The New World-Chapter 407: Old Ties

The legendary compendium could not be used at this time. In order for you to find a means or method of using this valued resource, you must search within yourself. That is to say, we don't know what's going on, and good luck figuring it out on your own!

As the shifting temporal flow faded, I peered up and took a deep breath.

"Well, it looks like my old man's causing problems even years after he's been out of my life. I should've seen this coming."

I frowned.

"I have to find Neel and take him up on his offer."

My runes hummed as energy flowed in mass into them.

"It looks like we'll be going on a manhunt."

After a long sigh, I pulled my dimensions and entire self out of my golem facility. By now, the glass walls and granite had become a place of comfort and solace for me, but I couldn't hide here forever. As I pulled myself out of my mancave, I sent a message to Torix.

The Living Multiverse | Level 34,034 (Cap: 44,000) | Current Influence: The Rise of Eden | Guild: Harbinger's Legion | Class: Sovereign - Torix, I met my grandfather, and we're going on a manhunt to find my dad. He's a real piece of work, so I'm not expecting much, but the system is being an ass about my legendary compendium. It won't let me learn the legendary skill until after I absolve myself of my humanity or whatever. Anyway, I'll be gone for a few more days than I expected. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.

Torix replied after a minute.

Torix Worm, the Harbinger's Erudition | Level 16,000 | Class: Archmage | Guild: The Harbinger's Legion - I've told myself a thousand times that I shall refuse to show more surprise at your progression, but by Schema, what in the world occurred to raise your level to such an extent? Has the apocalypse occurred without my knowing? Agh, and your grandfather is alive after the apocalypse? You're dropping enormous informational explosions onto my domicile without any preamble. It's rather rude, I must say.

More importantly, of course, you can find your family. I know how important it is to secure blood ties, and I am more than willing to drop everything to help you. In fact, we can mobilize the entire guild to the pursuit. Simply say the word, and it is done.

The Living Multiverse | Level 34,034 (Cap: 44,000) | Current Influence: The Rise of Eden | Guild: Harbinger's Legion | Class: Sovereign - I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather find them myself. There's not some enormous sense of urgency as I don't actually want to meet them. After all, they weren't the kindest people before the system. As for the levels, it was quest related and probably just Schema playing catchup. The AI had been really stingy with level-ups for a long time.

Torix Worm, the Harbinger's Erudition | Level 16,000 | Class: Archmage | Guild: The Harbinger's Legion - I understand the sense of lingering resentment. I, too, have family ties that I've left unfinished. However, regret is a powerful emotion, and I would give anything to have Alfred back. For that reason, I would hate to see you fall into the same trap of resentment that I have. That is all I shall lecture on the matter as I'm certain you'll find the necessary path forward.

Good luck, disciple. You may need it.

I closed my status before heading over to Chicago. The trip passed in a blur as my mind contemplated meeting my father again. In all honesty, I had no idea what I'd do or how I'd react. It simply defied all precedent, but considering the prospect stood between me and my progression, I would handle the issue one way or the other.

As the city of Chicago came into view, my guild restored more of the town. By now, a large zone of cleared dungeons left a prospective and growing underclass of citizens. Having my barrier's protection and persistent buffs helped them restore the area outside the barrier as well while offering the same aid we always had. Despite those attempts at restoration, the town was unrecognizable.

When I met my father, he would see me in the same light.

As I landed at the top of the Sears Tower, I got several salutes from guildmates. I raised a hand.

"At ease. Sorry, but I'm in a rush and can't talk for long. Where's Neel?"

One of the soldiers stammered out.

"H-he's at the rehab center."

I raised a brow. The soldier continued.

"Which is near Millenium Park. It's where the bean was."

I pursed my lips.

"The Bean?"

The soldier tapped the side of their head.

"Duh. you're not from Chicago. Ok, so it was this big, reflective statue in the middle of Millenium Park. It was worth seeing once, but honestly, people way overhyped the thing."

