Ren was silent for a moment, and when he discerned that the two wouldn't tell him anymore, he leaned back and sighed.

Instead of clearing some things, speaking to them only added to the list of things in his mind.

"Then can you at least tell me about this original and evolution thing?" Ren bargained.

"That . . ." Joker briefly looked at Angelica, and when the latter nodded, he went on. "If you reincarnated, then you're an original. You probably know by now that there are multiverses, right?"

Ren nodded. He was still having difficulty swallowing that information.

"There are multiple 'you' living in this multiverse, but these are merely copies," explained Angelica. "According to the knowledge that I accumulated throughout my reincarnation. These copies don't have the ability to reincarnate. They simply die and cease to exist."

Ren was silent. He had a hard time dissecting everything that they said. He was only living in this world with the knowledge that COVENANT was the only sci-fi he knew.

"Where did you get this information exactly?" Ren questioned further. "Why have I not known of this knowledge? I have reincarnated as well, but I didn't stumble upon this."

Angelica solemnly stared at Ren. "It's because you still hadn't experienced 'that' . . ."

"That?"

"You'll know." Joker looked over at the window, and his go-happy smile fell from his face. It was replaced with a melancholic and unfathomable sadness.

"It will come . . . soon . . ."

Ren frowned, but before he could ask further, Angelica clapped her hands and beamed. "Enough of that. The next question you ask is about evolution, right? The answer is quite simple."

Angelica leaned closer to Ren and grinned meaningfully. "Have you experienced . . . change lately?"

"Change?"

"In your body," added Joker. "Like you've become faster. Stronger. Like you could run a kilometer without stopping and catching your breath. Your body adapts to heat and cold faster. Things like that."

Ren opened his mouth but closed it again. Ever since he was out from the hospital, he did experience something . . . strange.

His eyesight had always been good, but now he could see even better, clearly even at a hundred-meter distance. The same with his hearing. His morning jog no longer satisfied him, and he was running a few kilometers now without stopping or panting. And his strength . . . throwing a man twice his size wasn't a problem anymore.

Ren even felt like he could lift three people if he wanted to.

Ren knew that this wasn't possible. A human body couldn't change so much in just a few months.

This was impossible.

Ren looked in the floor-to-ceiling window again and saw that his face was leaner than before. His muscles were more defined, and there was less fat on his body. It was as if he had lost weight, but he hadn't. He just looked stronger and healthier.

At Ren's silence, Angelica added, "Do you know how hot it is today?"

Ren briefly looked at her. "Thirty-six degrees."

Joker stifled a laugh with no mirth in his eyes. "In winter . . ." he then muttered in a low voice, "it's starting . . ."

"Do you feel like it's thirty-six degrees Celsius now?" asked Angelica.

". . . No," Ren answered. He honestly felt like it was just twenty-four degrees Celsius even without the air conditioner.

"Is this the evolution you two talk about? Do you also . . . have this evolution thing? Why is this the end goal of the game?"

Angelica laughed. "I have long been over my first evolution. Compared to me, you're just a pup," she giggled and shot a glance at Joker. "The both of you."

Joker merely rolled his eyes.

Ren was still quiet, trying to process the information he had just acquired. He thought that his life would only revolve around the game and his personal life. But it looked like there was more to it than meets the eye.

"And why would the developer want to evolve men?"

Ren didn't want to know how that was possible by just playing a game. He wasn't a scientist or even an engineer, he wouldn't understand. He didn't want to know the specifics.

No matter how unbelievable it was, it was already happening to his body.

Angelica and Joker were exchanging looks again before she sipped her tea and merely replied, "Don't worry about that, and just continue playing the game. Don't worry. What COVENANT is doing is for the good of mankind."

"Man . . . I wish my world have this kind of thing too, so I didn't have to go through all that hell . . ."

Even with his impeccable hearing, Ren couldn't decipher what Joker had said at the end. But something piqued his interest. 'My world?'

What was that supposed to mean?

But even if he asked about it something told Ren that he wouldn't get the answer he wanted to know.

So instead, he questioned, "Do you two know each other?"

Joker and Angelica shot each other a look before they burst into laughter.

"Heck no! This little princess is too haughty. I would have left her the moment I saw her. She's too much trouble."

"Ara." Angelica covered her mouth in faked surprise. "This little princess could definitely kick your butt and throw you around."

While the two argued, Ren just observed them. Then he heard chatting as men passed by their private room.

Their voices were low, but his ears picked up their conversation.

"The weather is so hot this day."

"It doesn't make sense because it's winter."

"The news said that it's global warming."

When he could no longer hear the men, Ren shifted his attention to Angelica and Joker and found that they were already looking at him.

"A change of temperature isn't much of a concern," Angelica said with a laugh.

Ren frowned. He wasn't even surprised that they heard those conversations too. "It isn't?"

Joker stared at Ren straight in the eyes. "Trust me . . . you still don't know the true horrors of this world."

. . .

. . .

"It's been a month since you last entered the game, right?" Angelica asked, changing the topic.

Ren didn't reply.

"You better log in now. A month of not playing the game is a considerable loss," Joker added and teased, "Black Lion is dominating the game right now."

"What do you mean, Black Lion?" Angelica sipped her tea, face the epitome of calmness. "It's Sleeping Dragon who is on top of the leaderboard right now."

At the mention of their guild, Ren realized that the two were his enemies. He almost forgot about it.

Ren stood to his feet and said his last words before he left. "Don't worry . . . I'll be playing the game again. So enjoy your fame while it still lasts."

As Ren went out of the room, Joker grinned, shaking his head.

"What a cheeky bastard."

Angelica tilted her head. "Are you talking about yourself?"

Joker's expression fell, and he grumbled. "Just because it's your third time reincarnating, it doesn't mean that you're stronger than me."

Angelica smiled, but her eyes were blazing red. "Are you challenging me?"

. . .

. . .

( . . . continuation on NOTES)

A/N

We've finally reach half the story.

will be the start of Alchemy.

Thank you all for supporting this book �

PS.

You might already know the ending of this book based from all the clues I've given. Feel free to comment and let's see if you're right 🤣