He smiled faintly. "It gives you a lot of leverage."

"Hm… then I'll do that," Mike nodded, thinking to himself. I should add more drops. Lily had given him twenty in total, and he had only taken out three. He had originally planned to save the rest for a higher-rank city, but since Jordan was taking him to a Rank 6 one, there was no reason to hold back.

"I actually have five of them," Mike said, placing two more drops on the table.

Jordan stared at them, eyes widening. "You have access to the Fountain itself?"

Mike nodded. "Yes, but there's a limit to how much I can take out each month."

Jordan let out a breath. "If you're willing to give my family the sixty percent one… I'm certain my grandfather will open the vaults for you. He'll take this very seriously."

Mike nodded. "I'll need to see what he offers first."

"You will," Jordan said confidently. "Trust me."

Mike stood up. "I'll go inform my family and prepare them. You said the auction is in a few days, right?"

"Yes," Jordan replied. "We'll be heading out soon. I'll arrange everything on my end."

"Just be here by tommorrow evening" He added.

Mike turned to leave, then paused. "By the way… thanks for letting my family come too."

Jordan smiled faintly as Mike stepped out and mounted his hoverbike, speeding off into the city lights.

Watching him go, Jordan let out a low laugh.

"Damn… I really hit the jackpot this time," he muttered. "When my siblings and cousin sees this, they're going to lose their minds."

He leaned back in his chair, grinning.

"Who would've thought that meeting a random guy in a low-ranked city would turn out to be the biggest opportunity of my life?"

Mike returned home and headed straight to the living room, where his parents were watching TV and his little sister, Misty, was playing with her bunny, Mimi.

"Mom, Dad," Mike said, smiling, "get your bags ready. We're going on a trip to Lionheart City."

"What?" his father asked, looking away from the screen. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I got a really valuable item in the Origin World," Mike explained. "When I went to auction it, the appraiser invited me to a Rank 6 city—Lionheart—to sell it properly. He said I could bring my family along."

His mother's eyes widened. "A Rank 6 city? That's incredible."

Misty bounced in place. "Does that city have bunnies?" she asked eagerly.

Mike chuckled and patted her head. "Yeah, it does. Lots of them. There's even a huge park with all kinds of magical beasts."

"Really?!" Misty's eyes sparkled. "Then I want to go!"

"Of course," Mike said warmly. "I'll take you."

She hugged her bunny tightly. "Then I want another bunny too!"

Mike laughed. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

She giggled and ran off to play again.

"How many days are we going for?" his mother asked.

"A week," Mike replied. "The auction itself lasts three days, and there are a few days before that to prepare."

"Alright then," she said, standing up. "I'll start packing."

"When are we leaving?" she asked.

"Tomorrow evening," Mike answered.

She nodded and went off to get ready, while his father left the room to arrange leave from work for the week.

Mike smiled, watching them go, then headed toward his room.

Just as he was about to sit down, his phone rang.

"Hey, Mike!" Lily's cheerful voice came through. "Guess what?"

"What?" he asked.

"My father got us invitations to the Grand Auction in Lionheart City!" Lily said excitedly. "We'll be going there soon!"

"And I already booked rooms for you and your family," she added cheerfully.

Mike laughed. "Why are you laughing?" Lily asked.

"I was about to call you about the same thing," he said. "Looks like we'll be meeting in Lionheart City after all."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We're going there too. I already arranged rooms, but I guess that won't be necessary now. I'll tell you everything when we meet."

"Oh?" Lily sounded curious. "Is it related to the drops?"

"Yeah," Mike replied. "And it's a big deal. You should join me in the VIP section."

She chuckled. "Alright. My parents aren't joining the auction itself—just the main events around it."

"When are you leaving?" he asked.

"Tomorrow evening," she said.

"Perfect. We're leaving tomorrow too."

"Then I'll meet you there," she said cheerfully before hanging up.

Mike then closed his eyes and then opened them.

"Alright… time to get my fourth talent"

He glanced at the system screen glowing faintly in front of him.

I wonder what I'll get this time, he thought, activating his gacha.

A brilliant light flashed.

[Dual Existence]

Description:

You can now exist through a shadow self.

Effect:

Creates a perfect clone with 100% of your original power.

You cannot truly die unless both your real body and your clone are destroyed.

If the real body is killed, it will reform from the clone.

If the clone is destroyed, it can be recreated from the real body.

Rank 1 Effect – Parallel Mind:

The clone can act independently without requiring constant supervision from the main body.

Mike stared at the glowing text, his breath catching.

"Did I just get an extra life in the real world too?" he murmured, staring at the screen again in disbelief.

"This… this might be the best one I could've hoped for," he muttered, still trying to process it.

A slow grin spread across Mike's face as the realization truly sank in.

An extra life.

No—more than that.

A second existence.

His heart pounded, not with fear, but with exhilaration. Countless scenarios raced through his mind: exploration without fear, taking risks no one else could, sending his clone into danger while he stayed safe… or fighting on two fronts at once.

"This is insane…" he whispered, his fingers curling into a tight fist. "With this, even death isn't the end anymore."

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