After performing his signature move—Moonlight Cross, he stood tall, glancing at his two audience members with a proud look and a smug smile that screamed, "Praise me."
"Wow, that was so strong!" Zeta exclaimed, mimicking an excited look—an act to make sure they never suspected that he might not be their real son.
"Heh!" Hearing his son praise him, he became even more prideful.
"So, did you learn anything from it?" Harren asked, his prideful expression dimming.
Hell yeah, I downloaded the whole thing on the first take! Zeta thought, having a hard time containing his smug smile.
"Uh, I could only learn a couple of things... but I'm sure I can't do what you did," Zeta replied.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll take at least half a year to learn it since you're even more talented than me. Even I learned this move after honing my skills for years," Harren said before he started delving more into his past, which Zeta was in no way interested in.
"Uh, was this like this?"
Fuck, bragging bastard! I'll show you how a copy master like myself can replicate it on their first try, Zeta thought.
Previously, he had planned to keep this skill to himself, maybe flaunt it after a few days. But Harren's bragging? Yeah, that changed everything
As Harren noticed Zeta taking out a new human dummy, he folded his arms, a smile latching onto his face as he watched his son attempt to do what he just did.
Heh, Cute swing. This'll teach him there's levels to this shi- He couldn't even finish his thought as he saw Zeta's left foot sliding forward in the exact same manner he did.
And in a flash, a faint red aura shimmered around the wooden sword Zeta held.
H-how??... He even used aura?! And as he watched his son coat the wooden sword with aura, his worldview shattered.
In the next second, Zeta disappeared before appearing right in front of the human dummy, his slash going downward.
Then, he twisted his torso in the exact same manner Harren had, almost making Harren's eyeballs pop out of their sockets.
The next moment, he was a few steps away from the human dummy, which had its torso split in two.
"…"
Both Luna and Harren stood frozen like ancient statues, unable to process what they'd just witnessed. "Uhh... was that right?" Zeta tilted his head innocently, as if he hadn't just shattered decades of training.
In the next moment, Harren lunged forward, aiming at Zeta.
H-huh? Zeta let out a confused growl before he was engulfed in a deep hug.
"HAHAHA! my son's a goddamn prodigy!He's gonna surpass everyone!" he shouted, his tone loud and excited.
Damn, what happened to this bastard? Wasn't he like, wide-eyed, shocked? Zeta thought while watching Luna flash a small smile, before she walked away.
That night, Harren went out to drink in the village's most popular bar—there, he bragged about how much of a genius his son was and how he was going to make him the proudest father.
Three Days Later...
It had been three days... since she first saw it.
That glitching rune, the impossible fluctuation in color, the monstrous talent.
At first, she thought she was just hallucinating. But by the end of day two... when he flawlessly recreated a spell that she had only begun to learn at age 15... all her doubts shattered.
And now, on day three, she had no choice but to accept the unthinkable.
He had reached Tier 9—the tier that signifies the start of your journey as a mage.
It's not that hard to reach... but to reach it after just three days of learning magic? That's different.
"It took me a year and a half..." she muttered while walking through the winding, dirty path that led back to her house.
"A year and a half of consistent effort I put in to reach Tier 9... and he reached it in just three days..." she muttered, a hopeless smile flashing across her face, which disappeared quickly—
SWISH!
A sharp wind hit her entire body like a splash of water, sending chills down her spine.
Tightening her shawl, she continued walking... All her thoughts these days... all taken over by that kid named Zeta.
Even with all that talent, the kid had never bragged, never flaunted his abilities... always smiling... always being playful...
She couldn't understand him... He felt more like a man than half the men she knew.
And that... really scared the shit out of her. Because in all honesty, if she were the one with that much talent, she would've flaunted it right up to the noses of the people in Blackvale Village, and she would've joined the Royal Academy located in the capital city of Ravenwood Kingdom.
As she reached her house—a two-story wooden house—her steps slowed... until they stopped.
"Ahhhh~" She heard a sharp moan.
"Harder~ Master Max—AHH~" another moan.
"Hghhh~ Master Max... fuck me toooo!!" another woman's voice filled the wooden house.
Hearing all this, Luna's expression darkened, her fists clenching and trembling slightly.
"Ah fuck... your ass is just too big! But I like it—"
SLAP
Luna walked closer to the house... before hugging the wall like an assassin.
Then, she heard it again—loud moans, many women's voices.
"Ah fuck, this house is just too old and dirty... Ugh, and where's that bitch Luna?" Max smacked one of the women's asses again, his face flustered, his eyes slightly red—he was drunk.
"Ahh~ Didn't you se-send her to be that kid's teacher? The one who's the talk of the village right now?" another woman answered.
Hearing all of this—her husband insulting her while openly cheating on her inside her own house—Luna froze.
She had been anxious about how her trashy husband, who would secretly gamble and blow all the village money on alcohol, was doing... if he had eaten or not... Because at the end of the day, he was still her husband.
However, she never expected him to start cheating on her... openly at that.
"Oh yeah, haha... my bad."
"Hicc—by the way, how's the paperwork going?" And just as she was about to enter the house to catch him red-handed, she stopped... when she heard the word 'paperwork.'
"Hnghhhhh~"
"Aaahhhh~"
"M-Master Max, ahhh~... i-it's going well! You c-ca—ahhh~ sell this... hah... house by tomorrow!"
And as she heard him, she froze.
It wasn't just plain cheating—
Now he was planning to sell the house. Abandon their home... all for the sake of gambling and a few whores.
Her hands trembled... her fingernails digging deeply into her palms.