"I'm sorry mom, Little Sephare, it's all my fault. If I had just won… This would have never happened."
Guiot, his mother and his little sister trudged through the forest pathway. This wasn't the first time he had apologized to his mother and sister, but every time he did so he felt his last apology wasn't good enough.
"Little Guiot, there's really no need say these things. Mom is just happy you're alive."
Guiot's mother, Gisla Alos, affectionately caressed her son's messy hair.
To make it here, they had entirely relied on the 'kindness' of the Apostles. Using teleportation arrays was incredibly expensive, far more expensive than Guiot and his family could afford, so of course they hadn't paid themselves to come here.
The Apostles should have also guaranteed a safe return trip. In fact, they did… The issue was that there was simply no one to enforce it. Would Fidroha really care to look back to make sure all of the losers who were of no use to her made it back home safelt? Guiot wasn't naïve enough to believe so.
As expected, when Guiot and his family tried to use the teleportation array to return to the Outer Ring, they were coldly rejected. Of course, the foreman gave them many excuses with a beaming smile on his face, but the three of them weren't fools. Even Guiot's little sister, Sephare, easily saw through it.
"Forget those ugly, smelly men." Sephare said with a wrinkle in her little button nose.
Guiot smiled a bitter smile.
To someone like Ryu, being frozen out of using a teleportation array wasn't a big deal. At worst, he'd just waste a few months making his way back to the Outer Ring if he so chose to return. However, to Guiot little family, it was nothing short of a death sentence.
Even for Ryu, when he first travelled from the Outer to the Inner Ring, he heavily relied on Little Rock and his concealment Cloak. If not, he would have died several times over. On top of that, the barrier of nature between the Inner Ring and Core Region was easily ten times more dangerous.
How could Guiot possibly protect both his little sister and mother on the way back to the Outer Ring? It was an impossible task. Even if he was alone, he would have less than a one in one hundred chance of survival. Even that might be giving himself too much credit.
The only logical option for the family was to remain in the Core Region, travelling back was simply too dangerous. But even then, Ember Capital City most definitely wouldn't have a place for them. They had already been kicked out. This meant that they had to travel to some lesser region for the Core Region in hopes of finding a place for survival…
But even if it wasn't the natural barrier, travel between cities without adequate protection came with its own sets of peril. Especially when Connecting Heaven Realm experts could be found everywhere in the Core Region. Though it wasn't to the point of them being ubiquitous, they weren't rare either.
Then there was another problem. Even if by some miracle they made it to this unknown destination with their lives, how would they settle down? Guiot only had gold coins to his name. The first time he had even seen Qi Stones was when he first used the teleportation array.
Guiot clenched his fists so fiercely that his nails began to chip and bleed, cracking and folding in on themselves.
On a simple whim, these elites had forced his family into a corner. It wasn't even a great effort to them. They treated it no differently than one would squashing a bug on the side of the road.
Guiot's neck suddenly snapped in a particular direction, his expression turning even more solemn as he attempted to pull his spear out as a force of habit.
But that was when his gaze trembled with despair. Why had he lost the tournament so miserably? It was precisely because Byrine had destroyed his spear. He couldn't even put up much of a fight in his next matches.
His heart tore to pieces remembering how his family heirloom was nothing more than ashes now.
Regathering himself, he protected his mother and sister's frail bodies to his back, his gaze becoming incomparably cold.
Gisla's eyes brimmed with tears staring at her son's back. Guiot had always been an honest and carefree boy. She had never seen him hold such a cold expression, even after her husband died.
Sephare gripped the edge of her brother's robes. By now, whoever it was had become so brazen that the rustling leaves and snapping twigs could be heard even by her.
Slowly, a few figures left the thick foliage to block all sides of the dirt road. However, these figures were very clearly led by a young man Guiot had never expected to see.
'Why is a member of the Sai Clan looking for me?' Guiot's brow furrowed more deeply.
"Oh? You're not going to ask me why I'm here?" Pascal looked toward Guiot and his family as though he was a predator toying around with his food.
Guiot clenched his jaw, but said nothing. Unfortunately, his actions inexplicably made Pascal angry.
"Subdue them." Pascal said with a sneer. "The Alchemist Association Head would be very disappointed if his pill materials were harmed."
Guiot's eyes widened with rage. "You dare?!"
A piercing spear intent wafted from his body, making Pascal's eyes squint with pain. He felt as though dozens of tiny needles were piercing into his pupils.
However, he managed to keep his composure, his sneer deepening.
"Don't worry, I'll only be refining you into a pill. Since when did trash of the Outer Ring get to enjoy something as valuable as a Crown Grade Herb. There should still be some medicinal efficacy lingering in your blood and bones, so you'll be of some decent use.
"As for your mother and sister, their services would be better spent in the local brothel. How could I bear turning such beauties into pills? Anyone who would do such a thing should be struck down by the Heavens!"