Versatile: Alternate World

Tina still has a lingering hatred for her parents. I can't say I can relate to her but if she still cannot forgive them even though they were controlled by the demons, then perhaps I am not going to say anything. I am surprised at her decision though of meeting them and accepting the invitation as that indicates that this will not be a wholesome reunion and yet she has chosen that option.

But it's her choice. I could choose to ignore her option and just not bother to join her to return but I am not that awful.

After that incident, Tina returned to the summons area, probably to train more. We have still a few days of in-game time before we will depart so until then, maybe she will change her mind.

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The day of our departure arrived.

But Tina didn't change her decision. I was expecting her to change her decision as that early option she choose before is just because of the feelings she felt during that time. However, it seems that her mind was set to stone at that time and it was final. So in the end, we are still going to the Insect Kingdom and checking out what made the King of the Insect Kingdom wants from us.

This time around, Lucia and Atlas decided to stay instead of accompanying us. Lucia wanted to have some vacation from fighting and she want to catch up on some rest while Atlas still needed to recover from the damage that was done to him back in the Luminous Continent. It's taking some time for his wound to heal so he has to rest more to recover the wound completely.

Lina and Gobu would be the ones who will be accompanying us in this alongside Tina and Cotton herself as well.

I also gave them new pieces of equipment as well. After all, they have grown from their levels already and hit the max cap at the moment. Making them wear their old equipment doesn't seem to be that good.

Oh, and no one from the other players will join me on this which means it's just like back before during the solo early expedition done during the beginning

"Is everyone ready? We will perform the [Mass Teleport] now."

Everyone nodded in response. They are eager to move and go on an adventure, well except for Tina who is clearly not enthusiastic at the thought of going to her parents but there is nothing she can do. She didn't change her option so we continue doing this.

Once we are in place, I tear the scroll containing the [Mass Teleport] skill and warped us from Resurgia to the cabin where I made my previous little house in Aquagius. It's our base operations whenever we go to Aquagius and although it was just a very simple little cabin, it's refreshing and practical, and it shelters us from the cold and rain, as well as the hot weather through the harshest elements like storm and winter time would take a bit more effort to make this cabin much better but since this is just for our temporary lodging cabin whenever we have business here in Aquagius, it doesn't matter much.

Since it's been a while since we returned to Aquagius since most of our time was spent clearing the dungeons in Resurgia and Sandurk as well as going to the Dark Sea in Luminous, the cabin in Aquagius has been neglected and is now quite dirty. Not only dust but fallen leaves and some other items are also present. Just because it was a game doesn't mean you don't need to clean. After all, Alternate World is a game that is very close to reality, it almost felt like the real world and not a game.

After putting down all of the items that we brought with us, we started cleaning up the place. It's great that unlike in the real world, cleaning in the Alternate World is just needed for you to have good magic skills that involve water and wind. Lina who is a battle maid is an expert housekeeping maid as well so she put her skills in cleaning to use, and in just a few minutes, the cabin is back to its spick and span look when I built this place.

"Alright. Since we are now settled and we don't need to look for a new lodge if we will spend our night here in Aquagius, it's also time to start what we came here for. The day is still young so if we go straight to our destination, we might finish our appointment much faster. What do you guys think?"

Gobu and Lina nodded in response to my question. Gobu turns to his side and frowned when he saw his expression of Tina.

"No problems here on Lina-chan and my side about going there early. But it seems not all of us are that enthusiastic about the notion," Gobu then directs me to look at Tina who is looking miserable just from hearing my next course of action.

"Tina, if you are not feeling like it going to your parents, then it's fine. I am not going to force you in going. We can just go and clear dungeons in the meantime instead.  We can just skip-" before I can finish my sentence, Tina interjects.

"No, Master. Don't worry about me since I am fine. I may not look like I am on board with this but we still needed to do this. We can't just ignore this thing so instead of running away, I would rather go and finish things ourselves. Who knows, if we go there and finish our appointment faster than expected, then that is a big win for both of us, right?"

"Are you sure it is fine? Be sure to tell me if you are not fine with it, we can just stay here for the time being instead of heading there. We are not in a rush so be sure you are not going to regret it. I know that you still don't feel like it to face your parents so don't push yourself or we might just ruin this meeting in the process. I don't want you and your parents to end up in a more miserable state than you guys have right now."

Tina looked down without being able to answer. As expected, she is just forcing herself just because we are ready to go.

"You stay here for a while and think this through. We will be hunting for food later on, you stay behind and think what you should do and make sure you won't regret it."

What Tina needed is a clear mind, time, and space to think of her current situation. Whatever floats her boat, it all matters to her more than mine.

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Just like what Bladeheart said to Tina, she was left behind in the cabin as Bladeheart and the others went to go for the hunt. Tina is not necessarily alone right now since Cotton also stayed behind with Tina but because Cotton cannot speak, Tina didn't consider Cotton's presence as another individual but is treating her more like a pet.

Her Master was right, she is still not ready to face her parents again despite the fact that her physiques have changed a lot after she awakened her own bloodline after the battle that occurred here in Aquagius in the past. She has not forgotten things, her grudge against her parents is still pretty big but she can't say she isn't troubled about it.

She has been chasing their love in the past but it was clear that there was little love involved and it didn't help when the demons manipulated their minds which resulted in them sending her to her own death though she was grateful that she was sent out like that or else, she won't even meet her Master right now who helped her without caring whether she was a failure or not.

As much as she wanted to force herself on going there, something just felt like she is not ready for it. She struggles from it a lot and just like what her master said, if she forced herself to go while feeling conflicted, perhaps the reunion that is currently on hold for her will be totally ruined and instead of reparation of their relationship, it will just ends up in worse situation.

While thinking deeply on what to do, Cotton crawls on her side, seemingly able to detect what she was thinking and rubbed her head on her side.

"Haha, don't worry, Cotton. I know I am feeling bad right now but I still needed to face it myself. I can't run away from it any longer."

Tina stood up. Her decision has been decided, and she is now sure of it. There is no point running away. It has been a long time and delaying it any further will just make it worse. Time to face her worse fears.