Status (1)

It was not secrecy.

Or, in a way, it was.

The moment he realized his ears exploded because he was trying to hear Papa's name, he realized there was something special about the Sovereign's name.

"All of the people in this room are not related by blood. Except for my daughter, Elara, that was born from me and my wife, everyone decided to call each other by family terminology because of convenience," Papa said.

"Well, because if you try to call our names, some will hurt their ears," he continued. "I want to treat you the same as my son, your Brother, so I expected you to call me Papa like he does."

"Well, maybe because it's all new to you, you can start by calling him Father or Sir. I know it's hard in the beginning," the blonde man said to Sorin.

"Just call me Papa; simply pretend it's my name," Papa muttered annoyedly.

"Like I said, how can I call you Pa... ugh..." Sorin grimaced in disgust.

"Ahahahahah, I like your guts, Sorin boy...!" Mama was the only one amused by the situation right now, and she showed it gladly. "Don't force your will on an innocent boy, Papa. Just... let it go."

"Hmm, children nowadays have no respect for the elderly," Papa groaned.

The blonde man, Brother, sighed helplessly. "Please let it go, Papa."

"Why, of course, Sorin can call him Papa. Papa has already said it's his name," Elara unexpectedly said. "He's Papa."

"Not you too, Elara," Sorin groaned.

"But you're going to call us Aunt and Uncle, right?" the dark-skinned woman, Aunt, chirped in.

"HMPH! Call me whatever you want," Uncle, the bearded man humphed, acting disinterested.

"Ai, Papa, you're still embarrassed calling yourself Papa in front of new people, so why are you trying to get him to call you Papa anyways?"

Sorin heard Mama's soothing voice as she spoke to the man beside her. In the middle of the others talking over each other, he felt like their conversation was the most interesting.

"Are you telling me this when you liked to be called Mama yourself?" Papa sarcastically asked.

"Hehehe, well, having many children is fun, after all," Mama said.

"One day, I want to be as shameless as you," the man teased her.

"Hehe..."

Despite Papa's weird determination, Sorin decided to call him Sir instead, as Brother had suggested. Maybe he would also call Mama, Madam, or Madamme.

Except for Papa and Mama, he might still be comfortable calling the others Uncle, Aunt, and Brother. He understood why they might be needed to be called like that and had somewhat guessed the reason.

"I can't learn your names... is it because I'm not strong enough?" Sorin asked them.

"Dear me, you're such a clever boy," Aunt said. Her sparkling amber eyes admired him.

"Does that mean... all the people in this world can no longer learn my name without getting their ears destroyed?" Sorin asked.

"Yes, but don't worry. The moment the heavenly rules chose you, your documented name and the name people remembered you by would be distorted," Elara said. "Check your ID."

Sorin reached for his Visa, the only identification that he had left since his wallet was gone after he got kidnapped. And then he looked at his name.

The printed letters were supposed to be Sorin Adler... but they had changed into Sorush Adler.

"Sorush...?"

He narrowed his eyes at his new name.

"In a couple of days, it will be distorted further and changed into something else," Brother said. "So you don't need to worry and trust the system."

Sorin closed his Visa, feeling like his identity was being chipped away. Without realizing it, he was already part of the matrix.

"I know the feeling," Elara gently said to him. "When I was young, I would write my name with chalk and observe it change as the days went on."

"It's scary," Sorin calmly said.

"Well, you can always open your status window and see your name never change there," Brother said.

Sorin's line of thought snapped. "What do you mean status window?"

"Say 'STATUS', my man," Brother tapped his shoulder.

"Status!" Sorin yelled urgently, and immediately, a transparent screen appeared in front of him.

[Sorin]

8th Sovereign

Str: 30 | Agi: 35

Int: 52 | Wis: 29

Vit: ∞ | Cha: 17

Luc: 5

Unique Reigns:

Reverse (SSS)

Immortality (S)

(New!) Synapse Overdrive (F)

Oh, something new?

He touched the transparent screen, and it suddenly scrolled down. He saw something even more interesting below.

Title:

[New!] Greed Nemesis

Deal 50% more damage to Mammon's followers.

50% immunity from greed temptation.

Oh.

Was it the reward from his fight yesterday?

Sorin turned to Elara and Brother, wondering if they could see his status. But it seemed they couldn't.

Well, judging how he didn't know much about how the system worked yet, he presumed they also might not be that interested in his status either.

"Then, since all have been decided, let's meet again three days from now," Papa calmly concluded the meeting.

"Next time, let's have dinner together. Brother, can you help us decide on our next meeting point?" Mama asked.

"Don't worry, I've found a suitable place and have marked it," Uncle answered.

Everyone stood from their seats.

Elara walked with him as they accompanied everyone to the front door.

Before they left, Papa and Mama stopped and turned to them.

The black-haired man said, "We'll meet again in three days. By that day, I am sure you'll know the answer."

Well, even today, Sorin had already known the answer. This kind of life did not suit him.

"See you in three days, Papa, Mama," Elara said.

"Please be careful, you two," Brother added.

Uncle, Aunt, and Grandpa bid the couple farewell, and as they nodded in acknowledgment, the two vanished from sight.

Sorin blinked.

Obviously, he had never seen anything like that before. But he decided to keep his composure before muttering, "They disappeared."

"They're warping back to their domain," Brother said. "And later, we're going to do the same."

A huge hand suddenly grasped Sorin's head. He flinched in surprise when he turned to the owner of the hand, Uncle.

From close up, this rugged bear of a man looked increasingly threatening. His dark brown hair and his beard made him also look like a Viking.

"Done. I've marked you," the man said after he put away his hand.

"Eh?"

Sorin tilted his head.

Brother tapped his back. "Now you can warp like the rest of us."