As it was getting late in the real world, Klaus logged out as soon as possible and upon exiting the deep immersion pod, he found Andrew at the front desk of the establishment.
Andrew looked worried and the moment he saw Klaus he was instantly more relieved.
"Phew! That was all very unexpected." Klaus stated, with a smile on his face.
"I saw on the webnet that the event is over, so did you manage to save the Royal Family?" Andrew inquired. Andrew inquired.
Klaus took Andrew by the shoulder, looked around and was relieved that there was no one around but the receptionist, who was dozing off like most of the time.
"This is not a good place, let's talk on the way to the dormitory." Klaus said reproachfully.
So Andrew remembered where they were and immediately excused himself.
When they swiped their ID cards at the turnstile, the hourly rate was automatically deducted and they left the deep immersion room.
Outside, the small campus town looked exactly as it always had, with its quiet streets and green trees swaying gently in the evening wind. The moon was already high in the sky, indicating that it was indeed late. Klaus and Andrew walked side by side along the sidewalks, enjoying the cool evening breeze.
"So, Klaus, tell me everything that happened in there. I was worried!" said Andrew, eager to know the details of Klaus' adventure.
Klaus sighed and started narrating the exciting journey he experienced inside the game. He described the battles against Sículo, then his arrival at the Palace, his fight against Maga Elara and also about how he discovered that the royal family was underground. He then narrated how he made his way to the tomb of the kings, how he had to fight Morgaroth and finally a gigantic monster in a world made only of water. Every word conveyed the intensity and danger of the battles.
Andrew listened intently, his eyes shining with curiosity and wonder. He could hardly believe that Klaus had actually faced all this.
"You're amazing, Klaus..." Andrew exclaimed with a sigh, impressed. "I don't know if I would have the courage to face all that."
Klaus smiled, grateful for Andrew's words. "Are you kidding? You managed to hold off Morgaroth and protect the royal family, that was very brave."
"Yeah, you're right! I'm pretty good too! HAHA!" Andrew stated, raising his biceps. "By the way, Klaus, if you're so good at Rise Online, why did you come to this special program? I bet there are guilds that would pay a fortune for a player with your skills, after all, if at a hundred and a few levels you're already able to fight event bosses, in the future you'll be even better."
Immediately Klaus denied with his head. "The special program is a real opportunity. You know, Andrew, I've seen many games rise to success and in a short time fall. RO is less than a year old and it is already causing changes that no other game in the world has ever caused. In the future, who knows what awaits us? Besides, I always wanted to go to a university and I knew that the special program was the closest I had to a scholarship offer."
Andrew smiled sympathetically with his mouth closed. "I see..."
"And you? Why did you do the selection process? You're smart, surely you must have passed a college or two after high school." Klaus joked.
"Actually, I never applied to any colleges."
Andrew's statement surprised Klaus. "How so? Why?"
"I never said exactly what I wanted to do. For that reason I just spent the last few years going out at night with friends, girls, and when none of those things helped me distract from my own lack of decisiveness anymore, I learned about the release of NeuroGears and bought one. Eventually, I ended up playing Rise Online since its release and came here to move out of my parents' house, who are getting divorced. Well, I guess I was lucky enough to be invited by Hónghé Holdings itself."
"You were?"
"Yes, you too?" Andrew inquired, surprised.
"Of course I did, what teacher would recommend me?" joked Klaus.
As they walked through the quiet streets, Klaus and Andrew were relieved to have left the terrifying battlefield. However, when the silence lasted a few seconds, Andrew finally got up the courage to ask:
"Klaus, I don't know if I should ask this, it's none of my business after all, but are you Kaizen?"
The two immediately stopped walking. Andrew a little further behind than Klaus, who took a while to process the question.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew into his ears, swaying his hair and also making the leaves on the trees rustle loudly.
A few seconds later, Klaus turned back, looking into Andrew's eyes seriously and inquired:
"It got a bit too obvious, didn't it?"
Klaus had a hand on the back of his head and a friendly smile on his face, which made Andrew immediately relieved.
"However, if you tell anyone about it, I really will have to kill you." Klaus said, walking back with his hands in his pockets.
"Haha! You're kidding, right?"
"I don't know, why don't you try to find out?"
Andrew felt a shiver run down his spine and walked a little faster to keep up with Klaus.
Finally, they reached the dormitory. Klaus opened the bedroom door and walked in, followed by Andrew. The room was cozy, with their beds made up and a small table where their books rested. However, David and Nathan were still awake, pacing back and forth in the dormitory and upon seeing Andrew and Klaus, they immediately reacted in two different ways.
"You freaks, where were you and why are you back so late? You went to Woodbury didn't you? We agreed that we would go together when we went there!" reacted Nathan, pointing his finger.
"Oh my god, you guys are alive!" David affirmed, coming to hug them.
"Of course we're alive. Besides, it's not even that late." Andrew said, looking at his cell phone.
Nathan denied with his head. "We were worried, because when you didn't show up for the training Miss Nairn got mad and said that when she found you two she would kill you."
At that moment, Andrew and Klaus remembered that they had a training session scheduled for the evening and felt chills just imagining Miss Nairn's stressed expression once again.