Ethan returned home as the evening shadows stretched across the city. His parents were already back—Jack lounged on the couch watching TV, and Elina was chatting on the phone.
"Hey, I’m back," Ethan greeted casually as he stepped inside.
Jack glanced over and raised a brow. "Where have you been, son?"
"Nothing much," Ethan replied nonchalantly. "Just went to the Alliance hall to register as an official martial warrior."
He spoke with such indifference, as if he’d merely run an errand.
Jack’s fingers paused mid-press on the TV remote. "Oh, so you went to the Alliance hall to register as warr—Wait. What did you just say?" His voice grew sharp with confusion. "Son,can you tell me again,maybe I heard that wrong?"
Ethan expected this reaction and was inwardly gloating, but on the surface, he remained calm. "I said I went to become an official warrior."
The remote slipped from Jack’s fingers and clattered to the floor. He stood up abruptly, his eyes wide as saucers, as if he’d seen a ghost.
Elina, who had been talking on the phone, froze. Her phone dropped from her hand as the other party’s voice kept calling, "Hello? Hello?"
Both parents stared at Ethan in disbelief.
Then Jack suddenly laughed. "Hahaha! Elina, did you hear that? Ethan’s grown up. He’s got a sense of humor now. That was a good one, son. Even your old man never had such timing back in the day—but hey, I still managed to win over your beautiful mother. You’ve got potential with the ladies, kid. I’m proud of you!"
With a smug grin, Jack picked up the remote and went back to channel surfing.
Elina rolled her eyes. "Enough joking. Go wash your hands, I’ll get you some snacks." She didn’t believe him either. She bent down to pick up her phone, the other side still saying "Hello?"
Ethan looked at his parents, speechless.
Without a word, he took out the black warrior card from his pocket and handed it to Jack.
Jack took one look at it—and dropped the remote again.
The remote: 🙂
This time, Jack wasn’t joking.
He came from a prestigious background and knew exactly what that black card signified. Ethan wasn’t pulling a prank. He had truly become a warrior.
The room fell silent. Only the murmur of the television filled the air. Then, Jack began to laugh—loud, uninhibited laughter that echoed through the house. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"I, Jack Hunt, have raised a dragon! Hahahahaha! I wasn’t wrong when I made that decision!"
Elina didn’t speak. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks.
Ethan was stunned by their reaction. The memories of the body’s previous owner didn’t contain anything about this. He frowned slightly and asked, "Dad... what are you talking about? What decision? Do you have a past I don’t know about?"
Jack slowly wiped his tears and looked at Ethan, a mix of pride and sadness in his eyes. It was the gaze of a father seeing the future of his family in his son.
"It’s already late. You’ve had a long day. Go rest for now. We’ll talk in the morning."
Ethan didn’t press further. "Bye, Dad. Bye, Mom." He turned and walked toward his room.
As they watched him leave, Jack murmured, "Our son has truly grown up. Maybe... just maybe, with Ethan by our side, we can face that family again."
Elina didn’t respond. She sat beside him and hugged him tightly. Jack wrapped his arms around her in return.
---
Later that night, Ethan entered back to the Alliance market.
He would be going hunting in two days once his new sword arrived, but there were other things he needed. Since he could now manipulate objects—at least ten at once—he decided to buy some flying knives.
A set of "C" series flying knives was priced between 100 to 200 million. Each set contained ten knives. Ethan placed an order for the C-9 set.
He still had 300 million Alliance coins left. His sword would cost around 100 million; the remaining half would be covered by the Alliance itself. That left him with 200 million to spend.
He browsed the available sword techniques. The cheapest one was the Light Sword Technique, priced at 100 million. He selected it.
He also picked out a D-9 grade soft armor—another 100 million.
In an instant, he became a pauper again.
Ethan sighed. "I thought 500 million made me rich... it’s all gone, just like that. Sigh... sigh..."
He sighed a few more times dramatically before placing the order. The system confirmed that the items would be delivered within three hours. The supreme-grade body-strengthening fluid was likely to be delivered with them as well.
He had hoped to start learning the sword technique immediately, but a note on the order stated that this particular technique would be handed over by an official.
He realized that while Basic Foundation Sword Art was a general technique anyone could learn, more advanced techniques required personal delivery and clearance.
With nothing better to do, Ethan took an old sword from his room. The body’s previous owner had bought it as a hobby item.
He stepped outside and began practicing the Primordial Foundation Sword Art. This time, though his movements were sharp and clean, no sword intent leaked into the air—he had learned to control it.
Two hours passed in focused training.
[Ding! Sword Intent upgraded to Level 2]
[Ding! Sword Intent upgraded to Level 3]
In just two hours, his sword intent advanced by two levels. His force multiplication had increased to 4 times. With a base strength of 30.8 tons, he could now unleash a staggering 123.2 tons of force—already standing at the threshold of a Martial Master. And not a weak one at that.
Eventually, he returned to his room, took a shower, and came down for dinner.
Jack didn’t say much. He simply asked, "So, what’s your next plan?"
Ethan answered calmly, "Dad, I want to become a full-time warrior. In two days, I’ll be joining a team for monster hunting." He handed Jack a copy of the contract.
Jack’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Damn it! I thought I couldn’t be shocked anymore. But this contract... these terms... What kind of absurd conditions are these?"
After a moment, he composed himself and went back to eating. He didn’t want to say more. Deep down, his confidence had taken a hit.
Having a talented child was one thing. But having a monstrous genius for a son... it shook his very foundation. Still, his lips betrayed him. They kept twitching, trying not to smile.
Elina gave him another one of her eye-rolls.
---
After dinner, the family chatted casually until the doorbell rang.
Ethan opened the door to find a tall, broad-shouldered man in military uniform.
"Are you Mr. Ethan Hunt?" the man asked. "You have parcels. Please confirm the contents and sign."
Ethan checked the items carefully. Everything was there—including the supreme-grade body-strengthening fluid.
"Everything looks good," he said.
The man then handed him a sealed scroll. "This is your special technique. As a reminder—this is restricted to your use only. Sharing it is a serious offense. If leaked, the Alliance will hunt you down. Understood?"
Ethan nodded. "Understood."
He signed the form, took the packages inside, and returned to the living room.
"I told you it would arrive tonight," he said to his parents with a smile.
Then, from the set, Ethan pulled out two vials and handed them to Jack and Elina. "These are for you. Supreme-grade body-strengthening fluid. It’ll help you increase your physical strength significantly."
Jack took the vial and stared at it, eyes gleaming with unspoken emotions. A flicker of melancholy crossed his face—well hidden, but not enough to escape Ethan’s notice.
Ethan didn’t ask. He knew the answers would come tomorrow.