Chapter 159 - Return

"Honestly... could be better."

Oliver didn't mind if the two weren't close. His mind was too preoccupied with something else to worry about that now.

"Well, I'll get out of your hair."

Leo took this chance to leave. He doesn't have the emotional capacity right now to deal with somebody else's problems. He had too much on his plate to deal with.

"It's fine. You were here first. If anyone should be leaving, it should be me," Oliver said as he let out a heavy sigh. "How's your sister, by the way?" Oliver asked before standing up.

"She's fine," Leo's eyes narrowed as he was suddenly filled with doubt, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. Losing a family member is hard for anyone. Well, not that I experienced it firsthand."

"Look, it's none of your concern what my sister is feeling," Leo slightly lowered his guard as he leaned back on the couch. "Besides, how can you even empathize with what my sister is going through when you won't even talk about your family?"

It was true.

Throughout this past week and the time that the entire group spent together, Oliver was often silent. He wouldn't even talk unless Rynold or Neana took the initiative to. More often than not, he was only going along for the ride.

So, despite having an amicable friendship, Leo knew a lot less about Oliver than Oliver knew about Leo.

"You don't know them as I do. And, even if you did, you won't like what you see."

"So what?" Leo snickered and asked, "Like it or not, they're still your family. With this shitshow of a world that we live in, we don't have the liberty to choose who gave birth to us."

"Trust me when I say this," Leo continued as his expression turned into a sour one, "It's not easy for people to ditch whatever family that they have."

"Why go back?"

Oliver was curious.

He had no idea why Leo would do such a thing. And, judging by Rynold's detailed accounts of how the King and Queen treated him when he arrived, it certainly was an incredibly toxic family dynamic.

Then again, Oliver's wasn't any better.

"Dunno," Leo gave a casual, unsatisfying answer. "Maybe it had something to do with guilt? Greed? I don't know. Besides, it doesn't matter now. Does it? They're dead."

Leo's words were grim, filled with a heavy loss evident throughout his very soul. But, somehow, the man seemed okay with it.

Coincidentally, those very words made Oliver realize something.

"Huh."

Oliver was stumped. It was flawless logic on Leo's part that made him think if he'd end up like that. If he went back to Ark City and tried to find his parents, maybe things would end up exactly like how they did for Leo.

Perhaps, it might be even worse.

With that, Oliver wanted to say goodbye as he started to reevaluate his decision. But, before he could, Leo suddenly spoke up.

"Don't you still have your family around?" Leo asked, much to Oliver's surprise. However, Leo didn't seem to want an answer as he continued to speak.

"The point I'm trying to make is," Leo said as he stood up, "If your family's still alive, I suggest you go talk to them."

"We aren't exactly on speaking terms. I can't really talk to them without a good reason." Oliver answered as he expressed his doubt.

Currently, Oliver just wanted to check on them.

Talking to them even seemed like a good idea at first. But, with Rynold's warnings, he started to doubt if doing so would be a good thing. Then again, checking on someone doesn't really entail the need to speak to them.

Now, Oliver decided to go back to Ark City and see if his family is doing alright. Talking to them seemed like an unnecessary hassle at this point.

But, something about what Leo said next seemed to reverse that decision altogether.

"No," Leo's voice turned cold in response, "I can't talk to my family anymore."

Turning around, Leo left through the doors of the building. He didn't say a word as he left Oliver standing completely still.

Despite neither of them admitting it, Oliver and Leo were extremely similar. Which, consequently, was rather ironic considering how they didn't like each other.

But, with what Leo said, Oliver realized that this might be his one chance of making things right with his family. Perhaps things could go south or become extremely dangerous, but Oliver now knew what he had to do.

So, on that note, Oliver went up to his room and left for Ark City.

A few hours later...

"Man, how long has it been since we left?"

Jack, sword on his back, was walking with Oliver and Strieder as they made their way towards the Teleportation Hall. As always, Jack was as enthusiastic as the day Oliver met him.

"Tone it down a bit, man. We aren't going there to be sightseeing," Oliver answered, "Be on guard for anything that might happen, alright? We're going in blind here."

Unwilling to admit it, Oliver himself was pretty excited to be going back home as well. It hasn't been a year since they had left, but it certainly felt a lot longer than it should.

"Relax, dude," Jack said as he walked with hands in his pockets, "You haven't eased up much since the day I met you. You gotta know how to enjoy the smallest victories in life."

"That's more of your thing than mine," Oliver added, "Besides, Rynold told me to take you with me as insurance. So, whatever I say, you better listen."

"So... if you wanted me to kill someone, you actually want me to...?"

"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that," Oliver snickered and shook his head.

The three of them soon reached their destination.

As Oliver placed the coordinates in, he couldn't help but look forward to what he was going to see. Well, considering the nature of the teleportation, though, he might be greeted by a shroud of ghouls as soon as he arrived.

"Ready your weapons."

