Chapter 7: The Gaming Helmet

A beastly figure stood within a small grove, surrounded on all sides by ancient Kunimon. The silhouette of Digimon Beast moved freely among their ranks, his sword rising and falling, slaying one after another.

The reason Beast and his companion found themselves here was simple: while searching for quests on the road, they encountered a man who needed ten Kunimon spines. So, here they were.

Beast needed experience to level up; only with enough experience could he venture onto larger maps. According to his watch, if Zero Beast’s data existed within this game, then he would have to expand his search area to find it.

Digimon Beast, too, was in need of experience. Only with enough experience could he evolve from his growth stage to maturity. Defeating enemies in battle increased his data stats, and sometimes, the items he obtained could further enhance his abilities.

At this moment, Digimon Beast’s stats were as follows on Beast’s panel:

Digimon: Beast
Type: Unknown
Attribute: Unknown
Strength: 50 (each point increases attack power)
Agility: 50 (each point increases attack power)
Intelligence: 100 (each point increases skill value)
Stamina: 30 (each point increases ten health points)
Attack: 50+50 (strength bonus) +50 (agility bonus)
Health: 360/400
Skill Value: 100/150

Overall Combat Power: 57
For Digimon in the growth stage, a hundred is the full value, but very few reach it, and even fewer surpass it. Overall combat power is calculated by averaging strength, agility, intelligence, and stamina. Typically, if a Digimon reaches one hundred in any stat, it can evolve to maturity.

For example, Digimon Beast now.

Yet Beast certainly would not choose to let Digimon Beast evolve just yet. The potential of Digimon Beast in the growth stage had not fully been unleashed; to evolve now would be a waste.

Perhaps it was because other players’ Digimon had not yet reached the growth stage that Beast’s battles here were so effortless. At least, no one was competing for monsters.

Just as Beast’s glasses were about to run out of battery, he had completed several quests and raised his level to three. Not too many, not too few, but certainly ahead of players still in town, nurturing their baby and child Digimon.

After finishing his quest, Beast logged off.

“Sigh, I hope that helmet arrives soon…” In the real world, Beast let out a sigh, his face tinged with melancholy.

His device consumed power too quickly. Though it charged fast, the cycle of short sessions online and offline wasted too much time. True, he still held an advantage over ordinary players, but while he was offline, they continued to grind—and sooner or later, they would catch up.

Moreover, the top tier of any game was never formed by ordinary players, but by the elite.

What kind of setup did elite players have? Beast was not sure, but he knew that items like the “JH” serum, which could be bought, were surely within their reach. In other words, their minimum baseline was the same as his.

But now that he was level three in the game, they might already be level six or seven—or even ten, having left the starter village. Beast raced against time because he feared those elite players might find Zero Beast’s data before him, leaving him lost as to where else to search.

While his glasses charged, Beast did not go out but sat alone in his room, exercising. What he needed to know, he had already mostly learned. As for the rest, it was of little consequence, so there was no need to go to the internet café.

Besides, once his glasses were fully charged, he would log in again, so it made no sense to leave and return, wasting further time.

Two days passed like this. Counting the day Beast placed his order as the first, today was the third day. Just as he was about to log in, he heard the doorbell ring.

Beast’s expression shifted, and he walked outside. At the door stood a striking woman in a red outfit. She was beautiful, tall, and elegantly poised, holding a small box in one hand, her face marked by casual indifference.

“You’ve got money for a gaming helmet, but not enough to pay rent?” The woman’s eyes swept over Beast, her brows knitting slightly in annoyance.

In silence, Beast replied, “How much do I owe?”

“You owe me three months’ rent, five hundred a month.” The woman glanced at Beast in surprise, but answered directly.

“Let’s transfer it,” Beast said, picking up his old-fashioned smartphone from the King’s Realm and giving it a shake.

Seeing this, the woman instinctively took out her own phone. Beast paid via fingerprint, sending fifteen hundred across, then took the box from her hand and closed the door.

“This guy…” The woman stared at the closed door, her face showing a hint of puzzlement. She was the person who interacted most with the King’s Realm, so when she saw Beast, she instinctively sensed something was off.

But it was just a feeling. In the end, she hadn’t paid much attention to the King’s Realm. Or rather, the King’s Realm wasn’t significant enough for her to care. As for the clichés in novels—the beautiful landlady and secret relationships—they existed only in fiction.

On the other side, Beast opened the box and found a helmet inside. This was a standard Qi Refining level gaming helmet, capable of working up to sixteen hours, and fully charging in eight.

Such a design was intended to prevent players from becoming addicted, ensuring healthy breaks.

Then, Beast placed the glasses and the helmet together, transferred the data from the glasses into the helmet, and finally put it on.