CHAPTER 211: I’M SORRY

Riven got ready; she was about to leave when he spotted something at the corner of the wardrobe. It was a monster crystal, a red one. He snatched it up immediately.

[Do you wish to absorb this crystal?]

A message that he hadn’t seen for quite a while appeared. He blinked. This had been his initial source of strength and a pathway to see that other world, yet he had stopped.

He stopped going to dungeons and focused on other things.

"If I had continued, I would have grown in strength by several folds now," he muttered, and then, without a single moment of hesitation, he absorbed the core.

He felt it, the burning sensation he had long since stopped feeling. It flowed through his arms, his veins bulged, his eyes went red, and in the next second, he passed out.

His body collapsed to the ground, and his mind was transported into another world.

He took a deep breath, and his throat burned. He could feel the heat in the air, the dryness, and the destruction. He opened his eyes, ready to see another wave of destruction coming to the world, but this time, the view was different.

He was inside the body of a goblin, and he was standing in line like a soldier, weapon in hand and ready to go. They stood against the devils that had come to destroy them all.

He could feel every breath that this goblin took, and he could feel the anger in him. The forces charged forward, a mix of different races, all trying to resist the cruelty they had been faced with.

Their roars shook the earth, their footsteps resounding, setting their hearts ablaze. They fought in one final stance.

But reality was cruel, and the army was decimated in seconds. The devils ripped through them like paper. It was hardly a battle and more of a suicide mission.

Riven watched from inside the body of the goblin. The goblin charged unrelenting at a massive devil, blade in hand, and attacked, dagger aiming for the leg.

The devil wasted no time and slashed with inch long claws, a wound so deep it tore out the organs of the goblin. Riven could feel its pain and fear of death.

It collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe as air escaped its torn lungs. Blood poured out endlessly; there was no stopping it at this point. All hope was lost for it.

On the burning sands, the goblin lay there, eyes pinned to the sky that had been painted black. It was alone, with no one to help. It couldn’t find warmth to die in, only cold and pain.

No one deserved such a death, but life didn’t care about the abates of a singular man or creature. The strong always take from the weak, a law that has existed from the very birth of reality and time.

And no matter how one loathed this construct, they would still have to live it out regardless, because it was the law that life worked by.

The goblin slowly died, and Riven felt that would be the end, but unlike before, he didn’t wake up. He was still inside the body of the goblin.

He could tell that this goblin wasn’t alive, not even in the slightest, yet he was there, suspended.

He could still see the dark skies, hear the horrors that were happening all around. It stayed that way. After a few minutes, Riven began to panic, wondering why he was still suspended.

He started trying to disconnect his consciousness, but no matter how he tried, nothing seemed to work.

Then suddenly, he heard muffled knocks. Someone was at his door in his room, and somehow the sound reached his ear. The more the person knocked, the louder it got until finally he snapped awake.

He touched his face immediately, making sure he was the one that was here.

[You have gained 10 Mana, 2 free stat points]

Seeing that message, he knew for sure that he was awake. He shot up from the floor and dashed to the door, opening it in haste.

Immediately, he saw the frowning face of Sophie. She was pissed.

"Sorry, I was—"

"No time for that." She grabbed him by the ear and pulled him out.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, take it easy," Riven cried.

"Dinner has already started, and you are the only person that isn’t there yet," she said as she pulled him.

’Oh shit, I got carried away by the crystal. I forgot about dinner.

Also, why was I able to absorb a goblin crystal? Haven’t I already maxed out the ten goblins? Or was I given some sort of upgrade?’ Riven wondered.

She pulled him until they were close to the dining room, then she let go of him, faced him, and patted him down to make him look put together.

"Alright, go in," she said.

He nodded and walked into the dining room. The entire table was filled, Quin was there, Dark, his family, and the girls.

He noticed that those other two, Lady Emily and the drunkard, were not here.

He was yet to find out what had happened here in Ribest, and he still wanted the details, so he would ask when they got done with dinner.

Everyone looked up at him when he walked in, well, everyone aside from Quin, who was eating away.

Riven joined everyone with a smile, and they had their dinner.

After dinner, Riven asked to meet his father aside, and his father asked him to come to the office.

The both of them headed toward the office and got in. His father got on his chair and pointed at the chairs for Riven to sit down.

Riven took his seat and looked at his father. His father leaned back into the chair. "I know what you want to ask already, you want to find out what happened during the attack.

So I’ll tell you. The battle had gone on for a while. We were pushing against the demonized with everything that we had.

Your grandfather, along with Dark, led the charge with some help as well. It was looking good, like we would be able to actually push them back.

But then all of that changed when a demon arrived, and this was no weak demon, it was terribly strong, so strong that your grandfather and Dark were hard-pressed against it.

Still, they held their ground and gave their all against the demon. But unlike humans, the stamina of a demon is several times more than that of a normal human. He dominated them and started winning.

It looked like all hope was lost, but then suddenly, he stopped attacking. He turned back to the gate and left, and after he left, the gate closed, and we were able to destroy all the remaining demonized.

It was a few hours later that Quin showed up. We aren’t sure if the demon left because he showed up or if there are other reasons as to why he left.

What we know is that Ribest survived due to a miracle of some sort," his father finished explaining.

"A demon, huh? Why would he come to Ribest of all places?" Riven asked.

"That we don’t know. A demon of that strength would be a threat to even the capital, so coming to Ribest made no sense," his father replied.

"And Quin, could it be that he knew that demon was here before he came?" Riven asked.

"Yes, that’s what he said. He was supposed to handle all the out-of-control gate occurrences, the ones that were the most threat, so he sensed the demon here and came," his father explained.

"That makes sense. I guess I was worried for nothing, rushing over here immediately," Riven said.

"Yes, I was quite shocked to see you—after all, Quin informed me of what happened during your island exam.

I was relieved to find out that you were alive, your mother as well; she was panicked out of her mind," his father said.

"I’m sorry that I worried all of you. Also, I’m surprised Quin knew what happened, he wasn’t there," Riven said.

"Someone like him has his ways. He also informed me of the gala the king has announced. I’m really proud both of my sons are actually part of the golden set.

That being said, I want to apologize for everything that I put you through so far. I know this apology might come off wrong and at the wrong time, but I still want to.

I should have done better to understand you as a father rather than outcasting you and making it seem like you were the whole issue.

I failed in my own regard, and it took me this long to finally say sorry to you, so I’m sorry, my son." His father said. He looked Riven right in the eyes as he spoke, and he spoke from the bottom of his heart.