In a hazy, dreamlike space—
Ji Ran slowly regained consciousness.
…Wait.
"Should this really be what I'm seeing after waking up?"
"Where's Kiana?"
All he could see was a chaotic, empty void.
It wasn't exactly frightening—
but still…
"…Does the system have this kind of function?"
"I don't remember it being mentioned…"
"…Huh?"
"There are two spheres here…"
Just as he reached out to touch them—
He suddenly woke up.
And what he saw was—
His hand…
grabbing Kiana's face.
Veins popped on her forehead.
"I was just touched…"
"…by how hard you tried to save me."
She pried his hand off with a stiff motion—
clearly furious.
"And THIS is how you treat me after waking up?!"
"Give my emotions back!"
"…Sorry."
"That was an accident."
(If I hadn't woken up just now…)
(My hand would've landed on…)
"…Yeah, I'd never be able to explain that."
"…Wait."
"…Why am I even thinking about that right now?!"
Trying to jump up dramatically—
Ji Ran suddenly felt dizzy—
and collapsed again.
"…Damn."
"This version of Ittō Shura doesn't drain energy…"
"But the cost is…"
"…my stamina…"
Even thinking felt exhausting.
"…You look like you've completely run out of strength."
Kiana sighed, then spoke gently:
"Get some rest."
"At least for now, we're safe."
"…Yeah."
"…By the way, where are we?"
He looked around.
"…A forest?"
"Yeah."
"You collapsed earlier, and you were bleeding a lot."
"If I took you back to the city, we'd probably get arrested immediately."
"And also…"
She lowered her voice.
"…I didn't bring any money…"
"…Relax."
"That's not your fault."
Ji Ran calmly took out spare clothes—
and then—
the system item:
Infinite Money Wallet
With trembling hands, he opened it—
and shook it.
Clatter—
A pile of gold coins spilled out.
Kiana stared, stunned.
"…You even prepared currency?!"
"Nope. System bonus item."
"But thanks to you, I realized something…"
"This system actually converts currency automatically between worlds."
Seeing the wallet enter cooldown—
Ji Ran pointed at the coins.
"Split it half-half."
"In case I pass out again, at least you won't be broke."
"…You're ridiculously cautious…"
Kiana stored the coins—
then looked at him curiously.
"I didn't get to ask earlier…"
"What do you even do in your world?"
"Now's not the time…"
"Help me sit up first."
With her support, Ji Ran sat up, still weak.
"Based on what you said…"
"If I was bleeding that much earlier…"
"…then there's a chance—"
"tracking dogs could follow us."
"…All the way out here?!"
Kiana looked at him like he was crazy.
"I ran for two hours!"
"Are your guards really that dedicated?"
"…Those guys?"
"They're mostly corrupt, lazy, useless trash."
"Not worth worrying about."
"But—"
Ji Ran looked up at the starry sky.
His tone turned serious.
"There's one exception."
"A justice freak."
"If she finds our trail…"
"She will chase us."
"And she's strong enough…"
"…to kill both of us right now."
"…Got it."
Kiana nodded.
"So what should we do?"
"…What we should do is—"
Ji Ran paused.
Then said calmly:
"…Forget everything else."
"Let's take a bath first before running."