On the spaceship, Maximus and the crew watch on the screen as the world they were once in explodes.
One by one, the probe cameras around the planet get destroyed and are automatically replaced by another one.
Soon, the screen becomes blank with no other camera probe around the destroyed planet.
“We escaped,” this is all their thought at this moment.
Seeing the planet explode into pieces is both fascinating and heart-pounding at the same time.
“Does this mean that it’s over?”
“Yeah… right.”
“We passed the trial!”
“We passed the trial!”
“We finally passed the trial!”
It finally dawned on them that without the monsters hunting on them, they passed the trial.
After multiple repeated trials with hundreds to thousands of years of preparation,
Passing the trial is already within their sight.
Thinking of the one who brought them to this, they swore to repay Maximus.
…
In the monitoring room, Maximus looks at the explosion.
As for the people celebrating, Maximus just glances at it.
“Wanderer, send biological probes to the explosion site,”
He is worried that there are still stubborn lucky monsters that survived.
[Wanderer: Sending biological probes…]
[Wanderer: There is no sighting of biological activity near the explosion area.]
“Expand the search.”
An hour later, Wanderer expands the search little by little, reporting the situation to Maximus.
Soon, within the proximity of the explosion, there is no sighting of biological activity.
“Finally…” Maximus sighs.
All the heaviness he encountered in the past 30 years is finally gone.
Although it seems that everything is easy because of his cheat.
That was just a support, he still needed to do everything himself.
Don’t look at the others who barely had free time of 4-5 hours.
For him, every second is a race against time.
Moreover, being a leader, he can’t show these emotions in public so as not to demoralize his people.
“Now everything is finished…” Maximus sighs again.
Maximus finally has the time to look at the others through the monitoring screen.
After a bit of celebration, they returned to work, fixing the ship’s interior.
“It looks like they’ve adapted to working.”
Bang!
The door suddenly opens, with Silas coming in.
“There you are!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Of course, it’s a banquet!”
“We can’t just sit and take our victory as nothing, right?” Silas said, noticing Maximus’ relaxed expression.
If Maximus was the leader work on the clock that barely had a rest.
Then Silas is like a worker ant never closing his eyes.
Silas is literally a machine that never rests.
Throughout the trial, You can also see Silas working or on the way to work.
That is why despite Silas’ introvertness, he would like to have a banquet to vent all of the stress he accumulated.
“Then let’s have a celebration.”
…
70 years later…
The past 70 years have been an uneventful yet fulfilling time.
Without the worry of monsters attacking them, they spent the rest of the years having fun and dedicating a little time to studying.
Some couldn’t bear the loneliness and chose to hibernate.
Maximus however took this time to consolidate his thoughts and plans.
…
In the lobby, all 10,000 individuals on the ship were silently looking at Maximus.
There were only a few minutes left before the hundred-year mark, and they would be able to leave this trial.
“First of all, I would like to thank all of you,” Maximus started.
Unlike before, they looked at Maximus with seriousness and solemnity.
Previously, they only thought of him as a talented man whom they could depend on and who could possibly help them pass the trial.
However, as the days went on, they progressed from despair to hope and finally to victory.
Maximus had been with them throughout, supporting and leading them.
Being thanked by the man they admired was truly heartwarming.
“Without you, we would not be here,”
“So, I really want to say thank you.”
“This journey of ours is not the end, but the beginning.”
“After this trial, we will regroup and conquer the toughest and richest places in the world.”
“The Chaotic Sea!”
“Prepare well, for we will meet again soon…”
“We will, leader!”
Soon the clock turned to zero as all the people disappeared, leaving the spaceship floating alone in space.
[Wanderer: Host missing…]
[Initiating self-mobilization…]
[Mission – Find host]
…
As Maximus opened his eyes, he vaguely heard a beep from a system that seemed to indicate he had passed the trial.
However, his attention was quickly shifted to the people around him who were looking at him with worried expressions.
“Husband!”
“Dad!”
They called out.
Maximus slowly stood up, feeling empowered and different from his mortal body before.
“Dad!”
Before he could speak, his children jumped onto him, embracing him.
“It’s all right, here’s your father…” Maximus hugged them back.
Looking at his wives’ worried faces, he smiled reassuringly.
“Everything is alright. I passed the trial.”
“We know, husband,” his wives said.
Although they couldn’t watch the trial, they could still monitor Maximus’ condition through the capsule that enveloped him.
“Hmm.”
After a bit of comforting, they finally relaxed and returned to normal.
“How about we eat first?”
“I really miss Erica’s cooking,” Maximus mentioned.
