EGO: Explore Game Online (LAMBDA)

As the group continued their lively discussion about the game, Ichio leaned back in his chair, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Guys, isn't this lunchtime? I mean, the break started a while ago, and we've been here the whole time. Nobody's even touched their lunch. And now the break's almost over!"

Aiko raised her hand slightly. "Oh, um, actually, I ate mine earlier. You know, while you guys were busy debating the club name and all that. I figured I'd multitask."

Yumi tilted her head. "Wait, was that the smell? I thought I smelled something delicious earlier, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from."

Ryo shrugged. "Well, I ate before coming here, so I'm good."

Souta chimed in lazily, stretching his arms. "I don't really need to eat. Not hungry anyway."

Kenji glanced at Yumi. "Hey, Yumi, do you want to grab something to eat now? We still have some few minutes left."

Yumi waved him off. "Nah, I'm not hungry either. I'll just wait until I get home."

Ichio groaned dramatically. "Well, I am starving. Like, seriously starving. If I don't get something to eat soon, I might not survive until the next class." He stood abruptly, pushing his chair back. "I'm going to the cafeteria before it's too late."

Aiko rolled her eyes but stood up as well. "I'll come with you. You'd probably collapse halfway to the cafeteria without me."

The two left the club room and headed up to the rooftop, where Aiko handed Ichio a neatly packed lunch. "Here, take this. You sound like you're on the brink of death."

Ichio didn't hesitate, devouring the food with alarming speed. "This is amazing," he mumbled between bites. "You're a lifesaver, Aiko."

She smirked. "You're welcome, but you might want to slow down a bit. The bell's about to—"

[Ring!]

The two froze, glancing at each other in realization.

"Great," Ichio muttered, stuffing the last bite into his mouth. "We're late."

They rushed back to the classroom, sliding in just as the teacher turned to address them.

"Where have you two been?" the teacher asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ichio scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Um, we were… doing something that doesn't need mentioning."

The teacher gave him a long look before sighing. "Well, since this is your first time being late, I'll let it slide. But don't let it happen again."

"Understood," Ichio replied, bowing slightly before taking his seat.

[How is that possible, shouldn't someone like Ichio be one of those late coming students? What Gives.]

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and soon it was time to head home. The group said their goodbyes and parted ways, each heading off in different directions.

On the walk home, Aiko caught up to Ichio. "Hey, you should come by for dinner tonight. Afterward, we can head to your house and join the others for the game. What do you think?"

Ichio nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll see you tonight."

Later that evening, Aiko waited for Ichio at her house, setting the table and glancing at the clock. When he didn't show up, she grew impatient and decided to check on him.

Marching over to his house, she let herself in and found him already in his VR pod, fully immersed in the game.

"Seriously?" she muttered to herself, crossing her arms. "He said he'd come for dinner, and he's already in the game? Unbelievable."

After a moment, she sighed, shaking her head. "Well, fine. I'll eat by myself and join him later."

With that, she headed back home, muttering under her breath about his priorities but still smiling at his enthusiasm.

In the game, the guild hall was dimly lit, the crackling sound of a virtual fireplace filling the silence as the group waited. Ronin leaned back in his chair, tapping the table impatiently with his fingers. "Seriously, we told them to be here at 8. It's 9 now. What's taking them so long?"

Sherry, seated across from him, rested her chin on her hand. "Relax, Kenji. They'll be here. Maybe they got caught up with something important."

Ronin scoffed. "Important? Yeah, right. My guess is that Ichio's the one holding her up. He probably doesn't take this game seriously enough."

"Oh, and Sherry we're In-Game so it's Ronin"

Sherry raised an eyebrow. "Oh Sorry, but I've got to ask this. What is going on between you guys and Ichio? One minute, you're all buddy-buddy, acting like best friends, and the next, you're constantly butting heads with him. I don't get it. What's the problem?"

Ronin looked away, avoiding her gaze. "There's no problem," he said flatly. "It's just that the guy can be… annoying sometimes."

"Annoying how?" Sherry pressed.

 "I don't see it. All I see is you guys taking advantage of him. Whenever you need something In-game that costs real money, who do you turn to? Him.

 And he never complains, never hesitates. He just helps. He's kind, generous, and always willing to lend a hand to his friends. Yet you treat him like he's some kind of nuisance."

"Well the guy's loaded" Ryoka muttered to himself.

Ronin didn't respond, but his jaw tightened.

Yumi turned her attention to Hiroshi. "And you, Takashi. You're the worst of all. You don't even try to hide it. That sword you're holding right now—who bought it for you?"

Takashi hesitated, glancing at the blade. "Well, yeah, Ichio bought it for me. But I needed it. I'm a Berserker, Yumi. I can't rely on just my fists all the time. I needed a weapon that matched my class."

"And he got it for you," Yumi snapped.

"That's what friends do. He didn't hesitate. He didn't ask for anything in return. He just did it because you needed you were his friend.

That sword isn't just some random weapon—it's a mystical Sword that enhances a Berserker's power. Do you think just anyone would spend that kind of money to help a friend? Yet you constantly fight with him and act like he owes you something. I don't get it."

The room grew quiet, the tension thick in the air.

Finally, Ryoka spoke up, breaking the silence. "Well, for what it's worth, I don't have any problem with him. I just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens, and besides the guy's loaded spending that much is nothing to him."

