Mutagen-Chapter 1186: Return, Arrival at the Mountain Base After Their Adventure In Indonesia
Day 379 - 8:21 AM - Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Province of Quezon
Early in the morning, a large hole in space opened in a vacant area within the Mountain Base. This vacant area was not only near the center but was also surrounded by several important facilities, like the warehouse and the special stables. One might wonder why such a place was left vacant in this busy-looking area, but there was a single reason.
As the residents passing by saw the hole floating mid-air, their expressions brightened as they immediately sent someone to call the current managers of the base.
It was because everyone here knew that the true owner of this place was about to return with his entourage.
And just as they expected, a group of people and creatures came out of the portal.
"Boss! Ma’am!"
The people immediately greeted the couple who were first to appear.
Seeing the people greeting them, Mark nodded in reply while Mei gave a slight wave of her hand.
The two were, of course, surrounded by their three daughters, Iola, Abbygale, and Miracle. Elise was also close to the two as Mark’s self-proclaimed younger sister, while Amihan sat on his shoulder. Spera, Emika, Annika, Hannah, and Feng Zhiruo followed suit. The Mutated Blood Demon Dragon, Chaflar, was looking ferocious as ever. The late joiners, Aephelia, Felicia, and Louis, were also present.
Seeing everyone return safe and sound, the residents present could not help but smile. Considering the current state of the world, this apocalypse was unforgiving. It would not be surprising if a person failed to return, and small injuries would normally be unavoidable. Yet, with Mark leading his family and other members outside repeatedly, they never lost a single person.
Instead, their numbers increased upon each return.
Just like now.
The residents could not help but look at the two new giant creatures. One was a lizard nearly the size of Chaflar, and the other was a tortoise of a similar size.
But among the newcomers, the most eye-catching was a very young girl in a black dress floating beside Mark and another older girl hiding behind him due to the stares from the strangers. There was also another girl standing beside the second girl. She was wearing a dress with a black and silver gradient with golden linings.
It made the residents wonder if Mark picked up new daughters... No... That was not correct... It was not Mark who was doing the picking. It was Mark who was being picked to become their father. The circumstances centered on Mark’s daughters were not new to the residents, after all.
There was also an unfamiliar green-haired woman who was quite a beauty with them.
"Yey! We’re finally back!"
Annika exclaimed loudly with her voice filled with excitement. Her seemingly exaggerated emotions were quite on point. Although the time they spent away from the base was not too long, the arduous journey from Mount Muria to the town of Gilimanuk made it feel like they were away for months.
And nearly everyone in the group shared Annika’s sentiment as they looked at her.
"Guide the pets to the stable first and go meet your parents," Mark said to Annika while ruffling her hair. "They should be worried."
"Got it, Big Bro!" Annika replied with a grin. "I’m also going to tell Master I’m back!"
"I’m coming with you!"
Emika chimed in.
With those words, Annika and Emika took the pets away and separated from the group. As for the Master Annika spoke about, it was the summoner, Berrak. Since she was under the tutelage of a powerful summoner, it would not take long before she became successful not just as a tamer but also as an apprentice summoner.
"We should be going too," Felicia spoke. "I’m sure Dad, Mom, and Brother are also worried."
"That’s fine."
Mark nodded.
However...
"No."
Felicia received a firm rejection from Elise as she grabbed Mark’s arm and hid from her sister.
"What am I going to do with you..."
An exasperated sigh escaped Felicia’s mouth. Although she repeatedly tried interacting with Elise during their stay in Indonesia, there was clearly no progress in Elise’s broken relationship with her real family.
"Just leave her for now," Mark told Felicia. "I’ll send her back later."
Elise looked at Mark in protest, but she did not say anything in the end.
On the other hand, Felicia could only let out another sigh as she accepted the compromise. There, Louis patted Felicia’s shoulder as the two also left.
"Let’s go home."
Mark said as they left the vacant area.
The news travelled fast, and the residents began to gather after hearing about the group’s return.
As such, the group walked home while responding to the greetings of the residents.
"Sir! Welcome back!"
A nice-sounding voice called Mark as they passed near the artificial lake surrounding the giant tree at the center of the base.
As everyone looked, they saw a beautiful girl submerged in the lake, waving at them. Mirielle, the mermaid, had already gotten used to humans after living with them for a year now. Although they were strangers in Mark’s group, she did not shy away in fear. Instead, she greeted them happily.
"Master."
Along the way, the group met with Odelina, who came to fetch them after receiving the news.
"Boss!"
Huey and his usual group members also arrived to greet them.
Mark thought there was no need for a reception like this. However, he doubted anyone in this base would listen if he told them not to. All of them felt indebted to him, after all. Without him, this place would not exist. And without this place, all the current residents would need to face a far more dangerous reality if they had not died yet.
Within the Mountain Base, no one was hungry, everyone had their necessities met, and danger was not something they had to face on a daily basis. As such, everyone was grateful.
As they arrived near the housing area, Feng Zhiruo separated from them to return to her dwelling.
She said she wanted to rest, but it was likely that she would meditate and contemplate to improve her strength, which she lacked during the crisis they faced in Indonesia.
"Brother~ Welcome home~!"
