Chapter 220 - Letting Off Steam 1

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means," the devil answered, annoyed that Oliver interrupted him. "It's safe to assume that your friend's fate is in the gods' hands now."

"Do you really have to say it like that?" Oliver doubted the devil's response as his eyebrows slightly narrowed, "You say it as if the guy's already dead."

"He might as well be," the devil casually responded, "You're not going to like this, but it needs to be said. The guy's in an audience with the gods now, and there's really nothing you can do about it. It's safe to assume that he might as well be dead."

Oliver fell silent upon hearing that. It was unexpected, more so for Rynold than anyone else. Oliver couldn't do anything about the guy's condition now, and the most logical thing to do at this point was to move on.

But, accomplishing something like that wasn't simple.

As Oliver slowly and silently spiraled, the devil took notice of this. It was hard not to, considering it was living inside Oliver's soul. The devil then audibly let out a deep breath.

"Calm down, would you?" the devil wanted to sleep some more. But, it, in good conscience, couldn't leave Oliver tormenting himself over what had already happened.

"Look, I know the Mech God, or whatever it is he calls himself now, and, assuming that he hasn't changed, your friend's probably fine. But there's no guarantee of this or anything that would've indicated he's currently alive. So, focus on what you can do and try to make sure that things don't go to shit when he gets back."

In terms of agonizing, Oliver was drastically different from how Rynold did it.

He wasn't the type to blame himself for things that he could've prevented. Nor does he wallow in self-pity whenever he screws up. Instead, Oliver was the type of guy to focus on what he could do rather than what he couldn't.

But, at these small moments of weakness, moments of self-doubt, and the loss of someone's life, Oliver would do the opposite. He would be vulnerable, silently and secludedly dealing with the agony welling inside him. It wasn't intentional, but it was something Oliver got used to doing.

"Right," Oliver quelled his despair as he looked up to the sky. "People are waiting for me."

"Good," the devil replied satisfactorily, "Now, don't bother me. I'm trying to sleep here."

"Thanks, Xiled."

As the devil inside him fell back to its slumber, Oliver moved to the training grounds at his own pace. It was slower than usual, with the news weighing him down and all, but he soon reached his destination.

"Did you really have to line them up like that?"

Oliver walked up the side of the road and called out to Jack, who was up the stone stage. It wasn't there before, granted a lot of the new things in the training ground weren't too, but it was by Oliver's request to have it reconstructed using the gnome's Earth Magic.

"What do you mean?" Jack replied, appalled, as Oliver walked up the stairs. "You're the one who asked me to talk to them."

"Alright, fair enough."

Standing before an army of soldiers, each one perfectly lined up, Oliver sharply inhaled. He then took a glance around, then nodded with satisfaction.

"Everyone!" Oliver shouted, gathering the soldiers' attention. "We have gone through a lot these past few days, and I have seen your progress. Most of you have gained strength in strides. Some of you found something you're good at doing. And the rest have made progress in their own rights."

Pausing to get a feel of the atmosphere, Oliver continued after he realized the soldiers agreed.

"Even so! You guys must've thought that you've improved quite a lot in the short amount of time we've been instructing you. Perhaps, you're more confident in dealing with magical creatures from here on out. However! Do you people know how much stronger you've actually become?!"

"This might come as a surprise to some of you, but today is our last day here!" Oliver spoke directly, "In light of this, I'll allow you to repay the 'kindness' I have imparted on you people my first day here. Show me just how much stronger you people have become! And, this time, I won't be holding back."

As soon as Oliver finished that sentence, a bolt of lightning shot its way across the sky towards Oliver. To which, the young man tilted his head gently to the side. And the projectile missed him completely.

"Well," Oliver said as he smirked with excitement, "They sure are motivated."

The soldiers nearest to the stage suddenly charged at Oliver with a sense of unity in their movements. But, Oliver wasn't the easiest to tie down as he was a nimble fighter, unlike most of the soldiers charging at him.

Without wasting another second, Oliver jumped and flipped forward in mid-air. He then landed on the training grounds and, quite intentionally, in the middle of the soldiers.

"You guys still haven't learned your lesson, huh? Know your prey! Know how he's going to fight and use Magic to put him at a disadvantage."

Oliver shouted as he put his hands on his hips. It was a lesson that Oliver had thought they'd have learned by now. Especially considering it was one of the first things Oliver ever said to them, and it was how he fought.

As Oliver declared those words, the soldiers recovered from their shock and attacked Oliver. The soldiers cast Caster-type spells on him as the others moved in for close combat.

There was a variety of attacks coming his way. Augmented punches, spells of different elements, even some Equip spells were among the mix. Oliver was impressed. Even though he would soon provide a humbling experience for these people, their abilities really caught his attention.

Pulling his foot back, Oliver swung for a kick as he scattered the dirt around. It temporarily blinded the incoming assailants while covering Oliver's tracks.

