VRMMORPG: Dragomancer Reborn

Layla mall was something Arthur had never been to in his past life, but he still knew about it.

It was a relatively popular mall that was mid size for Maxwell city. Parts of it were open 24/7 with only the shopping areas closing for the night as there were relatively no customers.

The food section with the restaurants as well as the bars stayed open all day and night. There were even a few spas and other recreation oriented establishment that were open for 24 hours.

The gym and other such places were included in it and were open too.

As such, Arthur could go there even if it was early in the morning. This included the Rock Climbing tower. Plus he could also get his breakfast at the same time.

Arthur didn't run there though, instead opting to do a brisk walk. It got him a little exercise and also didn't stress his hunger level as he was already hungry.

But the distance was just 6 blocks which he covered in about ten minutes.

"Here it is…" Arthur looked at the face of the large mall.

It was about six stories tall and occupied two blocks alone.

"First, I gotta get some food." Arthur went to the nearest place which was a sandwich shop.

He bought a fresh pastrami and cheese panini with coffee and quickly ate it.

>Player Arzhur's Hunger is at 90%<

"Huh… it actually didn't restore to max?" Arthur was surprised as this was the first time it had happened. "Do I need to eat more?" he wondered before getting up.

He looked at the menu and decided to get a fruit shake as he could drink it on the go.

Taking his fruit shake, Arthur went to the Indoor Rock climbing tower which was located in the center of the mall. This part of the mall was wide open and allowed the rock climbing tower to be viewed from all angles.

The tower went from the base all the way to the highest floor.

Arthur could also see a few people on the tower at various heights.

He walked up to the reception area where the staff was present.

"Hello, I'd like to register." Arthur spoke.

The man at the reception looked at Arthur and paused for a bit.

"Sure sir, would you like to take introductory lessons?" he assumed Arthur had never gone rock climbing before.

"I'll take them." Arthur didn't mind learning from the basics.

After all, he couldn't just climb like he did in the game. He needed to know the right technique and skills or he would injure himself.

"The cost for introductory lessons will be about 100 UC and to register for a membership it will be another 100 UC for a month. The equipment will be include in the membership fees." The Staff said in a practiced manner.

'Not bad.' Arthur hadn't expected it to be this low.

But then he realized there probably weren't that many people doing indoor Rock Climbing anyways and they probably had to keep the prices low to actually attract people.

'Its probably people coming to try it out a couple of times and then not coming for the rest of the month. Classic workout membership trap.' Arthur knew how it would probably go.

"Can you please enter your details?" The staff extended a screen.

Arthur typed his information into it and was done in a minute.

"When do you want to start the lessons?" The Staff asked next while Arthur was thinking.

"Is there a slot available now?" Arthur asked.

"We do have a slot available if you wish to try right away." The staff replied.

"Perfect. I'll pay then." Arthur said before transferring the 200 UC.

~DING~

>You've paid 200 UC<

Arthur saw the notification on his phone and confirmed it.

"Please come with me, I'll introduce you to the instructor and the changing room." The staff brought Arthur to a nearby area which cubicles.

"This is Arthur, who will be starting lessons from today." The staff spoke to a lean but muscular man.

"Good morning, I'm Howell and I'll be your instructor." The man introduced himself.

"Hello," Arthur replied.

"Why don't you get changed, then we can start?" Howell spoke.

"Sure, gimme a couple minutes." Arthur went into the changing room and switched to the gear provided.

With that done, he went back and started his lessons.

Howell first taught him some safety procedures and then basics of climbing. After giving him the rundown, he finally got him to start climbing on one of the beginner areas.

The tower had six sides with each side getting progressively difficult to climb.

The beginner side was filled with evenly spaced holding points as well as ones that were wider. The incline also made it easier for one to hold on and balance.

Arthur did well for the first five minutes, after which his hands started to fatigue.

He still held on and climbed further with the advise from the instructor Howell and rested from time to time, while holding onto the side.

>Player Arthur's Stamina has fallen to 50%!<

'This is certainly a lot more grueling than I thought. But at least the workout is really good.' Arthur could feel all his body burning after a while.

It wasn't just his arms and legs getting a workout. His back, his waist, his abdomen, his shoulders and neck were getting it too. Since he needed to balance his entire body, all his muscles were getting engaged.

"Man, this along with a few more exercise might just given me the optimum benefits for the game." Arthur said while taking deep breaths.

He was about quarter of the way up and decided that it was enough for today.

"I'll get down now." Arthur spoke to Howell who was right next to him.

"Alright, this is already quite good for first day." Howell said before getting Arthur down using the safety rope.

All Arthur had to do was let go of the side and let the rope bring him down automatically.

The safety system were all automatic and were managed by a computer, as such there were fewer chances of human error. If the computer detected that someone was falling, it would automatically kick in.

After all, the computer would be monitoring everyone at all times, which humans could not even if they tried their best. There would always be a lapse in judgment as well as a delay in reaction time.

"Haah, that was one hell of a workout." Arthur spoke. "I feel like tomorrow is gonna be a struggle." He could guess.

"That's true." Howell nodded. "Just have a good meal and you'll be fine. Take it easy, you did rather good today. Most can't even muster the courage to go that high." He praised.

"Ah yeah, if not for my fatigue, I probably would have gone farther up." Arthur replied.

"It did look like it." Howell agreed. "Though… have you done rock climbing previously? You don't have the fear of heights most newbies have and also seem to know how to decently balance yourself.

Though your choice for grips can be better." He asked.

"Uhh… you can say that." Arthur replied. "Just virtually though."

"Oh, no wonder." Howell chuckled. "Well, at least it got rid of your fear of heights, that's already the hardest part for most. You'll do well from now on."

"Thanks," Arthur said.

But just as he was about to walk to the changing room, he heard a notification.

>Player Arthur has attempted to learn the skill rock climbing!<

>Attempt failed! Not enough proficiency!<

Arthur stopped in his tracks and stared at the window.

'It… actually does let me get skills in the real world!' Arthur smiled widely.

He was lucky that no one was paying attention to him at that moment, or they would find it rather creepy.

Knowing that he shouldn't linger any longer, he quickly entered the changing room.

"Haha, looks like it just needs more effort to acquire skills like this." Arthur rejoiced.

He had no idea what kind of change would happen once he acquired the skill, but he certainly looked towards it. In fact, this only increased his desire to try out more things that might be able to give him skills.

While thinking of all this, Arthur changed back to his previous clothes and got out.

He would have taken a shower, but since he intended to run the way back, he would end up getting sweaty again. As such he didn't stop to take one.

~Sip~

He finished the last bit of his fruit shake while getting out of the mall and then started sprinting all the way back to Wisteria apartments.

By the time he reached his apartment, he was out of breath, but didn't feel totally tired.

He showered and got ready for the rest of the day.

Arthur had intended to go to the gym too, but reckoned he already had enough workout for today. As such, he spent the rest of the day at home and passed time till it was time for login.