Strongest Among the Heavens

Explaining the White Abyss to a blind person wasn't too difficult. From what Kazi managed to gather, the Game System would plug information into Nia's brain which would then break down and understand the information. Nia described it as a light bulb in her imagination.

Guiding her through the White Abyss took no longer than an hour. He didn't go too far deep into the Guild Sector since it was massive and clustered with people. Kazi himself hadn't explored it too deeply. Nia was fine with it. Her interest lay in sweets.

"I've always wanted to try out candied apples! Can we try cotton candy next?"

"No issue." Admittedly, Kazi was also stuffing his face with sweets. He really didn't mind. The glossy, red candied apples were excruciatingly sweet and endlessly addicting. He kept three in his left hand and munched on them like an addict.

Nia was the same.

Her nose perked up and she made a sudden sharp turn. Kazi wondered where she was going till the smell of honey and syrup hit him. His mouth started watering.

Nia's rapt attention was stolen by the stall owner and the yeast-leavened dough he was ploughing into a small ball.

"Oh, lokmas!" Kazi remarked. "I've had these before. They're great." Already, he could feel Nia glowing beside him.

She bought it on the spot.

Soft and tender on the inside and incredibly juicy, they were a delight for their reeling bodies. The Slime Queen left shivers and goosebumps on their skin. This little break of sweets and food served as a nice break to mend his muscles.

"Hey, we should grab furniture for your home," Kazi suggested. "Trust me, a good bed goes a long way."

"I, er, don't have a lot of points left." Nia sheepishly looked away. She had been buying food willy-nilly, even for him.

"No worries, I can buy it for you."

"R-really? I appreciate it but…why?"

"There's no greater thing in the world than helping your fellow human!" Kazi popped a lokma into his mouth. He sighed in satisfaction. "Plus…this is really good. Nice choice!"

***

Furniture was generally found between the Recreation Sector and the Merchant Sector. A collection of stores reserved solely for home improvement.

Nestled on the lively street was a small furniture store devoid of a rush. The window displayed a sample of what lay inside: chairs, tables, and shelves. 'Here we are,' Kazi thought, tapping Nia's hand and getting her to follow him. She was very intuitive when it came to following.

When the door chimed, it opened into a world of polished wood fragrant with a faint smell of varnish.

"Furniture, here we are," Kazi announced. Nia's fingers brushed against the edges of the furniture till Kazi found the owner. "Hey, Oliver! How are you?"

Oliver, an old man with a wrinkled face and snow white hair, smiled. "Kazi, yes? Welcome again. It is good to see you." Oliver's green eyes swept over to Nia. "With another friend, I see. You are quite good at making those, eh?"

"More like being good at helping you find customers," Kazi joked.

"Hi," Nia greeted. "I don't want to go too overboard. What are your prices?"

"You can buy a typical couch for a hundred points, a mattress with a full bed frame for a minimum of a thousand points, and well, anything else my dear would be optional." Oliver took them to a three-seater, red sofa and politely held a hand towards it. "This right here is eleven hundred points."

"That's too much." Nia was keeping in mind Kazi had approximately six thousand in stock. "How about the cheapest one?"

"We're not going for the cheapest stuff," Kazi intervened. "A thousand, two thousand is fine."

Nia craned her neck towards him, her eyes flashing with hesitation. Oliver took note.

"Are you buying, my friend, or is the young gal?" Oliver asked.

"She's buying, I'm paying," Kazi explained, grinning. "Don't worry too much, Nia. I've got you covered." He winked at her. Pointless, really, but he got the feeling she knew anyway.

"No problem." Oliver's lips and wrinkles curled in delight. "It's humbling to see players helping one another. I am glad you are here, Kazi."

Nia picked out her favourite furniture. She touched the material, felt its touch to her skin, and decided whether it was to her comfort. Oliver sold the highest quality stuff—at least that was what Kazi thought. It took Nia a while to choose her favourite mattress. He couldn't blame her, he and William did the same thing.

The total came out to be slightly over six thousand Prize Points.

After that came the transfer.

[ Transfer details:

Red Sectional Sofa —> 3100 PP

Canopy Bed —> 2500 PP

Golden Grommet Curtains —> 450 PP

Accept? ]

Nia looked as guilty as a criminal. "I really owe you, Kazi."

Kazi laughed and waved off her appreciation. "You've said that a thousand times. We fought with our lives on the line, I think it's okay if I buy you stuff."

"Still…"

"No stills, no buts." A bright smile spread across his face. "Add Nia Forge as a friend."

The friend request appeared in his view, but for her, it popped into her mind.

[ Accept friend request with Nia Forge? Yes or no? ]

"You're strong, capable, and amazing at following orders. I mentioned before that I have a party with two other people. I'm sure they would be delighted if they had someone like you with us."

