Leon opened his eyes and took off the headgear as he exhaled from another day of gaming. He opened his storage chest at the foot of the bed and took out his ID. Since coming here, he had never actually touched it since there was no need to.

[Welcome Leon Powers] The message read, making Leon frown a little in distaste. I almost forgot about that last name. He shook his head, ignoring the message, and opened his bank account.

[Credits remaining: 16,000] Leon nodded and transferred some money to Rose. He settled on 10,000 credits. The transaction quickly went through and Leon waited for a few seconds.

Knocking quickly came from his room and Leon opened it to see Rose standing there with her ID in hand and a confused expression. “Leon, did you just transfer me 10,000 credits?” Her tone ‘calm’.

Leon smiled, “Also good morning to you sis, and yes, I did,” His voice cheerful.

Rose was even more confused. “Why? How?”

“Well, I sold some silver for credits.” Leon explained how he made more powerful potions than those in the marketplace, which made him more money.

“Those were yours!?” Rose was stunned. She expected him to be an alchemist, not a gifted alchemist, but still a decent one.

Changing the recipe on day 2 was something unheard of in her previous life. Those basic health potions would last nearly 2 months before advanced health potions were being made. Leon basically had a monopoly on more powerful potions for at least 2 months.

Although I doubt it will last for 2 months. Rose had been checking the forums often to see if things still lined up with what she remembered, and she spotted Leon giving tips on how to be an alchemist. With those tips, more alchemists would be born than in her last life.

The future was already changing faster than Rose had expected, and Leon caused all of it. Leon was unaware of Rose’s internal thoughts as he suddenly realised something. “You know of them? You…didn’t buy any of them, right?” Selling potions at full price to his sister felt wrong.

Rose smiled softly, “No I didn’t, you’re quite popular on the forums you know?” Leon pieced it together and got a mild case of anxiety as he couldn’t help but think that people were mad that he was suppressing their potions with his own.

Rose noticed his anxiety and rubbed his head. “Nobody knows it’s you on the forums. Gaia protects the identity of everyone in the game. Not even the developers can find your real name and location.” She explained, to calm his nerves.

Lots of people in her past life had tried to hack Gaia and the game servers to gain confidential information. Unfortunately for them, Gaia saw everything and worked against all their loopholes and backdoors by closing them before they could get close.

“But that still doesn’t explain why you transferred me money. Leon, we’re family. You don’t have to pay me back for the headgear.” Rose guessed the main reason. Leon felt embarrassed at being called out like this when he suddenly remembered a good excuse.

“Don’t you have a date coming up soon with Daniel? You don’t want to look pretty for it?” Leon reminded her with an ‘innocent’ look on his face.

Rose’s face flushed a little as she remembered her date. “W-Well…” What woman didn’t want to look pretty? Especially on a date. Leon had a Cheshire-like grin, as he knew he had succeeded.

Rose noticed and immediately fired back, “You’re coming with me for some shopping later today.” Leon immediately wiped the smile from his face as he nervously gulped. The last time they went out to face the public wasn’t a pretty encounter.

Rose softened a little as she crouched down. “Leon, we both need new clothes. Our situation will improve. Soon we’ll be moving into a better house.” She told Leon.

“I know, I know,” Leon mumbled a little. This wasn’t news to him. He had always expected their situation to get better. It still didn’t help his anxiety one bit, as this was how his mind worked.

“Let’s eat breakfast. You don’t want to be late for helping Mr Palmer, right?” Rose switched topics. Leon nodded and soon they chatted about the game again. Leon didn’t tell her about everything, only his experience with alchemy.

Suddenly, Leon was reminded of something. “Hey sis, have you seen the third prince of the capital of Gurhl?”

Rose was confused. “No? Is there something about him?” She was curious about his reasoning.

Leon thought about how to word it. “He just feels…familiar. Like, I’ve seen him before.” He said, unsure of himself. Leon wasn’t sure if it was even possible.

Rose frowned, scouring her memories of the character. There wasn’t much about him because of the royal families’ execution after the goblins. Her memories had nothing on him, and Leon seeing an NPC before even playing the game was absolutely impossible.

“Sounds quite like a mystery to me. The only way to find answers is to talk to him. However, one would need a lot of reputation to have an audience with him.” Rose advised Leon about the reputation system.

Leon already had some reputation, and he knew that taking down the goblin problem was a sure-fire way to get more.

After breakfast, Leon went to work for the day and returned after a few hours. Nothing really changed for him there. Once he was back, Rose was already waiting for him. “Ready to go?”

