NOVEL WEB Chapter 4: Home
Oliver headed toward an old residential complex, but each house was large—averaging more than 200 square meters in area and consisting of two floors.
This was considered a neighborhood for the upper-middle class.
In the past, Oliver's father had been a successful businessman, but he fell ill and passed away. His mother failed to maintain the business and eventually became sick as well.
As a result, their family became poor, and the house in this complex was the only thing they managed to hold onto.
If there was no financial improvement, they might eventually have to sell it too.
Oliver arrived in front of his house, which looked older than the others since it had never been repainted.
Feeling more excited than ever, he broke into a run—but found that the door had been locked.
It was already quite late, so it made sense that his little sister had locked the door.
Tok! Tok!
"Mom, Emma!" Oliver knocked on the door while calling out to them so they wouldn't be scared, not knowing who was knocking at this hour.
Not long after, he heard soft but hurried footsteps—signaling that the person walking was still a child.
Click!
The door opened from the inside, revealing a small girl who looked about 10 years old, with short white hair and reddish fair skin.
She gave off a cute and sweet impression, with eyes that always seemed curious about life.
"Bro?" she said when she saw Oliver.
He ruffled her hair as he walked inside, making her look a little annoyed.
"Has mom gone to bed?" Oliver asked her.
"Not yet. She's watching TV in the bedroom," replied the girl, who shared the bedroom with their mother since both of them chose to stay on the first floor, which only had one bedroom.
Hearing her words, Oliver walked toward the room while speaking loudly, "Mom, I failed to awaken, but I've become a Cultivator and awakened a powerful innate talent. I even became the student of the Head of the Association!"
He deliberately told her this, hoping the good news would lift her spirits.
The illness she suffered from often left her too weak to even sit up.
She wasn't completely paralyzed, but she was close to it—needing daily medication to prevent her condition from worsening.
"Really?" Emma, who followed behind Oliver, was stunned by his words, but Oliver was focused on the room ahead, where he saw a woman with long white hair that gave the impression of youth—making her look like she was in her thirties.
Her face was beautiful, with pale white skin, and her figure was slim and graceful.
She lay on an old, large mattress, watching a small TV mounted on the wall.
Sofia—this was Oliver and Emma's mother.
Her eyes looked at Oliver, as if struggling to process his words, probably because they surprised her too much.
"It's true. Look at this—I have void power, the strongest kind," Oliver said again before transforming his right hand into void.
With his 1% understanding of Void Body Transformation, he could choose one part of his body to turn into void.
As soon as he said that, his right hand turned completely black.
At first glance, it seemed like his skin just darkened, but in truth, it was emptiness in the shape of a hand—something that nullified even space itself.
His mother immediately sat up when she saw it, staring at his hand in awe and shock.
Emma wore the same expression.
"But isn't cultivation supposed to take time? You weren't cultivating yesterday, and now you already have cultivation. How is it possible so fast?" Emma asked, confused.
"Like I said, I awakened a powerful talent—so the Head of the Association immediately took me in as her student," Oliver answered.
"Without talent, this would've been impossible." He smiled.
If he hadn't explained this, Emma might've insisted he teach her to cultivate quickly—something that was truly impossible.
Besides, he had managed to reach the First Stage instantly because he absorbed energy from the Heaven Spirit Water and because his understanding of Black Hole immediately reached 1%.
He looked at his mother, who still seemed calm, but her eyes clearly showed deep happiness.
"Mom, I'm going to my room now," he said.
It was already late, and his mother should've been asleep. She probably stayed up waiting for him, so naturally, he didn't want to disturb her too long.
His mother nodded in response, letting him go to his room.
He left the room and climbed the stairs to the second floor, which also had a large central space filled with bookshelves.
There were two bedrooms on the second floor, and Oliver entered one of them—his room.
It didn't have many furnishings, just a mattress and a plastic wardrobe to store his clothes.
Other than those two things, there was nothing else—making the room feel quite spacious.
"I want to see the Chaotic World," he said as he sat on his bed—and a portal appeared in front of him.
Those who had awakened or who had become Cultivators could summon a portal to the Chaotic World with just a thought.
Evylin had advised Oliver to only enter that world once his understanding of at least one technique reached 1%, and now he had met that requirement.
However, the Chaotic World was always described as a place full of unimaginable dangers.
Oliver still thought seriously about entering, even though it was his own desire.
"But..."
His eyes, locked onto the portal in front of him, somehow stirred his mind—pulling him into deep thought as if triggering countless sparks of inspiration.
"Why did I just realize this? Isn't a portal also a form of void power? I can learn from this," he said.
He began observing the portal intently, gaining deep insights into Black Hole and his void techniques.
The Black Hole inside his body was still small—too small to be brought outside—but observing the portal gave him an idea on how to expand it.
As it grew larger, it would become stronger and able to absorb more Spiritual Energy.
Oliver lost track of time as he kept gaining enlightenment, and his understanding of Black Hole rose significantly—along with Void Step, a technique used to move within the void.
He even began to discover ways to control void particles hidden around him.