Fantasy Realm [One Piece] [Harry Potter] [Naruto] - [Progression] [LitRPG]

Chapter 74: Messages and Playing the Lottery

Alex finally decides to get up. He slept for what felt like an eternity, waking up multiple times throughout the night. Eventually, he resolves to deal with things the only way he knows how—by moving on. Dwelling on the nightmare he'd just gone through won't help, and blaming the Realm for everything that happened makes it just a little easier to stomach.

As Alex readies himself for the day, he sees three unread system messages waiting for him.

The first is from Tereza: [Tereza: Good morning! Hope you slept well and had some nice dreams? I sure had some.]

Alex stops for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Is this girl serious? We were just in a deathmatch with 47 out of 50 people killed—a 94% death rate—and she's... wishing me sweet dreams? I wish I had her balls. Wait, that came out wrong. I wish I had her nerves." He reads on.

[Oh, and by the way, that smug mind mage who forced me into the contract mentioned that you're now the contract holder. Isn't that a nice surprise<3 ? We've got plenty to talk about. Message me when you're awake?]

Alex, both annoyed and bewildered, makes a judgment. "Any woman who survives the Fantasy Realm's tutorial mission has got to be tough as nails. I'm not sure I can handle her... better leave that for later. I'll deal with her craziness when I have to."

He then turns to his next message from Rishi: [Rishi: Good morning! Surely you're already up by now.]

Alex stops reading and sighs. "NO, I literally just woke up. What is wrong with these people?"

[Let's meet at 12 PM Central Realm time and discuss a few things. Meet me at the usual abandoned temple structure. I've already notified Tereza too—don't worry, she's your servant now, and I won't do anything inappropriate.]

Alex checks the system clock and groans. 11:55. "Why... I wanted more sleep," he mutters, annoyed. "He can keep the damn contract if he'd just give me a mountain of FC instead!"

Finally, Alex remembers there's another message, surprisingly from Roja. After their initial meet-ups, their conversations had been brief, strictly focused on information-sharing for mutual benefit. Roja and the other tutorial survivors had also kept their distance after that last tense meeting. Alex hadn't minded, figuring it was for the best, but now he's curious about what she wants. He decides to message Rishi to say he'll be a few minutes late, then reads Roja's message.

[Roja: Hey, how's it going? The girls and I saw you leave the PvP mission—impressive! Let's catch up at 12 PM Central Realm time, okay? Meet me at the Kressen Restaurant in East District.]

Alex lets out a frustrated sigh. "12 PM here, 12 PM there... I wanted to sleep in after that brutal mission, not be everyone's 12 o'clock call." He grumbles about missing his pre-Realm life, where waking up before noon was practically a miracle. But, deciding to prioritize Rishi and Tereza, who—insane personalities aside—have at least proven useful allies, he quickly responds:

[Alex: Can't do 12 PM. I'll catch you later. Also, I don't waste FC on Realm facilities and don't know where that even is.]