Miles Spears sighed. It had been several weeks since his team started this project and out of all players they had observed so far, the two young boys that one of the AI developers had invited had caught his attention with their unorthodox playstyle, as well with their different approached on interacting with several NPCs in the game. But today was different.
As he watched the footage of a young boy finishing off a bandit with a tornado of arrows, the man in the jacket rapped his fingers on his desk rapidly. He was impressed by the older brother's ingenuity such as asking the NPC guardian to aid him and combining his skills to gain an advantage against his latest opponent. But he was also a bit disappointed that the younger brother wasn't with him lately. It didn't affect the observation, but...
"Miss the magic kid already?"
Mr. Spears gasped as he turned around to see his colleague Mr. White, who was wearing a simple gray jacket with a white business shirt and red necktie, approach him with two mugs in his hands.
"That's not like you, Mr. Spears. I always thought of you as more of a cold-hearted developer."
Upon seeing White's small smirk after he said that, he frowned and sighed in annoyance.
"If that's your attempt on cracking up a stand-up joke, then I'm not impressed."
Mr. White laughed as he put one of the mugs down near his colleague.
"Oh, lighten up, Miles. I'm just teasing you. But I never expected you to care so much about Mr. Palmer's kids."
Miles sighed again as he picked up the mug. Catching the scent from it, he guessed that it was chamomile tea as he requested.
"Well, you're not wrong. To be honest, they've managed to overcome so many difficult obstacles that we programmed in the game," he explained. "What's more, they managed to find the hidden [Quest] inside the <Tested Wilds> that is the key to unlocking the lore to the public. So calling them prodigies would be an exaggeration if it wasn't for the out-of-the-box methods they've created and demonstrated in the game so far."
"I agree," Mr. White said as he sat down next to Miles and took a small sip of his hot drink. "Their accidental discovery of the [Experienced Crafting] system, their interactions with the major story NPCs... Those boys are two of a kind."
Miles cracked a small smile as he turned back to the paused footage showing Wind in the same expression when meeting the large white tiger.
"You might be right. Though can we agree on one problem?"
"What is it?"
"Did he have to add a small plot element regarding those two? I'm not sure how it will affect the game's storyline for future expansions and updates."
Mr. White's expression turned into exasperation as he let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Same here. I appreciate Mr. Palmer's genius in AI development, but I don't know if it was intentional for him to give them roles as inter-racial brothers in <Volo>. Heck, I'm a little worried since it's almost time for us to announce the next update."
"Regardless, let's talk to him the next time we have free time. For now, let's take a small break downstairs. I doubt those two will be logging in soon."
"Good call. I'm a bit burned out after all of that work earlier."
Both developers then left the room with the monitors still showing the paused footage of Wind.
----
"NO FAIR!!!"
I quickly cover my ears as Kazuki screams through the speaker of my phone. After my adventure with my friends back in [Isekai], I was hoping we could relax in the real world once more as we're enjoying ourselves in the 2010's restaurant we visited before. Of course, I want to tell my brother about what had happened since I don't want him to feel left out of the events inside the game. I'm starting to regret ignoring Arthur's warning about it though as he bawls on my phone. I've even had to excuse myself outside the cafe to avoid disturbing the other customers.
"I can't believe you guys met royal soldiers and a magician while I'm stuck home studying! This is the worst! Why do I have to suffer a whole week of numbers and multiple-choice questions?!"
I sigh upon hearing his complaints.
"You know why. If you don't pass your exams, Mom won't allow you to play again for an entire year or so," I tell him. "Remember what we promised her and Dad: If we want to continue playing, we have to give it all to our studies when needed. Just stay calm. Today is the last day of your exams and we've spent the whole week tutoring and studying together. I know you can pass if you put your mind to it."
I hear Kazuki sighing on the other line.
"I understand, but..."
