12 Therapy Time

"What do I do now?"

Bob was still crouched down in an area within the cornerless house. He fiddled with the system and absorbed as much knowledge as he could.

'Something is not right in this world.'

That was his conclusion.

'I don't know why, but Tudmang is considered as something virtual by the System.'

It was not that Bob could not understand that the world he was living in was not real. Still, Bob refused to believe that fact. How else should he react?

But most of all, he was curious about himself.

'What am I?'

He read through all the information he could and guessed that players meant adventurers. As he was now an adventurer and suddenly received player benefits, he was now a player.

However, the information he read states that players are those that play the game for recreational purposes. Bob was not living in the world just to have fun.

'I just wanted to be left alone with my chicken.'

Bob did not care for strength. He was a mild person and chose to be in the background. He did not have enough reason to get stronger, unlike any other player.

'I'll just stay here with Mom.'

Bob decided to stay stationary and be within the presence of his mother. He did not want to venture because his only relative, his mom, was already with him. The only sad thing was that his mother was but a robot.

A day later.

[Your friend 'Chikinsupu' is online.]

Chikinsupu finally finished serving his death sentence. He did not get an experience loss because the game allows low-leveled players to enjoy the game without much repercussion.

'Oh.'

Bob opened his Friend's list and saw the Chikinsupu's name was glowing. He pressed the name and there was a prompt that showed itself.

*You need more friends. Buy one now for only 399$.

*Chikinsupu

-Send a message.

-Call.

-Report.

-Block.

Bob wanted to send a message to his only friend. He now understood how the system works because he used up one day of his life to reading through what he considered as important.

But before Bob could press the option, another prompt showed itself.

*A private call with Chikinsupu initiated.

[What's up, Bob? Where are you right now?]

Bob heard Chikinsupu's voice. This time, he was not surprised by the call.

"Hello, Chikinsupu. Where have you been?] He replied.

[I died. But that's alright. It isn't so much of a set-back.]

"You died?" Bob asked worryingly.

[Yea. I did. But I didn't lose any experience so all is well.]

Bob was confused about the concept of death with players. He may have read through the system, he still hasn't digested all of the information he read. It would take him a while to get used to things.

"Uhm. Okay. Where are you now? I've been looking for you."

[Dude. I just told you. I died. Where else would I be?]

"Heaven?"

[... Sorry, I forgot you were a boomer. I'm back at Bagel Village.]

Chikinsupu was being rude but Bob does not know what boomer meant. It isn't in the system at all.

"I'll be here in Donut City, tell me when you get here." Bob said lifelessly. He did not have the mood just like a woman on her period.

Bob ended the call prematurely. On the other side of the call, Chikinsupu was dejected.

"You could have offered to help me get through the forest. Oh well, it will only take a day at most."

Chikinsupu walked around Bagel Village to look for a party to join. This time, he would properly pick a party. The last party he joined was a disaster.

'That looks like a decent party.'

Chikinsupu approached the party and talked a bit with the party leader. He was accepted into the party because he did not look like a newbie, Chikinsupu also said that he had experience confronting the hamsters.

3 tries. That was the number of times Chikinsupu trekked the forest before he finally made it to Donut City.

"Thanks, guys! Do you mind if we all add each other as friends?"

That was what Chikinsupu said to his party. This was the intent of the developers making for the new players. Giving a hard trial so that the new players were forced to gather into a party.

The party would forge friendships within the timeframe where the players were still innocent, therefore there was no reason for any kind of drama to arise. Of course, aside from the occasional troll.

"Great! I'll catch up later. I have to go meet a friend of mine."

Chikinsupu walked away from the party. He wanted to see how Bob was doing and he also wanted Bob's secret.

'He still hasn't told me why he didn't die from the explosions.'

*Calling 'Bob'

"Yo. Bob! Where are you in Donut City? I'm here."

[Really? Then head to my mom's house.]

Chikinsupu was baffled. Houses were a bad investment when you play an MMORPG. There was barely any advantage when you obtain a house but the costs were exorbitantly high.

"...Sure. Where is it?"

Chikinsupu gave up trying to understand his friend.

[Okay. Are you still at the gate?]

"Yea."

[Follow my instructions closely. I'll tell you where to go. R1, R2, L1, X, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, UP. Got it?]

