As I eraining Area 1, my eyes swept among the scattered pyers and NPCs going about their routines. One figure caught my attention. A trainer NPC. A tactical vest yered over a dark shirt highlighted his tall, muscur body. Scars, faint and deep, ran across his forearms as reminders of the battles or how hard he practiced coded into his design.

  Why did I notice his hand? Well, because he waved enthusiastically across the room and began walking toward me.

  "Hello, and wele to the Physical ditioning area! I am Coach Marlon. Here, we get to improve our physical performance. All set?"

  I nodded in reply.

  "Very good! We will use the first session as a prehensive assessment to create a program that best suits your needs."

  Hearing the NPC's words made me sider something...

  Starting too basic would waste my time. I could even do it without a coach; I uood the form and routine for optimal physical ditioning. But sihe game meic was in the way, I had to go along.

  Still, I would voice my specifieeds. " we start from stamina development? I realized my stamina is not up to par, especially during prolonged activities when quick recovery is necessary."

  The NPodded. "A solid choice! Let's target cardiovascur, lung, and muscle endurance."

  He then led me to a se of the area outfitted with treadmills, rowing maes, and ellipticals. I examined all the equipment before devising a pn for using it in the following session.

  "We start with some warming up oreadmill. We shall go slow and increase acc to the beats in your heart. Then, we are going to do interval training. It is perfect for developing power endurance."

  I o what that NPC said before stepping oreadmill.

  A few minutes of warm-up followed, during which I accelerated with each successive one, gradually getting my body used to this pace. Yes, the blood went faster., and mymuscles got warm. This was a familiar process of preparation for something more plicated. Moving on to interval training, I increased the ine and speed, intensifying my push for quick thrusts before tapering off to a more manageable pad theing the procedure.

  My breath was under trol. In and out. A teique that helped me gain maximum oxygen and preveing tired too soon.

  After the treadmill, we rested before moving to the rowing maes.

  Surprisingly, this NPC set the resistance high. It was good that I knew how to hahis; of course, it was with good form! I kept my back straight, pulled with my arms and back, aended my legs. And he kept a good eye ohough occasionally adjusting the challeo be more difficult.

  Each exercise tested my stamina to its limits, but I made it through. Coach Marlon's ents during the earlier part gradually ebbed down to only occasional instrus, too. He mostly stayed attentive as an observer; his nods and impressed murmurs could be heard.

  It was the same as now. When I rowed with a steady rhythm and maintained perfe, he leaned in and ented, "Form is everything. Not only will you avoid injuries, but your stats will improve more effitly. You already have a solid uanding of exeg these exercises, which gives you an advantage over many others who rely solely on brute effort."

  I nodded subtly, my hands gripping the rowing mae's haightly. I focused on maintaining my rhythm—legs out, back straight, arms following. Responding to Coach Marlon verbally would have broken my flow, so I let my as speak for themselves.

  When we cluded the session, this NPC threw a cold water bottle, and I caught it. Huff. I drank it while slumped against the wall in the er of the room.

  "I must say, impressive! Your form and every uandiail of an exercise make it obvious you are ners to physical training! So why is your status that pitiful..."

  HNG! I almost sprayed this drink! Right? Right?! This avatar dition athetic! Ah, well, this was how it felt to be a newbie.

  It seemed Coach Marlon didn't know the status and ditions of the pyers, with all statuses being put to [F] for a fair start. Hence, I was so weak, even though my knowledge was still there. It was only natural for Coach Marlon to be like this. Also, because I didn't introduce myself, he wasn't aware of what level I was.

  So, instead of saying what I felt, I just finished my drink and smiled at him.

  "Well, regardless of where you are starting from, today indicates you are on the right path! Let's see how your stats improved from this session alone." Coach Marlon tapped on a tablet he had been carrying, and then a holographic dispy popped up before me.

  Physical ditioning plete! Stamina +5Strength +50/10 points to Grade E on Stamina0/10 points to Grade E on Strength

  Ding!

  Additional Stats Gained! Max HP increased by 50[Base HP: 740]?Base HP: 790

  Oh?

  Although I didn't receive any EXP, this ge initiated me to look at my overall status; I thus opened my own menu s.

  Status Window

  Pyer ID 234310317NameLuoLevel11Main GradeFTitleFreshman Health Points 1022(+3onic Points257Fatigue77 PradeF+ trol GradeF+StreabilityFSpeedF+TacticEStaminaESyncF+DefenseF+Mind DefenseEReflexF+FocusEThe increase wasn't that spectacur. But sidering I was still level 11, some statuses have upgraded from [E]! While most pyers cim to have difficulty increasing just o was a small step, if I may say so, but every jourarts with one. Unlike some fi I watched where one practice turned everything into Grade A.

  "You see? One session has already had an impact! With sistent training, just think of the progress you could achieve!"

  Coach Marlon's exaggerated praise brought my attention ba; I closed my menu s and smiled politely. "Thank you. This is also thanks to yuidance."

