7 Chapter 7 – Breaking the Barrier

Inside his room, the VR capsule opened, and Max climbed out. His body was slightly covered in sweat even though the capsule had a cooling function. While it wasn't good enough because it was the worst capsule out there, it should be enough to keep him from sweating a lot.

Max was drenched because his concentration was high, and he did a rather advanced movement in the game.

"I guess this is why I feel rather tired and hungry, huh? I can't play too long without the nutritional supplement. I would be too tired, and my performance would worsen."

He pulled his collar, looking down at his drenched clothes.

It felt uncomfortable, so he removed it and put it in an automatic washing machine in the bathroom.

"The future is so convenient." He commented with a smile as he put on a fresh shirt.

To be honest, calling it the future might not be entirely correct.

Max wasn't sure whether he was in the future or a different world, as he didn't really like history and couldn't differentiate what happened in the past through literature and records.

The names of the countries in the world were also slightly different from what he remembered. Even the country he stayed in was called the United Nations, and it was located in where North America was in his original memories.

Anyway, the most important thing was that he had been given a second chance at life and was really hungry.

Picking up his jacket, he pulled the hood up and left the room. It was locked automatically and could only be opened with his biometrics. Then he walked down the hallway and left the slightly run-down apartment through the elevator.

Max's apartment complex wasn't exactly the best. He could only stay there thanks to the government support.

Actually, he also wanted to move to a better place, mainly for safety reasons.

But that was enough. He was happy enough with the blessing of walking and living again.

With a smile, he walked away from the location, through a rather dirty alleyway to the main street of Lime City, where some restaurants were located.

The feeling of moving his feet in real life felt great, especially since he headed to have a meal.

It was a real meal and not a hospital meal!

That was why he bothered to go to a restaurant where he could order food from a drone delivery. It became one of Max's joys besides streaming.

'Maybe I should make a mukbang streaming in the future. It would be great if some restaurant sponsored me to advertise their place.'

Before long, he had arrived at a small restaurant with a few guests inside.

This place sold spicy noodles, something he began to like after trying it in the past three days. Not only was it cheap, but it also had a big serving and was delicious.

"Welcome!"

A cheerful voice from the waitress greeted him as soon as he entered. She was an energetic girl with short brown hair.

This girl was Nina, and according to Max's fragmented memory, they had known each other for quite some time and were the same age, reaching nineteen just a few months ago.

She had helped him in the past many times, mainly by giving discounts and something similar when he had no money to buy anything to eat.

In short, Max was indebted to this kind girl.

Upon seeing Max entering, her expression brightened immediately.

"Ah, Max! Are you here to eat again?" She asked, approaching him with light steps and a bright smile.

"Yes." He answered, nodding at her. He sat on the nearby chair and looked at her, "The usual, please."

"Got it!" She chirped after getting the order.

With a sweep of her hand, a hologram screen appeared in front of Max with the bill for his order. He casually raised his hand and tapped his watch against the screen, paying for his orders.

"Thank you for your patronage." She cooed, "Just wait for a minute, alright. I will bring it soon."

Nina turned around and left after she closed the hologram screen.

What happened earlier was thanks to the smartwatch. At this current age, everyone used it to do everything, from paying for groceries to browsing the internet.

'It's so convenient.' He thought once again before falling into silence. 'Still, it's rare that many people visit this place. It's usually empty, with only me eating. Is it because of the construction nearby? They look like workers. Well, it's good for Nina and the business.'

Max didn't think too much about it and chose to relax. He planned to return and continue streaming after resting until 6 PM.

There were still 5 hours until then, and he would use that time to find information about Knight's Journey.

He didn't want to be blind anymore about the game in his second livestream and at least wanted to make another clip that satisfied his viewers. His current knowledge wasn't enough.

'They will expect me to do something great again this time. From what I experienced earlier, I will probably get tired again after 2 or 3 hours. Without the supplement, that's my limit to livestream and playing with my full performance before my body gets heavier.'

Max clenched his fist into a ball. His body was healthy but weak. It didn't get enough training or nutrients needed.

From his fragmented memory, Max knew that the previous owner of the body didn't like exercising. He preferred to hole up in his room and watch a livestream through his VR capsule.

That was why it couldn't really handle the game when he truly needed it.

'I need to exercise. Even if I love streaming, my health is more important than that.'

"Thanks for waiting!"

Max's thoughts were stopped as he heard Nina's voice. She put a large amount of noodles with red broth on the table.

"This… Isn't it more than the usual?" He asked the girl, looking at her curiously.

"Hehehe, we're doing pretty well today. So the chef is in a good mood and accidentally makes more than he was supposed to. Also, I can't eat a spicy noodle, so do us a favor and eat it! We can't waste food!"

Max knew that it was just an excuse. They always had new excuses whenever he came, as they knew he only had enough money to survive for a few months if he didn't get a job.

He was grateful and smiled at Nina.

"Thank you."

"Hehehe, Eat a lot! I will go now. Other customers need me."

Nina strode away and helped the other customers with their orders. Max only smiled softly before he looked at his meal.

"Thanks for the food."

He gobbled it down in one go due to how delicious it was.

After he was done eating, he returned to his apartment and did what he had planned while exercising lightly, such as doing push-ups, sit-ups, and squats, as he sourced the internet.

The information about Knight's Journey was easy to find, and he could expect what kind of mission he would get next.

However, as this game's story depended on a player's choice, Max also couldn't rely on the internet's information alone.

With his progress so far, he could also be entering a hidden route because he had triggered a different event that hadn't been seen before.

When the digital clock reached 6 PM, Max stopped his research and entered his capsule.

"Let's start."

Max muttered as he entered his Lobby, the grass plain without anything. He immediately loaded the game and started the stream in Punch.

[Livestream start!]

The game booted at the same time the notification appeared before him. His vision changed once again into a medieval city where he walked down the road with Knight Captain Hutch riding a horse in front of him.

Max was surprised. Not because of how realistic and beautiful the medieval city was. But because of the number that was written under the chat window.

[Viewers: 386]

He broke the 300 viewers' barrier in his second stream.

— Oh, he's here!

— Finally, I am curious about the cutscene.

— Cutscene where?

— Breeze, is it? Let's see whether you're a real newbie or a smurf!

— Kind Hutch… I want to breed him.

— Why are you gay?

— Is the cutscene going to be different now?

The chat was moving even faster than the time he got a rampage in his last livestream in his previous life.

Max's jaws dropped as he shouted in his mind.

'For real?!'