Nia tensed. Kazi continued to smile.

"But, I can tell you're not interested in joining. You have a goal, a wish. You fight with the cadence of a lone warrior. I get it. I really do. But I don't think it'll hurt to have a friend or two either."

The friend request lingered in her mind.

"Fair enough." Nia's smile radiated with a gentle warmth. "I'm sorry I can't join you. I will return the favour some day. I promise."

She extended a hand. Kazi took it. It was small and surprisingly rough.

"Next time then."

Thus, a new friend was added to the list.

***

An hour later, Kazi met up with William and Sun-young at a barbecue restaurant called Nulgupjisin Grill House. The hefty smoke was delicious to inhale. The atmosphere was punctuated by the sizzling sounds of meat cooking on tabletop grills.

"How did you guys reserve this place? I saw the line-up, it was crazy busy."

Kazi's question was answered by an exaggerated gesture from William to Sun-young.

"I have never met anyone in my life so patient," said William in a whisper.

"Thank you," Sun-young replied.

On the table were side dishes in small colourful bowls. Kimchi, pickled radishes, and various seasoned vegetables offered a spectrum of flavours and textures to complement the main attraction — the grilling meat.

Sun-young deftly manoeuvred a pair of tongs over the sizzling grill, expertly turning slices of marinated beef bulgogi. The meat's sweet and savoury aroma wafted through the air. Kazi's mouth watered. A server came by and was prepared to set down the park.

"Oh, could you place the pork separately?"

"Of course, sir." The server clapped her hands once and summoned a second grill on the table. "Also, be assured, each grill is magically constructed anew so there's no need to worry on that front."

"Yeah?" Kazi already noticed but appreciated the reassurance. "Thank you."

It was haram to have non-halal food like pork seep into his food. Sun-young sent him a nod and instructed them on how to fill their plates. Kazi immediately dug in. William did the same.

William let out a groan as he ate grilling slices of pork belly. "I've never had authentic Korean barbecue. This is sick!"

"Everything go well?" Sun-young's sudden question almost seemed out of character. Then he saw her place a piece of bulgogi onto a lettuce leaf, folded the leaf, and shoved the whole thing in her mouth. Her eyes didn't break from him.

Kazi liked heavy eaters. He thought they were dignified in their own way.

"Actually, I ran into a mini boss called the Slime Queen."

"A Slime Queen? Did you kill it?" William asked.

"Nope, I had to run away."

"Really?" William dropped his chopsticks. Not because he was shocked but because he was bad at wielding them. "What level was it?"

"Twenty."

"Sheesh!"

"Do you think the three of us could kill out?"

Sun-young's inquiry brought him pause. He regarded their team higher than his partnership with Nia. Though his natural chemistry with Nia was better, that chemistry couldn't make up for numbers and experience.

"I bought a new weapon," Sun-young said. "My base attack is at seventy."

William added, "She got a really good weapon from the blacksmith."

"If we did manage to kill it, one of us would die, I think. It's a mini boss so if the rules of an actual game apply then there's stages to it. I barely managed to hurt it with two Double Spark Strikes. With you two, I think we could whittle it down to the halfway point but it would be too risky. I'm not sure if our mana would last for that long."

"So it depends on whether it follows the law of a game," Sun-young muttered. "Good call."

William pointed with the chopsticks. "I'm surprised you escaped if it was that strong."

"I actually had help," Kazi said. "A woman by the name of Nia. She's great. If it wasn't for her, I'm not sure if I'd be standing here."

"If she's super strong, how about adding her to the party?" William suggested.

"I did but she didn't accept. Whatever she wanted as her wish, she wanted it so bad that she preferred sticking alone."

He really was sad that Nia couldn't join. If she had, then there would be two guys and girls in the group and Sun-young would feel more comfortable.

"Man…" A guttural sigh came out of his nose. "I really wish she was with us. If there's a Slime Jack and a Slime Queen, then logically the actual boss must be a Slime King."

"Yeah, that's true, eh?" William chewed on his food, thinking. "Hmmm…what level do you think it'd be?"

"Slime Jacks tend to be level 11 or 10." Sun-young prodded on her food. "The Slime Queen was level 20. The Slime King might be level 40 if we follow that convention."

"Or level 30," Kazi said. "It all depends. I wonder if there's a bunch of them wandering or if it's the only one. I assume one. It's a boss."

"We should get farming then." Sun-young skillfully flipped the bulgogi and allowed it to caramelize just enough to enhance its taste. "After we eat, of course."

Compared to before, Sun-young and William were like the sun, from walking with a slouch to now playing with their chopsticks. A smile appeared on Kazi. The ambience of a peaceful friendship wasn't afforded to him in his previous life.

'This is nice,' he thought.