Leon took a deep breath and nodded. As they walked through the slums and to a more open area, Rose suddenly spoke up. “So, how much silver did you sell?” She never got the specific amount, but 10,000 credits already meant at least 5 silver.

“8 silver. I still have about 14 silver left.” Leon’s words stunned Rose. One had to know the general player base only had around 2-3 silver at this point in the game. Leon casually sold more silver than most players had in their accounts.

“I-I see,” Rose kept getting stunned by Leon’s actions in the game. Was he always this skilled? I don’t remember him thriving this much, even after I bought our freedom. She felt confused by the whole situation.

After getting the half-legendary item, she used it to gain power and money. With enough of both, she bought herself and Leon out of the slave contracts and with that; they were free. Of course, scrutiny came and there were many ways to discover such things.

Rose tried her best to hide the item for as long as possible, but one month was all it took for the people to figure it out. During this month, she and Leon played the game as they usually do, but the amount of talent Leon currently displayed surprised her.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Luckily, Leon didn’t tell her about his stash of anti-paralysis potions for the future dungeon. If he did, there was no telling what Rose might’ve done. She herself went back into the past, but she went back to her own body. Leon took someone else’s body, her little brother’s body.

Leon was completely unaware he had dodged a bullet as they walked in peace. Soon they reached the ‘normal’ district and located a clothing shop. Going inside, the scent of fresh fabric hit them. There were rows of clothes both for males and females, shoes were also present.

One worker spotted them and frowned a little, but she said nothing yet. There had been people in the past who only came to ‘try’ things on and bought nothing. Usually people from low incomes as well, hoping to feel normal one day.

Leon and Rose ignored the worker and picked some clothes they found would fit them. Leon opted for a grey soft cotton T-shirt and a dark blue hoodie over it, slim-fit jeans and some comfortable sneakers. He kept it simple and comfortable.

Rose went with a black tank top, skinny jeans, and black combat boots. She then topped it off with a grey beanie and a black leather jacket. Her style was a lot tougher than Leon’s, which wasn’t a surprise, considering her past life.

“Wow, sis, you look incredible!” Leon commented as Rose giggled a little at the compliment. In these clothes, she felt a lot more confident than before. They walked to the counter to pay for their clothes. “That will be 300 credits.” The worker spoke as she mentally prepared to clean up the mess.

Surprisingly, Rose paid the amount in full and bid her a good day. The worker was so stunned that she forgot to answer as they already left before she came back to earth. She shook her head as she muttered, “I’ve got to stop judging people by their looks.”

Rose and Leon walked around attracting no attention anymore now that they had fresh nice clothes, such was the power of looking normal. They both suddenly felt their stomachs rumble as they had forgotten to eat lunch.

“Shall we eat somewhere?” Rose asked as she laughed a little. Leon nodded and soon they found a simple restaurant. Upon entering, the smell of many food items hit them, making them gulp their drool down. The restaurant wasn’t that busy so there weren’t a lot of sounds.

They sat down at a table and ordered from the menu, the worker luckily didn’t notice their poor status as he communicated normally with them. Leon opted for a homemade quiche filled with cheese, vegetables, and ham. Rose chose a pumpkin soup with a cheesy baguette.

As they waited for their food, Rose suddenly got up. “I have to go to the bathroom real quick. You don’t have to wait for me to eat if they come before I return.”

Leon nodded. He felt a little confused by her extra comment, but he didn’t question it. Woman's stuff, I guess?

Rose walked to the bathrooms and disappeared around the corner. A few seconds later, footsteps came as a man in a black suit and a black top hat also turned around the corner and entered the men’s bathroom.

Weirdly enough, he didn’t enter any of the stalls or even stand near the other toiletries, he just stood next to the door. He waited for a few minutes until he frowned. He waited another minute before turning around to open the door again.

As he turned around, one stall suddenly flung open, and an arm was around his throat. Just as he was about to struggle, a female voice came from behind him. “Don’t struggle, a woman in the men’s bathroom is already suspicious enough and if you give me bruises, it will be an open-and-shut assault and attempted rape case.”

The man paused as he realised the implications. His head turned, and he saw the woman he was supposed to stalk and follow. “Now tell me, why do you follow us all day around?” Rose’s voice was icy. She had noticed she was being followed ever since exiting the slums, but never showed it to Leon.

The man didn’t struggle as he knew Rose was dead serious with her threat. He had also been in crime long enough to have had a few run-ins with the law. The court would not believe him and he would be locked up for years to come. “The boss has an interest in you.” He told her the truth after a moment of thought.

