The Sphere

Chapter 5 : The Leveling Up

Note : Statements enclosed within '#' like '# statement #' are system messages or similar type of messages 

Proodread by Max Lambon
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Linxx reached the shop and entered. He now had 1600 gold. He figured that he would get a good pet with this much gold. Knowing that he has to sweet talk the NPC to get the maximum profit out of almost anything in the game, he bowed down to the aged man and told him about his quest.

When the shopkeeper heard his story of Fighter Genk, he was in a rage. Genk was a hero of the Nahur city. No one knew how he died. They had suspected that he was ambushed and killed as there were many assassins hunting him, hired by his enemies.

After knowing for a fact that their hero was still alive after fighting a strong ambush and was done in by mere wolves who took advantage of the fact that he was severely injured, the shopkeeper was furious.

He knew that the boy in front of him had come to look for a companion to defeat the wolves. He thought it couldn’t be a mere coincidence that this boy found the ring of Genk. He checked Linxx with a glare that would make many others run in fear but Linxx stood there with a look that said multitudes about his strength. The shopkeeper nodded and told him to come inside a small room which was further inside the shop.

When Linxx went inside, it was dark, very dark. The shopkeeper lit a candle and asked Linxx to hold it and then, the shopkeeper started tossing out things one after another as if he was searching for something. Linxx held the candle in a way that would give the room maximum brightness.

“Can I ask what are you searching for?”

“Well, you are strong but you are not strong enough to handle 22 wolves by yourself right? So, you came here to get a pet. But I sense great things from you, so I am going to give you the most wonderful pet this world has ever seen. But… Aah, found it!”

The shopkeeper pulled out a raggedy old sack which was surrounding something. He unwrapped the sack and an egg was revealed. The egg was milky white and shone brighter than it usually would have because of the darkness. The shopkeeper hesitated for a bit and then his face seemed like it remembered something and held the egg in front of Linxx.

“This is a dragon’s egg.”

Linxx went deaf after that. The shopkeeper was telling the history of dragons but Linxx didn’t hear any of it. From his gaming experience, he knew that dragons are mythical creatures and especially in games, they are either the last boss or the strongest pet for a character or both. He knew that he had just won a jackpot.

***

Rohit woke up with a start but this has become pretty normal for him. The feeling of waking up from a horrifying dream is what you feel when you log out of the game. His character went to sleep in the game and he had around 5 hours of game time before its 4 a.m. in the game. He washed his face and due to excessive sleeping, he didn’t feel tired at all.

He took out his cell phone and was surprised to see a text from Dishita. In Rohit’s mind, she didn’t look that good with the curly hair and weird dressing but she was talkative. Talkative and weird. He opened the message.

#
College is soooo boring. You are lucky that you don’t have to come. I’m leaving after the second lecture itself. I will also skip going to lectures as much as I can. So, whenever you decide to come to college, text me, okay?
#

A girl who takes your phone number in the way that she did, then texts on the same day and ends her text with a ‘?’, would definitely be considered a stalker by many. But, Rohit knew from his talk to her that she wasn’t like that. She is just a happy-go-round girl who doesn’t care about such stuff and in Rohit, she has probably found a friend. Rohit’s lips curved into a smile as he texted back a single word reply – “Sure.”