Man, he's really unhappy despite my encouragement. I wish I can cheer him up in some other way. Before I can do so, I notice the "The World of Seraph" poster in front of me. Just seeing it reminds me of his motivation behind his love of that VRMMO game and the fantasy novels in general. This gives me an idea.
"Come on, Kaz. If you want to be a real hero, you have to learn everything you need to know about the world. That includes real life and you want to be like the hero from your favorite novels, right?"
"I-I... I guess I do."
"Then stand up and be that hero. If you don't, who will? I know you Kaz, and I know you have the confidence and courage to move forward. Besides, all real-life heroes worked and studied real hard to get to where they are right now. Same with many of the wizards you've read about in your novels."
"O-Oh yeah... They do need high Intelligence and education to perform some powerful spells and stuff. Plus, they always study their spellbooks and other things in their free time."
"Well, speaking of which, I know it's a bit early, but after the exams, we can play [Isekai] with Zac and Damon later. We do need some help on one of the [Quests] we're working on right now. Plus, we need some extra potions since we spent some on the soldiers yesterday."
"Really? Do you mean it?"
"Yep. I understand the struggles you've endured to finish your exams, so consider it a reward for your perseverance and determination. Don't worry, I'll convince Mom to let you play once the exams are over."
Kazuki then goes silent for a few seconds, at which I become a bit worried he might not believe me. But then, he speaks up.
"Alright. I'll give it my all today. You did help me with my Math, so I'm not going to waste your efforts."
I smile once I hear his answer.
"That's the spirit. I'll call you again once you finish your midterms."
"Okay, see you later."
I end the call as I entered the cafe once more and head towards my usual table.
"Sorry about that, guys," I say to my friends as I take my seat.
"I don't mean to brag, but I told you he was gonna explode once you told him," Zac says with a smirk, at which I was not amused. "You're lucky you managed to take that call outside before the manager kicked us out for all that noise."
"You forgot that if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't able to finish your burger," Damon says as he glares at him. Good to know he's reading my mind about it.
"Yeah, yeah. But still, are you sure your little bro's going to be okay? We barely survived a whole week of test papers, the smell of erasers, and too much math and algebra on our brains."
"I did help him with his studies for the whole week, so I think he'll be fine. All we can do now is to wait and hope he can ace through his exams with little issues," I explain.
"Glad to hear that. I doubted Zac would pass thanks to his short attention span and his inability to study alone."
Zac quickly covers his mouth as he briefly coughs from choking on his meal.
"Wha- That's not true! I've just had other things on my mind!"
"Like trying to find a good sword for your character online?"
" I was trying to get some new armor to fit with my n-" Zac stops, at which I guess he realizes that he's digging himself deeper. "Why you little...!"
Damon and I chuckle at his accidental confession, which reminds me...
"Speaking of swords, I was planning to get a new one today. Although I did well in my last fight, I didn't use my sword much since I kind of forgot to replace it."
"Well, that's not surprising since you currently only have [Woodcrafting] as your weapon crafting [Mastery]," Zac said. "If you like, you can visit the weapon shop and try browsing some swords on sale. Plus, there's the marketplace, where you can find some rare ones."
"Tempting, but I don't want to waste any more money. I know we already got tons of [Lapi] from [Quests] and such, but I'm not the type to spend a lot over items that we might soon outgrow."
I sigh at this fact, as well as another one about the game's mechanics. With Kazuki's help, I had previously checked through the game's wiki and discovered two of the main advantages of having crafting [Mastery]. In simple terms, every weapon and armor has a limit that is measured by an invisible mechanic called a [Weapon Break Limit], and when it reaches zero, that item will be destroyed for good. The only way to restore the item is through maintenance either through a blacksmith NPC, which costs a lot of [Lapi] or a player with the right crafting [Mastery], which would require some certain materials. Since both of us have the right [Masteries] on our belts, we can repair our weapons should we have some free time at the <Crafting Hall> and Star and Annie created our equipment with the crafting materials as a price. Sure, buying a sword from the marketplace or NPC shops would be fine, but I refuse to take any risks regarding its materials and cost. Which is why I have an alternative.
