"Here sweety, I made your favourite dish," Sarah said, placing a steaming plate of food before Alex.
"Thanks, Ma. You're the best." Alex beamed a smile and began stuffing his face with passion and ignoring the rest of the family.
"You should at least wait for everyone to be served. Where are your manners?" Olivia rebuked, looking at Alex as if he were a barbarian seeing food for the first time in a long while.
"Yeah, brother. Mom would have struck my head if I did that." Aaron added with a displeased look. He didn't like the fact that Alex could get away with certain actions he couldn't.
After swallowing whatever he had in his mouth, Alex looked at his siblings and replied, "Unlike you guys, I've been away from home. You guys enjoy this almost every day. Cut me some slack."
"Hmph!" Olivia snorted and Aaron looked away, feeling petty for bringing that up when they just literally welcomed him back.
"I agree with your sister, Alex. But I'll forgive you just for today." Sarah replied while preparing the servings for the rest of the family.
"What would you do if you finish your portion before we even begin?" Her words made sense as Alex was almost done eating his meal.
With his enhanced reflexes and senses, Alex had gotten used to doing things very fast.
"Sorry, Ma. It's just that I missed your cooking so much that I couldn't help myself." He apologized and added a compliment just in case.
And the last bit indeed brought a smile to her face. "I know dear…" Sarah replied looking at Alex with a gaze filled with warmth.
The moment she looked away, however, Alex looked at his two siblings and flashed a mocking grin at them.
"Maa….?" Aaron called out. "Alex is mocking us." There was no way he was going to miss his chance of getting back at his brother for getting a free pass.
"Enough already. Alex just got back and like he said, cut him some sack." Willian spoke to put an end to the bickering.
He enjoyed the liveliness in his home, and even if he missed his son, that didn't mean they could disturb the peace and quiet.
Then, he noticed Alex mouth something to him, 'Thanks, old man.' William narrowed his eyes after Alex called him an old man once again.
'This brat is back with his shenanigans.' He thought with a smile and pride in his heart.
Soon, the entire family began enjoying their little welcome and congratulatory party in honour of Alex making it through his first year.
After the meal, the family moved to the lounge where Alex began to recount the tails of what happened in the events.
"Wait, I have something better."
He paused when he realized he had recordings of the whole competition.
"Xex, transfer the video recordings of the competition to the home display," Alex instructed under the expectant gaze of his family.
[In a moment…]
Shortly after, the video recordings of the events were listed on the home display and Alex selected the first event and played it for his family while he explained to them the idea behind each event and what it required to pass it.
"Wait, your level is still low after all this time?" Olivia asked with furrowed brows as the battle royale event played.
She knew more of the workings of mana and how levels were raised, so she was shocked when Alex explained.
The rest of the family looked at him in curiosity, waiting for him to reply.
"Yeah… For some reason, I can't level up." Alex muttered in a frustrated tone. Being stuck at the lowest level of Class F while everyone else grew stronger wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Even with all the momentum and success he had achieved so far, that feeling of being left behind still lingered. He knew it was only a matter of time before everyone surpassed him.
Naturally, he knew it had something to do with the void energy he used, but he decided to spare them those details.
"…." His parents remained silent, not sure what to say to him in this situation. They were not conversant with the ins and outs of the awakener's community.
"Is it that bad?" Aaron asked with concern.
"Nah… I'll find a solution soon enough. Besides, I have help from someone very important." He assured his brother and family with a smile.
"Now let's get back to watching the events. I'm back home people, let's not turn the atmosphere gloomy." He quickly changed directions so as to prevent them from thinking too much about the issue.
"Fine," Olivia grumbled, but she could tell that her brother was being honest about finding a way soon enough, though the soon could be years.
"Must you treat your fellow mates like that?" Sarah asked in a worried tone, not liking how some of the events required the students to fight and kill each other.
Of course, that was only her opinion. Alex's father, Aaron and Olivia had totally different expressions. The excitement in the eyes of Aaron and his dad couldn't be hidden.
"Awesome!" Aaron muttered with a clenched fist, supporting his brother's combat abilities and how he handled tricky situations.
"Don't worry, Ma. Everything that happened was in a simulation, there was no real damage to the students in any way." Alex explained while leaving out the systemic reconditioning part.
"No wonder you're the best student among the first years," Olivia said with clear pride in her voice. "Facing yourself, saving the city and even defeating that guardian that looks almost undefeatable, you're really something."
"Yeah, bro. You've got to teach me some of those moves. You think I can be as good as you when I awaken?" Aaron asked with shiny eyes, looking at his brother like some kind of celebrity.
"What can I say? I do what I gotta do." He shrugged, bragging a little now that he was home.
"I'll say. Using mana to boost your physical prowess like that will definitely shake the empire." Olivia was keen enough to see that Alex's discovery could change things even though Alex himself hadn't mentioned it yet.
"Good eyes, sis. I can assure you that people are already trying to replicate what I did."
"What is he talking about?" William asked with a perplexed expression. All he knew was that his son was a hunter genius who was already making a name for himself.
"Well, Dad. Just know that very soon, the way hunters use their mana is going to take a drastic change." He explained.
"But the surprise I spoke about is what I got as a reward for obtaining the Celestial Sigil," Alex said with a knowing smile, watching as his family looked at him with curiosity.
"Well, spit it out already." Olivia rushed him. She was not one to be delayed as she had been patient enough since Alex hinted at it when they met him at the Teleportation Hub.
"Hehe, sure." He raised his hands defensively before accessing his account balance. The next moment, he projected it to his family.
"…."