I Don't Need To Log Out

"Were we working for you in Oceina?" June asked.

Arlon raised an eyebrow. "Is that really your question?" He sighed, leaning back slightly. "If you're asking whether the guide was me, then yes. So, technically, you were working for me."

June crossed her arms. "And here I thought we were part of some grand mission. Turns out we were just a small piece in your operation."

Her tone wasn't accusatory, but there was an edge of amusement behind it.

Maybe she was waiting for the harder questions—like how he had managed all of this—to be answered later since they didn't have much time now.

"It was a grand mission," Arlon said simply. "You protected Sheila back then. That was important." He paused, then added, "To be fair, she was much stronger than you at the time."

June scoffed. "Yeah, I figured that out after realizing the game wasn't a game."

"Still," Arlon continued, ignoring her reaction, "I needed low-level people who were also trustworthy. So, thank you for that."

June smirked. "You make it sound like you had a whole army of people under you."

Arlon chuckled. "Not quite, but enough."

June shook her head, then leaned on the table with her elbows. "Thinking back, you were also the one who guided us in Istarra, right?"

Arlon gave a small nod.

"Figures. I really have a lot of questions… but I guess they'll have to wait until next week."

She drummed her fingers against the table, deep in thought. Then, after a brief pause, she tilted her head.

"Unless… we can meet on Earth?"

Arlon didn't even need to think about it. His answer came immediately.

"I can't."

June blinked. "That was fast."

"It's not that I don't want to," Arlon clarified. "I do. But… there are circumstances preventing me."

June narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Then, with a teasing smile, she asked, "Ah! Are you really a con man like Carmen thought?"

Arlon sighed. "Her imagination is way too big. Don't worry. I'll tell you the reason soon."

That was enough to satisfy June for now. She could tell there was something deeper going on, but she also knew that pushing Arlon too hard wouldn't get her anywhere.

With that, their conversation ended.

Arlon knew he had no choice but to tell her the truth—at least some part of it.

There was no way he would ever reveal the full extent of it. Telling her that he had gone back in time? That was out of the question. Even just knowing that kind of information could be dangerous.

But he could tell her that he didn't need to log out.

And this… this felt like the right moment.

There was a big difference between Zephyrion knowing and a player knowing.

Zephyrion might understand the surface of what it meant, but he wouldn't grasp the full implications. A player, on the other hand… they would.

And since June was trustworthy, she could help him keep it a secret.

That was why Arlon hadn't stopped her from peeking.

---

After their conversation, June gave Arlon a final glance before heading toward her room. The day had been long, and with nothing left to do, she decided to log out.

The other players had also logged out since there wasn't much time left before the forced log out.

Soon, only Arlon remained.

He exhaled and stretched his shoulders before heading back to his room.

The moment he entered, a familiar sight greeted him—Nyx curled up on his bed.

At first, the little dragon looked fast asleep, her small frame rising and falling with steady breaths. But as soon as Arlon took a step closer, Nyx's golden eyes snapped open.

"Arlon!" Nyx chirped excitedly, her tail flicking. Without warning, she leaped from the bed and flapped her tiny wings, gliding toward Arlon before landing on his shoulder.

Arlon smirked. "You sure are energetic for someone who was just sleeping."

Nyx puffed out her chest. "Nyx… no sleep! Nyx… waiting!"

"For me?"

The little dragon nodded enthusiastically. "Arlon fun! Not like others."

Arlon raised an eyebrow. "Not like others? You saying the others aren't fun?"

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Nyx tilted her head, deep in thought, then flapped her wings once. "They fun… but not like Arlon fun!"

Arlon chuckled. He wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he could guess. Nyx had been glued to him ever since he returned, and it was clear the little dragon had grown attached.

"Alright," Arlon said, walking over to sit on the bed. "What do you want to do?"@@novelbin@@

Nyx's tail flicked excitedly. "Play!"

Arlon gave him a deadpan look. "You do realize I'm not a kid, right?"

Nyx flapped her wings and hovered in front of Arlon's face. "Nyx not care! Arlon fun!"

With that, the baby dragon zoomed across the room, flying in circles before landing on Arlon's head.

Arlon sighed. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?"

He reached up, grabbed Nyx, and tossed her lightly into the air. Nyx let out an excited chirp before flapping her wings and zipping around again, clearly enjoying himself.

For a while, Arlon just played along, catching and tossing Nyx as the little dragon twisted and twirled mid-air. He had to admit, it was kind of fun.

Eventually, though, Nyx started to slow down, her movements becoming sluggish.

Arlon smirked. "Getting tired?"

Nyx landed back on his shoulder, yawning. "No… Nyx… strong…"

"Sure you are," Arlon said, watching as Nyx curled up against his neck, already half-asleep.

Shaking his head, Arlon stood up, carefully placing Nyx onto the bed before pulling the covers over her.

The dragon let out a content sigh, her tail twitching once before he fully drifted off.

Arlon stared at him for a moment before sighing to himself.

"Guess I should get to work."

With that, he left the room and made his way to the training area as Arlon the guide.

---

When he entered the training area, he checked his stats first. It has been long since the last time he checked them.

***

Status Window

Name: Arlon

Race: Human

Class: Magic Swordsman

Level: 119

HP: 15300

MP: 11100

VIT: 97

STR: 140

INT: 140

AGI: 83

Title: Unfair Regressor, The First One To Level Up

***

He was level 119.

Progress felt slow, considering it had already been a month since he reached level 110 after killing Draco.

At this rate, leveling up was taking far too long. If he wanted to speed things up, he needed to start hunting Keldars.

In his past timeline, Arlon had barely managed to surpass level 250. But even that wouldn't be enough to defeat Zephyrion—let alone Asef.

He had also adjusted how he allocated his stat points. AGI was no longer a priority; he was already fast enough.

Instead, he split his 57 available points between INT and STR, adding 7 to VIT just for the sake of it. More health was always useful, even if he wasn't a tank.

After that, he checked his title.

No changes. The condition for staying logged in remained the same.

That left him with two major things to focus on: the Fuse ability granted by his title and the enchantment method Karmel had told him about.

Both would be key to getting stronger, but he still needed more abilities for the first and more resources for the second.

For now, all he could do was prepare.