"I'm done Nola, come here"

Smiling, I waved at Nola in the distance and urged her to come to me.

"Um"

Nodding her little head, putting the phone away, Nola ran in my direction.

"Up"

Lifting her into my arms, I smiled and pointed towards the playground in the distance.

"Let's go play"

"Yes!"

Walking towards the playground, although I was smiling, that was merely a facade I put on since Nola was with me.

My mind was in a current state of turmoil.

After 'politely' conversing with the two individuals, I found out a few things.

First off, the long-haired guy's name was Simon Perk and his father was a relatively influential person inside of a bronze-graded guild. The guy next to him was called Greg Topaz and he was his childhood friend as well as bodyguard.

...The reason why they knew me was because the old Ren and they, used to attend the same middle school.

Fermin middle school.

One of the top middle schools in the northern district.

However, from what I've uncovered from my 'talk', the previous Ren Dover was a social outcast.

It wasn't like this before, but after a series of events, he became an outcast. This probably happened right after he got accepted in the lock.

Although I wasn't able to get a clear picture of what had happened since they weren't part of Ren's class, I was able to deduce that an important event had happened in Fermin middle school.

Which was enough of a start for me...I at least had a direction to focus on now.

"Bwader?"

As I was busy pondering over the old Ren's matters, feeling a light tug on my pants, I saw Nola's droopy eyes staring at my shoes.

"Are you tired already?"

"um"

Nodding her head, Nola extended her hands in my direction.

11:20 A.M.

"...it should be time anyways"

Checking the time, I picked Nola from the ground and left the park. It was about time I headed to the guild.

I wonder what's it like being in a guild.

...

"It should be this one"

Arriving in front of a large skyscraper that was about 200 meters in height, and had about 80 floors, I brought Nola inside of the building with me.

From what I had been told by my parents, the whole building was used as the base for their guild Galxicus.

Although they didn't own the building, they managed to rent it out for a reasonable monthly price.

Arriving in front of the elevators at the entrance of the building, I pressed the button and called for one. As I waited for the elevator to arrive, I took a quick glance at my surroundings.

Surrounded by glass, the interior of the bottom floor was brightly lit by the sun in the sky. White marble floor covered the entire pavement, and people moving to and fro inside of the building was a constant sight.

It looked extremely busy.

-Ding!

Entering the elevator and pressing on the 25th-floor button, the elevator doors closed and a slight pushing sensation appeared beneath my feet.

-Ding!

In a matter of seconds, the elevator reached the 25th floor, and the doors slid sideways.

-Clank

"Wow..."

As soon as the elevator doors opened a whole different world appeared before my eyes.

The twenty-fifth floor looked like a luxurious office space

The floor was extremely large, with a space that could accumulate over hundreds of people at a time.

The area I was currently in was the main reception area of the guild. The higher floors were office spaces for administrative management, and the lower floors were for heroes as they provided training facilities and other things heroes required like a potion station and supply replenishment areas.

The ground was covered in a red carpet, and large TV screens were installed in the corner of the space with constant updates on the news and which dungeons were available for raids.

People wearing combat suits followed by people wearing formal ones appeared everywhere. Most likely, they were the members of the guild being followed by their managers.

Looking at the scenery before me, I couldn't help but be amazed.

'So this was my parent's guild, Galxicus...'

"Ren!"

Snapping out me out of my revere, was the cheerful sound of my mom's voice.

"Ren you're just in t-"

However, freezing mid-sentence, my mother's eyes landed on Nola who was standing next to me. The more she looked the grimmer her face became.

"Ren"

Glancing back at me, her eyes became cold, and her previous cheerful demenour disappeared.

Taken aback by her sudden shift in attitude, I didn't know what to do as cold sweat suddenly appeared on my back.

Eh? what happened? and why does it look as if a demon had suddenly appeared behind my mother?

Something wasn't right...

"What's wrong?"

"...are you telling me that you can't tell what you've done wrong?"

What I did wrong?

Frowning, I recalled everything that had happened today. Apart from taking Nola to the park and beating a couple of kids, I don't think there was anything to warrant her reaction.

Why was she so angry?

Sigh

Seeing how clueless I was, pointing towards Nola, her tone raised a few pitches

"Just look at the state Nola is in!"

"Nola?"

Glancing at Nola in confusion, I didn't see anything wrong with her. Apart from the fact that both her pockets were filled with candy and she was holding an ice cream cone in each hand, I didn't see anything strange.

"Oh my god. What kind of son did I raise?"

Helplessly shaking her head, my mom went to Nola and apart from one Ice cream, she immediately took everything from her.

Nola did try to protest, but under our mother's seriousness, she could only turn her head in my direction to which I could only avoid and pretend to feign ignorance.

...I'm sorry.

After putting away all of the candy, Samantha, my mother, took Nola by her hand and urged me to follow her.

"Alright, forget it. Follow me up to meet your dad"

"Ok"

Just as I was about to follow my mother up, the whole floor became quiet before suddenly everyone started panicking.

"H-He's here. Everyone get ready!"

Stopping whatever they were doing, crowding towards the elevator, a bunch of guild members bowed down.

-Clank!

As the elevator doors opened, exiting them was the Vice-guild leader of the Galxicus guild. Martin Lorewik.

His shoulder-length hair was curved up slightly, and he had a well-trimmed black beard that nicely fitted around his jaw. The solemnity given off by his extraordinary appearance was similar to that of my father as every step he would take caused all the guild members near him to shake in their boots.

"…Huu."

