Chapter 3: Inevitable Apocalypse
Blake jumped and quickly turns around upon hearing those words.
At the sight of the figure standing in front of him, his eyes were jolted wide open as he can't believe what he was seeing. On one hand, his mind is trying to convince him that this can't be right, but his eyes said otherwise.
Standing in front of him unfelicitously is the exact woman that was in the card illustration.
Compared to the illustration that is nothing more than a drawing, the actual living flesh of the fox woman is very hard to describe. She was more bewitching, the air around her was overwhelming, yet there was a daunting feeling to her.
'Wow, she's way more surreal in person than in the illustration' Blake thought in wonder.
But he quickly shakes his head realizing that he has a more important thing to think about, he puts on a stern look as he becomes wary of the fox woman, 'Snap out of it, the more beautiful the woman is, the more dangerous she is'
'Just like that bitch, Tiffany' he thought, sizing the fox woman warily.
Pushing himself off the ground quickly, he then asked in confusion, "Who the fuck are you?"
"Who am I? Who are you?! I don't remember you being one of the Privilege Players, so why am I here?" the fox woman asked back without answering, it seems she was also confused as to why she was here inside this room with Blake.
Upon saying this, the fox woman then reaches out her hand to point at the black box.
Intending to ask a question that is bugging her mind, the fox woman was surprised when she saw a glint of a sharp object heading her way. Blake grabs a knife from his drawer and swung it at the fox woman.
But to his surprise, the knife went through the fox woman's head as if she was a ghost.
Slap!
"Oww! What the heck was that for?!" Blake complained.
Although he thought the fox woman was a ghost before, he quickly erase that thought away when the fox woman actually able to slap him on the head. "Are you really asking me that? You're the one that attacked me first! If not for my condition, I would've killed you by now"
"Listen here, lady, I don't know who you are, but I'm having a bad day" Blake replied.
It was only a moment ago that he almost died, so he was tired. "I'm not going to deal with you and any of this, so leave me alone. I want to sleep" he added before making his way to his bedroom.
After everything, he didn't want to deal with this situation that makes his head dizzy.
"I must be going crazy. Now an illustration comes to life and can even smack me on the head, maybe everything will get back to normal after I get some sleep" Blake mumbles to himself and takes off his shirt.
Under the fox woman's eyes, Blake jumped to bed and buried his face into the pillow.
It didn't take long for him to doze off to the dream world again.
While watching Blake get comfortable in his bed, the fox woman looks around, pondering about something. "Hmm... how can he get his hand on the Limited VR Helmet? I was supposed to be the Persona of a human called Maya, now what do I do?" she mutters to herself, putting both of her hands on her waist while shaking her head.
At the very least, Blake is not the only one puzzled by this situation.
Seconds turn to minutes, and minutes turn to hours before eventually, the sun came up.
Blake stretches his body before opening his eyes, he looks at the clock beside his bed and finds that it was already midday. Considering that he almost died yesterday, it's an achievement to wake up around this time.
Getting up from bed, he went to the kitchen to grab himself some water.
Due to just waking up, his soul hasn't merged with him fully, and he didn't realize that there was someone lying comfortably on the sofa, looking at him with interest. When the glass is full, Blake started chugging the water.
"I see that you've already woken up" the fox woman commented from the side.
As soon as he heard the voice, Blake nodded in agreement. Yet, his body tensed up in realization. 'Wait... I live here alone, who said that?!' He thought before turning to see the fox woman's gleaming eyes.
"Pffhh!" Blake choked, water burst out of his mouth when he saw the fox woman.
But that choking is enough to snap him fully back to reality, he remembered that earlier at dawn, the fox woman appeared out of nowhere. "Relax, I'll explain to you what happened. Sit down and listen to me"
Even though the fox woman said that with no malice, he was still hesitant.
Eventually, he decided to sit on the single sofa beside the large sofa the fox woman is sitting on, putting a distance away from her. In his perspective, the fox woman might still be a dangerous spirit or something.
"Okay, explain it so I can understand or I'm going to be tempted to put myself in an asylum"
Seeing that Blake was akin to a person that is on the verge of going crazy, the fox woman giggled sweetly before she started her explanation. "First of all, my name is Salana. And I think there has been a mistake between us..."
With that, the fox woman started explaining the situation.
First of all, Salana explains the Limited VR Helmet that he used. It was more special than being limited as it turns out it was reserved for people that are part of a group called Privileged Players. Each of them is meant to be the strongest inside the Lunaris game, and will eventually be the pillar and aegis of humanity.
Blake doesn't know what she meant by pillar and aegis of humanity but he kept listening.
In that regard, Salana is meant to be the Persona of a woman called Maya.
Salana then proceed to say that Limited VR Helmet can be divided into seven categories, and each category has its own benefit inside the game. Those categories are Player Killing, Racial, Class, Analyzer, Appraisal, Cartographer, and Luck.
Each category is designed to help the Privileged Players to grow faster than other players.
For instance, the one Blake has right now is the Limited PK VR Helmet that comes along with Salana as its Persona. Limited PK VR Helmet will help Blake in becoming stronger through Player Killing, providing numerous benefits in doing so.
Moreover, if Blake is strong enough, there are other benefits that he will have access to.
"Although I'm not meant for you, there's no turning back. Me and you are already connected the moment you summoned me, so no matter what, you're going to be stuck with me" Salana said with a nonchalant tone.
But Blake was in a daze, his mind is still trying to wrap around the information he just got.
"Okay, let me get this straight, so basically I gained an unfair advantage over other players in the Lunaris game. Is that right?" Blake asked, trying to keep his mind straight and fully grasp the situation.
Salana nodded her head while grabbing a cookie and trying to eat it but failed.
The cookie simply went through her mouth and fell down.
Just this act alone makes Blake properly faces her and said, "It's cool and all, but you still haven't told me anything about how you can actually be here, in this room, with me. At the end of the day, the Lunaris game is only supposed to be a game, right?"
"What are you saying? It's not only a game, it's THE game" Salana replied with a frown.
Upon hearing this, Blake frowns, he also feels uncomfortable as Salana looks at him weirdly as if he was an idiot. "It's the game that will help the people of your world survive. If you're weak inside the Lunaris game, then you'll not survive when the Inevitable Apocalypse came"
"Inevitable Apocalypse? Did you mean that the game is connected to real life?" Blake asked.
Not even a hint of hesitation, Salana nodded her head firmly.
Blake paused for a second, thinking about the situation clearly, but he eventually shakes his head, "No, you must be lying. I think the helmet is somewhat connected to me, and you appear, but you're not real"
Salana paused for a second, her eyes squinted weirdly.
But that pause didn't last long as her eyes widened in realization, yet she kept silent for a bit.
It seems like she realized something but didn't tell Blake and laid back on the sofa again.
"Just create your avatar already and play the game, you'll eventually see what I mean later. You'll be forced to be a believer then" Salana said, grabbing another cookie and trying to eat it again but ultimately failing again.
Upon seeing two cookies on the ground, Blake clicked his tongue, "Stop that already"
"I'm testing something, why are you so salty all the time?" Salana rebutted.
Stuck in a trance for a couple of seconds, Blake eventually stands up and heads to the door with wide steps, "I need a damn coffee for this" he said, grabbing his wallet in the process.
But seeing that Blake was heading towards the door, Salana out of nowhere leap from the sofa and landed beside him with a sweet smile on her face, "I'm coming with you, I'm curious to see what this world looks like"
"Are you dumb or what? Look at yourself, you'll stand out too much" Blake replied harshly.
Aside from the eye-catching white fox ears on her head alongside her gleaming eyes, the dress-like armor that she's wearing will definitely garner attention. Not to mention that her exposed long plump legs and cleavage can definitely magnetize the eyes of men.
"Oh...? Didn't you say that I'm not real earlier?"
Salana gave a faint smile before she opens the door and swooped outside.
Upon seeing this, Blake tries to pull her back to no avail, he can't touch her. "Salana, stop! Are you crazy?! People are going to see you and would think that I have some cosplayer kink or something!"
"Relax, don't be too stressed or you'll become older faster" Salana replied teasingly.
Just then, Blake heard someone coming down the stairs, the footsteps are getting closer and closer. Despite trying to glare at Salana, telling her to get back inside, it was no use as she was not listening to him.
It was then, a voice called out to him from the side, "Oh, Blake? Aren't you working today?"
"V-Victor, I'm taking a day off today..." Blake replied with a wry smile.
Clear awkwardness can be seen on his face, he was already getting ready to be bombarded with questions regarding Salana who dressed oddly for the current era. No matter what, he can't get out of this.
Although it's not going to look good, he can only try and dodge the questions.
But even as Victor came down and stands in front of him, not once his eyes glanced over to Salana who is standing right beside him. "See, no problemo, nobody can see or hear me except you. At least not now"
'Fuck, I almost died of shame for nothing' Blake thought, cursing Salana inside his mind.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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