Justina and Max were monitoring Archie’s condition on the display, as Archie was being infused with the liquid blue egg stone inside a vat filled with liquid gold.

“What did you find about Archie’s family and their history?” Justina asked, her stern tone transforming the question into an interrogation.

“What… are you talking about?” Max fumbled, adjusting his spectacles while diverting the topic by typing something on the screen.

Justina sighed,“Max, I know why you are here alone. Just say what you found about Archie already, otherwise, I will report you for hacking a private server to search for someone’s family data.”

Max retorted to Justina’s allegation with a counter-threat,“Then, I'll expose your unauthorized Ethereal Screening Test to the ROT council.”

“PSTT!” Justina chuckled and shot back, “I never mentioned reporting you to the ROT council. I'll spill the beans to your wife.”

Justina's expression hardened. Max swallowed hard under Justina’s scrutiny, the thought of his wife's wrath felt like a physical blow. This made Max confess,“I found nothing special about Archie’s family.”

“Speak up, I need specifics about their family.” Justina ordered, prompting Max to rise from his chair. Justina sat with her legs crossed, radiating authority.

But Max was unfazed. The only image flashing in his mind was his stern wife's face, and he spilled all the information he had gathered about Archie and his family to Justina.

“Archie's family is a small one. He and his father live alone in their noodle shop. Archie’s mother passed away three years ago when he was twelve.”

“Any traces of Ethereal in their lineage? Any graded Ethereal?” Justina probed, her face etched with confusion.

“No, according to the ROT database, Archie’s father Elbert never took any ROT test, so he doesn’t have any Ethereal. He has been a chef since his youth, working with his father. After his father died, he took over the noodle shop.

As for Archie’s mother…”

Max hesitated, thinking Justina might be disappointed with the revelation and continued, “Archie’s mother, she used to be a Rift Rider. She had ‘A’ Graded Ethereal.”

Justina's face lit up from Max’s revelation about Archie’s mother and she asked, “What happened to Archie’s mother? What Ethereal did she have?”

Max responded with a tinge of sorrow, "She had Terra Ethereal but she died while fighting a common class monster.”

“HUH!” Justina was baffled to think, ‘How could an ‘A’ Graded Ethereal rider die to a weak monster? It’s unthinkable.’

“Are you certain,” Justina wanted to confirm her doubts and Max affirmed, “Yes, she died while fighting a Common class monster. She may have had ‘A’ Graded Ethereal, but she never practiced her Ethereal. According to the Rift Rider’s report, she hadn’t entered a rift since…”

Max momentarily paused and said, "She hadn’t entered the rift since the day Archie was born. According to the bank report, they had a substantial debt on their noodle shop, so she re-entered without any training. Underestimating the risks cost her life.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“What about his father? He didn’t take the ROT test, but he might have had the potential for Graded Ethereal too.” Justina pressed about Archie’s father calmly, even after hearing about Archie’s mother, which irked Max. But he suppressed his anger, knowing Justina and her past.

Max replied heatedly, "That’s impossible. Archie’s father Elbert, his father, and their family—even Elbert’s own brother, Grayson—they all had Non-Graded Ethereal. So, if Archie has Graded Ethereal, it is from his mother's side.”

For Offshoots, the moment they are born, their future with Ethereal is determined based on their family’s history of Ethereal. Unless someone in their family tree had SS Graded Ethereal, Offshoots' children can never possess SS Graded Ethereal or even dream of it in their lifetime.

Justina clicked her tongue in disappointment. She was anticipating at least ‘S’ Graded Ethereal from Archie’s family. Her disappointment was clearly visible on her face.

But Justina still held faith in her heart that Archie is exceptional, that he might possess greater than ‘A’ Graded Ethereal.

[Warning!] [Warning!]

Suddenly, a warning message echoed on Max’s system. Max swiftly checked his system and Justina, anxious, wondered what was happening.

Max inputted the same command and after a few seconds, the warning sign was disabled. Justina observed with concern and asked, “What is this issue, Max? Is this anything important?”

Max exhaled in relief and responded calmly,“No issue. It's just that the tank must have a small hole. The liquid gold was slowly draining inside the tank. I refilled it again.”

“What!” Justina exclaimed in disbelief, "How is this nothing? We have a major leakage. What if this causes any problem in Archie’s E-Screen awakening?”

“I double-checked everything. There is no issue inside the tank. It’s just a small hole. It's not going to affect him in any way.”

Max reassured Justina, opened a tab on his monitor, and pointed the mouse to the area,

[INJECTION 90% COMPLETE] [HEARTBEAT STABLE][TIME LEFT: 10:00]

"Almost there, Justina. We're at 90% completion with just ten minutes to go. So, don’t worry, if there was any problem, the injection would have stopped already.”

Max's words were meant to comfort Justina, but she remained restless, pacing around the area until the injection reached 100%.

[INJECTION COMPLETED] [SPECIMEN EJECTION IN PROGRESS]

The needles previously embedded in Archie's body were withdrawn, and four massive tube rods retracted above the tank.

Gradually, the liquid gold drained away, disappearing beneath the tank floor. The golden glow of the tank shifted to a calming blue.

"SWOOSH!" The tank door opened. Justina rushed inside to find Archie unconscious, lying on the floor, his skin marked by needles and glistening with residual gold.

She attempted to rouse him with a slap to his face, but there was no response.

Max hurried over, holding a needle encased in a swirling blue air. He injected it into Archie's throat, right at the windpipe.

"COUGH!" Almost instantly, Archie coughed up the gold he had swallowed and regained consciousness.

His eyes burned and his body ached from the needle marks, but a soothing sensation quickly spread within him, easing his discomfort.

The pain vanished. Archie managed to open his eyes to find himself in Justina's lap, with Max holding an empty injection nearby. Their faces were etched with concern.

Archie sat up and asked, "What happened? Did I gain an E-System?"

As soon as he woke up, Archie asked about the E-System, giving Max and Justina a slight respite, thinking he was okay.

Justina lifted Archie in her arms. Archie couldn’t refuse her help, he could feel his body was paralyzed. Archie glanced at his body, thinking about the needle marks.

Archie was startled to see his needle marks had all vanished. Justina put him down on the chair before Max’s System.

Archie saw his stain of liquid gold had smeared Justina’s dress, but she seemed more worried about Archie than her dress.

Meanwhile, Max retrieved a wire extending from the system's CPU and attached a small needle from his drawer to it.

He inserted the needle into a vein on Archie's left wrist. The sting was minor compared to what Archie had experienced earlier.

Max began analyzing Archie's blood. A notification popped up on the monitor after the analysis.

Max opened it, anticipation filling the room.

"This can't be real."

Archie exclaimed in disbelief after seeing his Ethereal result.