I sucked in a breath, focusing on absorbing the balls of Qi while I was seated in a lotus position inside my room.
I could feel my fatigue melting away and the muscle aches soothing as the energy flowed through the rest of my body.
While I didn't have a screen or something that showed me how much I was improving, I knew I was definitely getting stronger just based on the feeling around my body and how I could move as compared to before.
Once I felt all of the energy had been absorbed, I slowly came out of my trance and let out a breath.
Then I realised one big problem…
After absorbing the Qi energy, I was now completely awake.
I picked up my phone to check the time, only to see the numbers zero, zero, three, zero staring back at me.
Godamnit… Then again… If I know anything about this cultivation thing… I might not need to sleep in the future anyway so maybe this is something I should get used to.
Seeing that I probably won't be able to sleep for the rest of the night anyway, I went over to my desk and turned on my desktop.
The moment the screen turned on, I opened the chat app to see there was one person in the guild chat's voice call.
The person being none other than Bas.
Feeling confused on why he's still on at this time, I clicked to join the voice channel while putting on my headphones.
"Bas?" I called out.
"Oh, leader. Surprised to see you here tonight. Didn't you mention that you would be busy the next few days because of the rift?"
"Yeah, I finished it already and couldn't sleep, so I thought I'll just come on for a quick check and maybe a solo dungeon run or something."
"Isn't it midnight at your place now, leader? Sleeping late isn't good, you know?"
I rolled my eyes, "Come on, Bas, it wouldn't even be the first time for me. Have you forgotten all the late nights we pulled gaming?"
"And those weren't good for you either, leader."
"I could say the same to you then, why aren't you asleep? You're only an hour behind in the timezone, aren't you?"
"It's different for me because my body is tougher than yours, leader."
"Yeah, sure sure. Whatever you say," I chuckled at his joke. "More importantly, what are you up to now?"
"Just making sure that the Guild has enough funds for the next month and all the items that were loaned out are accounted for."
"You really are working hard on this huh?"
"Because it's the task you've given to me, leader."
I let out a sigh, "You know… I… I don't know if I can continue with this, Bas…"
"This? Are you talking about the game or our conversation?"
Hmm? I thought I might have heard a tremble in his voice but I think I might have been mistaken.
"I meant playing the game," I corrected, deciding not to mention it. "You heard about the Mortal God in my country, right?"
There was a short pause before Bas let out a very quiet, "No…"
"Ah… Umm… Do you know that there's a new Mortal God in my country?"
"I'm sorry leader, but I don't really follow current events."
I'm not that surprised considering the fact that my mother was also such a person. I'm aware that there are people around the world who are more concerned about things happening in their immediate lives rather than things happening elsewhere that would not affect them.
I chuckled, "It's fine. You just need to know that there's a new Mortal God that awakened in my country and I was planning to work as a Guardian for them. The new work will pay better but it will also give me more responsibilities so I will most likely have less free time as compared to before."
"You mean that you might not be able to come online as much as before…"
"Yeah… Unfortunately…"
"Was that why you mentioned that you wouldn't be able to play as often anymore and tried to pass the leadership position to me?"
"Yes. The offer is still open by the way if you change your mind."
"My answer has not changed, leader. Without you, I would find no purpose in continuing what I was doing. It is only because you are here that I do what I do."
I could not help but raise an eyebrow at the screen, "I don't get it though… What's the difference?"
There was a pause on the other side of the call before he answered, "It is hard for me to explain. But it's just that I feel much happier if it is done for you."
"What? Don't tell me that you imprinted on me or something? Come on now."
There was another pause before he spoke again, "Would it be alright… If we met in real life?"
That actually caught me by surprise.
"Eh? You mean… An IRL meetup?"
"Yes."
"You sure about that? I remember that you used to mention that you hate meeting other people outside?"
When I first met Bas in the game, he was basically a solo player before I roped him into the guild after we partied a few times to complete dungeons. I mainly invited him because he was a really good tank player and I didn't want another guild to nab him before me.
He then admitted that he actually didn't like playing with other people but found our playtime together enjoyable despite his aversion to people.
I then pegged him as some kind of shut in student or maybe a really unsocial person who works from home, which would explain why he has so much free time to be gaming.
I thought about it for a moment, "I'm just saying… You know that I am planning to be a Guardian, right?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"As a Guardian… I might become a relatively high profile target, especially for people looking to prevent my country from getting more power. In other words, my life might be in danger and those close to me might also be in danger you know? Right now, you are still anonymous but if you make contact--"
"What do you mean your life might be in danger?" He interrupted, sounding a little forceful.
"I mean exactly that? You do know what kind of work I'm involved in, right?"
"You said you go into rifts and fight monsters right?"
"Yes? Did you think I might not be at risk of losing my life while I'm doing that? Why is me saying that so surprising?"
"You weren't talking about another game you were playing?" He asked in a softer voice.
I had to stare at the screen for a good few seconds wondering if he was trolling me or not.
"Bas… Are you… Aware that there are Anomalies and portals around the world that people like me have to fight to protect the rest of the world from being invaded by them?"
"Is there such a thing happening? Where?"
"Buddy… Have you been living under a rock this entire time? When was the last time you saw the news?"
"I don't watch the news… They don't interest me."
Yeah… I think that one line alone basically confirms that this guy is a shut in.
I sighed, "The rifts are real, Bas… There are real monsters coming into this world and part of my work is joining the defense to fight against those monsters. Now that we have a Mortal God, I'm basically signing up to be his bodyguard."
There was another short moment of silence before he spoke again.
"I will meet you, leader… I will find a way to get to you. You do not need to worry."
I was just about to ask him what he was talking about before I heard the sound of him leaving the voice call.
That was… Definitely odd…
But if he really wants to meet me in real life…
I went over to his profile and dropped him a direct message telling him which country I was from just in case he mistook me to be living somewhere else and told him to give me a call when he had booked his flight so that I could arrange to fetch him or something.
After that weird conversation, it felt a little odd to just stay in front of the computer so I decided that I might as well just take a walk outside.
I already figured out that I could absorb more of that Qi energy if I move to a different location so I should just try it out here on Earth as well.
The question of whether the Qi energy replenishes overtime would also be answered once I check again tomorrow so that's also nice.
Putting on a disposable face mask and throwing a windbreaker over me, I silently stepped out of the house before making my way out.
I have to make a note to return before my family wakes up…