All things stopped moving as if the entire world had been frozen. Water droplets from the fountain hung suspended in mid-air.
There was only Jinyo and the golden screen flickering its ostentatious luxury. Jinyo couldn't move even a fingertip. His rigid eyes couldn't slide their lids down to close. Consciousness dominated his body and even his perception of time. He stared at the strange text he had never seen before but understood every sentence of its meaning.
A miracle beyond the principles of science had happened to him. It was like an opportunity bestowed by fate upon a pitiful young man. But the enemy he had to deal with was heaven itself. Did that mean the origin of this thing wasn't something good but power from some kind of devil or something like that?
Jinyo questioned what was called heaven. As someone living in the eastern continent with a culture of deep beliefs about heaven. People had searched for ways to travel up to heaven. It was the ultimate goal of practitioners of every era. But this suspicious system wanted him to be an enemy opposing heaven.
Suspicious to the point of absurdity. But if he didn't make a choice, how long would he have to remain in this frozen world? It would be quite interesting if he could do something other than stare at text less than a thousand characters long over and over again.
It was some kind of fate that Jinyo had been waiting for all along. He wasn't afraid of being heaven's enemy if he could gain the power to fight back again.
Though hesitant, Jinyo agreed through his consciousness.
[You have confirmed your answer. Beginning the binding.]
[You have received the skill Eye of the Sage (EX): See through the flaws in martial arts techniques and combat methods with complete clarity.]
[You have received the skill Bloodline Deduction (EX): See dominant genes and recessive genes in the genetics of all living things.]
[You have received the skill God of Botany (EX): You are one with nature. All skills related to agriculture will have 100% increased efficiency. You are beloved by nature and the world. Your agricultural products will have 200% increased quality. You will not receive harm from the poison of all flora. Maximum nutrient absorption rate from plants 100%.]
[You have received the skill A Teacher is a Second Parent (EX): When training or instructing disciples or legitimate heirs, training efficiency will increase by 50%. The closer the bloodline, the more learning speed bonus received.]
[You have received the item Cultivation Manual (Immortal) Nature Synthesis Technique: A special planar cultivation method. Draws power from sunlight, earth, and water for cultivation. This is not a technique suitable for humans. Only those with the bloodline limit of Ancient Flora will benefit from this technique. Warning: If compatibility with this technique is too high, you will transform into something that is neither human nor demon.]
[Jinyo Southerncross]
Bloodline: Ancient Flora (Not yet awakened)
planar: None
Element: Flower (G)
Divine Punishment: None
Spirit: None
Body: None
[Strength G+: 80/1200]
[planar G: 50/1200]
[Response F: 101/1200]
[Mental Power C+: 521/1200]
[Intelligence F+: 197/1200]
[Charm E: 201/1200]
Jinyo was stuffed with a massive chunk of information until his head spun. The methods for using all four new skills—Eye of the Sage, Bloodline Deduction, God of Botany, and A Teacher is a Second Parent—were installed directly into his brain. Like someone shoving a brick into his skull until everything went dizzy. Everything started moving again. It was precisely when Jinyo lost his balance.
"What's wrong with you?" Rina furrowed her brow at the young man whose knees suddenly buckled.
"I'm... fine." Jinyo still wasn't sure about the existence of what was called the system. Since he couldn't prove whether it was a delusion he had conjured up himself or reality, he wouldn't speak of it.
"What are you doing here? To come all the way from Thauros with your child—this isn't ordinary business, is it?"
"Yes. I came to find you. What a fortunate coincidence that you met Ryse before I could bring her to find you. But the fact that you don't recognize your own daughter—it seems I expected too much."
"Well, this child said her name was Hazel. Besides, I never imagined I'd have the wonderful experience of meeting my own daughter." Jinyo turned to glance at the little girl who ran to hide behind the boy. It seemed she now understood the relationship between herself and the kind strange older brother. Her treatment of him changed immediately.
Jinyo looked at the boy's face, a copy made from himself. This child's name was Gretel. Jinyo smiled proudly that Gretel had grown up strong and had a personality as tough as his mother. Gretel surveyed the man who had shared half his blood for just a moment, then averted his gaze elsewhere. He refused to make eye contact with Jinyo, who was his real father. It was then that Jinyo thought, Oh no.
Did I... do something to make him hate me?
Ryse and Gretel walked around the fountain square area where other children were gathered. Even though the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, the colorful light from the surrounding lamps still provided a cheerful, lively atmosphere. Food stalls were wheeled in, setting up shops with scattered chairs. The aroma of grilled meat and sausages wafted pleasantly, calling to the appetites of passersby. Jinyo and Rina were separated by individual benches but sat only an arm's length apart.
Jinyo sat with hands clasped while the young woman on the other side crossed her long legs, showing off her long black stockings until he didn't dare glance over. The atmosphere of their first meeting in many years was so uncomfortable. The relationship between them was quite complex and hadn't ended well.