From there, Oliver reached out, grabbed the face nearest to him, and slammed it to the ground in one fluid motion. He did so while simultaneously dodging the projectiles going his way — a testament to Oliver's natural physical athleticism and talent.

The one attack managed to knock out the soldier that Oliver had targeted. Following this, he continued his onslaught, smiting down his fury on one soldier after the other. During which Oliver wouldn't lie about having fun.

"Okay," Oliver casually said as he kicked the wind out of a Conjurer-type soldier. "You guys are improving. I'm having more difficulty knocking you guys out compared to the last time we did this. But, your improvements don't necessarily mean results just yet."

Even when Oliver said that, the soldiers couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

From the looks of things, the guy wasn't breaking a sweat at all. He was, more or less, fine. It appeared as though nothing they did had fazed him in the slightest. The 'improvements' he had so casually mentioned weren't doing anything against Oliver.

But, this didn't discourage the soldiers. Instead, it riled them up.

"Woah!"

Oliver unintentionally yelled out his surprise as an Augmenter tackled him from behind. The intentions this soldier was making made it easy for Oliver to plan his next move.

As the Augmenter soldier attempted to pin Oliver down, he counterattacked by slamming an elbow at the guy's face. It was a brutal sight to behold, but Oliver's attack managed to loosen the Augmenter's grip and strike his opponent down.

Knocking this guy out, Oliver now knew better not to be complacent. Instead, he had to be more proactive. He did, after all, declare that he wouldn't hold back. Getting caught off-guard would've been the opposite of that promise.

Pulling out [Wolf's Fang] from his inventory, Oliver activated [Wolf's Pride], increasing his Strength and Agility for the next few moments. He used the buff to move faster than any of the soldiers in the area. Oliver moved from one to the next as he struck down each one with a single strike.

'Damn. It really is harder.'

Going back to what Oliver said, the soldiers were indeed more difficult to deal with than before. He could tell that he needed to exert more effort into his attacks and his movements.

That said, though, Oliver embraced the challenge with open arms. Every time he swung his fists, brandished his blade, and kicked his legs, Oliver did so with an intent to win. It goes without saying that Oliver wanted to win, but he made sure he wouldn't go overboard.

Fwoosh!

A gust of wind suddenly struck Oliver and pushed him to the side as he had evaded a second too late. Regardless, he reacted naturally and shifted his sights to other soldiers in the way. It was at this moment that he knew he had to play this smart.

'Target the backline first, then everything else.'

Oliver rushed out and maneuvered past the close-combat soldiers coming his way. Jumping, weaving, side-stepping into the backline of Casters, and then started his reckoning.

Swinging his hand in one crescent motion, Oliver deliberately missed the soldiers a few meters away from him. Instead, he conjured a single black whip that tied up the nearest soldier to him. From there, Oliver spun around rapidly as the black whip pulled the soldier in a circular motion.

This one move took down a number of soldiers, and he quickly moved on to the next.

As the fight continued, Jack and the gnome watched Oliver do his thing. They didn't want to interfere, nor was this anything exciting as the outcome would've been all the same.

So, with that, Jack simply found a chair to sit on from on top of the wooden stage. He had nothing better to do, after all, and watching this whole thing go down was making him sleepy. If anything, Jack wanted to go back to his quarters and take a quick nap.

"Aren't you going to help him?" the gnome asked as he watched Jack make himself comfortable.

"No," Jack unhesitatingly answered, "You haven't known Oliver for very long, have you? He wouldn't ask for help on anything if he knew he could handle it on his own. That's just how he is."

"I suppose that does make sense."

"What about you?" Jack asked in return as he leaned his back against the chair, "Don't you want to help him? You seem like the guy who'd help someone in need."

"You have a poor judge of character, my human friend. Even if I hadn't known him for long, I know enough not to get in his way."

"Good choice," Jack nodded as he watched a patch of the earth rise from the ground. "I'm impressed with how you've used earth magic. I haven't really seen anything like you before, let alone someone that can masterfully control the earth."

"When you spend most of your life in a dark and empty cave, there isn't really much else to do."

"Fair enough."

"Something the matter?" the gnome asked as it noticed the slight drop in Jack's expression.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing," Jack answered as he let out a hearty sigh, "Thinking about what would've happened if we had done things differently."

"Ah," the gnome acknowledged Jack's response but couldn't offer anything more.

"It's stupid, I know. But, when you've got nothing else to do, might as well find something to fill in the time," Jack watched as Oliver struck down a bunch of other soldiers. "Although, I do kind of feel bad for these guys. They're excited to test their strength, sure, but is getting their faces pummelled worth it?"

"Perhaps not," the gnome answered with no change in its tone whatsoever, "But, Oliver seems to be enjoying it."

"Pfft," Jack snickered, "He's just letting out steam. Kind of a waste if you ask me."