Rose frowned and searched her memories for a name. “Frederick Hamil?” The man was stunned hearing her mention that name.

“H-How?” He sputtered. The name of their boss wasn’t secret knowledge, but that she had guessed it in one surprised the man.

Of course, it’s him. Even in this timeline, I can’t avoid running into him. Rose frowned in disgust. Frederick Hamil was the same person who found their biological family and took Leon away from her in her other life. The same person who coveted that half-legendary item.

If he’s already involved, then I have to speed up my preparations, and here I was hoping on a normal day. Rose felt a headache coming, as she knew she couldn’t delay any longer. She let the man go and gave him a silent warning before she left the bathroom.

The man scoffed and straightened out his clothes. He wouldn’t make a report of this because it would make him look bad. Rose quickly returned and noticed the food was already there. Leon hadn’t started eating.

“I didn’t want to eat without you, sis,” Leon said before she could open her mouth. Rose sighed with a small smile, feeling her mood already improving as they ate in peace. Nothing happened as they also ordered dessert.

Rose got a simple espresso with some Petit fours and Leon got a caramelised apple tart. As they ate, Rose suddenly spoke up, “Leon, would you mind if we moved into a normal house already?”

Leon stopped and felt it was off. Why the sudden rush? She wasn’t in this much of a rush in the morning, so what changed? Leon’s mind over-analysed as usual as he tried to piece the puzzle together.

Rose noticed Leon was trying to find a hidden reason and became serious. “Leon, we both know living in the slums is not safe.” She gave a good reason and reiterated the dangers of the slums,

Leon nodded. It’s true, if they find out about the headgear, then it would get stolen the instant we leave. “I don’t mind leaving immediately. It’ll take some time to get used to, but I can manage it.” It would only slightly change his routine and he could adapt to it quickly.

Rose smiled. “Then how about we look at some new housing next? Maybe we can even move in today.” Leon nodded excitedly. The thought of moving in somewhere nicer was bigger than his anxiety about moving into some place new.

They finished dessert and paid for the meal. With newfound energy, they went to a more residential area. Looking around for homes available for rent was fairly easy, much easier than Leon had been used to in his past life.

Houses were nearly everywhere because of the colony’s population being low and houses were in a massive overflow. From what Leon could see, there were enough houses available for nearly double the population.

This led them to an apartment complex. Leon had lived in an apartment complex before, so he could adapt more easily. They found the landlord of the apartment and asked for a quick tour.

“The complex is mostly used by elderly people who don’t go out much anymore. It’s nice and quiet and the people are nice as long as you don’t intend to have parties over.” The landlord, a woman in her mid-forties with long brown hair, said to them.

She was a bit surprised learning Leon and Rose were brother and sister, as she had assumed they were mother and son. She led them to the apartment in question and opened the door.

“It’s not big, but it’s got two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living area and all the necessities you would need.” The landlord explained. To Leon, there was one thing he couldn’t wait to try: the shower. Since coming to this world, he hadn’t had a shower. He just used a damp cloth to scrub himself.

Rose inspected the apartment and looked at Leon, who nodded. “It looks perfect. We’ll take it,” she said to the woman.

The woman smiled. “That’s good news! If you don’t mind me asking, what sort of work do you do and where do you live currently?” She asked with some curiosity.

Rose and Leon immediately froze. “Well…” Rose’s tone was hesitant

The woman’s smile disappeared. “You’re not in some illegal business, right?” She asked as she gave a concerned look to Leon.

Rose shook her head. “It’s not like that. We’re basically homeless, but thanks to winning a lottery, we wanted to live somewhere normal to rebuild our lives.” Rose gave the excuse of lottery winnings to convince the woman.

“How much did you win? I’m sorry if I sound nosy, but I need some form of security.” The landlord didn’t shoo them away immediately, which was a good sign.

“10,000 credits. It should be enough to live off of for a few months and rebuild off of,” Rose was confident about that.

The woman gave out a small sigh of relief. “That’s fine. Rent here is 1,250 credits per month. And even with buying the essentials, you should indeed be able to live here for a few months.” She agreed, and a contract was signed.

Rose paid her a month’s rent upfront and now they were all alone in their new home. “Lottery winnings?” Leon asked Rose with a small smile.

Rose smiled back. “Well, I couldn’t have just said gaming, right?” She answered Leon but in her mind, she added one more sentence. Not yet, at least.