288 Before the Journey 4

Inside of a fairly decorated household, cheerful laughter and the voices of people discussing something could be heard.

On a large table, sat a family of eight, composed of two males, and six females. 

Lifting her fork and waving it in the air, the eldest-looking female sibling spoke up. 

"Hear this, today when I was diving inside of a dungeon with my squad, we managed to find a <E> ranked core."

"Really? That is fantastic." 

The father exclaimed in surprise. 

Taking a bit of the food on the fork, the eldest female sibling continued. 

"Yeah, according to the appraisal results, it seems like the core will sell for a lot of money. The commission will be around 1 million U." 

"1 million? My god, that's fantastic." 

Her mother praised. 

"Dinner is on you then, sis." 

"Hehe." 

"Um—" 

Whilst the family was joking with each other, sitting towards the right side of the table, a girl with a small petite body and large eyes, tried to speak up multiple times. Unfortunately for her, no one was able to notice her struggle as everyone was too busy listening to the eldest's recount of her day at work. 

"Um? Ava?" This continued for a couple of minutes until finally, her mother noticed her. "What is wrong Ava? Is there something that you want to say?" 

"Um, emm, I-I..."

Shily lowering her head, Ava tried to speak up. However, the words that she wanted to say never came out of her mouth.

"Come on Ava, don't be shy. Just tell us what you want." Her oldest sister kindly smiled as she encouraged. "We're family. We won't judge you." 

Biting her lower lip, Ava clenched her small fists. After a while, looking up towards her parents and siblings and mustering all of her courage, Ava said. 

"I-I would like to drop out of the Lock." 

"..." 

Ava suddenly dropped a bombshell, and the room turned completely silent. 

—Clank! 

The silence continued for a while until it was disrupted by the sound of forks dropping on the plates. Almost simultaneously, everyone stood up and looked at Ava with concern. 

"What!?" 

"What are you doing Ava?" 

"Is everything okay, are they bullying you at the Lock?" 

Under the barrage of questions, Ava was unable to answer as she buried her head towards her chest. 

"Guys, please calm down. Let Ava talk." 

Noticing Ava's predicament, Ava's mother raised her hand and gestured everyone to quiet down. It was then that everyone noticed Ava's state and quieted down. 

Finally managing to get everyone to stop talking, Ava's mother walked up to Ava. Bending down, she touched her hand and softly asked. 

"Ava, please tell us why you want to drop out of the Lock. Is it perhaps because they are bullying you? Or is it something else?"

The Lock's competitive nature was quite well known. It wasn't a rare occurrence for students to drag other students down just so that they could stand on top of them.  <br/><script>ChapterMid();</script>

Although controversial, it was this type of competitive nature that granted the best results. 

Ava's mother was currently fearing that her daughter was being treated this way due to her shy nature and character. 

Throwing a grateful look at her mother, with her fingers fidgeting, Ava softly muttered. 

"N-no, it's not that?"

"Then why do you want to drop out?" 

Her mother asked. 

Secretly, she was breathing a sigh of relief.

As long as Ava was not getting bullied, then nothing else mattered. 

Once again fidgeting, Ava responded. 

"Y-you see, the point of joining the Lock was for me to develop my abilities so that I can get a job...but for the past two years, I've not really learned anything that I already didn't know." 

Although the Lock was the number one academy in the human domain, the beast tamer profession was just that rare. Although there was a couple of <S> ranked beast tamers, none of them chose to work for the Lock for one simple reason, the exorbitant cost needed to maintain their beasts. 

In order to maintain their beasts and help them involve an absurd amount of money needed to be invested, and the Lock did not provide enough money for that. 

As such, there was no one that could teach Ava. The only thing she could do was learn how to control her psyons better.

"Also...I've already found a job that pays well." 

"A job? How come I've only heard about this now?" Ava's mother stood up. "Ava? Could they have scammed you?" 

Given Ava's personality, this was a very real possibility. 

"Um, no, I have signed a contract already." 

"What!? You signed a contract without consulting us first?" Ava's father suddenly interrupted the conversation. Then extending his hand towards Ava, he seriously asked. "Show me the contract now." 

"O-okay." 

Scared by her father's sudden outburst, Ava complied and took out her contract. Handing it to her father, she softly muttered. 

"I've already checked it, and I don't think that this is a scam." 

"I'll be the judge of that."

Taking out his glasses, Ava's father snatched the contract off of her hand and seriously looked at it. However, upon looking through the contract, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. 

"What the." 

"Father, what is it? Did Ava get scammed?" 

"Honey, is everything okay?" 

"Shhh, be quiet." 

He exclaimed as he read through the contract. 

The more he read the contract, the more his jaw opened. Eventually, it fully opened, forming a large 'o' shape. Noticing his odd behavior, Ava's mother and siblings worriedly looked at him. 

They all knew about Ava's weak and shy nature. It wouldn't come as a surprise to them if Ava got scammed.

However, contract to their expectations, Ava's father shook his head. Then, with trembling hands, he looked at Ava and asked. 

"Are the contents of this contract true..."

"Y-yes, it's a mana contract." 

Ava nodded her head. 

"Oh my god." 

Covering his mouth with his hand, Ava's father weakly slumped on his chair. 

"Father what is wrong?" 

"Honey?" 

Now convinced about the fact that Ava had gotten scammed due to his reaction, everyone quickly took the contract from his hands and started reading it. 

"What..." 

"!" 

However, upon reading the terms of the contract, they all showed similar reactions to the father as they speechlessly looked at Ava who was sitting in her seat. 

Being stared at by everyone in the family, Ava lowered her head even more. Then, looking at them, she asked. 

"So, can I go?" 

***

At the same time. 

In front of a fairly luxurious apartment, standing before Smallsnake, an older lady furiously glared in his direction. With her arms crossed, she spat. 

"So you're saying that you want to take Ryan away for a couple of years?"

Scratching the side of his neck, Smallsnake pitifully nodded his head. 

"Ehm, yes. According to the leader's words, we're going to go on a trip." 

"A trip? To where?"

"That..."

Smallsnake's mouth twitched.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Smallsnake silently cursed Ren with all of his heart. 

'Damn it, Ren! Can't you at least give me more to work with?'

Despite having asked multiple times, Ren had still not told him about the location of the so-called trip.

Because of this, he could only honestly respond by saying. 

"To be honest, I don't know as well." 

"You don't know?" 

"...I don't know." 

"Tsk, I was so close to clearing this level!" 

Whilst Smallsnake was confronting Ryan's mother, standing next to him was Ryan, who was currently playing with the console in his hand, completely unbothered by Smallsnake's predicament. 

Nudging Ryan with his elbow, Smallsnake whispered in a pleading tone. 

"Ryan, help me out here."

Unfortunately for him, he was promptly ignored by Ryan who continued to play his game. 

"Useless." 

Smallsnake cursed underneath his breath. 

"So you're telling me that you're going to take Ryan away from me for a couple of years on some unknown trip that you don't know the location of?" 

"Yeah..."

Smallsnake awkwardly nodded his head. 

"What about the dangers? Is it dangerous?"

"..." 

Smallsnake did not reply. However, this was enough for Ryan's mom who quickly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him behind her. 

"Seeing that you can't answer me, I'll take that as a no, and I'll also say no. Ryan won't go." 

"Ma'am, please listen, this trip is going to be extremely important in developing Ryan's abilit—" 

"My answer is still no." Ryan's mother promptly cut Smallsnake off. "I'm not going to expose my thirteen-year-old ch—" 

"Mom." 

Tugging on the hem of her skirt, Ryan cut in. 

Lowering her head and staring at Ryan who was looking at her, her face softened up a little.

"What is it Ryan?" 

"Let me go on the trip." 

"huh? But Ryan, didn't you hear? This is going to be a dangerous trip. No matter how great it is, I can—" 

Ryan's words caused his mom to be taken aback as she quickly tried to dissuade him, but staring directly into her eyes, Ryan reassured. 

