Inside a familiar, medium-sized modern room, a gray light illuminated the only bed positioned opposite a computer table that had remained untouched for two years.
Skyler opened his eyes, shuddering as he took in the familiar ceiling of his room.
When he had been teleported to the Battle Royal, he had been sleeping, but upon his return, he was wide awake. He experienced the process of teleportation, which felt as if his body had been shattered into many tiny fragments in an instant, only to reassemble itself moments later.
The process was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
"I am back..."
He chuckled, but before he could sit down on his bed, a pair of arms wrapped around him from the side. Riya Ironhart kissed his forehead and muttered in a choked voice.
"You scared us to death!"
Johnson was seated on the bed behind Riya. The couple had been waiting for their son to return for an entire day in his room. Now that the boy had finally shown up, they could breathe a sigh of relief.
Skyler smiled and hugged his mother back before sitting up cross legged. He glanced at his father, who flicked his forehead with a sigh, causing him to hiss exaggeratedly.
"What was that for?!"
Johnson Ironhart rolled his eyes. This kid didn’t know what they had gone through in the past month to find him. He looked a bit haggard, but he had gotten some rest after seeing Skyler on the battle stage.
"That’s for making me worry for a whole month and making your mother cry!"
Skyler grumbled as he rubbed his forehead, but the crinkled corners of his eyes revealed that he was feeling lighthearted. He quickly offered an apology, like an obedient child.
"I am sorry for worrying you two..."
Riya shook her head and waved her fingers through his unruly ash-brown hair. His hair was clean and faintly shining as usual, but it was slightly greasy and felt heavy.
This was to be expected; even though he had washed himself in the waterfall many times, he hadn’t taken a proper bath that would thoroughly cleanse his scalp.
She smiled and, just like her husband, flicked his forehead lightly.
"No, it’s not your fault, my dear son. This could happen to anyone, what happened to you. But yes, you do need a good bath."
The atmosphere in the room lightened.
The past month spent walking on thin ice felt trivial now that their kids were back.
Riya and Johnson were angry with Jenny, but as parents, they were grateful that their daughter was back safe and sound as well. Unlike Skyler, they had watched her through the tiny video recording drones floating around her and her team.
Skyler’s eyebrow twitched and he grabbed his collar to smell himself. Fortunately, he didn’t smell bad. His natural body odor was pleasant, and even though it was currently mixed with sweat, he still smelled okay.
But it was true that he needed a good bath. He grimaced, feeling very uncomfortable. Now that he was back home, his slightly clean-freak side was resurfacing as well.
"You’re right, I need a bath!"
Riya chuckled at his words, and Skyler jumped off his bed, ready to grab some clothes and take a long, warm bath.
Johnson looked him up and down as he rummaged through his wardrobe fixed in the wall next to the computer table.
"Just whose clothes are you wearing? They look so big on you... and what’s that tied around your waist? A straw hat?"
He laughed at the end, causing his son’s face to turn red. Clutching the straw hat, Skyler tossed it into his storage ring.
"This... this is something I crafted to avoid the sunlight. Don’t laugh!"
With that, he took a t-shirt emblazoned with the letters ’OP’ and a pair of dark jeans from his wardrobe before entering the bathroom and hastily shutting the door behind him.
Riya slapped her husband’s shoulder for embarrassing their son, and he tsked, but then his expression turned serious.
"You sensed his aura, right?"
She nodded with a hum. Of course she did. She had recently broken through to the final stage of 8-star herself; how could she not?
"He is at the initial stage of 4-star."
It was shocking, but it was the truth. Their son had jumped from being a person with no power to a 4-star in a single month.
They had heard similar news, but it was something only geniuses with potential of 20 stars or above could achieve. Yet, he had done it with no help, and the irony was that the potential he awakened was just 1-star.
Was it truly because the preliminary test was filled with numerous opportunities, or was it because he himself was special?
Riya leaned back against Johnson, and he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Let’s talk to Skyler later to find out what type of treasure he found in the test that helped him form his first elemental crystal and increase his potential..."
She said this; however, both of them knew that even if their son had found a treasure and increased his potential after eating it, his overall strength would not have grown so much in such a short time.
After all, a person’s potential is the limit of what their body can achieve, regardless of how hard they work. That’s why the closer they get to their potential, the more difficult it becomes to make further progress.
Johnson nodded slightly.
"I will place a light as a guard around him for a while as well. His situation is special. As someone with only 1-star potential, he has returned far too powerful. If any of the villains discover this, they will want to know how he achieved it. It would be bad if he got kidnapped just after he returned."
Riya slapped his shoulder again for saying something so ominous, and he wasn’t sure whether to cry or laugh since he was merely stating what they should do.
Still, he changed the topic.
"Let’s assess his potential again. I will get the old artifact from the guild."
Riya agreed, and they both left the room to cook something delicious for dinner since it was late in the evening. They would discuss how their son spent his days during the test and the matter of Starlight Academy later.