  Sihe follow-up iion was over, I decided to stand up to cheyself. Tiredness did strike, though less intehan I had expected. But after five minutes, all the stiffness and exhaustion disappeared, and my status's [Fatigue] meter returo zero. The auten system. If the avatar stayed idle for five minutes, its dition would slowly return to normal.

  'A cssie in VRMM.'

  I threw away the empty bottle in a nearby bin and walked out of the [Training Ground]; faintly, from the er of my eye, I caught Coach Marlon waving as I walked away.

  When outside, the sun slowly sinking into the horizon was the first thing I saw. I checked the HUD and found that the server time was almost six in the evening. Knowing the five-hour differeween the game's server time and my local time, it was now nearly one o'clo the afternoon where I was. This time difference was due to the game using "global time" for all pyers (regardless of their home location).

  I didn't expect the workout to be the same as in the real world; almost an hour!

  'Ah, well, I missed lunchtime.'

  At this rate, I should log out immediately. In exge for missing lunch together, I'd have to present myself in the middle of my family. I hastily went to the Dormitory using my Mount, as pyers couldn't leave their avatars just like that.

  The reason was avatars would remain i pce you logged in, not disappearing like in mames. That was why pyers had to provide a safe spot when, for example, wandering in the wilderness. Or at least rent a room. If already joined a [Club], or more only known as a Guild, then pyers could stay in a personal room avaible there freely.

  Well, I know that as long as the pyer trolling the avatar was away, they couldn't be attacked until they logged ba. But the PKer could be waiting in the distance, so when you log in, they could attack you before you have a ce to finish the transition.

  Possible, though, to save costs by leaving the avatar in a secluded pce, like atop a tree. After all, it was still around Vaughan; if there was any otion, Disciplinarians would act quickly, unlike in the woods or city out there, where the security system depended on how the system in the respective pce operated.

  'Just like in Sneaky-Pete's case.'

  Sneaky-Pete yer's IGN. Like his unusual his person was also odd.

  One day, he thought it would be funny to log out in the ter of the Abominable Vault—C-level Raid pce—assuming that nobody would drag themselves to the most dreadful spot in Everwood. But he fot the boss respawning every 24 hours. Upon logging ba, Pete found his avatar grievously injured + stripped of his rare equipment by other pyers who, attracted by the otion, decided to "help" themselves.

  The i was then dubbed "Pete's Blunder" by the pyer unity and was widely discussed at the time.

  With these in mind, I reached the front of the Dormitory faster than expected... also because I took some shortcuts thanks to its location in the heart of Vaughan, there were plenty of ways to get there.

  From here, I could see that the Dormitory's exterior featured rge gss windows that reflected the sky and the surrounding greenery. Its structure was several stories tall, with a rge courtyard in the ter housing a diverse range of pnt life, such as hedges ly trimmed and t trees providing shade.

  I dismounted my Mount, letting it dematerialize back to Heart Core, and put it in [Iory]. I then made my way towards the entrao the automated doors that reized my pyer ID, allowio pass without bother.

  Wele to the Dormitory!Dozens of pyers were rounding about here. Some milled about the lobby chatting, while others likely carried simir pns to log out. The air was filled with nguages and ughter, a reminder of the game's global reach. But seeing such a crowd somehow bothered me, so I quickly spoke to the NPC at reception.

  "A room, please."

  "Of course." She fiddled with the puter as she accessed the database, then gave me a card. "Room 237. Sed floor, corridor B. Will you need me to show you to the pce?"

  I waved it off and picked up the bck card instead.

  Heading to the back, I passed the elevator packed full of pyers—Nope. Prefer the stairs.

  The low noise of eleid muted murmurs of versations in the rooms repced the lobby's sound as I made my .

  After getting to the sed floor, I followed corridor B, ting the numbers on the doors as they went up until I got to room 237. Sing the panel o the door with this card in my hand, it opened into a modestly sized room. A bed. A desk. A small wardrobe. A table mp. Windows. All those were its only furnishings—everything I needed, nothing I didn't.

  I stepped in, closed the door softly behind me, and walked closer to the bed. Lying on top of it, I opehe menu and scrolled to the left bottom bar, where the [Log Out] button was. When I clicked it, a series of prompts appeared. With each firmation, the virtual world around me faded with indistinct shapes and colors before it finally faded away.

  Being total bess.

  And, ah! I felt like I was falling backward through an eunnel until suddenly, I was staring at the ceiling of my room with the VR:Ser snug against my face. The heaviness in my eyes (and head) greeted me, so I pulled my body down to let the helmet slip off my head. Slowly, I massaged my tightly closed eyelids.

  While I was still trying to ground myself, a systematic voice from my room system interrupted my ritual. "Wele back, Luo. Would you like a summary of yame progress today, or is there anything specific you need?"

  Nyeh! I waved ond then rubbed my face with my palm.

  "Uood. Please let me know if you require any assistance or wish to review your progress ter."

  D.N.A.