After quelling the mass of reporters, Eva met up with Douglas as they headed to the front door of the Jones residence. Knocking gently, the door opened shortly after and the both of them stepped inside.
“Thanks Eva.” Kailan stated with a sincere expression as he invited them in.
“It’s our job after all.” She replied.
“Don’t let it go to your head. We’re your watchers so it’s in our job description. It’s not like we were doing you any favors.” Douglas grunted as he crossed his arms in protest.
Kailan just grinned at Douglas’ antics. He had already noticed that being the tough guy, Douglas wasn’t good at taking compliments or thanks. The three of them walked further into the living room where everyone else was seated after their greetings.
“Doing your rounds?” Elias asked.
“Yeah. I spoke to the crowd so they should disperse for the most part soon. I also gave them your message.” Eva replied to Elias before turning to Kailan and speaking.
“Let us know if they cause you any more trouble. We’ll be in the neighborhood for the next four or five hours.”
“Got it.” Kailan responded shortly.
“Would you two like a snack? I can wrap up some sandwiches for you to take. There’s also tea and coffee if you’d like something to drink.” Maria said as she got up and headed towards the kitchen.
“Oh? A couple sandwiches would be nice.” Douglas put on a rare grin as he followed her.
Eva rolled her eyes as she also followed Maria into the kitchen with Kailan. Kailan helped his mother wrap several sandwich triangles and bag them before handing them to Douglas. Maria even pulled out a styrofoam cup from a cabinet and poured him some coffee.
“Thanks. We’ll be heading out. We’ll come and get you around 8:45 tomorrow morning.” Eva peered into the bag with a look of excitement as she spoke.
“Understood. I’ll be ready.” Kailan replied as he led them out of the kitchen and holding the front door open, watched as they left. Then he returned to his seat and continued to watch the TV with everyone.
About an hour later Rebecca pulled up. She was surprised, not by the number of reporters, but the lack of them. Eva’s speech had shown it’s effects and nearly two-thirds of the reporters had left. Kailan had promised a short interview the following morning, so it wasn’t like they needed to stay here where nothing was happening and they were held back.
After Rebecca walked in, everyone greeted her. Elias and Kailan were the most vocal with their expressions as they looked at her suggestively. She blushed but ignored them and went to change in her room. Around ten minutes later she came back out in a shirt and blue jeans.
“So where did all of the reporters and gawkers go?” She asked as she sat down on the couch next to her father.
To her question, Edward reiterated what had transpired earlier and the news broadcasts that had been on. He even mentioned everything that Dana Warshank had done and said. As Rebecca heard about that woman, she nearly blew her top, she was so furious.
“That little b…”
“It’s fine. People like her always get what’s coming to them. It’s called Karma.” Kailan cut Rebecca off and calmed her down.
He wasn’t even the slightest bit bothered by Dana’s words. They were just that, words. And if people were dumb enough to believe them or to act on them, then that was their fault and had nothing to do with him. This was how he thought. Kailan wouldn’t get angered by distant factors, only annoyed when people spoke of things to his face or in the face of his family or the people he cares about.
Rebecca indeed calmed down as her expression loosened. She could see that Kailan wasn’t perturbed so she had no reason to continue her rant. In the first place, simply ranting was only a way for her to relieve her own anger, but it wouldn’t change anything and it might even make Kailan feel bad. Rebecca was always considerate of Kailan’s feelings as was the entire Jones family. He was their heart, so as long as he wasn’t bothered, there was no need to drag things on.
The afternoon soon dimmed as the sun hung on the horizon. Maria had already started dinner and Edward finally changed the TV to his favorite cartoons. Soon dinner was ready, and everyone entered the kitchen to sit and eat. The curtains were still closed as there were still a number of reporters waiting outside, including Dana. But the Jones family didn’t let it bother them. This was their time.
After dinner, instead of watching a movie, Kailan convinced everyone to binge watch a number of episodes of a new television show he had been wanting to start. The others were skeptical at first but after the first 15 minutes of episode one, they were hooked. It was a fantasy show based on a best selling novel. It had dragons and goblins, knights and magic. Basically it was their reality, only it was set in the medieval ages.
Well, no dragons had ever shown up though. But there were a number of Gaia enthusiasts who were certain that the world would eventually see these mythological creatures. Rebecca being the Dungeon and Gaia research nut in the family brought up this point during the show. Kailan grinned slightly when he heard this.
“Not a chance there would be any Dragons coming through the dungeons. They’re divine beings with a friendly and scholarly temperament and wouldn’t invade a world. Wyverns on the other hand…” Kailan thought to himself as he watched a dragon breath fly at the main character of the show.
Soon it was approaching 10:30, the TV had been turned off and the Jones family retired to their bedrooms. As Kailan sat on his bed staring out of his window, a knock came to his door, waking him from his thoughts.
