Damon’s mother’s eyes widened, her gaze shifting between Damon and the small crystal in her hand. "A skill crystal? Damon, what is this?!" she gasped.
His father leaned closer, squinting at the object. "Is this some kind of game thing?" he asked, suspicious.
Damon smiled. "Sort of," he explained. "But it’s more than just a game thing. This will help you adapt to the new world faster. It’s a protection, a boost, and maybe a lifeline. Trust me, you’ll want this."
His mother’s lips parted in surprise. She was quiet for a long moment, then she smiled, her eyes soft with gratitude and pride. "You’ve always looked out for us, Damon. Thank you." She squeezed his hand tightly.
"It’s okay. Can you just activate it? I mean, just think about activating it."
The two of them nodded and tried to do it. The next second, a wave of faint blue light pulsed out from the skill crystals in their hands, like the surface of a still pond disturbed by a single drop of water.
Damon watched intently as his mother’s eyes widened and his father’s brows furrowed in concentration. The crystals dissolved into their palms like mist, leaving behind a faint glow that quickly faded.
His mother gasped, staring at her hand as if she expected it to burst into flames. "That...that felt strange," she murmured, flexing her fingers. "Like a surge of energy. But I don’t feel any different."
"Check your wrists," Damon told them.
His mother looked down and let out a small gasp as a black tattoo appeared just above her wrist, a swirl-like pattern. His father followed suit, turning his wrist to see a similar mark forming like living ink.
"Damon..." his father murmured, eyes wide, his voice somewhere between awe and disbelief. "What is this? A tattoo? Some sort of brand?"
"It’s a sign that the skill crystal’s integrated," Damon explained calmly. "Now, if you touch that tattoo and will it, you will be able to teleport to the game world."
"Tele... teleport?" His dad gulped.
"Yup." Damon smiled.
"So we don’t need those game helmets thingies?" Mom pointed to the big bag near the table. It looked like his sister-in-law had arranged for them to receive these gaming helmets earlier today as usual poking her nose into places where it did not belong.
"Nope. You don’t need that crap." Damon chuckled.
The two of them speechlessly stared at the tattoos in their hand and gulped. They have heard about magic something something and the world might change something something but seeing this happen in person... they were simply not prepared for such a thing. It was completely overwhelming.
His mom scoffed. "Lying old man."
"Woman, who are you calling old? Wait till that game opens. Watch how I am going to become stronger and fight right beside our son. Hmph. I might even tame dragons and kill demons. Don’t come begging to me that time to take you for a ride."
"Ya, right." His mother simply laughed in his face.
"They are bickering like teenagers." Damon chuckled and walked away. He was happy that everyone was happy and safe for now. But long was such a situation going to last? He really needed to look into how to improve their soul strength or speed up their adjustment to mana.
Especially after seeing how chaotic things were within the clan, it was only a matter of time before some sort of fight broke out. His family would no doubt get caught in the middle of the nonsense and considering how no one seemed to respect him or care for his strength, anything might happen.
He did not want to let things get that far. He needed to nip this problem in the bud. Damon went back inside his room, closed his door and then directly logged back into the game.
He quickly looked around but nothing had changed. He was still the only player in the vicinity. The celebrations had died down finally and the streets were quite deserted.
A cold wind swept through the empty streets, carrying with it a hush that felt oddly eerie after the chaotic festivities earlier. Damon’s crimson eyes glinted as he surveyed the desolate town square.
He was about to head to the Earl’s place to try his luck with the two women, only with the pure thoughts of getting some quest leads from them but he stopped in his tracks noticing the same old man sobbing in a street corner.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God