Unholy Player

Adyr removed his gear, changed into a clean set of blue pajamas, and slipped on his Crocs. Then, using a small amount of energy, he sent all the equipment back to Dawn Land.

Fortunately, transferring everything in bulk hadn’t drained much energy, but when he checked his stat panel and saw it at zero, he couldn’t help but frown. He still had four level-2 and ten level-1 energy crystals—enough to regain five energy—but he had a feeling energy would become a persistent concern.

He tapped his bracelet and opened his profile, noticing a new message. The information he had provided about evolution had earned him exactly 102 merit points. With the remaining 18, his total had now reached 120.

"I’ll wait before spending it," Adyr thought. He decided to hold off until Marielle returned and he had a chance to explain everything to her.

The merit rankings had also shifted slightly. Despite his recent spending, Adyr still sat at the top with 120 points. The third name on the list caught his eye—Eren, now sitting at 108. The others seemed to have used their points, but Eren hadn’t spent anything since yesterday, only added more.

Adyr had a good guess why. A faint smile crossed his lips as he moved on.

He skimmed the forums and found a few new posts. Some users had begun mapping their local areas and were offering the maps for sale to the research team.

Though the maps were small and lacking in detail, they included positions of the sun and moon, as well as seasonal markers—an interesting touch. It was clear these weren’t from his region, but from distant parts of the world.

Adyr briefly considered buying one with merit, but changed his mind. He didn’t need it yet. Better to wait until the maps offer more detail.

With nothing else to do, he left his room and headed upstairs to the playroom.

When he arrived, Dr. Eliot Vance and Nurse Mira were already there, waiting eagerly. Both stood to greet him as he entered.