Chapter 21 - 21: Protect The Fatty

'The time limit is Undefined, but I know that I have less than four days since the first person reached level 4 on the 4th day. If he gets to level 5 before me, I would fail.' Ryder thought as he wondered about the mission.

"Hey, can you drop me at 52nd Street instead?" He told the driver.

"Sure." He didn't say anything as he took a U-turn and changed the direction.

It took him only around 10 minutes to drop him at 52nd Street. 

Ryder had his phone with him and made the e-payment for the cab. Max drove away after wishing Ryder a good day.

Ryder walked for a few blocks before he was able to see a line of people in front of a shop. Thankfully, there were only 50 or so people in the line. He sighed in relief as he wasn't too late.

He hurriedly walked forth and stood in the line.

'Oh man, I forgot to bring food. It's going to be tough staying here for hours. I haven't even had breakfast' He suddenly realized as his stomach started making a noise. It was to be expected after the extensive exercise he went through last night.

"Fine. I'll order something." He muttered as he brought his phone out and placed an order from the nearby shop, and asked them to deliver it to him. 

Although they charged more for the delivery, he had no other choice as he was quite hungry.

He ordered two burgers and a coke. He knew that it was unhealthy, but he liked what he liked. He felt like there was nothing he could do about it.

It took around 20 minutes before the food was delivered to him. He started eating while he waited in the line.

"Bro, you didn't have breakfast before coming here either?" The guy standing in front of him turned back as he asked Ryder. 

The man had French Fries in his hand that he was eating. He was somewhat short at 5 ft 5 inches and was a little fat, which looked even more distinct because of his short height.

"Yeah, I forgot to eat before I left. I was in a hurry." Ryder replied casually as he took a sip of his coke.

"Yeah, I can understand. I was in a hurry to stand in the line as well. I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to buy Divinity, or I wouldn't be able to forgive myself!" The man started laughing awkwardly as he replied to me.

"Oh, right, my name is Shu... what is yours?" He asked Ryder.

"I'm Ryder." He replied as he continued drinking. 

Although he wasn't interested in talking to a stranger, the guy didn't look like a bad person either. Also, he had nothing to do but stand in the long line for a long time, either.

"We might meet in the Divinity and go on missions together as well. What username will you play with?" He asked Ryder.

"I use Hades in all my games, you?" Ryder told him.

"I'm Big Daddy! My name is constant in all my games as well." He excitedly replied with a smile.

"Big Daddy? That's... That's an interesting name you got there." 

Ryder wanted to laugh out loud, but he tried his best to control his laughter so that he doesn't hurt his feelings. That name... It was really too interesting.

<Ding... The host has been assigned a new sub mission>

<Mission: Stop the girl from taking advantage of the fatty in front of you.

Reward: 5 origin points.

Punishment for failure: Deduction of 10 origin points.

Time limit: 10 hours>

Janus' voice again appeared in his head.

'Another mission... I was wondering when Janus would give me a mission. But what is this mission about? Protect the fatty from being taken advantage of? Who is he talking about?' Ryder started wondering about the mission.

'Wait a minute. Janus, are you calling Shu fatty? You're so cruel. Anyways which girl? There are no girls here?' He called out Janus in his mind.

<The system only named him anything to the host's thoughts. This can only mean that the host was thinking of him as fatty. The system chose the same name>

Janus replied to him in an emotionless tone.

'You always find ways to blame me.' Ryder said with a wry smile on his face.

'Hey, you didn't tell me about the girl! Which girl do I need to protect him from? There are no girls here!' He suddenly remembered that Janus didn't even answer his main question.

Unfortunately, Janus didn't reply.

Ryder wanted to curse Janus, but he stopped himself as he realized that Janus could read his thoughts anyway. He thought that Janus must know what he wanted to call him anyway, so he didn't need to waste his breath on him.

Another hour passed away in the blink of an eye as he stayed in the line, but he saw not even a glimpse of any woman.

"Hey fa... ahm I mean Shu, Do you have a girlfriend? Or is there a girl troubling you?" He decided to ask Shu straight away. 

'Oh god, I almost called him fatty as well.' He thought with a wry smile on his face.

"Hahaha… A girlfriend? You must be kidding me. Have you seen me? Do you really think that I can have a girlfriend? I'm a gamer, and my games are my girlfriends. No real girls allowed." Shu started laughing loudly as he heard his question.