My World Traveling System: The Harbinger of Death

Chapter 210: The Thief Guild Is No More

-----

As Frank planned to go back to Earth someday in the near future, he kept talking about many things with everyone else, explaining some of his new abilities while also beginning to check everyone's Status, becoming surprised by how strong they had grown.

"I am quite impressed… All of you got so strong in these little months… And only by killing Rank 2 Monsters?" asked Frank.

"Well, it wasn't easy. Without your help creating Hunting Domains, the only monsters we had to gather EXP from were the monsters of Orb's Dungeon, which began to appear as Rank 2…." Said Gwendolyn.

"Also, we did not want to go away from your side nor this town, so we only fought monsters within this Dungeon and the outskirts of the town. However, thanks to Orb manipulating the monster's flow, she was able to gather large amounts of them inside a room so we could kill them easily, without other Adventurers stealing the kills from us! It was convenient but after reaching around level 30 things slowed down a lot…" said Kamei.

"However, when Adrian and Reuberto finally gave us enough info and the location of the Thief Guild hideout, we decided to take it down with everyone, and killing all those bandits and thieves really gave us a ton of EXP. Even more using their Mana Cores to increase our Cultivation, although we saved you a lot too!" said Cathyl.

Frank then felt a bit in shock after hearing this, he did not know that they had gone as far as killing people to grow stronger, even if they were bandits, he was pretty sure that they held some morality that went against killing others people.

"You guys… killed people?" asked Frank.

"Well, we had to. Not like I have not done it before, I went to war after all," said Gwendolyn.

"Whew I had never killed people before either but… when you kill a bunch of monsters you begin to lose the fear of taking another person's life, as long as I think that they are monsters that talk… And well, by seeing the things they did, they really were just monsters," sighed Cathyl.

Frank could understand Gwendolyn and Cathyl as they were already mature adults with mindsets that were different than young children, but he still could not believe that Asterion, Hilvera, Annabelle, and Kamei had taken other people's lives…

"I see… But… you four… as well?" asked Frank, feeling guilty that he had perhaps, due to the circumstances he caused, had forced these young people to traumatize themselves by taking the life of other people…

"Well… At first, I was against that, and I was only going to support everyone else but… I saw… what they did… What the bastard living there did to these people, the experiments, the slaves… Can you… even call people that do such atrocities as people anymore? Without even holding any type of remorse, without being able to hold any type of mortality, not even faltering… as if the life of the innocent were mere tools for them… I… I didn't see them as people anymore…" said Kamei.

"Kamei… I see… So you also realized it? Though… I still feel quite bad about having forced you to do such a thing… You… shouldn't have gotten into all of this, to begin with, it is all because I am weak…" sighed Frank.

"Frank… Stop treating me like a child!" said Kamei.

"Kamei…" muttered Frank, his eyebrows raised a bit as he heard his little sister angered roar.

"I know that… You wanted to protect me from these cruel parts of the world, even in another world, it still seems so similar to Earth… But you know that I would never stay as a child forever, right? I will one day grow up and… become a woman…! In fact, I am pretty sure that I have already become one…" said Kamei.

"But still… you were a normal person, you shouldn't have to-"

"And then, I will have to learn about this sooner or later! I cannot live in a bubble ignoring what goes around me… And if I have the strength to stop these injustices from occurring, why shouldn't I help? I don't want to be protected, I want to stand at your side, and be like you!" said Kamei.

"Like… me? Why? I… I have only been through tragedies after tragedies, given power, I didn't need to and thrown into a dangerous world, why would you want such a thing?" asked Frank.

"Because… even after going through so much… You are still standing, looking at the future, fighting, improving yourself! You… never give up, not even when you die, not even you everyone you love dies… not even when everything goes so terribly wrong… You keep walking… The perseverance you possess… I also… want it! I want to be like you!" said Kamei.

"Yeah, it was rough to do such things, but we had to mature sooner or later… It's hard to do all of this stuff! It really was… hard to understand the weight of our actions, the strength we have, and how easy it is to take the lives of those weaker than us… But when we realized that they… were not like the people we want to protect, but wicked and sick… I… I decided that it was fine to do this… And well… Yeah, we also want to be kind of like you, moron…" said Annabelle.

"I've always wanted to be a bit like you, aniki! You are strong, brave, and a good person! You always look out for others, but never let your enemies get the better of you… Why wouldn't we want to be like you? This world we were born in… it's like that, we either adapt or we die… That's how things are…" said Asterion.

"I have to admit that it was very scary at first… Even after we have killed hundreds of monsters, taking the life of a person, seeing their last dying breaths, as the life flows outside of their very bodies is… terrifying… But… With everyone always at my side, I managed to get through it… I managed to improve, and to look forward to the future, to what I wanted of myself… And I always saw you there, how you were and how you acted, Frank-kun… And I decided… to be a bit like you," said Hilvera.

"I see… But… Me? Am I such a figure of admiration? …Really?" asked Frank, although he had achieved many things, he never thought of himself as someone that should be admired, in fact, he thought of himself as someone that should never be admired, he had done too many things that made him think of himself as someone that had strived from the path of righteousness and had begun to carve his own path.

"We all told you so… Are you still doubting?" asked Gwendolyn with a gentle smile.

Frank glanced at his two hands, they were rough and filled with little scars and burns, which were still there after he fought against the Abyssal Spawn, he could perfectly heal them, but he decided to leave them there, as a part of who he was now, someone that fought and that did not doubt anymore.

Clenching his fists, Frank smiled a bit.

"I really don't deserve any of you… Thanks a lot for staying at my side. I will make sure to treasure all of you, and we'll make sure to get through all of this together," said Frank, nodding as his eyes released a blazing conviction that made everyone around him inspired, it was as if he emanated an aura of encompassing warmness that made those around him stronger as if he was able to share his emotions with others and inspire them.

"Aw, you! Come here!" said Cathyl, grabbing Frank with her large, log-like arms and squeezing him in a strong hug, Frank's face fell right over Cathyl's cannonball-like breasts, rubbing all over them as he felt her warmness and affection.

"Mmgh?! C-Cathyl, this is a bit excessive…" said Frank while blushing a bit, as everyone else suddenly jumped over him again!

"Cathyl is not getting all the attention!" said Gwendolyn.

"We love you Frank!" said Kamei.

"We'll make sure to protect you too!" said Asterion.

"Yeah, yeah! Now let me squeeze those nice shoulder muscles you got!" said Hilvera.

"Eh? Wait, stop! Agh!"

And so, Frank was smothered by everyone else, once more.

The feast continued for another hour until everyone felt particularly tired, however, Frank stayed playing with Ruby and Zhulong until late at night, while Gwendolyn glanced at him while sitting in front of the door as she drank some wine.

Frank then rested above the grass, glancing at the moon atop the skies.

It was a really beautiful and starry night, and the moon was particularly shiny today…

Sighing in relief, he left Ruby and Zhulong within the forest as he walked back to the house, sitting at Gwendolyn's side.

"I see that you are drinking a bit more than before…" said Frank, as he served himself a bit of wine as well.

"Hahh… I really have to leave the wine. Although now that I have grown stronger, the alcohol barely affects me, so it is losing its effect on me…" sighed Gwendolyn.

Frank drank a little sip of wine as he patted Gwendolyn's shoulder gently, which startled and embarrassed her a bit…

"Thanks for receiving me and… doing so much for me, Gwendolyn," said Frank with a gentle smile.

"A-Ah… It is nothing… really. I would do… anything for you Frank…" said Gwendolyn while blushing a bit, feeling the alcohol affect her judgment a tiny bit.

-----