Maydee left the hall, her mind still lingering on her father's words. She made her way straight to the kitchen, guided by the unmistakable scent of roasted meat and stew.
As she entered, she found Joshua seated at the wooden table, eating heartily. A half-finished plate of steaming stew sat in front of him, along with a thick slab of bread slathered in butter. He chewed with purpose, his brows furrowed in deep thought, as if trying to solve a complex puzzle while devouring his meal.
Maydee leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "Thought I'd find you here."
Joshua looked up mid-bite, quickly swallowing before offering a grin. "Oh, hello, Master." He gestured to the food. "Come on, share a bite with me."
She shook her head. "Go ahead. I'm still full."
Joshua took another bite before glancing at her. "What brings you here, Master?"
Maydee studied him for a moment before speaking. "I came to warn you—tomorrow, we're going hunting."
Joshua paused, spoon halfway to his mouth. "Hunting?"
"Yes. Rest well tonight, because tomorrow, we test your skills on things that fight back."
Joshua placed his spoon down and wiped his mouth. "I see…" He hesitated. "Master, can I request something?"
Maydee raised a brow. "Speak."
"Can we do it the day after tomorrow instead?" He met her gaze seriously. "You see, time flows differently where I come from. It's like time speeds up—up to five times faster. I need some time to prepare. Can you watch over my body while I do?"
Maydee didn't ask any further. Outsiders were strange. Their ways were beyond her understanding.
She simply nodded. "Very well."
Joshua exhaled in relief. "Thank you, Master."
Maydee turned to leave, pausing only for a second. "Day after tomorrow. We leave at dawn. Don't be late." Then, without another word, she left.
Joshua quickly calculated the time difference in his head. If time flowed five times faster here, that meant he had roughly eight hours in the real world before he needed to return. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
He finished the last of his meal in a few quick bites, wiped his mouth, and stood up. Without wasting another second, he made his way to his room, his mind already racing through what he needed to do.
Pushing the door open, he stepped inside and locked it behind him. The dim glow of the lantern cast flickering shadows on the wooden walls, but he ignored it. He walked straight to the bed and sat down, steadying his breathing.
"This should be enough time," he muttered to himself.
Then, with one final deep breath, he laid back, closed his eyes, and uttered a single word—
"Disconnect."
When Joshua opened his eyes, he was back. The dim glow of his bedroom clock told him only a few hours had passed in the real world, but his body still felt heavy from the transition. He groaned, rolling onto his side before forcing himself up.
He trudged to the bathroom, relieving himself and splashing cold water onto his face. The icy sensation jolted him fully awake.
"I'm getting used to this… but damn, the nausea's still annoying." He grimaced, shaking off the lingering dizziness.
With a sigh, he grabbed his phone and dialed.
The moment the call connected, he didn't even wait.
"Yoooooo, fat fuck!" Joshua hollered.
A groggy, pissed-off voice answered. "The fuck do you want now?" Vaughn groaned. "Still hungover… ugh. Wait. How the hell did I get home? And how the hell did you get home?"
Joshua burst out laughing. "I drove your lightweight ass home. Then carried you inside. Seriously, dude, you should lose some weight. Felt like I was hauling ten sacks of potatoes up the stairs."
"Fuck you."
Joshua grinned. "Nah, but seriously, can you do me a favor? You always wanted to study my body, right?"
Vaughn immediately perked up. "Aaaand?"
"Do you have, like, one of those fancy medical pods that can monitor me while I play the game?"
There was a brief silence, then—
"Oh HELL yes!" Vaughn's voice was suddenly filled with excitement. "Dude, I've been waiting for you to ask me that! You realize this is the first step to me winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine, right?!"
Joshua rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, future bigshot. How soon can you have it delivered?"
Vaughn scoffed. "Why the hell would I send it to you? Just move in with me. I've got one at home, fully set up. Better for both of us—I can monitor you closely, and if something goes wrong, I can respond immediately. I'll even have the pod connected to my watch for real-time updates."
Joshua thought about it for all of two seconds. Free food. Free rent. A personal monitoring system.
"Alright. Lemme pack some stuff. I'll be there in an hour."
"Okay, wai—"
Joshua hung up before Vaughn could keep rambling.
