Isaac stared at the television, stunned. The top Player in the world had said next to nothing, but his actions had been borderline boorish.
The News cut to break moments after, and another of the daily talk shows began to play. Of course, the show's primary subject was White Online.
Isaac turned off the television after realizing that the subject of their conversation was just idle chitchat.
After watching that interview, he could already imagine what the message boards were saying. Isaac opened up the social tab on his phone and scrolled to the forums.
A majority of the commenters were Players from Summerland praising Lord Kalzer for his casual attitude. There was a minority, however, who wanted to stir drama.
The trolls continually insulted the young man. They commented on how arrogant, selfish, and disrespectful the Player had been.
Meanwhile, the boot kissers from his homeland rushed to defend him.
To Isaac, Lord Kalzer was nothing like that. He just felt that the number one Player didn't give a shit about the interview and only accepted so that they would stop pestering him.
In Issac's case, only a few of the less popular News channels continually bugged him. He never received an offer from the top News channel in Winterland.
As he moved to close his phone, one of the articles caught his eye.
The article talked about how Lord Kalzer was hiding his Legacy, which displeased a majority of the Player base.
Many theories were tossed back and forth in the comments about why he refused to share his Legacy. Most of them were downright foolish.
Isaac shook his head at the bullshit that was spreading on the forums and completely deleted the app. After watching the app disappear from his screen, he turned off the screen and slipped it into his pocket.
Glancing at the clock, he noticed that there were still fifty minutes until dinner. He hadn't wasted as much time as he'd thought.
Isaac pulled his phone back out, spending his time re-reading some of his old messages and tapping away on a couple of mobile games. Just before 8 PM, Isaac slipped his phone into his pocket and made his way downstairs.
He reached the bottom of the stairs quickly, and before turning into the dining room, the front door swung open. A muscular elderly man stepped through the entryway, holding a briefcase in his right hand.
"Whew!" Malcolm cried out exaggeratedly as he slipped off his jacket. He hung the coat neatly on the hanger and placed his shoes perfectly in line with Madison's.
"My arms are so sore..." Malcolm continued speaking in an excessively loud voice. He rubbed his arms, trying to massage away the pain.
He then noticed Isaac standing at the bottom of the stairs watching him. The old man adjusted himself before speaking.
''Ah, Isaac.'' He quickly changed his look, replacing his pained gaze with a calm one, ''Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?''
''Hmm, somewhat," Isaac responded.
Isaac, for some reason, felt more at ease with Malcolm than with Madison and replied casually.
Malcolm nodded and showed Isaac his briefcase, ''Can you tell me more after I've taken this to my office?''
''Sure,'' Isaac stepped to the side and allowed the man onto the stairs, ''Ah, right. I might have let something slip about tomorrow's hunting trip. It won't be a problem, right?''
Malcolm's steps halted, and his face suddenly changed shades, ''A-Ah… N-No.''
He promptly scurried up to the second floor and almost ran to his office on the fourth floor.
Isaac rubbed his cheek, ''He seemed… In a hurry.''
''Malcolm?!'' Madison's head popped from the kitchen and scanned the area. However, she didn't see her husband anywhere.
But, she noticed her grandson, Isaac standing alone.
''Oh, Isaac.'' She smiled and asked, ''Has Malcolm made it home yet?''
''Yes, he went up to his office,'' Isaac replied and stepped to the doorway that led into the kitchen, ''He will be back down soon.''
Madison tightened her grasp on the hilt of the knife she was holding. She smiled innocently at Isaac, ''That's good.''
*BAM!*
She slammed the knife down on the cutting board, leaving a sizeable mark.
Isaac wiped his sweat, ''That's quite some arm.''
''Hehe, thank you,'' Madison smiled, and her voice turned cold, ''I have been training… For a moment, I needed to…''
Her smile broadened, reminding Isaac of some villain in an old cartoon, ''Malcolm… Oh, Malcolm…''
''Right…'' Isaac left the kitchen with hurried steps. He reached the living room and slumped down on the cushy couch.
Isaac heard footsteps echoing down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, he heard them stop, and the kitchen door slowly creaking open.
Malcolm glanced into the seemingly empty kitchen, his nose inhaling the delectable scent of the meal drifting through the air.
*Grab*
A hand latched onto the man's shoulder, and his body froze completely. He turned his head slowly to find his wife's crazed eyes staring into his.
''Malcolm…'' Madison's bone-chilling voice cut through the kitchen.
''Yes..?'' Malcolm tried to act casual.
Madison narrowed her eyes and asked, ''Did you force Isaac to accept your invitation?''
''Of course not!'' Malcolm said seriously. He had forced Maxwell to go with him, and the trip had turned out horribly! That boy had no interest in hunting.
''…'' She stayed silent for a moment. She had known her husband for forty years and could readily ascertain whether or not he was lying.
''Alright… Good,'' Madison sighed in relief and spun the knife she held between her fingers.
Malcolm paled. His lips trembled as he asked, ''I-Is food ready?''
''Yes!'' Madison replied, a beautiful smile returning to her lips as she hopped back to the kitchen, ''I will bring the plates!''
Malcolm walked into the dining room and saw Isaac standing there awkwardly. The two sat down at opposite ends of the dining table.
Soon, Madison arrived with plates, and the meal commenced. While eating, they asked Isaac what he'd been up to in White Online, and he gave them straightforward answers.
He visited Colosseum, the World Bank, and a coffee shop. However, didn't talk about him personally fighting in the arena.
Malcolm and Madison also had their own conversation, which Isaac couldn't follow. They appeared to be talking about some meeting in White Online, and Madison seemed relieved knowing it had been successful.
After they ate, Madison and Malcolm returned to their room to continue their chat, while Isaac returned to his own.
He went straight to the bed, but he remembered something before shutting out the lights.
''Right… Did the money arrive for those who wanted to transfer their white coins to real-life currency…'' Isaac didn't want to do it yet, but there must have been anxious Players who did it instantly.
Having deleted his social media account, he went onto the official game forums with his phone, and it didn't take long to find a post about it.
The Player who wrote the post was thrilled. He mentioned that 20$ had already arrived in his bank account.
It seemed to be the first time he had ever earned money, and surprisingly, he was only in his first year of high school!
''Interesting…'' Isaac shut off the phone and sighed when he thought about the two world's futures.
''The world will definitely change… Anyway, tomorrow I will go hunting... and after that…''
"It's time for me to join the ranks of the top 10000!"
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