Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Yay! The start of a new Volume!

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/Creak…/

Dale slowly opened the door to his apartment, he was finally home…

'Home sweet home...'

/Step step.../

"Dale? Are you okay?" His father asked as he approached him

He looked slightly worried, unlike his normal behavior.

"Yes? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Didn't you hear it? The gas explosion nearby?"

"Huh?"

'Gas explosion?... Ohhh.'

Things quickly fell into place.

'Is that the coverup? A bit uncreative... And forceful.'

'To call all of that a gas leak explosion would be... Severe.'

'How will they even deal with the witnesses?'

'Time to improvise...'

"... I did hear something by the time I got in the elevator, so I left to check what was going on."

"But the police were prohibiting anyone from leaving their homes, so after a little while, asking what happened, I gave up and came back up."

"I didn't even know it was a gas explosion, is it on the news already?"

"I see, yes, it is on the news, quite the mess, one of the ducts beneath the street had a leak for a few days, and it all exploded without anyone even noticing."

"Be sure to be more careful next time, unless you want your mother to run her mouth again."

"I understand…"

'Anything but that.'

'Still, how does this explain the explosion in the sky?... Wait, will they use the same excuse for it?'

'They're not exactly near each other, so you can say it was the resulting fireball from the gas leak...'

'It makes me wonder how much truth is actually on the news...'

Following this, Dale left the groceries in the kitchen and talked with his mother for a little while before entering his room and sitting in front of his PC.

"Let's see if there are any replies..." Dale mumbled to himself as he booted his PC

"Nothing from my Forum questions... I expected that, it'll take a while for the players to find anything."

'But there's some activity, the players seem interested in knowing who the people in the photo I took are.'

'About 100 replies, that's quite a bit, and it's been a bit less than two hours since I made the post.'

"My Granduncle replied to me... He's Level 20 already?! That's enough to be in the top 100!"

"Old people sure have the time to play..."

Dale had 4 grandparents and 1 granduncle.

He was close with all of them, but the one he was the closest to was also the oldest.

Born in 2001, his Granduncle was a weird fellow.

Due to the way he lived his life, by the time he was 24, he was already financially stable, and thanks to the money he received from the inheritance of his own grandparents when he was 20, he invested it all so that by the time he was 28, he didn't have to care about working ever again.

Because of this, while his grandfather used the money in a more cautious way, he ended up not being able to be financially free, and also due to the fact he married midway through that...

His Granduncle was the type of old man that walked around with a pair of sunglasses while with his hair pulled back.

A rich old dude that never married.

Due to these reasons, he's also very close to Dale's father, taking care of him when he was younger since he was free all the time, and eventually Dale as well.

He had many memories of going all over the world with the old guy, he was just like that.

The old guy was so free he once spent two years to become a pro player in his 50s, successfully winning a small MOBA competition back in the day.

And in some senses, he was better than Dale as well.

His grandfather had always been a bit envious of his brother due to his freedom since while he was in the office, his brother was sleeping in the air conditioner and playing whatever game was available at the time.

But it's not like this came without some costs...

Because he was pretty much free of all responsibilities, he spent most of his time in his room, and as such, did not develop many new relationships apart from online ones.

As such, he remained single all his life, though he never asked if there had been anything special during those times...

Who would ask their gramps when was the first time they got laid?

"How did he grind so fast?... Oh, there's a file attached to his message."

/Click.../

"It's a video... Why is it sped up?... Oh..."

'I forgot Gramps had the habit of watching everything on 2x speed... Sigh, how annoying.'

Not that it made a difference to Dale anyway, because he did the same thing.

Guess who taught him that?

...

He watched through the entire video, and in the end, he was smiling.

'Looks like Gramps found a hidden Dungeon to grind on and is having the time of his life.'

'He's playing with some of his old friends, they're all rather high Level...'

'It's good to see he's doing okay.'

/Crack.../

Cracking his knuckles, Dale continued with his search.

"Last thing before I log back in... I'll check my archives for anything on Mana, at least set it aside so I can read it once I log out again."

For the next 10 minutes, Dale did just that, opening a series of folders and going through many walls of text as he marked many pages for him to read later.

And once his clock started beeping, he turned around and left his room, going back to the pod.

...

/ZIP!/

"I'm a little late, but it's okay, I still have about an hour before Dinner is ready, so I might as well do something in the meantime."

Dale changed his clothes and got inside the pod, and once everything was in place, he closed his eyes as the blue liquid slowly filled his surroundings.

"Hum… Looks like I finally got used to this feeling…" Dale said inside his helmet

'Or perhaps, I grew so strong my body doesn't get uncomfortable about this anymore since I could burst this pod open if something bad were to happen.'

