Arthur slowly opened his eyes with a small groan. He wasn’t feeling any particular pain but his body was a little numb due to the lack of movement for long periods of time. Blinking slowly, all he took in was a dim room.
At the same time, the glass door of the FIC opened for him. Without saying a word, he put his hands outside and pulled himself out before landing on his feet. Holding his face, he rubbed his eyes.
“Ugh… I’m finally back.” He muttered as he looked around him. The room was as he left it, dim, and surprisingly very clean. He expected to see a layer of dust after several days of being left completely unattended to.
“Did some staff workers come in here and clean it?” Arthur muttered to himself. “Well, that’s very nice of them. I don’t have to clean the place myself.”
So, the boy stretched his limbs to regain his full motion, and that was when he noticed something even more surprising.
“Wait… Did I get even taller?” Arthur exclaimed as a smile appeared on his face. Looking down, he immediately noticed that the ground beneath him was way lower than before. This wasn’t some small change that was hard to notice, he was way taller than before.
Quickly, he rushed toward the mirror and stared at himself. There, his eyes examined his appearance with twinkling excitement. The change that he had undergone in a few days was… Insane.
“… Holy shit…” He muttered with a gasp of shock. Not only did Arthur increase several inches in height since the last time he looked in the mirror, but his entire appearance as a whole was changed completely.
To begin with, his weak and skinny body had become considerably more muscular. His shoulders widened and his back became more broad and strong. His arms grew in length and his biceps expanded. Even his thighs became almost twice their previous size. Arthur now became a lean yet muscular guy.
But, arguably the biggest change he had undergone was on the upper side of his body.
“… I look… Way better than before. I can even say I’m handsome now!” He muttered as he touched his cheeks and turned his head around. His face, while still basically retaining the same features, had become far more defined and far more pleasing to the eye.
His jaw became sharper, his nose a pointier and his hair more luscious and soft as it dropped over his forehead. Even his eyes became sharper and colder, giving him a completely different aura than before.
If he was simply average before, then he was now certainly above average in appearance.
“This serum is pure magic… It can’t be described as anything else.” He muttered as he flexed his body a few times. “I can’t believe my own eyes. I have truly become a completely different person.”
Although this change was exciting, Arthur could only feel a little weird seeing himself in the mirror. This was certainly not the same miserable face he saw in the mirror every morning. His dead eyes had regained their light and he was smiling more. His horrible life was truly changing for the best and he was guiding that change with his own effort.
‘It’s all thanks to Divinity Online. It had changed my life forever. I’m really grateful.’ Smiling brightly, he clenched his fists. ‘Let’s see how far I can go.’
Then, he turned around and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. After cleaning himself thoroughly, he ate some food and finally sat down. on his bed and looked through the window at the dark sky outside. It was around 1 AM so it was pretty late.
When he felt the soft mattress beneath him, Arthur finally realized that he was truly back in the real world. Everything that happened in the past few days gave him the urge to stay alert or at least keep looking around in case a monster would ambush him in the dark. But, no such thing was going to happen.
He can truly relax at that moment. Sitting there silently for a few moments, he finally rested his head on the pillow.
“Hmm, should I sleep or spend the time training?” Arthur muttered to himself. “I guess sleeping is more important since tomorrow is going to be very eventful. Saying that… I really don’t have an urge to sleep.”
Although Arthur had been technically awake for several days now, he didn’t feel exhausted at all. In fact, he was feeling really good and even better than ever before. The energy pumping through his body reached a whole new level.
But, he knew that he would need sleep since he won’t have the opportunity to sleep as much for a while in the future. Balancing his time in the academy and his time in the game was going to be tough and sleep was simply not an option anymore.
“Oh well, goodbye sleep I guess. Consider this my last gift to you before our inevitable farewell.” He muttered as he slowly closed his eyes.
***
Several hours passed and the sun finally rose from the horizon, casting its ethereal light upon the Middle Island. The sound of the chirping birds woke Arthur up.
“… Wow, that sleep really didn’t do much.” He muttered to himself as he blinked. “I’m not even feeling drowsy. How energetic do I have to be for a night’s sleep to actually have no effect on me? This serum is turning me into a machine that doesn’t need rest.”
Looking at his clock, it indicated that it was around 7 AM, two hours before the first day of the academy was supposed to begin.
But, Arthur didn’t want to go there on time, he wanted to arrive early. The schedule told him that his means of transportation to reach the academy would arrive at 8 AM. So, he quickly left the bed, cleaned himself, and then put on his uniform.
“Hmm, they didn’t give me any school supplies so I guess everything will be electronic. Honestly, that’s way more convenient.” He said as he adjusted the necktie to be looser. Arthur didn’t like restricting his neck with ties. Then, he made a quick breakfast with the abundance of ingredients in his fridge.
The staff had told him that the fridge was going to be restocked regularly and if he wished for something in particular, he could ask the staff and he would get it.
After making sure he was ready, he finally left his room and exited the building.
“Hmm, the bus should be here anytime now,” Arthur muttered as he looked around him. Although the app didn’t specify what kind of ‘means of transportation’ would bring him to the academy, Arthur assumed that it was a bus since that’s what he was used to.
However, he didn’t know that his expectations were about to be shattered again. Going through the door, he halted as he noticed something. Right outside the building, in the parking area, there were dozens of weird-shaped objects lined up organized one after the other.
Next to the parking area, there was a sign.
“Sonic Boards?”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
