Have you finished the discharge paperwork?
If it was done, check that we hadn't left anything behind, then we could leave the hospital.
It was You Lan Dai Er's first time picking someone up from the hospital, and she was actually a little nervous, worried she might have missed a step and caused trouble for her companion.
"Mm, the paperwork's done. I put the discharge certificate in my bag, and everything's packed. I was just waiting for you to come get me..."
Gwen jumped down from the hospital bed and patted the large bag beside him. As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the door, searching for Rita's figure.
"Where's Rita?
Why don't I see her?"
"Oh, right. Rita suddenly received a mission this morning and went out on assignment, so I'm the only one here to pick you up."
Having constantly repeated the things she needed to do in her mind, You Lan Dai Er had nearly forgotten about Rita. Only when Gwen mentioned her did she remember, smacking her forehead as she hurriedly said,
"Rita asked me to apologize to you for her. She said she'd personally make you a big feast as compensation when she got back.
Let me tell you, Rita's desserts aren't the only things that taste good. She's amazing at regular meals too!"
"What is there to apologize for? Still, I won't turn down that feast."
Gwen smiled and shook his head, laboriously lifting the bag from the bed as he prepared to carry it.
Although Gwen had entered the hospital with nothing but himself, You Lan Dai Er and Rita, who had visited him nearly every day over the past month, had bought him plenty of daily necessities. Even the clothes he was wearing had been bought by Rita yesterday.
"I'll take it. You just got out of the hospital, so you shouldn't overexert yourself."
Noticing how much effort Gwen was putting into lifting the bag, You Lan Dai Er quickly stepped forward, snatched it from his hands, casually swung it onto her back, and beckoned to him.
"Let's go. The place the system arranged for you isn't far from Rita's and my home. I'm pretty familiar with the area."
"Mm, then sorry for the trouble, Bianca. Lead the way."
Gwen nodded, not arguing over such a minor matter—
Over the past week, whenever he did rehabilitation exercises after becoming able to move around, Gwen had checked his system panel and discovered that such simple exercises couldn't raise his stats.
If even rehabilitation exercises could raise his stats, Gwen definitely wouldn't have handed over the huge bag, which would surely raise his stats if he carried it all the way, to You Lan Dai Er.
But since they couldn't, Gwen wasn't about to force himself to carry it—
You Lan Dai Er, who was already preparing for her A-rank assessment, could easily lift four or five, or even a dozen Gwens with one hand even without equipment enhancements.
The bag that was somewhat strenuous for Gwen to carry was, if not weightless to You Lan Dai Er, at least as light as a feather.
"After living here for over a month, I'm finally leaving..."
After stepping outside, Gwen gave the hospital room he had nearly grown accustomed to one last look and sighed.
"Even though the hospital rooms here have a great environment, they really aren't as comfortable as home."
You Lan Dai Er nodded in agreement, then called to Gwen.
"Let's go take a look at your new home.
Rita couldn't come today, but she's already helped you tidy up the house over the past few days. You can move in right away with your bag.
This afternoon, I'll take you to buy some daily necessities, and that should basically cover everything."
"Hmm?"
Hearing You Lan Dai Er's words, Gwen froze. Rita truly hadn't mentioned this to him before. He then smiled and shook his head.
"In that case, when Rita comes back, I really should treat her properly."
"Want me to recommend somewhere? I know which restaurant Rita likes best!"
You Lan Dai Er's eyes immediately lit up, and she said enthusiastically,
"As for money, you can use mine first. You can pay me back after you officially start working and have a stable income."
"If possible, I'd still prefer to treat you with money I've earned myself."
Gwen chuckled and tactfully declined You Lan Dai Er's suggestion, smiling as he said,
"Besides, if I'm treating anyone, I'll definitely treat both of you. How could I use your money to treat you?"
"Huh?
I'm included too?"
You Lan Dai Er halted, turned around, and lowered her head slightly to look at Gwen—
Because of his congenital physical weakness, Gwen was now a head shorter than You Lan Dai Er, who had begun developing.
"Of course."
