End of Days Game: I'm the Only One Who Can See the Hidden Cues

After confirming that everyone had safely exited The Lost Realm instance, a sense of relief spread across the group. Faces previously tense with concentration now relaxed.

"Now that the instance boss is defeated and the entire instance has completely collapsed, there's really no reason for us to linger here. Staying would only make us more conspicuous," Jeremy said with a smile, addressing Liam and Howard.

Both Liam and Howard nodded in agreement. With that, the three parted ways, each taking their respective teams and companions.

Liam's and Howard's groups returned to their original locations, while Jeremy's companions temporarily headed to Bonnie's home. Since Bonnie's residence was in the center of Moonlight City, reaching her place wouldn't take them much time.

Once everyone had left, Jeremy finally had the chance to discuss the distribution of the loot with Liam and Howard. Although this action hadn't involved defeating a large number of monsters, Jeremy had still taken down The Lost Realm's instance boss, and the resulting rewards were impressive.

Among the loot, aside from a few low-level skill books, the most attention-grabbing items were three high-tier treasures. Two were golden-level skill books, while the third was a powerful bow at level 55.

Jeremy laid out all the loot in front of them. "Here's what we earned. So, how do you think we should distribute these?"

He posed the question to Liam and Howard directly. The two exchanged a glance, feeling that their contributions in this action had been limited. They didn't believe they deserved a large share of the rewards.

Liam spoke up first, straightforward as ever. "I trust your judgment, Jeremy. You handle the distribution. I'm sure you'll be fair."

Howard nodded, expressing his agreement with Liam's words. Since they'd already given him this confidence, Jeremy saw no need to be overly polite.

He promptly pushed all the low-level skill books toward Liam and Howard. "These lower-level skill books aren't particularly valuable to me, so they're all yours. You can distribute them among your teams."

Among the three high-level loot items left, I'll allow the two of you to jointly select one. The remaining two should go to me since, after all, I contributed the most in this operation."

Having laid out his terms, Jeremy awaited their responses.

Liam and Howard didn't hesitate in the slightest. They both responded immediately.

"No problem at all! We both think your distribution plan is completely fair!"

After briefly conferring with each other, Liam and Howard made their decision: they would take one of the golden-level skill books.

"We'll take the golden-level skill book as our share. The other golden-level skill book and the level 55 weapon are yours."

After expressing their agreement, Liam and Howard collected their chosen loot and departed.

Jeremy then gathered the remaining golden-level skill book and the level 55 bow. He didn't intend to inspect the specific attributes of his new items right away. Instead, he planned to head over to Bonnie's house, where all his companions were gathered.

At Bonnie's house, everyone was comfortably seated in the living room, their expressions relaxed. After all, they felt they had contributed to the operation in the instance.

With a bright smile, Claire spoke up.

"I can't wait for the next mission! At first, I thought entering an instance would be extremely dangerous, but this time, I didn't run into anything overly perilous at all!"

Emma quickly added,

"I totally agree! It's great to be able to keep moving forward with Jeremy. That way, we can level up faster, and who knows, we might catch up to Ritchie and Bonnie soon!"

Claire and Emma's optimism was a bit naïve. Hearing their words, Ritchie and Bonnie couldn't help but exchange a knowing smile.

Both of them understood that leveling up wasn't so simple. The reason this operation had gone so smoothly was solely due to Jeremy's careful strategy and handling of every challenge.

They knew that Jeremy wouldn't always be able to accompany them on missions. There would inevitably come a time when he'd need to attend to more significant matters.

Once Jeremy went off to handle other matters, they would have to rely on their own abilities to deal with the sudden challenges in any instance they encountered.

"I think you two shouldn't be so happy just yet! Of course, following Jeremy around means you won't run into major dangers. But you can't expect Jeremy to let you two tag along forever," Ritchie said, dampening Claire and Emma's excitement.

Emma quickly replied, "We're well aware of that, which is exactly why we want to level up as fast as we can! Soon, we'll surpass you!"

Ritchie could only smile and remain silent in response to Emma's bold declaration.

"I see you've all finished your coffee. Would you like me to make another round?" Bonnie asked, smiling as she looked at Claire and the others.

Everyone shook their heads, declining the offer.

At that moment, Bonnie's gaze shifted to the window, where she saw Jeremy standing at the door. Without delay, Jeremy entered the living room.

"It seems you're all doing well. That eases my mind. The Lost Realm instance has been thoroughly dealt with, so Moonlight City won't face any major threats for a while. We can take advantage of this period to clear out some of the lower-level instances in the city's outskirts. You can join me, which should help you level up faster," Jeremy said, outlining his upcoming plans.

Hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with anticipation.

"There's no need to rush," Jeremy continued, "so tomorrow, you can all take the day off. Rest up, and we'll meet at my place tomorrow night to decide which instance to clear out next."

With that, Jeremy intended for everyone to head back to their respective homes. However, Bonnie stopped him just as he was about to leave.

"Did we not receive any loot after clearing out The Lost Realm instance?" she asked, capturing everyone's attention.

The rest of the group was equally curious to hear what sort of rewards they'd obtained from clearing the instance.

Jeremy nodded calmly. "Of course, we obtained some loot. However, since we only defeated the instance boss, the lower-level loot we received wasn't in particularly large quantity."

"These low-level rewards were just basic skill books," Jeremy explained. "Liam and Howard have already taken them. As for the high-level loot, there were only three items: two golden-level skill books and a level 55 bow. Liam and Howard took one of the skill books, so the other two high-level items are here with me."

After speaking, Jeremy placed the golden-level skill book and the level 55 bow on the table. Everyone's attention immediately zeroed in on the bow.

"Does this bow have any special skills? And what kind of talents does it best suit?" Ritchie asked, voicing the questions that had captured his curiosity.

Jeremy shook his head. "I don't know yet because I haven't used the Eye of Omniscience skill to check its attributes. Right now, I'm not in good shape and can't use the Eye of Omniscience skill directly."

As he spoke, a hint of frustration crept into his expression. His condition indeed wasn't the best. Although he had successfully defeated The Lost Realm's instance boss, his talent, the King of Time and Space, had been suppressed during the battle. Jeremy felt his spatial awareness had dulled, and he was fighting off a nagging, intermittent headache.

Hearing Jeremy's answer, everyone chose not to press further. Bonnie spoke up directly.

"In that case, you should go home and get some rest! Once you've recovered, you'll be able to use the Eye of Omniscience to inspect the bow."

Bonnie had no desire for the bow Jeremy held. In her view, it was rightfully his—he had almost single-handedly defeated the instance boss, while the others' contributions had been minimal.

The rest of the group shared Bonnie's sentiments. Ritchie hadn't been after the bow either; his questions were simply out of curiosity.

With that, everyone headed back to their homes. After returning, Jeremy casually placed the golden-level skill book and the level 55 bow on his nightstand. His energy completely drained, he could barely keep himself upright. He staggered over to his bed, and despite his intention to stay awake, a powerful wave of exhaustion overcame him. Try as he might to fight it, his eyes closed.

During the battle, he had poured every ounce of strength and focus he had into the fight. Now, his body demanded rest.