'I would prefer to never have to resort to that though...'

…

[... Check]

[Starting systems… Logging in]

/FLASH!/

"!"

/Gasp/

Inside his humble home in the secluded village of Resko, Dale suddenly opened his eyes with a slight gasp as he clenched his fists.

"Phew…"

'This feeling of being jolted away isn't pleasant...'

"But... Hum… I don't feel any different."

'Did it fail?'

He slowly moved out of bed in order to stretch his body and start his day…

[Confluence 0-Star has deactivated]

[You have meditated for over 7 hours]

[Your Mana sensitivity and control have increased slightly]

"Oh? I take back what I said."

'It worked, just that in a way I didn't expect.'

'An increase in both Sensitivity and Control?'

Dale was taken aback by the sudden notification from the system, but as soon as he read it, a look of enlightenment filled his face.

"So this is how this Skill works."

'Confluence is a Skill that automatically moves Mana within my body, while also increasing the recovery speed for both my health and energy while it's in effect.'

'It came with my Class change, and from what I read, Confluence is the method used by the Cult in order to progress further down in their own path... Or something of the like.'

'Like a Mantra of some sort.'

'When I activated it, nothing much changes apart from as I said, the Mana will start to move on its own, albeit at a very reduced speed as compared to what I can do.'

'It's similar to meditation, although here, we aren't doing it for the sake of cultivating power, but more as a way to train what we already have… Hum...'

'That may not be completely accurate as well.'

'The problem with this Skill is that the moment I use it if I move even a single step, it deactivates and becomes unavailable for at least 3 minutes, the precise time will have to be pinned down after further testing.'

'Because of this, it becomes clear this isn't a combat Skill, but more of an intermediary one, to be used in between events for a speedy recovery.'

'Its low cooldown time also means that I can constantly use it constantly whenever I have some time to catch a breath.'

'I tried to capitalize on passive effects and see if it would work while I'm sleeping and away from the game… And I was right.'

'This means that from now on, even if I stay logged out for long periods of time, I'll at least gain something from it.'

'But... I'll have to test if there is a difference between me being here while the Skill is in effect, and when I'm logged out.'

'I'll also have to test the effects of prolonged use and try to see if there is an optimal time to have this Skill activated for maximum profits.'

'And lastly, if it's possible to use the Skill in the real world as well.'

'Albeit I think that would be a waste of what I can do there.'

As he thought of that, Dale got up from bed and started to prepare.

He put on his clothes and left his room.

What about David you ask? He left him with one of the Elders, Jyter to be precise, so he could make a new Altar for the poor guy, including something to fix his problem with money...

A donation Box!

As for his big ass sword, he left it with Barme yesterday after the poor old man cried to him in both shock and despair.

He was distressed to see the condition the sword was in, unclean, with its edge slightly dull, dirt and other things were all around the blade, encrusted like rust...

Dale cleaned the sword with water from time to time, but according to Barme, it was the poorest work he had ever seen...

Although he felt slightly offended, he knew close to nothing about maintaining weapons, the best he ever did was use consumable items to speed up the process.

With that, Dale had freed himself from 2 troublesome things that he kept carrying around the place…

Though, the sword was necessary for his weight training, so he was bound to visit the old blacksmith sooner or later for it.

Still, it felt great to wake up to silence and to carry nothing else apart from his clothes for once, he felt oddly light.

/Creak... Clack!/

…

/Laughter/

He went down the stairs, meeting with the young children of Resko as per usual, and he soon found out that they seemed more eager and enthusiastic than normal.

After a little bit of asking and he learned that they were very happy that their parents were in the Village.

That was understandable since until yesterday, from morning to dawn, the adults would be working in the fields, a place little kids like them shouldn't step under any circumstances.

And that is why they were left with Illia in the first place, she was the caretaker of the village.

Dale didn't know how to feel, in a sense, the kids were happy, their parents and family were nearby, and after eating, they would probably go play around the Village and seek them out…

But on another note, since they were here, there was no one on the crops, and that was a bit problematic.

The kids may be happy now, but that wouldn't be the case if they were to starve.

This was a problem Dale was set on resolving soon…

He also didn't worry about the players, if they were to even try to mess with the kids, there wasn't much he would be able to do about their circumstances... They would be doomed.

But for now, he simply sat at the table and joined them for a meal…

…

"Oh? This is new." Dale said as he stared at the multiple sets of pies on the table

'Looks tasty.'

"Oh Dale, you're up!" Illia said with a smile as she walked out of the kitchen, holding a large plate with another good-looking pie

"Good morning miss Illia… Let me help you with that."

"Ah, thank you, Dale… Hey! Don't touch that!" She exclaimed towards the children who were trying to have a bite from one of the pies

"AHHH!"

