“Wake up, brother! You have college in the afternoon!”

“Mmm…”

Stifling a yawn, Aleen struggled to wake up and stretched his body slowly.

He stood up and did a circulation with his mana to eliminate his sleepiness; he learned while training that circulating his mana not only helps to relieve fatigue, but also is good to increase his concentration and remove sleepiness.

Cleaning his mouth quickly, he wore a shirt and went down to the first floor. There, he found Claire lying on a sofa while playing with a bracelet on her wrist.

“I prepared breakfast.” She said, without moving his gaze from the device Aleen bought her. Aleen shook his head when he saw it before smiling and going to the kitchen.

“How long have you been playing with it, Claire?”

“Uh? Oh… I think I did not sleep last night.”

*Clang!*

“Mmm? Something happened, brother?”

“Nothing.” Aleen sighed exasperatedly while picking up the spoon that fell to the floor. “Now, stop playing with that thing already!”

“Sorry sorry… It’s just that it is very amazing. I cannot believe that something like this exists...”

“Yeah, but that is not a reason to not go to bed…”

With another tired sigh, he carried his breakfast to a table and sat to eat.

Claire obeyed Aleen and stopped playing with her bracelet. She then stood up from the sofa and walked towards the table where Aleen was seated before sitting down beside him.

Putting a serious expression, she asked.

“Are you going to tell me what happened in the game now?”

Aleen fell silent momentarily before nodding briefly. “Don’t worry, I will tell you.”

When Aleen returned yesterday, it had been eight hours from the moment when he left to the game. Aleen did not found it strange, because he felt that this game lasted longer than the first; Claire, however, entered on panic when six hours passed and her brother was not back yet, and thought that something happened to him.

So, when he finally returned, she found it hard to stop her tears from flowing while hugging him. Aleen simply hugged her back and patted her head softly to console her.

But when she asked him about the things that happened during the game, Aleen simply shook his head and told her that he was going to rest first.

He then slept deeply until ten o’clock in the morning when Claire woke him up.

Aleen could felt that his mind was much clearer after sleeping through the night. After all, despite being completely healed when the game finished, and being able to relive his fatigue through the circulation of mana, he couldn’t do anything about his mental fatigue.

Now that he slept, he found easier to tell Claire about the things he went through this time.

Organizing his thoughts, he spoke to her about everything without hiding anything, only pausing to eat or remember some details. Claire did not interrupt him through the story, but the different expressions on her face gave away her thoughts.

When Aleen finished speaking, she could not find words to speak to him.

In the end, she simply stood up from her chair and walked towards Aleen before hugging him strongly.

“It must have been hard.”

Aleen smiled wryly and patted her head. “Don’t worry, Claire. I’m not so weak as to need the comfort of a little girl."

“I’m not little, stupid brother.” With a small pout, she pinched Aleen’s waist strongly and returned to her seat.

Aleen simply laughed to it; after all, his enhanced body could not feel pain before such ‘low-level attack’.

Of course, Aleen did not say it to his sister; let she finds a more effective method to show her displeasure.

Shaking his head to his sister antics, he finished his breakfast and went to wash the dishes.

“What are you going to do now, brother?” Claire asked.

“… I’m not sure.” Replied Aleen after thinking for a moment. “For now, I will concentrate on training my skills. I also acquired some other books about mana, skills, and general knowledge across the dimensions; I will read them when I had free time.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have a place to practice my skills freely. I can continue practicing in the forest, but I risk being discovered sooner or later if I continue doing it.”

“Mm. You are right. It’s better if we find another place soon.”

Aleen nodded in acknowledgment.

He then looked down to his hands cleaning the dishes and hesitated for a moment before speaking to Claire again.

“… There is something that I have to tell you, Claire.”

“… What is it?”

Aleen did not answer immediately. Instead, he finished cleaning the dishes and turned around, looking towards Claire seriously.

“I thought about it and decided that it’s better if I stop going to college.”

“Wha!!?? But brother! Your degree– ”

“I made my mind.” Aleen interrupted her firmly. “I’m going to submit my resignation letter in the afternoon.”

Claire opened and closed her mouth repeatedly when she heard his words, unable to find anything to say. Aleen sighed when he saw it and explained the reason behind his choice.

“It’s obvious that the times are changing, Claire; and I’m in the middle of the changes. To be honest, I’m not confident of surviving for long without putting everything at stake to become stronger.”

Looking up, he observed the light coming out from the light bulb and continued speaking. “You see, from the moment when the last game ended, I cannot shake the feeling that if I would've been able to endure for another twenty seconds, no, ten seconds; everything would have been different and Ana still would be alive.”

Claire was unable to speak when she heard those words.

Though she heard the story from Aleen and knew about the things that happened in the game, Claire understood that the death of Ana changed something on Aleen; something that she was unable to understand.

For a moment, a feeling of fear invaded her. She got the sensation that, despite her brother standing here, before her, he was in a place far, far away.

Will their relationship be the same after five games? What about ten games later? Claire was very smart, and she figured out quickly that the games were going to become a barrier that will separate the two siblings slowly.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that she could do stop the games.

Biting his lips, she lowered her gaze to the ground. An instant later, she looked up to her brother once more, this time with a small, and a bit forced, smile on her face.

“Very well, brother! If you think that it’s the right choice, then I will support you!”

So, the only thing that she could do, was to support Aleen completely and heal his soul every time that he comes back.

With a relieved smile, Aleen patted Claire's head. “Thanks.”

At that moment, the doorbell of the house rang.

“Huh? Were we expecting someone?” Aleen asked Claire.

She tilted her head slightly. “Not that I remember.”

Suppressing his curiosity, Aleen walked towards the door and opened it slightly.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

A pair of men were standing before the slightly opened door. They were wearing black coats, and their expressions were grave. With a firm tone, one of them spoke.

“Is Mr. Aleen here? We are from national security, and we need to ask you some questions.”