4. Promising Day

Monday, October 1 2007

-Morning

New month, new day.

Many people think Monday is a dreadful day. Not us. We started our day with P.E. the best subject ever. Who even likes sitting around reading painfully complicated textbooks?

Although… Sana isn’t here.

Maybe sports isn’t her thing.

I bet she’s been thinking a lot about the dream, just like me.

…

Sana sat alone in the classroom corner. She grabbed her sandwich and bottled water from her bag.

I approached her desk, then I sat beside her table.

Eric: ‘Hey, It’s me, Eric.’

Before she’s about to munch that sandwich, her eyes widen, pushes her desk toward me and slides backward.

Sana: ‘A, A… A… You’re the stalker from yesterday!’

Eric: ‘Shhh… Don’t speak too loud. I’m really sorry for yesterday. I just want to tell you something.’

She shook her head. Regardless of that, I still have to do it.

Eric: ‘As a son of a firefighter, I want to protect you from now on.’

Sana: ‘Huh?’

Eric: ‘You heard me right. I know you are this lonely because you’ve been bullied right? That’s why you were absent during P.E. and you never ate at cafetaria. I want to fix that for you. Consider that my way of returning the favor of saving me at the church.’

She paused a while before putting her head down.

Sana: ‘I’m a weird person… The only thing I love is video games, but there’s no way girls would be interested in this… That’s why they alienated me… I’m terrible at socializing, that’s why no one’s interested in what I’m saying… Honestly I don’t want to go to school… That’s why I’m always late...’

Eric: ‘That’s not true! You taught me a lot about video games. I’ve never played that before, but you showed me how wonderful it was, even though it is obviously in a dream. I want to bring the cheerful Sana to real life! So… Will you let me do that?’

She gently nodded.

Suddenly, we heard a call outside the classroom.

Fredrick: ‘Eric! Why are you still in the classroom?? You have a stomach-ache or something…’

There’s only two of us in the classroom… He slowly slides away…

Fredrick: ‘Sorry for interrupting-’

Eric: ‘Oi! Wait! It’s a misunderstanding!’

I chased him in the hallway for a while, then I explained to him about the situation before returning to my classroom.

Fredrick: ‘Sorry, I thought you guys were-’

Sana: ‘Hmmp! Why are you bringing the stalker here?’

Sana pouts at me.

Fredrick: ‘I never stalk people! Actually, I’m the one who’s being stalked…’

Eric: ‘Yeah. Fred is my dear friend. He won’t do awful things! That’ll hurt his image.’

Sana: ‘ *sigh* If you say so… You said you want to protect me, right? It’s not fair if you only do this for me… What should I do in return?’

Me and Fredrick glanced at each other before nodding.

We bowed to her.

Eric & Fredrick: ‘Please take care of us, Master Sana!’

Sana: ‘Master… Ha? Pfft~’

With her smile returned, we finally made a mutual agreement.

-Afternoon

I have free time today.

I’ve been thinking about the dream. I mean it’s fun and all, but honestly I don’t quite get the video game concept.

Then, I saw Sana walking out of the school entrance alone.

This might be a good chance.

Eric: ‘Hey Sana. Do you mind if we walk home together?’

Sana: ‘...Why?’

Eric: ‘I said I’d protect you, right? So I think it would be better if we get to know each other.’

She paused for a moment before nodding.

Sana: ‘Fine… But don’t get too close.’

…

We walked past shops and rice fields for a while, but we didn’t talk at all.

It seems she’s the passive type. I thought walking alone with her would give her a chance to speak…

Except…

Eric: ‘So, about the dream world, you said it’s like video games, right? Honestly, I feel like I didn’t get the mood at all. When I use a skill, I like to imagine using an arcade pistol, but that isn’t video games, right?’

Sana: ‘Arcade games like that are considered as video games. You saw the visuals through a screen.’

Eric: ‘But that didn’t count! I mean the one where we can play at home using a TV remote, like JoySet.’

Sana: ‘TV Remot- Pfft… Ah, so that’s what you meant… I know a place where you can do that.’

…

We are at the seemingly empty video rental shop.

The tightly packed racks with outdated movies are narrow as always.

Eric: ‘What are we doing here? This place has a scary old man you know.’

Sana: ‘Just follow me.’

Sana walked through the labyrinth of racks. She deftly makes sharp turns that It's hard to keep up with her.

After a while, we reached the secret section of the shop. There’s a small TV and a JoySet 2 mounted on top of a dirty cabinet. Beside them lies a stack of cases with cover of characters or monsters with bold styles.

Sana then rummaged the cases and then proudly showed me a case titled ‘Ending Fantasy Z’

Sana: ‘This is a video game, and this is a RPG game. I highly recommend this, because it relates well to what we did in the dream world.’