Looking at You Lan Dai Er's little face, where confusion mingled with a trace of delight, Gwen answered with a smile,
"Over the past month, Bianca, you've tirelessly come every day to chat with me, help me understand this world, and comfort me. Shouldn't I properly thank you?"
"Hehe, I just thought it would be nice for you to have someone to talk to..."
You Lan Dai Er smiled at that, then turned around and resumed walking. Yet her heart, which had been beating steadily, quietly sped up a little.
Though some indescribable emotion flashed through her heart, You Lan Dai Er didn't simply focus on hurrying onward. From time to time, she stopped to briefly explain what the nearby skyscrapers were used for, helping Gwen learn about Destiny Headquarters.
After stopping and starting along the way, the two finally arrived at Gwen's new home roughly half an hour after leaving the hospital.
"Take a look. What do you think?"
Pushing open the front door, You Lan Dai Er stepped aside so Gwen could see the living room in its entirety.
"Mm... It far exceeds my expectations. As expected of Rita, I suppose?"
Gwen looked around, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"Hehe, I'm glad you like it."
You Lan Dai Er, who had also helped decorate the place, gathered up her golden hair and headed toward the bedroom with the bag on her back.
"Come on, I'll show you the bedroom..."
Led by You Lan Dai Er, Gwen quickly became familiar with his new home.
Gwen also used some ingredients prepared in the refrigerator to make a simple lunch for You Lan Dai Er. Finally, he watched her leave for her afternoon training.
"Alright, I'm heading to training now. Gwen, take some time to get more familiar with the house. If anything feels inconvenient or you don't understand something, write it down, and I'll answer your questions when I get back tonight."
You Lan Dai Er waved to Gwen, then jogged toward the training grounds, leaving him with an energetic silhouette.
Meanwhile, in an obscure room, Otto watched the young man and woman waving goodbye on the surveillance feed, a trace of reminiscence appearing on his face.
Little Dumb Goose.jpg
The Shop Maintenance Was Complete
After seeing You Lan Dai Er off, Gwen returned to the bedroom and threw himself onto the bed. He stared blankly at the ceiling as if his mind had wandered elsewhere, but in truth, he was watching the interface somehow displayed before his eyes.
A month had clearly passed since Gwen awakened and obtained his cheat, yet the Chat Group interface remained completely unchanged, practically as good as new—
The Chat Group's member list contained only one lonely nickname: "Sun Spear," making it look utterly empty.
This "Sun Spear" was naturally the nickname Gwen had changed for himself—
Originally, the Chat Group had displayed Gwen's real name.
To avoid unnecessary accidents, Gwen had changed it to a nickname as a precaution.
As for the origin of that nickname...
Although Gwen currently had no connection whatsoever to that Sun King from Dark Souls, the Ashen One, since he was only picking a nickname, Gwen figured the Sun King probably wouldn't mind him borrowing a little prestige.
Then, considering that "Sun King" carried too much weight while "Ashen One" gave him the feeling of having to feed a furnace, Gwen ultimately chose this strongest lightning miracle in the story as his nickname.
With two cheats at his disposal, Gwen had reason to believe that, in the near future, his strength would match this nickname. After that, perhaps he could consider changing it back to his real name.
Of course, what mattered most to Gwen now wasn't what outrageously cool nickname he would change to in the future, but how he could make use of the two cheats in his hands.
Gwen wasn't worried about the leveling system. As a Caslana certified by Otto, he should have enough educational and training resources. With sufficient resources and scientific guidance, raising his level-one stats in the beginning shouldn't be a problem.
In comparison, the other cheat gave Gwen more of a headache—
Over the past month, unable to train effectively, Gwen found the leveling system useless and could only study the Chat Group.
On the first day of studying it, Gwen learned that inviting others into the Chat Group required an item called an Invitation Letter, which could send invitations to people in different times and dimensions.
The Chat Group had given a clear answer on that point.
Then came the problem—
Where was this so-called Invitation Letter?
Gwen searched every day over the past month. He practically knew the Chat Group better than he knew himself, yet he still couldn't find the so-called Invitation Letter anywhere.
