Ball of Nothing

"How are the preparations coming along?" the wood elf asked when Zero finally exited his bedroom.

Even though there were guards patrolling the village at night, Truen couldn't find it in himself to leave his friend alone for too long. Perhaps the long periods of not seeing each other had caused Truen to develop a Zero-deficiency syndrome. Whatever the reason was, Truen now found himself uneasy without being near the doctor.

In the short span of half a year, the wood elf had travelled to the human kingdom and worked for Mitchnew. He also registered himself as an adventurer with Vrald and Gerald's party to camouflage his identity. Truen worked hard and hid his abilities from even those in Zero's village. He also disguised Sureshot so that nobody would think it was actually a divine weapon.

The main purpose of Truen's head start was to establish a firm foundation for Zero when he started on his travels. Truen was clueless about the new Earth so the first thing he did was spend a month in town to work as a B-ranked adventurer, taking on mundane tasks to familiarise himself with the land. Then, he started hunting for information.

From maps to political powers in play and where he could find the contacts he required for different needs, Truen learned it all in three months with Mitchnew's aid. Together with the dark elf, they established a powerful rising faction in the human kingdom that took on jobs that regular adventurers couldn't handle.

Naturally, the level of danger that this organisation attracted wasn't small. Thankfully, Mitchnew was able to hold out and create a firm footing in the underworld for herself with Truen's aid. The wood elf took on quests that were sometimes considered S ranked alone. Mitchnew didn't ask any questions or tried to pry into Truen's business but she appreciated the wood elf's help. To return the favour, Mitchnew gathered all sorts of information that Truen wanted to know and set aside a portion of her earnings for Truen's expenditure.

The wood elf didn't touch any of the funds. If anything, he still thought that the amount might still be insufficient when he thought about Zero's stomach. Still, he accepted the gesture and continued to work hard to expand his knowledge about the way of life on Earth.

Through the bits and pieces of gossip he occasionally heard from his adventuring party, the archer learned about Zero's predicament as Merlin's student. Zero was working hard as usual and when the news about Zero's chaos in Heaven reached his ears, Truen couldn't say he was very surprised it happened. The only concern Truen had was if Heaven demanded compensation from his friend. As it was, both Zero and Truen were piss poor.

Then, Truen was told that Zero had once again accomplished the impossible and that came with a heavy price. The elf nearly dropped everything he was doing to rush to Heaven once again just to check on his friend but he resisted the urge. Zero would pull through. He had the Gods on his side and he was the almighty creator of the world. If the Gods couldn't do anything, what could a mere spirit like him do? Hence, Truen grit his teeth and focused on what he had to do.

Coming back to the present, the wood elf was happy that his hard work paid off. However, he wasn't sure if he did the right thing and started before Zero. Each time he saw his friend, he would feel slightly guilty at not keeping their promise. At the same time, Truen wondered if there was still a need to mother the teen. Zero was more grown-up after two years. He experienced hardships and even betrayals. He knew what it was like to get hurt and how to make a judgement about good and evil. While the wood elf didn't think that Zero's kindness would disappear after seeing so many horrible things, he couldn't help but wonder if that light of salvation he once knew was still as bright as before.

Zero made a face. It was eight in the morning now but he felt as if he still hasn't slept enough. Staying in Arabesque and Heaven for too long actually did some harm to the natural body clock. The doctor was finding it difficult to get accustomed to the natural flow of time on Earth so he was feeling a little cranky.

"Good morning... you're early. I still have a bit more preparing to do but for now, how about breakfast?"

The wood elf accompanied Zero to Zoe's apartment where the children were already enjoying their toast and scrambled eggs. Zero blinked. Weren't eggs rare to come across? How did they get so many eggs today?

"What's the special occasion? I see eggs," Zero commented and Rima blinked.

"No special occasion," the girl replied and shovelled another forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

Zero blinked. "But the eggs..."

Leon smirked and made a mock disappointed sound. "Oh dear, it looks like we have to remind the village leader again. Do you seriously think we're still very poor now? Take a good look at Half Moon village. Even the humans near Endow Hill think that we can be a county of our own if we really wanted to. Strictly speaking, these eggs are from human towns that the sheep trades for us. Chieftess brought back more fabric this time so Mitchnew can make some new clothes for everyone. Things are changing for the better so you better keep up with the times!"

Now that Zero knew where the eggs came from, he decided to ask a little more about what had changed since the last time he was at Half Moon village. Zero knew that he didn't leave for too long and on the outside, not much has changed. However, according to the children and Zoe, many plans were taking place. Long term projects like fortifying the village and rebuilding the living areas were already on-going and Zero knew about them. However, the more subtle things like improving the food and lifestyle of these simple villagers weren't things Zero knew. Qin Yun had also started becoming the teacher for the children so the villagers were getting themselves educated. Schaf brought back books from time to time to widen the children's horizon. Some of the other warriors also attended these classes and of the many who attended, Camie was a regular.

"Everyone is doing really well. How's baby Seff and Karris doing? I haven't seen them in a while. Is Ruth doing a good job taking care of them?"

Jacqueline smiled. "Do you want to visit them instead of asking? I bet you'd be very surprised at how much someone can change in half a year."

Zero tilted his head in confusion at the mermaid's mysterious reply but she offered no further information. Zero exchanged looks with Truen who shrugged. Eventually, they decided to take a detour after breakfast to check on the vampires.

