White Online

Whoosh!

A sharp bo-staff slashed the empty air, causing a strong whistling sound. The man wielding the staff was drenched in sweat.

Isaac continued slashing, his palms had become red, and his arms were beginning to tremble.

Since he was forcefully logged out, he began training the bo-staff.

Brr!

Now, his training halted as his phone, in the back pocket, vibrated.

Isaac placed the staff next to the wall and pulled out the phone. After the screen opened, it showed a notification of news.

The news showed different pictures of schools with interesting title below.

[New School System]

[Because of the unexpected release of White Online currency able to transfer into real-life currency, the game wasn't only a game anymore, it could be considered a possible job for future generations.]

[The different schools made calculations, and the chance of students dropping out to try their luck in White Online was too high to be ignored.]

[In the end, they decided to change the school system slightly. There would be a new class, called VR Helmet Operation Class]

[The primary purpose of the class was to teach the younger students how to use their avatars and increase their knowledge about the Virtual Reality]

[The older students have more advanced classes, but basically, the primary purpose of the course was to increase the strength of their students]

[In the past, such an idea would seem crazy and like a bad joke. But, the importance of White Online has skyrocketed, and the world will never be the same again]

[Since the start of the real-life currency frenzy, the number of players choosing Master Classes had skyrocketed]

[The Master Classes has one of the highest chance of earning money via making potions and selling them]

[But, the highest chance of earning money is still via becoming strong enough to defeat strong monsters and get items from them to sell later in Merchant Stores]

[The VR Helmet Operation Class will separate into different Classes. Fighting, Shooter, Master, and Unique Classes]

[That gives the schools another problem. Somehow, they have to find a player that is good enough to teach such subjects]

[Not many would be willing to ignore the chance of earning big money in White Online to become a low-paid teacher]

…

After reading a whole page of different paragraphs, Isaac became speechless. When he first heard about schools closing, for the time being, he thought they would just give more restrictions for their students.

In the end, they blew his mind by adding a White Online-related class.

Isaac also saw that the schools allow students to bring their own VR Helmets, which they could use during free time when there wasn't a class.

He slowly pocketed his phone and thought about how different it was now from a year ago.

Knock! Knock!

Out of nowhere, his door was assaulted by loud knocking, and then the door opened, and his mother, Isabella, appeared with a concerned look.

''Isaac, umm…'' She glanced toward the stairway and then looked back at Isaac, ''Your teacher came to visit.''

Isaac's eyes slowly widened, ''What…''

Isabella bit her lip and stepped inside the room, ''He is here to check how you are doing… And, are you ready to return to school.''

Isaac's whole body trembled as unwillingness began sprouting inside his heart.

Without hesitation, he shook his head and turned from his mother to hide his face, ''Tell him I won't, no matter what.''

Isabella's hands were clenched into a tight fist, ''Alright…''

She left with slight relief that her son didn't intend to re-join school but was also saddened. It wasn't long ago when Isaac was always happy to go to school, but now, he would go anywhere else than there.

Soon, she reached downstairs, and his husband and handsome-looking man were discussing in the living room.

Surprisingly, the handsome man was the one who saved Isaac from perhaps certain death, Damien.

Damien and Maxwell turned their heads. They instantly noticed that Isaac was nowhere to be seen.

''Where is Isaac?'' Maxwell asked.

''He said he won't be returning.'' Isabella bluntly said as she got seated next to Maxwell.

Damien's hand, holding a coffee cup, trembled and almost spilled the hot liquid on his skin.

He lowered the cup and sighed deeply.

Maxwell locked his fingers. Since Isaac had grown to be different since White Online was released, he thought his trauma was almost gone. But, it was a far-fetched idea. It was still there, just hidden, deeply.

Isabella crossed her arms and looked at Damien, who was in deep thought. If it was any other teacher, she wouldn't have let them inside her home.

But Damien was different. He saved her son's life, and she was eternally grateful. But, in the end, Damien worked for Snowstar's school and was subordinate to higher-ups, who sometimes gave him orders that didn't please him.

Like this one.

The purpose of his meeting was basically trying to get Isaac re-join the school. They thought with Damien's help, it would be easier because Isaac was already grateful to him, and they thought about guilt-tripping him into joining.

Of course, they know about Isaac's alias, Wraith. It wasn't difficult to see the resemblances between the two, and it wasn't only them who noticed the similarities.

They had high hopes of Isaac joining the VR Helmet Operation Class and perhaps even becoming a teacher, but for free, of course. The cost to recruit teachers for every class was a lot.

It caused them to already lower the budget of School Clubs, and at this rate, they have to decrease the pay of other teachers.

If they had a chance to get a teacher for free, they would grab that chance with bloodied nails and keep clinging onto it until their fingernails peel off.

''Sigh…'' Damien stood up and said, ''Sorry about this visit. You know them… They don't care much about people's feelings, instead of about how heavy their money pouch was.''

Maxwell stood up and shook his hand, ''It's alright… Maybe next time, come visit when you are off-duty.''

Damien's mouth curved up as he nodded. Soon, he left the mansion and felt a lingering gaze on him.

He turned around, and in the fourth floor's window, he could see a white-haired man looking at him.

Damien raised his hand slightly, giving a farewell wave.

Isaac nodded at him and closed the curtains.