Black Online-Chapter 62: Outside Megaworld
[Coins: 514]
"...The pain."
Fang Raon gripped his side tightly as he felt the pain of his heart bleeding from poorness.
’It better be worth it!’
He thought.
At the current moment, he was sitting alone in Sun Park with the sun’s last lights illuminating his face, his palm still pressed against his side.
There were occasional sightings of couples walking hand in hand and some locals walking their dogs.
He looked at the couples, wondered whether he would ever experience that, and then remembered Chaewon.
Remembering her face made him feel funny inside, and he would love to walk with her in a park like this one day.
’...I want to walk again.’
Fang Raon thought to himself.
In that moment, he shook his head, shaking off those thoughts, and checked the stats of "Aurel’s Blade Dance" one more time.
’Let’s see how this works.’
Fang Raon pulled out a sword, looked around, and made sure that no one was around, as he didn’t want anyone seeing him dance.
There was nobody watching.
"Aurel’s Blade Dance."
With a soft voice, he whispered.
In that moment, his body moved, and his feet gracefully glided across the ground in a mesmerizing rhythm.
The sword’s blade spun and twirled, cutting through invisible threads in the air and creating a beautiful symphony of motion.
It was a skill that lasted longer than others he had in his possession, and Fang Raon kept dancing as if he were painting a masterpiece with every movement.
He danced for about thirty seconds until he started panting heavily and had to stop, as that skill was draining his stamina.
"Huff... That’s... crazy... I didn’t think it was that exhausting, but... wow!"
He sat back down on a bench to catch his breath, then stored his sword back in the inventory and watched the sun disappear from the sky.
’Of course, I need to test the skill against actual opponents. Who knows, that skill might be completely useless against actual opponents.’
Fang Raon thought, and he then pulled open the chat window with Machary and typed a quick message.
[Fang Raon: I am heading off. Have you found any new members?]
It took only ten seconds for him to receive an answer back.
[Machary: Not yet... These fucking Helpers are so smug and arrogant. They think they are some kind of God’s gift or some shit!]
Fang Raon let out a small chuckle and typed back.
[Fang Raon: Try to find Tank. I’ll handle those Helpers]
[Machary: Alright. Luckily Tank’s are mostly muscle-brained idiots. I can use Abigail’s charm to win them over, bahahahaha!]
[Fang Raon: ...Please, don’t use her like that. She will otherwise leave us :(, and we can’t afford that shit!]
[Machary: Fine... I won’t go to sleep until I’ve found someone. You can count on me. See you tomorrow!]
[Fang Raon: Cya]
In that moment, he pulled open the system interface and logged off.
...
With a slight neck pain, Fang Raon opened his eyes, and his vision slowly adjusted to the bright light coming from the Virtual Reality Pod machine.
’...I can still see... Whew.’
He let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t anymore as bad to return back to the real world because at least he could see now, but still not being able to move was jarring.
’I am not sweaty now, at least. I haven’t spent all day training, so I guess that’s a plus.’
Fang Raon thought, and then he called out, "Chaewon," and a moment later, she came to the room, and opened the pod.
"Hello~"
She said with a smile.
"Hi."
Fang Raon replied with a smile, and she carried him to the wheelchair, and it looked like she was going to take him straight to the bathroom.
"I don’t need a bath today."
She stopped pushing the wheelchair, looked deep into his eyes, and replied.
"That’s too bad. You’re getting one anyway."
"Ah?"
Fang Raon exclaimed, but then saw her smile and realized that she was joking.
"Giggle~"
Chaewon giggled, pushed the wheelchair to the side of the bed, and was about to carry him to the bed, but then he asked.
"Is it too late to go outside? I am feeling a little stuffed being stuck indoors for so long."
Fang Raon said.
"Outside Megaworld?"
Chaewon asked curiously.
"...Yeah."
Fang Raon replied.
"Sure, I think we can do that. I’ll talk to the head nurse before I take you anywhere, but I think a short outside trip could do you some good."
Chaewon said with a smile and then rubbed his shoulders before heading out of the room to ask the head nurse for the permission.
...
"...Ah."
With Chaewon pushing his wheelchair down a sidewalk, Fang Raon inhaled the air of the outside world.
However, he quickly stopped, as outside air wasn’t as fresh as Black Online’s air, sadly enough. It was just way too polluted and thick.
"You haven’t seen this before, right?"
Chaewon turned the wheelchair around, and Fang Raon stared straight at the massive Megaworld Apartments.
It was so tall that they couldn’t even see the top that was shrouded in clouds, and it was a massive structure that covered the nearby area in all its entirety.
There wasn’t a city around the Megaworld—it was mostly forests with many roads leading out of the Megaworld.
Chaewon and Fang Raon were currently on one of the many sidewalks, surrounded by tall trees, but the sound of nature was extinct over here.
All the animals and wildlife had escaped the Megaworld’s vicinity, and only the rustling of leaves could be heard.
"...It feels so oppressive when I look at the Megaworld. I never expected it to look so... dark and lifeless."
Fang Raon said aloud.
It was just a dark gray building with thousands of windows scattered about. It was basically a block-shaped structure.
"I’ve lived here all my life. I went to school here... and I am now also working here... This is the only world that I know."
Chaewon said with a slightly melancholic tone, and then she turned to Fang Raon and asked.
"The place you came from... How is it?"
"...That feels like a distant memory, and I can’t really remember those days vividly anymore, as I’ve lived in darkness all my life pretty much, but it was peaceful.
"My family—the Fang Family—lived in a small village hidden deep in the mountains. It was a close-knit community, but since the Fang family is so wealthy, that place was more like a personal paradise created by the family.
"It was nice... I miss that place."
Fang Raon said.
"What are your goals in life? Besides getting better... Going back to your family, maybe?"
Chaewon asked curiously.
"...To get rich."
Fang Raon said with a chuckle.
"Ah? Hehe, I didn’t expect that from you."
Chaewon giggled.
"I want to get better first, and then I want to live at the highest floor of Megaworld to show my father that I don’t need him to succeed in life."
Fang Raon said with a smile.
Chaewon looked at him silently before smiling, and then she started pushing him back to the Megaworld.
"Well, since you didn’t ask, my dream is to help you get fully cured, and I will definitely succeed in that!"
She proudly stated.
"What a stupid dream, Chaewon."
Fang Raon said with a chuckle, but Chaewon pouted and pinched his cheek, as if she really meant it.
"I bet my lovely caretaking was the reason you got your sight back. No need to thank me!"
Chaewon said with a smile.
"...Thank you. I am sure that is the reason. Please, keep taking care of me, Miss Chaewon."
Fang Raon said with a chuckle, joking pretty much, but Chaewon’s eyes brightened at his words, and she smiled.
"I will!"
She said without hesitation.