Sherry sighed, shaking her head. "That's not the point, Ryo. You guys need to appreciate what Ichio does for you. He deserves better than this back-and-forth nonsense."

"Sherry, It's Ryoka we're In-Game, privacy yo privacy" Ryoka said.

"Sorry, Kinda forgot" Sherry said still upset.

"WOW, It's them, It's 'ELOHIM'" one of the players sitting next table said with an excited look.

One of them walks to them with her sword. "Um, Mrs Sherry do mind signing this for me" she said.

"No prob girl" she said, signing her name on it.

The girl goes back to her table jumping to her friends.

"As popular as ever I see" The guild hall door creaked open, and Rosewalt stepped inside. She walks toward the group, her expression calm but curious.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, glancing around. "Where's Ichio?"

Ronin leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with a smirk. "You see, Sherry? Even Rosewalt doesn't know where Ichio is."

Yasei turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Then why are you late, Rose? We've been sitting here arguing, thinking Ichio was the reason for your delay. But now you're here without him, asking about him even. So, where is he?"

Ronin snapped, slamming his hand on the table. "See what I was talking about, Sherry? That guy doesn't even care about what we're doing.

 We're trying to take out the boss on floor 91 before anyone else gets the chance, and he's just stalling us. I mean, we all have to go to school tomorrow. We can't just sit around waiting for him!"

Ryoka, tilted his head. "Ronin… tomorrow is Saturday. We don't have school."

Ronin froze mid-rant, his anger dissipating as he turned to Ryoka with a sheepish look. "Oh. I forgot."

Sherry shook her head, exasperated. "You're so angry you don't even realize tomorrow's Saturday. You need to calm down, Ken… Ronin."

Rosewalt sighed, crossing her arms. "Seriously, guys. I don't know why you always pick on him. Ichio's trying his best to be a good friend.

 That's why he always does whatever you ask of him. But the moment he does something you don't like—even if it's nothing major—you all act like it's the end of the world."

Takashi looked uncomfortable. "Aiko, it's not like that. It's just—"

Yasei smirked and elbowed Ryoka. "You see that? He doesn't want Rose thinking he's a bad friend to Ichio."

Ryoka chuckled. "Of course not. No one wants their crush to think they're enemies with their favorite person in the world. He's just making sure he's seen as the good guy here."

Takashi's eyes narrowed as he overheard them, his face turning red. "Shut up, you two!"

Before anyone could respond, the door opened again, and Ichio walked in, looking slightly flustered. "Sorry I'm late, guys. Really, I'm sorry."

Rosewalt turned to him, frowning slightly. "When I came over to your place, you were already in the pod, so I thought you were here. But you weren't. So where were you?"

Ichio walked toward the group, his footsteps steady but his thoughts distant.

'I hope I finished the Ruler Class quest,' he mused.

'If I had to start it from scratch with this character avatar, I wouldn't even get halfway through. That's why I had to use Knox halfway through.

 But seriously… I really hope it's done. If I don't finish it, I'll never unlock the Ruler Class.'

Aiko's question finally registered, pulling him out of his thoughts. He blinked and looked up, trying to cover his internal panic.

"Oh, um… You see, I'm late because I went for some training. I didn't want to hold you guys back, so I figured I'd do a little grinding. That's why I was late. I even ranked up a bit!"

Internally, he added, 'Well, why wouldn't I? That Ruler Class quest is insanely difficult. There's no way anyone can go through it without ranking up a few. So this explanation fits, I guess.'

Sherry smiled, nodding at Ichio. "See? He didn't want to hold us back, so he trained. That's why he was late. Makes sense to me."

Ichio offered a sheepish smile. "I'm really sorry. I lost track of time while I was at it, though. That's my fault. Sorry, guys."

Rosewalt sighed, shaking her head but smiling slightly. "What will I do with you?" She reached for his hand and tugged him toward the table. "Come on. Let's sit down already."

Ichio let himself be pulled along, his face turning slightly pink. As they sat down, Takashi's jaw tightened, and he looked away, clearly annoyed.

Sherry glanced at Ronin, her expression expectant. "Ken… Ronin, do you mind?"

Ronin let out a reluctant sigh and muttered, "Fine, fine. Let's get started."

As Ronin cleared his throat, Ryoka leaned toward Yasei with a smirk. "Ronin's the leader of our party, but when Sherry speaks up, he just backs down like that."

Yasei snickered. "Well, yeah. He has to. If he doesn't, he might miss his chance."

Ronin shot them both a sharp glare before clearing his throat again to silence them. He took a deep breath, his tone serious now. "Okay. Floor 91. Let's talk strategy."

Before he could continue, Ichio raised a hand and muttered a few words under his breath. A shimmering barrier appeared around the group, glowing faintly before fading into near-invisibility.

Ronin frowned. "What's that for?"

Ichio leaned back slightly. "I don't want anyone overhearing our discussion. If they catch wind of our strategy or learn about the boss, they might sell that info to other players. That could put us at a disadvantage if we don't clear the floor on our first try."

Sherry looked at Ichio, impressed. "Wow. That's really thoughtful of you, Ichio. I wouldn't have even thought of that."

Ronin glared at Ichio, his fists tightening on the table. "Whatever. Let's just continue." He took a deep breath, brushing off his irritation. "The boss on floor 91 is the Void Knight. Here's what we know so far…"

 CHAPTER END.