When they arrived at Karris' hut, Zero realised that he wasn't the only one who grew. Baby Seff grew much faster and in half a year, the infant was now actually sparring with Ruth outside of Karris' hut. The human mother was doing the laundry and watched as Ruth sent her son sprawling into the dirt again. Instead of being mad at how dirty Seff's clothes were becoming, the mother only giggled. It was like a miracle watching Seff grow every day. After being pregnant for two years, her baby boy seemed to be making up for the lost time and grew rapidly into a five-year-old boy within the span of six months.

Zero's jaw fell. How was Seff able to keep up with Ruth's speed? The boy didn't seem to be able to use magic so was this a bloodline ability of the vampires? On the other hand, Zero could sense the difference between Seff and Ruth. Ruth wasn't breathless but the half-vampire child had already collapsed onto the ground panting hard and sweating. Still, it was splendid.

Zero applauded the young child for his outstanding performance and used magic to clean the boy's clothes, much to Seff's surprise. The village head didn't say much and assisted Karris with laundry while chatting a little with the mother to find out more about what happened over the last half-year. Truen eyed Ruth. He heard a few things about the slave Zero purchased from the auction house and was curious to know how strong the vampire actually was.

While Zero was busy with Karris and Seff, Ruth approached Truen. It wasn't their first time meeting but it was the first time they had time to size each other up.

"I heard that you're Zero's combat teacher. Mind if we exchanged a few pointers?" Truen smiled politely and Ruth smirked. That smile wasn't fooling him.

"Sure," he obliged and proposed to change their location.

"Zero, we're going to have a friendly spar outside for a bit. When you're done you can go ahead and complete the rest of your preparations, I'll join later!" the wood elf called and Zero waved back before tackling Seff and tickling the cheeky brat.

Karris watched Zero play with her son and smiled. She was thankful to Zero and Hua Tuo for helping her to deliver Seff safely. The fact that Zero managed to find a vampire to act as Seff's teacher also made the mother feel grateful. Even if she wasn't able to do much in return for such kindness, she hoped that there would come a time when she could repay the gesture.

Zero's playtime with baby Seff was interrupted by a gentle giantess who was also here to do laundry.

"Hello, Camie!" Seff squealed and yelled for help when the village leader mercilessly attacked his sides once more. Camie laughed at the sight. Not too long ago, Zero was one of the children running amok with Leon and the lab rats. Now, it was his turn to become a doting uncle to a playful Seff. The village should have been much quieter after Zero left to complete the second part of his training in Heaven. Sadly, the peace only lasted two months. Baby Seff experienced a sudden growth spurt two months into Zero's training and Ruth explained it as a change of diet.

"Hello, Seff. I see that you're playing with Zero today. Have you been practising how to control the mana in your body with Ruth?"

Seff pouted and Zero raised a brow. Mana?

"Ruth is a bully! I couldn't even land a hit on him before he knocked me into the ground. Also, he's a big meanie! I asked him to start teaching me how to use magic but he said no."

"Did he tell you why he said no?" Camie asked and emptied her laundry basket by the river.

Seff frowned. "I don't understand what he said but he's a meanie!"

Zero got up and helped Seff to stand while discreetly channelling mana through Seff's network to study if there was a reason why Ruth didn't allow Seff to start learning. It didn't take long for him to understand why the vampire said no.

"Seff, your teacher is right. Please don't be angry at Ruth, he does it for your own good," Zero coaxed but the half-vampire became teary-eyed.

Seeing that Seff was about to cry, Zero panicked and explained that he was a doctor. Then in the simplest way that he could, Zero explained why Seff was unable to train using magic just yet. The half-vampire was smarter than he looked even though he wasn't actually five just yet. His mental maturity impressed Zero more than his physical growth and Zero wondered if he could take in Seff as his student once the fledgling grew bigger. Seff learned fast for his age and accepted Zero's explanation about chakra networks.

"I understand. I will eat a lot and practise a lot so that I will become a big and strong boy! When I have fully developed chakra network, will Ruth teach me magic?"

Zero smiled and patted the boy's head. "I'm sure he will."

"Seff, help mommy out in the kitchen!" Karris called out and the boy thanked Zero before hurrying away.

Zero offered to help Camie with her laundry and finished the task swiftly with magic. The giantess was oddly silent now that they were alone. Zero could sense the uneasiness as well but didn't want to pry.

"Um... Zero? Village head?"

"Yes?" Zero was puzzled as to why Camie would suddenly exercise formality with him. His question was soon answered.

"I actually came here looking for you. I have a request but I'm not sure if you will agree to it."

Zero waited patiently for Camie to explain the situation. By the end of it, he summarised everything in two points.

"Basically, you want me to agree to let you leave the village so that you can return to your previous home and country the Magnus Hilda and check on your family that have been affected by a mysterious plague since a few years ago that you've only just received news about from Gerald's party who heard it on their travels."

Camie nodded.

Zero frowned. "Request denied. Even if you are a strong warrior, it is too dangerous to travel alone. That's number one. Number two, what are you going to do once you're there? The plague is still present, you might get infected and suffer the same fate without a knowledgeable doctor. I won't allow you to leave the village by yourself and that's final. However, I won't be heartless and keep you imprisoned here. Once Truen returns I will talk to him about it. We're also thinking about starting our adventure and travels once I complete my preparations so this is a good starting point for me as a wandering doctor."

Hearing that Zero wasn't going to abandon her, Camie was flooded with relief and gratitude. Zero merely sent the giantess away with her basketful of clean laundry and used the minimap to find his archer friend. The preparations can wait for a little.