Came morning, Ren opened his eyes and sat up, feeling renewed and invigorated like before. He had no idea of what had happened the moment he hit the bed. All he remembered was his body was heating, and then he was too tired that he fell asleep.

When he came to, he was covered in sweat. He even saw the shadow of his position on the mattress.

Ren pulled the covers and pushed them inside his washing machine. He then put new covers on his bed and took a bath.

It was a weekend, and Leonel was probably still inside the game.

While under the cold waters, Ren felt that his body was so light, he could probably jump over a two-meter fence. Fisting his hands, he felt the power surging within him.

Something was reaching out in the pit of his brain . . . something he couldn't decipher what . . .

"It's going to be thirty-four degrees hotter today, and the forecast tells of a hotter afternoon up to forty degrees Celsius. Make sure to go out with sunscreen on and shades. For the elderly, don't go out of your house and stay in the shade. Drink lots of water and stay safe."

The news stole Ren's attention. Looking at the tablet in the shower room, he didn't feel like it was hot. Maybe because he had a cold water and the AC was on in his room.

These past few days had been hot, and there was no stopping the increase in temperature. But Ren never felt it. He did wonder what was going on, but he dismissed it as simply something trivial like global warming.

He had other matters to do. More important than the Global Warming.

Ren changed the channel and went on to the e-sport news. There he learned that there was nothing much happening. No news of the Fey Realm whatsoever.

Ren had expected that there would be an information blockade, so he wasn't surprised. This was to make sure that the other groups wouldn't know how many members they had left, where they were on the part of the map, and what they had encountered and acquired.

These guilds weren't idiots to spent millions to enter the Fey Realm and just boost about it on social media and compromised their advantages. They knew the importance of keeping silent to hold their position.

After taking a bath, Ren put on his normal clothes and went out.

"You awake?" Leonel asked him, parched on the carpet in the living room with notes scattered throughout. He was freshly showered, but there was a sheen of sweat on his face.

Ren turned on the aircon. "Why didn't you turn on the AC?"

Leonel looked over and grinned. "I don't want to contribute to global warming, and this isn't my house."

Ren restrained to rolling his eyes. "You'll die of heat stroke before you can even save the environment. And I'm surprised that you have a bit of shame left. Anyway, you're studying on a weekend?"

That was surprised for Ren. "In our high school, you don't even take down notes, much less open them to review. Who are you, and what have you done with the real Leonel?"

Leonel didn't rise to Ren's jape and went on to his notes. "I can be a pretty decent guy if I want to. Things were different in high school. This is my future now."

Ren's brow rose. "Future? You're worth a couple of million dollars by now, and you're telling me that your future is to become a history teacher?"

Leonel pouted. "It's the diploma that matters. Everyone seemed to be asking about it nowadays."

"Who's asking?"

Leonel flinched when Ren got close and squatted in front of him.

Leonel quickly avoided Ren's scrutinizing gaze. "A lot . . ."

"Hmm . . . There is definitely something wrong."

"Will you leave me alone?"

Ren got to his feet and smiled, a knowing smile that made Leonel sweat in buckets. He couldn't return Ren's gaze, and he plastered his eyes on his notes, a big sweat tickling the side of his face.

He couldn't possibly tell Ren that he wanted to show off to Isolde's family. Though he had the money now, if he didn't have something like a diploma to show that he was educated, he feared that her family would look down on him.

But of course, it was only Leonel's wistful thinking. Isolde didn't even know what he was feeling. Heck, even he didn't know what he was feeling. Neither did he want to make a move on it.

This was just preparing. Leonel thought.

Ren then went to the kitchen to fix something up.

"Aren't you going to study? It's almost exam week." Leonel hollered in the living room.

"No." Ren made a quick cereal and munched on it to sate his hunger. While the game was still banning him from entering, he listened to the news on what was happening around him.

The current temperature was 36 degrees Celsius, and it was expected to spike around forty in the heat of the afternoon.

Heatstroke cases rose in alarming numbers, and people were flocking to the mall to escape the heat.

Ren was curious because he didn't feel that hot, and the AC in the living space had just been turned on not a moment ago.

Trying to satisfy his curiosity, Ren went back to the living room where Leonel was no longer reading his notes but laid on his back with his phone on his face, chuckling and giggling to himself.

Ren ignored him and pushed open the sliding door leading out to the balcony, and the moment he stepped outside, he was met with a wave of hot air. The temperature outside was a scorching 36 degrees Celsius, according to the news. But surprisingly, Ren didn't feel the heat that much. Despite the sweltering weather, he felt normal, almost unaffected.

He gazed out into the distance, taking in the view of the cityscape. The sun was shining brightly, casting a warm glow over everything in its path. The trees in the nearby park rustled in the light breeze, offering a slight reprieve from the heat. The sky was a deep blue, with fluffy white clouds dotting the horizon.

Ren took a deep breath, filling his lungs with warm air. For a moment, he forgot about everything else and just enjoyed the moment.

"Ack! Who opened the window? It's soo hot!" Leonel wailed, and Ren closed the doors.

Yep, there was definitely wrong with his body. Ren thought and couldn't help but think of what Angelica, Joker, and the game developer told him.

Evolution . . .

Was his body evolving?

Evolving for what?