Chapter Ten — Between Blood and Breakfast
I quickly dispatched the remaining orcs.
Stage One Completed — Trial of the Tower System
A crimson screen materialized before me, hovering silently in the air, asking if I wished to begin Stage Two.
No.
The answer echoed firmly in my mind.
I turned away and walked toward the motionless body of the red orc. Grabbing it by the feet, I opened a portal to my System Recovery Area and dragged it through.
The moment I entered the system space, all my injuries vanished.
Instantly.
---
System Recovery Space
This space existed outside normal reality.
White blocks formed the floor, walls, and ceiling—smooth, seamless, endless. There were no doors. Entry was only possible through portals.
It was a resting zone. A sanctuary. A place where I could recover, reflect, and decide when to continue my missions.
This was also where I kept the most worthwhile fighters from my daily system trials—those I had chosen to mold into subordinates.
I walked past rows of incubation chambers.
Inside them floated various creatures—orcs, goblins, half-dragons, and more—each suspended peacefully in a dark crimson healing solution. The liquid shimmered faintly, saturated with Demon God Energy, giving it that deep red-black hue.
Each creature bore a blue tiger mark on their forehead.
Divine Energy could not heal demonic beings—the two forces rejected each other completely. This solution was the only way.
I stopped at the nearest chamber and tossed the red orc inside.
The liquid rushed in, sealing the chamber shut.
Its shattered body regenerated rapidly—bones knitting, flesh reforming, energy stabilizing.
I placed my palm against the red glass.
Blue sparks leapt from my hand, streaming into the orc's forehead. Slowly, the image of a blue tiger's head formed… then sank beneath its skin and vanished.
A contract.
Ownership.
Potential.
These creatures interested me—not as tools, but as weapons that could grow.
And my system existed to sharpen them.
---
A pillar of light enveloped my body.
In the next instant, I was back in my room.
Time resumed.
---
The World Outside the System
Everything was exactly as I had left it.
That was the beauty of the system trials—time inside them was isolated. I could fight for months, even years, and when I returned, not even a nanosecond would have passed.
Infinite training. Zero consequences.
I inhaled deeply.
Morning sunlight streamed through my window, bathing the room in gold. Outside, the scent of vegetation drifted in—fresh, alive, clean.
After enduring the stench of blood, ash, magma, and death…
This felt like heaven.
It was like surviving on spoiled food for years, then being given a simple bowl of hot rice with plain stew.
No spices. No luxury.
And yet it would taste sweeter than honey.
Not that I was complaining.
---
I stretched my tense muscles, walked into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and took a long, hot bath. Steam rose as my body finally relaxed.
Afterward, I pulled on a pair of boxers, a tight white long-sleeved round-neck shirt that clung to my physique, dark yellow jeans, and a red jacket.
Yes—my clothes were from another world. Yes—I probably stood out.
Why should I care?
I applied a light coat of natural organic cream—something I made myself, not that I needed it—and stepped out to join my parents at the dining table.
---
Breakfast (A More Dangerous Battlefield)
"Good morning, Dad," I said loudly.
"Good morning, son," he replied. "How was your night? I hope you rested well."
"Fine," I answered.
I turned to my elder brother.
"Good morning."
"Morning."
"Any plans today?" I asked.
"Your grandfather is calling a family meeting," my father said. "He's making an announcement. So don't disappear. Your mother and I are not chasing you around the planet again."
"Okay," my brother and I replied together.
As my brother and I started chatting, my father watched silently—lost in thought. From the look on his face, he already knew what the clan leader wanted to discuss… he just wasn't saying it.
Then—
My mother emerged from the kitchen.
The aroma hit us like a divine technique.
In a world where eating wasn't necessary to survive, her cooking still felt miraculous. Even a so-called ten-star chef couldn't compare.
"Good morning, Mum," my brother and I said in unison.
"Your cooking skills are unmatched," my father said proudly. "Too bad that's the only thing you can defeat me in."
She frowned instantly.
Offended.
So I did what I always did.
---
**One bite and the battle's done,
My strength restored, my worries gone.
Spices dance, the flavors sing—
Even gods would beg this offering.
No spell, no flame, no secret art,
You cook straight magic from the heart.
If love had taste, this would be it:
My Empress' food—perfection fit.**
---
I sang it loudly.
My brother and father had heard it countless times. Immune.
My mother?
She blushed like a girl in love.
My father stared at me like I had just declared war.
Especially when I called her My Empress.
Which was accurate.
In many ways, she was my first wife.
If I weren't his son, he'd have already pounced on me. Training sessions aside, my father was an extremely jealous man.
And teasing another man—especially his own son—about his wife?
Playing with fire.
---
The food was finally served on our unnecessarily large dining table.
The smell alone made our mouths water.
But no one dared touch anything until everything was placed.
Five minutes passed.
An eternity.
Our stomachs growled violently.
GROWL!!!
Silence.
Then my mother burst into laughter.
"Can't survive without me, can you?" she teased my father. "That's why you're so skinny—like a skeleton."
He frowned… then immediately focused on the food.
My brother and I laughed quietly.
She picked up her chopsticks.
We followed instantly.
Then—
She fed my brother and me a chicken leg each.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
My father's stomach growled in fury.
She laughed harder.
When she finally gave permission, chaos erupted.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Bowls clashed. Chopsticks flew.
In two minutes, the table was empty.
My mother ate calmly.
Victorious.
---
We cleaned up quickly.
"Bye!" my brother and I said, heading out.
"Remember the gathering!" my father shouted.
"Okay!" we replied, already airborne.
---
(Comedy Ends Here)
We arrived at the planetary gathering center in seconds.
Nearly a million people were already present.
The space buzzed like a living organism—voices overlapping, energies colliding, anticipation thick in the air.
All were waiting for one being.
The Clan Leader.
My grandfather.