I peered at the metropolis, and I spotted a cloud of gray mist. It was the same spatial fog that infected the Grand Canyon.

"What happened to the statue?"

The soldier waved his hands about.

"So, the thing is, it actually became a monster made of liquid metal after the park became a dungeon. We ended up destroying it through the combined efforts of Chicago's elites, but it ended up killing several of them. Shanasta, Bill, and Ryker all died that day, and we've been trying to recoup our losses ever since."

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I nodded.

"Landmarks are the bane of civilizations at this point. It makes you wonder what happened to the Eifel Tower in Paris, eh?"

The other soldier, this one wearing a bandana, spread his hands.

"Dude, I bet it became a huge baguette monster."

The soldier without headwear elbowed his friend.

"Oh, come on, man. It's made of metal."

His friend rubbed his side.

"Well...The baguette would be like that, too."

I laughed before saying my goodbyes. After flying over the city, I found the park alongside a few town utilities. One of my architect golems passed by and restored a large section of the town, giving life to the once-empty buildings. Nestled into one of them, a sign plastered onto a marble doorway read:

Neels Reformation Station - Say No, or You'll Have To Go

A poorly scribbled picture sat with a bearded man crossing his arms. It looked like a kindergartner's fever dream of Neel, but hey, close enough. I walked inside after shrinking myself. Regardless of my size, people gave me plenty of space as other citizens began murmuring about my return. Walking up to a receptionist, I raised a hand.

"Yo, I'm here to find Neel."

The man blinked before giving me a curt nod.

"Let me lead you to him, guildleader."

After walking past a few ornate hallways full of nurses and people in need of help, I stepped into one of the living spaces. In the middle of the room, a ping pong table took up a portion of the room while having a generous amount of space allotted for moving around. Suited up in military fatigues, Neel played against three other rehab members wearing casual wear, and each of them moved at superhuman speed.

They stood no chance against the Vietnam veteran.

He stormed the table, throwing his paddle from hand to hand to shorten the distance he had to move. Each of his steps clapped against the stone, and he curved each shot to an absurd degree. The sheer volatility of the ball's movement changed the game entirely. At one point, the ball veered past their table before flinging back towards Neel. One of the players had to leap past the table and above Neel before pelting the ball straight down like a volleyball spike.

Neel jumped up, sweat glistening on his forehead. He swiped the ball at an absurdly low angle before it slammed into the opponent's side of the table. The ball changed trajectory, jumping straight at the ceiling. It busted through a ceiling tile before Neel reached out his hands, the veins on his arms visible.

"You see that? Neel the Seal cannot be stopped. Booyah, bitches."

One of the opposing players winced while hitting the ground in defeat. The player that leaped from one side to the other was helped up by one of the nurses. As I stepped up, Neel changed his attitude entirely. He saluted me.

"Guildleader. It's an honor."

I rolled my eyes as he flashed a cheeky grin. Everyone saluted as well, following his lead. I raised my hands.

"At ease, everyone."

They let out deep breaths, though not everyone seemed able to relax. I pointed outside.

"Do you have a minute to talk?"

He walked up and patted my shoulder.

"Always got time for the big man in charge. Where, too?"

"Outside."

We walked out before stepping into the altered Millennium Park. Instead of being a normal park, this was where the spatial fog settled. Likely, the fog contained enough raw space to fill a small state, but the fog stopped the new feature from deforming Chicago's proportions. Even as the fog contained a load of physical space, the park still spread the town out a bit.

We walked through the fog before entering a lush, mossy forest. A wave of humidity crossed over us both before I turned to the guy.

"When will you have an opening to find my father?"

Neel's eyes lit up.

"Anytime. I can let everybody know that the boss needs some help for a while. They can hold down the ship while I'm off...Probably."

I nodded.

"Good, then we'll go right after you handle all of that." freēnovelkiss.com

An awkward silence passed over us. Neel sighed.

