Although they’d been talking about dropping out of college in the near future, Lohan and Lisa didn’t need to act on it just yet, since the next day was still Sunday.
After logging off from Elysium, where they had spent literally the entire day together, upon returning to the real world the two began chatting via messages and put off going to sleep for another hour.
They couldn’t understand how they managed to keep conversations going for so long, even when they’d already spent the whole day together.
While in Elysium they talked more about game-related things, battles, plans for the Guild, relationships with other Players and people in that world; conversations about their personal lives, though present, weren’t the main focus.
But as soon as they logged out of the game and messaged each other in the real world, Elysium-related topics were completely ignored, and the conversations shifted entirely to their personal lives and individual interests.
And it was in these conversations, without being physically present, that they felt most at ease having more intimate talks and opening up emotionally to one another.
Sure, they weren’t acting completely open like a couple in love, since Lisa had never had experience with that sort of thing and always tried to keep a little distance from it, but under Lohan’s insistence and little flirts, the girl’s heart rarely stayed at a low beats-per-minute.
Waking up on Sunday was different for Lohan.
Having evolved to Level 11 so recently, he wasn’t fully accustomed to the changes he’d undergone since then.
Today he woke up feeling his breath was deep and clear, the result of his inner cores’ constant work purifying his human body. His muscles felt denser beneath his skin, and the overall sensation of comfort and power over his body was wonderful.
After a quick exchange of messages with Isabella, who, to be honest, seemed to be in a very good mood after the previous night’s conversation, Lohan repeated his daily exercise routine and his "meal," which seemed to become more edible with each passing day.
With such intense and noticeable growth every day, Lohan no longer had any sense of just how powerful he was compared to a normal person.
During his workouts, endurance was no longer an issue; if he wanted to, after ingesting the nutritional solution, he could exercise nonstop for hours without getting tired.
The efficiency with which his body could absorb and maintain energy was on a whole new level.
As for his strength, the heaviest thing he had at home was the old refrigerator in his kitchen. Unlike before, when he had trouble even pushing it around to clean the floor, he could now lift it with ease.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any equipment to measure the exact value of his strength, but even so, Lohan was quite satisfied.
After exercising and using his digestion to cleanse himself, Lohan put on his helmet and dove back into the vibrant reality of Elysium.
Upon opening his eyes at the Astralis Base, he found himself in the main hall of the colossal tree.
Lisa was already waiting for him, her two white tails swaying with an elegance that, by this point, Lohan had come to regard as simply part of who she was.
While other people had to actively remember to perform elegant actions to give that impression, as if they were putting on a show, Lisa managed to project that aura naturally, simply through the way she acted instinctively.
"Good morning, Halon," Lisa said through the mental link, a playful gleam in her golden eyes. "Ready for the day? Dylan and his group are excited down there."
Lohan rolled over to her side, reveling in the wonderful sensation of this body’s power.
Even though his human body was developing well, at this point Lohan already felt as if his Slime body was more natural than his human one.
"Always, Lisa. Let’s see if Dylan’s boys learned yesterday’s lesson." He replied, thinking of Brutus.
They went down to the entrance courtyard, where Dylan was finishing adjusting his aristocratic robes. The boy, with his delicate appearance, broke into a radiant smile upon seeing the pair.
"Good morning, flowers, it’s a divine day for an expedition!" Dylan exclaimed, gesturing toward the bright, radiant sun streaming through the Guild’s doors, while the four remaining soldiers kept a respectful and visibly fearful distance from Lohan. "My soldiers got a little too excited about the idea of earning a bonus for hunting, and let’s just say that the amount of resources they managed to gather might surprise you."
The soldiers, all Level 11 professionals, didn’t even dare to look Lohan in the eye, with a mixture of shame, pride, and respect.
Lohan didn’t mind that, approaching them and looking at the large pile of corpse parts.
