Evening Game

The game didn’t have the ability to simulate fatigue, but he was utterly defeated. Ethan lay down on the floor, looking up at the simple bulb in the ceiling. The house was a simple building with a living room, kitchen, and a single bedroom. Ethan glanced at Chione, who didn’t look tired in the slightest.

“How can you stay spirited like that?”

“What do you think I do before I play the game?”

“Right…”

Ethan couldn’t help but feel like he was being a bad influence.

“Still, thank you.”

He felt like he understood a lot more today, after having her tutor him personally. He wasn’t sure if this little thing about his feelings had anything to do with it, but he suddenly felt something, or maybe someone, pushing him to improve himself, to reach for the dreams he didn’t have.

“You’re welcome.”

She answered, looking satisfied. Ethan checked the time. It was nine-thirty, thirty minutes before he needed to go to bed. Maybe it was thanks to her, but he wanted to study again, for a bit longer. She didn’t look tired, so he couldn’t tell whether she was actually tired or not. He didn’t want to force her to teach him any longer, not for now at least, but he felt that he could still push himself a bit more, just a bit.

If he asked her about it, there was a chance that despite being tired, Chione would be willing to push both of them further. He didn’t want that.

“By the way, I did a bit of research about the tower.”

Why now, of all times?

Ethan couldn’t help but wonder. With mid-term exams coming right before them, and considering that she was the one pushing for him to study, she should be the last person to say that.

“I think it’s impossible.”

She continued in a rather depressed tone. She stared out the door, which had been left open. Dust and mosquitoes didn’t exist in this world, at least not in the big cities. A fresh breeze blew into the house.

“Yes, you’re right.”

Chione brought her eyes toward him.

“You think so?”

“Yes.”

Ethan said in a matter-of-fact way with slight nodding, his eyes shut. He imagined the difficulty of the tower, the levels spanning beyond the tenth level, going up to maybe infinity. It would be great if that wasn’t the case. He wished level ten was the last, but it was quite unlikely. Fiona did say that the difficulty jump was much more significant compared to the previous floors, but that didn’t necessarily mean that level ten was actually the last.

“But, I won’t give up.”

He said as he opened his eyes and looked at Chione with a smile.

“You’re willing to help me with my exams, even if it looks impossible.”

He got a thirty-two from one hundred, drastically below the minimum requirement to pass of sixty-five. From an outside perspective, it looked impossible, just like climbing the tower.

But they wouldn’t know until they tried.

And Ethan refused to give up.

If she didn’t give up on him, then he wouldn’t have the right to do the same.

“I’ll help you reach that top and reunite you with your sister.”

He said with determination. How would he do it? Would reaching the top even do anything? He had his own doubts regarding the matter, especially considering the fact that this was a game. The rules of this world weren’t set in stone, and it could all change at a moment’s notice with a simple patch log. Things they fought so hard for could all be changed with a few lines of code, so any promise he made here seemed hopeless, uncertain, but he refused to let it all get in his way.

He wanted to help her, like how she helped him, and for now, he set his mind to focus on the things he could do.

“If there’s another, better way, then fine. But until then, I won’t stop.”

I won’t stop trying.

Because I wanted to play with you.

Seeing him, Chione let out a chuckle.

“Fine, if that’s what you want, my prince.”

My prince…

Ethan stood up and shook his head.

“No.”

He took off his cloak and put it on Chione.

“I’m not your prince, neither are you my princess.”

Because I won’t carry you there.

No.

We’ll reach that place together.

“We shall climb that tower together.”

Ethan and Chione looked at each other, their eyes intersecting, before swiftly turning their backs in a desperate attempt to cover their faces.

“Together… hehehe…”

“Ah!”

“That sounded like a confession.”

Chione chuckled nervously.

“Please forget about that!”

The ruthless, somewhat, training continued for the entire week, even on the weekends. Ethan, who had been neglecting his studies up to this point, turned his brain on in full force to catch up, cramming every single material he could into his mind. It felt extremely exhausting, but every time he saw Chione’s smile, he felt something pushing him to continue going forward.

And the day of the exams came around.