Once the initial shock and excitement settled, my parents finally began asking the questions they had been holding back since the moment they recognized me.
There was simply too much they wanted to know.
To them, I was still the seven-year-old boy they had left behind in my grandmother’s care before arriving in the Null Realm. Entire decade of my life existed as a complete mystery to them, and judging by the looks on their faces, they intended to uncover every missing detail.
Before we began, I raised a hand and casually constructed a protective barrier around the outpost. A translucent dome of Saint Soul Force expanded across the surrounding mountains and settled over the entire area.
The formation my mother had worked so hard to maintain immediately became unnecessary. The shield I created wasn’t particularly complicated, but it was more than sufficient for the task.
Even an attack from a Beginner Saint would struggle to leave a mark on it, making the threat posed by ordinary Transcendent creatures practically nonexistent.
With the danger removed, the hunting team quickly resumed their work. Engineers returned to the damaged sections of the outpost, workers continued construction, and the operation gradually returned to normal as though four Peak Transcendent beasts had never appeared at all.
Meanwhile, my parents, Roland, and I settled near the center of the dome. Surrounded by the steady rhythm of rebuilding efforts, we finally sat down together for the first real conversation we had shared in many, many years.
"Alright," my father said, leaning forward with obvious curiosity. "Tell me about your academy years. What were they like? And more importantly, which elite unit did you get into?"
Smack.
The sound echoed across the area.
My father immediately grabbed the back of his head.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
Roland looked at him as though he had just said something incredibly stupid.
"That is the first thing you ask?" he scoffed. "Not a single question about his life, his health, or your mother. Straight to the elite unit."
My father blinked.
"I was getting there."
"You were not."
"I was."
While the two of them continued glaring at each other, my mother shook her head and decided to ask the question herself.
"How is Grandma?"
The concern in her voice immediately softened my expression.
"She’s doing well."
Both of them visibly relaxed.
"I’ll tell you more about her later, but she’s healthy, stubborn as ever, and doing surprisingly well for herself."
I paused.
"Honestly, I think she’s a Transcendent now."
That statement immediately derailed the conversation. Roland raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Roland asked.
"How?" my father added.
"That makes absolutely no sense," my mother muttered.
I groaned.
"Will you three actually let me tell the story?"
"Right, right," my father said, waving a hand dismissively. "Go on. Ignore the old man."
Roland narrowed his eyes.
"You say that as though you’re any younger."
Ignoring them both, I continued.
"Anyway, to answer your original question, Father, yes. I was the top student in the academy."
A grin immediately appeared on his face.
"I knew it."
I shook my head before continuing.
"And yes, I eventually joined an elite unit."
My father’s grin somehow widened.
"That’s my boy."
"Actually, it was the same unit you joined."
The smile on his face became downright insufferable.
"I knew it."
My mother laughed softly before steering the conversation back toward more important matters.
"What about Steve? You two were inseparable when you were young. Did you stay friends?"
I couldn’t help smiling.
"Yeah. We stayed together throughout the academy and even ended up serving in the same elite unit afterward."
"That poor boy," my father said.
"Excuse me?"
"If he had to put up with you for that long, he deserves a medal."
I rolled my eyes.
"As for Steve, he’s doing well," I continued. "We’re still traveling together. In fact, he’s not very far away. I just couldn’t bring him here for a few... complicated reasons."
Knowing Steve, he was probably causing trouble somewhere at this exact moment.
"Anyway, the most important thing that happened during my awakening was that I awakened a talent."
That immediately caught everyone’s attention.
"A talent?" Roland asked, leaning forward slightly. "Really?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. It’s called Generator. It allows me to generate essence from energy."
For a few moments, nobody said anything.
My father looked at my mother.
My mother looked at Roland.
Roland looked back at me.
The silence stretched long enough for me to realize they fully understood the significance of what I had just said.
"That’s..." my mother finally began before stopping to gather her thoughts. "That’s an extraordinary talent."
"Extraordinary?" Roland snorted. "That’s putting it mildly."
Even Julius had lost his usual relaxed expression.
"If it works the way I’m imagining, that talent alone would be enough to change someone’s entire future."
"It did," I admitted.
The three of them exchanged another glance. I couldn’t help smiling.
"Because of Generator, I ended up crushing every benchmark the elite units had. Training, combat, endurance, ranking speed... it didn’t really matter."
My father looked entirely too pleased by that statement.
"That’s my son."
I ignored him and continued.
"During graduation, I was deployed against the Holts."
That earned a few nods. They knew exactly who the Holts were.
"Things escalated from there. The Empire eventually launched a full campaign, the Holts were completely defeated, and their power was broken for good."
The smiles around the table faded. Because they understood what that actually meant.
"And after that?" Roland asked.
"After that came the Peanu and the Surka."
My father blinked.
"The Peanu and the Surka?"
"Both."
The silence returned.
I was beginning to enjoy it.
"We fought them too. There were a few wars, a lot of political complications, several assassination attempts, some invasions, and an unhealthy amount of deaths."
I continued as though I were discussing the weather.
"In the end, we won. The Empire absorbed their territories, unified the three worlds, and became the dominant power in the region."
Nobody spoke. I leaned back slightly.
"Oh, and somewhere along the way I was appointed Guardian of Vaythos."
The expressions on their faces were absolutely priceless. For several heartbeats, the three of them simply sat there.
Finally my father pointed at me.
"You’re joking."
"No."
"You have to be joking."
I shrugged.
"Why would I joke about that?"
"Billion."
His expression had become completely serious.
"You expect me to believe that?"
I couldn’t help grinning.
"Father, do you think I became a Saint by taking afternoon naps and avoiding responsibility?"
That earned a snort from Roland.
My mother’s lips twitched. Julius stared at me for another few seconds before slowly shaking his head.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I asked how your academy years went."
"Yes."
"Somehow we’ve skipped straight to you conquering planets."
I thought about it for a moment. Then nodded.
"That’s a fair observation. And that was just the beginning of my legendary journey. I am skipping so many details here."