"Here! Hurry!" Arnulf shouted as he and Irmine rushed toward the area where their house stood.

Behind them, Nolan and several others followed closely. The heavy rain made their movements slower and more difficult.

"Oh my God..."

Irmine covered her mouth in shock as she looked at the current state of their home. Or rather, their former home.

Only a few wooden pillars remained standing while the roof and walls had completely collapsed.

"Oliver! Tamera! Hurry and find them!" Arnulf shouted toward the others.

As they searched through the ruined house, they witnessed complete destruction everywhere. Their belongings had all been destroyed. Rebuilding the house would likely take a very long time.

They desperately searched for their children among the wreckage but found nothing.

"Arnulf! Irmine! Come here quickly!"

Suddenly, someone called out to them from the nearby forest. Both of them immediately rushed over and saw several townspeople gathered there.

The moment the crowd saw Arnulf and Irmine arrive, they silently moved aside with sorrowful expressions.

"Oh no... Tamera..."

Irmine nearly collapsed onto the ground, but nearby townspeople quickly caught her. She and Arnulf slowly approached Tamera’s body before embracing her tightly.

"Sorry, Tamera... I should have forced you to come with us," Arnulf said painfully.

Irmine could only cry endlessly as she kissed Tamera’s cheek. To them, Tamera was truly their daughter. They had found her years ago after she got lost in this very forest.

And coincidentally, this was the exact same place where they had first found her, injured, exhausted, and alone.

"You two! I found Oliver!"

Nolan suddenly arrived while carrying Oliver in his arms.

"I found him unconscious on the other side of the forest. It seems he’s still alive and doesn’t have any major injuries," Nolan confirmed.

Irmine and Arnulf both hugged Oliver tightly while at the same time holding Tamera close to them. This was the worst tragedy that had ever befallen the Overheart family.

All the townspeople felt pity for what had happened to them.

Over the next few days, Oliver lay on a bed inside Old Man Muden’s house while receiving treatment and observation.

Tamera’s burial was held the very next day. She was buried near the edge of the cliff behind their family home. Irmine’s eyes had already dried from crying too much. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Meanwhile, Arnulf tried his best to suppress his tears. As a man, he believed crying was a sign of weakness.

Slowly, Oliver’s eyes began to open.

His eyelids felt heavy as he tried to figure out where he was.Then he realized, he was inside Muden’s house, a place he had visited many times during childhood.

"Oliver, you’re awake already? Are you alright? Do you want something to eat?" his mother asked softly beside him.

"No... no... I don’t want to eat. I... I want to see Tamera!"

Suddenly, all the memories came rushing back to Oliver.

He immediately pulled out the branula from his hand and tried to jump off the bed.

"I want to see her!"

Irmine quickly grabbed him and held him down on the bed. At the same time, Muden and his daughter rushed into the room while preparing a sedative.

"Sorry, my dear... Tamera... she’s no longer with us anymore," Irmine said tearfully.

"But don’t worry. You still have me and your father."

Muden then injected the sedative into Oliver.

"No! No!" Oliver struggled desperately. But his movements gradually slowed as the sedative began taking effect.

"I’m sorry, Oliver... that you had to experience something like this..." Irmine cried softly while gently stroking Oliver’s hair.

---

One week later.

The sun was slowly setting as night gradually approached. On a nearby cliff, Oliver sat silently facing Tamera’s tombstone. Beside him were Husk, Nyx, and Queen.

He had slowly begun accepting that Tamera was truly gone. But he still could not stop blaming himself for everything that had happened.

"It’s all my fault." he said quietly.

"If I hadn’t wasted so much time, if I had become stronger faster and tamed those monsters sooner, none of this would have happened."

"Stop blaming yourself, kid. No one can predict the future." Husk said, trying to comfort him.

"Master... don’t blame... yourself. We are also... at fault... for being weak..." Nyx said slowly.

"My Oliver..." Queen moved closer and gently placed her hand on Oliver’s shoulder.

[The system is currently undergoing an update. Most features will remain unavailable until the process is complete.]

[Current Progress: 0.11%]

The system had remained like this ever since the incident. Which meant that right now, Oliver could no longer tame monsters, purchase new cards, or obtain rewards from dungeon clearing.

However, he could still access the status of his monsters.

"Those guys... what do you think their objective is? What do they want with my monsters?" Oliver asked.

"I cannot give you a definite answer. But based on their attire, if I remember correctly, it’s the same outfit worn by the woman who took everything from me and the other ancient guardians," Husk replied.

"Is that so? Then that means if we find them, we can take revenge together?"

"Possibly."

"Good." Oliver suddenly stood up. His eyes had become sharp and focused once again. Then, he turned toward Husk.

"From now on, I will focus on strengthening my fundamentals and becoming stronger. I swear that I will never suffer a defeat like this again. I will become stronger so I can tame even more powerful monsters and add them to my list of companions."

"And I will find those Apostle people and make them pay for what they did to my family," Oliver vowed.

"Will all of you help me?" Oliver asked.

"Of course. Who else would help you if not us?" Husk replied.

"I... will become... stronger... and not let Master... feel sad anymore." Nyx said.

"Me and my spawns will always protect you, my Oliver." Queen said gently.

Oliver smiled after hearing their responses.

"Look, Tamera. I’m truly lucky to be accompanied by such reliable and wonderful friends. So over there, just rest peacefully and watch over me."

"And please pray for me from above."

Oliver placed a flower onto Tamera’s tombstone before turning around and walking away. For a brief moment, he felt as though Tamera was waving at him.

A soft smile appeared on Oliver’s face.

Because for him, this was not the end, but only the beginning.

End of Volume 1 : Overlord Tamer Rising

Next: Volume 2 - Invitation To The Capital