Alex got out of the capsule early in the morning and went to the bathroom to freshen up. He then packed some light clothes for the trip.
'Pinewood city is in the south right? So I won't be needing any sweaters and such,' he thought. Once he was set, he grabbed his phone and walked out.
"Are you ready already?" Sarah asked.
"Yes, they called us by 8, so I have to be, right?" he asked.
"Well, if someone else had the same mentality as you, I wouldn't have to wait so long," Sarah said.
Emily walked out of her room, and said, "Stop badmouthing about me behind my back. Your voice is so loud I can hear it all the way from my room."
"Hehe, she's out," Sarah said.
Alex turned around to look at Emily who was just walking into the living room. She had a long white trouser-like pants and a yellow t-shirt that was full of frills and open at the shoulders.
"You look pretty," Alex said as that was the first thing that came to his mind.
Emily blushed a little and said, "Thank you. You look great too."
"Stop complimenting each other; I need to go back to the game. I have some grinding to do, remember?" Sarah said.
"Alright, let me get that."
Alex took Emily's small luggage and they walked out. Sarah took her car out of the underground parking spot and gave them a lift to the train station where everyone was supposed to gather.
"How's your driving lessons going on Alex?" Sarah asked.
"Umm… its taking longer than I had expected it to," Alex said. " I should be able to do it in the next 2 weeks though."
"That's quite fast. Emily, you should learn how to drive as well," Sarah said.
"I will do it later. Seeing how everything is going, I might end up having to take a break in between," Emily said.
"Woah, you too Emily? I was thinking about that too," Alex said.
"What? Why do you guys wanna take a break?" Sarah asked.
"The game has totally ruined the college atmosphere. The professor doesn't focus on teaching anymore, the students aren't focused, and now that the capsule is out, people aren't even returning back to classes."
"After my exam next month, I think I will drop out for a year," Emily said. "You feel the same thing, Alex?"
Alex was put into a spot. "Uhh… I was just thinking of earning more money honestly," he said.
"Can you even earn a lot?" Emily asked.
"Of course. If I really try it, I can make a couple hundred thousand dollars a day," Alex said.
"What? You can make that much with Alchemy?" Sarah asked in shock. Emily's eyes were very wide as well.
"Yeah. Of course, you need to have ingredients and people willing to buy the pills. I usually sell once every 2 weeks or so. Selling daily would be really exhausting," Alex said.
"I see. By the way, how good are you at making pills? Can you make True pills yet?" Sarah asked.
"No, I haven't even entered Meridian Tempering realm, remember?" he asked.
"Ah right, why are you so slow though?" she asked.
"I was told to slow down early on, so I've been focusing of training more than cultivating," Alex said.
"I see, I see. Argh, I might have to transfer a bit more money into the game today. If I can just breakthrough once more, I can grind faster," Sarah said.
Alex was surprised that she was even thinking of that, but soon remembered that there were these sort of people. That was one of the reasons Deva Corp continued to make money despite giving out so much.
There were millions of people willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the game so that they could progress through it faster.
Sarah soon dropped them at the station and returned. Alex and Emily walked to the front of the station where the teachers and the other students were gathered.
They both showed their ID cards and got into the group.
Emily looked around and sighed. "It seems none of my friends came after all. I doubt they even learned about the trip in the first place," Emily said.
"None of the people I usually interact in my classes came either" Alex said as he looked around. He searched for Matt, Eric and Logan, but none of the 3 were there.
"I guess I'm going to be alone for this trip," Emily said.
"No, you won't. You have me," Alex said.
Emily blushed a little and nodded. Soon, they boarded the train and had 2 compartments all for themselves. Alex chose a seat next to a huge window and sat down. Emily sat right next to him in the only seat available.
The train started moving, and soon they were out of the station. A teacher walked to the center of the train and started speaking.
"Is everyone of you fine? We will be on this train for the next 5 hours, so let me know if you guys find anything uncomfortable right now," the teacher said.
Alex was quite surprised. 'I didn't think it would take so long,' he thought.
"Since we will be passing through 3 entire cities along the way, you will have plenty to sight see. We will reach the Pinewood City at around 1 pm, and should be settled into the hotel by 2 pm."
"As for the rest of the schedule for today, you guys have these things to look forward to today."
"From 2-3, we will have your lunch, from 3-5 we will be playing a bunch of board games amongst ourselves in the hotel. From 5-8, you guys are free to roam around the city as much as you want."
"Finally at 8 pm you will get your dinner, at which point your day will end for today."
"For tomorrow's schedule, We will let you know it tomorrow. For now, do whatever you want, just make sure to be in your best behavior," the teacher said and went to the front and sat back down."
Alex looked out of the window and enjoyed the view he saw outside.