Civilization

After a bit more time chatting away with Evan we eventually had to split. Evan needed to go home and help out his family which left Rebecca and me to our own devices. During the whole conversation, I got to learn more about Rebecca. Usually, I would just see her on her phone at the counter whenever we worked together and we would barely talk to each other, just the bare minimum to get through the day. 

Now, I found out she lives with just her dad and she plays a lot of different games. She may be quiet but when she gets into a heated discussion she actively participates. She also likes sweet drinks and deserts and dislikes slimy foods and now she is following me home. Why? WHY? Why is she following me home?

"So…Whereabouts do you live? Or are you just going to keep walking in a straight line from the station?"

"Umm, Rebecca? Why are you following me anyway?"

"Because… "

"Because? "

"I don't want to be alone when I wake up…"

"What? But you don't even have VR helmet?"

"Don't worry this is coincidentally on the way home for me as well."

"Really? You live around this area?"

"Yeah, just down the road to the next intersection and turn right."

"Oh, me too…"

Coincidentally, Rebecca lived on the street next to me.

"Wow, who would have thought."

"Right? Didn't expect you to live by yourself here Ian."

"What did you think I lived somewhere else?"

"No, just surprised we lived so close but never saw each other."

"Maybe because we both play games a lot and don't interact with people."

"I interact with people. It's just you Ian."

"Okay… Are you really staying here?"

"Yes. I'm already here, now open the door."

"Fine."

I let Rebecca into my house and before I know it, she has already gotten comfortable, opening my cupboard to find a packet of chips and then snacking away at my table. I could see her looking around my house with eyes of curiosity.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just your house."

"Different from what you expected?"

"Not really. Bland with barely any furniture but the essentials. At least you have snacks."

"Sorry for being bland."

"Don't worry, that's just how you are so I didn't expect much."

"Well, that hurts."

"What do you want to do until midnight?"

"I'm not sure. I obviously didn't expect you to be here."

"I'm here now so entertain me while I snack."

"Have you seen the forum for the game?"

"Only at the start. Is there even anything important on it?"

"Sometimes there is useful information on it. Here, let me turn on the computer and we can at least both look at it."

I went to my computer and turn it on. Snacking on some chips as well when Rebecca moved from the table towards me. I open up the forum and look at the hottest threads and immediately I see a post that piques my interest.

"Supernatural Phenomenons. THIS GAME IS REAL?!?!?!" - TheIsekaiMan

Guys! I think this game is real. What we do in the game affects our real life. Now, guys, you might think this is fake news but I am being LEGIT. Last night in the game, I had an incident with one of the merfolk. I am situated in the west and near a river. It attacked me and my fellow NPCs with a water gun like attack just like in CapsuleAnimals and for some reason, it also inflicted a poison debuff. 

This poison HURT! It HURT SOOOOO MUCH! Imagine a swarm of bees stinging you from every angle and then the feeling of losing air, your muscle contracting, and finally you blackout. 

Now I died, obviously, to this merfolk but I died as the server closed and as I woke up I had the worse experience any person could experience. I open my eyes to the familiar ceiling of my room but it was different. I couldn't breathe, I had trouble gasping for air and I couldn't move a single muscle in my body. I felt like an elephant was on top of me squeezing the air out of my lungs while keeping me immobilized. This went on for seconds which felt like hours until suddenly I could breathe again. I could move again. To think I could have died twice in one night, man was I scared. 

After that disturbing way to wake up, I slowly got out of bed and went to the hospital. I explained that I had trouble breathing the moment I woke up and I couldn't move my body. After hours of testing, the doctor concluded that it was most likely sleep paralysis. 

Now, I know it was not that. It was real, too real.

It happened moments ago in the game and mere seconds into coming back from the game I experience it again. 

NO. I do not believe it when they say it was just sleep paralysis.

I KNOW.

THIS GAME IS SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST A GAME!

"Ian… Isn't this what happened to us?"

"Yea, similar but…"

"But what?"

"What he said and what the doctor said are both viable things happening. It could be just a coincidence. I know this morning I was shaken up about it too but after listening to Evan talk about it, it just seems too unreal. After all, it's just a game, right? It can't affect reality."

"But he-he had the same experience in the game and outside the game."

"No, if you look carefully at what he says there is a slight difference. He says the pain is like bee stings all around the body however when he woke up there was only the case of suffocation and paralysis. It is missing part of the effect."

