'Boy'friend

After arriving at a lake park located near the City Hall Compound and Refiner's Association, they stopped and sat on one of the benches, overlooking the tranquil lake in front of them.

Minutes of silence passed before one of them chose to break it.

"Don't forget to contact me," Aldrin said in a low voice but that was enough for the woman next to him to hear.

"Shouldn't I be the one to say that to you? Besides, that line should come from my boyfriend that I will be leaving behind. Fortunately, I don't have one." Renissa's lips curved up.

"Technically, I'm now considered your 'boy'friend," Aldrin said in a straight face which produced stifled laughter from the girl. "But jokes aside, I'm grateful to you, Renissa. I don't know what life will be like in another city, and a Primary City at that. We both lived and grew up here after all. I'm rooting for you."

"Mhm... I am also being racked by my nervousness this time. If what happened yesterday didn't happen, I will probably be in my room today, overthinking things while having little cold feet for my future." Renissa stretched her hand as if she's trying to scoop the water out of the lake.

Being next to her, that icy breeze her hair was emitting was chilling enough for Aldrin to forget that the sun was already high up in the sky, scorching the ground below.

Although it's already past the expiration time of the 7 Merchants he initially purchased yesterday, Aldrin refrained from taking out his phone to check on his Dimensional Clones and re-purchase the Merchants to retain the bonus for having 25 Merchants.

He had plenty of time to do that later when he separated from Renissa.

"Thanks to you, though. Accompanying you today helped build my conviction. We're both in the world of Energy Refiners now. If I slack off, for sure, you will be able to surpass me in no time." Renissa continued.

"You're overestimating me." Aldrin humbly replied.

But thinking about it, he possessed the IDLE Database, something that allowed a normal guy like him who probably had no chance to awaken to become an Energy Refiner.

Without it, he wouldn't be sitting next to Renissa like this. He would be at the same evacuation center with Bert, Alisa and the others.

"Not really. Being someone who witnessed your rise and your stellar performance, not just yesterday but also today, it is fitting to call you a genius. Your awakening is destined while mine was triggered by chance."

'I cheated though.' Aldrin answered her in his mind. He couldn't really tell her about it. That everything he achieved today was because of a mysterious program with unknown origins.

Since it could easily send him money through the Federation Bank, the existence behind it was surely not simple.

"Destined? Perhaps, the same can be said to you. On another note, I am still mesmerized by what I witnessed from you yesterday. So... we're both fans of each other."

"This guy... I guess accepting Bert's invitation is a great choice for me. I never thought I'd still make a friend before leaving."

"Me too. I'm not fond of going to the reunion but I got curious about our former classmate who awakened as an Energy Refiner."

With the two of them agreeing like that, laughter once more sprang between them.

"Curiosity kills the cat, as they say. Anyway, I have to prepare for my departure, Aldrin. See you when I see you." Although her voice carried a slightly reluctant tone, Renissa stood up confidently and stretched her arms upwards.

Noticing that, Aldrin also didn't push further. They had already spent hours together starting from that café where they ate together. And if he was being honest enough to blurt out what he's thinking, he enjoyed his time with her.

It was supposed to be just a meeting wherein Renissa would guide him to the Refiner's Association but as it turned out, the two grew closer as friends.

"No problem. Take care, Renissa. This 'boy'friend of yours will contact you regularly. Don't act like you don't know me, alright?"

"Noted, boyfriend. I will be at Sunspeak City. Take note of that."

With that as her last sentence, Renissa smilingly turned around and began walking towards the exit of this lake park.

Left behind at that bench, Aldrin watched her retreating back, sending her off with his eyes.

Only when she disappeared from his field of vision did Aldrin relaxedly rest his back on the bench.

Taking out his phone, he first ensured that Renissa's contact was still there before checking the upload Identification as a recognized Energy Refiner of the Association.

When he finished that, Aldrin messaged his family about his successful registration before wishing them to take care on their way back to their home.

'Now, time to work again.' He muttered inwardly as he tapped the mysterious IDLE Database icon.

As soon as it finished loading, he instantly went to the Idle Shopping interface and re-purchased 7 Small Merchants. Compared to how many credits he used to purchase the 7 Small Merchants yesterday, it's a bit higher today since there were still 18 existing Small Merchants. With his current bank balance of more than 30,000 Federation Credits when the 10,000 he received from Renissa was added, he had enough credits to buy those and more.

[You bought 7 Small Merchants for 14,350 Federation Credits]

[Acquired Bonus: x1.5 Income at 25 Small Merchants]

Upon seeing the difference in price compared to his first time purchasing them yesterday, Aldrin pondered whether to wait for everything to expire before buying them in one bulk. However, with the hours that would be lost without any income, that's something he couldn't afford yet when he's just starting.

Moreover, the next tier for the Production was still yet to unlock. If he went by the standards of some idle game he played before, unlocking the next tiers should be faster contrary to what's happening in IDLE Database.

However, considering he's earning IDLE Points that could be converted to cash or Dimensional Energy he could absorb easily, he was convinced that it was balancing his progress.

Take the upgrades in Idle Adventure Mode as an example. The price scaling for the temporary multiplier, equipment level-ups and skills were sufficiently higher than the one in the Idle Shopping.

'With the ants growing stronger and dwindling in numbers, I should also expect a decrease in Idle Adventure income. Furthermore, it's already at the point that a single run of Idle Adventure isn't enough to purchase the next level of Multiply. I have to start saving IDLE Points to the storage if I want to continue progressing in it.'

While he was at that line of thought, his finger already tapped the Idle Adventure interface to check on his three Dimensional Clones and see their current income after hours of not looking at them.

[IDLE Points: 1486]

"Great that it's higher than I anticipated." Aldrin was delighted at seeing that.

He then observed the current state of the three Dimensional Clones. They're already in tatters but they're still moving swiftly, killing those lone insects they would run into and running away to the truly impossible battle.

As he thought about it, the Attack Setting that he picked couldn't be properly utilized anymore. Even if they set up an ambush, if that was a battalion of Soldier Ants, they would still end up getting surrounded by them.

Moreover, even the traps they could create were only enough to impede on or two.

"... Right. I needed to go back there and manually control a Dimensional Clone to become aware of their real state in that battlefield."

Having experienced it once, Aldrin was already aware that even though it looked so easy when looking from the screen, it was a struggling battle inside it.

Think about the exhaustion, the tension and every other factor that he could think of. It's already a great thing that his Dimensional Clones were somewhat fearless but just that wasn't enough to dominate that Lower Dimension.

'Since this felt like a tutorial map or rather a trial map... I should expect something new when the conquest percentage reaches 100%.'

After observing his clones for a few minutes, Aldrin tapped his phone and went to the first tab and spent 200 points to double the attack multiplier.

At his current average income, that's all he could spare. It only lasts during the current run after all. It's a lot better to allot it to permanent upgrades.

Perhaps, when his IDLE Point production reached high enough then that's the time for him to properly utilize the feature by splurging IDLE Points to multiply his Dimensional Clones' capabilities.

Aldrin already guessed that the multipliers weren't affecting the difficulty level. If he raised those high enough, the Dimensional Clones could possibly challenge a Totally Impossible difficulty opponent.