She flares up the TV, inserts the disk to JoySet 2, then gives a game controller to me.

The screen shows a sequence of animation of a group of heroes fighting enemy raiders while riding a flying ship towards an ominous castle, then a claw screeches the image to show the bold game title.

Eric: ‘S-so cool!’

Sana: ‘We haven’t started the game yet!’

…

No matter how many board games I’ve played, nor how many movies I’ve watched, nothing tops this! It is the combination of both image, sound, plot, and gameplay that makes this a very entertaining game! It’s amazing that this can be achieved, even if I’m playing alone. I always thought that games are not fun if you play by yourself.

Currently, I am fighting against a powerful enemy called ‘boss’.

The boss design, the uniquely engaging music, and the heroes' resolve encouraged me to fight hard.

However, no matter what I do, I can't defeat the boss at all! My heroes are getting pummeled by this boss giant hammer.

Eric: ‘GYAHHH! This boss is too hard!’

Sana: ‘Listen. In this kind of game, preparation is important! It is important to learn enemy strengths and weaknesses and stock up resources! If you can do that, you’ll never lose against any kind of bosses!’

Even though these heroes' job is to defeat evil forces, it seems careful planning is still required, huh… Not just their raw power.

Then, suddenly… I felt a tap in my shoulder.

An old man is behind us!! He’s holding a broom!

Store Clerk: ‘How long are you kids gonna play?? HUH???’

Such a scary scream!

Sana: ‘Uh oh, we have to scram, now!’ She then grabbed my hand!

We ran as fast as we could to get out of his wrath!!

…

We finally lost him. We're a few hundred meters away from that shop.

Eric: ‘ *huff* This is why nobody wants to buy anything there!’

Sana: ‘ *huff* But it’s fun, right?’

It’s been an hour since I entered that shop. Sana’s right. When you enjoy something, time flows quickly.

I nodded.

Sana: ‘Anyway, it’s late. We should go home.’

Eric: ‘Wait. Can we exchange numbers?’

She immediately agreed to it. When she’s smiling, it gets really easy to talk to her.

Eric: ‘Sana.’

Sana: ‘Hm?’

I bowed to her.

Eric: ‘Thank you for today. It’s been fun!’

When I looked at her, her smile radiated like the sun!

Sana: ‘Mm! Later then, at the Dreamfield!’

We then walked a different path to our home.

…

Somehow when I think of her smile, my heart skips a beat.

-Evening

Apparently my dad is taking a day off.

Eric: ‘Dad, can we get a JoySet 2?’

Dad: ‘Huh? No way. How can I watch the news, then?’

The TV shows a prime news segment…

(Today’s News! The movie ‘Love by You’ set in the town of Fuko has received favorable reviews from film experts.)

(‘The young actress really brings life to this particular scene.’)

(Expect more tourism in Fuko…)

Dad: ‘News is important. It lets us know something we don’t.’

Well, I wish my dad would understand the charm of video games.

…

It’s been three days since I had my dream. I’m sure today I will dream that too, with Sana and Fredrick.

I wonder if there’s some sort of pattern for this…

That reminds me of that strange S.O.S. letter, which is in my drawer.

I still don’t understand this though. The childish scribble is the main reason.

I fiddled with my cellphone, washed my teeth, then went to sleep.

…

Sweet dreams, Eric.

***

Welcome to the Dreamfield.

No surprise. I knew this would happen. Sana and Fred waited for me in the same spot as yesterday. They seem to talk to each other.

Fred: ‘You aren’t kidding! It’s the same dream! That’s so awesome! When did you start this, master Sana?’

Sana: ‘I think it’s around 26th…’

Fred: ‘Woah! Then you must’ve known lots about this world!’

Sana: ‘Not really. I’ve never got out of Howald until yesterday.’

I greeted them.

Eric: ‘So, what are we gonna do now, master Sana?’

Sana: ‘Let’s explore this town!’

As master Sana led the way while she skipped walking, Fred whispered to my ear.

Fred: ‘Dude, what did you do to her?’

Eric: ‘Well, I played JoySet 2 with her this afternoon.’

Fred: ‘Uwah! For real? You did it, eh?’

Eric: ‘Man, stop teasing me…’

***

First, we visited the academy where Fred got his job. Coincidentally, this building has the same design as in Howald, but with a statue of sword instead.

Here, they provide jobs that primarily use weapons to fight, which means they can continue fighting even if they run out of their limited skill stock.

By the way, Sana’s job requires her to use a knife, but according to her, the knife is just an accessory.

Fred chooses Swordsman because he gets to wield katana…

He seems to like that sort of thing, huh?

***

Next, we visited the cloth store.

In Bronson’s Fort, they mainly sell armors, ranging from metal plates to Japanese cuirass. Somehow they do not sell animal pelts.

