Chapter 4

Keith’s party stood on a platform floating on a large pond in the middle of a walled courtyard. At least three hundred exotic plants occupied the space surrounding the pond, creating a colorful scene. Hellgrass, lakefins, earthroot, skylilies, there were too many to name.

When Keith’s mom adopted Annallee and Elora years ago, Keith had decided to make a giant garden for the two elves to relax in. Since he only bought rare plants, he’d needed to hire a caretaker, or else the garden would slowly die off, as it did initially.

After teleporting back, Keith scanned the garden and found an older man tending to a jelly-like plant. “Old Li, good morning!”

Lifting his straw hat, the gardener turned around and gave a warm smile to Keith. “Mornin’, young’un.”

Old Li was full of gratitude toward Keith for allowing his hands to work with so many epic and legendary grade plants. His skills grew each day, giving him great joy.

Upon noticing Old Li’s face covered in dirt, Keith gently reminded the elder. “Make sure you take care of yourself, and don’t forget to ask Ridger if you need anything.”

“Of course.” Old Li chuckled heartily before returning to his work.

“You called for me?” A stern voice came from the other side of the bridge leading to the platform.

Keith turned and found Ridger, his mom’s butler and guardian since she was a child. The man appeared middle-aged with a well-kept beard, bushy mustache, and short gray hair. Dressed in a traditional outfit befitting any butler, the man was both handsome and refined. Only, his outfit was too small, with his massive muscles threatening to break free from their shackles and show themselves to the world. Keith swore Ridger wore such tight clothes on purpose to highlight his physique.

“Oh, good timing. Could you prepare a room for Zachery here?” Keith paused for a moment, then added, “Make sure he doesn’t escape.”

Ridger raised an eyebrow. “Are you committing a crime?”

“No, it isn’t like that,” Annallee answered before Keith could respond.

“Very well, then.” Ridger nodded, knowing Annallee would give Keith a good beating should he do anything wrong.

After Keith’s group crossed the bridge, Annallee handed Zachery over to Ridger, who asked for confirmation. “How should I treat him?”

Keith responded without hesitation. “As a guest, he hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Anything else?” Ridger asked before he left.

Keith thought for a moment. “Mom will be back soon, right?”

“Of course,” Ridger replied. “How could she miss your eighteenth birthday?”

The System granted anyone who turned eighteen an ability based on their personality, aspirations, traits, or past actions. Elora’s unique healing skill came from the System. To many, it was their defining skill, and Keith was looking forward to what he’d receive. It was driving him so crazy he’d been doing anything he could to distract himself, even accompanying his sisters on their morning routine.

Thankfully, all that effort paid off. Tomorrow at dawn, he’d turn eighteen. Would he get a skill? A class? A customized system? A growth item? A soul pet? There were so many possibilities.

“Let me know when he wakes up,” Keith said as he entered the large but welcoming stone mansion on the other side of the courtyard. The anticipation for tomorrow was killing him, so he hoped Zachery woke up soon and distracted him some more.

An adorably short human maid in her early twenties waited in the main hall. When Keith entered, she clasped her hands across her stomach and bowed slightly. “Your breakfast is ready.”

“Oh! Sounds perfect, Cami, thank you.” Keith’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food. Annallee and Elora typically left early in the morning, so they only ate breakfast when they returned from their training.

“Hm.” Annallee sniffed the air. “Smells like scrambled hork eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast with jam.”

“Spot on!” Cami clapped her hands as Keith rolled his eyes. He’d learned from gossip in school that barbarians had good senses. Was his sister a pure-blood elf or a barbarian? How else could she tell what type of eggs they were from several rooms away?

Keith followed Annallee and Elora to the dining room, after which they dug in. Annallee ate like she was in a race, refilling her plate again and again. Grease covered her mouth, which she licked off with her tongue. Elora looked on, horrified, as she delicately bit into a piece of toast. Meanwhile, Keith ate with one hand and browsed the auction house with the other.

A while later, Annallee leaned back in her chair, rubbed her stomach, and let out a burp. “Ah, that was delicious. A professional chef sure is on another level.”