As they entered the house, Jaeya greeted Mark while sitting on the sofa. As usual, she looked slovenly. Although she was not in a stupid state of undress, she was wearing a loose white tank top with the left strap dangling off her left arm. She was not even wearing a bra, as the distinguishable color on her mounds could be seen through her clothing.
Beside Jaeya, Theodore sat silently. The child, who looked like a four-year-old despite being barely a year old, could not help but flinch as he felt Mark’s gaze run past him. It seemed he was still afraid of Mark for obvious reasons.
Mark passed behind Jaeya and pulled the dangling strap into its right place.
"We have guests, so at least fix your clothes."
Mark said.
"Any males?" Jaeya asked as she panned her eyes at everyone who entered. "It’s all girls, so it’s fine?"
"There are two children, so don’t be a bad influence."
Mark replied, causing a large question mark to seemingly appear above Jaeya’s head.
It was because she could see three unfamiliar children.
"I’m not a child!"
One of the three grumbled while sensing what Jaeya had in mind.
Oddly enough, the girl spoke in a language Jaeya did not know. Yet, she was able to understand her.
After the brief disturbance caused by Jaeya, everyone was now seated in the living room. Since this place was being used as a meeting room from time to time, they had more than enough seats to accommodate everyone.
"This is quite a place you have. Everything I saw along the way was beyond my expectations."
The green-haired guest spoke. Of course, this woman was no other than Val’Flora.
As Mark’s Agent, now bound to a contract, there was no reason not to let her know of the Mountain Base. As such, Mark allowed her to come with them. Her goal was to establish a personal waypoint she could use to deliver Mark’s orders. After all, although she managed to gather the items Mark wanted, the quantity was only enough to replace the armor and weapons Mark and Mei lost during their respective battles. If Mark wanted to continue creating more things, he needed more materials. This way, Val’Flora could deliver the items straight to this place.
Val’Flora’s intention aside, she was really surprised upon their arrival. She never expected a Pure Spirit Tree to be the centerpiece of Mark’s base. Not to mention that it was a huge fortress within the mountains. Seeing the state of the residents, this place was definitely better than most of the settlements she had seen before. Furthermore, she could feel powerful beings lurking in this place. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
A single hostile action would surely cost her her life, not that she had the intention in the first place.
"I guess, it is a place you would expect from one of the [Saviors], isn’t it?"
Val’Flora added.
Mark could only shrug after hearing her comment.
"You need a place to set up your waypoint, right?" Mark shifted the topic. "We’ll arrange an empty house you can use. You can set it up there. You can also use it as your residence when you’re here."
"Are you sure?" Val’Flora asked. "Normally, we would set it up outside. Most of our clients hate it to have us appear and disappear within their private spaces, you know?"
"Yeah, it’s fine," Mark did not seem to care as he nodded. "It’s more convenient this way, and you have been doing the tasks I gave you diligently. You’re also bound by that contract. And by off-chance you turn against us, it’s not like we’re afraid."
"There is no need for worry or threats. There’s no way I’ll turn against you even without the contract," Val’Flora shrugged. "I don’t want to die yet."
"Then, that’s settled," Mark replied before turning to Odelina, who was serving everyone warm drinks for the morning. "Odel, guide her to the empty house outside later. Is the one beside Zhiruo’s already furnished?"
"That house and the others near it are ready for occupation, although we might need to clean it thoroughly since we only did light cleaning on the empty houses once a week."
Odelina replied.
"Then, I’ll leave it to you."
Mark replied.
"As you wish, Master."
Odelina smiled and bowed.
Seeing that interaction, Val’Flora felt lost. There sure were a whole lot of weird things around Mark.
"Well then, next is..."
Mark said as his eyes fell on the two girls sitting on the opposite sofa before him. One was sitting with arms crossed as she observed her surroundings. On the other hand, the other girl happily drank the glass of warm chocolate milk that Odelina served her.
Who were these girls?
The grumply but younger-looking one was the older of the two. Well, she might be the oldest compared to everyone present. That was why she could not help but complain when Jaeya looked at her.
This girl was the Cursed Divine Keris, Melfiss. She should have been by Luna’s side, but she was present because of the girl sitting beside her.
The other girl was Amisha, Luna’s niece.
Then, why was Amisha here instead of staying beside her Aunt?
One reason was the fact that she would not let go of Mark after she learned they were finally leaving. She cried to the point of literally turning blue as she was unable to breathe due to excessive crying.
Another reason was that... With the upcoming wave, Luna needed to concentrate on many things. As the leader of the only remaining survivors in Indonesia, she had a lot to keep inside her mind. And knowing that Amisha was in a safer place would ease a lot of the burden on her.
Those were the reasons why Amisha was here with Melfiss as her guardian.
Mark had no reason to decline, too. He was sure Amisha was the missing [Inheritor] in Indonesia. The fact that she was too fond of him was evidence of it. However, Amisha’s inherited ability still lay dormant. With her staying near Mark, there would be more opportunities for it to awaken.
And that was Mark’s goal for keeping her safe.
There was not much to discuss afterwards. It was decided that Amisha and Melfiss would stay in Mark’s house since there was no way they would let the two live alone. They also discussed the things they needed to do afterwards.
All in all, they had two days free to do anything they wanted. As for Mark, he would spend these two days in the workshop.
After the two-day break, they would set off once more.
This time, to South Korea.
After all, they needed to find the next [Inheritor] before the next wave arrived.
