The next day, while playing a game on his cell phone, Lukas was surprised by a text from his father.
[ 12:42 - I'm coming home, we need to talk ]
That was the only message.
When he read it, Lukas started to worry about what could have happened as it was rare for his father to text him. Lukas thought for a while and remembered Karen, so he dialed her number.
But she didn't answer.
"Damn, what did she do?"
[ 12:45 - Karen, what did you do? Did you say something to my father? ]
[ 12:46 - Karen, answer me. ]
Messages have been read but not responded to.
Lukas jumped out of his bed and then ran downstairs. "Anna, has father arrived yet?" he asked as he walked down the stairs.
"No. Why?"
"He texted me saying he was coming home and wanted to talk to me."
"Waa... Did you do something?"
"No... Of course not."
"So you did… I hope it's no big deal because I don't want to see our dad irritated again. Last time I thought he was going to break down the house." Lukas remembered.
"That was when the association came to our house to talk to him, right? I think it was about two years ago."
"That's right. What could have happened?'
"I don't know... But our father had already left the association a long time ago."
"Yes, he left the association after you were born"
"..."
Lukas took a glass of water and apprehensively waited for his father to arrive. And after waiting for a few more minutes, the door opened.
When Anna saw her father walking through the door with a serious look on his face, she turned off the television and stood up. "Good luck." She waved at Lukas and ran to her room.
Lukas swallowed his saliva and watched his father sit at the dinner table. After sitting down, he removed a paper from the briefcase he usually took to work. "Sit here."
"What happened?"
"I told you to sit here."
Obeying his father, Lukas sat on the other side of the table. So his father asked him to take the paper and read it. There, it was written about Lukas' desire to be a hunter and had a place for a signature.
"What? Where did you get that?" Lukas said in a louder tone, clearly surprised.
"I got an email and this was attached there. It was a girl, I think her name was Noelle? She works together with the association head's daughter in a small guild."
'So it was you...' Lukas bit his lip and took the paper. "Forget about it, all right? I thought about becoming a hunter, but I gave up. It's too dangerous." Lukas started to sweat.
His father's gaze was menacing.
"Lukas."
"...I'm sorry, I did it on impulse."
"What do you mean on impulse?"
"..." Lukas thought about talking to his father about the ability he had been given. Would he believe that? Maybe he does because he's your father. But… "Dad, I have something to tell you. I don't know if you'll believe it, but..."
Lukas then started talking about his nightmare that day when his father wanted to take him to the hospital. He described everything that had happened and how he "found" his skill.
A power that allowed him to increase his strength quickly, a power that could make him the most powerful hunter in the world.
His father listened to his entire story in silence as he stared at Lukas.
"I see, a mysterious ability. Have you ever tried asking this system what it is and why you got it?"
"I asked a few times, but the system doesn't answer. The only thing I know about this system is that it somehow got into my head and is now gradually making my strength grow with certain actions."
"How to work out and also collect monster souls to use a shop? This is hard to believe."
"I know that, but you have to believe me."
"I believe you. But even then I don't know if I can allow you to become a hunter." His father took the paper and looked at it. Then he sighed and closed his eyes, remembering some unpleasant things.
"You know I was a hunter for many years, don't you?"
"Yes sure."
"I've seen a lot of nasty things, I've lost a lot of friends, I've seen how easily humans die. If I let my son become a hunter, I'm being irresponsible." He smiled.
"..."
"Do you really want to become a hunter? Are you sure you want to live like this?"
"With this skill that I got, I don't think I have any other choice. I'm sure with this I can become strong enough to improve our family's lives. Also, I will be able to help people."
"I never thought you were the kind of person who wants to be a hero."
"These thoughts popped into my mind when Philip died. I already had my skill at that time, but I didn't do enough to help him, I still feel guilty about it." Lukas' hands shook, and tears sprang to his eyes.
His father looked at him and then extended his hand to Lukas's head.
"Fate wanted him to die, son, I'm sure you couldn't have avoided his death even if you had tried harder."
"I'm not sure about that."
Aiden was silent and watched Lukas for a moment before opening his mouth again. "I'll talk to your mother about it, all right?" He said.
Lukas lifted his head and looked at his father. "Really?"
"Yes, but I don't know if she'll accept it. I will try to convince her. To be honest, I already knew you were trying to become a hunter, so I asked them to interfere with your application."
"What?"
"I have some contacts. But either way you would need a signature as you are a minor." Aiden chuckled.
"If you wanted to stop me so badly, why are you going to allow me to become a hunter now?"
"I don't know.... I honestly don't know." Aiden closed his eyes, remembered a few more things and smiled.