The next morning, Wang Yang woke from his dreams and suddenly opened his eyes. A corridor filled with sunlight came into view, followed immediately by a sore ache in his backside.
"Ugh... my ass." Wang Yang found the pain in his backside almost unbearable. He drew in a sharp breath, braced himself against the doorframe as he got up, then rubbed his aching butt.
He had leaned against the door last night, lost in wild thoughts, and accidentally fallen asleep. As a result, his backside had suffered all night on the hard wooden floor. Though he had no idea whether the inn would let him rent a second room.
Wang Yang glanced down the corridor, where he was alone, and silently reminded himself to be more careful from now on. Players who fell asleep were completely defenseless. If another player had harbored ill intentions toward him last night, it would have been quite troublesome.
In Sword Art Online, one could sleep freely even outside safe zones, and naturally in other places within safe zones as well. However, players inside safe zones would generally rather sleep in the wilderness than anywhere besides an inn. If it was just the wilderness, the danger was actually not great as long as one found somewhere hidden where monsters did not spawn. But within a safe zone, an inn was necessary—because in a sense, people were the ones most worth watching out for.
The soreness in his backside had not been caused by combat status, so it would persist for a while. Enduring the pain, Wang Yang gently pushed open the wooden door and peered through the gap. The girl he had rescued was still sitting on the bed, staring at the window.
"Has she been sitting like that the whole time?"
Wang Yang muttered