Unable to find the Invitation Letter, Gwen could only hope that the Chat Group's Invitation Letter-related content hadn't been shattered when he crashed into it, but was instead located in the Shop that was still under maintenance.
After all, if it was in the Shop, at worst it would cost some points. Gwen would still have hope of obtaining an Invitation Letter and using it to unlock the Chat Group's true functions.
But if the Invitation Letter-related functions had vanished along with the core Gwen had smashed, then Gwen could only sigh helplessly.
After carefully searching the Chat Group once more and confirming that the Invitation Letter wasn't hidden somewhere he had overlooked, Gwen sighed and tapped the Shop icon behind his avatar.
After a month had passed and his initial enthusiasm over obtaining the cheat had faded somewhat, Gwen's frustration at guarding a treasure mountain while gaining nothing had also disappeared, and he had regained his usual calm—
Since this thing wasn't something that could be changed through his actions or emotions, all the negative feelings it caused were simply self-inflicted misery.
Compared to fretting over the unusable Chat Group, resting up and preparing to endure harsh training to grind stats was clearly more realistic.
Yet just when Gwen had prepared himself to wait another thousand or eight hundred years for this damned Shop to finish maintenance, the Shop that had disappointed him countless times gave him an enormous surprise—
The Shop no longer displayed the line of huge words that made Gwen want to throw up just from looking at it: "The Shop is under maintenance. Please wait patiently..." Instead, there were rows upon rows of item icons with differently colored backgrounds.
At the very top of the Shop, an envelope with a brilliant golden background and simple yet elegant patterns on its surface entered Gwen's sight.
Gwen, who had nearly lost all hope in the Chat Group, was instantly overjoyed. He hurriedly calmed himself, focused his attention, and an influx of information immediately entered his mind—
Invitation Letter: A wondrous item capable of connecting different times, dimensions, and worlds. Through this item, one might perhaps glimpse the scenery of a new world. Price: 1000 points.
"One thousand points... This Chat Group feels kind of money-grubbing..."
Muttering to himself, Gwen wasn't disappointed, since he had already realized this while reading the rules related to points. He instead looked toward the upper-right corner at his point balance.
For now, the only method Gwen knew of for earning points was daily group check-ins.
Over the past month, all the points Gwen had earned from checking in every day added up to only a pitiful 54.
However, when Gwen saw that his point balance wasn't the pitiful 54 he had expected, but a string of digits too long to distinguish at a glance, his eyes widened, and even his breathing became a little uneven.
Fortunately, Gwen knew he was still at Destiny Headquarters and might even be under Otto's surveillance, so he controlled his expression and didn't reveal anything too obvious.
Still, to be safe, Gwen rolled over onto his stomach and buried his head in the pillow.
Ignoring the faint floral fragrance coming from the pillow, Gwen closed his eyes and carefully counted this unexpected windfall—
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, one hundred thousand...
Two hundred and five thousand, two hundred and fifty-four?"
After counting his point balance, Gwen's breathing grew heavier once more.
There were a full two hundred thousand points. If all of them were exchanged for Invitation Letters, he would have over two hundred of them. Even if some invitations weren't accepted, his ghost group, which only had himself in it, should become livelier.
And only once there were people in the group could Gwen gain anything, grow stronger faster, and escape his current situation of being a little white rabbit beneath the Demon King's nose.
However, though he was extremely excited, Gwen didn't impulsively exchange all those points for Invitation Letters and send out invitations everywhere. Instead, he lowered his gaze to look at the other items in the Shop.
While one Invitation Letter might mean an entirely new world, Gwen, who paid attention to the exact wording, had also read the implication that the Invitation Letter might lead to nothing at all.
Compared to Invitation Letters that might sink without a trace, and which would require time to communicate and build connections even if someone responded before benefits could be gained, Gwen, holding a huge sum of points, wanted more to see what good things the Shop had.
The Shop With a Completely Different Style
Compared to the Invitation Letter at the very top, which had a luxurious golden background, the densely packed products below all had white backgrounds.
Before you continue