VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 94: Say more nice things

"So, I take it that you have also basked in the radiance of the Dawn of Divinity?" Percy said with a chuckle, and a mouth half full of steak. He had to cover his mouth and chew faster to prevent himself from choking on it from his amusement at his own jokes, before finally continuing after he swallowed.

"You recognised the Neural Crown, so I just assume you have. Or maybe you just know it from streamers and such."

{Yes, I play it. I play a mage.} The Val-bot replied in the same synthetic, monotonous voice.

It technically wasn’t a lie on Valerie’s part. Her class was technically closest to a mage, and she progressed similarly to them although the basic mages had a much easier time of it than her.

All they needed was the magic words for spells, or sometimes not even that if they were skilled enough.

"Ah, a spell slinger. I’ve met plenty of those. Magic always appeals to people," He said with a smile, before popping a roast potato into his mouth and chewing it slowly to savour the taste.

"I guess what they say about magic users is true though. Nothing but a bunch of bookworms and pyromaniacs, which is a strange mix but always proves to be true. My guild members spend all their time in the city Magus Tower cramming as many spells as they can, wasting all their money on books.

Although I hear it’s worse for rangers because of the-"

{Magus Tower?} Val-bot interrupted, curious about the place she had never heard of before and only realised her mistake a few moments later. She had gotten far too comfortable and familiar with him, when she was supposed to be performing her job.

Of course, she could always tell him that it was her and he would be no doubt welcoming and comfortable with it. But it was awkward for her.

The more he praised her cooking or talked nice about her, the more embarrassed she felt and the less she wanted him to know it was her behind the bot. Perhaps so he would keep saying those nice things.

Besides, even though she knew he didn’t care, it felt completely shameful to be working this type of job, especially for a friend. Pity money from Percy was the last thing she wanted.

She quickly bowed her head, once more reaffirming her professional air, as she said plainly

{I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.}

"It’s fine, honestly." Percy said with a soft sigh, stabbing at his food with a strange mood as the smile slightly dropped from his face.

"Nothing wrong with a little conversation between two people, right? Interruptions are just part of it. Nothing I say is important enough that it needs to be heard.

Besides, what did I tell you about the sir business? Seriously... Don’t. There’s no need for it."

Valerie sighed heavily as she watched Percy’s mood shift so much in just a few seconds, all because of her choice of words. It didn’t do anything to help her awkward feelings, and instead only increased the guilt she felt about her entire hidden identity.

So the perfect solution was to ignore it and act like it wasn’t happening!

{What class is it you play?} Valerie asked and at the same time disabled her gloves input as she rapidly typed into her computer to find information on the Magus Tower, all while actually playing attention to what Percy was saying.

For some reason it was easier to pay attention to him when she was spreading her focus unlike when she was listening to others.

"I play a type of Paladin. They are good, as they have a blend of Tank, Support and DPS. But my personal choice is more focused on being a sub-tank attacker. I leave the healing up to the healers, although I’ll contribute when I can."

{It is good that you can play with your friends in the guild and enjoy yourself. You seem like you are having fun}

"Yeah... Fun..." Percy said as his eyes wandered downwards, losing himself in memories as his smile dimmed slightly, before widening again when he snapped back to reality. Although this time he had a hidden strain in his smile.

"I mean I do enjoy it, but there is a lot of responsibility involved. Plus, there are a few friends I would rather have by my side throughout it all."

{Perhaps you could ask them to play together. I’m sure things aren’t that bad between you. You are still friends after all.}

Percy let out a soft laugh, a genuine one, even if it was little more than a huff of air from his nostrils and a smirk,

"Yeah... Maybe. Anyways, I should probably get back to it. If I spend too long away, then those idiots will find a way to get themselves killed and lose all of our progress for something stupid. Honestly, it’s like babysitting a bunch of kids sometimes." He said with another laugh, stuffing more food into his mouth before standing up.

He began to walk backwards, covering his mouth as he chewed before he pointed to the mostly empty plate and gave her a thumbs up.

"That was great by the way! Zhu Li was totally right about you." He shouted to her, his voice muffled and spewing crumbs everywhere. His cheeks were completely puffed out like a chipmunk as he tried to chew it all. It was so much that he nearly choked on it when he stupidly decided to talk.

He coughed a few times, but never stopped chewing and trying to eat in the process, then gave her another twin thumbs up before finally turning on his heels and walking back to his gaming room.

Valerie watched him leave with a silly smile on her face and a few giggles escaping from her lips. She couldn’t help but shake her head at that dork’s antics. He really hadn’t changed all that much since they were kids.

Sighing softly, she plucked the plate up and began to wash it, all while studying the information on the mage tower through her computer.