Rina told him that she had arrived in Richchester during the morning. But she was stuck with some mission that required leaving Ryse and Gretel at a daycare facility. Whether it was a failure of the security system or staff negligence, Ryse had escaped to search for her mother and gotten lost, unable to find her way back. The little girl received help from shop staff and ended up at that coffee shop until Rina could pick her up. But an accident happened first. If it hadn't been for Jinyo being there, who knows what fate would have befallen the little one.
"How have you been?"
"Okay, I guess."
"Well, that's good... Why did you come looking for me? Does it have something to do with Ryse?"
"Worthy of being a doctor. Dense but your brain still functions."
"Hey."
"One month ago, Norn's unit disappeared in Zone 86. I can't say everyone is dead because no bodies have been found. But the fact that there's been no contact from the Hollow Zone for a full month is true."
"Norn... then that means Ryse..."
"Poor thing. That child is coming to understand that her mother abandoned her. Because her mother has become a missing person, temporary custody of Ryse falls to you. If you don't want to take responsibility, I'll take Ryse to find a new family."
"That's completely insane. Even though I'm glad to meet my daughter, this is just too sad." Jinyo looked at Ryse and Gretel, who were intently watching other children play with remote-control cars. Because Norn hadn't been confirmed dead, Ryse had to wait hopefully that her mother was somewhere in this world. Norn was the name of the woman who gave birth to Ryse. She was both a friend and another person important to Jinyo. Their relationship was quite peculiar. They had children together but weren't husband and wife.
The government had a program called [Genius Genes]. It involved matching suitable male and female genetic donors to produce the next generation of heirs with the dominant genes of both parents. The government would cover expenses and welfare for caring for the child, with the father having no obligation to provide care. And custody rights would belong solely to the mother in cases where marriage wasn't registered.
Jinyo had close relationships with the woman before him and with another woman who wasn't here. As for this boy and girl who looked like true twins, they were actually half-siblings with different mothers who had never met their father before. They weren't born from sweet love but were products of a government program. It wasn't strange for this world. There were many families not born from married love. Jinyo himself was a product of this program too.
"Alright. You can trust me. I'll take care of Ryse myself. Because I'm that child's father after all." Jinyo smiled thinly. Even though he currently had neither a job nor money, he would work hard to change himself soon. He had always wanted to be the one taking care of his child, but he had no custody rights. Without the mother's consent, the father had no chance to see his child at all. Even though Jinyo still wasn't confident how well he could fulfill that role, he would try his absolute best.
"By the way, can I ask you to take care of Gretel too?"
"Huh? Ryse I can understand, but why Gretel too?"
"Because I don't have time to care for that child. I didn't have time for him to begin with anyway."
"You... you're not going to Zone 86 to search for Norn, are you?" Jinyo furrowed his brow. Rina sat with arms crossed, not flinching at being confronted. Her gaze was firm, and no one could shake her decision.
"Yes."
"What about Gretel? If you disappear too, what will Gretel do?"
"I know. But if there's something in Zone 86 that prevented Norn from returning, and someday that thing endangers Gretel, what would I do? Ignore it?"
"I... forbidding you would be pointless, wouldn't it?"
"Good that you understand."
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"A person who can't train like you—just staying quietly at home would help me plenty."
"How cruel." Jinyo showed a faint smile. This woman never listened—she hadn't changed at all from twenty years ago. What was different now was that he no longer had the power to help or stop her. He was now just a weak, powerless person who couldn't train. For this world, he was considered trash. The absolute lowest class of society. The only thing that made Jinyo stand out above all trash was his education level alone. Which, looking back now when he couldn't even find a job, it didn't make him different from anyone else at all.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Because if I can bring Norn back, custody will be transferred back to Norn."
"Yes, I understand." Jinyo bowed his head meekly, accepting Rina's words with an innocent expression. The sad look made Rina's chest ache.
"It must be awkward. Having to listen to my selfish request, when I rejected you seven years ago."
"Not at all. I was never angry about that. I understand. I really wasn't ready back then. Even now I'm still not confident. But I want to be the one to lighten your worries. Getting to care for your precious princess and prince is like a dream come true for me. Thank you, Rina."
Every word was filtered from a pure heart. A gentle smile with a voice melodious and pleasant to the ear. Combined with the sound of the cold wind. The gloomy twilight scenery somehow became incredibly bright and radiant.
Rina fell silent. She raised her hand to cover her forehead so no one could see her face clearly, not knowing what she was thinking. When she looked up and made eye contact, Rina cursed Jinyo roundly.
"Don't talk seductively to me, you idiot." A heavy fist lightly struck Jinyo's shoulder. Jinyo winced because for her it was like a light punch, but for him with his weak body, this small fist shook his insides.
"Huh?" Did I... do something wrong? Both mother and daughter are hard to please.
[You have connected with Rina Erindel, your concubine.]
