Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Uzaki Family
"It seems so," Rei remarked with a twitch at the corner of his mouth. Baki had warned him twice about the substantial power consumption of the game capsule. At the time, Rei hadn't taken it seriously, but now it had turned into a running joke. Rei blamed Baki for jinxing it.
Baki: "???"
"It's pitch black." Umaru removed the game glasses and the two receptors from her temples. A void of darkness filled the game caspule, devoid of any light. Even her phone, left outside the warehouse, provided no source of illumination. "Senior, what should I do?"
Little Umaru, afraid of the dark, clung to Rei's rising clothes. The little orange-red hamster curled up against Rei.
"The game capsule is locked? What a clever design," Rei mused. He extracted the key from the game capsule's surface, but there was no response. Without power, it wouldn't budge. Rei could escape the game capsule by just breaking out of it with a punch.
A simple solution, but Rei found it hard to go through with it. Especially since he hadn't even played a game in the capsule, and the power outage was only temporary.
"Unless someone's outside to help us open the lid, we'll have to wait it out," Rei suggested. He explained that there had initially been an adaptive air conditioner in the game capsule to prevent it from feeling stuffy. Now, without power, the air in the capsule was growing increasingly stale.
Through the game capsule, Rei heard a knock on the door.
"Umaru, are you at Rei's place? I'm cooking at home, and it seems there's a power outage. Are you okay?" Taihei's voice came from outside.
Umaru, who was afraid of the dark and had her eyes shut, immediately shouted loudly upon hearing Taihei's voice. "Big brother! Big brother! I'm inside! Come save Little Umaru! I can't stand it in here!"
Taihei: "..."
Did he hear that right?
"It's so hot, so uncomfortable, big brother! Big brother!" Taihei: "..." Taihei clenched his fists and struck the door directly. The already old door, even with Taihei's weak physique, couldn't bear the impact and broke. "You beast, stop it! Little Umaru is just a child!" Taihei brandished his spatula high and shouted vehemently.
...
"So, you were stuck in the game capsule?"
"Yes." x2
The power was restored in the apartment. Rei and Umaru sat side by side in front of Taihei, receiving a lecture from their older brother.
"This apartment indeed hasn't been renovated in a long time, and the wiring is old. However, regular use is still entirely feasible. Ultimately, the game capsule demands too much power, and it's only high-end communities that install such large units," Taihei explained to Rei.
"And you, Umaru." He then turned the conversation to Umaru. "You're already eighteen, yet you're still playing in a game warehouse with Rei. Isn't it enough to act spoiled at home?"
Umaru lowered his head, and tears soon welled up in her eyes.
There was no need for many words. With those teary eyes, she occasionally glanced up at Taihei, making the stern Taihei feel a pang of emptiness. Was he being too harsh?
"I'll arrange for someone to reinstall the wiring tomorrow." Dropping these words, Taihei rose from his seat and returned to the kitchen to resume cooking. Before long, a delightful aroma wafted through the air.
Umaru wiped away his tears, and his entire demeanor changed in an instant.
"Senior, since we can't play for now, let's use a game helmet instead!" Little Umaru transformed into a little hamster, slid to the floor, and rolled directly under the bed. From there, she retrieved a game helmet.
With a sister like Little Umaru at home, there was no need for mops. Simply rolling around the house every day was enough to keep it clean.
"Senior, where's your helmet? I'll go get it for you," Little Umaru suggested. The door to Rei's house had been broken, and now she could enter without even using the key.
"It's under my bed. The charging cable is there too." Not long after, Umaru returned with a game helmet, tossing her slippers into the air. She then transformed from a beautiful girl into a little redhamster. Holding the helmet and charging cable high, she directly rushed towards Rei.
"Start!" x2
Both of them, wearing helmets, laid down on the floor.
The scene before them changed rapidly. When the dazzling light effects subsided, Rei's eyes were met with towering mountains, flowing rivers, an endless sea of clouds, and Villa behind him.
Umaru promptly applied to join the team. "Senior, your cabin has turned into a villa!" Umaru immediately noticed the change in Rei's home. The dilapidated log cabin from before had vanished, replaced by a three-story single-family villa with a larger area and even a small garden.
"Well, I gathered some materials last night, and it looks much better than before," Rei stated.
Umaru nodded, acknowledging that it did look a lot better. Then, she glanced at the status bar. Yesterday, she had met an untimely demise, slain by wild monsters. Upon returning to the main city, her health had only been restored to sixty percent, necessitating medication. Immediately after, she expressed her surprise, "Level fifty-three!" Senior, why did you level up so quickly? You were only at level fifty yesterday."
On the team status bar, the level displayed above Rei's head had suddenly become level fifty-three.
"After gathering the materials, I played a few more missions. It's normal to level up quickly," Rei explained. Since he claimed the experience for himself, it was only natural that he progressed faster than the team's average.
In this game, there were no daily limits on experience acquisition, nor were there restrictions on entering missions. For a dedicated player like Rei, as long as he kept grinding, the progress was bound to follow.
"Umaru, you should focus on leveling up first. You still haven't completed that task," Rei suggested, observing the determined look in Umaru's eyes. "And if your level is too low, I won't be able to take you into higher-level missions."
Hearing Rei's words, Umaru pouted but ultimately agreed. He opened the teleportation point to the first floor of the forest.
Rei glanced at the materials required for house upgrades. "I don't need wood this time. I'll need a double-layered ore. Time to go all out!"
...
Uzaki residence.
Fujio returned home from work and found his wife, Uzaki Tsuki, kindly handing him a cup of hot tea. His son, Uzaki Kiri, sat on the sofa, engrossed in the TV, while his youngest daughter, Uzaki Yanagi, watched the TV alongside him.
(All the characters mentioned above are from "Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!")
Fujio turned to Tsuki and inquired, "Dear, where's Hana? I didn't see her around."
Tsuki pointed to Hana's room and replied, "She's in her room playing with her phone."
"Alright." Fujio nodded. He leisurely sipped the hot tea handed to him by Tsuki and gently knocked on Hana's door. "Hana, it's me, can I come inside?"
He had to completely put an end to his daughter's obsession, starting from tonight.
Thinking of the example set by Rei, Fujio knew full well that the boy his daughter was obsessed with could never fulfil his expectations.
Even if the other party were truly outstanding, could they possibly surpass Rei?
If it were some scrawny youth with no muscles to speak of, he wouldn't recognize them!
What if it were a delinquent with a head full of colorful hair, leading his kind-hearted little duaghter astray? Then, she'd be ruined for life.
If... There were no 'ifs'.
With this in mind, Fujio's resolve grew stronger.
"Yes~" Hana remained unaware of Fujio's thoughts and called out from behind the door.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone