Chapter 11 - Soft Goodbye's

Zenith's face was currently being tended to by Mirabell, using specialized medication. His face and body were bruised and battered after the session with Fable. Mirabell had an apologetic look on her face, a slight ominous tune sounding from her via her resonance ability. Fable, standing next to Jenabell, cleared his throat. "Well, I held back... don't be angry at me..." He felt wronged, eyeing Zenith while Jenabell reached up and whacked his head with her cane, causing Fable to screech in pain and hold his head. "Idiot, go easier next time. There needs to be a skill build-up; don't push him so hard at the start. It will waste time on recovery."

Fable winced, nodding, not daring to argue with his grandma. Jenabell then looked at Zenith carefully. "How does it feel? This is going to be your life from now on. Sure, it may be easier at other relic hunter organizations, but we do this out of necessity to make sure you can save your own butt. Relic hunter organizations, unless at the top, might be happy with a member who is a firework, but we want to turn our members into bombs. Lethality, not flashiness—this is Allspace, and why we used to be A rank."

Zenith wasn't sure what to think, but weighing the pros and cons, the bruises on his body and his own experience so far with life made this pain dull. It was nothing new to him; if they could make him stronger and more capable, it meant fewer people could push him into a corner. "I can handle it!" he spoke up. The three of them stopped for a moment, Mirabell smiling, Fable grinning, and Jenabell nodding in approval.

Some time later, when Zenith was in his room, he had gotten a message from Kalen telling him everything was handled and Clair and her goons wouldn't annoy him anymore. Zenith felt relief. He had also messaged Seila; he had seen her last at the graduation some time ago. She had been holding back tears when she personally sent her students off on the stage, wishing them well despite her harsh personality when teaching.

He had told her about him joining Allspace. She had been surprised at first as she knew about Allspace but agreed with Zenith when he said it was a safe bet to gain experience. He invited her out to dinner as a thank you, but she had to refuse reluctantly, saying it wouldn't look good if she did so with a former student so soon. But she said that she hopes one day he will find himself and that if he ever needed help, she would continue doing her best for him.

Zenith thanked her profusely; he owed her a lot. The next day, he had gone to visit the foreman who was at the refinery being repaired. He still had work to do. Surprisingly, the man from the Veremont family was there, both of them noticing Zenith. "Sir, this is Zenith. He was one of our best workers, always putting in 100% and the friend of young master Kalen."

The Veremont man gave Zenith a second look, nodding, after all, Kalen was above him in the family line. The foreman then spoke onward. "Zenith, you're actually here. Good. You know the upper management wanted to do some checkups on the workers' medical history to make sure they are okay, the usual and resonance frequency check. I told them you didn't have one."

The Veremont man spoke. "It's a shame you don't have a resonant frequency, but I'm sure there are plenty of jobs people like you can have in this sort of work." He spoke, his tone nonchalant as if Zenith was some bug that would always be at the level of a casual worker.

Zenith picked up on it but ignored him. "Actually, I was here to say goodbye. I've joined a relic hunter organization, so this life of work is done for me." The foreman was stunned but nodded. "So you really did go through with it. Good kid! Don't be like me and work this line of work from start to finish. Go adventure. Hehe, if you make it big, don't forget about us! Bring me back a nice souvenir."

Zenith smiled while the Veremont man thought nothing of it. He was just here to see the repairs and tell the foreman about the so-called medical tests, which was a lie so he could get them checked for resonance ability. For Zenith, with no resonance frequency, he ignored him.

After Zenith bid him farewell and handed in his things, he went to hang out with Kalen a bit at the usual arcade. They were gaming as Kalen spoke. "You know we have a relic hunter organization too. You should have asked me first!" Zenith was a little surprised. He spoke, "Really? Well, it's fine. I don't want to rely on others too much; I need to find my own bearings. But I thought you guys focused only on mining and refining?"

Kalen, listening to Zenith's question, laughed. "Every company that can afford it will have their own relic hunter organization. They've got nothing to lose by doing so, but if they find something good, they can make it big. It doesn't really happen though, but it's considered a sort of side business."

Zenith listened more as they talked. Kalen told Zenith about how his family threatened Clair's, threatening to stomp them into the ground and such. Zenith laughed quietly. "The strong pick on the weak and make the rules," he mumbled quietly to himself.

Afterwards, he parted ways with Kalen, giving a fist bump as a final goodbye. Kalen offered to send him credits to assist, but Zenith denied it, saying he is good and that he will keep in touch after Kalen told him not to be a stranger.

On Zenith's walk back, he looked up at the gloomy sky, sighing quietly. He didn't know what he wanted to achieve goal-wise; he didn't think himself capable of reaching the heavens. He wanted to humble himself at every step, afraid that being too excited would attract bad things, but being too down would ruin his mood and mental state. He tried his best to keep neutral.

Arriving back at the freighter after handling his residence and selling it for 5000 credits, which was another tidy sum for him, he returned to the freighter. After he returned, he was greeted by Mirabell, who waved at him, a bell-like gentle chirp tune leaving her aura. Beside her, Fable was smiling. "That medicine is pretty good, right? Unless it's a deep wound or some bad cuts, it will only take a day for your bruises and minor stuff to heal."

Zenith nodded. "Yeah, I woke up this morning, and I looked as good as new. It really is some good stuff." Fable grinned more. Mirabell, on the other hand, sighed and walked away as if she knew what was coming. Zenith looked a little confused but gasped as he felt a sharp sting on his face, falling flat on his butt. Fable had punched him square in the face, laughing with a wide grin. "Fights can break out at any time, in real life and relic sites. Time for training!" He would never secretly admit he enjoyed venting a little, as if knowing how his grandma felt when hitting him.

Jenabell was looking over several data logs. Despite her age, she was as sharp as a tack, eyes focused and expertly looking over data. What she was looking at was a special market for Transporters for relic sites. Mirabell walked in. "Is the kid back?" She asked Mirabell, who nodded bitterly. Jenabell immediately understood. "I've warned Fable, so he won't overdo it this time."

Some hours later, Zenith's face was a little bruised and battered, but Fable had given him a training outfit and was currently using a specialized machine to assist in Zenith's stamina. He would have to run while focusing on dodging attacks from a device. If he faltered or unfocused, he would be hit, but if he slowed down, he would fall flat on his face via the device below.

Fable was nodding in approval, sipping from a straw as he drank a beverage while sitting and relaxing. Zenith, seeing this, felt irritated and angry. He began to speed up, trying to use his anger as fuel to train harder. Fable noticed the change and scoffed with a soft laugh but admired the spirit.

With training finishing after 4 hours, Fable smirked, watching as Zenith came out of the washroom all cleaned up. "Now that you're part of Allspace, your Relic Hunter license was approved earlier today. I'm gonna take you out to celebrate," he said, snickering a bit, moving a hand over Zenith's shoulder. "Going to truly make you a man!"

Zenith was confused, feeling Fable usher him away towards the exit, though Fable suddenly froze as he turned a T corner. His body quivered as he looked behind him slowly, seeing Mirabell with an annoyed, angry expression, her hands folded under her chest. His grandma Jenabell was glaring at him.

"You little troublemaker! Trying to corrupt the kid already? I banned you from going to those places, and warned you!" Fable gulped, "G-grandma, Mirabell, I s-swear it wasn't that. Me and Zenith were just going to celebrate and eat out as he got approved as a relic hunter."

Glaring, his grandma snickered. Mirabell emitted a tune that made it seem like Fable was a dimwit. "We'll all go out and celebrate. We will leave tomorrow," Jenabell said. Fable, hearing this, blinked. "You finally bought a device!?" he exclaimed excitedly. His grandma nodded. "Our newest member needs practice, after all. It's a basic safe place, nothing you both can't handle."