48. No Rest For the Weary

Chapter 48: No Rest for the Weary

The morning sun crept through the canopy, its golden rays slicing through the misty remnants of the night. I shifted slightly on my makeshift bedroll, groaning as my body reminded me just how fucked up I was. Everything ached, but at least it wasn't the mind-numbing, soul-crushing pain of yesterday. Progress.

The smell of breakfast hit me again, and my stomach grumbled like a pissed-off beast. I slowly sat up, wincing as my ribs protested.

"Morning," Ruko muttered, stirring the pot over the fire. His feline ears twitched as he glanced at me, probably gauging whether I was about to drop dead again.

I took a slow breath, testing my body. "I feel… slightly less like I got thrown into a meat grinder." I rubbed my shoulder, feeling the dull throb beneath my fingers. "Still hurts like hell, though."

Ruko smirked. "Well, considering you were barely breathing yesterday, I'd say that's an improvement."

I scoffed, grabbing the bowl of food he handed me. It was some kind of porridge, thick and steaming, with a hint of something savory. I didn't ask what was in it. At this point, as long as it wasn't poisoned, I didn't give a shit.

I took a bite, letting the warmth spread through me, and glanced at the status screen still lingering in my mind. I had spent years gaming, grinding levels, and increasing stats, but now that it was real? Now that it was my life on the line?

Let's just say I wasn't thrilled.

I was weak. Objectively, embarrassingly weak. I had thought I was making progress, thought I was getting stronger, but my stats painted a different picture. Compared to the other survivors, I was bottom-tier. And my mission performance? 20% in a difficulty that wasn't even half of what this world could throw at me?

It was a joke.

I clenched my fist, feeling the dull heat of ki flicker in my palm. If I wanted to survive, if I wanted to actually have a shot at controlling my own fate, I had to train. No more relying on luck or the occasional burst of strength.

I needed full control.

I sighed, forcing myself to focus on the present. No point in spiraling right now. I turned my gaze toward the forest, watching the sunlight filter through the leaves. It was beautiful in a way that made me uneasy. Places like this were rarely as peaceful as they seemed.

"How long until the twins wake up?" I asked, scooping another bite into my mouth.

Ruko wiped his hands on his pants, his tail flicking as he considered. "Lashley should be up anytime now. Neralia…" He hesitated. "If what you said is true and she drank a Life Revival Elixir, there's no telling the kind of damage she took."

I chewed on that for a moment. The elixir had saved her life, sure, but at what cost? I had no idea what it actually did to a person. Could it have side effects? Long-term damage?

Either way, sitting around here wasn't going to get us any answers.

"We need to get back to Torak," I said, rolling my shoulders despite the pain. "The sooner we get her to the city, the better her chances."

Ruko nodded, standing and stretching. "I'll start packing."

I continued eating while he moved around camp, gathering supplies and loading them onto the carriage. Every bite I took sent a dull ache through my ribs, but I forced it down. No way in hell was I skipping a meal after what I had been through.

As I finished the last spoonful, my mind drifted to the journey ahead.

The first time we had traveled to the ruins, we had been attacked by mana-mutated wolves. That alone had nearly gotten us killed. And the ambush that followed? Yeah, I still had no idea what the hell that was.

Even getting back to Torak wasn't guaranteed.

This world was dangerous in ways I was only beginning to understand. I had assumed that because I had some combat experience, because I could use ki, I was strong.

I wasn't.

My mission rating made that clear. 40% difficulty, 20% performance. What kind of bullshit was that? Was I really this weak? Or were the other survivors just that much stronger?

I let out a breath, shaking my head. It didn't matter.

Joking around, relying on luck and instinct, wasn't going to cut it. If I wanted to make it, if I wanted to actually stand a chance in this world, I needed to train. Hard.

As soon as I recovered, I was taking a break from high-tier quests. I needed to get my ki abilities under control. I needed to push past whatever limitations I had. Because if this was only the beginning, I wasn't sure I'd survive what came next.

By the time I stood up, Ruko had finished packing.

"Alright," I muttered, stretching carefully. "Let's get the twins into the carriage."

Ruko moved to Lashley first, checking his pulse before nodding. "He should wake up soon, but he's stable."

I grabbed her legs while he lifted his upper body, and together, we eased him onto the carriage's cushioned seat. She stirred slightly, but didn't wake.

Neralia was next. She was still as pale as before, her breathing shallow but steady. Whatever that elixir had done, it had taken a toll.

"Careful," Ruko warned as we lifted her. "We don't know what kind of condition she's in."

"Yeah, yeah," I grunted, adjusting my grip. Even lifting her sent sharp pain through my muscles, but I pushed through. I had taken worse.

Once both twins were secured in the carriage, I climbed onto the front seat, settling beside Ruko. He took the reins, giving me a side glance. "You good?"

I exhaled. "Define 'good.'"

He smirked, shaking his head before snapping the reins. The horses started moving, pulling us forward onto the dirt path leading back to the city.

The sun had fully risen now, casting long shadows through the trees. The forest stretched ahead of us, its beauty laced with the quiet promise of danger.

I tightened my grip on the seat.

The journey back was just beginning.

The steady clatter of hooves against dirt filled the silence as we made our way through the thick forest. The road ahead was long, winding through towering trees and dense undergrowth, but at least for now, it was peaceful.

Didn't mean I trusted it.

I exhaled slowly, my body still aching with every damn bump in the road. Despite that, I kept my eyes ahead, my mind turning over everything that had happened. The mission, my stats, my next steps. There was a lot to think about. Too much, really.

But instead of getting lost in my thoughts, I turned to Ruko. The demi-human sat beside me, reins in hand, his feline eyes focused on the road ahead. He had been quiet, but there was something about him that made me curious. I had never really talked to him much before. Hell, he was basically a background character in my mind until now.

Time to change that.

"How long have you worked for Lashley and Neralia's father?" I asked, shifting slightly in my seat to look at him.

Ruko's ears twitched, and he gave a small shrug. "Since I was old enough to walk, pretty much. I was born into their household, so I didn't really have much of a choice."

"Right," I muttered. "Slave."

He didn't react to the word, just gave a small nod. It was weird. The guy didn't seem particularly bitter about it. If anything, he was just… resigned. Like it was a simple fact of life.

"My mother was taken from the Great Mara Mountains, way past Sandora," he continued. "She was born free, but slavers captured her and sold her to the Everest family about fifty years ago."

I frowned. "Fifty years ago? That means she was already—"

"Yeah," he cut in, smirking slightly. "She wasn't exactly young when she had me."

I let out a low whistle. "Damn. And your father?"

Ruko's smirk faded a little. "Another slave. He belonged to the Okutake House."

That caught my attention. "Okutake?" I repeated. "They basically own half of Rostalio right?"

"That's right." Ruko flicked the reins slightly, guiding the horses around a thick root sticking out of the path. "The Okutake Family is the most powerful noble clan in all of Rostalio. They came from Cartaros about three hundred years ago and helped found the Rostalio Kingdom alongside the now-extinct Rostalio House and the royal Detalia House."

That got my brain working. I had been to the library in Torak a couple of times, mostly to skim through whatever books seemed relevant, but I didn't remember seeing much about the Rostalio House.

I frowned. "Wait. The kingdom is still named after them, right? Rostalio Kingdom. So… what happened to them?"

Ruko's expression shifted. His usual calm, unreadable face became distant, like he was staring at something far away. His grip on the reins tightened slightly.

"The Rostalio House…" he murmured, trailing off.

I watched him carefully. Whatever had happened to them, it wasn't something people talked about lightly. And judging by the look in his eyes, it wasn't a happy story.

The silence stretched between us, the only sounds being the rhythmic clatter of hooves and the distant rustling of leaves.

I had a feeling I was about to learn something that wasn't written in any of the history books.