Time passed and it was already the fifth day, the last day in this world. During those four days, Dylan and Yilan sold their agency and converted the money into solstice coins through the system. They used some of that money to buy food, daily necessities, and other supplies that they may need in the next world. In total, each of them earned 1,500 solstice coins. Altyria’s share was given to Chrome since their solstice coins were shared in the system.
Chrome always kept Altyria in his arms, not willing to leave her for a second. During these few days, Altyria showed no signs of waking up, but Chrome was able to sense that her body was recovering slowly with the help of some spiritual items that he had in his space storage. Her body absorbed the spiritual power in those items into her body, rendering those items useless. However, the spiritual power helped increase Altyria’s recovery process.
*Ding*
<15 minutes left in this world>
The countdown of their remaining time began.
“I had thought there was something fishy about this world. The system said that this was a rank B world, yet we didn’t have any trouble with the tasks until the last boss.” Dylan stretched out his legs as he flopped down on the sofa.
“This was the first time this kind of thing happened to us. We should pay more attention in the future. Hopefully, the next world would have world essence so Altyria would recover faster.” Yilan sat at the dinner table and took a sip of her coffee.
Dylan and Yilan looked at Altyria, who was in Chrome’s arms. Chrome sat on the other couch across from Dylan. His eyes never left Altyria as he gently stroked her fur and quietly listened to their conversation.
The sound of her breathing and the warmth in his arms comforted his heart and indicated that his Alti was fine. His heart would be unsettled if he didn’t have her by his side. Nowadays, he did not let Altyria leave his line of sight. Even when he went to take a shower, he would place her on the sink countertop before showering quickly.
Chrome had only thought about the benefits of soul bonding; however, it was actually a double-edged sword. If one of them was in danger or seriously injured, it would be very easy for the other to lose control of their emotions and cause them to act recklessly, just like how Altyria did.
Chrome made a mental note to be extra careful in the future. He must not make the same mistake and put his Alti in danger.
*Ding*
<10 minutes left in this world>
“Is everything packed up?” Chrome asked his teammates after seeing that the time left was slowly decreasing.
“Yup! We got everything. This time, we have a lot of materials to work with. Boss, with the materials that we have on hand, do you think you can forge a new weapon?” Yilan’s eyes twinkled at the thought of getting a new stronger weapon.
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“Even if we do have the right materials, Boss would not be able to make it right now. We don’t even know if the environment in the next world would allow the Boss to forge one.” Dylan waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “It would be better to find a weapon in the next world.”
Yilan pouted at her older brother, but then a thought crossed her mind. She looked at Chrome, her eyes filled with expectations. “Boss, since Altyria just joined our team in this world, does that mean our next world would be a low-ranked world?”
Dylan also turned to look at Chrome.
Chrome pondered for a second, his hand that was petting Altyria’s fur paused. “Altyria’s stats are low, but our stats are considered high. The system chooses the next world based on the average strength of the team.” Chrome resumed petting Altyria. “She is currently a rank E+ beast. I am rank A. Dylan is rank B and Yilan is rank C-. This time, we were able to finish the task because the ranked A Zizhu Wolf Spirit killed itself due to the illusion that Alti had cast…If it weren’t for her, we probably would not have been able to complete it with our strength sealed.”
Dylan had a thoughtful expression on his face. “Boss is right. Depending on the rank of the world, a certain amount of our strength and skills would be sealed. Next world would definitely be a low-ranked world, so our stats would be lowered even more compared to this world.”
“But if our stats are lowered, wouldn’t it be more difficult to complete the tasks? Why is the system being a bully?” Yilan wrinkled her face.
“It’s probably because the person who made the system likes to toss people.” Dylan said while shrugging.
“Well, no matter what world we go to, we just need to exercise more caution so this type of thing won’t happen again.” Chrome said firmly while gazing at Altyria, and then he looked at Dylan and Yilan. “I believe the next world should be within the range of rank C- to rank C+.”
Just as Chrome finished speaking, the system sound could be heard.
*Ding*
<10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…>
Within the next second, the team’s consciousness blacked out.
Birds flew onto the branches of the tree in the backyard of an apartment. They danced and chirped as the sun slowly rose in the sky. A soft breeze gently rustled the leaves of the tree, causing its shadow on the window to dance.
A man lay in bed, as the sunlight flickered on the man’s face. His brows puckered at the unpleasantness. Finally, he opened his eyes and squinted against the brightness of the room. In the next moment, his face changed. His eyes quickly scanned his surroundings and found what he was looking for.
He gently scooped up the sleeping ‘cat’ into his arms and sighed with relief.
With Altyria in his arms, his anxious heart slowly relaxed.
Chrome glanced around the room. There was a single bed, desk, and closet in the room. Looking out of the window, he could see the tiny backyard. Judging from the height, it appeared that he was on the second floor of a small apartment.
Chrome took out a small blanket out of his space storage and wrapped it around Altyria before getting out of bed. He wore the slippers he saw on the floor and exited the room.
Right outside the bedroom was a small coffee table with two chairs. A few steps away from the coffee table was the kitchen. The kitchen area was only big enough for a stove, some cabinets to store kitchenware, a small fridge, and a microwave. Right across from the bedroom he came out from was the bathroom. The tiny bathroom had a bathtub, sink, and toilet. Looking at the size of the bathroom, Chrome judged that he would probably be able to walk 2-3 steps inside.
Chrome frowned at how small this apartment was and headed back to the bedroom. He concluded that he was living in an old small one-bedroom apartment. He felt somewhat annoyed because he wanted to give Altyria the best, even though she was currently in a coma and was not aware of this place.
He opened the system menu to check out the map. Dylan and Yilan were not nearby, so he zoomed out on the map until he finally saw two other blue dots. One was several kilometers to the North, while the other was only about 5.5 kilometers northeast from him.