Chapter 90: In a Blink of an Eye, Six Months...

Six months have passed since then.

Fivecent launched an operation to recover the remains of the newbies who had died within the Impossible Difficulty stage of Mount Spirit Sword Asylum

However, only the bodies of Rose, Ray, Nicholas, Roy, and Philip were recovered. Even though traces of Calvin's items such as the pen that he received from Ria were found.

His body was never located.

The family of the dead were compensated according to their age minus their age of stipulated retirement.

Calvin was twenty-eight years old and since the retirement age of Fivecent was sixty-years-old.

His family received a hefty sum as reparations.

However...

"We cannot... accept this..." Yvette, Calvin's mother said amidst her sobbing.

In front of her was a woman who was incredibly familiar to Calvin.

It was Ria.

Ria Nolinon.

Fivecent launched a deeper investigation six months ago and they concluded that Romeo's action of tweaking with the system to get her attention was just a part of the reason why Hugo's group and Calvin landed on the highest difficulty for Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.

Fivecent discovered that the true reason was far from everyone's expectations.

But unexpectedly, Ria's authority wasn't high enough for her to know about the disappearance of the Notebook of Secrets That Will Destroy Your Life. In fact, she didn't even know that such an ancient artifact existed within Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.

Ria stared at Calvin's mother.

As someone who had investigated Calvin for at least a year, she knew that Calvin's relationship with his parents was like oil and water.

She expected them to receive the compensation money as if it was the last contribution that the disgusting video-game addict like Calvin could give to them, but unexpectedly...

Calvin's family wasn't willing to accept the money.

Ria secretly swept her gaze across the room and discovered that the house could use some renovations. If they accepted this money, then they could fix the gaping holes and the scratches here and there. But to think that they weren't willing to accept the compensation money.

Ria didn't know what to do.

She just sat there and silently contemplated.

At this moment, Emily came forward and asked, "How was my brother's last moment?"

Tears could be seen welling up in her eyes and her trembling figure made it obvious that she was holding all of her emotions back. Her actions were understandable since she was a maiden.

A young maiden couldn't possibly act so miserable in front of a guest.

But...

"Your brother became a hero..."

"He's the sole reason why his friends are still alive."

"If not for him..."

"No one would've survived."

... The moment Ria revealed the circumstances behind Calvin's death.

Tears burst from her eyes like a dam.

She cried out loud before throwing herself into her mother's embrace.

Both Emily and Yvette started crying.

Ria let out a sigh before focusing her eyes on the table.

"We will accept the compensation money."

George Villanueva suddenly stepped forward.

Emily and Yvette turned to look at him in astonishment, but before they could even say anything.

George sighed and explained, "Before that boy fell into depravity. He was someone that always prioritized others before his own. If we do not accept this money and put it to good use, our boy would probably complain to us once our time came for us to visit him in heaven..."

"He'd probably scold us, saying why we didn't accept the money and use it to renovate the house in preparation for Emily's inevitable future wedding..."

Yvette stared right at George for a moment before she let out an aggrieved chuckle, "Haha... That's right... That boy... He was never a man who liked to beat around the bush. He's straightforward and kind-hearted..."

"All right, let's accept the compensation money. But we'll donate a quarter of it to charity, and half would be used for Emily's future wedding..."

"As for the last quarter, it would be used to renovate the house."

Yvette's decisive actions made it obvious to Ria that Calvin really was a son of this household.

In a blink of an eye, the conundrum was solved but when Ria handed over the check for the compensation money.

Yvette's eyes widened in shock as she saw the series of zeroes within the check.

"Fifty million dollars?!"

She gasped.

Emily was also dumbstruck.

George walked closer to them and discovered that the check was indeed for fifty million dollars.

"M-M-Madame... Perhaps did you write the wrong digits? Why is it..." George asked in hesitation.

"No, I did not write it wrong. Your son was valuable to our company. It's really a shame that we lost him." Ria was quick to explain, "Calvin's friends also donated a lot of their money to your family as a sign of their undying gratitude. I hope that you will accept it so that Calvin's friends can rest assured."

Ria smiled.

George sternly nodded his head.

Another discussion ensued once more. But this time, it was about Calvin's heroic actions.

...

Back at the Tutorial Zone.

The newbies six months ago couldn't be called as newbies anymore.

Hugo looked even stronger and he now had an imposing presence comparable to that of a mountain.

Jane had lost her scaredy-cat attitude and she was now more courageous and braver than before.

Zahra also lost her indecisiveness, particularly when she found out that she had a Healer Profession that not only suited her college degree but was also quite important for the team.

Knowing the degree of her importance to the team, Zahra learned that she must never be indecisive. Especially while they were in the middle of battle.

This mindset made her grow and she was now stronger than before.

Scarlette and Medea both received their Professions from the Seven Gods and Goddesses and the two of them had professions in the same classification.

Both of their professions were classified as within Mage Class.

A few months after receiving their profession, they could now manipulate the elements to a certain degree to send devastating attacks against their enemies.

As for Jannette...

Hugo and the others quickly abandoned her like she was the plague.

Her performance also dropped as fast as a meteor and in the end, she was never given a profession and she disappeared into obscurity.

Speaking of Jannette...

Hugo turned to look at Medea and asked, "Hey, Medea..."

"What is it?" Medea who was now even more beautiful and mature-looking than before said in a soft voice.

Hugo lifted a smile and admired the view in front of him for a moment before he replied, "I've just remembered it now, but I've always wondered. Why did you stop me from killing Jannette six months ago?" Hugo's question may have made sense for Hugo's puny brain, but for Medea...

Medea lifted a bitter smile and said, "Is there any point in killing her back then?"

Hugo thought for a moment but he couldn't think of anything.

In the end, Medea waved her hand and said, "Let's just get back to training. Let's call the others and see if we can challenge Mount Spirit Sword Asylum again. This time, on Master difficulty."

"Oh, master difficulty?" Hugo smiled, "I wonder when we will be able to challenge the Impossible difficulty?"

Medea lifted a hopeful smile, "When Calvin comes back to us..."

"Calvin...?" Hugo turned to look at her in astonishment before he gave a bitter smile, "Do you still believe that Calvin is alive?"

"Yes..." Medea simply answered.

"On what basis?"

Medea shook her head and chuckled, "Nothing..."

"I can just feel it. I can feel that he's alive..."

"A woman's intuition is often accurate, you know?"