Internet cafe.

 

A place full of wonder and joy. If a utopia could truly exist, then this place was the closest thing to one. Everything you need is at the touch of your fingertips and there is always someone there to assist you with your needs.

 

“You know that you can’t live here forever, right?” Kaguya grinned, a knowing smile spread across her face.

 

I stared at her, confused about how she read my mind. “How did you know what I was thinking about?”

 

“You always mentioned it all the time in the game. Fufu, even the whole clan knows about your passionate love for internet cafes. How could they not with your constant preachings?” Kaguya giggled, delighted by my odd fondness for these cafes.

 

It was true that I talked about living in an Internet cafe forever, but that was just a joke I told my clan members in the game. Once again, I was reminded that Kaguya and Kamori were the same person and not completely different people. On a subconscious level, my brain was having trouble understanding that my online gaming friend was standing right next to me.

 

“Shall we go in?” Kaguya asked, flashing two tickets in her hand. “I got both of us day passes, and don’t even think about trying to pay me back. Don’t forget, I’m a princess who has enough riches to last her several lifetimes.”

 

“…Are you sure you can’t read minds?”

 

Kaguya knew that I was going to offer to pay, which was why she established her wealth ahead of time.

 

“C’mon, don’t worry about it. Let’s go and play!” Kaguya grabbed my arm, pulling me along to the area with computers.

 

We sat down at two vacant seats and signed into our respective Wild Rift accounts on the computers. Everything was already fully updated and ready for use, so logging on to the game didn’t take too long. No less than a few minutes later, Kaguya and I spawned into the beginning town, which acted as a hub for all players.

 

“Should we do a quick dungeon run? I still haven’t completed my weekly allotment of the hard-mode dungeons.”

 

“Mm, let’s do the phoenix dungeon then. The other hard-mode dungeons take too long to do,” Kaguya opened her menu, finding the quick teleport spot. 

 

After a few clicks, Kamori and Zakito were teleported to the base of a volcano.

 

The home of the phoenix was a nest atop the volcano, with there being several floors in the volcano itself that are the levels we need to ascend. There were 12 levels in total, each harder than the last. That typically meant the dungeon would take a while to complete.

 

However, the community found a way to clear all the floors in less time than a normal, full clear.

 

The 80 percent tactic was the name of the strat.

 

Essentially, it required buying an absurd amount of dynamite, a grappling hook, and people to get the aggro of the monsters. Our clan had done this strat many times before, so I already had everything we needed in my inventory.

 

In a nutshell, we needed to run around the populated areas of the floor and grab the attention of every monster in our vicinity. Then, the monsters will be led to the boss room, allowing us to take care of the boss and all the monsters in one go. From there, we grapple up to the roof and buff our damage with potions and abilities.

 

Once all damage amplifications had been applied, there was only one thing left to do.

 

“Fire!”

 

-KABOOOOM!

 

Explosions echoed throughout the volcano as we relentlessly threw down bundles of dynamite, causing a chain reaction that was extremely lethal to the monsters waiting below. The monsters were being evaporated, which was the same case for the floor boss. Typically, floor bosses wouldn’t take that much damage from dynamite, but the damage-buffing effects had scaled the damage to an ungodly number.

 

This technique only worked for this dungeon because of the peculiarities of the monsters. Although they had high elemental resistance, their resistance towards normal attacks were quite low. Even the floor bosses had this peculiarity, resulting in an overwhelmingly efficient attack.

 

However, this method was not without its cons. Dynamite and potions were not cheap, so it was not a strat that could always be used. As for the loot dropped, only the loot of the monsters killed will be dropped.

 

Eighty percent of the loot in the dungeon came from the boss and monsters, while the other twenty percent came from chests. To save time from having to scour every inch of the dungeon for all the chests, players typically ignored the RNG loot from the chest and focused on boss drops, hence the name 80 percent tactic. It was an efficient strategy based on getting as much loot in as little time as possible.

 

“Oh nice! This guy dropped a legendary scythe!” Kaguya exclaimed, happy with what she got.

 

As Kaguya celebrated her loot, I couldn't help but grin at her excitement. We had just cleared the sixth floor with the strategy, repeating it for a total of six times so far. After killing the mid-dungeon boss, he dropped a rare weapon that was perfect for Kaguya to use.

 

"You're really lucky, Kaguya," I remarked, trying to hold back a grin.

 

She turned to me with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Maybe you're just unlucky, Haruto. Or maybe I’m just extra lucky today because I’m on a date with you.”

 

My cheeks flushed bright red at her teasing words. "W-What? This isn't a date, Kaguya. We're just playing games together, right?”

 

She laughed, a melodious sound that seemed to echo through the internet cafe. "Oh, come on, Haruto. Admit it, this is a date, isn’t it?~”

 

I fumbled for words, my mind racing a mile a minute. Was she serious? Was this really a date? No, it couldn't be. We were just friends, right? But as I looked into her eyes, sparkling with mischief and something else I couldn't quite place, I couldn't deny the fluttering feeling in my chest.

 

Before I could respond, she leaned in closer, her breath warm against my ear. "Don't worry, Haruto. Whether it's a date or not, I'm having a great time with you."

 

And just like that, my mind went blank, lost in the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside me. 

 

“…”

 

Once I calmed down, we resumed our climb to the top of the volcano. Despite the difficulty increasing, our pace was gradually growing. Before we even realized it, the twelfth floor was cleared and now there was only the top of the volcano with the phoenix resting in its nest.

 

However, we didn’t want to start the battle yet. To get the entire Internet cafe experience, Kaguya and I took a break and ordered some food. The aroma of freshly cooked ramen filled the air as we placed our order on the internet cafe’s restaurant app.

 

Finally, the moment arrived as the server brought us our steaming bowls of ramen. Kaguya’s eyes lit up with excitement as she took her first bite, savoring the rich broth and tender noodles. I followed suit, sipping the savory broth and enjoying the burst of flavor with each mouthful.

 

“Life is good…”

 

“Hehe, you’re so passionate about the little things,” Kaguya chuckled.

 

If I had to be honest, today was a fun day. I got to spend time playing games and eating good food with Kaguya, but for some reason, it felt like I was forgetting something.

 

-Bzzt!

 

-Bzzt!

 

[Sakura]: Haruto, where are you? I can’t find you anywhere. I’m going to have to go out to look for you soon if you don’t respond…

 

[Shizu]: I’m going to look through your internet history if you don’t come home soon!

 

It seems that I had forgotten to tell these two girls what I was doing this afternoon. A tired sigh escaped my mouth, mainly due to the inevitable future that awaited me at home.

 

“I’m getting scolded later, aren’t I?”