The Immortal Player

"Where am I? Why is it all dark? Why is it cold!" Pedro felt that his body was like falling deep in the ocean, where it was cold and dark.

[System Notification! Special log in confirmed!]

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Checking player information data!

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Log in completed!

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Initializing engine!

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Entering game in 3!

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Entering game in 2!

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Entering game in 1!

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[Log in successful! Player 'Death' welcome back to Bearth!]

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"..." Pedro slowly opened his eyes as he saw the ceiling of his room in the Karakoa.

"I am in-game? What happened?" Pedro slowly rose to a seating position as he places his hand to his forehead trying to remember the previous events. The last thing he could recall was him in the traffic and the old woman collapsed.

"I guess I'll log out to know what had happened!" Pedro opened his interface and worked his way through the logout button.

"What's this? I can't log off!?" Pedro relentlessly pressed the logout option which was greyed out in his interface.

"No... No... No... No... This can't be happening?!" Pedro kept pressing the logout option relentlessly as a female figure slammed open his bedroom door.

"Will you be SILENT! We are talking about something here!" Madame Soledad's face frowned as she scolded Pedro who seemed like he just woke up and kept pressing something in the air.

"Madame! Wha... What are you doing in my room?!" Madame Soledad was holding the remaining serving of the dish he made before he logged out.

"Oh! Your "Apprentice" is awake, Soledad!" Before Pedro could react further, another woman peaked out of the door.

"Senior Alivia?!" Pedro wore a grim look as another man peeked in and it was no other than Elder Frederico. Pedro could only sigh as they went to his room's living room that was cramped of the remaining dished he made. Madame Soledad and Alivia returned to eating the dishes Pedro made as soon as they sat on the couch.

"Kid! Though it has fewer nutrients than the usual dish, It tastes good compared to Frederico's!" Madame Soledad kept eating like a glutton and indirectly mocked Elder Frederico's dish.

"You can... just... eat... many of this... to match... the nutrients... Frederico's dish provides!" Alivia kept eating the already cold dish as she 'ignore' Frederico's presence.

"Frederico! Why don't you taste it!" Madame Soledad glanced to Frederico who crossed his arms and looked irritated.

"Hmph! My dish might not taste this good, as you say! But it is full of nutrients!" Frederico replied in a stubborn manner as Pedro sat down on a separate couch.

'OF COURSE! The nutrients in that dish were very low because I am only an apprentice rank cook and the dishes I can make were of low quality!' Pedro uttered inwardly as he scanned thru his Interface.

Cooking was a simple and basic talent. The higher your rank is, the higher the quality and amount of nutrients it can give. Consequently, the harder it is to master making the dishes by the increased failure rate.

In his past life, players initially just cooked by the usual method they learn from NPCs until some culinary students who played the game and explored the different ingredients available in the game. They experimented until they found out that the taste of food can be improved and was not dependent on the cooking rank of a player.

Hence, although the quality and nutrients of the dish Pedro cooked were low, the taste was something new and delicious to NPCs like Madame Soledad and Alivia who had not tasted something like that before. (This can be related to real-life where there were foods that tastes good but was not that healthy or has fewer nutrients compared to the foods or dish designed for a healthier diet.)

"Now! Now! Frederico! Have a taste! Here! Choo! Choo! the train is coming!" *Choo! Choo! Madame Soledad lifted her spoon with the sauce and a chunk of Octrocras (Squid-like) meat. Frederico looked sideways irritated like a child saying 'HELL NO!'.

"OPEN UP!" Madame Soledad shouted as her eyes turned all black. Other than Alivia, Madame Soledad scared the sh!t out of Pedro and Frederico. Hopeless, Frederico could only open his mouth as Madame Soledad shot up the spoon to his mouth just like a mother and child.

*GULP! The room was filled with awkward silence as Frederico swallowed the food. Madame Soledad, Alivia and Pedro stare in anticipation of Frederico's reaction.

'Hallelujah! Hallelujah!' Frederico had an awkward, happy look on his face like he was someone who was reborn again. Tears start to flow out of his eyes as if God has given him enlightenment.

"Well... I must admit... It tastes good! BUT! IT CAN'T MATCH THE NUTRIENTS IN MY DISH!" Frederico acted like a 'tsundere' that made Pedro frown as he considers the scene in front of him weird and awkward. (Imagine an old man acting like a tsundere... LOL)

Frederico picked up a spoon, took a bowl of the dish and ate as he can't already control himself due to the smell that came from the dish. The three kept eating as Pedro inspects his Interface. The first thing that caught his attention was the Notification tab.

[System Update Complete!]

[Update Contents are listed below!]

1) The Inventory tab/interface would be removed and replaced by an 'Inventory Bag'! Everything in your inventory box is transferred into the 'Inventory Bag' that is attached below. Be notified that the bag is not bound to the owner and can be taken by other factors like other players, NPCs or even monsters!

2) Bound or SoulBound Items can be taken together with the Inventory Bag, however, no other player can use the item, weapon or equipment other than the owner and would show an unknown status to others.

3) Minimum pain reduction would be fixed at 80%. Other reductions like Feeling, Smelling and Hearing reduction would be removed and be fixed at 100%.

4) The friend list interface would be replaced by the 'Communication tab'. The existing 'friend list tab/interface' would be under it at the same time, a new tab called 'Earth communication tab' was added. In 'earth communication tab', players can send realtime messages and calls to people outside of the game.

5) The player ranking is activated. Players would be rated by the survival rating. The survival rating would be rated by the following:

A level increase below 3, the player would be rated "F".

3 to 5 level increase would be rated "E".

Above 5 to 7 level increase would be rated "D".

Above 7 to 8 level increase would be rated "C".

Above 8 to 9 level increase would be rated "B".

Above 9 level increase would be rated "A".

To students, this would be the basis of the corresponding grade you would get.

The player ranking board is activated. It will showcase the top players on Bearth per server.

Note: Being Enlisted in the player ranking board is not mandatory.

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'Nothing new!' Pedro sighed as his attention was shifted to the next notification. He glanced at the three who was still busy eating like he was not in the room at all. Hence, he decided to continue checking the notifications.

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[System Notification!]

Please be advised that you are currently undergoing a special type of Medical Treatment! Your logout button is currently disabled until the treatment is completed!

Doctor's Note: Currently, you are unconscious and currently in the so-called 'Dream State'. Thanks to the advancement of science and technology, you can play the game while going under medical treatment. Hence, Don't panic as your body is slowly recuperating and as we wait for you to regain your consciousness.

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"???" Pedro was flabbergasted after reading the notification as he started to recalls the 'missing' events that occurred that explains why he was back online in the game.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!

Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag!

PAAAK!

As Pedro recalls the scene where a truck was about to hit his car, a bowl hit directly in his face that made his nose bleed.

"DEAATH! I SAID MAKE MORE OF THAT DISH!" Pedro got back into his senses as Madame Soledad's eyes turned all black, again, and was fuming with anger directed at him.

"Righ... Right away!" Pedro jumped out of the couch and head straight to the kitchen out of fear.

"Yeeeey!" Alivia's belly bulged like a balloon as she raised her had of happiness and looking forward to eating more of Pedro's dish.

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Author's Note:

You guys might think that if he is conscious in-game, why is he not conscious in real life?

The reason was the technology of VR Boxes can only alter the unconscious mind ("Dream State") and manipulate it into something like the game. Hence, It may look like he is conscious in-game, but he is actually currently in a "Manipulated Dream State".

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Also, 'Elder Frederico' was the Chef and owner of the bar area in chapter 40.

It may appear that he is somehow a 'scammer' in chapter 40 but the price really speaks for the nutrients the dish have. The Porridge Pedro ate had the 'average' nutrient content, hence, I did not emphasize it that much in chapter 40.

Why Madame Soledad and Alivia liked Pedro's "Octrocras" (Squid) dish was because of its taste... And... (We'll see in the next chapter, but... you guys might have a guess already! Hahaha!)

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