Level 1 to Apex: My Monster Templates Defy Reality!
Chapter 66: The family gathering

Chapter 66: The family gathering

Veyne stared at his mobile phone, his hand shaking as he saw 3–4 missed calls from his mother.

He just stood there as a flood of unwanted memories rushed through him.

In his past life, many people had betrayed him.

Some hurt him more than others.

Out of all of them, if there was someone who broke him the most, it was his mother.

She was one of those sweet ladies who believed in keeping the family together.

Sure, she never outright betrayed him, but she never missed a chance to hurt him, either.

The daily offhanded remarks, those pitiful words that hurt more than a stab.

Even the big betrayal from his brother and lover was just one major blow, but with Mom, it was a slow process of daily mental torture.

Even with all that, he used to believe that she still loved him.

Actually, that was just him being blind.

There were many things big and small that she did, but the biggest one that forever stuck with him was her reaction to his brother’s and lover’s affair.

Her celebrating the fact that she was going to be a grandmother.

The way she hugged both his brother and his cheating lover.

That day, she didn’t say any offhanded remark, but that scene broke something big inside him.

Something so big that even after coming back to life, he still felt it was missing from him.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

It took him some moments, but he stopped shaking altogether.

He stared at her phone number for a long time.

Just then, he noticed that today was the 25th, and it hit him that it must be related to the big family gathering.

In his past life, by this time, he was already at his parents’ home, trying to cope with depression. So he remembered attending the big family gathering.

It was a common custom in their house where all his aunts, uncles, cousins, and even neighbors gathered every 3–4 months for a big get-together dinner.

He decided not to overthink it and just dialed his mom’s number.

Brrr brrr brrr...

After a long ring, someone picked up the phone. [Hello. Brother, where are you?]

Veyne recognized the younger voice,it was his younger sister.

He responded in a calm tone, "In my dorm. Why?"

[Wait, what are you doing there? Don’t you know the party starts at 9?]

"Don’t worry. I’ll be there by then."

He was about to disconnect when she asked in a low whisper, [Brother, did something big happen between you and Dad?]

Veyne raised an eyebrow. "No. I haven’t even talked to him for the past few weeks."

[But Dad looked pissed for some reason. I even heard him shouting at Mom regarding you. Uh, forget it. I just gave you the warning, so don’t forget to bring something for me.]

He didn’t bother to respond and just disconnected the call.

Even though he had decided not to go for petty revenge, that didn’t mean he wanted to improve his relationship with these people.

The only reason he wanted to be part of this family was to understand his mistakes.

He remembered his promise to change, and the first step toward that change was understanding himself. It was for his self-improvement and nothing else.

Hr never wanted to rebuild relationships with these people. That also included his dad and his younger sister.

His dad was a very quiet person, but he had an obsession with his social image.

He would do anything in his power to maintain that image.

It was for that reason he gave Veyne the basement to live in—so that others wouldn’t see him sleeping on the road.

It was good, but on the other side, their relationship had soured from the day Veyne failed his second guild.

To his dad, he was nothing but a burden—a burden he quietly wished would disappear from the world.

His sister wasn’t much different; she cared only about gifts and money.

He wasn’t going to waste his resources chasing after their acknowledgment this time.

He decided to drop Roonie’s party. So he just called him.

Brr brr.

The guy picked up after a short ring and asked, [Veyne, what happened?]

"I just wanted to say I won’t be able to come to the party."

[What? Why?]

"Sorry about this, but I forgot that today I have to go home and attend a family gathering."

[Oh, come on, can’t you skip it this time? What do you even get out of those boring family meetings?]

Veyne smiled. "Some family drama, I guess." He put the phone on speaker as he started changing his clothes.

[Haha, well that’s true. Wait, when and where is this family gathering?"

Veyne raised an eyebrow. "9 p.m., around the edge of the city. Why are you asking?" He answered casually, knowing that Roonie probably already knew his home address and other details.

[Oh, that’s super early. It good time to give you that.]

"Give me what?"

[Just wait at the college gate. I’m sending you your brand new car. The family gathering would be the perfect time to flex, you know.]

Veyne sighed. "True, but no point sending the car right now—I don’t even know how to drive."

[What the hell? Why don’t you know how to drive at your age?]

Veyne pulled his pants and said, "Well, because I never had my own car, I guess."

[Geez. Should I send one of my guards as a driver?]

Veyne shook his head. "Nah, those guys stand out too much."

[Then, should I arrange someone else?]

Veyne smiled. "You want to attend the gathering?"

[Ugh, what the hell would I even do there?]

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about my living arrangements and some guild stuff."

[We can talk about that stuff when you come back.]

"Well, you could also get to experience some middle-class family drama. Let me tell you—it’s going to be way more entertaining than Guild Wars within the game."

[Hey, I won’t fall for that. Don’t worry, I’ll send a normal-looking dude as the driver.]

With that, Roonie disconnected the call. Veyne just sighed and dropped the phone.

This meeting was not about others, but for him. He hadn’t set foot in that house since that betrayal.

Now, after so long, he was finally going back as Veyne, not as Veyne Draven of the past.

He focused on a couple of things before searching for his shoes.

It took him around 10 more minutes before he walked out of the dorm building toward the college gate.

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