Face Reality

Hahaha Hades kicked open the half-door of the livestock shed, which was only half the height of a normal door. A scent of hay rushed to meet him, and he greedily took two deep breaths; such a purely natural smell was rare in his own world, found only at high-end experience ranches.

However, the satisfaction from the scent was fleeting. Before him lay a pitch-black room, with only moonlight spilling in through the "gaps" between the roof and the wooden walls.

Calling them "gaps" was perhaps imprecise, as the spaces between the roof and walls were clearly left open for ventilation, meaning there was no place to keep warm other than the piles of hay scattered about the shed.

Hahaha Hades carried the basket Enri had given him to a pile of hay, grabbed a handful, and brought it to his nose to sniff. The hay had no strange odors.

Fortunately, the shed had not yet been put to use, so aside from the smell of wood and hay, there were no peculiar stenches. Hahaha Hades sat cross-legged on the hay pile and lifted the linen cloth that had been covering the basket to keep dust out.

Inside were a few brown, strip-shaped loaves of bread and a ceramic container. Hahaha Hades picked up the container and gave it a shake; it contained liquid. Borrowing the moonlight to peer inside, he could vaguely see some bean-like objects beneath the murky surface.

He sniffed it. Although there was an indescribable odor, he could also catch the fragrance of beans and a hint of salt.

It was likely a soup boiled from beans. He picked up the wooden spoon from the basket and stirred it; the scent of the beans made his stomach feel even hungrier.

Even so, he dared not take a bite. Although agriculture had nearly collapsed in his world, it hadn't gone extinct, and for the wealthy, life hadn't changed much.

Hahaha Hades had never eaten such things. The strange, indescribable smell of the soup made him want to retreat, but fortunately, there was bread. However, when he picked up the grayish-brown loaf, the sensation on his hand told him something was wrong immediately.

The bread was hard.

He squeezed it gently, but it wouldn't budge. Hahaha Hades froze, then looked at the bean soup in the ceramic pot and instantly understood its purpose.

Hahaha Hades couldn't help but grumble inwardly; without this soup, he probably wouldn't be able to eat this bread at all. It was a good thing the girl named Enri was kind-hearted, or he might have broken a few teeth.

He wasn't a fool; he naturally realized that Enri's father had originally intended to give him only a few pieces of this bread, which was as hard as a stone.

Even so, he couldn't complain. Being able to help a stranger knocking at the door in the middle of the night was proof enough of Enri's father's kindness.

Besides, they were likely not wealthy, and Enri had clearly taken more food than her father had requested; she might even be scolded for it later.

Thinking of this, he felt a surge of gratitude, and the bean soup with its strange smell no longer seemed so difficult to swallow.

Hahaha Hades dipped the stone-like bread into the bean soup and took a forceful, crunchy bite. Unexpectedly, while the bread felt hard to the touch, it wasn't that difficult to chew.

The taste still made him frown, but in his hunger, he couldn't afford to be picky. Before long, the bread was gone, and Hahaha Hades even tilted his head back to finish the last of the bean soup.

Rubbing his stomach, Hahaha Hades leaned back against the hay bale and let out a soft burp, the taste rising from his stomach making him frown once more.

Even though it was incredibly unpalatable to him, it had at least filled his belly.

"So..."

Hahaha Hades sat up abruptly, looked at the empty basket, rubbed his stomach, and licked his lips, his expression suddenly collapsing.

"It really is the real world..."

Hahaha Hades confirmed this fact with a sense of despair. Previously, he had held onto a glimmer of hope, thinking this was merely a system malfunction that had trapped him in a virtual world.

But no matter how realistic a virtual world might be, it could never simulate the act of eating. Sensations like smell, taste, and swallowing were simply impossible to achieve in a virtual environment.

Hahaha Hades admitted he had just been unwilling to face reality. In fact, when he first arrived in this world, he had noticed a sense of smell that even his virtual equipment couldn't simulate.

But to conclude he was in the real world based solely on smell would have been too ridiculous; he needed evidence that he was trapped in a virtual world.

Yet, with that slap and this meal, his illusions were thoroughly shattered. Hahaha Hades felt a sudden urge to cry, but his reason told him that panic would not help his current situation.

"First is..."

Hahaha Hades stood up and stretched his body. If the information that flashed through his mind during his conversation with Enri's father wasn't a hallucination, then although he had come to another world, he seemed to have retained everything from YGGDRASIL.

He tried calling up his character information panel again, and sure enough, a set of data appeared in his mind the next instant.

Character Name: Hahaha Hades Race: Human Gender: Male Karma: 200 Alignment: Good Class Role: Warrior (Monk/Combat Specialist) Classes: Monk 10, Ki Monk 10, External Ki Monk 10, Qigong Master 10, Dragon Breath Walker 5, Eternal Death 5, Duelist 10, Duelist Master 10, Peak Martial Artist 10, Champion 10, Invincible 5, Perfection 5.

Hahaha Hades looked at this information, which was both strange and familiar. He suddenly remembered that he had flown down from the sky. As a pure warrior class, he couldn't use any magic, but if he used items, that would be no problem.

He felt for the "Necklace of Flight" hanging inside his clothes. Hahaha Hades paused for a moment and silently commanded it to activate. He had only intended to test it, but to his surprise, it worked instantly.

He felt his body lose its weight, drifting slowly into the air, and at the same time, deep within his consciousness, he instantly understood how to control his flight.

He had experienced this feeling once when he first crossed over, but because he was already in a state of flight and distracted by the drastic change in environment, he had overlooked this "insignificant" detail.

After a moment, Hahaha Hades deactivated the flight effect. After taking a few deep breaths, he looked at his right wrist with a serious gaze, his heart suddenly beginning to race.

On his wrist was a dark green accessory that clung tightly to his skin. This accessory was an item that did not occupy an equipment slot.

Although this item was not equipment, it was more important than any gear, for it was one of the only two hundred World Items in YGGDRASIL: the Seed of the World Tree.

Hahaha Hades didn't know if this item would activate successfully; after all, changing one's race was far too absurd for the real world.

No, wait—if one were to talk about absurdity, flight was also impossible in the real world using only a necklace. Hahaha Hades hadn't fully accepted this as the real world before, but thinking about it seriously now, he had appeared in a state that was impossible in the real world from the very beginning.

"Activate."