"So...What uhm...What convinced you to go find your father? Did you reflect on the power of forgiveness, or maybe you wanted-"

"I can't use a system resource until after I find him. If I'm honest, I didn't want to waste my time finding that piece of trash. All it's going to do is rile me up and rip my emotions into tatters."

Neel peered down. He sighed.

"I would've liked it if you'd come to spend some time with your good old grand-pappy, but beggars can't be choosers."

I frowned, peering down at him. My words slipped out before I could stop them.

"For decades, you preffered heroine to spending time with me. You had a choice then, and this alienation is the consequence."

Neel coughed into a hand.

"Well, there was some meth in there too."

I scoffed.

"Ok, I'll admit that was pretty funny."

Neel smiled.

"After our last talk, I thought about what you said. You're right. I was a real piece of shit for most of my life. I've changed. I really beleive that, but that doesn't change anything I've done in the past. I'll be sorry for what I've done for the rest of my life."

He met my eye.

"If you gotta let me have a taste of my own medicine from time to time, so be it. I'll endure if it means I get to have a relationship with my grandson."

His words acted as a warmth for the cold, deep-seated resentment I had for him. I scratched the back of my head.

"Well, I guess that's as much as anyone can ask for."

Neel stepped back to the fog wall.

"You know, we didn't need to step in here to say all that."

We walked through the gray fog. I murmured.

"It's a matter of privacy. I don't want my enemies killing my family."

Neel put a hand on his chest and grinned at me like a schoolgirl.

"Ah, I'm touched."

I scoffed.

"Oh, it's for the system's bonuses. I wouldn't want my family holding me back even after death."

Neel flexed an impressive bicep before slapping his arm.

"Psshh, speak for them, not me. I still have plenty of fire left. Ain't no family here holding my boy back."

I smiled.

"Who knows, you could be where I got my fire from."

We walked out into the streets surrounding the Millennium Park. Well, what it used to be. Neel laughed.

"Oh no, that's from Angela. She'd walk through hellfire if it meant getting what she wanted. That's why she was willing to leave her family to make a new one with Jacob."

I turned a palm to Neel.

"Is that where we're going-"

An elegant woman materialized onto my shoulder. She leaned an elbow onto the top of my head.

"Well, well, well. Who's this?"

My blood turned to ice.

"This...This-"

Neel walked up and reached out a hand.

"I'm this young buck's grandpappy, otherwise known as the illustrious and oh-so-very educated Neel Stoltman. How do you do?"

She reached out a hand.

"I'm Althea Tolstoy. I'm this big lug's girlfriend and the leader of the orphanage and children's educational departments of the guild."

Neel leaned back before falling down as if in a melodrama. He let out a whistle before slapping the ground several times.

"By god, you are the prettiest girl I done ever seen. What in tarnation did little old Daniel do to get a rose like you?"

She flipped off my shoulder before walking over.

"He saved my life a few times, helped me get my powers under control, and he believed in me ever since we met. He's also never mentioned you before."

She turned her gaze to me, a dangerous glint in her eye.

"So, uh, why is that?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose before Neel stood up. He huffed like a steam engine.

"Look, I gotta ask. Do you have any relatives? Preferably older, more mature ladies than yourself. Perhaps a grandmother-"

I flicked his forehead telekinetically. Neel rubbed his forehead.

"I swear that Agent Orange gets you when you least expect it. Anyways, as I was saying. Perhaps she's as curvacious as you-"

I flicked his forehead again. Neel rubbed the spot.

"It'd be real nice if a sexy grandma was rubbing my damn forehead instead of little ole me. Hell, it'd be even better if she rubbed somewhere else-"

I raised my hands.

"Will you shut the hell up?"

Althea burst into a fit of giggling. She kept laughing until tears ran down her eyes. She wiped a tear.

"Oh, I wish Kessiah was here."

I dragged my hands down my face.

This was going to be a long trip.