Blood Nemesis-Chapter 117: Root’s Problem

Thunder clouds swept over the night sky as Oliver walked home. While walking, he scooped up and ate the ice cream he was carrying. The cold wind combined with the chill from the ice cream would have felt uncomfortable to most, but Oliver was used to it; in fact, he enjoyed it. He liked the cold, gloomy atmosphere that covered the entire city.

"Ah! After a long time, it feels nice to be alive." He thought back to what he had achieved and said.

Today, he single-handedly prevented a major political disaster. He saved a young man’s life, prevented a major investment plan between two nations from being canceled, and kicked the butt of those who wanted to benefit from the situation.

For a day’s work, it was a lot.

"If I say so myself, I am kinda awesome."

Although he had knowledge of the future, it was not easy to do what he had done. His careful planning and methodical actions allowed him to make allies, close business deals, and finally protect his family and friends. Unknowingly, his actions also helped the entire city.

Somehow, everything worked in the end.

"Now, I have a connection with the Continental Republic. Arthur will become an access point that will help me connect with the political side of the country. When expanding Sathyamoorthi’s business, it would be really helpful."

Oliver preferred to act with purpose. Saving Arthur was also one such action.

Although he didn’t know it yet, Oliver had an inkling, an instinctive feeling that it was important. And his logical side of the brain had already thought of multiple ways to use the situation to his advantage.

For example, using the connection he made through Arthur could help him if he were in a bind. Arthur’s father, Alfred, was, after all, a minister with enough power to restrain the financial behemoths in the world, most importantly, the federation.

The United Federation was known for being a logistical powerhouse. They are known to be able to facilitate trade between the other three countries easily. For trade negotiations between countries, the external affairs minister had a great role to play.

So, it was certainly an important connection to have.

"The truth is that the entire world is run on the exchange of favors and money. Having both is always better."

"I should thank Arthur and his dumb ass for sneaking out of his quarters. If not for him, I would have never gotten his father’s favor."

Oliver scooped up some ice cream and placed it in his mouth while saying.

The people walking around him looked as if he were crazy. And his mumbling didn’t help him deny their accusing gaze.

However, he paid no attention to the occasional glance he received and walked home.

"It’s time to buy a car and get a driver’s license. I can’t always walk and run around the city."

"What car should I buy?"

"It should be something that I can use on the second Earth and here. Maybe a flying one?"

Oliver thought hard. For a second, he even stopped his hand from scooping up more ice cream.

"Flying cars are advantageous if I have to move quickly through Second Earth."

The next step in his plan was to go to Second Earth and train for a month before returning to participate in the Hero Academy entrance exam. So, he had to have a way to quickly move through Second Earth.

"Second Earth is a vast, unexplored wilderness. There were no roads or railroads in it. A flying car could solve the problem of transportation."

’My goal is to kill and absorb as much blood as I can to increase blood sac size from 40,000 to 100,000 litres in the next month. That will make me comparable to an A ranker in mana quantity.’

Oliver smirked.

’Along with it, I could also try and improve my mana sensitivity.’

’I have to show the damned golden armour that I can use the mana without it.’

Oliver smirked again.

Initially, he panicked a little, knowing that something sentient was residing within him. But that quickly changed to frustration when he realised it was a freeloader who does whatever it wants without even paying rent. So, his petty self wanted to show it he can use the armour without the agreement of the consciousness within.

Oliver was sure that he could if he increased the compatibility of his body with the golden mana.

Currently, Oliver could use about 20,000 units of mana without damaging his body, exactly half of the total mana he can generate from the blood.

He will be able to quickly increase it once he gets unfettered access to blood.

"My training slowed down for the past few months because of the limited quantity of blood I could get. It will improve once I am free to do what I want."

"Right, Root?" He asked.

His voice was soft like a murmur.

However, he knew the phone in his pocket was listening to everything he said.

Well, that was exactly what he wanted.

He was deliberately speaking aloud some parts while keeping some thoughts hidden so that the person who hacked into his phone could hear him.

"Why are you not speaking? I know you can access the earphones to talk to me."

Oliver waited for a second.

But no one spoke.

"Are you, perhaps, shy?"

He asked again.

"There is no reason to be shy. Just like you know everything about me, I know a lot about you. We don’t have many secrets between us." Oliver added with his quirky smile.

Still, Root stayed silent.

Oliver didn’t give up.

"You must have followed the breadcrumbs I left behind by now. So, now you know about the demons, right? And what could have happened to your family if I hadn’t come to you..."

Then he took out his phone and looked at it. The front camera was pointed directly at his face.

"...If you don’t want to speak, just flash my screen green or red if you agree or disagree with me. Can you do that?"

This time, the screen of his phone flashed green.

"Finally, some reply."

Oliver nodded.

"It seems like you want to hear what I have to say. But considering that you haven’t mailed me, you don’t seem to want to join my guild, right?"

*Green flash*

"Before that, let’s decide on what name I should use to call you."

Immediately, the phone screen blinked and showed bold green letters saying Root.

"Okay, Root it is... When doing illegal activities like hacking into the phone of a great hero like me, it is better to use an alias."

"Anyway, Root. Ask away, since you can display characters on my phone."

Oliver threw the empty ice cream cup into a nearby trash can.

"Be quick." He added.

Root was a friend. He was someone who could be trusted. Despite him talking to the younger version of the Root he knew, Oliver was sure that his inherent qualities were the same.

Root was not the kind of person to betray people close to him. Nor was he an idiot who did anything rashly.

Among the people he could trust on the entire planet, he was at the top of the list.

[Are you sure demons will come looking for my father again?]

The first piece of the message was rendered onto the screen after flashing the entire screen green.

Oliver looked at the text and smiled.

Root hadn’t changed. Like him, he was concerned about the safety of his family.

"As long as your father knows how to create QCM resynchronization technology, they will come after him. They are a persistent bunch."

Oliver’s reply was consistent and on the point.

[Why are you so sure?]

One side of Oliver’s lips curled up into a smirk.

"I have killed more demons than you can imagine. I know them better than you."

For a couple of seconds, nothing was shown on the screen.

Then it flashed green and showed another question.

[How can I stop them from targeting my family?]

That was a naive question that sprouted from his ignorance. Demons are not the kind that are known to obey the laws of the world. They simply do what’s best for them at the moment, like robots. They are optimised to be productive in their own way.

Stopping them was impossible.

So, Oliver thought for a while and replied.

"Demons cannot be stopped until they are all dead. So, the only permanent solution is eradicating the demons from the surface of the Earth. I have already done what I can to eliminate them from the city. You know that, right?"

*Green flash*

"You should have also known about the Thunder Emperor coming late to the gate break incident because he eliminated the remaining demons in the city, right?" This time, he asked with a smile.

The reason for that was to test Root. Honestly, Oliver had no way to know for sure whether the Thunder Emperor had killed the other demons within the city. But it’s not the same for Root. If he wished, he could hack into systems that he could never imagine and confirm it. And he most likely had done it after looking through the information on his phone.

The test was to see if he knew about it.

He threw a bait to catch some information.

Immediately after Oliver ended his question, the phone screen flashed green, causing Oliver’s smile to widen.

Because of that, he knew the current capabilities of Root, and at the same time knew the Thunder Emperor was keeping some information a secret from him. Both were nice to know.

"The city is safe for now. As long as your father is here, he will be safe. So, instead of stopping the demons, you should focus on protecting what you hold dear. And the way to do that is by joining my guild." He added a sales pitch at the end.