“You can come in.” He called out.
The door opened and Rebecca walked in. She was wearing a gray t-shirt and black pajama bottoms that had a floral design to them. Closing the door behind her she came over to sit next to Kailan.
“What’s up?” He asked.
Rebecca had a complicated expression as she collected her thoughts. Kailan was patient as he waited for her to say what was on her mind. Looking down at her own hands, her head slowly raised as she looked at Kailan.
“Are you alright? I mean, really alright. You seem really distant and almost…” She asked.
“Almost what?” Kailan asked back softly.
“Almost… Like you're resisting the fact that you’re here. Like you want to be somewhere else.” She explained.
Kailan understood what she meant. His mother, Maria, also felt the same way. It was at this point that Kailan felt a woman’s intuition was a bit scary. Or perhaps it was because it was his mother and sister, but then Elias and Edward hadn’t said anything and seemed to act normally.
“Maybe women are just more sensitive to these types of things than men are.” He thought.
Kailan didn’t really have a basis to go off of. Afterall, he had been surrounded by Gods and other divine entities for the past thousand years. He wasn’t as familiar with humans as people thought and so even he noticed that sometimes his interactions seemed a bit off.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I’m fine. Really. I’m still adjusting, that’s all.” Kailan replied with a gentle smile.
“Adjusting… Kai, sometimes I think you just say things to brush them off. You used to tell us everything, but now it seems like you’re holding back. That’s why it feels like you’re so distant.” Rebecca explained her thoughts and perception hoping that Kailan would understand it.
“I know. I’m not really brushing it off, just putting it aside for now. A lot happened and I do want to tell you all everything, but it’s just going to take some time. I promise I’ll tell you everything when I can. Bear with me, ok?” Kailan explained in response.
“I will, just as long as you promise to talk to us.” Rebecca emphasized.
“I will. I promise.”
Rebecca felt a lot lighter as relief flooded through her. Hearing her brother’s promise made her relax, she didn’t doubt him as Kailan would never break a promise. She got up and ruffled Kailan’s hair like a doting older sister, before she left the room.
Kailan was left to his own thoughts. He was considering when the best time to explain things to his family was. It was a tricky question.
“I do need to tell them. But Director Morris asked me not to, at least for now. I did give him my word after all. And there are complications if I were to tell them. There are rules and I should try to abide by them as much as possible. Still, eventually it will come out, and I would prefer that they are ready for it. I’ll wait until I reach an acceptable level. Once I’m the unquestionable strongest force on this planet I shouldn’t have any concerns. If the Director is not on board at that time he will simply have to adapt.” Kailan thought as he planned the eventual moment when he would tell his family that he’s a God.
His expression turned serious as he thought. The moonlight shone into his window and he continued to contemplate over a number of things. He had already decided not to venture into his Heart Dungeon tonight as a lot had happened and he just wanted to relax for a bit. One day won’t make a difference, is what he was thinking.
After half an hour, the lights throughout the house went out. Kailan was the only one awake as he could hear the low breathing of his family members as they slept. Kailan got up and left his room, walking into the living room he peered out of the window. There were still 7 news trucks parked outside, including WRTV’s. Kailan’s expression sank into a slight glare as he stared at the WRTV truck.
Although he wasn’t really angry with Dana for slandering him, he was annoyed that she dared to drag his family into the matter. As the wheels started turning, his light glare soon turned into a sly grin. Kailan closed the curtain completely and walked back into his room.
Sitting on his bed, he thought. “Achievement Shop”
As he willed it, a holographic menu appeared with the title “Achievement Shop” at the top, and rows of buttons in the main section. He quickly navigated to the Skills section and then the Spells section after that.
He searched for almost half an hour until he found what he wanted. Using his nearly 2000 Achievement Points, he purchased four skills.
“1st Tier Light Magic, Light Dispersion, Deep Sleep and Night Terror… Perfect.” He thought as the skills appeared in his skill panel.
He had spent 1150 of the 2000 points, but they would be well worth it after tonight. And possible even in the future.
Kailan cast Light Dispersion on himself. A soft milky light spread out around him and it seemed that he was slightly glowing. When he turned to the mirror near his closet, he didn’t see anything. As the spell's name suggested, it dispersed light from around the object it was cast on, making it invisible to any being that uses light to see. Noting his now perfect form, he leapt out of his bedroom window and swiftly made his way towards the news vans.
Kailan walked up to the side of the WRTV van, completely unnoticed. Peering through the window he saw that Dana was napping in the passenger seat while the cameraman was trying his hardest not to fall asleep in the back as he watched several monitors.
