Kaelthar Branch of Skai 11331 Galaxy.
…
When one spoke of Zoryx Kaelthar, there wasn’t much to say other than that he was the best of the very best. There was hardly a moment in his life where he wasn’t number one, and that had come quite naturally to him.
He had an average, somewhat slight frame. But everything else about him was exceptional and extreme. A face that had a delicate, but masculine edge to it, an aura that was both resonating and deep, and an intelligence that was hardly second to none.
A rare instance of a talent that was both a monster of combat and Rune Mastery, Zoryx had been number one on the Titans Leaderboard and the Breath Leaderboard for years now already.
It was only natural that he had a sense of superiority, but even if he did have one… it didn’t seem very obvious at all.
Well-mannered and somewhat quiet, having a patience to observe and wait for others to speak around him first, he didn’t have the same brash arrogance that Ulrik had at all despite being superior by countless measures.
That was why when he heard of the actions of the main Clan, sending down the likes of Israeal, he only smiled lightly and nodded to his mother and father, not making much of a fuss about it at all.
His mother, Matriarch Yaoan, seemed to be particularly aggrieved. Even if there was no way Israeal would be able to take the True Chosen mark, there were any number of ways that Zoryx could be controlled given the right amount of pressure.
There was simply no way they would be naive enough to believe that Israeal was truly only here to help.
When Israeal disappeared not long after arriving as well, that only made the alarm bells of the Kaelthar Branch Matriarch spark all the more. But the anxiety she carried around with her every day seemed to be vented on the servants of their Clan, however, no amount of it seemed to change much of anything at all.
Patriarch Brem, Zoryx’s father, looked upon the measured nature of his son and chose to temper down his rage as well. Sometimes, the Patriarch felt that he had done wrong by his son by birthing him into such an inferior branch of the family.
Zoryx had the intelligence to be so much superior to what he was now. But there was too little he could do about his station in life—always destined to rule over this small corner of the universe.
And now, when he was about to be given a chance to leap over the carp’s gate, something like this had happened.
On this day, the father-mother-son trio had met once again for dinner. The irony of the love the first two held for the third was that they had many other sons and daughters, and yet they only seemed to care enough to share their dining time with Zoryx and Zoryx alone.
“Mother, father, I was thinking,” Zoryx said with a light smile.
“Hm?” Brem looked up. He had a much larger stature than his son, his shoulders far broader than the chair he sat on, despite the fact it seemed one embellishment away from being a throne. “Speak.”
“How do you think Israeal came to know of this situation?” Zoryx asked, slicing a large chunk of red meat away from his plate and almost elegantly biting.
The eyes of Brem and Yaoan narrowed at the same time. They had thought of this as well, but it was a bit troublesome to try and inquire. Whoever had spoken of it had almost certainly been rewarded as well, and were on the Main Clan’s shortlist. They couldn’t casually interfere in that matter—at least not directly.
But they knew their son well. The fact he was bringing this up almost certainly had a purpose of its own.
“What do you mean by this, Little Zo?” Yaoan asked.
Zoryx knew his parents weren’t fools, so there was no need for him to over-explain.
“I only mean to say that if there are certain actions that must be taken, we can’t also look to our backs while we take them, no?”
A silence fell around the dinner table, the movement of utensils, sharp knives scraping along flesh and glass echoing.
“It is too dangerous,” Brem said after a long while.
“That would depend,” Zoryx said calmly.
“On?”
“How great a risk it is for them as well.”
There was yet another flash in the eyes of the Patriarch and Matriarch.
“I have come across great information,” Zoryx began slowly, “information about the ire of the system. As mother and father know, I have been trying to find methods of stepping outside of this galaxy, which is why I have yet to step into the E-Grade. This son of yours turned out to be quite lucky, because it is only because I am still an F-Grade warrior that I was granted this True Chosen mark.
“However, this aside, I’ve explored many avenues. There was the Golden Grove, but I do not believe that they can give me what I want. I thought of moving to the Main Clan, but this is even more impossible. I would never be accepted. The only option that remains is to join an organization that stands beyond them, but also grants opportunities to outsiders.
“Unfortunately, such organizations would never look my way. My potential is too inferior for them.”
Zoryx was exaggerating, of course. He was well aware that he technically could join with his talent. The problem was that he would be middle of the pack. None of these organizations would be falling over themselves to add him at all.
“Your son was quite paralyzed by choice. Or, rather, a sea of mediocre options. However, seeing my name fall to number two made me realize that there are times that things aren’t perfect. If someone from a Summoned World can accomplish so much, I have no excuses.
“I chose an organization to join, and this interestingly enough gave me information I was not expecting.”