Hearing Annallee’s belch, Elora suddenly slammed her fork down onto the table, stood up, looked at her older sister in disgust, then left the room. Watching her leave, Annallee rubbed her nose and wondered why her sister was so picky about manners.

Keith chuckled, having gotten used to Annallee’s eating style ages ago. His mom ate the same way, except with a bottle of alcohol in her hand at all times. She’d be an alcoholic if her stats didn’t negate the effects.

At this time, Cami entered the room and began clearing the table. Keith took one last bite before asking. “Have you settled in? It’s been two weeks now, right?”

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Cami answered as she worked. “Yes, I love it here. Boss Ridger can be a bit tough, but I can tell he’s got a gentle heart.”

“That’s good to hear.” Keith was happy for her. Two weeks ago, he’d found Cami looking for a job while strolling through the city, and after snooping on her history, he found out she grew up in an orphanage. He hired her on the spot. Before that, they’d relied on Ridger.

“Talking behind my back, are we?” A deep voice with a hint of playfulness came from the door.

Keith looked over and smirked. “Uncle Ridger, are you saying you aren’t tough?”

“Hm?” Ridger suddenly flexed his arms and ripped his black coat to pieces. “What do you think?”

“Ah!” Cami cried out in alarm from the abrupt display.

Without a hint of shame, Ridger changed to one pose after another. “Just look at my gallery of muscles. Do they look weak and soft to you?”

As Ridger’s muscles wriggled around like worms, Annallee exclaimed. “Wow, amazing. Look at the symmetry.”

While Ridger laughed heartily at her remarks, Keith finally accepted Annallee for who she was after seeing her enthusiasm. Sighing in exhaustion, as if he’d lost something precious, he said, “Why don’t you accompany Uncle Ridger to his next bodybuilder competition? It’ll be full of barely clothed muscle-brained men.”

Annallee’s eyes sparkled like stars. “Is there a women’s section? Can I compete?”

“Of course there is, my little Annallee. Love for muscles transcends gender and race. Orcs, demons, dwarves, humans, elves, male or female, there is no discrimination!” Ridger clasped Annallee’s shoulders and preached with extreme passion. He was delighted to discover this side of his adopted niece.

“Oooh!” Annallee trembled in excitement from the aura exuding from Ridger.

Seeing the flame of passion in her eyes, Ridger suddenly grew solemn. “Would you like to see my training equipment?”

Annallee’s expression matched Ridger’s as she responded. “It would be my honor.”

Ridger nodded, already determined to accept her as his protégée. He would impart all sorts of exercises and poses to her. Taking this chance, Ridger turned to his nephew. “How about you, little Keith? You can raise your stats from working out.”

“No thanks.” Keith shook his head without hesitation. “I’m not going to be a fighter.”

“Mm.” Ridger already knew Keith’s answer before he asked, though upon hearing Keith’s response about not wanting to fight monsters, his expression grew complicated. Sighing heavily, he didn’t pursue the matter and instead focused back on Annallee. “Come, I’ll show you my gym.”

After Ridger and Annallee left, Keith rose from his seat and thanked Cami before heading toward his room on the second floor. With nothing to distract him, he began thinking about his birthday, which according to his mom, was sometime in the morning tomorrow. How many hours were left? Too many. What would he do until then? Organize his warehouse? No, that wouldn’t work. He’d done that a dozen times this past week and organized it to perfection.

“Let me out!” A familiar voice suddenly came from down the hall as soon as Keith reached the second floor.

“Oh, Zachery’s awake.” Keith skipped over in delight, opened the door to the guest room, and came across an amusing sight. Uncle Doven was holding Zachery up with one hand, a troubled look on his face. Zachery punched Doven’s chest, only to yelp in pain.

“You can’t leave,” Uncle Doven said.

Zachery seemed to realize he was no match for Doven, so he asked pitifully. “Can you put me down then?”

“Okay,” Doven replied and lowered Zachery to the ground.

Hearing the door open, Zachery glanced over and found Keith. His expression went from confused, angry, grateful, back to angry one after the other. “Look, I’m grateful you saved my life, but why won’t you let me leave?”

