I'm The Only One With Cancer-Chapter 171: Gone

Creak— Thud!

Zen’s figure appeared in his room, holding an open can of cold soda in his hands.

"Ah, to think that Sis already reached level 75... She told me that there would be a tournament in a week’s time that she’ll be participating in, so it’s better if I can go and surprise her."

Remembering the conversation he had with his family, as well as with his uncles and aunts, Zen could not help but smile.

"Even though Mom and Aunt Margareth were like a cat and a dog, they seemed really close."

He then sighed out loud, his heart beating faster due to excitement, "Anyways, I hope things are really as I expected them to be..."

Around him, paper bags, trays, and a suitcase floated as if they were orbiting him.

The paper bags had a variety of groceries such as instant noodles, canned goods, and the like, while the floating trays had bowls of hot noodles, pints of ice cream, and other delicacies.

And finally, the suitcase held various outfits like trench coats, rain coats, body-fitted combat suits, half-face and full-face masks, and other kinds of clothes.

Looking around his baggage, Zen could not help but say out loud, "I look like I’m going on a vacation... Well, technically, it can be considered a vacation..."

"Anyways~." With a wave of his hand, the things floating around him disappeared and were sucked into his storage artifact.

This was to verify whether he could indeed transfer items from the real world to the Free World and vice versa.

Gulp—

Drinking one last sip of his soda, Zen tossed it as well, and it appeared inside the storage artifact in the next second.

He immediately picked up the sleek black helmet on his bedside table and could not help but caress it with his face filled with affection.

"Oh, how I’ve missed wearing you... Don’t worry, I won’t let myself die in the game again~."

As Zen was saying random things, he plopped onto his bed with an excited expression.

"I can’t wait anymore!"

He shouted out loud as he hurriedly equipped the gaming device and said, "Dive in!"

Just like that, Zen’s three long days of waiting were finally over as he felt a familiar feeling of weightlessness assaulting his senses.

***

In an empty field...

Light blue particles rapidly gathered in an area as they formed a humanoid shape.

This process only lasted for a couple of seconds before Zen’s in-game avatar, Deadman, opened his eyes in the Free World once again.

"I’m finally ba— Huh?"

Zen was about to shout happily when the sight before his eyes made his expression freeze.

"Where am I...?"

He looked around and saw that the place he was in seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.

’That’s the forest where the ghoul that almost killed me came from.’

Zen then looked in the nearby streets, becoming more confused, ’These streets are familiar too... This is where I broke down back when I first entered this world.’

He had long understood what happened.

After all, Arthur had also stated this in the note he left for Zen in the storage artifact’s white space.

It was just that Zen did not know that it was to this magnitude.

No, he just could not accept that the place where he spent the majority of his time in this game disappeared just like that.

’Is this what you meant when you said that you and Aunt Ada will be leaving this place?’

Zen asked inwardly, as if he were questioning a certain figure inside his mind.

The figure had its back towards him.

It was wearing a luxurious white robe with orange and golden embroidery that made it look exquisite and sacred.

The figure also had long, deep maroon hair and emitted an aura of overwhelming confidence.

However, no matter how Zen questioned the figure in his mind, it did not budge.

It was none other than the figure of his teacher, Arthur.

"Haaa..."

Sighing out loud, Zen could not help but reach out to an elderly man who looked like a native.

"Hmm, do you need something, young man?" The elderly asked with a raspy voice.

Zen pointed at the empty field in the distance, "Um, Sir. Do you know where the training ground in that area is?"

"W-What did you say?"

"Training ground. In that area."

"What tearing ground? Who’s tearing who? Is there a fight?"

Zen could not help but be speechless at the elderly man’s reply, ’His hearing is this bad? Maybe I should have brought a hearing aid— Speaking of, I haven’t checked the details of my ring yet...’

"I asked if there was a training ground in that area before." He repeated once again, his voice loud and firm.

The elderly man frowned and covered his ear, "You brat! Why’s your voice too loud? Don’t you have respect for the elderly?"

"Damn..." Zen could not help but whisper a curse under his breath, feeling frustrated in his heart.

Unexpectedly, the elderly man heard it and became angrier, "How dare you curse the elderly!? Kids these days... Back when I was your age, I was kind and respectful..."

The elderly man ranted about random things, their topic straying more and more as time passed by.

’Ugh, I want to punch this old man, but my parents raised me to be a better person...’ Zen could not help but massage his temples as he listened to his sermon.

Unfortunately, seeing his action, the elderly man became even more heated, "Is that really how you should act in front of your elders!? You little brat...!"

As he went on and on, Zen could not help but think, ’Maybe I can be a bad person for one day? I think I can just punch this old man and run...’

Just as he was becoming more convinced that punching the elderly man was his only way out of the situation, a young girl who seemed to be around eleven or twelve years old ran towards them.

"There you are, Grandpa!" The young girl’s delicate voice was filled with worry and surprise.

The elderly man’s sour expression finally lightened as he ruffled the young girl’s auburn hair, "Oh! My precious little granddaughter! Come and see this man! He’s not someone you should become like when you grow up..."

Before the elderly man could go on another rant, the young girl stepped forward and bowed towards Zen with an apologetic expression, "I’m sorry, Mister! My grandpa has already gone senile and has bad hearing..."

"Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine. I just wanted to ask something." Facing the respectful young girl, Zen’s heart finally warmed as his annoyance dissipated.

Seeing that he did not get mad, the young girl heaved a sigh of relief as she asked, "Please ask away, Mister. I’ll answer you to the best of my ability.

Seeing her confidence, Zen smiled and said, "I’m just asking where the training ground around that area went."

"Training ground...?" A confused expression appeared on the young girl’s face.

She then grabbed the hem of her grandpa’s shirt as the elderly man promptly bent his back.

The young girl then whispered something in his ear, making a confused expression appear on his face, too.

"Training ground...?"

The elderly man seemed to have calmed down as he looked at Zen and said, "Ever since I was a child, there hasn’t been anything in that area. I don’t know what the government’s up to, but they seemed ot have left that area empty for as long as I can remember.

"Oh, there are carnivals that set up there every end of the year, so maybe that’s what you’re referring to? Or is that not it?" He continued after a pause.

’As expected...’

Zen shook his head with a smile, "No, that’s not it."

"Do you have anything else to ask, Mister?" The young girl asked, feeling a little down that she was not able to answer his question.

However, Zen only ruffled her hair and said, "Nothing. Thank you."

In the next moment, two chocolate bars appeared in his hands as he handed them towards her, "Here, share it with your grandpa."

"W-What are these?" Seeing the strange things in her hand, the young girl felt puzzled.

’Hmmm... How would medieval people describe it... Ah!’

Zen thought for a moment before answering, "It’s a sweet treat. You can open it by tearing the corner."

"A sweet treat? Woah!" The young girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Seeing his granddaughter happy, the elderly man smiled and bowed slightly, "Sorry for being too rude earlier, it’s just that I’ve got too many problems... And thank you for the gift."

’Would you look at this... an instant character development?’

Despite his sarcastic thoughts, Zen still respectfully smiled, "Don’t worry about it. Things happen."

"Such a kind young man!"

The elderly man’s words reeked of hypocrisy as he smiled, "Anyway, we’ll have to get going now. Good luck in your travels, young man!"

"Thank you!"

Seeing the two’s departing figures, Zen could not help but smile, ’That was so obvious...’