New Changes in the Real World
Jeremy was awakened by a persistent knocking on the door after an indeterminate amount of sleep. He struggled to get up from the bed and glanced at his phone on the nightstand.
"It's already noon? How many days have I slept?" he murmured to himself.
The time displayed on Jeremy's phone showed that it had been a full four days since he started the Tower of Exile mission. He was sure he hadn't spent that long inside the Tower of Exile.
The most plausible explanation was that, after returning to the real world, he had slept for several days straight.
Jeremy gathered his thoughts and quickly left his room as the knocking continued, urging him to hurry. Ritchie was still sprawled out on the sofa in the living room, snoring loudly.
Without waking Ritchie, Jeremy went straight to the door and opened it.
The moment the door swung open, Liam's figure appeared before him.
"Looks like you're doing alright. I heard from my subordinates that you both made it home last night. To let you get some rest, I purposely came to see you at noon today," Liam said with a smile.
Liam seemed quite at ease, as he believed that since Jeremy and Ritchie had returned safely, it likely meant that the task he had assigned to Jeremy was completed.
"We only got back last night?" Jeremy muttered to himself, frowning.
"Yes! You really did get home last night. Why, is something off?" Liam asked, looking slightly puzzled.
Jeremy shook his head.
"Nothing's wrong. Since you're here, don't just stand outside. Come in and have a seat."
Jeremy ushered Liam into the house.
As soon as Liam entered the living room, he noticed Ritchie still sound asleep.
"Let's not disturb him; it seems like he still needs a lot of rest. We'll just let him sleep here. If there's something you want to discuss with me, go ahead," Jeremy said, pouring coffee for both of them.
That was all the information Liam had to share. After listening, Jeremy nodded with a smile. "I've already reached level 57, just three levels away from 60. I hope to reach level 60 in the next two weeks. That way, I can easily manage instances around level 55. You really don't need to help me, but you still have to come with me."
"Relying on me alone to clear instances just isn't enough time-wise. I need you all to level up faster. Once your levels have improved across the board, you'll be able to handle other instances on your own."
Jeremy's words were earnest, and Liam couldn't help but sigh lightly. "You're right, but I still think you should take a few days to rest. During this time, you can talk things over with your friends. The information I have is far from complete. Once you've gathered all the intel, then make your decision. But no matter what, if you ever need my help, I'll be there for you."
With that, Liam stood up.
Since he had already gotten enough information from Jeremy, Liam knew he had to hurry back to the Special Situation Bureau. After all, there were still plenty of decisions waiting for him to make there.
Seeing that Liam was already standing up to leave, Jeremy naturally chose to walk him out. As they reached the doorway, Liam turned back to Jeremy and said, "Oh, I almost forgot. I still need to provide you with a reward. In the next few days, if you have some free time, you can head over to the Special Situation Bureau."
"I'll make sure you and your companions get access to our weaponry. You can pick out any weapons you want to use from the Bureau's arsenal. Consider them a reward for your efforts."
Jeremy was thrilled when he heard this. "I could definitely use a good weapon right now. I'll come by in two days to make my selection. If the Special Situation Bureau has some really rare weapons, you'd better hide them quickly while you still can."
Jeremy's words made Liam burst out laughing.
With that, the two of them said their goodbyes. After seeing Liam off, Jeremy returned to the living room.
At this moment, Ritchie was still snoring away. Jeremy was already feeling a bit speechless.
He gave Ritchie a light kick and said, "Stop sleeping already! If it weren't for your snoring, I'd have thought you'd slept yourself to death. You've been out for 20 hours!"
Under Jeremy's urging, Ritchie finally woke up, albeit reluctantly. "Are we in danger again? Aren't we still at your place? If we're here, then we're safe, right? Just let me sleep a bit longer!"
Ritchie glanced at Jeremy, then scanned his surroundings. Seeing no sign of any threats, he promptly went back to sleep.
Watching this, Jeremy was completely at a loss for how to deal with him. "Fine, sleep if you must! But you'd better be up by 3:00 PM! We need to meet up with our teammates to discuss the next steps."
In the end, Jeremy didn't force Ritchie to stay awake. He figured he'd use the next couple of hours to tidy up his place. Although he had straightened up before heading out on the Tower of Exile mission, he and Ritchie had managed to turn the furniture upside down again when they returned the night before.
"Looks like I shouldn't set my safe spot to my own home after finishing a mission next time," Jeremy grumbled while rearranging the furniture. "It's such a pain to have to fix up the place after every mission."
Meanwhile, Jeremy's teammates had already caught wind of his successful mission, and they were on their way over to his place!