Fred, already fond of Japanese culture, decided to wear a blue cuirass. He seems really proud of his new look.

Despite being bulky, these things are strangely as cheap as my robe.

***

We are now at the bridge that leads us to the real ‘Bronson’s Fort’, a massive tower with a waving flag.

Fred: ‘Awesome! It’s like a skyscraper, but made of stones! Let’s go inside!’

As we are about to reach the gate, a guard with a blue duster steps forward.

Guard: ‘Stop! This is no place for commoners! Only Dream Lord servants may enter this holy castle.’

Sana: ‘Servants, you say?’

Guard: ‘Of course, young girl. This holy castle watches over the Dreamfield against demon invasion. This is where the loyal servants work.’

Sana: ‘Then, what will we get if we become his servant?’

Guard: ‘By serving the Dream Lord, you hereby will do your best to contribute to the defense of Dreamfield. In turn, you are allowed to use facilities inside.’

Sana then turned around to us. Her hand was placed on her chin. Her face seems to be in deep thought.

Sana: ‘Just as I’ve thought. This world has factions.’

Fred: ‘Factions? I mean isn’t it obvious?’

Sana: ‘Not exactly… In MMORPG, players often join the NPC factions to gain advantage in battle or receive benefits, such as entering this tower… If we do that, we might be able to learn valuable information inside… But…’

Fred: ‘But what?’

Sana: ‘Other factions might be hostile to us… And…’

I pat Sana’s shoulder.

Eric: ‘For that, you don’t need to worry. You want to go to the tower, right? Then let’s do it. We’re in this together, alright?’

Sana: ‘...You’re right. Then, let’s apply.’

The three of us asked the guard again.

Guard: ‘You three want to be the servants of Dream Lord? Very well. Then please hold onto this.’

A ding dong sound appears. I checked the inventory to find an item inside. It’s written ‘Dream Lord Medal.’ However, I also found out that my tax increased to 158 money.

Guard: ‘You will need this to enter this castle. So long as you hold that, you will have to pay more tax. This medal cannot be stolen, nor be used. Work hard, and the wisps shall open more doors for you. Should you wish to quit servant life, we will remove the medal for you.’

And with that, we have the unlimited pass to the tower.

***

The inside of the tower, if I can describe it, is just pure majestic. The circular walls are pure white marble. There’s also golden wisps flying around the tower. When I looked up, I saw the clouds moving in a circle. I thought to myself that this is the lobby of heaven.

Fred: ‘Woahh! It’s so holy! The tower is super tall too… Although, how do we get up there? I don’t see stairs nor a lift here…’

Sana: ‘I’m sure there’s more interesting stuff above us. Maybe it has to do with what the guard said before.’

In the middle of the floor lies a giant blue glass with a dome shape, resembling an aquarium, which the guard call it ‘The All-Knowing’

Here, we can see the surrounding map of this town, as well as the position of nearby demons, highlighted with red dots.

Speaking of that, there's a notice board here too, with tasks mainly about demon elimination. They pay a lot, and may award an item, although high pay means more dangerous enemies.

Fred: ‘You know, I’m actually pretty low on money… Just over a hundred. Think we can do one of these tasks?’

Eric: ‘I have 727 money now, I can give you some-’

Sana: ‘It’s not possible to give other players money here.’

Fred: ‘Yikes…’

Given the nature of this world, giving money to players just for them to pay taxes sounds counterproductive. It may make them lazy.

…What if a player can’t pay tax?

***

Our task for today is to eliminate the demon ‘Orc’ at the nearby cave. This cave was guarded by Gobo Thugs, which we easily dispatched, thanks to Sana’s direction and our new tactic, bolt barrage. Basically, all we have to do is spell the skill as fast as we can.

By the way, she’s our de facto leader.

I think it’s called a dungeon, where it contains numerous small enemies and a ‘boss’ at the end.

We are also accompanied by a golden wisp. They can’t talk nor fight, but they help us light and show the way.

At the end of this dungeon, we saw the ‘Orc’, a large lime humanoid wielding a spiky mace. I can tell this is not going to be easy. We quietly hide behind the wall. Here, we try to speak quietly so we don’t start a fight. The wisp however, thinks otherwise…

Fred: ‘Hey, what the hell is that wisp doing?? Just fly directly to that beast?’

Sana: ‘I don’t think that Orc noticed it though… Maybe they can’t see it.’

Eric: ‘What do we do now?’

Sana opened her menu and began setting up her skills.

Sana: ‘We need to set healing potion to our skill trigger. Fred will charge forward, and we’ll support you from behind. We also need time to figure out boss mechanics, so keep your defense up. Once I cast my skill, we will begin.’

We then nod to each other. This is a tense moment for us, but like Sana said before, if we prepare well, we won’t lose!

Sana: ‘Burn Passion!’