"Now that I think about it, can I take another [Mastery] after character creation?," I ask my friends. "Maybe if it's possible, I can take up another crafting [Mastery] to create my sword."
"Ah, I see where you're going with this. It is possible, but you'd have to gain special skill points called [Mastery Points] to get one. You can gain them by leveling up in a certain area. Also, you have a limit of 10 total [Masteries] and 3 reserves [Masteries] for your character," Zac explained. "Since you've made some progress, you can grab a [Blacksmithing Mastery] if you're serious about making your own sword. I mean, I had no complaints when you first break out your awesome bow."
"I agree. Plus, if I can recall, I think you might able to create customized arrows by forging steel arrowheads," Damon added.
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah, I saw one player forge some while I was wandering around in the <Crafting Hall> before I met you and Kazuki in the game. If you can forge one yourself, it may improve your weaponry with some varied amount of arrows in your arsenal."
"I see. That could be interesting... Well, I've decided. I'll buy that [Mastery] tonight."
"Now that's the s- Wait, tonight?"
I raise my eyebrow when Zac asks in a confused tone.
"Uh, yeah. I already agreed with Kazuki that we can play together again at [Isekai] once his exams are over. It's already been a week and I don't want him to feel anymore tortured by not being able to play any longer. Besides, it's been so lonely without hearing his crazy schemes and his adventure plans for so long."
I'm expecting them to show excitement over him joining us in the game again. But to my surprise, Zac and Damon seem to be disturbed at that thought instead. What's with them all of a sudden?
"U-Uh... Kazuki's coming back? U-Um... I think it's a bad idea! Besides, I got homework to do home!"
I stare at Zac out of disbelief.
"But the exams are over. We don't have any homework to do this weekend."
"Oh, did I say 'homework'?! I mean, feeding my cat and doing my laundry!"
Seriously?
"But you don't have any pets and you said your Mom is the one doing your laundry because you're hopeless with the washing machine and all kinds of detergent."
"O-Oh... Well, I... Uh... I was... Uh..."
Again, seriously? What's with him? Is he hiding something? He's hopeless with girls, so they're out of the question. But why is he acting like a scared criminal? I want to ask more, but Damon quickly pushes him away and gives me a small smile.
"What Zac means to say is that we're both busy with our own families, back home and we need to hang out with our folks with a celebratory dinner for completing our exams."
Okay, Damon's statement gets even more suspicious than Zac's.
"But isn't that a little too early? Our report cards don't come out until Monday," I said.
"True, but it's almost Thanksgiving and we want to spend time with our family until then."
"Besides, there's maintenance going on in [Isekai] right now and we have to wait a few hours until we have access to it once more. Maybe we can do next weekend?'
Staring at Zac's grin makes me even more unnerved than before. They are clearly not telling me everything. But then again, they are my friends and I opt not to invade their real-life privacy.
"O...kay... Well, I guess I'll have to wait until then, huh? That's a bit of a bummer. I really want to get that [Mastery] as soon as possible."
"You'll get your chance, Hayate," Zac says as he sips his smoothies. "The game's not going anywhere. Just hang out with your little bro until the maintenance ends."
"We'll save the big [Quest] for next time."
I sigh in a bit of dismay as I pick up a mug of latte from the table.
"I guess you're right. Besides, we need to hang out with our families for a while. Maybe we'll try tomorrow then?"
"Sure, we can try more quests then."
With that, we started talking about other topics such as school and any TV shows or movies that we streamed lately. But even after all of that, did that made me forget about the game today?
Nope. I'm still intending to play for Kazuki. Plus, there's something sketchy about my friends' intentions on not wanting to play. I doubt it's too sketchy, but I'm not gonna take any chances and just ignore this.