đˇ"Happiness hides in chests, in small laughs, in moments unseenâŚ
Sometimes the rarest treasures are the smiles of strangers"đˇ
She didn't know that he was also very good at finding chests and helping newbies.
He said to Sophia, "Let's go for a treasure hunt." Shakti took the lead confidently and first brought Sophia to the Aetherwind Kingdom.
They started exploring together. He showed her many different levels of chests scattered around the region.
Essentially, there are four types of chests in the game. Sophia kept getting happier and more excited each time she opened one.
Shakti kept smiling to himself the whole time, quietly watching her reactions and noticing how such small in-game things could make her so genuinely happy.
There is a special currency in the game called Lumyra, shortly called Lumas. It is one of the rarest things players can collect. Players can get Lumas through exploration, opening chests, and completing daily commissions (every day gives 60 Lumyra).
They continued exploring and collecting chests for more than three hours. During those long hours of continuous exploration, they eventually reached an island called Aerisfall Island, located in the Aetherwind region.
To reach that island, they needed to build an ice bridge, because the island was surrounded by deep sea water.
Shakti switched to a character named Draven, a male character with an ice element. Sophia used a character named Kael, who also had the ice element.
Working together, they kept creating the ice path step by step using their characters' abilities. It took them nearly ten minutes of careful movement to finally reach the island safely.
As soon as they arrived, Shakti ran straight toward a luxurious chest hidden below the water in a secret area. It was placed in such a way that most players wouldn't easily discover it.
After that, he guided her to an exquisite chest located openly on the seashore, where anyone could find it without much difficulty.
(This chest gives 5 Lumyra.)
The last two chests were buried underground. Sophia dug them out one by one, and they rewarded her with 10 Lumyra instantly.
After collecting all the treasures, they spent some time taking pictures together on the secret island and talking casually.
Until then, they still didn't know much about each other personally. Shakti gathered a bit of courage and took the first step. He asked her,
"Where are you from?"
She replied that she was from Iran.
Shakti reacted with surprise,
"Iran! That's so far from here."
She then asked,
"How about you?"
He replied that he was from India.
That simple exchange became the beginning of them learning more about each other.
Even after that, they still didn't know each other's genders, because Sophia's in-game name was "NIGHTLIGHT." On top of that, both of them were naturally shy and a little uncomfortable, which was normal since they were still strangers.
There was also a two-hour time difference between them. Still, they spent so many hours together without getting bored even once.
They didn't realize how fast time was passing. They simply went with the flow, both feeling curious and comfortable while talking. By then, it was almost 3 AM in the Indian time zone.
Shakti finally said,
"It's almost 3 AM. I should go now. If you don't mind, I'll take my leave. Bye-bye. See you soon, Traveller."
She replied warmly,
"Bye Shakti, have a great day and take care of yourself â¤ď¸."
They both left the chat.
Shakti went to sleep after such a long gaming session, knowing that the next day would be full of studies.
Shakti is someone who usually wakes up early. As always, he woke up around 7 AM, freshened up, and took a bath.
After drying his hair, he went out to buy breakfast. Once he finished eating, he started studying just like every other day. First, he studied mathematics for three hoursâ two hours learning new concepts and methods, and one hour practicing questions.
After lunch and one hour of rest, he returned to studying at 2 PM. This time he studied English for three hoursâ one hour grammar, one hour vocabulary (including antonyms and synonyms), and one hour solving cloze tests.
For the last two hours, he focused on general knowledge. After such a long and tiring day, he took a deep breath and lay down to rest for an hour. It was 10 PM when he had dinner.
He studied alone the whole day because he lived in a room where no one else stayed. Naturally, after such a long and exhausting routine, his energy would feel low. To pass time and regain some positivity, he played open-world games. It helped him feel less lonely and more refreshed.
As usual, he logged into the game, explored a bit, and helped some low-rank players. On the second day, he and Sophia didn't meet or talk.
He helped newbies as always and went to sleep late at night. Again, he followed the same routine the next day â studies, meals, silence, and occasional talks with his mother.
Shakti's mother is like his best friend. No matter how tired he feels, she always motivates him and keeps him going.
On the third day, Shakti logged into the game again and completed his daily commissions. While exploring the Fontaine region, he started feeling bored and opened his friend list.
There, in the friend request section, he saw Sophia's request. He immediately added her and tried to join her world. For the first three attempts, she didn't accept.
Maybe she was doing an Archon quest, because during those quests, players usually can't accept co-op requests.
On the fourth try, she finally accepted, and Shakti joined her world. They started chatting normally again â simple greetings, asking how each other was doing, and small talk.
During the conversation, Shakti asked her name.
She replied,
"My original name is Sophia."
Shakti said playfully,
"Okay okay, got it ma'am. Now follow me â let's hunt some chests like we did the other day."
He once again showed her many different types of chests, but this time in another region â (Aqualume Sovereignty)
Suddenly, a stranger joined Sophia's world. Shakti didn't recognize him at all. He had no idea who this new person was.
(That player was Sophia's online brother. They weren't related by blood, but they were close like real siblings.)
The guy seemed very serious đ
The chat suddenly went silent for a moment.
Then, in a cold tone and serious manner, he asked Shakti,
"Who are you? And what's your purpose for coming to my sister's world?"
Shakti was nervous đ His heart started beating đ very fast. He quickly thought back, wondering if he had done something wrong. After replaying his recent behavior in his mind, he realized he hadn't done anything wrong at all.
Shakti doesn't like negative energy. He is very sensitive in social conversations. Whenever he senses rude behavior, he usually leaves the player's world immediately instead of arguing.
TO BE CONTINUEDâŚ