Kingly Bathhouse, Culliver Street, the 1st Floor.

The door flung open. It kept swinging open as if the door couldn't be closed properly. And the bell went off.

A slightly sleepy-looking bathhouse owner appeared from the back room and smiled at the sight of the new customers.

"Welcome to the Kingly Bathhouse, where we take care of all your relaxation needs. Are you here for a bath, perhaps? Maybe only for the sauna? Or are you here to stay the night? All of that is possible!"

Anna smiled at him and said.

"I'd like to purchase the All-Rounder pass that gives me access to a room, the spa amenities, and especially the bathhouse's famous herbal steam room."

"Of course. Would the gentleman with you want that as well?"

The owner asked.

"Yes, he does."

Anna said with a smile.

She didn't even let Fang Raon speak, as she knew that he would've questioned the need for the All-Rounder pass.

He was just going to take a bath and log off. He didn't need a room, a spa, or anything like that.

"I'll pay it, so don't worry."

Anna whispered to him with a smile.

"It's 810 square coins in total."

The owner said, and without minding much, Anna paid it in full, as they now could easily afford it.

Usually lower-leveled players suffered heavily with the money, so they couldn't even dream of being able to buy the All-Rounder pass.

"And now the room keys…"

The owner went to the cupboard to take two keys, but then he heard the young woman coughing.

"One room is just fine."

She said with a smile. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"No, two."

Fang Raon said.

"Hehe~"

Anna just giggled and then kicked him in the shin and caused him to yelp, even though it didn't hurt at all.

"Don't be silly, brother. We won't really be using those rooms at all, and this bathhouse is really popular, so you'd be just taking that room from someone else that might need it."

Anna said.

"The young missus is right. The bathhouse is usually very full, and we only have a few rooms available anymore. If you don't plan to sleep here overnight, maybe you should consider leaving that room for someone else's use."

The bathhouse owner said.

"…Fine."

Fang Raon said with a sigh.

He didn't even plan to step inside that room either way, so it really didn't matter to him, but he had a feeling that Anna was planning something.

"Here are the keys."

The owner handed the beaming Anna the red keys, and she smiled happily, "Thank you so much! I can't wait to see it."

In that moment, she turned to her brother.

"We'll be splitting ways here. Let's meet up in half an hour at our room, okay?"

Anna said, and she flashed him the keys that had number 43 etched on the keychain, and Fang Raon just sighed and nodded.

She then went for the women's bathhouse, and Fang Raon walked in a completely different direction and walked through a blue door.

Into the men's bathhouse.

...

Heavy steam lingered in the bathhouse's air.

Towel-wearing men and boys lingered in the water, taking in the warmth and talking among each other.

There were locals and players alike. It was hard to tell who was who. As players weren't wearing their usual attire.

At that moment.

With a towel around his waist, Fang Raon stepped out of the changing room and looked around the room.

There were a couple of pools, with steam rising from the water, and then there were also saunas at the back.

'It sure is warm. This must be the famous herbal steam room. I can feel my muscles relaxing already.'

Fang Raon thought.

Then, he dipped into the water and sat down till he touched the bottom of the pool, letting out a contented sigh as the warmth enveloped him.

"…You seen the announcement that happened not long ago?"

Near him, a couple of locals were speaking. They were the older kind. They had a habit of coming to the bathhouse late at night after the city had settled down.

It sure was pretty expensive to come here every day. They bought the season pass, so it wasn't as bad as paying every time.

However.

They thought it was completely worth it, as it has been said that this herbal steam room was capable of extending a person's lifespan.

And since they were already part of the older generation, they wanted to stay alive to see their grandchildren grow.

"I saw. I saw. I think it was the fourth time that the King Angry Rat was slain, but what is exactly the point? It will just come straight back a day later!"

A bald old man said.

"You're right. These monsters never disappear, do they? They live right under our feet. What if one day they become tired of the sewers and come up to the surface?!"

Fang Raon just listened to them.

'It must be strange to live as a local in this dangerous tower. They don't probably know about it, but those Angry Rats are most likely coded to stay inside the sewers.

