Ball of Nothing

The recovery was slow for Zero and slower for Truen who was constantly drinking mana potions. Zero watched as his best friend grimaced at the taste and felt slightly sorry for him.

"Does it taste really bad?" Zero asked and Truen shuddered at the bitterness on his tongue.

"It's bearable if I only did it once or twice. However, doing this every five minutes or so can be a little difficult even for me," Truen explained. He was still regrowing his skull and eye when Someone else knocked on their door.

"I'll get it," Zero said and Truen agreed. He was in too much pain to move.

"Master!" a familiar voice cried in relief when the door opened. Zero's legs were still shaky and not fully regrown so when Bob pounced on him, his right ankle snapped.

"Ah."

Bob looked down at his master's ankle that was bent an odd angle and instantly became sheet-white. Zero noticed the dragon's panic and quickly tried to explain the situation to the growingly hysterical teenager.

"B-but I-"

"No, it's not you. I'm still trying to regrow the vaporised body parts of this vessel, it doesn't hurt but I'm not ready to be going on adventures anytime soon," Zero explained and Truen gagged on another mana potion with a more intense flavour.

Bob took five minutes to understand the condition of his master and Truen's condition. No wonder he could feel their contract bond very weakly. Zero was extremely low on mana and Truen was in a terrible condition.

"What should I do so that you can recover faster?" he asked and Truen held back a scream at the agony as his body tried to regrow missing organs.

Zero felt pity for his friend and asked if Bob could cast a strong sleeping spell on Truen before they continued talking. Bob got to it immediately and Zero retrieved some things from his inventory to set up a mana potion IV drip for his sleeping friend who was still twitching in a lot of pain. Zero added some natural painkillers to numb the nerves and Truen visibly relaxed in his sleep.

"Now where were we?" he asked Bob. "Oh yes, the gnomes. What happened? Also, where are Jermine and the sand walkers?"

Bob grimaced. "Jermine is fine but I think we will have to walk or ride on me for the remainder of our journey. Ela and Gregoria didn't make it."

There was a moment of silence for the sand walkers who perished tragically. Zero only hoped that their souls could find their way back into reincarnation for a better life. Bob continued to fill Zero in on the details of what happened.

"What should we do now?" he asked Zero. "The gnomes have nothing left, I don't know if bringing them back to Rocket Mountain would do us any good. We also do not have the means to bring them back now in a single trip."

Zero thought about it. "Not necessarily true. I can still create a waystone from here to Half Moon Village. It would save us half the journey back to Rocket Mountain. However, I need some time to recover my depleted mana reserves. Who would have thought that the new vessel had over two thousand complex spells? Recreating even a finger would be difficult but I have to recreate my entire lower half that had been vaporised. It's going to take a while."

Bob blinked. "I have some mana reserves. Would it be better if I lent you some of my mana to create that waystone instead? It would be better for everyone to return to Half Moon Village as soon as possible. The gnomes are now completely defenceless and I took the gamble of leaving them alone with Jermine to check on you and Truen."

Zero nodded. If they returned to Half Moon Village now, not only can the villagers help to keep an eye on the gnomes, he would be able to recover quicker at Trigresion Falls or even visit the Spring of Vitality using the Ten-Path Crossway portal.

"Let's do that then," he told his loyal dragon. "I can't walk properly so you might have to carry me out."

Bob nodded. "Don't worry, master. I might be shorter than you but dragons are quite strong even in human form."

Zero decided to forego his elven appearance to conserve mana and changed back to his default child's appearance so that Bob would find it easier to carry him on his back. The dragon didn't complain and folded his wings protectively around his master so that he could free his hands for other things.

Jermine and the gnomes waited for about an hour outside. The mole beast girl explained that Zero was the leader of their small party and he was an adventurer chosen by the guild master of Rocket Mountain to find some gnomes.

"According to Bob, Zero needs some gnome technicians to repair Master Dorgon's crafter's suit so that he can build a divine statue for the giants. The giants have been plagued by a mysterious disease for a long time and Zero was the healer who found a cure."

Thomas and Wesley listened to Jermine tell them more about Zero and the adventuring party. They swallowed the lump in their throat with difficulty after learning that they attacked the kind doctor and his guardian wrongly. No wonder the Gods were so angry with them!