"Mom, I will be fine." 

"How can you be so sure Ryan?"

"...that's because our leader is there." 

"Your leader?" 

"Mhm, he's someone reliable."

After having heard Ren's recount of how he survived the Monolith, Ryan had faith in this leader of his. If he managed to survive such a place, there wouldn't be any problems for him to survive anywhere. 

Plus, there was Angelica who although was scary, was extremely reliable. 

Listening to Ryan's words, Ryan's mom tried to retort, but she was promptly cut off by him. 

"But..." 

"Mom, I know what you want to say, but I want to go."

Biting her lips and staring at Ryan who was looking back at her, Ryan's mom struggled to speak. 

Although she never showed it, she knew just how smart Ryan was. Even though he always pretended to act childish in front of her, being his mom, Ryan couldn't fool her. 

She knew that Ryan was merely putting on a facade for her to seem like a normal child. She feigned ignorance to his behavior because she knew that he was doing it for her. 

...and now, staring into Ryan's eyes, and seeing the conviction in them, she knew that he had made up his mind.

Even though he was only thirteen, he was by far smarter than any other thirteen-year-old out there.

She was sure Ryan didn't want to go there just out of impulse. 

As a mother, she should do anything within her power to support her son. Despite its dangers, if this trip truly did help pave the way for his future, she knew that she had to let him go. 

Eventually, alternating her gaze between Smallsnake and Ryan, her eyes finally paused on Smallsnake. After a while, she softly lowered her head and with a shaky voice, she asked. 

"P-please make sure Ryan stays safe. P-lease." 

***

9 P.M. 

Quietly driving the car through the streets of Ashton city, I looked towards my right where a small girl quietly rested on the front passenger seat. 

A gentle smile appeared on my face as I looked at her. 

After picking Nola up from Pre-school, I brought her around the city to enjoy whatever she wanted.

My treat.

The result? Nola went overboard and ended up passing out due to the sugar overload. Just thinking about it made me chuckle. 

Accompanying Nola through the streets of Ashton city, I never felt so relaxed. Just watching her eat the sweets that I bought her brought joy to me, but alas, all good things must come to an end.

It was now time for me to let her go. 

Stopping in front of a large apartment complex, I caressed Nola's cheek before trying to remove her seatbelt. 

—Knock! —Knock! 

Just as I was about to remove Nola's seatbelt, someone knocked on the window. Looking up, I saw my mother smiling warmly at me. Behind her was my father.

Opening the door of the car, she asked. 

"Well, how was your little trip?" 

Putting my finger on my mouth, I pointed at Nola. 

"Shhh, she's sleeping." 

"Ah, sorry." 

Putting her hand on her mouth, my mother immediately apologized.  Then, removing Nola's seatbelt, my mother gently took her in her arms. 

Hooking her small arms around my mother, Nola muttered in her sleep.

"Ummm...bwuddar." 

Smiling at Nola, and brushing her hair to the side, my mother turned towards me and asked. 

"Ren, are you not going to stay for the night?" 

"I'm sorry, but I can't." 

I promptly shook my head. 

Although every fiber within my body wanted to agree to their proposal, I knew that it was time for me to go. 

With the chip threatening to expose my location at any time, I knew that the more I stayed with them, the higher the chance of them getting in danger was. 

Even though Ryan could tell me in advance when the Monolith was trying to connect with the chip inside of my head, I didn't want to take any risks. 

It was time for me to leave. 

"I'll be going now." 

Staring gently at Nola in my mother's arms, I kissed her forehead. Then, hugging both of my parents, I turned around and headed for my car. 

Though short, the time I spent today was unforgettable. 

---

End of volume [2] Part 5/5

Volume 2 is now completed. Thank you to those that have read this story so far. 

P.S. no, I won't be taking a break. In fact, there's going to be two chaps a day from now on. (btw, time schedule for each chapter should be within 12 h of the last chapter just like in the past. I'll try to do both at the same time, but it may take time for that to happen.)