Chapter 34: Fifty ways

Fighting for a whole day with monsters, then facing the boss, put a high toll on Alex’s mind. He wasn’t playing the game from his PC but from VR Capsule, from where he intensely focused, moved, and reacted.

Although his body didn’t hurt him, he found it hard to keep his eyes open. He also perspired more than usual. It looked like the gaming experience put some pressure on his real body.

He stood up and made a quick way to his bathroom.

On his way, he snatched his phone.

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Splash!

After jumping into his bathtub, Alex immediately laid down comfortably. With his eyes closed, he relished the hot water going through him. His muscles relaxed, eliciting a soft moan from him.

He no longer smelled his sweat. Instead, white foam teemed Alex’s body, bringing a pleasant fragrance, which rushed to his nostrils.

‘I understand why Sara would fall in love with baths…’ Alex thought with his arms wholly sinking in hot water.

Although this bath wasn’t comparable to the one he had in another world, Alex still could relate to Sara and more or less understand her feelings. In another world, she had been fighting hungry demons for years.

And her level barely went up. She was doing it more for her and her daughter’s safety.

‘Game world is truly breaking our common sense… Well, it’s not like I had a luxury bath on Earth,’ Alex thought with a faint smile.

He hailed from a little above average family. His family had a big house with two cars, and they never had monetary problems. Alex always received some pocket money as well. Compared to others, Alex had a good time, which he thanked his parents for.

He respected their hard work.

And as Sara flashed in his mind, Alex also remembered his little friend. He wondered whether Celia had already got her pet. But that thought masked what was quite obvious.

‘She should be worried…’ Alex sighed.

In the end, he couldn’t mask his feelings. Deep inside, he knew that Celia was already worried, even though he had been outside for a short time.

He really hoped that she got her pet and that the new friend would make her forget about him for some time.

But thinking of her, Alex couldn’t help but imagine himself as a father. He was far from a reliable and experienced man like his father, so that image didn’t last long.

Still, he promptly disagreed with Celia on their first meeting as he thought of himself as someone too young. Now, Alex thought about his experience and reliability to keep a big family safe without any money problems.

In a game, he had to get stronger and open various possibilities for people close to him. It was easier said than done, though.

But it was pretty small but lovely progress as he thought mainly about Sara and Celia’s needs.

‘Are you also thinking about your daughter?’ Although Alex wasn’t Celia’s father, he thought of her and hoped she was doing fine.

What about her real father?

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“I am studying!” Olivia said through the phone.

On her side, she was lying on the bed. She was on her stomach, her legs going up and down cutely. In her hands, Olivia held a big tablet. She had a video of some guy explaining her math course.

Around her, books littered Olivia’s bed.

“Hmmm…” Alex, who was still in the bath, hummed.

He drew Olivia’s picture in his mind. And knowing her habit of throwing all her stuff onto the bed, Alex had drawn near-perfect picture, as if he could see through thousands of kilometers.

But Olivia misunderstood that silence, “I am really studying…” She sounded so serious but lovely that Alex burst out laughing.

He still felt fatigued, but that much wouldn’t stop him from laughing.

“I know. You also suffer the side-effects of the ban, don’t you?” Alex chuckled.

Most players who died would just mindlessly spend their time in their houses. No, after their first death, they would try out much stuff, but that would just show how mundane their lives were before the game.

Of course, they believed in that due to how exciting and immersive the game was. Thus, on their second death, the players would mainly kill time by gathering information from other players.

They would watch videos, read the forum and prepare more for their in-game adventure.

Olivia used to be the same. But after her time with her beloved, Olivia extended her hands for her studies instead.

And she did it without Alex urging her to do so.

Partially, Alex was happy. But he could see that Olivia hadn’t made any close friends yet.

He didn’t let it show in his voice.

Instead, he sounded relieved and happy, “Call me if your favorite online teacher won’t be able to help you.”

“Won’t you be busy tomorrow?” Olivia asked softly.

“If I can find a time to tell my girl that I love her in fifty ways, I will also manage my schedule to give her some online courses,” Alex chuckled.

On the other side, he heard the tablet falling onto the ground. Indeed, his girlfriend grasped her reddened cheeks already.

“Fifty ways?” Olivia stuttered; her voice was unique. It was that kind of a tone that she would only let her beloved hear.

Alex nodded, “Forty for your hero moment. And ten for your studying.”

Although Olivia had a lot of delinquent tendencies, she loved cute things. When Alex visited her house for the first time, her room looked plain. But then, the closet burst out, and many cute things rolled onto the ground.

Lovely dresses, a cute teddy bear, and more stuff left Alex shocked back then.

He still remembered his expression, which he saw in Olivia’s room mirror. He rolled his eyes so much he thought they had left him. He titled his head and stared with a gentle smile, which dangerously asked, ‘Why do you hide them for?’.

On that day, Alex also found out that Olivia’s mother was the same. He couldn’t understand how her father never managed to see through his wife’s side. Still, it was not Alex’s business.

Instead, he made sure that Olivia showed her cute side to everyone. He started by hugging her teddy bear and not letting him go! Every time he visited Olivia’s house, he would complain about his teddy buddy.

At last, Olivia took out all her stuff and even let her mother see through it. After Alex heard about it, he believed he helped the couple as much as he could.

If their daughter could wear lovely dresses, what stopped her mother?

“Well then… You set my heart on fire.” Alex whispered in a similar tone.

Olivia nodded a few times, “Mmm!”

And Alex continued his lovely whispers until he ran out of them.