"I got it!"

Chikinsupu followed Bob's words religiously and soon enough, he found the house that was misplaced within Donut City.

'This is a house from Bagel Village.'

Knock Knock~

"Bob! Are you in here?" Chikinsupu asked loudly. His face was full of confusion because this house was a quest destination of his.

Turn and Click~

"Chikinsupu. Come in." Bob greeted Chikinsupu at the door.

It was a mundane scene. Just like visiting a normal house in the real world. And that was what made it feel weird to Chikinsupu.

"Hmm. Bob. You said this is your mom's house, right?" He asked.

Bob nodded and pointed towards his mother, who did not have a striking presence just like Drax from Galaxy Guardians.

"This woman is an NPC. And this one does not have an AI in it." Chikinsupu mumbled.

He went forward to meet Bob's Mom and looked at her name as an NPC.

'Her name is literally [Bob's Mom]'

Chikinsupu chuckled upon seeing the developer's laziness.

'Isn't that name supposed to only be a placeholder? They could have just slapped a name like Karen or something.'

Chikinsupu shook his head. He did not want an NPC named Karen at all. He looked at Bob who was not in high spirits.

"You doing alright?" Chikinsupu asked Bob.

"To tell you the truth. No."

Bob replied just like an emo kid from 2010. His head was down and he looked ragged.

"Hey. Cheer up. Let's go level up!" Chikinsupu said.

However, Bob just shook his head at his statement. Bob did not speak but Chikinsupu could tell that Bob was going through something harsh.

'So I'm guessing this guy is having a family problem IRL? Most probably with his mother. That's why he's staying with an NPC named Bob's Mom.'

Chikinsupu thought. He was assuming things but he felt that he should give Bob some advice or perhaps just accompany Bob for a bit.

"Hey. Do you have any worries? You can tell me all about it. I'll at least listen."

Chikinsupu was being considerate of Bob. He was a good friend. At his statement, Bob smiled for a bit and heaved a sigh.

"It's my mom. She's gone crazy, and not just her." Bob began telling his story.

"Uh-huh. Go on." Chikinsupu listened to Bob's grief carefully.

"She doesn't respond at all. And every time we talk, its almost like she doesn't know me at all."

"That's rough. Continue."

"My friends are being like that too. They all suddenly became weird. I don't know what is going on! It feels like the world suddenly changed for the worse!" Bob expressively said.

"Oof. Dude, I know that things can get rough sometimes. But I don't think blaming the world would be the best course of action."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me ask you a question. Did something in your life change recently? Like a major aspect of your life, your lifestyle, personality, job. Anything of that sort?"

"Yea?"

"Then maybe they're against that change. There are two ways to get through this, and that is 1; you change it back and reunite with your family and friends or 2; you accept how things are and move on."

Bob heard Chikinsupu's words clearly, but he couldn't understand his point. If Chikinsupu's words to be correct, then the reason Bob was getting ignored was that he suddenly gained awareness of himself?

It did not make sense to Bob. However, to Chikinsupu, he thought that Bob was suddenly outcasted by his family and friends in real life. Therefore he gave reasonable advice to Bob.

"You don't get it. This is my MOM!" Bob said loudly as he pointed towards Bob's Mom.

"You're crazy. Hahaha." Chikinsupu laughed at Bob's skit.

Bob felt betrayed. His only friend laughed at his situation and did not take things seriously. His sadness only grows further.

"Look. Things may not be looking great, but at least have fun. So what do you say? Let's go level up!" Chikinsupu tried distracting Bob from his issues.

"No, thank you. I'll be staying here with my mom for a while." Bob replied.

"Sure."

Chikinsupu made it to the door and let himself out.

'This guy will quit the game for sure.'

He saw the severe depression on Bob's face. It was not something that he could diffuse by himself as he was not a professional.

'Let's just go.'

[Chikinsupu: Hey, guys! Where are you right now?]

He talked in his party's chat box and walked away.

(AN: the pacing is too slow, let's do a time skip.)

3 months later, Chikinsupu and his party had a fun time with each other. They explored a lot of ruins and dungeons and leveled pretty neatly.

Then suddenly-

*World Message: Hell Dog Letani began her attack on Tepat City.

The beast that Bob released unwittingly has finally made her move.