"What for?" Jack asked as he raised both his shoulders in confusion.

"Just in case we get attacked as soon as we land," Oliver spoke from experience. "Teleportation can bring us within proximity of our destination, but it doesn't mean that we are safe from any danger when we land. We don't want to get screwed over, do we?"

Oliver was notified beforehand that the teleportation often acted as a beacon that attracted low-leveled monsters. They weren't much of a threat, sure. But, Oliver wanted to make sure that they didn't encounter anything they couldn't handle.

Reluctant, Jack pulled out his Mana Pistol and a rather aesthetically pleasing sword. It was the one Mana Bonded equipment that he had. In fact, he had used and trained with the weapon more times than he could count.

Holding either weapon with each hand, Jack loosened his shoulders a bit.

"You better not get in my way."

"How long do you think we've known each other?" Oliver said as he activated the teleportation, "By the time you'd manage to kill one, I would've killed the rest."

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?"

"Let's just focus, alright?"

Oliver drew both of his daggers out and held them both in reverse-grip. As the light started to envelop the three of them, the teleportation back to Ark City commenced.

"We're here!"

Upon arrival, the trio landed in a nearby forest. From where they were standing, they could see the city itself, which meant that they landed somewhere just outside the city gates.

"And you said that we were going to get attacked! Hah!"

Jack mockingly exclaimed as soon as they landed with a rather loud volume. However, it seemed that there were no creatures in sight. They had lucked out, that is, until Strider suddenly barked at a nearby tree.

"You celebrated too soon."

With his cold, serious voice, Oliver got into his attacking position and faced directly at the tree that his wolf familiar had barked at.

Confused and unaware, Jack looked at Oliver and then shifted his gaze towards the tree. He didn't understand why the guy looked so aggravated against a plant that looked and felt ordinary.

"It's just a tree, man. There really isn't anything important about it."

"No. It's not."

Oliver didn't want to move because he had no idea what he was up against. In fact, he actually didn't know why Strider had been so hostile towards it as well. Oliver didn't realize it until he shifted his eye towards the ground.

'We're at the main road?'

They were standing on asphalt. Oliver didn't notice it as soon as he looked down. And, last time he was here, the plants hadn't overgrown to the point where it overtook the road. This alone was a sign of danger.

Soon, the sound of rumbling at the very distance came from ahead where Oliver was facing. It didn't seem like anything that resembled the footsteps of the Behemoth Ghoul. No, it was a lot more frequent and light footsteps.

"Now, do you see the problem?!"

Jack clicked his tongue as he raised the Frozen Teardrop of Mist and the gun. His combat style had incorporated both weapons within it that made Jack stand out in mid-ranged combat.

"Should we stand here, or...?"

Calm as the ocean after a storm, Jack didn't feel any pressure from the incoming horde of unknown assailants. He had gone to many a mission that Jack became experienced in handling crises.

"Let's beat these guys to the ground, then."

Oliver, on the other hand, felt his blood boiling.

He was eager for some action. Because he hadn't been out in the world for a while, Oliver missed the rush. The rush that he gets from fighting against monsters.

Sure, he had numerous training and sparring sessions that increased his experience in combat by multiple folds. However, it still didn't beat the rush from leveling up.

"Sounds good."

Without warning, Jack started shooting in the direction of the horde. The gun that he was holding had been handcrafted by Rynold a long time ago. And, the weapon had actually served him so well that he was significantly more confident in his marksmanship than his swordsmanship.

As Jack fired bullet after bullet, Oliver quickly dashed out. Along with Strider, the two passed through the dense forest using the branches of the trees. The pet and its master made their way towards the horde with unrivaled speed.

Only stopping until they stood overhead of the creatures.

'Scan.'

[Mutated Rodent]

The creatures had somewhat rodent-like bodies that made it creepy to watch. It was like a rat infestation, only that these rats were bigger and had sharper fangs.

Fortunately, though, their levels weren't anything that would bring danger to someone of Oliver's character.

Turning his face to the side, Oliver looked directly at Strider. The wolf was perched up in a tree branch as Oliver issued hand signals.

'Attack.'

As the wolf jumped down to attack, Oliver quickly followed.

Slash and hack. That was the only thing that Oliver needed to do to kill each Mutated Rodent. In fact, the difference in their levels made it so easy for Oliver to kill them. One swipe was one kill.

But, there was one big problem.

'Why are there so many?!'

Oliver was slashing his way through the horde that made it seem as if he were a steamroller. But, the thing was, the number of the rodents didn't seem to dwindle.

It wasn't an exaggeration at this point that the rodents would've numbered thousands. And, the worst part was that they seemed to be ignoring Oliver altogether.

The creatures were headed straight towards the city. In fact, no matter how many times Oliver intervened, the rodents seemed to focus on running forward. The creatures paid no mind to Oliver's massacre of their fellow rodents.

'Where the hell are they going?'