Oliver stared blankly at the notification.

[Inheritance Acquired : Utility]

"What?"

That was all he managed to say before a terrifying roar echoed behind him.

Instinctively, Oliver looked to see what that roar was.

The fire leopard and the one-eyed serpent had both stopped fighting for a moment as they looked down, and their gazes first landed on the Ant Queen’s corpse and then slowly shifted toward him.

The leopard seemed confused, as its blue eyes moved between Oliver and the dead queen, as if trying to understand what had happened.

The one-eyed serpent, however, was furious because its only meat shield had disappeared.

And worse...it had disappeared because of this tiny human that he hadn’t even deemed as a threat earlier.

The giant snake let out an angry hiss as its single eye locked onto Oliver and the look it gave him was enough to make his scalp go numb.

"Oh fuck."

Without another word, Oliver immediately turned around and began sprinting again.

"I DIDN’T EVEN MEAN TO DO IT!"

Korre looked back, while running, for a moment before glaring at him.

"You were supposed to help the Ant Queen, not kill it!"

"I KNOW!"

"The Ant Queen and the snake were our only chance!"

"I KNOW!"

"THEN WHY DID YOU KILL IT?!"

Oliver opened his mouth to answer and then closed it.

He genuinely didn’t know.

One moment he had aimed at the leopard and the next moment he had somehow assassinated the Ant Queen.

’It’s not my fault.’

He really hated his attribute sometimes.

Before he could say anything else, Korre’s vines suddenly wrapped around both him and her.

"What the—"

The next moment, the vines tightened and violently pulled them forward.

Oliver almost screamed as the vines attached themselves to trees ahead before retracting at frightening speed. The two of them swung through the forest as if they weighed nothing.

Wind rushed past Oliver’s face as the scenery blurred and in just a few moments, they covered a distance that would’ve normally taken them several minutes.

Oliver looked at Korre in surprise.

’Why wasn’t she doing this from the beginning?’

’Did she suddenly have some epiphany or something?’

As if reading his thoughts, Korre gave a small blush.

"I didn’t think about using them like this and this seems to use a lot of energy."

"Oh."

Oliver immediately shut up as he understood.

The sun had already disappeared, and darkness slowly spread through the forest as night came.

The only thing that was good was that most of their followers had been left behind.

The Ant Queen was dead and after losing their leader most of the lesser ants had scattered.

The other beasts had either died or retreated after losing hope and only two remained.

The fire leopard and the one-eyed serpent.

Oliver honestly considered himself lucky that neither of them seemed to be speed-type beasts.

The leopard was terrifying because of its flames, and the serpent was terrifying because of its monstrous strength.

If either one had specialized in speed, Oliver was fairly certain that they would have already caught up and he would’ve already become dinner.

Still, all these thoughts didn’t make him feel much safer as every few moments, explosions echoed behind him and blue flames illuminated the darkness.

Neither beast had given up the chase and worse, neither seemed willing to let the other get the pear either.

Which meant, Oliver and Korre were now the prize in a fight between two monsters.

’Amazing.’

’I come here to get one fruit...and have to face all this. What is wrong with my luck?’

Goldie, who had somehow climbed back onto Oliver’s shoulder from Korre’s during the swinging, chirped sympathetically.

It seemed it had somehow understood what he was thinking.

Oliver looked at the squirrel as he pouted.

"Don’t pity me."

Goldie immediately looked away as Oliver narrowed his eyes.

"You ARE pitying me!"

Goldie pretended not to hear.

Seeing the squirrel act like that, Korre couldn’t help but give a faint smile. The tension on her face eased a little as she looked at Oliver.

"Hey..." she whispered softly. "Should we really take these beasts to our camp?"

Oliver didn’t reply immediately as he looked into her green eyes.

Korre lowered her eyes for a moment before continuing, "Won’t we just get Theo and Ahreum killed too? They have nothing to do with this."

Oliver understood what she meant.

Theo and Ahreum didn’t even know about the pear. They had no part in stealing it or fighting over it.

All of this had happened because of his and Korre’s greed.

And now...they were about to drag two terrifying beasts to their doorstep.

Oliver sighed.

’She’s right, isn’t she?’

For a moment, he remembered Theo’s annoying smile, the way he acted maturely during fights and then completely childish at other times. And then there was also Ahreum’s awkward nature as she patiently worked on the boat day after day.

He too didn’t want to involve or endanger them for nothing.

Oliver than gave another sigh as he shook his head.

"Look..." he said softly while keeping his eyes at her. "I need to get back to Earth."

Korre looked at him, giving him her full attention.

"My sister is alone there."

"I’ve already died and lost her once. I can’t lose again. Not now."

He paused for a moment before looking at Korre.

"I’m sure you must have someone too. Someone important, someone you care for. You need to fight for them."

Korre’s expression froze and for a brief moment, sadness flashed through her eyes.

She closed her eyes as if remembering someone.

A few moments later, she opened them again and her signature mischievous smile appeared back on her lips.

She reached out and pinched Oliver’s cheek as she tilted her head.

"You sure that it’s just for your sister?"

Her smile widened as she came closer.

"Maybe you’re trying so hard for your girlfriend too?"

Normally, Oliver would’ve instantly blushed and denied it.

But right now, he just rolled his eyes.

"Seems like you’re back to normal."

Korre giggled as she looked at him.

"I never left."

The two continued swinging through the forest as a new sense of calm appeared over them.

Thanks to Korre’s vines, they had gained a significant lead over the two beasts. And since the leopard and the serpent kept attacking each other whenever they got close, the distance only kept increasing.

And then, they saw it. The camp.

Both of their eyes widened as the two looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously screaming,

"RUN!"

Theo, who was sitting beside the boat, blinked and Ahreum, who had been fixing a wooden plank, froze.

The two looked at Oliver and Korre as if confused from whom they had to run from.

"What?" Theo asked standing up.

Oliver pointed behind him and just screamed. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"NO TIME!"

"RUN!"

"GET ON THE FUCKING BOAT!"