The message appeared a few seconds after Rina's fist struck Jinyo.
"Cough, cough cough." Jinyo nearly choked to death when he saw the message displayed in his consciousness.
C-concubine?
Rina is my concubine? You've got to be kidding!
"What's wrong? You're not thinking something indecent, are you?" Rina squinted at the young man. Her eyes suspicious of the suddenly changed behavior. If it wasn't because some wicked thought had flashed through his mind, he must have been startled by something. Jinyo shook his head rapidly like a wind-up doll, still unable to catch his breath normally. His foolish demeanor made her even more suspicious than before.
He couldn't tell her... If this crazy woman found out that the suspicious system called her his concubine, he definitely wouldn't make it home in one piece. When would this haunting illusion disappear from his brain?
Rina had one month of vacation. At first, she decided she would rent a house in the neighborhood to stay and help Jinyo adjust to caring for Ryse and Gretel. Jinyo thought it was a waste to spend money on something like that. So he asked Rina to move into his house. The same one she had lived in when she was young.
Rina's status was that of his mother's disciple. His mother had taken her in to care for as an inheriting disciple. So Rina had the status of a quasi-adopted child of the house. She had lived in the same house as Jinyo since they were both children. She was both a childhood friend and a rival.
Jinyo's family was an ancient swordsman clan with a history spanning more than 1,200 years. They had ancestors who were famous swordsmen, nobles, or even mothers of the land to emperors. Time had caused the Southerncross clan to decline with each generation. From having jewels of gold and silver, noble titles and ranks, the Southerncross clan had now reached its absolute lowest point.
What remained were just two family members. The family estate with dozens of buildings on the property. Land covering an entire mountain behind the estate. Apart from a few ancient treasures of historical value, there was nothing that could be exchanged for money.
Ryse and Gretel had never come to the Southerncross family home before. It was grand and magnificent, befitting a great family house. But once they stepped through the gate, they found only silence and desolation. A place that once had no fewer than two hundred people living together. It was too vast for just two people.
Even adding Ryse and Gretel, it was still far too lonely.
"From now on, we'll be living in this house. You must maintain etiquette and show respect to the master of the house. You know who I'm referring to, right?"
"Brother Yo!!" Ryse blurted out loudly and clearly.
"Brother Yo?"
"Brother Yo told me to call him Brother Yo. Can I call him Brother Yo?"
"..." Jinyo couldn't speak, couldn't say anything either. His real daughter didn't call him father. It seemed the brother zone had been built solidly before the papa zone. He turned to look at Gretel with eyes brimming with hope.
"If Ryse calls him Brother Yo, then I'll call him Brother Yo too."
"Gretel." Rina glared at the son who had crawled from her womb.
"I don't accept him as my father yet. Weak. Not cool. Not strong at all. I won't call him father." Gretel pointed his finger at Jinyo. The same emerald green eyes but fierce, unyielding, refusing to give in to anyone. Jinyo was startled at being suddenly criticized. This unreasonably formed hostility didn't make him angry or sad at all. He just showed a faint smile, looking at the boy who still didn't accept him, with eyes as gentle as clouds.
"Gretel really is just like your mother. Back in the day, Rina used to point her finger at me often too."
"!!?" Mother and son both flinched.
"But it's okay. Call me whatever you want. I don't mind. But there's one thing Gretel said that's wrong."
I'm not weak.
Rina's old bedroom had been preserved in its original condition. Rina moved her luggage in to stay with the two children. Jinyo was on the other side of the same building. When he opened the door to his bedroom with its desk, books and academic journals from around the world written in foreign languages, a chemistry board that was blank but had traces of heavy use, there were many things in this room but it still looked clean and spacious.
He had just gone to the city to look for work. Who would have known he would meet the woman he thought of as more than a friend but not a girlfriend, and bring her back home along with a son and daughter he had never met before? Jinyo picked up his phone to notify his younger sister of this unbelievable news.
Jinyo was throwing himself onto the bed, but on the white bed was a black scroll placed in contrast against the bright white bedding. An ancient aura eplanarted, overwhelming his consciousness to make him reach out and grab it. Golden letters written in strange language, reading as [Nature Synthesis Technique].
"This is crazy." Jinyo unrolled the scroll. Revealing all the content within. It was details of planar cultivation unlike any manual Jinyo had ever read in his life. Though not yet proven, the content was so consistent with possibility that it couldn't have been written by an amateur hand without filtered thought. It wasn't a technique manual written from delusional imagination, but one that had accumulated knowledge over hundreds or thousands of years.
An immortal cultivation manual that had never appeared before on this world. It matched the name of the item displayed in the system window.
"This isn't a daydream." The feel of aged paper at his fingertips. Both the weight and smell told him this was real. Not imagination or hallucination he had conjured up himself.
There was no proof. Only feeling and speculation.
The content in the manual said that Jinyo had hope to return to fight once more, but who knew what it would have to be exchanged for?