"So, all that brings me to now..." Leo said, as after recounting his entire journey as a player, he finally arrived at the part where he could share his knowledge of the future with Luke.
"As you already know, our real life physiques are connected to our in-game characters.
So once we become a 'Master' level fighter in-game, we apparently get the status of a 'Master' in real life" Leo said, as he flashed his snake badge to Luke.
"This is a token of a Master, this token apparently puts you above the status of a common man on planet Terra Nova…. It's kind of like a citizenship upgrade.
Warriors who haven't made it to the 'Master' realm are considered commoners and have no civil rights.
While Warrior's who have made it enjoy some special privileges, one of which is that they cannot be monitored by an ankle monitor.
Which is why mine fell off" Leo said, as he finally started to tie up the loose ends of his story, clearing many of Luke's doubts.
"I am considered a higher citizen than you now, and I get many special privileges because of it, like not having to reside in any of the sectors going forward" Leo said, as Luke tilted his head in confusion.
"I have access to the VIP living quarters now. It's a section above Sector S, that was sealed up till now because nobody deserved to be there. But with me becoming a master, I'll no longer have to reside in the sectors.
We will be soon moving beyond the staff quarters to a special new area–" Leo said, slightly rubbing his nose with pride as he looked towards the apartment's ceiling.
"We?" Luke asked, not sure of how Leo shifting translated to a 'We'.
"Yes 'We', meaning me, you and Amanda. I can bring two people with me and of-course I'm bringing you both.
Imagine private mansions, staff servants, higher mana concentration, training grounds for spells and no restriction on power outputs!" Leo said excitedly, as Luke cheered on as well.
"Hell yeah! I badly needed a training ground for my martial arts technique–" Luke said beaming with joy, as Leo jumped up and down like a child.
Growing up with nothing more than bare necessities, living in luxury was one of the dreams of the Skyshard brothers.
Although the two never complained about their living standards, everytime that they looked at the urban elites and their affluent lifestyles, they couldn't help but feel a tinge of longing for it.
Who wouldn't?
Everyone wanted to live life the best way possible, but not everyone had the means to do so.
Joining the ship, the two of them had worked their way up from being sewage workers at the start to becoming VIP's now, transcending even what the urban elite could afford.
"But is it really okay for you to take me and Amanda with you? I mean, we haven't done anything to deserve it" Luke said sheepishly, as he did not want to freeload off Leo's success, especially not if him being there diminished Leo's benefits somehow.
"What are you saying brother? Me and you are a unit. Whatever is mine is of-course yours, apart from Amanda maybe….. but yeah, anything apart from her we share" Leo said nodding his head as Luke gave him a tight smack on his head.
"Ouch—" Luke complained once more, as hitting Leo's head felt like hitting the top of a stone. It was utterly pointless and hurt him instead.
He felt mad at the insinuation that he would even want to share Amanda, however, he found himself unable to punish Leo for it.
"Goddamn it! I really need to become a master fast so that I can smack your head" Luke said, as Leo chuckled out loud.
Although his body did not look much different, judging by Luke's reaction and how he actually felt nothing when Luke hit him, Leo realized that his body had indeed become much stronger than before.
He still did not understand some of the mysteries of the Terra Nova Online world, especially how their in-game progress was linked to real life, however, he was glad that it was.
Currently there were a lot of secrets about Terra Nova Online and their destination planet that Leo could not share with Luke, as when he signed the agreement to receive the meditation manual, he also agreed to not reveal any details about the conversation with anyone.
If he could, Leo would have already told Luke everything about their destination world and the importance of getting stronger to gain a better footing there. However, with two years still left until they reached the planet, and with the prospect of living together again, Leo felt no urgency to offer immediate advice.
He had faith in his own ability to guide Luke properly, and had faith in his brother's own abilities to shine, given the right guidance.
Leo had already decided that he would help Luke reach the realm of a 'Master' before their journey ended, as only if he were a Master, could Luke continue being on the same footing as him.
The two of them had experienced both the best and worst sides of society, and given the choice, they would always choose to live on the better side.
Back on Earth, they had been naive, often lamenting how the system was rigged against the common man. But if they wanted to avoid that fate again, the solution was clear— which was to become stronger and more influential than anyone else.
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End of volume 4!
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/// A/N - That's it for volume 4 guys, I hope you all enjoyed it.
Volume 5 will now delve into Leo's domination of the game, with some new characters coming into light and some old ones finally becoming relevant again.
Overall, Volume 5 has the potential to be the best volume of the book so far, so I'll hopefully see you all there! ///