As soon as Sana said that, her body’s engulfed with flames. She however, does not seem harmed by it.

At the same time, the Orc noticed us release a loud howl.

Seconds later, Fred charges forward, while we shoot barrages of bolts towards them. With Sana’s newfound power, thanks to yesterday’s points, her attack grows stronger while under the effects of burning aura.

Meanwhile, my Soul Bolt grows stronger too.

Despite that, the Orc seems unfazed. When the Orc raises their guard, our attacks become ineffective.

Sana then orders me to stop attacking for a moment. When we do that, the Orc lowers their guard and begins to charge quickly towards Fred, then swings its big mace, sending Fred to crash the wall!

Eric: ‘Fred!’

Fred: ‘Ack… I’m alright… The armor protected me-’

Sana: ‘Attack now!’

Taking advantage of this opportunity, we shoot barrages of bolts towards the Orc’s side belly. This time, the Orc groans in pain!

However, the more the Orc’s harmed, the redder it’s skin.

Fred, already recovered with healing potion, charges forward, when suddenly…

Orc: ‘WRAAAAAAAAHHHH!’

What a powerful scream!! The Orc’s face is full of rage!

Sana: ‘Attack with everything you’ve got!’

The Orc saw us this time, then rushed towards us, ignoring Fred!

My heart beats really fast.

I quickened my spelling as fast as possible.

Fred: ‘Watch out!!’

Surprised by Fred’s scream, I didn’t realize that Orc’s throwing that big mace towards me from a distance!.

That’s when my heart stops beating. My head’s about to be blown away!

I covered my head with my hands and screamed as hard as I could, when suddenly everything blurs away…

Eric: ‘AAAAAAAAAHHH!’

I am back… In my bedroom?

Then I heard a knock at the door. It was my mom. She looked shocked.

Mom: ‘OH, thank God, I thought you got abducted…’ she then relieved.

Eric: ‘N… No. I was having a nightmare.’

Mom: ‘Is that so? *sigh* It’s late, so you should go back to sleep.’

My mom then closed the door.

It’s 3.30 am…

I thought I would be dead. Seriously, it's like the horror movie scenes!

My body’s fine, just cold sweat everwhere…

Did I die there? I remember the spike’s so close to my face. There’s no way I could dodge that.

If I die, what would happen with my friends there?

…

Maybe after all, this is just a silly dream…

I went back to sleep.

***

Welcome to the Dreamfield.

Unbelievable. I returned back to where I was before. The Orc lies on the floor with bruises all over their body. Sana and Fred looked at me flabbergasted.

Fred: ‘H-How the hell did you do that?? That was an awesome dodge!’

Eric: ‘D-dodge?’

Sana: ‘You just… Disappeared out of nowhere!’

Eric: ‘Disappear? I woke up in my bedroom like a nightmare… Then, I went back to sleep again, and… Here I am.’

Sana puts her hand on her chin.

Sana: ‘I see… I get it now! You’ve just logged out of a game!’

Eric: ‘Log-uh what?’

Sana: ‘Don’t you know it? In an online game, players can leave the game even if the game’s still running… I finally get why we always appear at the same place when we get here.’

Fred: ‘Ah! So that means, when we wake up, we leave this world-’

Eric: ‘And when we sleep, we enter this world?’

Sana nods!

Eric: ‘How long did you wait for me?’

Sana: ‘Probably not too long…’

When I check my watch, it says 3:45 am…

The golden wisp returned to our position, and then it ‘spawns’ a karuta card right in front of us! It shines brilliantly.

Eric: ‘So this is the reward?’

Sana: ‘I think so, but why a playing card, though?’

Sana then grabs the card before it disappears right after.

Sana: ‘Dumplings over flowers…’ She murmurs.

With that, we completed our task. It’s a good thing that no one’s harmed.

***

What an intriguing world. Even though it’s late at night in real life, it’s sunny here instead. I didn’t realize it until just now.

The money we earned today is more than enough to pay today’s tax. We’ll have to pay 189 tax tomorrow.

Above the hills, we admire the views of Bronson’s Fort under the light and the mountain range behind.

Fred: ‘Today’s been really fun! Let’s do it again tonight… Sana?’

Sana seems to stand still for a moment.

Eric: ‘You okay, Sana?’

Sana: ‘Oh! Um, yeah I’m fine.’

Me and Fred glanced at each other. We knew school was coming soon after we woke up.

I offered her a fist bump.

Eric: ‘Don’t you worry today, tomorrow, and ever!’

Fred: ‘We’ll keep our promise, right?’

Sana: ‘You guys…’

The three of us fist bump with a smile. We won’t break our promise.

I heard a beeping sound on my watch.

The world around me blurs away quickly before showing me my bedroom.

It’s 6 o’clock.

I decided to prepare for school. Somehow, I’m feeling pumped today.