Keith shook his head as he sat down on a nearby chair and crossed his legs. Staring Zachery in the eye, he began. “You intentionally fought an epic grade Rift Boss with such pitiful equipment. Could you explain why?”

Zachery’s anger dissipated. Was this guy concerned about him? This rich punk? Regardless, he didn’t care. “It’s none of your business.”

“It’s because of your Avenger title, right?” Keith watched Zachery closely as he spoke.

Title: Avenger

Description: Gain increased experience and skill gain when pushing yourself to your limits to achieve your goal.

“How do you know that?” Zachery’s eyes widened. “What level is your Inspect skill?”

“I’m asking the questions here!” Keith barked, thinking it would be funny to take on the role of an interrogation officer. Seeing Keith’s attitude, Uncle Doven cracked his knuckles threateningly.

Zachery looked at Doven and gulped, recalling the man before him had killed the Rift Boss in one blow. Realizing his situation, Zachery grabbed his head and swore.

Keith folded his hands across his lap and ventured a theory. “I was thinking, the title alone isn’t enough reason to fight an epic grade Rift Boss. Does your innate gift happen to be similar?”

Asking about a stranger’s innate gift was considered rude, yet Zachery could only share his information, considering the circumstances. Clenching his hands, he answered, “You’re sharp. When I turned eighteen last month, I gained a skill which allowed me to grow exponentially faster if I fight monsters stronger than me.”

Keith thought it was a miracle Zachery was still alive. Recalling Zachery’s parents, his expression softened. “I know what happened to your parents.”

Zachery froze, then sneered. “So what?”

“Do you want to avenge them?”

“Wouldn’t anyone?” Zachery snickered coldly.

Keith sighed. “How would you find the person responsible? Don’t tell me you want to kill every demon alive?”

“What are you getting at? Humans and demons kill each other all the time, don’t they?” Zachery didn’t understand why Keith was asking all these questions.

Keith got to his feet and looked Zachery in the eye. “Did you know ninety-nine percent of people with the Avenger title end up dying shortly after acquiring it?”

Zachery’s pupils shrank. “That can’t be true.”

“Heh,” Keith scoffed. “Forget about today. Just how many near-death experiences have you had in the past few months? Do you really believe I’m lying?”

Zachery had no response. His mood deflated as he collapsed onto the bed behind him. “Ninety-nine percent? Is it really so high?”

“Unfortunately, you having a similar innate gift pretty much guarantees your death.” Keith spoke without beating around the bush.

Tears fell from Zachery’s face. “That demon took everything away from me, so why won’t the System let me kill him? Why is it mocking me? It isn’t fair.”

Keith’s heart clenched as he heard the pain in Zachery’s voice. He forced a smile. “I’m not telling you to give up, just to change your approach. Have you heard of Adventurer University?”

“Who hasn’t?” Zachery let out an empty laugh. “My dream was to enter, become a strong adventurer, and repay my parents for everything they did for me.”

“I can get you enrolled,” Keith replied with confidence.

Zachery shook his head. “What’s the point? They’re dead.”

Keith continued to try convincing Zachery. “Don’t you still want to find their killer? You need to be alive to do so. The university has customized Rifts, the best teachers, and state-of-the-art training facilities. Once you make a name for yourself, you can find an adventurer with an innate investigative ability and hire them to find your parent’s killer. What do you say?”

Zachery fell silent as he processed everything Keith said. Moments later, he looked up and asked hesitantly, “You can really get me enrolled?”

Keith swiped his nose with a smug look. “My mom is old drinking buddies with the principal.”

“Oh…” Zachery’s posture nearly collapsed from the unexpected response. He thought it was because Keith was rich.

Renewed with resolve, Zachery stood up and voiced his confusion. “Why are you helping me? We don’t know each other.”

“Haha.” Keith slapped Zachery’s shoulder a few times. “Because I wanted to, that’s all!”

Before Zachery could respond, a voice shook the entire mansion. “Where’s my baby boy?!”

“Mom?” Keith’s face lit up with joy as he sprinted out the door, leaving Zachery with a strange look on his face.