The short old man returned the salute of his subordinates and nodded at them before taking the main seat in the room. Every military officer’s attitude was no longer casual, and they seemed quite solemn.

“Why the long face?” The old man smiled but appeared upset when his subordinates didn’t relax. “Seems like you’re already expecting this.”

Their hearts dropped at the Colonel’s words. They had already expected that something must have gone very wrong for the Colonel to make an appearance himself. But as the officers were awaiting the Colonel’s words, he turned to Jacob and Bob, who had become spectators.

The Colonel gave a smile he felt was gentle.

“I’m Briggs, Colonel Briggs.”

Both boys gave the best salutes they could and greeted him back.

Briggs looked at Jacob and said, “You’re safe from any suspicion now so there’s no need to worry. You can go back and relax before your exams.”

Even though they were eager to stay behind and listen to what was about to be discussed, they knew it was impossible. So the boys suppressed their curiosity.

Adam came to Jacob and offered a handshake.

“Congratulations!” His smile was bright.

Jacob nodded and shook his teacher’s hand. He appreciated his teacher’s support. A thin invisible band unwinded from his wrist and wound around Adam’s hand. It went unnoticed by Jacob, but Briggs smiled seeing this.

The students left the room and soon left the base. On the way back, Bob still drove the jeep. The young aspiring hunters remained silent until Jacob broke the silence.

“What happened?”

He wanted to ask so much, but all he could say was this sentence. 

Bob sighed. He thought for a moment before carefully replying.

“She thought you had changed too much and since she knew information about doppelgangers due to her family background, she reported you.”

“Did you discuss this?”

Bob clenched his teeth but shook his head. Jacob gave a sigh of relief as a burden on his chest was relieved. He didn’t think she was that kind of a person.

“You even saved her ass so many times.”

Bob opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

“The least she could have done was discuss it with you.”

Jacob felt aggrieved on Bob’s behalf. They had worked hard to save her when she was attacked by the goblins and had gotten poisoned. Bob even carried her all the way. But…

Both of them simply sighed, then looked at each other in reflex. Then they sighed again. Jacob knew both needed time to pass by to heal the scars of trust formed due to this incident and knew there was nothing else to talk about on this trip. 

‘Ah, I remember my system telling me about some things.’

He looked at his Notifications and found the messages he had not yet checked.

[You have unlocked ‘Class Change’ and ‘Skill Creation Chance’.]

[You have also unlocked a Unique Skill.]

Then regret flooded in as he remembered the class forced onto him: A Necromancer.

‘But there should be something to make me happy here. Hm… what kind of skill do I want to create? And what is this unique chance?’

After plenty of thinking, Jacob didn’t know what skill he needed at the moment. He was forced to become a glass cannon mage class after playing a warrior all along and was confused about what he was lacking at the moment. He tried to check his Unique Skill, and the familiar blue interface popped up.

…

[Fusion Cube]

Type: Unique Skill

Cost: Spiritual Energy

Effect: Obtain a Single Upgraded Version of the Ingredient

Condition: Need Three Identical Items or Skills as Ingredient

Limit: Can use once a day (the limit will increase as soul strength increases)

Description: A never before seen skill that uses the principles of transmutation and alchemy to combine any three identical ingredients to give its superior version.

…

‘...’

Jacob opened his mouth and involuntarily made sounds but could not form a single word. His eyes widened, and his lips spread apart like he was going through something extreme. The dopamine released in his brain was higher than he ever thought possible. Frankly, he looked like a rat high on cocaine.

“Ahahahaha!” Laughter eventually erupted, and he couldn’t hold it in anymore. 

‘What Bob’s here? What secrecy? I want to unleash my joy!’

Bob naturally looked at his teammate and noticed his bloodshot eyes and deranged laughter. His eyes held pity as he was unable to comprehend what his teammate was feeling. Bob thought he should support Jacob like a good friend who had gone through life and death with Jacob.

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry, it’ll be fine.” He patted Jacob’s back while driving with his other hand.

Jacob looked at him for an instant in confusion, but the blue box that continued to be present in front of his eyes grabbed his attention again.

“It’s already great! So great!” he laughed.

The adrenaline rush cooled down a few minutes later, and Jacob coughed while covering his mouth. He looked to the other side and was unable to face Bob calmly due to his embarrassment. But Jacob couldn't take it when he noticed Bob’s gaze was filled with pity, Jacob couldn’t take it.

‘But I can’t just say that I got an awesome skill, right? Is this the ‘talent’ people talk about? Did Mr. Adam mean something like this when he told us to try to awaken in situations of intense emotional disturbance?’

He still had questions. But one thing was for sure. 

‘Life just got more interesting!’

Jacob decided to check his class later as he had already entered the city, and there was no way to test the use of his class.

‘I can’t just summon skeletons or zombies in front of everyone like this, right?’