'But to them, it does feel like there is danger right behind the corner, and they don't know when that danger will strike.

'But alas, these locals are just made of code too. Maybe all of their fear and paranoia is intended by the game's developers.

'I have read some stuff that every local in the tower was programmed to self-think. Everything they do, say, or feel is their own choice.

'But I don't know how much of that is true.'

He thought to himself.

It made him remember the upcoming game by the Rain Family, and he simply couldn't believe that they are capable of creating something as great as Black Online.

…

A half an hour passed.

Clack-tap~, clack-tap~, clack-tap~!

The sound of the wooden sandals tapping the floor echoed throughout the hallway as Fang Raon came up the stairs.

He was wearing a white bathrobe with the words "Kingly Bathhouse" etched on the back.

In that moment.

He arrived at the room and gave the door a gentle knock, and soon, he heard the shuffling of feet.

Swoosh—the door opened in a hurry, and Anna, smelling fresh from the bath, greeted him with a smile.

Her delicate skin was still glistening, and there was some water trickling down her neck. The hair was dried-up already, and it was neatly pulled back into a bun.

"How was the bath~?"

She asked.

"It was nice. I took a quick sauna too."

Fang Raon said, and he then entered the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

He took in the sight of the room and almost let out a "wow" as it was really spacious and beautifully decorated.

The bed was strange. It wasn't hoisted up by bed legs, but instead there was a sleek, wooden platform supporting the mattress.

There were a couple wooden steps up to the platform to make getting in and out of bed easier.

The bed really looked soft. It gave almost instinctive comfort just by looking at it. And one would just want to sink into it and never leave.

"Oops!"

Suddenly, Anna screamed, and the bathrobe just slid off her body and landed on the floor with a soft thud.

However… she wasn't naked underneath, as she was actually wearing a cute bikini.

"Giggle~ Did I get you? You must've thought I was naked, weren't you? Are you disappointed, hmm?"

Anna asked with a cheeky smile.

Fang Raon just rolled his eyes and sat down on the cloud-like bed and felt the softness of the fabric beneath him.

"Do you like the bikini? I purchased it. I think it is really cute. This is something that you don't find over in the real world.

"This bikini isn't even the creation of the game's developers. A local made this with bare hands, and it's better than anything you can find in the real world."

Anna said, and she did some pirouettes, showing her figure to him and the bikini that perfectly fit her body.

"Why do you need a bikini?"

Fang Raon asked.

The first floor didn't have a beach like the sixth floor, and besides the First City, the first floor was actually pretty empty.

"I might have a use for it in the future, like once we reach the 6th floor. I couldn't miss the opportunity of not finding another bikini of this quality!"

Anna said with a "duh" expression.

"Fair enough."

Fang Raon said, and then he pulled out his interface and noticed that it was actually quite late.

If he logged out now and immediately tried to go to sleep, he might only be getting six hours of sleep at best.

"Will we go for the boss raid tomorrow?"

He asked.

"That's the plan. I'd like to be done with the second floor tomorrow as well. These newbie floors usually don't have much to offer.

"I just wanted to do the King Angry Rat quest, as it gives a good starting point for us, but now we can focus on boss raids."

Anna said.

"Okay, see you tomorrow then."

Fang Raon was about to press "Log Out," but then Anna screamed, "Wait," and jumped into his arms and pushed him down to the bed.

"Not yet."

Anna said with her lovely smile.

"Why?"

Fang Raon asked, and he tried moving his arms, but Anna had greatly put a lot of points on the Attack attribute, so he couldn't lift them.

'I can't log out if she keeps holding my arms down. I need to be able to physically press the log out button on the interface screen.'

He thought.

"I want to spend more time with you."

Anna pouted.

Fang Raon just stared at her silently, and then he sighed and nodded, "Okay."

With a smile, Anna let go of him, but Raon immediately shot his hand towards the "Log Out" button and disappeared from the bed.

"YOU DUMMY!"

Her scream echoed through the room, and the sleeping customers in the nearby rooms jumped in surprise from their beds.