Rohan couldn’t tell, but Elane was overjoyed to hear his plans to move to Primus. As she also lived there, didn’t it mean they could see each other more often in the real world as well as the Origin Realm?

But she kept her delighted attitude hidden from Rohan, not wanting to see him become too smug.

***

"This one’s perfect!" Rohan exclaimed.

After spending all day viewing all kinds of apartments, he felt like he finally found the one for him.

It wasn’t the biggest one he’d seen that day, by far. A few of the places he’d looked at were outright absurd, taking that as more of a touristy opportunity rather than serious house hunting.

This was his first time in Primus, so he at least wanted to enjoy himself for a bit. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

But he didn’t let that last for long.

The one he found right now felt good enough for his needs. It wasn’t too big, so it was easier to clean and maintain than something overly huge just for one person. It sat on the twelfth floor of a clean, modern building not too far from the city centre, tucked into what the realtor described as a quieter district where the roads were wide and the greenery was kept under control, and the noise of the city was kept to a minimum rather than the constant assault you’d experience in the busiest parts.

And it as cheap.

...Well, for an apartment close to the centre of the biggest and most prosperous city on Earth.

Sitting at just over $3000 a month in rent, it might seem absurd to an ordinary person working a 9-5 job, but for an Awakened like Rohan he could earn that amount back in just a single day.

More if he was serious about hunting down mainly Elite beasts.

"I’ll take it!" He spoke to the realtor who’d been showing he and Elane around.

He didn’t explicitly ask Elane to accompany him while he did this, but seeing as she came along on her own and he wasn’t bothered by her presence, it was fine.

As for his old apartment, he still had a month left on the lease, but didn’t feel like catching another shuttle back just to empty out his belongings.

...And he’d rather avoid another run in with his deluded landlord.

It was far more convenient for him to pay a packing company to head over and do that for him, sending anything he wished to keep to his new apartment, even within the same day if he paid enough.

Cross-planet same day delivery was a very easy thing to achieve in this day and age.

***

"So what do we do about the problem we currently face...?" Elane asked, sitting down on the rather comfortable sofa and glancing out the window at the harmonious city outside.

Right now, his apartment was bare-bones, so this was the only thing they could do.

But their attention had already shifted, both of their emotions taking a downturn.

"Contact me before you plan on entering again. We’ll coordinate it so that I enter first. Wait 30 seconds to do the same, so that I can distract it while you escape." Rohan instructed.

Now that they had their plans for the near future sorted, the next biggest thing they had to face was the issue of their location once they re-entered the Origin Realm.

As they were kicked out right in the middle of the E rank Elite Ant’s lair...

That was the single biggest threat hanging over their heads at the moment.

His new apartment suddenly didn’t feel quite as warm and satisfying anymore.

One moment ago, Rohan had been pleased with his decision, standing in the middle of his own place in Primus for the first time, already imagining how convenient it would be to live there while preparing for Primus University and his next steps as an Awakened.

But remembering about how they’d last exited the Origin Realm put a dampener on all of that.

If they suddenly appeared in the Elite E rank’s lair and were subsequently flattened into a meat paste in the next second, then that was a whole month they’d be unable to access the Origin Realm.

Losing a third of the time they had to prepare for the upcoming assessment for Primus university would practically ensure that they wouldn’t make the cut.

"Are you sure? I’d rather go down with you than let you lead the beast away so that I can escape..."

Elane wasn’t a big fan of Rohan’s plan, knowing how big of a risk he’d be taking to let her get to safety first.

"Relax. Last time we were there, we were both much weaker. Now, I have my Firestone Skin, so I could tank a hit from an E rank Elite like that, so long as I don’t get hit a second time. All I have to do is ensure that I can make it out before it gets to that point."

Not to mention that his body was far stronger now after assimilating that gene, especially while in its activated state.

Previously when facing the E rank Elite, its speed left him unable to even follow its movements, let alone think of matching it.

While he still wouldn’t be able to match its speed now, his eyes could at least follow it, allowing him to take appropriate action in time.

Elane sat back into the sofa, one leg folded under the other, contemplating silently.

After a few minutes, her eyebrows suddenly perked up, and she looked over at Rohan half suspicious, and half intrigued by the idea that just popped to mind.

"What if we take the thing down rather than escaping?" She asked, knowing how crazy that sounded.

Two F rank Awakened, plotting to kill an E rank Elite all by themselves? How laughable! Even if one of them was an Elite like Rohan.

"Ha!"

Off to the side, Rohan laughed at her words like she just told the funniest joke of that day.

But her face remained stern.

"No, I’m serious. There are many one-time use Genetic Armaments that are popular on the market due to their power. They pack a big punch in exchange for being disposable items.

Most people usually despair when they drop instead of a useful Genetic Armament, but we can use these to our advantage."

Rohan’s ears perked up.

"...I’m listening."

"But there’s one problem. All of these one-time use Genetic Armaments are Normal tier. As far as I know, no higher tier disposable Genetic Armaments exist."

Elane gave Rohan a long, hard look.

"What if... hypothetically, we were able to use such items that shouldn’t exist...?"

Rohan’s pupils dilated, looking away from Elane.

He’d be stupid to not catch on to what she was implying. The only way for an Elite tier one-time use Genetic Armament to exist was if he made it exist with his Evolution Gene.

Just like he’d done with her Spike Beast bow.

’She’s probing me.’ Rohan realised.

He was unsure how to respond. Did he continue acting ignorant, dismissing her crazy idea like any other normal Awakened would?

His eyes closed into half slits.

’No. Now that it’s come to this point, this is where I find out whether I can truly trust her with my life or not.’

"...Let’s do it."