Max hadn't noticed the quest updating. The kills from today's grinding session and the dungeon run had counted toward it. He only needed 33 more enemies.
He could finish that tomorrow.
But what came after? The quest deliberately kept rewards vague—"???" meant either the developers wanted to preserve surprise, or the rewards were dynamic based on player choices.
Max closed the interface and took a moment to just exist in the game world. The night air was cool, carrying the scent of flowers from the park's gardens. In the distance, he could hear players laughing in a tavern, the sounds of commerce from the market district, the rhythmic hammering from Kenna's smithy.
This world feels more real than my apartment, Max thought, and the realization was both exhilarating and slightly disturbing.
He stood, stretched his body, and navigated to the nearest inn—a place called The Wanderer's Rest. For a few silver, he rented a room with a bed and a logout terminal.
The room was small but cozy—a single bed, a desk, a window overlooking the city. Max sat on the bed and accessed the system menu.
[LOGOUT OPTIONS]
- Logout (Character remains in room)
- Emergency Logout (Character frozen in place, vulnerable)
- Schedule Auto-Logout (Set timer)
Max selected the standard logout option.
[Saving character data...]
[Progress saved]
[Total session time: 7 hours, 36 minutes]
[Thank you for playing AETHERIA ONLINE]
The world faded to white.
REAL WORLD – Tokyo, Japan
December 2nd, 2025 – 10:31 PM
Max opened his eyes in his apartment, the NeuroSync headset beeping softly. His body felt strange—heavy, like gravity had suddenly increased. The disconnect between virtual movement and real-world stillness was jarring.
He pulled off the headset and immediately grabbed his water bottle, draining half of it. His mouth was dry, and his head felt slightly fuzzy—side effects of extended immersion.
Max stood slowly, his legs shaky. He had been sitting for nearly eight hours straight. Not healthy, but he would make up for it tomorrow with some actual exercise.
His apartment was dark except for the glow of his monitors. The clock read 10:31 PM. His mother's shift started at 11 PM, which meant—
The apartment door opened.
"Max?" Yuki's voice called out.
"In here, Mom."
She appeared in his doorway, already dressed in her nurse's dress. Her eyes scanned him with concern. "You look pale. How long were you in there?"
"About eight hours."
"Eight hours." She crossed her arms. "Did you eat?"
"Ramen earlier."
"Ramen is not a meal." She walked to the kitchen and started pulling out ingredients. "You're eating real food before I leave."
"Mom, you'll be late—"
"I have thirty minutes. Sit."
Max knew better than to argue when she used that tone. He sat at the small kitchen table while Yuki quickly prepared rice, grilled fish, and miso soup—the same meal from yesterday, but she made it so efficiently it was ready in twenty minutes.
"Eat," she commanded, placing the food in front of him.
Max ate, and the real food tasted amazing after a day of gaming. His body needed this.
Yuki sat across from him, sipping tea. "So? How was day two?"
"Good. Really good. Hit level 9, cleared a tough dungeon, made some gold, bought new equipment."
"In game gold?"
"Yeah. But..." Max pulled out his phone and showed her an article. "Look at this."
The article was from a gaming news site: "Aetheria Online's Virtual Economy Already Affecting Real Markets"
Yuki read the headline, frowning. "What does that mean?"
"People are already trading game gold for real money. The exchange rate right now is roughly 1 gold equals $10 USD. Some high-level players are making hundreds of dollars a day just selling materials and equipment."
Yuki's eyes widened. "That's... great."
"The market will stabilize eventually, but right now, early adopters who get to high-level content first can make serious money." Max took another bite of fish. "I made about 30 gold today from farming materials. If I had sold it on the black market instead of to NPC vendors, that could've been $300."
"Did you?"
"No. Too risky right now—lots of scammers. But once official exchanges get established..." Max trailed off, seeing his mother's expression.
She looked conflicted. "I want you to succeed, Max. But I also don't want you destroying your health sitting in a chair for eight hours a day."
"I know. I'll be more careful. Set timers, take breaks, eat proper meals."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Yuki stood, checking her watch. "I need to go. But Max? I'm proud of you. I looked up your Discord earlier—people are talking about your research, asking for your guides. You're building something."
Max blinked in surprise. "You checked my Discord?"
"I'm your mother. I check everything." She smiled. "Just... take care of yourself while you're building your dream, okay?"
"I will."
She kissed the top of his head, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. "There's leftover curry in the fridge for tomorrow. And for the love of god, do your laundry."
"Yes, Mom."
The door closed, and Max was alone again.
He finished his meal, then checked his Discord on his phone. Velara had posted in their private group chat:
Velara: Great run tonight guys! RaidKing – that new sword is sick. Max – seriously what IS your build? You fight weird but it works. Miko and Iron – you two are solid, let's run again tomorrow.
RaidKing47: tomorrow im grinding to level 10. want to hit the Tomb dungeon by friday
HealerMiko: I can heal tomorrow evening! Around 8pm again?
IronVanguard: Works for me. Max you in?
Max typed his response:
MaxThorne: Yeah I'm in. Need to hit level 10 first though. Might solo some content in the afternoon.
Velara: nerd
MaxThorne: you know it