Chapter 371: Funeral
Yasir's invasion triggered many events.
One of them was the funeral, which Alex's family attended.
"Josh had a great future ahead of himself… It's a pity that we will never know what he could achieve in his adult life. He was a good son that always made his parent's proud. He was a good and reliable friend.
We will all feel his loss…" the priest's words and heavy tone weighed everyone's hearts. Amidst his prayers, Josh's parents cried while everyone silently stared at the grave with Josh's picture.
Alex and his family were the same, gazing at the grave with aching hearts.
Deathwill Sisters felt their husband's feelings the most. Yes, they liked Josh; he was a good friend Alex could wholeheartedly believe.
But while Alex's feelings made them silently grieve over such a loss, they also couldn't stop thinking about themselves.
If it weren't for Harvey, they would have already been gone.
The antagonists were a serious threat that could affect their lives in many ways, and losing their friends was just one of them.
Before putting flowers onto his grave, Alex recalled good memories with his kind friend. He then glanced into Olivia's eyes, for she stood with the heaviest heart out of everyone in his family.
She wore black glasses to hide her red eyes, and those were even redder from the tears she had shed before.
A few minutes later, the funeral ended.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Alex exchanged a few words with Josh's parents before returning home with his family. He extended his hand for Olivia's, silently going down the hill with her. They quickly became alone, for everyone knew what turned Olivia into a quiet girl.
"It's not your fault," Alex whispered, glancing into Olivia's eyes from the side.
She peeked at his face, not feeling better at all. She knew that Alex and others wanted her to cheer up, for she blamed herself for Josh's death.
Olivia had given him the legendary class. And that class was the cause of his death.
Alex and his wives could easily tell Olivia's dilemma without any problem, seeing through her heart. They lived together and became closer over time.
In such a family, everyone could only wrap their hearts in a steel wall to hide their feelings and thoughts.
"What do you plan on doing now, handsome?" Olivia asked softly as if beseeching her beloved to change the topic. She sounded weaker with every passing day, and it seemed like she could only either vent out her feelings on antagonists or get a different cure to her problem.
Alex replied in a normal tone, not hiding his emotions, "Move forward."
For a second, it sounded as if Josh's death hadn't touched Alex.
But Olivia recalled that Alex had visited Purgatory after his death. In that place, Alex saw more deaths than before, feeling much deeper grief and pain, in abundance, no less.
Alex didn't become apathetic to people's deaths, however.
After his journey to Purgatory and memories of his parents and Ivonne, Alex knew that casualties awaited him. He knew that he wouldn't be different from them.
He would lose close people, too.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})His parents and Ivonne kept living after losing their beloveds, treasuring memories and experiences they had built with them.
Alex would be the same. He would never forget his time with Josh, their advice to each other, and Josh's will to help the alliance and his friends in a new, cruel world.
"I don't think he would be happy to see us sad. Josh would hate us if we stopped moving forward because of him. That's why I won't stop and hunt them down," Alex said with a stoic expression, clearly different than before.
Olivia stared at him with wide eyes, then nodded slowly, "You have become stronger, Alex… My strength might be similar to yours, but I will slowly fall off because I lack a few skills, mainly the demon.
Since you've grown stronger physically and mentally here, I will also seek a way to Purgatory," Olivia uttered those terrifying thoughts with stoic expressions, her eyes no longer clouded by sadness and guilt.
She found a new resolve after her beloved cleared her doubts.
If Emma, Olivia's mother, heard her daughter, she would've slapped her face at least a few times, if not more.
Emma knew what kind of place Purgatory was and how it affected people's psyche.
Olivia was a young girl; her experiences were minimal. There was a chance that Purgatory would do more than just give her a demon. Perhaps, it would change her so much that no one, including Alex, would recognize her.
However, Alex didn't share the same thoughts.
He overcame Purgatory alone, and he significantly leveled up during that time. His mind became so strong that no hypnosis or any mind control skills would seize him and his heart.
He also believed that Olivia needed more strength. She couldn't just stop evolving, leveraging her innate mana. She needed more.
And since it was confirmed that the antagonist and guardian's clash resulted in Purgatory's opening, Olivia had a high chance of going to that world.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"I believe in you, Olivia," Alex whispered, tightening his grasp around Olivia's little hand. Of all his beloveds, Alex was sure that Olivia would be the last to die, for she was a persistent and adaptable girl.
Alex also wielded the antagonist and guardian mana. He became an owner of the peculiar Antagonist Sword, which was a legendary if not stronger weapon.
"Both Antagonists and Guardians that went through Purgatory have demons. I might be able to find a way to form demons for us or at least something to help you overcome Purgatory.
For you, though, I have an idea already," Alex faintly smiled, embracing Olivia tightly, pressing her face onto his chest.
Olivia curved her lips up as she was at his wish, feeling his smell and touch, "Imbue your warmth into me. Turn my [Cuddling] into a skill that will prevail in the purgatory, handsome."
"Yeah," Alex replied, gently stroking Olivia's hair.
They didn't remain like that for too long, for it was no time and place for that.
Alex's family weren't the only ones at the funeral.
Other than Josh's family and friends, his close buddy Tomo Homie, Lily, and her sister had attended it too. On their way back, they met Alex and his beloveds.
Tom and Alex got a room for themselves, starting a short talk, "Have you talked with Olivia already?"
"Yes," Alex replied, reassuring his friend.
They were also Olivia's friends, so they could tell that this emotional delinquent girl would blame herself for Josh's death.
"Mastermind Guild will start a campaign to turn more players into full-time players. Lily's big sister is also planning to buy a five-star hotel for her people so they can live together in one place.
It's an initial measure against the antagonist's real-life attacks," Tomo Homie explained, sighing openly.
Even though the antagonists had killed Josh and a few other epic class users, those deaths were nothing compared to the worldwide player base.
People wouldn't believe that the Avander World was real just because of it. In fact, only Alex's continent had suffered losses from the antagonist's side.
Other continents and their servers in the Avander World were fine, for antagonists had different plans.
Yasir was just that influential and shrewd. For now, only he had a way to enter Earth and cause massacres.
That event opened the eyes of some high-level people, however. Lily's big sister, Poker, started utterly believing her sister and Tomo Homie, already preparing some counter-measures.
She hailed from a wealthy family, so with abundant assets from the game, Mastermind Guild would surely become a pillar for players in their continent in the future.
"It's reassuring," Alex nodded, then patted his friend's shoulder, "What's your plan now?"
"We will try to find as many classes as possible before the situation turns terrible," Tomo Homie explained, sharing his plans.
He would guide people to dungeons and have people tightly cooperate. He would look into the continent's history to find the secret classes. Naturally, that also meant Mastermind would go through all lands searching for classes.
"We will also try to overcome mountains to reach the Winged People," Tomo Homie said, gazing into Alex's eyes deeply.
Those people and their classes surely would help everyone severely, for their healing prowess was known worldwide.
And wind mages also would use help from them.
Their realm was connected to the continent, and it was one of many realms available for everyone.
The challenge was real, however.
No one could easily claim the mountains and skies.
Alex probably would, though, for he had Stella and Meiya in his family.
"I will speak with them about it," Alex nodded, giving hope to his friend.
Tomo Homie smiled brightly for a few seconds, then suddenly became serious, "No one will die, right? There won't be more casualties."
Alex lost his smile, reciprocating Tom's gaze with seriousness. He didn't say anything, for there was nothing he could say.
Tom also read Alex's expression, seeing his mental progress. He parted his lips, yet no word bypassed his lips. He looked conflicted… But then, he gathered all his words into a short and proper sentence.
"Alex… If I die, take care of Lily," Tomo Homie said seriously as if he could foresee his death.
But as he was the commander on the whole continent, it was obvious that the antagonists' would aim for his neck.
Tomo Homie didn't need a big brain to realize it.
He had already accepted that role, so he would continue treading this path. It was the best path if he wanted his friends to survive.
Alex closed his eyes, then bumped his fist onto Tomo Homie's chest, "You will not die… But I will never forget your words… Lily is also my good friend."
Tom brightly smiled, bumping his fist onto Alex's chest, "Your wives are also my nice friends. I have learned a lot from Sara, too. If something happens to you, they will always be able to rely on me."
"Thanks," Alex thanked his friend from the bottom of his heart.
[Author's note: I'm sorry for just uploading one chapter, but it's hard to write without a proper desk etc. I feel ashamed and self-conscious of just uploading one chapter while many people bought the last expensive tier.
I should be able to write comfortably this week, so forgive me for small chapter updates for a few days please.]
