Family Bond I

After their drama and crying session, the family broke out of each other's embrace unwillingly.

Zen pulled some tissue located on his bedside table and gave a few to his parents.

While they were quietly wiping their tears and snot, Rina was the first to break the silence.

"So son, how did you do it? What happened inside the game for your condition to improve this quickly?"

Ren also chimed in as he asked curiously, "Also, how does the game look?"

Zen, who had just finished wiping, threw the pieces of tissue he curled into a ball to the trash can near him and said, "Nothing much, I just gained some attribute points and then tada~"

He continued, "Even I was shocked at the rate of improvement that those attribute points gave me."

Ren and Rina who were listening to him got excited as they looked at each other.

"Then does that mean that you can stand up and move on your own after a while?!"

She asked with sparkling eyes.

Ren, who was beside Rina, was just short of screaming with joy as he looked at his son's eyes that were filled with hope.

Looking at his excited parents, Zen shook his head and chuckled.

'Ahhh, I really like seeing them all happy and lovey-dovey~'

He replied as the couple anticipated the words coming out of his mouth.

"I think so…"

Hearing his words, the couple hugged each other tightly as they began to jump around in joy.

Zen watched them with a smile.

'I really love the way they act like teenagers in love sometimes~'

After a while, the couple finished celebrating on their own and asked Zen to narrate what happened to him in the game.

"This… where should I start hmm…"

Zen sorted out his thoughts and opened his mouth.

He narrated what he felt during the character selection, the first time he descended on the Free World and his experiences in it.

This included the realness of the game and how it felt, as well as how he stumbled upon Arthur's training grounds.

However, he omitted the events where he almost got killed by the ghoul and the pain he felt, afraid of worrying his parents.

So he changed some parts of the story.

The couple, Ren and Rina, listened attentively as Zen narrated their story. They were immersed and looked as if they could not wait to try the game themselves.

With their experiences, they knew that Zen was hiding something but they did not ask. After all, they knew the importance of a person's privacy and they also knew that Zen must have his reason for doing so.

As for the game terminologies used by Zen, they were not unfamiliar with it.

The Earth was now at the start of its 22nd century. Meaning that when they were teenagers, it was the 21st century.

Even then, technology was something they were exposed to at a young age.

As such, they were not out of place whenever Sera and Zen bonded by watching shows, anime, playing games, and even reading novels and mangas.

They even often joined their children if they were not busy with work and had enough free time.

After all, it was also their favorite hobbies when they were teenagers.

In short, they were cool parents that can relate with their kids.

After Zen finished telling his story to them, he put up a serious expression and said, "Mom, dad, I have something to tell you."

Seeing Zen's serious expression, Ren asked worriedly. "What is it, son?"

Rina, who was in Ren's arms, also stared intently at Zen as she waited for what he had to say.

"It's like this, you know that I have cancer right?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Listen first. When I joined the game, the system inside it scanned me. It said that some achievements and skills can be brought back from the real world to the game."

"However, what really surprised me was the fact that I got a skill with a description similar to the definition of my cancer…"

"So I have a theory that the game–"

"...can turn the illness or disease one has into a power of some sorts."

Before Zen could complete his sentence, Ren finished it as a pondering look appeared on his face.

Rina also pondered and said, "If that is the case, then this makes the situation more complicated…"

Ren kept silent as thoughts and plans came to his mind.

Seeing this, Rina could not help but giggle and tease him.

"Uh-oh, is the "Clairvoyant Tactician" back at it again~?"

Faced with his beautiful wife's teasing, the embarrassed Ren could not help but smile as he pinched her cheeks lovingly.

Zen did not know what his parents were talking about, but seeing them being lovey-dovey, he knew better than to interrupt.

However, Zen could not help but get goosebumps by the cringey nickname that he heard.

'What was that!? Maybe it was supposed to be some sort of secret code to them? Ugh, forget it, as long as they are happy.'

Soon enough, the couple turned serious again.

Rina asked her husband, "Do you think that the government already knows of this information?"

Hearing his wife's words, Ren seemed to remember something.

His expression became darker as he said in a grave voice. "There was a time when I sneaked at the president's office. There, I saw a file containing plans for an unknown project."

Ren stood up and continued, "What was indicated in the file was the plan to build a charity for people with varying diseases and disabilities."

"I thought that the president's goal was to curry favor with the masses since the election was coming. But little did I know…"

Getting the gist of what Ren meant, Rina's expression also became grave.

She worriedly looked at her husband and said, "Then does that mean that they were planning this from the start?"

Zen, who did not have any clues of what was going on, suppressed his curiosity and listened to his parents' conversation first.