Once they were inside the house, Michael carried his unconscious sister up to her room and after taking a moment to make sure she had not sustained any lasting damage to her already frail body, he finally closed her door behind him. And was instantly faced with the most stern expression he had ever seen on his father's face. There was no lack of questioning in the older man's eyes, but there was also unmistakable concern.
"Michael," William began. "Tell me the truth: what happened last night?"
And so Michael told him everything. He told about his discovery of Victor's dealings with the secret gang, and about his pursuit and 'death' at his cousin's hands. When he told his father about his subsequent resurrection and mentioned Risax, the older man inhaled sharply and immediately grew a troubled expression on his face.
"I was wondering how you suddenly got so strong..." William muttered quietly. "Everything makes sense now..."
"Dad, yesterday Victor was going on and on about this Risax stuff? I need to know just exactly what it is," Michael asked.
"This is information that has been kept almost exclusively among the powerhouses of the world," William replied slowly and then gave his son a wry smile. "Then again, I suppose it now concerns you.
"Risax is the name given to a top secret serum developed by a select few extremely powerful Families whose wealth and connections are practically beyond one's imagination. The drug is basically an injection of highly advanced nanobots that were designed to modify and amplify the human body to superhuman levels and even grant supernatural abilities.
"With how dangerous and powerful this technology was, it was decided that only the true rulers of society's upper echelon would be in possession of this drug. Risax was typically given only to heirs who showed immense talent and potential in a Family in order for them to Awaken and obtain strength and powers that will put them far above the rest of the masses. The reason for doing so was to secure the future of their companies and assets."
Of course Michael understood almost instantly what his father meant. In recent years, it had become almost a common occurrence for some people to modify their body using medical technology. The Families at the top of the food chain must have realized that although they still had an iron grip on worldly matters now, within a few generations their authority would eventually be challenged by upstarts who felt they were strong enough. However with Risax, their heirs who would then be in control would have more than enough power to keep things going as they had been for generations now.
"That still does not explain the situation with Victor. He's definitely one of the second generation heirs in the Grey Family, so why was he being so shady about all this?" Michael wondered.
"Who knows? Maybe he had not been selected as one of the promising ones," William said with a shrug before his eyes were fixed once again on his son. "But Michael, you have to be careful now more than ever. I doubt the fear of the Grey Family will let anyone make what happened outside public news, but that doesn't mean that the Grey Family won't hear of it themselves."
"Which means they'll know that I've Awakened," Michael finished for him thoughtfully. He rose up and headed for the staircase with his hands in his pockets in a slow walk. "Don't worry Dad. We both know that Grandfather would never order for any branch of the Gray Family to be completely destroyed, exiled or otherwise. And besides, if any of them decide to try their luck with us, then that just means I'll have to get strong enough to put them in their place," he said and disappeared upstairs, leaving his old man in deep thought.
Once he was in his room, Michael mentally requested the System to bring up the notification that he had gotten after he had defeated Victor in the duel. He had been so caught up in making sure Ari was okay that he had initially dismissed the notification.
[Congratulations on defeating Victor Grey!]
[Congratulations on defeating Victor Grey's bodyguards x2]
[Hidden Objective: Payback Completed!]
[Rewards:]
[Level +2]
[New Soul Skills unlocked!]
A Hidden Objective? Those existed here as well? Michael had played enough video games to know just what those kinds of objectives entailed. They were tasks or missions that could not really be detected or monitored until they were completed. Sure that made them unnecessarily complex and tasking to complete, but he knew a way around such things. Hidden objectives normally involved a personal issue concerning the player, which meant that any hidden objectives he would get would have something to do with his personal and private life.
Michael's interest grew as he immediately focused on the new skills he had obtained.
[Combat Mastery (Passive) Lvl 3: Grants the Host an instinctive knowledge of all combat forms and techniques, making him proficient in learning and adapting in combat situations. This skill will level up with time and experience.]
[Burst (Active) Lvl 1: Allows the Host to deal damage equal to 150% of his strength in an attack. This skill can be developed by constant usage and experience.]
Just as Michael was about to start imagining just how he would be able to apply his new skills in the case he were to need them, his attention was drawn to one final reward that he had nearly overlooked in his haste.
[+$10000!]
He blinked twice in shock even though the blue interface was within the confines of his mind. He could still remember that the System had told him that it would be able to reward him monetarily but he had never really considered that it was possible!
The white haired young man raised his Biz-Watch to his face and sure enough, ten thousand dollars had been added to his account! He could barely believe this! This System....was practically a gold mine! Not only would he be able to grow potentially infinitely, but he was also being paid to do so. Of course he knew that nothing in this world came easily. A few decades ago, this amount might have been good but in this age, it was no where with to keep a family going for more than a few weeks at best even one as small as his. If he wanted the System to reward him with more money, then he would have to encounter and complete higher ranked objectives that would inevitably involve more dangerous situations.
Just as he was thinking about this, a new notification popped up within his mind.
[New Objective: Full Awakening (1/3)]
[Description: The System has detected that the Host still possesses further latent potential that had yet to be unlocked. The amount of Risax in the Host's body is not enough to harness this potential, hence the Host must obtain more of the serum]
[Risax serums consumed: 1/3]
[Rewards upon Completion:]
[Full Awakening of the Host's power]
[Unlocking of Elemental Skill Tree]
[Level +5]
[+$10,000,000]
[Punishment for Failure:]
[Retarded Development of the Soul System]
[Level -5]
[Possible chance of Death]
[Time allocated for Completion: 30:23:58:49]