chapter 1265  two paths

    although earning over a thousand deltas did not seem like much for the amount of time they spent, one must remember that time flowed 7 times faster within the world of greater beyond than it did on earth.

    with that, even though it took the two of them over a couple of days to grind levels, grab materials, concoct elixirs, and then sell them, only a bit over 7 hours had passed back on earth.

    in other words, they were basically able to earn over a hundred deltas per hour!

    for reference, 5 deltas was enough for one to eat three meals in a day. however, those three meals would only meet the minimum necessary for nutrition and sustenance.

    on the other hand, the usual amount of money one would spend in food every day hovered around 15 to 20 deltas. after all, no one wanted to eat the same type of food three times a day for the rest of their life.

    unsurprisingly, the same went for various wants such as computers, phones, gaming pods, and the like. even if one were to choose a version that only had the most basic of functions available, that would still set back someone around 100 deltas at the very least.

    with that being said, the salary thomas got from his job was nowhere near enough for him to buy these needs whenever he wanted. if anything, he would have to sacrifice various creature comforts just to get his hands on them.

    naturally, the fact that the two of them were able to enough money per hour to buy one of the various wants was more than enough to make the man more than ecstatic.

    in fact, he wouldn''t even complain if he were to only get a quarter of the earnings they made from selling the elixirs. after all, even that amount was already greater than how much he got from his job in a week!

    after taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down, the excitement from the earnings briefly flashed in thomas'' mind as he asked valyr, "so, how are we going to split this money?"

    "let''s split it evenly," replied valyr, immediately causing the man''s eyes to widen in surprise. "after all, both of us put an equal amount of work in selling those elixirs."

    "are you sure?" although he was inwardly ecstatic to be able to receive such a massive amount of money, thomas'' conscience still told him it was wrong. "not only did you share the recipe on the elixirs with me, but you also went out of your way to advertise the elixirs through your means. all i did was help you collect the materials and concoct the elixirs."

    "perhaps, a bit of the selling on the side, but still." the man looked at him with a slight frown. "even i only get a quarter of what we earned from this, that''s more than enough for me."

    "in fact, it''s a lot more than the estimates you gave me when you first talked about it."

    "true." valyr nodded in agreement, being reminded of the figures he''d given the man in his attempts to persuade thomas in joining him. "but i''ve made up my mind."

    "i don''t mind splitting it evenly."

    "take as much as you need to think about it. if you decide to continue with your current job, i wouldn''t mind if we just continue meeting up every once in a while to sell the elixirs off."

    "of course, i might be able to show you something greater if you do end up playing the game full-time with me," said valyr with a smile.

    "sorry," apologized thomas as he let out a faint sigh. "i really just need to think about it for a bit more."

    "don''t worry." valyr nodded in understanding, watching as his friend took his share of the earnings from the elixirs before giving the remaining ones to him.

    converting the coins into deltas soon after, thomas then decided to leave greater beyond for the meantime, taking into consideration that he had spent far more time than he thought he would in the game.

    "thanks again, valyr," said the man as he logged out. "i''ll let you know my final answer in a couple of days."

    whoosh!

    watching his friend''s silhouette disappear from his field of vision, the young man could not help but let out a long sigh as he stared at the pouch that contained their earnings from the elixirs.

    "now that i think about it, i was definitely pressuring him to accept my offer," muttered the young man to himself as he looked back at the words he said to thomas in their conversation just earlier.

    realizing that he was slowly but surely pushing the man into what felt like an inescapable corner, valyr shook his head as he let out yet another sigh to compose his thoughts.

    "well, even if he rejects my offer, he''ll eventually end up playing greater beyond full-time at some point," said the young man as a way to comfort himself. "by then, it still wouldn''t be too late to proceed with the other ideas i have in mind."

    closing his eyes for a bit after that, valyr eventually returned to his previous calm, pushing the thoughts he related to thomas to the side for now.

    "since there isn''t really much i can do in that area for the meantime, i should focus on improving my personal strength a bit more."

    as those words left his mouth, the young man went ahead and brought out all of the remaining skill books he had yet to absorb out of his spatial bracelet, wondering which among them he should absorb first.

    "i''ve got mastery skills, affinity skills, the ones that combine into [unearthed innate potential], and the ones for regeneration ones."

    "hmm..." turning the gears in his mind as he pondered over what the best order to absorb them would be, a thought surfaced in his mind about a minute later, causing him to grin as he picked up one of the skill books.

    "let''s start with you, then."