Kailan lightly tapped on the van door. The cameraman inside, jerked as he looked at the monitors, before realizing where the sound had come from. He carefully scooched over to open the door, trying hard to make as little sound as possible. If there was one thing he feared in this world, it was Dana’s wrath from being woken up suddenly.
The cameraman gently pulled on the door lever and quietly slid the door open. Looking outside he didn’t see anyone. His expression showed his confusion. Just as he was about to close the door, he heard a light voice whisper out. “Deep Sleep”
His eyes became heavy and his vision blurred as he saw the outline of a figure appear in front of him. But he was unable to discern who it was as he fell back, sound asleep.
Kailan jumped into the van shortly after Light Dispersion faded, avoiding the sight of the few who were still awake and outside. He pushed the cameraman back into his seat, adjusting his posture to make it seem like he had just fallen asleep while sitting there.
Then with a light whisper, he cast another spell on the cameraman. “Night Terror.”
The cameraman’s expression slowly changed into one of horror. His breathing quickened and his face paled as he began to sweat. His muscles started jerking and twisting. Kailan waited a few minutes before casting Deep Sleep on Dana. Although she was still sleeping, he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t wake up from her nightmares until morning. Then once the cooldown on Night Terror expired, Kailan also cast it on Dana.
Dana’s face twitched, her muscles jerked around and she became pale. Just like the cameraman. Kailan snickered lightly, as he re-cast Light Dispersion on himself and exited the van.
"Sweet dreams." He whispered as he left.
Being invisible to human eyes, he made his way unnoticed back to his house and through his bedroom window.
After returning to his room, Kailan dispelled the Light Dispersion and laid back on his bed with a satisfied smile. Within minutes, he was asleep. Dreaming of Asgard.
Somewhere in New York, a large built man was sitting in a tent just outside a dungeon gate. Several others also filled the room. One of them, a tall athletic man with a mohawk, was wiggling his finger in front of his eyes. Admiring the Cookie Monster bandage he was wearing.
“Hey, Jacob. Stop admiring that small cut like it’s a major battle wound. It’s pathetic.” A young male voice called out.
“Get over yourself Shane. Pretty boys wouldn’t understand the grandeur of receiving an actual wound in battle. This is the first injury I’ve received in a dungeon in over four years. It’s like a souvenir for the difficulty of this level 8 Plebeian dungeon.” Jacob shot back without looking away from his finger.
“Oh please! You only got that because you were careless.” Shane responded tepidly.
“Both of you zip it. Can’t you see the captain is watching the TV?” A vibrant feminine voice with a hint of tyranny snapped.
“Ooo… Tamika’s going to hurt you two. Hehehe.” Another, quite young sounding female voice teased as she giggled innocently.
“Sarrah, you be quiet as well. We shouldn’t disturb the captain!” Tamika snapped at the young girl.
“Hehe.” Sarrah giggled again, but didn’t say a word.
As everyone returned to silence, the only sound throughout the tent was from the television. After the focus of the newscast ended, it returned to a newsroom with several commentators discussing the main topic.
“What do you think Captain?” Tamika sweetly asked. A complete turn around to how she was moments ago.
“Hmph! Nothing but an attention seeker and show off. What a waste of talent.” The captain replied haughtily.
“Haha! How could a shrimp like him match our great captain? The number one ranked Hunter in the US.” Sarrah laughed cheerfully as she provided her opinion.
“Demon rank talent. Ptui!” Shane spit after his statement.
“All that talent and he shows off for the crowd. Running around with the bureau fighting in the lowest dungeon mines. If he was so great he would be out wrecking real dungeons. He’ll never amount to Captain Freeman.” He continued with a look of disdain.
“Still, Demon rank talent. What’s up with that? Talk about a freak.” Jacob added.
“It doesn’t matter what his talent rank is. He’ll never catch up to the Captain. After all, Demon rank is only one rank higher than King. His progress will only be slightly better overall, but not enough to ever surpass. Not from level 1.” Tamika added in, also showing her disdain.
“Enough. That boy isn’t important. But the information he has from the realm he went to on the other hand is vital. The little baby probably doesn’t even know what’s valuable and not, which is why he’s working with the bureau to sort it out.” Captain Freeman cut everyone off.
“True. Should we make a trip to Indiana and snatch him up? I have ways of making him talk.” Tamika’s frown of disdain slanted into a cruel grin.
“Not right now. There’s a lot of light focused on him at the moment. Better to deal with him when it won’t cause too much of a fuss.” Captain Freeman replied after a few moments of thinking.
“Mmm… No fun.” Tamika pouted.
Captain Freeman grinned at her antics as he toyed with a small dagger in his hands.
Much like the scene in New York, similar scenes were occurring all across the world. The many King ranks had been stirred and they all had their own opinions. The various guilds started to make a ruckus as they poured their attention towards the US. And special meetings were being held at the highest levels of government.