After wrapping up his meeting with Vladimir and securing the rewards for clearing the floor, Rocky returned to Earth in high spirits.

He had uncovered a wealth of new information about the tower and the true motives of the gods in his meeting with Vladimir, and what he needed now was time to verify it on his own terms.

If Vladimir’s portrayal of events was accurate, then Rocky was merely a pawn for the Gemini Gods, serving no true purpose of his own.

Yet, considering how often the Gemini Gods had aided him— and that too seemingly without any clear reason—he found it difficult to accept that he was simply a disposable tool.

Instead, he leaned toward the belief that there was more to the tower’s truth than Vladimir’s grim version suggested, which was why he chose to not believe in his version of the tower’s truth as of now.

“I’m home,” he called out with a broad smile as he stepped back into his apartment, only to find a cute little baby chun playing alongside a cute little baby abyssal dragon in his living room.

The two wrestled and rolled over on the ground, clearly enjoying their tussle of strength, as while baby chun tried to sink his sharp teeth unsuccessfully into the dragon’s nape, the abyssal dragon harmlessly pulled onto his long ears with hers.

“Crystal, Chun that’s enough, stop biting each other” said Mama Chun, as almost immediately the two stopped their biting actions, as if they were morally afraid of the consequences of not following that command.

“Rocky! You’re back!” Said Riva who rushed from the kitchen to greet his brother, as Rocky hugged her back with a soft smile.

“How have you been?” Rocky asked, as although he could notice the visible glow on her skin, showing how much she had improved, he still asked her just to make sure that she was doing okay.

“I’m fine? How have you been? Was your last floor raid too difficult?” Riva asked, as Rocky simply chuckled in response, choosing not to dignify the question with a response.

“I see…. So it was that hard huh?” Riva asked, as Rocky simply shrugged his shoulders and outstretched his hands to give Riva seven vials of the blue medicine that would help keep her sane for seven more days.

“Thanks….” Riva said as she clutched onto the medicine vials with guilt clearly visible in her eyes.

She was acutely aware of just how much Rocky was sacrificing to get her these vials and as her mental condition improved, so did her guilt for receiving them.

“Are you injured anywhere? Are all your friends safe too?” Riva inquired, as Rocky simply nodded with a smile.

“I’m fine, not a scratch on me” he said, as he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to get a cool beverage.

Rocky was rather tired after all the adventuring and considering that he had to take off for floor24 in just a couple days again, he did not wish to waste much sleep time which he could otherwise spend resting.

Hence, after drinking two full cans of juice, his intention was to immediately crash into bed, however, to his surprise, Riva kept lingering around him, as if she wanted to ask him a pertinent question.

“What is it? Is there anything in particular that you wish to talk to me about?” Rocky asked, as Riva began nervously bouncing her index fingers off one another, feeling unsure of speaking her mind to her brother.

“Your adventurer party…. It has only 4 members instead of the 5 that you should have correct?” Riva asked, as Rocky nodded in response.

“Well… is there any particular reason why?” she asked nervously, as Rocky scratched his chin and responded saying “Well not really. It’s just that I haven’t found anyone suitable to join the team yet–”

Listening to this response, Riva’s eyes brightened ever so slightly, as she bravely looked into her brother’s eyes and tried to muster the courage to ask him the question that was on her mind for the past whole week.

“Your team…. Well they have been nothing but most kind to me, even letting me keep the abyssal dragon which I now love as my own child.

So I’ve been thinking … that if you don’t find anyone suitable to join your team when you reach floor 40, then maybe from floor 41 onwards, I can join your team?” Riva asked, as her question confused Rocky for a moment, who kept staring at her with a blank expression.

“I used to be a decent warrior, and while I can’t join you guys until you cross floor 40 since I’ve already climbed up till then, I can join you from 41 onwards to pay you guys back for all the help you’ve given me so far. Find your next read on empire

I don’t need any share of the spoils, I am even ready to risk my life for you all, so…. Let me join?” Riva said, as she tried hard to convince Rocky to let her join.

“I know I might not be in the best possible shape right now, however, with the Gemini Gods promising you a permanent cure for my condition should you reach floor 40.

And there being time for me to rejoin the True Elite guild and build back my strength and skills over the next 16 weeks, I think I’ll be ready to join you all by the time you reach floor40″ Riva said, as her eyes flashes with a determined conviction for the first time since her kidnapping, when she uttered these words.

She had been feeling extremely guilty for having her brother and his friends risk their lives for her sake week in and week out, and after thinking about it for a while, she decided to pay them back by joining them when she had the opportunity to do so.

Hailed as the rising star of Earth and a once in a generation talent, she surely had the skills to join the team, however, whether she could or not, depended solely on Rocky.

——–

/// A/N – Apologies for the one week break in posting for this book. Over this last week, I’ve made a big decision regarding this book. So please make sure to read the author notes below for the same. ///

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep