Ghoul Evolution

Chapter 21: Freed

Oliver had finally been freed from the vines, and the first thing he did after getting loose was untie Goldie as well.

The moment the squirrel was free, it woke up, climbed onto his shoulder, and then made its way to the top of his head, settling there comfortably as if it had always belonged there.

"Thanks for saving me, mate."

Goldie puffed out his chest proudly and then, for a few moments there was complete silence as nobody spoke.

Then the young boy stepped forward first.

"Hello. My name is Theo."

He extended a hand toward Oliver inviting him for a handshake.

There was nothing unusual about his tone, yet the way he carried himself felt strangely proper for someone his age. Still, he had been laughing at him quite normally earlier, so most likely, he was just used to formal introductions.

Oliver shook the young man’s hand as he introduced himself as well.

"Hi. I’m Oliver." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Theo nodded as he continued,

"It’s nice to meet you."

’He is pretty formal for a kid.’

’Maybe he is from some kind of an influential family?’

The thought crossed Oliver’s mind involuntarily.

After that, the brown-haired girl smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I’m Korinna."

Then she smiled a little wider as she continued,

"Actually, just call me Korre, almost nobody uses my full name."

Her smile was warm and easygoing, and there was something naturally approachable about her.

Finally, it was the Korean woman’s turn.

"I’m Kim Ahreum."

Unlike Korre, she didn’t seem particularly comfortable with introductions, her posture was straight, and she spoke with a direct tone that meant business.

Still, Oliver knew she wasn’t completely cold or emotionless as when Korre had been teasing him, he had caught a small smile on her face.

"We found you unconscious in the river."

Then, after a brief pause, she added,

"You’re welcome, by the way."

The way she said it was so matter-of-fact that Oliver almost laughed.

"Right... thanks."

Ahreum simply nodded as though that settled the matter.

Seeing all three of them looking at him, Oliver scratched the back of his head.

"Well, like I said earlier, I’m Oliver."

Oliver’s gaze moved from Theo to Korre and finally to Ahreum.

"It’s nice to meet all of you."

And for once, he genuinely meant it. Even though they were just two days, spending them with nobody but Goldie for company had been quite lonely and meeting actual humans again felt strangely reassuring.

"Ah... so?"

He had been about to ask when they had arrived in this place, but stopped himself at the last second. Thinking about it, that wasn’t exactly a sensible question. Asking people when they had arrived here was dangerously close to asking them when they had died, and so he changed his question.

"So... is there a human shelter nearby?"

The atmosphere shifted slightly the moment he asked. Theo looked away, Korre’s smile dimmed a little, and even Ahreum’s expression became more serious.

Finally, it was Korre who answered.

"No. We were actually hoping that you knew instead."

Oliver’s heart sank a little, but before he could respond, Ahreum spoke up.

"Where did you spawn?"

The way she asked that mad him quite amused. freeweɓnovel.cøm

’Spawn? Lol.’

The word sounded strangely game-like, but he understood what she meant.

’Was she a gamer or something back on earth? Lol, is that why she looks so unused to socializing.’

"Well, I spawned inside a forest. It was completely dark in there, even the trees and leaves were black. In fact, the moment I got there, there was an Aberration-ranked bea—"

He abruptly stopped speaking as only now did he realize something was missing.

His spear, his fangs, his water containers and even the rabbit he had hunted.

Everything.

Oliver quickly looked around himself, then toward the riverbank, then back again.

"Oh no..."

The others looked at him in confusion as Korre asked him to con tune about what he was saying.

"What happened? You were saying something about an Aberration ranked beast?"

Oliver didn’t care about that as he was more sad about his stuff.

"All my stuff... my spear."

His gaze immediately shot toward the river. Most likely, everything had been swept away while he was unconscious. The realization hit him harder than he expected as that spear had helped him survive so many times.

As he stared at the flowing river, his expression darkened considerably.

Just today, he had been thinking that his luck was quite good, it seemed, fate had decided to take back all of it.

Oliver was still in his own thoughts when Korre suddenly waved a hand in front of his face, making him look towards them again.

"Ahh... yes, sorry."

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"My stuff actually either got left where I was attacked... or got drowned in the river."

The thought made his mood worsen once again.

"As for what I was saying earlier." Oliver continued. "When I had just spawned here, I was attacked by an Aberration-ranked beast. It was like a mix between an ape, a wolf, and a spider..."

"A spider?"

He was about to continue before Korre interrupted him, looking genuinely horrified just from hearing that word alone.

Oliver blinked as he nodded.

"Yes? It had eight legs like a spider... and it was huge. Really huge. Like twelve feet tall."

Korre visibly shuddered, while Theo looked far more interested than horrified.

"You killed an Aberration-ranked beast?"

The question made both Oliver and Ahreum speak at exactly the same time.

"OF COURSE NOT."

For a moment, both of them paused and looked at each other and then Ahreum nodded slightly.

"Good."

Oliver couldn’t help but stare at her.

"What do you mean ’good’?"

Ahreum looked at him for a moment before replying in her usual direct tone.

"You survived. Isn’t that good?"

Oliver made a slightly strange face. Technically, she wasn’t wrong, it was just that most people would’ve probably phrased it differently.

"I guess you’re right."

Ahreum simply nodded as if that settled the matter entirely. Meanwhile, Oliver couldn’t help but wonder inwardly,

’Damn... she’s really direct.’

Then another thought crossed his mind.

’Or maybe it’s because English isn’t her first language?’

The more he thought about it, the more likely that explanation seemed. After all, she was Korean. Maybe she was simply translating her thoughts directly instead of worrying about how they sounded.