He stretched, rolling his shoulders before heading to the shower. No point packing much—he'd just ransack Vaughn's fridge later.
Ten minutes later, with a small bag slung over his shoulder, he stepped out of his apartment. He took one last look around before locking the door.
"Becoming a freeloader ain't so bad." He smirked to himself.
Thirty-eight minutes later, Joshua pulled up to Vaughn's house. He barely let his feet hit the ground before sprinting up to the front door.
He rang the doorbell. Once. Twice. Three times in rapid succession. Then, just for good measure, he pounded on the door like a debt collector.
"YOOOOOO, FAT FUUUUUCK! I'M HEEEEERE!"
A muffled groan came from inside, followed by slow, heavy footsteps. The door creaked open, revealing Vaughn in a robe, hair still damp from a shower. He held a glass filled with something fizzy, probably to fight his hangover. His bloodshot eyes glared at Joshua like he'd just been cursed by an ancient god.
"Jesus, man. Can't you be quieter? My head feels like someone's drilling straight into my skull."
Joshua grinned. "Oh nooo, poor baby. Should I get you some warm milk and a bedtime story?"
"Fuck you." Vaughn yawned, rubbing his temples. "Anyway, it's in the basement." He lazily pointed downward.
Joshua's eyes lit up. "Ooooh, like a real-life Dr. Frankenstein! 'It's alive!'" He threw his arms up dramatically.
Vaughn took a long sip from his glass, staring at Joshua like he was reconsidering their entire friendship. "You're so goddamn lucky I need you for science."
"I know." Joshua walked past him. "So, let's get this over with. The sooner you hook me up, the sooner I can get back to training."
Vaughn groaned, shutting the door behind him. "The sooner I set you up, the sooner I can go back to sleep."
Joshua paused mid-step. "Wait, don't you have patients today?"
Vaughn waved a hand dismissively. "Nah. No clinic today. It's my designated 'fuck around and recover' day."
"Damn, what a responsible doctor."
"Damn right." Vaughn smirked. "Now shut up and get your ass downstairs before I change my mind."
Joshua laughed loudly and followed Vaughn to the basement.
Vaughn led Joshua to the basement, flipping on the lights to reveal a sleek medical pod with enough wires and monitors to make a sci-fi nerd cry tears of joy.
"So tell me, how long can I stay inside without suffering damage?" Joshua asked, inspecting the pod.
Vaughn grinned like a salesman about to pitch the deal of the century. "This baby is state-of-the-art, man. I'll hook you up to some nutritional fluids, hydration IVs, and all the monitoring you need. You should be good to go for, like… six days, easy."
Joshua quickly did the math. "That's about a month in the game… This is perfect." He smirked. "Now, lemme show you something."
Vaughn raised a brow. "Oh? We finally making our friendship official? You gonna propose?"
Joshua ignored him, closing his eyes and gathering his energy. He refined it in his core, feeling the familiar warmth flood his body. The energy lines within him shimmered faintly, glowing just beneath the surface of his skin. Slowly, he extended a finger, forming a tiny, transparent ball of energy at its tip.
Vaughn's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" He pointed at Joshua's fingertip, jaw slack. "How the hell is that possible?! But… wait… why is it so tiny?"
Joshua gave him a deadpan look. "You want me to blow up your entire house?" He flicked the ball slightly, making it ripple like liquid glass. "This 'tiny thing' can rip a tank to shreds."
Vaughn blinked. "Yo… that is some next-level shit…" He rubbed his temples. "So let me get this straight… you're basically a walking war crime now?"
Joshua grinned. "I like to think of myself as a responsible arms dealer… to myself."
Vaughn kept staring at the energy, completely lost in thought. Joshua snapped his fingers. "Hey, nerd. You got something to eat?"
Vaughn jolted from his daze. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I had the cook make me breakfast."
Joshua clapped his hands. "Great! Tell him to make more—enough for five people."
Vaughn squinted at him. "What the fuck? Are you feeding an army?"
Joshua stretched. "Nope. Just me. Training makes me hungry."
Vaughn shook his head. "Bro, you better not eat my entire kitchen. My cook's gonna think I'm hosting a damn banquet."
"Not my problem, Fat Fuck. Now, where's the food?"