Races: Online (VR Smartphone App)

Han Jing bolted up from his bed and nearly knocked his head against Odele. He flailed his arms wildly, until he realized where he was and who he was with. The man was in the little hotel's sofa and currently had a Mermaid who clutched her head, while she herself had been hovering just above him.

Her knees rested on either side of his body, uncaring and possibly unaware of such closeness. Or didn't care about it at all. The bright-eyed Mermaid gave him a look and laughed. "I was about to wake you up, sleepyhead."

He was glad enough to have no morning wood—or rather, his body hadn't given him one in this kind of situation. Instead, his body pumped with blood and the excruciating pain somehow seemed as if it passed over to his own current body.

Han Jing clutched his shoulder hesitatingly.

It didn't feel like there was blood and as far as he was aware—there were no blood-sucking Vampires between his three current roommates. After dinner, he somehow managed to still fall asleep and dedicate his time in another world despite sharing a small room with a Mermaid, Wood Elf and a Demon Lord.

There was no level of dislike or anything monumental in that order.

At least until he caught the eye of someone who definitely shouldn't have been blending in the background. 

"We've been delayed because you kept sleeping." Jilanya glared at him from the other end of the room. She currently had a mug of coffee in her hands, the scent of dark roasted one wafted across the entire room. "If you had any decency in keeping your word then at least use an alarm that you humans have to remind yourselves of appointments."

"Were you having a good dream, Han?" the Wood Elf asked as he stepped out of the bathroom in perfect timing. Faeran had shifted into a new outfit of the day and had even pulled his hair up into a ponytail. "The sun had already risen hours ago but you were deep in your slumber."

He sighed and just said it.

"Ugh, I just got stabbed—well, hit by an arrow."

"I did not know that your tastes are like that," Faeran chuckled and rubbed his chin. "But that seems to be a pastime of yours then?"

Odele's eyes widened as she hopped off from the sofa and stared down at him dubiously. "You like getting hurt? That's so strange."

Han Jing rubbed his face, shaking his head and then met the Mermaid's gaze. "No—it's nothing like that. My classmates and I got attacked by some criminal gang in the city."

Her gaze became more serious as she clenched her fist. "That's horrible."

"It is."

Han Jing glanced at his shoulder, the white shirt he had wasn't stained in red and there were no signs of any sort of carnage on his body. But it felt like he still had been shot regardless. He rubbed his shoulder self-consciously and sighed.

"Ah, it seems like the lack of proper hierarchical structures—expected from your race." Jilanya said. She took a slow sip of the coffee and then rested against the couch she sat upon. "If I had been the one in charge, I would have ruled over the people with an iron-fist and prevented such dissents from occurring."

"Well, I'm not the one in charge."

"You're supposed to be," Jilanya said with an unpleasant look in her eyes. 

Han Jing rolled his eyes, "You're just like Faeran here—told me to save a Princess from a dragon and be a King of some sort."

The Wood Elf coughed. "Ah, I do remember that." Han Jing had made no mention of the lack of weapons given, which was good. If anything, Faeran was impressed that this human's short-lived memory worked well in remembering anything that he had said.

But the others latched on to the specifics of the Wood Elf's words with a little less than stellar approval. And yet, the Demon Lord had to ask. Jilanya's brows rose and she pursed her lips. "By Dragon, did you mean the one staying alone in—"

"I thought that Dragon preferred taking Princes over Princesses?" Odele offered helpfully. "I wasn't sure where I heard that though, but I think the main and top brass dragon does like abducting men over women."

Han Jing blinked. "Prefers men?" 

The last time he had checked on the Universal Chatroom, he hadn't met anything, rather, anyone who seemed to be called a dragon. And yet if there was a Chut as a Player, then the possibility of a Dragon didn't seem weird. Heck, it fit more with his original idea of a fantasy world—it usually didn't include eldritch monsters.

Jilanya scoffed. "Now that's just a rumor."

