As Annan anticipated, Salvatore didn’t actually hold much resentnt towards him in his heart.
Or rather... the act of performing the forbidden alchemy on himself was simply too perilous. Just as Salvatore cared about Annan, Annan also cared about Salvatore—Annan had entered a dangerous Otherworld-level nightmare without telling him, but Salvatore also didn’t inform Annan before attempting the self-alchemy.
Therefore, when facing Annan, Salvatore also felt sowhat guilty.
Since it was guilt confronted with guilt, the well-acquainted brothers could bluff each other, share their sentints, and just get through it...
As for the players—
That was what caused Annan the most social embarrassnt.
...Although Annan had long suspected that the players had realized this was a real Otherworld; they probably also knew that Annan, who possessed the Book of the Celestial Chariot, was the key to their entrance into this world.
But indeed, Annan didn’t expect that the players had already confird that he was the person who summoned them here, and they had also guessed that Annan ca from a world similar to theirs.
From the players’ past conversations, Annan even realized—they had guessed that he was the "system" writing their main questlines!
...This was sowhat socially mortifying.
Fortunately, this form of Annan possessed a reversed Heart of Winter. He could shalessly ignore this level of social embarrassnt.
"Boss~"
Adian walked over with a sly grin, asking in an almost sickly sweet voice, "Seeing as how we rescued you... shouldn’t there be so kind of reward?"
"...So you’re not even pretending anymore, huh."
Annan was sowhat speechless.
But it didn’t really matter.
If this had happened at the beginning, Annan being unmasked could have caused the players to feel a sense of crisis. They might have beco enemies of Annan amidst feelings of tension and doubt.
Now, however, they had grown familiar with Annan.
Not only that, but they had indeed enjoyed so benefits.
That was the feedback on their real bodies when the level of their souls rose to silver rank, granting them Transcendent powers.
They had realized Annan’s goodwill and had experienced nothing unpleasant in their cooperation.
Moreover, they were all intelligent people, becoming even smarter under the enhancent of the silver soul.
At this stage, they gradually understood the significance of Annan to this world, as well as to themselves.
Longevity, wisdom, strength, friendship, relationships, entertainnt—everything they needed, Annan had given them.
The players also realized the secret connection among their "superhuman group," and the impact it could have on the "reality" of another world; they were even less likely to cause any trouble or destroy this hard-earned benefit and relationship.
In these circumstances, both Annan and the players stopped pretending altogether, which actually improved the efficiency of their communication... Just like when discussing the ga with Husky, Annan no longer needed to deliberately avoid using "the roundabout descriptions that only outsiders would use."
"Of course, there will be rewards."
Annan earnestly said, "I’m truly grateful that you ca to rescue —not just entering this nightmare, but thinking seriously about what you should do, how to utilize the resources you have and make decisions.
"Although you haven’t spoken much about it, the process of rescuing Master Chiron must have been incredibly tough. I won’t inquire about the details..."
"You don’t have to, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask a little,"
Husky, who was standing by, quipped, "We had such a cool fight, why don’t you take a look at the forums?"
"...Fair enough. Anyway, since you’re asking for rewards, it probably ans you’re still in need of resources."
As Annan spoke, he imdiately maxed out the player’s affection to [Life-and-Death Bond].
He sincerely and honestly said, "Whether it’s resurrection permissions or teleportation rights, feel free to buy whatever you need.
"But you should be a little aware that when I resurrect you, it does use up a portion of the Power of Truth... That’s also why I initially set it so that you would pay a certain cost upon death.
"This is the reason. If all of you don’t take your lives seriously... not only will it make it harder for you to integrate into this world, but it will also place a huge burden on ."
"Understood, boss! Order received!"
Jiu’er saluted Annan and said, "Then we’ll live well, not dying if we can help it!"
"...Is ’boss’ so new nickna?"
Annan sounded sowhat helpless.
Longjing Tea opened his mouth beside him: "It was my idea. They thought that since everything is out in the open, it still felt weird to call you ’Your Majesty,’ and ’sir’ or ’Your Excellency’ seed too distant... How about we call you ’big brother’?"
"Forget it, ’boss’ will do. Or you can call BOSS too."
Annan shook his head and no longer dwelled on the issue of titles.
He then added, "Since we’re on the subject, I won’t pretend anymore. If you die too frequently, you’ll have to queue for resurrection. Resurrecting at the silver tier already puts a lot of pressure on , I reckon it will consu more when you advance to gold."
"We can actually advance to gold?"
Delicious Wind Goose appeared surprised: "I thought we would cap at silver..."
Wandering Child continued, "Because we asked Master Chiron not long ago. He said our souls from Otherworld were not blessed by the Forefather... It’s not that we can’t advance to gold, but the difficulty is much higher, and we won’t have Elental Power after advancing either."
"I’ve considered this issue before."
Annan shook his head, "The demons of The Void World are about to invade on a large scale... As long as you can kill demons, you can obtain ’Void Realm Blood,’ let Salvatore help you refine the Philosopher’s Stone, and then you’ll be able to gain Elental Power.
"I was planning to release this as a ’expansion pack’ to you, using this thod to open the level cap. But as for when the expansion pack will be released, that depends on when the demons arrive."
"...So that’s why we’re currently growing grass here, huh?"
"I can’t help it," Annan spread his hands, "after all, the demons aren’t raised by my family.
"But I can tell you in advance about other benefits I’ve prepared for you. And this ti it’s a big one, you’ll definitely all like it."
Hearing Annan’s words, the players instinctively held their breath.
Then, they heard the incredible statent:
"When your bodies on Earth die for various reasons—whether it’s an accident or the end of your lifespan—you can enter the ’character’ you created now and live eternally in the Mist Realm... and it’s also immortal. Are you happy?
"If you are happy, I can tell you sothing else—when I ascend to godhood, I can take you on adventures in Otherworld. Still in a state where you can resurrect after death... Of course, if you ever get tired of living forever, I can place you in an already explored world at any ti to age naturally; if you regret it later, you can co back, you have the choice.
"How about it, brothers. Exciting, isn’t it?"
Upon hearing Annan’s words.
The players first beca ecstatic, then broke out into joyful shouting—
But quickly, they realized sothing and looked at Husky.
She was the only one in their midst who chose to play a female character...
Husky wasn’t embarrassed at all.
She just fell into deep thought.
After a while, she let out a long sigh, "Nevermind, let’s first live this life well to the end."
Thirteen Spices imdiately had a look of horror: "Wait, what were you thinking about just now?"
"I was thinking," she said in a grave voice, "compared to the hard life of being a corporate slave, it would be more enjoyable to be an eternally youthful beauty."
"...Your statent is so realistic that I don’t even know what to say."
"You should say, ’You’re right’."
"Then you’re right."
Thirteen Spices quickly conceded.
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