He didn’t want to end up back at the military facility from where he had just left. So he simply thought of ways his Fusion Cube could be used and had a sh*t-eating grin on his face from time to time. Naturally, he chose to ignore Bob’s look of pity.

The remaining journey was spent in silence. Bob shared the features of the Orb of Demonic Energy which relieved Jacob. Soon, Bob dropped Jacob home and left to return Adam’s jeep to the school. They agreed to talk again after cooling down for a few days.

“I’m home!” Jacob announced as he entered the front door.

But nobody responded to him. He felt weird and noticed it was daytime when at least one of his family members would be home. He went to the drawing room with the TV, but his obnoxious sister was not watching her favorite shows. He also didn’t find his father reading the news on his phone.

He went to his parent’s bedroom and knocked on the door.

“Is anyone inside?”

After not receiving a response, he walked inside and shouted, “What? Where is she?”

His face was plastered in two parts horror and three parts fear. The person he expected to see asleep on the bed was no longer there. Like the rest of the house, this room was also dark and empty.

“What happened here?”

Jacob quickly called his father, and after a few beeps, it was answered.

“Hello dad, what happened?” His voice was laced with desperation and a hint of pleading. His mind could not help but keep imagining the worst.

“Trathe General Hospital.” The strict man’s gruff voice was cut short as a scream echoed behind him. He instantly cut the call.

“Ruby?” Jacob recognized the owner of the scream. He rushed outside, even forgetting to wear his shoes, and ran towards the Trathe General Hospital. His enhanced body allowed him to reach it in five minutes, using shortcuts, including narrow walking lanes that only locals knew.

“Where’s my mom?” He urged the receptionist at the front desk in panic.

“Oh, you’re that nose-bleeding chronic case. And who is your mother?” The woman gently laughed while asking.

“Kate Maxwell.” 

“Room 301.”

Jacob rushed to the staircase while the woman was startled by his speed.

“How rude! To think he didn’t even bother thanking me.” But as his gaze went towards to file on the patient admitted in Room 301, she understood why he behaved that way. Pity remained in her eyes as her joyful mood was dampened by the sad story she had heard about the patient this morning.

***

“Room 301,” Jacob read the sign aloud and paused unexpectedly. Sweat poured down his forehead, and his calves ached like he had run a marathon. He remembered how the people climbing the staircase cursed him for his recklessness moments ago but ignored everything.

His heart throbbed as he reached out to open the door but paused. What if his worst fears about his mother came true? How would he be able to take it in? As his hand remained frozen above the door knob, it opened by itself.

His thoughts froze as a puffy-eyed Ruby exited the room and pushed him aside as she went downstairs. He didn’t even bother resisting since he saw his mother lying on a white bed. She had a saline bag hanging on a stand beside her with tubes that trailed down and ended in an iv catheter. 

Peter Maxwell sat beside her as he held her hand. Her eyes were closed as usual, and she seemed asleep. Her slightly undulating chest revealed that she was breathing.

Jacob sighed in relief. He came inside and closed the door, then stood beside her bed. He looked down, wondering what to say.

“You came late,” said Peter with a neutral voice while running his fingers across the back of his wife’s hand. Jacob couldn’t detect a hint of emotions in them.

“I just returned home father,” he tried to reason. He only hoped whatever excuse Adam had given Peter was enough.

“It’s good you came,” said Peter with a milder tone.

Jacob looked up in surprise and noticed Peter staring at him.

“She was poisoned. Her life force is nearly exhausted. She may not live longer than one to two years.”

Jacob’s mouth dropped. He had originally thought that she had died in her coma. But he became relieved since she seemed to be just fine. But his emotions once again turned turbulent as rage boiled inside him.

“Which as*hole did it father?” His eyes turned bloodshot as he cursed for the first time in front of his father. 

Peter looked up in surprise as he had never seen Jacob snap like that. But it felt natural since some bastards did something unforgivable to his mother after what she had gone through. He wanted to give a clear answer, but it was not possible.

“They did it when I went to the school to contact your teacher about your absence,” Peter replied with any hint of blame. But it cooled down Jacob’s rage, and he felt guilt threatening to consume him.

“I’ve called in a few favors from some friends in the hunter circle whom I’ve saved long ago. It seems it was someone related to Lawson Lions,” said Peter with clenched teeth near the end.

“Lawson Lions?” Jacob didn’t expect to hear this name here. “That guild led by Ben Lawson?”

“Yes, that very same bastard who hurt my Kate and now someone from his guild did this to her.”

Jacob could feel a mix of rage, hatred, and a lot of helplessness in Peter’s words. The man who hit him recently and refused to let him enter the hunter world just recently seemed to have been hit hard.

“But I don’t think we provoked anyone from there, right father?” Jacob asked cautiously.

Peter thought for a moment but shook his head. After a period of intense struggle that was expressed on his face, he stared Jacob straight in the eye.

“I have something important to tell you.”