Solomon spent the rest of the day with his books.

He wanted to clear out everything that had happened from his mind.

By the next morning, Solomon's head was a mess.

He had a dream that night of him getting chased by a giant, perverted gorilla. Atop of the gorilla's head was a fat rice cake shouting out offers and counter offers. It was like he was getting chased by debt collectors! As he ran, he felt his legs giving out. Solomon knew he wouldn't last much longer....

That was when some old bag of bones appeared beside him, offering a magic drink that would give him the power to fight his pursuers.

Solomon rejected the offer immediately, slapping the drink from the man's hand. Soon after, the gorilla's hand reached out and grabbed Solomon.

"Hey, Solomon, you don't look too good. Don't tell me you were up all night with your games again, were you?"

Tommy was worried after noticing Solomon's ill expression in the morning.

Solomon was pale and he had overslept. Dark bags hung below his eyes.

He missed his breakfast!

"Stupid idiots! You can put me through embarrassing situations, but don't mess with my sleep and meals! If I don't pay you back ten times for these troubles, I'm not Sky Master Solomon!" Solomon thought.

Solomon's head truly was in a shambles. He was mixing up his game identity with reality....

Solomon looked up from his desk after hearing his friend's concern.

"No, it was the complete opposite. I was studying 'til I passed out... I was trying to stay away from Vr yesterday..."

Solomon avoiding Vr? Was the sun rising from the west today?

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. If his friend was turning away from his unhealthy Vr habits, then it was fine.

Solomon trudged on with the day, and as time went by, he slowly recovered from his stupor. 

When lunch had come, Solomon was back to his normal self.

The four boys were eating lunch as usual. Zachary mouthed off about his Vr accomplishments while the rest silently listened.

Joey's face was expressionless like a wall. It seemed he was used to this. After all, he had known Zachary since they were little. It seemed they would see each other a lot outside the school since their parents were friends.

Tommy on the other hand was filled with confusion. He would occasionally ask questions like "What is a Dragon's Ascension cultivation method?" or "Why do your characters take so many pills to get stronger?"

Tommy didn't play as many Vr games as the others. Although he would play with the others occasionally, he would usually focus on his sports. To him, most of the game talk was gibberish.

Zachary was in the middle of his story about slaying a Crimson Dragon in Tales of the Mountain when one of their classmates approached them.

"Don't you ever shut your mouth? You're the only one I hear talking whenever I pass this table!"

The one who scolded Zachary was a tall girl. Black, shiny hair fell to her back. She had pale skin as if she never went outside. Solomon was curious if it was her lotion or if she was naturally like that. It was hard to not get a tan here unless you truly despised the sun like Zachary. Although she was pale, it did not make her seem ill like Zachary. It gave others the impression of pureness. As if she were sheltered from he troubles outside.

If Solomon were to rate her looks, she would be a seven out of ten. Solomon's rating wasn't very reliable, however, as his friends would often tell him he had a poor eye when it came to ranking beauties.

"It's always Vr this and Vr that with you guys! You guys haven't turned in your class funds yet. How are we supposed to prepare for class events like field trips if we have leeches like you!"

The girl was Sarah Bell, she was the class treasurer. 

Solomon shrunk back like a turtle retreating into his shell. He forgotten to pay his share. It was already a week overdue, but it would always slip from his mind.

It didn't seem like his friends were any better.

If he weren't being scolded as well, he would have thought the scene was quite comedic.

The large and muscular Tommy hung his head down as if a powerful tiger was prowling around him.

The usually calm Joey gave out a sheepish smile and pretended to look through his bag for the funds.

As for Zachary, he happily whistled an upbeat tune. He didn't seem to have a care in the world!

"Idiot! Have you no shame! We were supposed to pay a week ago! How can we be considered men if we can't even keep simple schedules!" Solomon scolded inside.

Zachary's disgusting voice then resounded through the area.

"Ha ha! Sarah, aren't you a bit uptight? Looking at the pale faces of the other tables, it seems like they forgot as well! You can't punish us all can you?! Why don't you just scold the entire class while you're at it! Can't you see you're bothering everyone?"

Solomon slowly looked around. He didn't want to seem like he was readily agreeing with Zachary, that scum.

Just as Zachary had said, most of the other students were flustered. They must have forgotten to pay too....

But Zachary! Your method of saving us from the Treasurer's berating is the way of a coward!

You're using the power of the crowd to make her seem like the outsider who's destroying the peace! Will you blame the police for breaking into a gang infested town too? After all, those gang town's have their own sense of "peace" that the government is destroying! No matter how you look at this, you are turning the tables when your still in the wrong!

To Solomon's surprise, however, Sarah didn't falter to Zachary's words.

"Hmmph! So what if I'm destroying the peace! If you were criminals, I wouldn't hesitate to execute you all!"

Sarah sent her cold stare across the lunch tables. It felt as if she was staring everyone in the eyes at once!

The students couldn't help but lower their heads in defeat.

Does this chick have a super power or something? Are you one of those masters who are so well-trained they can defeat their enemies with just a look? Will I die just for making eye contact?

After defeating the entire class with her stare, and imprinting her dominance into people's instincts, the treasurer left three simple words.

"Pay by tomorrow."

Three words, but for some reason it felt like a thousand.

Solomon could feel killing intent from the simple request!