Since they didn’t have access to the Astral Chest, they had to physically carry all the Loot they obtained on their hunts, so instead of carrying dozens, or hundreds, of monster corpses through the forest, they cut off only the essential parts that might be valuable, leaving a margin around them to ensure they wouldn’t cut off more than they should and ruin something so valuable, and brought those parts back to the Guild.
Honestly, the sight of so many mutilated body parts would definitely be disturbing to ordinary people, but everyone there was already used to a scene like that.
So without worrying about it, Lohan generated 10 clones that rolled over to the pile of monster parts and set aside part of his Parallel Processing to control those clones and calculate how much it was worth.
Surprisingly, it seems Dylan was right, this group had really put in the effort!
Even without the convenience of the Astral Chest, Lohan still calculated that they had accumulated a total of 50 silver coins from these monster parts!
After deducting the Guild’s 10%, 45 Silver Coins remained, which, when divided among four people, meant each of them received 11.25 Silver Coins!
Even with them keeping half of that for equipment and amenities in Elysium, they still received a generous transfer of $1,125.00 in real-world credits!
When they logged off and saw the generous amount of credits in their account, the little resistance and dislike they felt toward that little Slime and the Fox accompanying him vanished instantly.
Brutus? Who was Brutus? After seeing so many credits in their account, they had already completely forgotten about that grumpy man who seemed to have a crush on Dylan.
Dylan’s charisma was indeed very intense, but not to the point where they’d fall head over heels for the boy like Brutus had.
"Hahaha, if he knew this would be our reward for behaving ourselves and just following the leaders’ orders, his face would definitely turn green with rage!" One of the soldiers laughed to himself.
"Honey, put on your best outfit; today I’m taking you out for a princess day!" Another man said excitedly, ignoring his own exhaustion from working all night, he was already used to doing this in the jobs he took on in the Upper Zone, startling his wife, who was working in the office of their small home.
"Are you crazy, Palana? Have you spent too much time on that crazy game and are you hallucinating?!" The woman, named Maira, stood up from her office chair, adjusting her glasses with an expression that mixed exhaustion and genuine concern.
To her, seeing her husband wake up at home after a whole night online, talking about a "princess day," seemed like a clear symptom of mental exhaustion and madness.
Palana just smiled, a broad smile she hadn’t seen since he announced he would leave his stable security job at Atlas Bank to follow an aristocratic boy into a virtual world.
He walked over to her and, without saying a word, activated the hologram on his wrist terminal, projecting the Atlas Bank screen into the air between them.
Maira froze. Her eyes widened as she read the pending transfer notification from Alice Muller.
[Transfer Received: $1,125.00]
[Current Balance: $1,482.50]
"Um... Palana, where did this money come from?" Her voice faltered, and she felt her legs give way. "Did you get involved with some criminal group? Are you in danger?"
"Honey, the only danger I’ve faced was dealing with my new boss, haha!" Palana laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist and feeling her relief against his chest. "Remember how I told you that in the future I might become powerful enough to make enough money in that world to change our lives? I think I’ve achieved that faster than I imagined! Now I work for the Vance Group!"
Maira brought her hands to her mouth, tears beginning to blur her vision. For a family living in the Upper Zone, struggling month to month to pay air purification taxes and condo fees, an extra thousand credits in a single day was a miracle.
The constant pressure of thinking her husband had made a mistake by quitting simply evaporated, replaced by a vibrant hope she hadn’t felt in years.
"A thousand credits... in a single day from the Vance Group?" she whispered, looking at her husband as if he had just become a war hero.
Palana kissed her forehead tenderly. "Now, enough thinking about spreadsheets for today. I promised, and I’ll keep my word. Go get dressed. I want you to pick out the prettiest dress you have, because today we’re having lunch at that suspended restaurant overlooking the central district. We’re going to celebrate the start of our new life."
Maira let out an emotional laugh, wiping away her tears and giving her husband a quick peck on the lips before running toward the bedroom.
Palana’s exhaustion seemed to have vanished, replaced by the satisfaction of seeing his wife so radiant.
As he waited, he felt a deep respect for the Guild that had promised and delivered, changing his family’s financial fate in just a few hours.