Before they could apologise, a warp portal opened beside the golden lamp and Bob reappeared with Zero on his back, folded nicely in his wings. All six gnomes stood up at once and Jermine turned in the direction of new footsteps.

"You're back?" she asked and Bob nodded. Zero looked at the six gnomes and noted how they were all getting on in their years.

"Thank you for worrying about us," Zero smiled and reassured the mole girl with a pat on her furry head. "Truen is still recovering, he was badly hurt. I'm also unable to walk at the moment so I'd need your help. As for the six of you," he turned to the nervous gnomes. "I believe Hades dropped by earlier."

Thomas trembled and dropped to his knees with the other gnomes following his example.

"I am very sorry, Sir Zero! We were wrong! Please kill me to atone for the sins we committed against you but spare my brothers. They were merely following my instructions!"

Zero looked at the six old gnomes and pretended to consider. Sure, he was still angry at losing his mana reserves but Hades delivered justice and burned their base. Now that they were even, it was time to talk business.

"I won't kill you," he told Thomas. "However, I want you to work for me and pledge loyalty to Half Moon Village. As the leader of Half Moon Village, I need to make decisions that will benefit us. If you truly are sorry for what you have done, leave this place and join us. We will offer you food, shelter, protection and even a place for research. In return, give us your loyalty and skills. There is a gnome-djinn inventor who will be very pleased to learn the lost arts of gnomes from you. His name is Raj. If you agree to my terms, we shall depart at once."

There was no need to consider. Thomas immediately agreed and for once, Wesley didn't argue with that decision. Before they departed, Zero told them to introduce themselves as Bob made the necessary preparations for the waystone.

"I'm Thomas, an engineer."

Zero decided that this was the gnome he was bringing to Rocket Mountain. After fixing Dorgon's crafting suit, Zero was going to work Thomas hard to help their renovation project.

"I'm Wesley, an alchemist."

Zero nodded in approval. A new alchemist in Half Moon Village ever since Lovina left for Arabesque was exactly what the village sorely needed.

"I'm Pepper the cartographer and scholar."

Zero paused. "Are you good at teaching the common language?"

Pepper blinked then nodded. "I teach more than just the common language. Gnomes are better at science and astrology."

"Good," Zero nodded. He finally found a good teacher for baby Seff.

"I'm Turmeric, a scout."

"I'm Ginger, a gunner."

Zero quickly decided that they would be assigned to Clowis to manage. Additional manpower for strengthening their defences was always a joy to have. Maybe Turmeric could help Roovan too and Muitchnew could definitely use extra manpower.

"I'm Olive," the last gnome introduced. "I'm just a lowly gardener."

Zero shook his head. "It's still a noble profession. Half Moon Village is severely short-handed in the agricultural department. Without people to grow food, the chefs won't be able to feed anyone."

Now that Zero knew all six gnomes, he decided to brief them on the rules of his village and the people they would be reporting to. Nobody had any objections and Zero turned to Thomas.

"You'd be following us as soon as I'm able to set out again. Dorgon is waiting for you. Please tell me that you know how to repair a crafting suit."

Thomas nodded eagerly. "I designed it alongside Raju, I know how it works from inside-out!"

Satisfied, Zero asked Bob to lift him over to the prepared magic circle on the wall. The dragon allowed his master to borrow some of his mana and Zero matched the coordinates of the waystone portal to the one he left in Half Moon Village.

"Jermine, you go first. Also, give me the lamp."

The mole girl didn't complain and handed the lamp back. After she disappeared through the portal, Zero motioned to the gnomes who formed an orderly single-file without questions about the location of the portal. After everyone went through the portal, Bob hopped into it with Zero on his back and the portal closed itself forever. There wasn't anything important left in the gnomes' base so Zero didn't bother salvaging anything.

Once the base was empty, sand started to cave in. Hades and his colleagues watched the base get destroyed in satisfaction. From the abyss, the money-pinching Mammon added a few more dollars for Zeus to introduce a few good lightning strikes and everyone enjoyed the show. They might not be able to take their frustrations out on the gnomes but that didn't mean the Onion Union was going to let this go silently.