I'd be home...
"Hey, I got the cook!"
I froze as I heard a man's voice. In fact, I felt as though my whole body was literally floating in mid-air. It wasn't until the table above me is gone. I looked up and saw a man wearing armor grinning from ear to ear carrying me under his left arm like a log. Not only that, I saw several people standing in front of us with some hunters carrying a bunch of ingredients in their hands. Then a realization struck me: I was completely trapped with no way to escape this. All I can do now is to scream in horror.
"Hey, when will you start cooking that awesome rabbit steak of yours?!"
"Come on, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!"
"Don't keep it all to yourself, kid! We just want a taste of it!"
"Can you at least tell us the recipe so we can make our own?"
I groaned in frustration as more players demanded that I cook my rabbit steak. Ever since I cooked that [Gourmet Spiced Rabbit Herb Steak], everyone kept hounding me to cook more of it for them. But the main reason I even used this skill at all was to train myself and gain literal [EXP] for it for future situations. Even if I could accept their requests, I didn't have time to do all of them. At this rate, I was going to be trapped in the game and I might be late for tomorrow's class. How in the world was I going to get out of this?!
"Wind, where are you? We need to log out and go to bed right now!"
My eyes widened as soon as I heard that familiar voice. Turning around, I saw Kaz coming down the stairs. He saw what was happening to me. "Umm... What's going on here? Did you get invited to some sort of quest or event? I thought you said you want to log out so we can sleep early today."
I just frowned in response. "Do you think I want to join these guys for quest?! You have to help me out here, Kaz!"
However, Kaz just stared at me and the people swarming around me. I guess he was too focused on his [Alchemy] crafting that he didn't notice my disappearance. Then again, I couldn't blame him for his obliviousness. "Okay? I guess I can help you out there for a bit."
Unfortunately for me, most of the players didn't seem to be very keen on my pleas they began to frown and glare at my brother for some reason. As he tried to approach me, the armored players blocked his path. It seems that they were not letting me go without a fight. I watched as a woman in a witch outfit approached Kaz. "Who asked you to interfere, Lame-signis? Can't you see he's busy taking our orders for a moment?"
"I didn't agree with them at all!" I screamed as I struggled to get out of the armored player's grip from me.
"But we really need to go now, miss. We have school tomorrow and we have to get there early." I mentally slapped myself in the face as I heard his answer. Taking their expressions and reactions into account, I knew they weren't gonna let me go with just that reasoning.
"Who told you all of that? Your mommy?," the man in a leather clothing and scarf snarked as he approached Kaz and glared at him. "Look, most of the chefs we know are really busy with other players and we really need some food for our next set of quests. So we're going to borrow him a bit..."
As I continued to struggle, I noticed that Kaz was starting to back away from the older players, at which I guessed he was intimidated by their glares. Yet, he just stepped forward and narrowed his eyes towards the players. "No, you're not! If we don't log off right now, we will be late for school and our mom will kill us."
"And are you aware you're bothering us? Sorry, kiddo, but if you really want to log off right now, then why don't you do so right now?"
"But we need to log out together! Wind is my brother and my [Guardian Player]!"
Yikes... After he said that, Kaz just slightly backed away again from the players. At this rate, I knew Kaz wouldn't able to deal with these bozos any longer. I had no choice but to step in. But just before I could speak out, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"That's enough. You heard the kid, that guy is not only his [Guardian Player], but they are on crunch time right now." A young platinum blonde-haired man in a black leather coat, white dress shirt, grey vest, and dark blue tie approached us with his narrow green eyes. What was interesting about this stranger is that he belonged to the [Elf] race, which I could tell from his pointy ears. "Every player has a life outside this game, and you're harassing these two just so you can get what you want. As a player, you need to be respectful of their decision, their real-life situations, and their privacy. And right now, you're being absolutely disrespectful of that. Besides, isn't the role of a [Guardian Player] supposed to be that he has to keep an eye on underage players like this young man here?"
Once the [Elf] player finished his ramble, the players swarming around me became silent as they looked at each other for a few seconds. After that, the armored player that was restraining me releases me, dropping me unceremoniously to the floor. I wanted to scold him for mishandling me as he had, but he along with the other players just quickly left the scene. Regardless, I sigh in relief as Kaz ran up to me and help me back on my feet. As he did so, I turned around to see the [Elf] player. "Thanks for defending me out, sir. Though, do I know you from somewhere?"
The player just smiled at me and crossed his arms as he walked up to us. "I guess I don't need to act as a so-called knight as Zac does to you. Though I want to avoid my privacy being leaked, so I guess I should cut to the chase." The player then bows at me and says, "My name is Razul, but I feel you already know me as Damon in real life."