"Do you agree with the doctor then?"

"I don't know. I'm just looking at what the user TheIsekaiMan wrote down. I'm not too sure myself."

"What is happening…?"

"I think we follow Evan's advice for now and just ignore it. There are more logical reasons to why some of this happened and it might have just been a coincidence or our brains just overclocking." 

"If you say so…"

"Why don't we just rest up and watch some TV until dinner and then wait for midnight?"

"Sounds like a plan. I don't really want to think too much right now."

The both of us got comfortable and started to watch some TV. Random shows were playing but I doubt either of us was really paying attention. Rebecca's indifferent expression had returned and she was laying down on the couch resting her head on the right armrest. I can't tell what is going on in her mind and what she is thinking about but I can guess it was to do with what happened this morning and all the different opinions about it.

I was in the same boat. Do I brush this off as a coincidence? There are logical reasons as to why some of these might have happened or is this the game affecting reality? The game affecting reality is too farfetched. I mean, how can that even happen? It's not like increasing my stats n the game has increased my strength or agility in real life. So how come all the negative things that happen in the game get reflected in real life?

Is it just what Evan said? Our brains overworked themselves in high-intensity situations and in turn replicated the effects on us once the game was over. 

Maybe…

It seems plausible. Studies on brains are constantly making new discoveries and this is just the tip of the iceberg. For all I know, that might just be the cause and I am overthinking things about it. I should just accept everything and just move on. 

Yeah, that's what I should do. There is no way a game can affect reality. It is just a game.

After deciding to myself that it is just a game my mind feels as clear as the sky. I start to enjoy the random sitcoms and look forward to playing again.

"What do you want for dinner, Rebecca? Rebecca?"

I look over at Rebecca only to find that she fell asleep. Her chest rose up and down slowly and a cute expression was on her face. I slowly sit up and move towards my room, getting a blanket and placing it over Rebecca, making sure to not wake her up. Since she was asleep I had to decide on dinner. In the fridge were some tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, minced beef meat, and beef stock. I look in my pantry and I also had spaghetti noodles and a spaghetti sauce. Time to get to work in making dinner, spaghetti bolognese. 

I start to boil water in a kettle while bringing out 2 large pots, filling one of them with boiling water and the noodles. I properly salt the water before placing a lid on top. Getting out a chopping board and a knife, I start to prepare the vegetables, dicing the onions and cutting the carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes into bite sizes pieces. After I was done, I start to heat up the other pot placing some oil in the bottom to prevent anything from sticking to the pot and placing in the onions. 

The sound of the sizzling onions fills the room as they slowly turn from pale yellow into a nice caramel color and at this point I put the meat in. Adding salt and pepper to the meat as I start to separate the mincemeat into small parts. Once the meat was done I removed it and placed it onto a separate bowl. I put in the beef broth as well as the other vegetables and waited for them to cook. After a while the noodles were ready and I poured them out into a strainer, instantly cooling them with cold water to prevent them from sticking to one another. 

The broth was boiling and the vegetables were soft so, I added in the spaghetti sauce, the meat and the onions. I also added some butter to thicken the sauce up some more and let it simmer for a while longer. The combination of tomatoes, meat and beef broth enveloped the whole kitchen and living room was a nice smell arousing Rebecca from her sleep.

"Food…?"

Her drowsy expression was unlike her character and after taking a moment to realize she was not at her own home she quickly assumed her indifferent character.

"Hungry?"

"No. Okay, yes I am."

"Help me set up the table and let's eat."

Dinner was served and the both of us enjoyed our dinner, with Rebecca washing the dishes as a thank you. We rested some more afterward and eventually, midnight came. I had already prepared another mattress for Rebecca as well as a pillow and blanket. Since she was still afraid of what might happen to her in the game she wanted to sleep in the same room, right next to me. Initially, she wanted to sleep in the same bed but I was able to dodge that bullet and suggested the second mattress. While I was tempted to sleep next to a pretty girl like Rebecca I was worried something might happen and one of us might accidentally hit one another as we woke up.

"Are you ready, Rebecca?"

"Ready as I will ever be."

"Okay. Just try to do as little fighting as you can in the game focus on building and exploring."

"Yea. I'll do my best. See you here at 6."

"See you."

I close my eyes as the clock turned midnight.

Back into Settlement I go.