As a Whole

" The coffee is good." I was sitting at a table in the nearby coffee shop. Fatty was sitting in front of me with a lousy look. After the skirmish, we went to a mall to pick a new pair of pants for him. His face was red with shame as we walked.

" Big brother, are you going to protect me from now on ?"

After that fight with those users, he talked to me with an honorific. I asked him not to do that so he started calling big bro.

" Didn't I make it clear before? I will protect you as the vice leader of our guild. But you have to work hard, don't slack off. As the leader of the guild, you are under my protection. And stop with that big bro nonsense, it sounds so inappropriate."

"Bro.. then I will just call you bro. Thank you for looking after me."

" Whatever. I will have to properly train you. What's up with your overeating? You can't even move in a fight. At this rate, you will be only good for sumo wrestling."

" …. "

I was curious about what his stats look like, so I checked.

[ Name : Nile Brooks]

[ Level : 20 ]

[ Species : Homo Sapiens ]

[ Resonance : None ]

[ Strength : 23 ]

[ Agility : 12 ]

[ Vitality : 30 ]

[ Dexterity : 25 ]

[ Intelligence : 24 ]

[ Wisdom : 17 ]

[ Skills : Aura(C),Management(D),Eating(D), Play dead(E), Lust(F), Weigh down(F) ]

[ Status: Healthy, Traumatized ]

[ Advanced options » ]

The advanced option was blinking. This happened for the first time, so I checked.

[ dormant skill: Absolute domain ]

' A dormant skill on him, what a pleasant surprise'

" Hey, what rank are you ?"

" …its D-rank."

" Hmm, when did you awaken? Give me the exact time."

" Ummm.. one and a half years, probably over 500 days."

" Have you ever tried to improve your skills rank ?"

" I tried at first but I couldn't go on with the training regimen, so I quit."

" That explains it."

" what are you talking about ?"

" Listen here Nile, I will train you from now on."

" Uhh.. why ?"

" Because I can't always go around protecting you, you have to learn how to fight and protect yourself."

" ..Will it be too difficult ?"

" It Depends on how well you can adapt. Now let's talk about something else."

" What is it, bro ?"

" I need to hunt some awakened beasts."

" But we don't have a proper team."

" We won't be needing a team. I will be enough. You will come with me as well."

" What for? I can't even fight properly."

" It's for your training."

" … "

" What? You don't wanna "

" No, I will do it. I am tired of everyone looking down at me. If bro will be there, then I think I can do it."

I looked him in the eyes. He had the resolve, even though he was afraid, he wanted to improve. I nodded inwardly. I probably understand why he eats so much. He hides his insecurities and food is the only thing that calms him down. The depression was consuming him, He looked cheerful on the outside but he needed someone who could help him. Even if he didn't have the hidden skill, I still would have helped him improve.

" Come to the guild office tomorrow morning. I have something to take care of, so I will be leaving now. Don't be late."

*Whoosh*

I used a cosmic bridge and returned to my room. As I was already a licensed user, I didn't need to hide my powers in public. I just didn't want my family to find out. They have gone through so much, I can't give them more reasons to be anxious. I went over to the kitchen and prepared something to eat. I took some eggs, mixed them with some onion and tomatoes. I put some spices in it and put it on the pan.

" When did you come back ?" I looked back, It was Jinny holding her phone and entering the kitchen.

" Yeah... I just got back."

" What are you making? It smells delicious."

" Oh, I was just making an omelette. Do you want some ?"

" Sure... I will make some soup too."

" Make some for me."

We chatted for some time as the food was on the stove. She told me about her experiences so far in high school and now in college. She got admitted to Alzkein University, my alma mater, this year. She really studied hard to get in as it was the best university in the country. She always tried to compete with me and get ahead of me. I also encouraged her to do so, our sibling rivalry always made her work even harder to get ahead of me.

After we ate our fill, we talked about all sorts of things. I caught up on all the things in the family.

It was approaching dusk, the faint red sunlight was coming from the window. We talked for several hours. I learned a lot about their life after the world-changing event.

*creak..*

Someone opened the front door. As I looked in that direction I saw my mother standing in the doorway and looking at us, more precisely she was looking at me.

" August, is that you ?"

I stood up and approached her.

" Yes mom, I am back."

Tears started to flow out of her eyes. I couldn't bear to see her like that. As I came near her and hugged her.

" It's okay mom, it's okay. I am back now. I will never leave again, I promise."

" August… I can't believe you are back. I can't believe it. Am I dreaming ? "

" No, you're not dreaming mom. He really is here. He didn't die. He really came back."

Jinny, who was watching us so far, also came to us and hugged me and mom. We embraced each other and Jinny also started crying. Our family was together now. It was a reunion that none of us ever imagined experiencing again.

After that, I sat down with mom and told her about how I got here. She didn't get suspicious or had any doubt about my identity. She didn't even ask anything else and just nodded. I talked to her for two hours before going back to my room.

Lying on my bed I was staring at the ceiling. I knew I had great powers, but still, my years of experience told me that there might be someone powerful out there that can hurt me. People feared unknown powers and the ones who have great powers won't allow anyone to rival them.

I knew I had to cross them someday if they exist, which I was certain they were. It was not a speculation but a judgment based on reason. I got this power because I was near the explosion. There might be others who were there. They could have also gotten this kind of power, and they were three years ahead of me in experiencing this power. I didn't know who they were and how many of them existed. I had to be cautious, even with so much power I have to proceed with caution. Even gods fall, so I am no exception. I have to get to the bottom of this and learn everything then find out what caused all of this. System powers, ability users, and the quantum field, I will uncover everything.