Looking around the room with his snake-like eyes, the Vice-guild master of the Galxicus guild, Martin Lorewik, murmured quietly.

"This guild is going to the shitters…"

His voice, which was deep, was loud enough for most people around him to hear. With a moderate arrogance and a lethargic attitude, Martin Lorewik pushed back the people flocking in his direction.

Staring at him in the distance, my eyes narrowed into slits as I closely scrutinized him.

...According to the reports that smallsnake sent me, he was the man leading the inner conflicts within the guild. He was a <D> ranked Hero, just slightly weaker than my father, and was selected by the guild investors to become the Vice-director of the guild. With the aid of the board of directors, he managed to convince them into overthrowing the current guild leader. My father.

"...hm?"

As I closely scrutinized Martin, another wave of murmurs engulfed the entire floor as a youth walked out from behind him.

The youth was wearing a white-colored, long-sleeved loosely fit T-shirt with a strange insignia sewn on the back of it. His black obsidian eyes which were brighter than ordinary people's had hints of wisdom hidden deep within them.

The youth's face was quite handsome and outstanding with his skin being smooth without any imperfections. His long black-colored hair dangled to his shoulders, and his demenour carried hints of arrogance and pride.

As he followed Martin from behind, with his back straight he would look down on everyone present in the room. Almost as if he owned the place.

As Martin and the youth were walking, Martin's eyes suddenly drifted towards the other end of the hall where three individuals stood. A smirk soon emerged on his face.

"Follow me Alex"

Plowing through the crowd of people, Martin and the youth named Alex soon stopped in front of me and my mother.

Looking at my mother, Martin politely smiled and said

"It's a pleasure seeing you here Samantha"

Frowning, a trace of disgust appeared on my mother's face before it quickly disappeared as fast as it came. Smiling politely she greeted him back.

"Hello, Martin"

"It's been a long time since we've spoken to each other like...."

Soon they started conversing with each other. However, if someone wasn't paying close attention to their conversation, one wouldn't be able to notice all the hidden meanings behind each other's words.

"ahahah, my husband indeed worked very hard to build the guild from the ground up..."

"But of course, that was largely due to how much I was helping him..."

As my mom was conversing with Martin, the youth behind him walked up to me. Seizing me up, a smirk soon appeared on his face.

"Are you the talentless waste who was able to attend to the lock due to how their father stole from his own guild to pay for his son's tuition?"

The moment I saw him, I just knew...

I knew things were going to be like this.

Smiling politely I said.

"If you're talking about the D ranked talent student attending the lock, that would indeed be me"

"I just don't understand how someone like you could even manage to en-"

Just as Alex was about to finish his sentence, audible murmurs resounded the floor as the people around us started separating. Soon, with a presence that was even more domineering to that of Martin, my father arrived.

"Guild master!"

"Guild master!"

"Morning guild master"

Furrowing his brows, Martin quickly put on a big smile as he looked at Ronald.

"Ah, guild master I was just catching up with Samatha."

Nodding his head towards Martin, Ronald ignored him and looked at my mother. Seeing that everything was alright, he glanced in my direction.

"This Ren?"

Noticing my dad looking at me, Martin's eyes shined for a split second before he immediately arrived beside me and patted me on the shoulder.

"Hahah, how long has it been since I saw you? By the way have you m-oh, it seems like they've already met. Let me introduce him to you..."

Pointing towards Alex that was standing in front of me, Martin's tone carried hints of pride as he spoke.

"This here is Alex Cloudburm. He is currently attending Noert academy, the best academy in the northern district and is a B ranked talent I picked up."

Whilst looking at my father, Martin's eyes paused slightly on me before emphasizing the B ranked talent part when he was introducing Alex.

Looking at Alex, who didn't shy away from my father's eyes, my dad nodded his head and said

"That's indeed very good talent you have picked up"

Smirking, Martin raised his hands in the air as the tone of his voice increased a few pitches

"Good. Just good? We are talking about a B ranked talent here Ronald"

Shaking his head in disappointment, Martin continued.

"I know your son enrolled in the lock, but with his talent...he's in a completely different world compared to Alex"

Without giving a chance for my father to speak, glancing around him, In a voice that was audible enough for everyone to hear, Martin looked at my father and said

"Since you seem to be more impressed by your son more than Alex, how about we let our two kids spar? you know, just to show our members how much the prospects we've chosen have improved"

Glancing around, I could instantly see the momentum of the conversation falling in Martin's direction.

By not giving a chance for my father to speak, Martin carried the conversation to the point where it suddenly became a duel between me and Alex.

...His goal was obvious.

If my father refused, his reputation would fall as it would make him seem like a coward. And if he accepted and I lost miserably, his reputation would also take a hit.

Moreover, knowing the previous Ren, Martin judged that his plan was foolproof hence why he acted fast.

...However, he miscalculated something.

"I don-"

After a long silence, just as my father was about to refuse Martin's provocation, tugging his clothes, I firmly looked at him in the eyes and said

"Dad accept"

"Ren do-"

Raising his hand to stop my mother from protesting, staring at me for a solid minute, my dad looked back at Martin for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"Okay, we accept"

"Hahahaha great, let's meet in the arena in half an hour time"

Laughing out loud, Martin took one last glance at us before waving and leaving with Alex.

Right after Martin left, the crowd around us dispersed leaving behind me and my family.

Turning his attention towards me, Ronald Dover, my father, solemnly asked

"Are you sure?"

Smiling, I nodded my head.

"Never been more sure...."