Chapter 5

A tall, slender woman stood imposingly in the center of the main hall. With no concern for her image, linen straps covered her entire body except for her head. The only clothes she wore were a pair of shorts and a shirt.

Her cyan hair reached down to her shoulders and pulsed with light as a magical gem would, while her eyebrows were thin and sharp, and there were no blemishes or any imperfections on her face.

This was Keith’s mom, Mariane.

When Keith arrived at the top of the staircase, Mariane disappeared from her spot, appeared before her son, then tightly embraced him. After a moment, she pulled away and gently tugged at Keith’s cheek. “Did you miss me?”

“I thought you wouldn’t make it back in time.” Keith shared his feelings with a relieved smile.

“Hmph.” Mariane pinched Keith’s cheek harder. “How could I miss the day you awakened?”

“Yes, yes, I was wrong,” Keith pleaded pitifully under his mother’s bullying. “I believed you’d return the whole time.”

“Good.” Mariane let go of Keith’s cheek before looking around with a displeased glare. “Where’s Ridger?”

“Oh.” Keith facepalmed and explained what had occurred earlier.

Mariane listened with an amused expression. “Hah, that old man must be crying in joy. It’ll be good for Annallee too.”

She paused for a second before asking. “Who’s in the guest room?”

Keith already knew his mom’s senses were sharp, and he had no intentions of hiding anything, so he told her about Zachery and his plans. After Keith finished, Mariane released a helpless sigh. “Fine, I’ll handle it.”

Keith followed his mom to the guest room, where she stopped to examine Zachery. Being stared at by such a beautiful woman, Zachery blushed. “Um, hello…”

“Hey!” Keith raged at Zachery after seeing his reaction. “This is my mom, so don’t get any ideas.”

“W-what do you mean?” Zachery coughed awkwardly and tried to play dumb.

Keith wasn’t fooled and tried to dissuade Zachery from having thoughts about his mom. “Bro, she’s way older than yo—”

Mariane abruptly grabbed Keith by the mouth to shut him up. After giving her son a fierce glare, Mariane spoke to Zachery in an arrogant tone. “Brat, you’re lucky my son wants to help you. With your current stats and skills, you’d have a tough time gaining entry into Adventurer University.”

Zachery’s pride took a big blow after being evaluated as such by a gorgeous woman. Mariane didn’t care as she continued. “However, you’re lucky you met me. I can get you enrolled, though you’ll get expelled if your performance is lacking, got it?”

“I understand.” Zachery took a deep breath. “I swear I’ll repay this debt.”

“Hah.” Mariane broke into a smile. “I like the look in your eye. Good, let’s go!”

“Now?” Zachery blinked.

Mariane didn’t answer as she walked up to Zachery and summoned a portal before dragging Zachery inside. A few moments later, she returned before the portal disappeared and clapped. “Done.”

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“So fast!” Keith was shocked. “What did you do?”

“Nothing much. I just talked to the principal.” Mariane giggled.

Seeing his mom’s reaction, Keith knew that she’d probably barged into the principal’s home, dropped Zachery off, and left after a few words. Well, Keith had done his part. Whatever Zachery achieved was up to him. Hopefully, a few years in school would cool his head.

Mariane glanced at Doven, who stood in place with an absentminded look as he chewed on a jawbreaker. “Did Keith cause you any problems?”

“Mooom,” Keith groaned before Doven could answer. “When was the last time I caused a problem?”

“Hmph.” Mariane counted with her fingers. “Last month, you bought a gluttonous monster plant which almost ruined the garden. Before that, you purchased a mirror someone rigged with a spying device, and do I even need to mention the monster pet you hatched that shit all over the house?”

“Ahh.” Keith felt sad after remembering poor Fluffers. “He was so cute.”

“That’s beside the point.” Mariane slapped Keith upside the head. “It’s always one thing or another with you, you rascal.”

At this point, Doven answered, “No problems. Oh…”

Mariane looked over. “What?”

Doven glanced anxiously at Keith before replying. “Jawbreaker…”

“This again?!” Mariane grabbed Keith by the ear and pulled. “Let the poor man eat his candy!”

“Yes, yes, yes! I was wrong.” Keith’s eyes watered up as he shot Doven a glare. “Please let go, Mom. You’ll rip it off.”

“Think I won’t?” Mariane tugged one last time before letting go just as her stomach released a loud grumble. She grinned. “I’m famished. Ridger!”

Ridger appeared at the door not a few seconds after her voice shook the house. Unfortunately, as he was in the middle of showing Annallee his gym, he was shirtless and covered in sweat. “Lass, what do you need?”

Mariane’s eyebrow twitched. “Meat and beer!”

“I’ll have the chef start right away.” Ridger disappeared as fast as he’d arrived.

Keith followed his mom down to the dining room. “Mom, why were you gone for so many days? You never told me.”

“Wait until after I eat.” Mariane flashed a toothy grin.

It didn’t take long for the food to be ready. The whole table, enough to seat twelve people, was soon covered in empty plates. Strangely, no matter how much she ate, her stomach remained as flat as a plank.

Mariane was on another level compared to Annallee. She’d pick up a drumstick and swallow it whole, bones and all. After every bite, she never forgot to chug some beer to quench her thirst.

Once she finished, Keith used his Cleanliness Ring to remove the grease covering his mom’s face and hands, after which she stood up and stretched. “Ahh, that hit the spot.”

“So?” Keith asked impatiently, wondering what his mom was so secretive about.

“Catch.” Mariane casually tossed a small egg-like object over.

Keith caught the item and gave it a glance, immediately paling in fright. “Mom, where the slimeballs did you get this?!”

[Mythic] Introspection Pill

Description: Once consumed, the user will fall into a short coma. During this time, the user will gain a deep understanding of themselves and their desires. Lasts 8 hours.

Keith knew a bit about alchemy. It was one of the most expensive professions in the world, requiring enormous resources to gain even a single level. From his limited understanding, a mythic grade pill or potion required mythic grade ingredients, and only a grandmaster could make it. There were only a few grandmasters alive, and they were all busy people. Keith looked up at his mom, wondering how she got her hands on this item. “I’ve heard rumors about this pill. Supposedly, only the descendants of Guardians use these. I underestimated you, Mom!”

Mariane snickered. “It was nothing much. I only beat up monsters guarding some crappy herbs and visited an old man.”

Keith’s eyebrows twitched, imagining his mom bullying a grandmaster alchemist with white hair and a hunched back. On further thought, the monsters guarding mythic grade herbs were at least legendary grade. To think his mom was so strong. Awesome!

Mariane chugged another bottle of beer before saying, “All right, I’m a bit tired. I’ll probably sleep till morning.”

Keith held the pill in his hand with a determined look. “I won’t let you down!”

“Hah, what letting me down?” Mariane stopped before she left the room. “I just want you to be happy. Don’t worry about what you get.”

Sighing, Keith felt things weren’t so simple. If she didn’t care about the quality of his innate skill, why did she expend so much effort to get this pill? His mom made it sound like it was an easy task, but she was gone for a week. Legendary grade monsters were no joke. Plus, Ridger’s interactions with him had been a bit forced over the past few months. They were hiding something from him.

Whatever it was, Keith decided to ignore it and instead tried to pass the time. For a few hours, he watched Annallee learn from Ridger in the gym, and then he spent some time with Elora in her room. She listened to music on her magic tablet while he browsed the auction house on his.

After what felt like an eternity, it was finally night.