Ren opened the door to their rundown apartment slowly, careful not to let the rusty hinges squeak and wake anyone up.
But the moment his boots stepped inside, a slender body launched at him. Lia hugged him so tightly she almost knocked him over, burying her face in his jacket.
"Where did you disappear to?" she mumbled, her voice thick. "We were so worried about you. And Grandpa... his condition is getting worse every day."
Ren patted her hair gently and smoothly broke the hug. "I'm fine, Lia. And Grandpa is going to be fine very soon. Just pack our important things. Get ready to move."
She wiped her tears and stared at him in shock. "Move? To where?"
"To a new house, of course."
He left her standing there in shock and walked straight into his grandfather's room.
The hired nurse stood up immediately upon his entry. "Mr. Ren, his condition is deteriorating fast. I have the paperwork for the 'Mana Purge' surgery ready, like you asked, but..."
"Can he be moved right now?" Ren cut her off firmly.
"Yes, but the hospital will demand a massive upfront payment..."
Ren tossed a heavy leather pouch onto the table. The sharp clink of gold coins inside instantly silenced the nurse. "Call the best hospital in the Safe Zone. I want top-tier healers working on him. I don't care how much it costs, I'm covering the expenses."
The nurse swallowed hard, nodded frantically, and pulled out her phone.
Half an hour later, a specialized ambulance took the old man away. Mana poisoning from monsters was common in the Fallen Lands, but curing it was quite expensive.
♢♢♢♢
Two days later.
Ren and Lia stood in the middle of a wide, brightly lit living room. Massive glass windows overlooked the clean, illuminated streets of a high-end, secure district.
"Ren..." Lia whispered, looking around fearfully. "Can we really afford the rent for this place?"
"I already paid for three months upfront," Ren replied, dropping onto a comfortable leather sofa.
The rent cost him 1,500 gold coins, and his grandfather's surgery swallowed another 4,500. Even after all that, he still had 8,000 gold coins safely stashed in his dimensional storage. He went from the absolute bottom of poverty to financial stability in a matter of days.
"Grandpa is coming back from the hospital today, right?" Ren turned to his sister. "Here."
He tossed her a small pouch. Lia caught it, and the moment she opened it, she gasped in shock and took a step back.
One thousand gold coins.
"Go to the shopping district," Ren said casually. "Buy new clothes for yourself and Grandpa. Get the best food you can find to prep a celebration dinner. Don't leave a single coin unspent."
Lia had never imagined holding this much money in her wildest dreams. She jumped in pure joy, shouted a rapid string of thank-yous, and bolted out of the apartment like a hurricane.
Ren sighed, watching the closed door. 'That idiot girl... she's probably going to buy the entire market. I shouldn't have given her a full thousand at once.'
♢♢♢♢
Night fell.
A private medical transport pulled up in front of the luxury building, and Grandpa was escorted up to the apartment with Lia's help. He looked completely different. The sickly pale color was gone from his face, and his back straightened out a bit after the venom was purged from his veins.
"How are you feeling, Grandpa?" Ren asked, watching him sit on the sofa.
The old man spoke with a raspy but warm voice. "I'm good, my boy. Thank you... The nurse told me you paid for everything. It must have been difficult and terrifying for you to scrape together all that money."
Ren felt a twinge of discomfort. He hated emotional moments, and he really didn't want to explain to his grandfather what he had been up to lately.
"Don't worry about that, old man." Ren dodged eye contact. "Just get some rest so you can come back stronger than before."
He quickly turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Lia to excitedly chat with their grandfather about the new apartment.
He had to get back to work. Resting bred weakness, and he still needed to replace the summons he had lost.
♢♢♢♢
Late at night. The Association Headquarters.
"I need an entry permit for Zone Z35."
The receptionist looked at him expectantly. "Z35? Well, that zone is really massive and holds thousands of monsters."
"I know. Just print the permit, please."
"Alright, wait a second. Also... how was your meeting with Uncle Murphy?"
"Oh, very good. But he's pretty touchy about the word 'old man'."
The receptionist laughed. "I think he actually liked you. The last guy who called him an old man ended up in the hospital for months."
Ren gulped slightly. He took the permit, exchanged a few more pleasantries with the receptionist, and left the building.
After a quick routine search at the towering inner gates, Ren crossed the massive steel wall and entered Zone Z35. The place echoed with the roars of monsters he had never heard before, and there was a noticeable lively vibe among the Awakened and the hunting parties.
He stepped to the side and opened his interface.
"Status Window."
[Name: Ren]
[Class: Summoner (Rank F)]
[Level: 9 (Exp: 340/800)]
[Strength: 20]
[Speed: 16]
[Endurance: 20]
[Mana: 10]
[Skills: Night Vision]
[Trait: Cosmic Furnace]
[Active Summons: 2 (White Goblin MAX, Armored Goblin Lv.6)]
[Daily Summons Available: 3/3]
[Daily Fusion Limits: 3/3]
Ren stared at the stats. Before deciding to head deeper, he muttered:
"Summon!"