"Come on, a Dragon's Prince doesn't sound as good as a Dragon abducting Princesses—for whatever reason they have." Faeran argued.

"I appreciate them having a hoard of treasures more than keeping Princesses that offers a headache." Jilanya rolled her eyes.

Faeran snapped his fingers. "Now that you mentioned it, I do know that Thae—er, a friend of mine had visited that old bag of scales some time ago after the Wyvern's incident. His dragon hoard was still quite plentiful when she checked it."

Han Jing stood up from his couch and stretched. "You guys disturbed a Dragon's lair?"

"Well not me, I was at the Enchanted Forest. But they were collecting the amount for the bet—and I forgot which one had won. Was it that Dwarf? Or the annoying Gnome, probably going to giggle again when they receive their gold." Faeran sighed and waved a hand. "It was actually a bet about your arrival I think—or was it you surviving Demon Lord Mursiel's attacks."

"Those were separate bets," Jilanya clarified.

Even though Han Jing had just woken up, the memory of that event made him frown and want to complain about it. His blood boiled slightly. And yet he could already imagine the Demon Lord's response—'What are you going to do about it, then? Fight me.' or something like that.

He understood his current strength now. It still didn't mean anything and he wasn't focused on proving his strength over gathering wealth. He'd rather not let his little Mermaid swim away at the first sign of trouble and so he grumbled underneath his breath.

"Well, let's quit lounging around here and focus on getting to our destination for the day!" Odele clapped her hands together and opted for a grin. When it came to talks about other Players and other topics like this one, she preferred to interrupt and change the topic.

Nothing good would come out of this.

"Right, amusement park." Han Jing grinned weakly and refocused his mind on now. He was pretty sure that when the Guardsmen had arrived, they were going to bring him to some Healer despite the night. He had clocked out right after it thanks to the Mermaid. "Can I at least take a shower first? I do hope you're ready for motion sickness."

"I was born ready~" Odele told him with a proud smile. "We even ate!"

Yeah, he wasn't sure if this was going to be any good—a Mermaid and a twisting and turning roller coaster that did the loop-the-loop would be any good. Maybe a wildly spinning teacup was a better option? "Oh the breakfast came?" His stomach grumbled at the thought.

Faeran walked over to his bed and sat down, he opened the television. "The people from earlier tried to bring us breakfast. We ate some while you were asleep, we hope you don't mind."

"It was a surprise you didn't wake up to the smell of food." Odele said. "Surely that would have been something that would wake you up—evolved to take care of physical necessities, right?"

"You give this Human too much credit. He's weaker than the ones that I've encountered before." Jilanya finished her coffee and placed it on the table. "Evolved doesn't fit the situation here, well… at least until recently." The Demon Lord gave him a look. "There seemed to be… a change in your immediate aura. So it means you've leveled up of some sort."

The three Individuals all seemed ready for him to pay attention to them closely. He scratched his head and turned to the Mermaid first. "I guess, but I was busy. And I really don't mind that you guys ate first."

The Wood Elf yawned, "Then it is a great thing that I was the one who opened the door."

"What's that supposed to mean, Wood Elf?"

"Oh nothing. I heard that Succubus were pretty close to the gluttonous demons, Beelz?"

"You're stirring up rumors again are you not?" Jilanya sighed and rested her hand underneath her chin. "Or misinformed as usual. Is this your age getting to you?"

Han Jing shook his head and resisted the urge to join in. "Well, I'll let you guys squabble. Try not to kill each other while I'm gone." 

"We're not children to be looked after!"

Odele waved her hand at him. "I'll be the peacemaker!"

This was going to be another long day wasn't it?

—-—-

Author's Note: If you've come here, then I suppose you're a little bit used to the sudden jumps in perspective between Otherworld and Earth. It's a delicate art I'm trying to master here and even in Potion Bar System (yes this was an advertisement) Hopefully this chapter doesn't seem too abrupt, heh. The idea and trope of found families, and people hanging out always appealed to me and hopefully we share the same tastes if you're here. Thank you for reading!