The moment his hands touched the item, the battery level on the HUD dropped down to 24%. While the transparent smart mind solidified.
Looking at the now solid smart mind in his hand, he couldn't help but feel excited. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last as he was hit with another wave of dizziness.
Trex now understood what the battery stands for; it was his mana. With that, it was safe to assume that the network signal refers to the connection between him and the arcade realm.
Fortunately, it only took a little over a dozen seconds before the dizziness disappeared. Losing a large amount of mana in one go wouldn't have fettered experienced arcanist. But for someone who never cast a single spell, the result was dreadful.
Feeling better, Trex attempted to put the smart mind in his right temple, the exact same place that Jonathan places his.
His vision blurred as the HUD that he had disappeared replaced by a logo of a neon tree whose outline fills the more it loaded.
When the entire outline of the tree was lit, the display changed into the same HUD that Trex had.
If he didn't see the loading screen, he would've thought that the smart mind failed.
Quickly, he looked at the settings menu and breathed a sigh of relief.
In the lower-left appeared the current version of the new Arcade OS, which is currently at V-1.0. An element that didn't exist in his original HUD.
But the more critical part of the change wasn't just the OS. Below the Arcade OS are the words "Virtual Mindgear."
Virtual Mindgear.
Games are meant to be played. And since the arcade realm was supposed to be a VRMMO under Arcade Realm Online's name, one would need the hardware to connect to that world.
The headgear would be for that use.
With his first experiment an astounding success, Trex finished his dinner.
Thinking about everything so far, he decided to just go back to sleep.
——
*Knock knock knock*
*VOOSH*
Trex instantly stood up as if he was hit by lightning. It was the same process of how Illana wakes Marko up.
The cantrip that Illana used is called thunder wave, which has the effect of making people think they were hit by lightning through sound. A crowd control magic used to stun, or in Marko's case, to wake him up.
"Marko, your mum is waiting for you downstairs. She's got work today and is about to leave." Illana explained through the door.
Trex's body was completely awake, but his mind was ultimately out of it.
Still, he understood what Illana had said and quickly got up.
It's not like he was sleepy anymore. It was just being waken up so abruptly in such an exaggerated manner never felt good.
Leaving his room, he suddenly felt nervous again.
After what happened yesterday, the weird thoughts that entered Trex's mind were countless.
'Did they find something out?'
'How am I supposed to answer their questions?'
'Have they found out? And that they're just acting they haven't?'
Seemingly, his excessive anxiety has returned after it disappeared for an entire night.
Most of his thoughts also involved running away now. Even so, his feet kept taking him downstairs.
Entering the living room, he saw the same scene as yesterday. His mother was preparing herself. Unlike yesterday, Eliza wore a very tight-fitting professional suit. This caused Justin to answer his calls as he drooled over his wife. Illana remained standing to the side, ready for commands.
"Oh, hey dear," The moment she saw her son, Eliza dropped the tie she was tying and immediately pulled out a ring from her pocket.
"Here," she said as she handed over the ring directly on Trex's hands. "You left this before you went on that adventure. We kept some spells and mojos here for your safety just in case, but you were as stubborn as your dad."
Trex kept staring at his mother stupidly, very touched but also a little curious as to why Marko would leave something like a ring that could protect him.
"Look, I understand that you're growing up, we really do. But we just can't help but look at you as our baby." Eliza stopped as she glanced towards Justin sharply.
"Okay sir, I'll be going now, and the call would be dropped. Yes, yes. I'm on my way now. Goodbye." Justin rambled on the moment he caught on his wife's gaze. The sharp glance had a better effect than a cold shower.
Hiding his silver card in his pocket, he looked at his son sternly. "Marko, she's right."
…
…
Eliza's expression grew increasingly dark as fast as Justin's face becoming pale.
"She's always right, Marko." Justin awkwardly added after the long pause.
Illana felt like smacking her own face while Eliza was halfway ready with her clap back.
It was then, "Yeah I know… dad…"
It was Trex.
The growing glacier that was Eliza's expression immediately melted… no, evaporated. Feeling incredible with her son's words, she proudly exclaimed, "That is right, next time that you have a fight with your dad, find me, see if he dares send you out again."
On the side, Justin and Illana were shocked. Honestly, Marko had always been like his father. Stubborn, stupid, but reliable. He was never one to be sweet or understanding. Both had terrible EQs.
So, for Trex to say something so… mushy, Justin felt his skin crawl while Illana had her mouth agape. Marko… really is changing…
"We're all leaving for today, Illana will come back after driving for me and dad. You can go back to sleep if you want, or you could read books from the study." Eliza immediately said as she kissed Trex's cheeks.
Justin saw the weird glint on Eliza and understood. At this moment, Eliza would rather keep this new Marko than the old one.
'Well, he seems more filial… I wouldn't mind this Marko either.' Justin thought to himself.
"Well before that. It's time for you to learn about your family, Mar." Justin remarked.
Hearing her husband, Eliza realized the state of her son.
"That's right, you know what, here. This is the key to my drawer in the study, I have your father's old journal in there. You should read how conceited your dad is." Eliza quickly added.
Justin panicked. If it was the journal that was with Eliza, wouldn't that count the part where he was courting her?
When he was about to rebut, Eliza looked at him. Her eyes looked devilish.
Justin gave up. The empress has spoken.
After a while, he thought of something.
"Here," he said as he gave a pouch to Trex. "This contains 1,000 worth of Raprosian dollars. You should go out, see if you can remember some things." Justin advised.
This time, Eliza did not react.
Trex, who just experienced what it's like to be doted, had a happy smile even though his heart is flustered.
'I now have two fathers… I… I feel great,' he whispered in his heart as tears began to flow from his eyes.
"Ma… Mar! What happened?" Eliza burst out as she saw her son's tears.
Justin also stepped forward.
Eliza and Justin just had their child back. Being this emotional is something very expected.
Trex, however, was feeling emotional getting love from two strangers he now calls parents.
"I… I'll work harder… And make you proud…" Trex stated.
Eliza, Justin, and Illana were feeling incredible. That came out of nowhere.
On the other side, Trex felt his tears halt. While the words did come from his heart, this also something that he heard from another person, his true father.
"Mom… Dad… I hope you're happy wherever you are. I got drafted to the military but I'm not giving up on my passion. I… I'll work harder... And make you proud… So, we can be happy together once again…"