Chapter Fifteen

– [That's because you used up too much energy, channeling it to three people at the same time.]

 – [Don't worry. Just rest a little, and you'll be fine.]

"Do you need anything? Tell me and I'll get it for you!" Elena said sincerely, her heart still worried about her friend's condition.

Meril wanted to say she didn't need anything, but her stomach made an embarrassing sound before she could open her mouth.

Despite her exhaustion, Meril's face turned red from embarrassment. "Sorry!" she whispered shyly.

"Don't apologize!" Elena said passionately, then raised her voice without addressing Alvin directly: "We need a hearty meal, something to restore our energy."

Alvin's fingers moved immediately, heading to the store, where he bought food worth over 7,000 coins. For Elena's sake…

A few minutes passed. Meril stared at the ceiling in embarrassment, while Elena counted her fingers as she waited.

Two medium-sized paper bags appeared. Alvin placed one beside Elena and kept the other for himself.

But that wasn't enough for Elena, who was never satisfied with just a little food. She silently reached out, grabbed the second bag, and pulled it into her lap.

Alvin stared at her for a few moments with a raised eyebrow. This girl never gets full! She had always been like that in the past—eating everything in sight—and it seemed her appetite hadn't changed one bit.

Elena hummed happily as she inhaled the delicious aroma wafting from the food. It was meat—of an animal or creature, she couldn't tell—served with rice and strange vegetables.

There were various things mixed in with the rice. She picked out a few to taste them on their own without blending their flavors.

"Hmmm, it's like…" she mused, snapping her fingers in the air.

"Tastes like raisins…" Meril said with a frown.

"Maybe." Elena went back to stuffing her mouth with food. "By the way, how much does this meal cost?"

Meril set down the piece of meat in her hand and started browsing the store. "It says here…" she paused.

Elena looked at her in confusion—Meril's eyes were wide, just like her parted lips. "What does it say?" she cried impatiently.

—"One of these meals costs 9,000 coins!"

"So that means…" Elena began, and Meril immediately nodded and finished for her, "18,000 coins!"

The two of them stared at each other in shock. That was definitely a huge amount—and Alvin had paid it without a word. Just… how wealthy was he to spend so lavishly?

Elena turned her gaze toward Alvin, glaring at him with envy for having so much money—but instead, she looked at him in shock! He had another meal on his lap and was eating it silently…

Which meant the total had now reached 27,000 coins! Elena quickly opened her coin tab to check how much she had and compare it to Alvin's wealth. She had only 3,000 coins!... She was really poor!

"I think we need to take a shower," Meril said hesitantly, her expression twisted in disgust after catching a whiff of herself. Elena brought her own arm closer to her nose to sniff—and for a moment, she nearly gagged from the stench! "You're right."

—"It smells like vomit."

"You didn't have to say that!" Elena said with a scowl. "We're eating!"

"Sorry!"

"I'll forgive you… because you're pretty."

Alvin placed another piece of meat into his mouth, watching the two girls talk with uninterested eyes. Vomit, corpses, or any other disgusting thing—he didn't care. Nothing could ruin his appetite. He would eat until he was full.

After finishing their meal, Alvin filled the tank with water for a bath. Elena and Meril showered together, while Alvin bathed alone. Even though the water was cold, he didn't mind. He sang and danced under the shower, thoroughly enjoying his bath time.

"What should we do now? The announcement about the Crystals was only made yesterday," Elena said as she rested on the couch.

"I suggest we do some daily quests and earn a few rewards," Meril replied calmly, her eyes scanning the list of daily tasks.

Elena felt excited by the idea. A reward... Maybe she could earn some coins, become richer than Alvin, and start showing off by buying fancy food! "Let's choose the same quest and do it together!"

"That's not possible. Hunters have different daily tasks." Meril smiled gently, noticing her friend's disappointment. "How about this—one of us picks a quest, and the others help complete it. Then the next person picks, and so on. What do you think?"

"His opinion doesn't matter!" Elena said while shooting a quick glance at Alvin, then turning back to Meril—who still hadn't figured out what exactly the relationship between Elena and Alvin was. "I'll start looking for a quest now."

What's going on between those two? Meril wondered as she glanced between them. They protected each other without hesitation, ignoring danger completely. But when things calmed down, just exchanged glances now and then.

"Listen, Meril. It says here that if I kill five Drivalisk beasts, I'll be rewarded with an exceptional item!"

"An exceptional item? That means the monster must be strong! Is there any information about it?"

"No. It just says that if I accept the quest, they'll give me a map to the monsters' location."

Meril hummed in thought for a moment before asking, "Is there a time limit to complete the quest?"

"Four days."

Meril stared at the ceiling, considering it. Sure, an exceptional item was a tempting reward, but there was another issue: fighting a beast they knew nothing about!

In daily quests, the system didn't provide any information about the monsters, which meant they wouldn't know what strengths to avoid. Meril could try reaching out to her master to learn more about the creature, but there was no guarantee that Master Elyor would be available in the chat when she needed him.

Still, the quest was classified as beginner level, which meant they should be able to handle it. Not to mention—they had Alvin. Their chances of completing the quest were very high!

"So?" Elena asked when Meril remained silent for too long. "Should I accept it?"

"Follow your instinct. Whether you accept or reject it, we're here for you," Meril said with a small smile. Elena dramatically placed her hand over her heart and let out a theatrical sigh, mumbling something that didn't quite reach Alvin's ears—who was visibly bored by the whole scene.

He tossed a biscuit into his mouth, unimpressed by the girls' embrace. It was just a daily quest—why the drama? And what was this exceptional item nonsense? He could buy hundreds of those from the store.

Elena didn't think too much about it—she truly wanted the product, and the idea of leveling up and gaining power was far too tempting to resist.

If she became strong, she wouldn't end up in a bad situation like in the past, when that hunter hit her while his companions just watched in silence. She would be able to defend herself and protect her friends.

Elena chose the mission and accepted it. Moments later, a folded paper appeared in her hand. She opened it gently, afraid it might tear, while Meryl had already moved closer to get a better look at the map's contents.

"It's… blank!" Meryl said in a puzzled tone. It was a large, empty sheet of paper. Elena held it up and turned it in different directions, staring at it, but found nothing! "Are they mocking me?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

Meryl thought of something, and though she hesitated at first, she gathered her courage, looked at Alvin, and asked nervously, "Alvin, do you… know anything about… this map?"

Alvin's gaze was as sharp as ever, and what made him appear angry were his sharp features, which were enough to make Meryl feel uneasy.

Alvin didn't know anything about the map either. He could have pretended to be a savvy know-it-all by secretly getting information from Mr. Pie without the two of them knowing, but the latter wasn't part of the conversation.

And since he hated appearing clueless, he decided to ignore the question altogether and went back to silently sipping his juice. Anything but his pride!

Elena gave him a quick once-over from head to toe, her expression grim. Unlike Meryl, who thought he was ignoring her, Elena knew that Alvin had chosen not to respond because he simply didn't have an answer.

She had known him since they were kids. She knew his way of living, how he dealt with people, and how he reacted to different situations.

Turning back to the frowning Meryl, Elena said gently, "Leave him be. If you put an onion next to his head, he wouldn't know the difference."

Meryl didn't dare laugh out loud, but she couldn't completely hide her smile either.

"Anyway," Elena continued as she tucked the map into her inventory. "I'll pack a bag, then we can head out. Maybe we'll find something that leads us to those monsters."

Elena didn't actually need a bag or any supplies. She had her system's inventory and could store anything she wanted in there.

Plus, everything she might need was available in the store—there was no reason to bring anything from home. She simply wanted a bag like Meryl's.

Even though none of her bags looked as nice as Meryl's sleek black one, she didn't back down from her decision. "I need to find a rich planet for myself. The road to wealth is hard, and I'm a lazy person."

Elena closed the door behind her, even though there was no real need to. With no humans around anymore, if someone wanted to get in, they'd just break the door down.

She walked alone through the hallway—Meryl and Alvin had already gone above ground. As she reached the staircase, she came to a sudden stop at the sound of Meryl's loud voice shouting, "Don't make me kill you right here!"