My SSS-Rank Gluttony Talent: I Can Evolve Limitlessly
Chapter 58: Back in the real world

Chapter 58: Back in the real world

’Log out.’ Riley thought.

Immediately, a notification popped up in front of him.

[Are you sure you want to log out of the game?]

[Yes/No]

He stared at it for a second, then sighed, selecting the Yes option with a thought.

His surroundings instantly warped, and by the time his eyes opened again, he found himself lying flat on his bed.

The soft weight of his mattress was pressing against his back, and another notification appeared before him.

[You have logged out of Apocalypse]

[To log back in, just think about it]

It blinked a few times before fading into nothing.

Riley exhaled and slowly sat up, brushing the side of his head with a hand. His eyes briefly swept over the familiar four walls of his room, and his lips curled up slightly.

"...I’m back," he whispered under his breath.

The dull ceiling above stared back at him, unchanged.

But everything that had just happened inside the game—his brutal fight with Terry, the encounter with Miranda, the slaying of the dark fanged boar... every last moment—had been real.

He smiled faintly, feeling proud of his accomplishments within the game.

Despite how long he spent in [Apocalypse], his muscles didn’t feel sore or tired.

If anything, they felt refreshed, his entire body pulsing with more energy than ever before.

He clenched his fists, curling them tight.

"I haven’t even eaten today, but I feel... stronger," he murmured.

Still smiling faintly, Riley reached over to the side of his bed and picked up his phone, hoping to check the time.

The screen flicked on with a soft blue glow—but he squinted almost immediately. Everything on the display was blurry, from the time to the widgets and other applications.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue. "These damn eyes..."

In his past life, his vision fully regained its clarity about a week after the game fully merged with reality.

It was due to a healing potion, and he could still remember how excited he was that his eyesight was finally clear after many years.

And he hadn’t been the only one.

All over the world, different kind of diseases and chronic pains were fully healed with potions, and their condition returned back to normal.

With the help of healing potions and skills, humanity began to evolve beyond its natural limits.

Sicknesses and defects that had once been troubled the world were wiped away like stains on a window.

Even those without limbs and other parts of the body had a chance to regain them if they were lucky enough to find an Epic-grade healing potion, someone with a powerful healing talent, or a regeneration skill.

But those three solutions were painfully rare. And the people who had access to them whether directly or indirectly usually demanded absurd prices—whether money, or other favours.

It was a luxury few could afford.

Now, back in his younger body, Riley’s terrible vision was both nostalgic... and annoying.

With another small sigh, he reached over and picked up his glasses from the table.

He slid them on.

His eyesight soon sharpened, and the time on his phone became clear.

5:15 PM.

He blinked, then smiled again.

He had only spent a little over three hours inside [Apocalypse] so far, and yet, he had already achieved far more than he expected.

The ratio of time between [Apocalypse] and the real world was 2:1.

Meaning every two hours spent in the game translated to only one hour in reality.

Riley blinked again, his gaze flicking toward the time being displayed on his phone screen—5:15 PM. That meant he’d been inside [Apocalypse] for about six hours.

He exhaled once more, his smile fading as he let his body collapse backwards onto the bed.

The mattress groaned slightly beneath his weight.

His eyes stared up at the ceiling, but his mind wandered elsewhere.

’Miranda...’ he thought, eyes narrowing slightly.

A part of him couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing at the moment.

Though he hated to admit it, her weird behavior and words had left quite an impression on him.

But after a few seconds, he clicked his tongue and shoved the thought from his mind.

"System Shop," he muttered.

Immediately, a set of tabs appeared before him.

[System Shop]

[Coins: 1 Gold, 24 Silver, 100 Copper]

[Unfortunately, since you’re not in the game currently, you can’t fully access the system shop at the moment.]

[Do you wish to transfer your coins instead?]

Riley smirked.

The system allowed players to interact with some of its functions even outside the game, though most features were locked. Transferring coins was one of the few exceptions.

Players could also purchase items directly from the shop interface, but they had to be logged in the game to do so.

However, items bought from the system directly costed far more than they did when purchased inside the game world.

On top of that, the quality of goods currently available was still limited.

At the moment, the highest item one could obtain through the system shop was Rare-rank.

After the first boss monster, a few Epic-rank items would then be added for purchase.

But items beyong Epic-rank couldn’t be acquired from the system, not not, not ever.

Those kinds of treasures could only be gotten through dungeon raids, or by completing secret quests. They could also be gotten by killing those who had them, thereby claiming the treasure.

The system shop did, however, offer other important things apart from equipments.

Examples of those were guild tokens, and other items necessary to form and maintain a guild within the game.

That was why players with wealthy backgrounds always had a massive head start.

They could buy their advantage.

Even before setting foot into dangerous dungeons or claiming territories, they had the resources to create a guild, arm their members, and stake a claim on power.

Players like Yano had already done just that, purchasing a complete armour set from the system for theirselves and high-ranking guild members.

They had stockpiles of things that most normal players couldn’t even dream of affording at this stage of the game.

Nonetheless, that advantage would only be major during the early stages of the game... because as time went by, a few players would rise up with legendary items and the balance of power would be shaken up.