Of course. Unlike before, I was not surprised to see Damon in <Isekai>. Though it has must have something to do with Zac pestering him to join the game so we can party together some. He even told Damon about my involvement with the game and how he helped us in finishing our first <Quest> together. I must admit, Zac can be a good friend, but he really needs to prioritize some space and schedule for others' sake. "Nice to see that you joined the game in your own volition. But how in the world did you get the game in the first place? We've stopped Zac from spending his allowance on a second copy whenever we pass through the game store."
Damon, or should I say <Razul>, sighs in response. "Turns out, my brother bought two copies of <Isekai> thanks to a flash sale. I guess he wants me to take a break of all the studying I've been doing."
"Considering how you always have to leave early after school, I think you really deserve it." He does have a point. Damon might be the logical friend of the group, but he can be a bit oblivious when it comes to socializing and relationships. "But still, what's with the whole get-up? I thought [Elves] were supposed to be magic casters or archers."
"That's true. But I found this skill called [Marksmanship] while I was creating my character. To be honest, the thought of having guns in a fantasy game is far-fetched, but then again..." Razul then took something out of his coat, revealing a strange pistol-like weapon that had a gem attached to the side of the barrel. "I guess everything is possible in this game."
Before I could say something about the weapon, Kaz suddenly approached him as his eyes perk up at the sight of it. "That's a [Mana Pistol]! According to the wiki, it's supposed to be one of the revolutionary weapons created by the <Insignis> race. I never imagined you or anyone could get it as your first weapon in the game!"
Revolutionary? Now that I thought about it, what kind of race were these <Insignis> people anyway? I find it hard to believe how useless Kaz's race seemed to the other players' eyes. "Well, I did try to choose a vintage-style gun to fit with the theme of the game, but for some reason, I managed to find this in my <Inventory> along with some vintage firearms and other equipment while I was attempting to navigate around the city and the HUD menu. It's a bit odd that I was given a rare type of weapon in a medieval fantasy world like this."
That was pretty odd. When I first logged into the game, I was given a normal longbow, a quiver of 50 arrows, and a shortsword, 20 [Healing Potions], and 500 [Lapi] along with my already worn hunter's outfit. It was enough for our first excursion and while the weapons were a bit weak, it did a good job at accurately damaging my foes before I could finish them off with my sword.
However, as I turned around, I saw Kaz humming while scratching the right side of his cheek. "Along with my usual starting items, I only have my staff as my first weapon. Other than that, I don't have any cool weapons like your [Mana Pistol] and Wind's bow and sword."
"Makes sense. But to be honest, I feel like I don't deserve this. I only joined this game today and I just got this as my first weapon."
I can agree with what he really feels about his weapon. We basically earned most of these items through hard work and training. Heck, Damon did the same with his studies just to get to his dream university. Still, I thought it was actually cool for him to have such rare item in the game, especially on his first day. "On the bright side, it's a lucky coincidence you obtained it on your first day. I mean, out of our school's Airsoft Club members, you're the known Ace of Spades who can knock down 10 opponents in one sitting."
Of course, after I that, Razul's face started to glow red as he averted his eyes away from me. "Come on, Wind. Not you too! I only joined that club just to get some extra credit! Just please don't mention that in public, especially in an online game like this!"
I chuckled for a bit as I gently pat him on the back. "Don't worry about it, Raz. Besides, compared to me, I think you'll be able to use this pistol just fine. Trust me, I know how hard it is to master the bow and arrow in one day." Just as I said this, my eyes widen as I hear a ringing noise through my ears. Turns out, it came from the alarm app in the game that I set up beforehand. Even more shocking was that our 30 minutes in the game were already up. "And just when I thought our conversation could get any more interesting..."
"You go on ahead. I was about to log out for the night myself. Just don't forget the notes this time." This time, it was my turn to blush as I glared at Razul.
"Seriously, can we get over the notes thing already?! I'll see you tomorrow." I quickly grabbed Kaz's hand as we quickly left the <Crafting Hall>.
"Hey! Come on, Wind! Stop pulling me!" Kaz shouted beside me as we left.
"Sorry! I'll cook you something tomorrow."
With that, we left and headed back to the inn to log out. However, I couldn't help but to wonder if Damon would come back to <Isekai Online> again tomorrow as well.
----
Wind's Masteries
[Archery] Level 11
[Woodcrafting] Level 1
[Swordsmanship] Level 10
[Cooking] Level 4
[Wind] Level 9
[Physical Enhancement] Level 3
[Hunting] Level 10
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Kazu's Masteries
[Arcana] Level 10
[Thunder] Level 11
[Wind] Level 7
[Alchemy] Level 12
[Magecrafting] Level 1
[Magical Affinity] Level 11
[Scribe] Level 1