The food he had eaten during the trial was all low-level synthetic food.
Thinking about it almost made him nauseous.
Despite its not being bad and even being quite delicious, real food was truly the best.
“Then I’ll cook quickly, husband,” Erica smiled and hurried to the kitchen.
“Then we’ll wait for you,” Maximus said, leading them to the living room.
“How were these three months while I was away? Were you both good kids?”
“Yes, Daddy, we were super good!” Sam exclaimed, already displaying the liveliness of Max.
“Oh, can you tell me about your school?”
“Yes, yes, Luke and I were the absolute best at everything in school,”
Sam chattered excitedly, recounting all the legendary things he and Luke did in grade 1, which had made them famous.
Luke also chimed in, adding details to the story, making it even more believable and legendary.
Finally, Cyra had had enough and interjected, “But the teacher said you two are super annoying duos.”
“What do you know? You’re not even a one-year-old baby,” Luke said, rolling his eyes.
“Yes, yes, you’re just a toddler who plays with flowers and girly things,” Sam added.
“What?! I-I’m just telling the truth,” Crya said with red eyes.
“Yes, Cyra is just telling the truth!” Serene, her fellow one-year-old baby, defended.
“Is it?” Maximus asked with a smile.
“No, they’re lying. We are awesome, right, Neo?” Sam asked Neo, not reconciled.
1…2..3, there was no response.
“Neo!” Sam asked again, noticing Neo was still asleep.
“Huh? What happened? Oh, you’re here, Dad. I missed you…” Neo said, wiping his eyes.
“Hmm,” Maximus also smiled wryly.
He had just noticed Neo, who was sleeping on the couch while they were scrambling earlier.
“Neo, you tell them that we are awesome in school,” Sam urged, seeing Neo not responding to his question.
“Oh? But you’re just annoying?” Neo looked at them puzzled.
These two brothers of his, Sam and Luke, were big troublemakers.
It seemed like they had unlimited energy inside them that kept them going.
He wouldn’t bother if that was all.
But in any activity and trouble they created, they continued to drag him in.
His little energy would become even less, thanks to the two.
“No! Don’t we play every time?” Sam said, not satisfied with Neo’s answer.
“Just let this baby sleep for a while to have energy to eat later…”
Neo slowly spoke, smelling the food cooking as he adjusted his position and continued to sleep.
“Hmph, lazy bum,” Luke muttered in dissatisfaction.
“That’s right, your double duo is a super troublemaker,” Crya held her chin, feeling victorious, seeing his two big brothers downcast.
Crya and Serene then informed their father about all the fun things they had done at school, promising to show him their work later.
“What about our grade two student? How is your school?”
“It’s the same, but the teacher is telling us not to advance yet so as not to damage our potential,” Liam said.
“Oh, tell me more.”
Then Liam told them about all the activities they did in the school, along with the activities they engaged in.
Lily then shared her experiences and the friends she made during school time.
Unlike grade 1, which was full of leisurely activities, grade 2 is all about using your brain and wit to trudge through everything.
“What about you Max?”
“Brother Max is very close to Ella” Lyla suddenly chimed in before Max said anything.
“Oh, What happened to Max and Ella?” Maximus asked, remembering Ella the one they met at the library. 𝑂𝑽𝐋xt.𝒸𝗈𝐦
“Hmm, big brother Max usually behaves differently in front of her,” Lyla said.
“He’s not fun anymore. Furthermore, he plays more with Ella than with us,” Lyla reported.
Originally, they were the best buddies in crime, the lively big brother and sisters.
But now, Max had somehow matured, making him seem like a little kid.
“Oh, can you tell me about it, Max?” Maximus asked, looking at Max fidgeting.
“Uh, it’s because of Brother Liam. He taught me these things,” Max finally gave up and ratted out his brother.
“Liam?”
“Yes, it’s Brother Liam. He told me all these weird things about being mature and whatnot.”
“Really?”
“No, it’s just that I told Max that he was already a big kid and he should be responsible,” Liam excused.
“It’s good, why are you nervous?” Maximus laughed.
“Brother Liam also said—” Liam finally had enough of Max and covered Max’s mouth while blushing.
“What did he say?” the others were also curious.
“Uh—” Max couldn’t speak as Liam covered his mouth.
“Do you know something, Nathan?”
“Uh, no,” Nathan didn’t want to betray his brother.
He turned his head aside and didn’t say anything.
“Really?”
“No, I don’t know anything…” Nathan repeated.
“Oh, then that’s fine.”
As they were talking, reminiscing about what had happened in the past three months, Erica called from the kitchen.
“The food is ready!”