The kids scattered like flies, some laughing, others in fear…

"Sign… It's tiring to take care of these little beasts all day, hopefully, with everyone now in the village, my work will decrease a little." Illia said a little tired as she cleared some of the sweat from her forehead

"I can only imagine…" Dale said with a nod

'She sounds tired, but I can see she enjoys this.'

Dale helped Illia set the table, and they were almost ready to eat when Illia said:

"Phew… I hope these taste well."

"Is this a new recipe?"

"Yes, it's a meat pie, one of the many written in the cookbook you gave me, I was quite shocked to learn some of those methods, I never even heard of half of them…"

"Some of them require tools and kitchenware I don't have, and some are simply too hard or bothersome for me to do, like processing the meat of some Forest creatures..."

"With my flaccid arms, I wouldn't even be able to cut it even if I was given a sharp knife." She said as she pinched her arms

"Still, it gave me enough insight to improve my cooking, now I can safely say my food is 'nutritious' and not simply meant to fill your tummy."

She smiled gently.

"Thank you, although I'm still a bit bad at it, I can now make more of each ingredient, in the future, expect better and more delicious plates from me."

"There's still much to learn!" Illia replied with a happy large smile

[DING]

[Your actions have resulted in someone else's growth]

[Illia's Class has changed from Caretaker to Cook]

[You have helped someone achieve their true calling!]

[Illia's growth speed has increased slightly]

[Illia's talent has increased]

[Illia's proficiency as a Cook has been raised from 1.5-Star to 3-Star]

[Your actions have caused Illia's intimacy to increase greatly!]

Atop Illia's head, the once small heart grew in size, becoming a beautiful blue heart, shining in a gentle blue light, making Dale feel slightly warm, like when he sat under the sun on a cold day.

"..."

Dale opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out, instead, he simply sat at the table and ate a few bites of the meat pie.

It was delicious…

When he looked at his status, he saw a new effect pop up.

[Meat Pie! -> Strength +15 Constitution +10]

And he couldn't help but smile.

'Wow… The quality of the buff has increased significantly…'

'It could be just this time, but if this consists… It could even be sold for other players…'

'Although I'll never do that, Illia's cooking is something that should remain exclusive for the people of the village…'

'Alright, I'm being selfish, but who cares?'

Dale smiled as he stuffed another bite of the pie in his mouth, getting an idea.

'However... Being narrow-minded won't lead me anywhere... Food items are a source of buffs that will, eventually, be utilized by the players.'

'I should definitely monopolize it while I'm ahead... Illia's cooking can remain our exclusive thing, but it doesn't mean others can't follow in her footsteps.'

'If I can make a restaurant... Yes... I can see it work.'

'Quests to gather materials -> Cooks grind their Skills -> Cooks sell their food -> Profit -> Repeat...'

'If there is only one place in all of Resko where players can buy high-quality cooking products...'

'There are many that use Virtual reality as a way to relieve stress, food is just one of the many ways to do so, if we can sell good food that also gives buffs, players would flock to it!'

'And until the time actual player cook appears, couldn't I just scout them into my restaurant? That's how it usually goes, it would take too long for competitors to rise.'

'Players can roast meat on a campfire, but it'll likely not even give them a bonus, but look at the thing in front of me, this single pie increases my Stats by an equivalent of 25 Standard mode Levels.'

/Chomp.../

'One more thing to keep a the back of my mind.'

...

Dale thanked her for the meal and left the Inn filling slightly conflicted, but the appreciation of an older woman was the least of his worries…

Although to be honest, Illia was a girl that remained single for all of her life, and although she is in her mid to late 30s, she looked to be in her mid-20s…

She is nice, gentle, and a great cook, and she's also good with kids and has a good personality.

At least with those she likes... Dale had seen her turn down a guy the other day pretty brutally...

Her hobbies are also pretty simple, she seems to love cooking and gardening, although Dale also heard that she used to practice martial arts when she was younger.

Although he wonders what made her quit that...

Some may see her as a perfect partner, but his requirements for one were never clear to begin with.

If he were to say, he simply feels weird...

After all, it's not confirmed that she likes him, as it may very well be a case where she simply cares for him.

Intimacy did not equate to likeness, as he was sure his parent's intimacy was very high, in the same way as Trestos saw him, family.

Personally, Dale wasn't that much into older women, especially Milfs, he never found them attractive if not for some very unique scenarios...

Illia isn't like that at all though, as she gives him… An older sister vibe more than anything else.

In any case, he had other places to be, so with a satisfied gaze after eating an entire pie, he left the inn, leaving the eager kids to eat their meat pies and cause a mess.

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Notes

Peace!