White Online

After the wooden box was opened, a fresh wood scent permeated the air. Bringing the box to the light, Isaac grabbed whatever was inside and held it up to the light.

The small lightbulb shone upon the lavender-colored coat with flower patterns and a large collar. They felt somewhat heavy, pushing Isaac's arms slightly down, and it resembled a lot of Priest's attire in White Online.

As Isaac lowered the cloth out of the light, he mumbled, "Priest's outfit? No… These are slightly different… Why did my father have these?"

"His fashion style… It is indeed strange."

Isaac was about to slip his arms inside the sleeves and thought about trying it out. It was then that a shout rang out from under the attic, on the fourth floor.

"Isaac, are you there?" It was Isabella's voice.

As Isaac folded the coat, he put it back in the box and clumsily closed it with the wooden lid that was slightly cracked around the edges.

Isaac hurried from the attic, closing the hatch as he descended the wooden stairs.

"Isaac?" Isabella came with a raised eyebrow, "What were you doing there?"

"A-Ah… Nothing, just thought that I heard a noise, but it wasn't nothing." Isaac explained while patting the dust off.

"Alright, the food is ready," Isabella said.

Isaac nodded and left with his mother to dine. He went into the dining room to find his siblings and father, who were already waiting in there.

As Isaac and Marvin dined, they talked about the game, and their conversation centered on the Auction. Apparently, rumors about what happened there were already circulating.

As his big brothers talked, Mark, a sulky and quiet little brother, was playing with his food and sulking while they spoke.

Sophia ate gently and slowly. Next to her plate, a book was open, showing the 41st page of her school book.

Alice ate the steak silently, repeatedly stabbing it with her fork several times and pouting each and every time.

Maxwell and Isabella discussed about their day.

They finished eating shortly after. Isabella returned to the kitchen with the plates.

Sophia and Alice returned to their rooms.

Marvin kept shaking his head when Mark talked to him. The distance between their voices increased further as they walked upstairs.

While Maxwell was humming a song that he heard on the radio, he stood up, caught the newspaper, and was about to return to the living room.

After a few minutes of checking the news on his phone, Isaac stood up and pocketed his phone. Immediately, he called his father.

"Dad, what is that coat in the attic?"

The newspaper dropped from Maxwell's grasp as his feet halted.

"Oops…" He reacted to the newspaper dropping and caught it once it landed on the floor. Then, he turned around to look at his son and sighed.

"Well… I might as well show you."

"Hmm?" Isaac saw his father motioning for him to follow. After walking up to the fourth floor, they unfurled the stairs and opened the hatch that led up to the attic.

After both of them straightened their backs from their crouching position, Maxwell closed the hatch and went to the slightly-open box.

As soon as he approached the box, Maxwell pulled out the coat. The lavender coat soon draped over his casual clothing, which he usually wore to relax and move freely.

"Still as comfortable…" Maxwell buttoned the sleeves and smiled, "Whatever you will see. Remember that the world isn't as similar as it used to be."

'Because of White Online?' Isaac thought and nodded. He wondered what was so special about this coat.

Maxwell smiled as he clasped his hands together. A soft glow emanated from his palms as the strands of his hair began to float.

"W-What is this?" The bright light assaulted Isaac's eyes— however, he didn't close them. He was almost certain that he would witness something groundbreaking!

"Grand Priest's Miraculous Deed!" Maxwell slammed his hands against the dusty old floor and shouted, "Clean!"

The dust particles vanished into the wind, wood chips vanished, and all trace of dirt, musk and smudge faded away as the wind blew.

With one gentle breeze, the attic was magically cleared.

A floor of solid wood looked brand new with a beautiful yellow color, and the wooden walls were undamaged as if they had been built yesterday.

The window, which was often covered in smudge, was shining.

"W-W-What?!" Isaac exclaimed and looked around the attic with eyes shaking, "How can you do that?!"

Maxwell grinned and opened his palm, showing a tiny light pixel, "I have kept a tiny secret from you all… Since you already know about the existence of the World of White and what it stands for… I think Arthur doesn't mind me sharing this."

"What is it?"

Maxwell sat down on a dusty chair that didn't get fixed from his miraculous spell and said.

"Whenever I go to company… In there, I am doing a different kind of business."

"In public, my company does different businesses and is usually involved in trading."

"But, I am doing something… More special."

"Behind the closed doors, I am usually connected in VR Helmet and do my own secret trading inside White Online."

Isaac gasped.

Then, Maxwell took a breath before continuing, "I am trading with Gods and making connections with them."

"In the end, I received Grand Priest class, alongside few others, and it made trading with Gods easier."

"I can communicate with them whenever I want, and I can travel to God Realm. So… This class can be called a superior version of Priest class."

Isaac nodded with surprise. He didn't expect that his father was such a bigshot, even trading with Gods by himself.

Maxwell spread his arms around and showed the coat in its whole glory, "Inside the game, I have the same coat that allows me to use my Divine spells, and I teleported my second one to real-life."

"The other Grand Priest users hadn't yet realized… It isn't their avatar that gave them their power. It was the coat!"

"So… You are saying…" Isaac gulped down.

"Yes…" Maxwell smiled and showed his palms, "While wearing these coats… In this world, I am the God and all-powerful."

Isaac covered his mouth, and even the idea of someone with ill intentions using these coats caused a spine-chilling feeling to spread around his body.

Maxwell then took off the coat and handed it over to confused-looking Isaac, "Here… Try it out. Don't you want to know how it feels to have the power of God in your hands?"