Chapter 2: Man, what the heck?

All over California, there are plenty of families known for cultivating psychic powers, and the Blackwood family is definitely top-tier.

But Ethan doesn't know much about the Blackwood; ever since he was born, for reasons unknown—maybe because of his lackluster talents or his missing parents' rocky relationship with the family—he's been living at Psychic Gear, raised by Lisa.

He's seen folks from Blackwood fewer times than he's hung out with the uncles and aunties at Psychic Gear.

As a direct descendant of his family, even though he didn't grow up with them, he still gets a decent allowance every month for his expenses, all thanks to his parents' significant contributions to the Blackwood.

As long as the Blackwood name lives on, his lineage will always be well taken care of.

So, Ethan's not sweating the small stuff when it comes to life.

Back in his room, Ethan plops down in front of his computer, zoning out for a good while.

"Guess this life's all about chilling," he mutters to himself with a chuckle as he boots up his computer.

This kind of life, living off his parents' legacy, is exactly what he's always wanted—no worries about food or clothes. He's content with his lot, knowing that as long as he doesn't mess up, his life is pretty enviable.

Ethan even has a laid-back, carefree future all planned out.

"Although..."

Ethan pauses, thinking about those powerful psychics in the world who lead epic lives, seeing vast new worlds among the stars, while he's stuck at Psychic Gear for life.

"Man, I'm really asking for too much."

Ethan scoffs at himself, but by now, his computer is up and running. Even though this world is all about cultivating psychic powers, there are still games around, a perfect pastime for a laid-back guy like him.

Mostly, it's VR games that also help train psychic reaction speeds—a kind of alternative education.

But Ethan prefers the old-school games from his past life, like the one he's playing now with an actual mouse, an antique by today's standards. After all, modern VR games are mostly about fighting and killing, and that gets old fast.

He fires up an ancient game that Lisa had managed to dig up from an antique market, copied from a millennium-old computer, just as ancient as his.

Looking left and right, Ethan hesitates to click on any game; he's pretty much played them all to death.

Thinking it over, Ethan opens a folder to see if there's anything new forgotten in there.

Just as he's searching, a game file catches his eye!

Ethan, always up for some new kicks, fired up a game called "Cultivating Psychic Powers Family Simulator." Was it some kind of management game? He was about to find out.

The screen loaded in a flash, revealing an old-school art style that would've been considered retro even in Ethan's past life. A landscape painting slowly materialized into view, showing a small cabin.

A young man was setting up a memorial cards and burning incense in front of a bronze furnace.

[Today, your only descendant left in the world is paying tribute to you. As a slave without even a last name, he heard that kneeling before the Forebearer could bring blessings.]

[Please establish a surname for this family, which might rise to prominence or fade into obscurity.]

[___ Family]

"Pfft," Ethan, sipping on his Coke, nearly spit it out. Was the game starting off this tragic? Just one person in the whole family registry?

Still, he went along with the game's prompt and typed in "Blackwood."

After entering the surname, the game's interface began to change, though it remained straightforward.

Ethan glanced around and noticed a "Time Rate" slider on the left, set to 1 hour/year—real time.

"Is there no pause button?"

It seemed that only during Ancestral Communion or special events would the game pause, automatically resuming after 5 minutes.

And right now, it was the first Ancestral Communion.

It seemed like a tutorial, as the Blackwood name magically appeared on the memorial cards.

The sole descendant of Blackwood saw the change and a message appeared above his head.

"The Forebearer has manifested! My surname is Blackwood, haha!"

Watching the descendant's ecstatic reaction, Ethan didn't know whether to laugh or feel moved, as he couldn't really empathize with a game NPC.

Meanwhile, on the right side of the screen, a large black interface popped up with a message.

[Your descendant feels your presence and is overjoyed. He has named himself Nathan Blackwood.]

[Spiritual Tribute +1]

And in the family tree section...

Ethan even saw a genealogy...

[First Generation: Nathan]

He could even check Nathan's personal info—yep, totally ordinary.

"So, 'Cultivating Psychic Powers Family Simulator' means I just watch the family grow?"

Ethan was still puzzled by the game.

[Your descendant is participating in Ancestral Communion, a major tribute every ten years.]

[Tribute Offering: A pile of burnt paper ashes]

[Retrieve it?]

"What do I need this stuff for?"

Though he didn't see an inventory, Ethan clicked 'no.'

[You have canceled the Tribute Offering.]

A gust of wind blew across the screen, scattering the ashes.

But Blackwood's sole descendant panicked.

"Forebearer, calm your anger, your unworthy descendant failed to present a pleasing Tribute Offering!"

[Do you intend to Divine Gift your descendant during this Ancestral Communion?]

Staring at the screen, Ethan froze, his Coke can suspended mid-air, his hand trembling slightly, his eyes widening, his mouth agape.

Not because of the game screen, but...

A Mystic Burner, which shouldn't exist, appeared right next to his cluttered desktop computer.

Ethan could even smell the scent of burnt paper that had just been on the Mystic Burner!

This Mystic Burner was identical to the one he had just seen on the game's altar.

"Man, what the heck??"