Kito couldn't find sleep, tossing and turning in his bed. The excitement of meeting his grandfather was too much to bear. He knew very little about him, other than the fact that he was powerful, and a few of the stories his parents had told him. Whenever he asked questions about his grandfather, such as the reason for his absence, if they could meet him one day, or about his strength, their answers were evasive, promising to talk about it later. He had imagined that his grandfather was dead, and that his parents didn't want to tell him the truth at such a young age.
The next morning, Kito was awakened by a loud laugh. He rushed out of his room and saw an old man standing in the living room, surrounded by his parents. The old man had white hair and a thick beard, and his eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief. Kito had no doubt: this was his grandfather.
Kito approached timidly, but the old man took him in his arms and lifted him off the ground. "My little Kito, you look great ! You're the spitting image of your father at your age! Not as handsome and impressive as me, but you certainly inherited from my lineage!" While Nerio, his grandfather, spoke to him, Kito caught a glimpse of his grandfather observing him with a very serious and deep gaze for just a brief moment. The look lasted only a fraction of a second, and Kito wasn't even sure he had seen what he thought he saw. Right after, his grandfather continued teasing him as if nothing had happened and talked with his parents.
"Maybe I was just imagining it," Kito thought. Out of curiosity, he decided to use his analysis skill to observe his grandfather's characteristics. While watching him discreetly, he activated his skill. At that moment, two surprising things happened.
The first was that the characteristic panel displayed this:
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Name: Nerio
Race: ???
Level: ???
Additional Characteristics: Unavailable
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He couldn't see any of his grandfather's stats. But what was more surprising was that at the same moment, Nerio glanced briefly at Kito, the instant the latter activated his skill. His grandfather's look at that moment wasn't malicious, but rather surprised.
"It must be a coincidence; it's not possible for a system function to be perceptible by someone," he thought. "I should try it on my parents; I've never tried it on them before."
He started with his father:
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Name: Darius
Race: ???
Level: 130
Additional Characteristics: Unavailable
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Name: Kaliana
Race: Human
Level: 115
Additional Characteristics: Unavailable
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Seeing these stats, Kito was shocked. He had never thought his parents were so powerful. Moreover, some things intrigued him. Why couldn't he see his father's race, but he could see his mother's ? And if he could see some characteristics of his father, who was at level 130, what level was his grandfather ?
This gave him a lot to think about. At that moment, he decided that he should also use his skill on the villagers. Maybe everything wasn't as it seemed.
Just then, his grandfather snuck up behind him and whispered with a sly smile, "Kito, it's not polite to examine people's characteristics without asking for permission. You can simply ask me these questions, and I'll answer them. So, if you're curious, come see me in the garden at dusk, and your curiosity might be satisfied."
Then, as if nothing had happened, he continued laughing with his parents, which puzzled Kito even more.
At mealtime, his father told Kito, "If we haven't told you much about your grandfather, there's a reason that we can reveal now that he's back. Actually, your grandfather often goes on missions as an adventurer, but this one was more important than the others and, above all, longer. It's been 10 years since he left, and no one knew if he was still alive, nor the mission he had undertaken, or the reason for it."
At that moment, his grandfather replied, laughing, "Well, I see you all have faith in my abilities to think I was dead! But it takes more than that to bring me down!"
It seemed that even though everyone was taking the subject lightly, no one was aware of the mission his grandfather had undertaken, which meant it must have been very secretive. Moreover, he could see a deep expression of relief on his parents' faces. They must have really believed him dead all these years, or at least had their doubts, and seeing him again brought them a profound sense of happiness.
"By the way, now that I'm back, I plan to stay for a while, so you'll have to put up with me for quite some time," said Kito's grandfather, winking at him. "It will give me a chance to see his level, whether he's worthy of being my grandson, or if I'll have to disown him," he added, laughing.
His mother interjected, pride in her eyes, "You'll be surprised, even though he's only turning seven, he already reached the stage of mastering the basics of hand-to-hand combat a while ago, as well as sword fighting. In fact, we've already bought him his first sword."
"Oh, that's quite impressive," replied Nerio. "I suppose you bought it from Regi; how has that brute been all this time?"
Darius answered, "He's still doing great; nothing can take away his joy as long as he can forge."
"Ahaha, It doesn't surprise me, he hasn't changed! I'll go to the village as soon as I can! "
The rest of the day went by joyfully and cheerfully. His grandfather told some adventure stories from his past, fascinating Kito, who hung on his every word.
In the evening, after dinner, Kito couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and decided to go train in the garden, hoping to pass the time more quickly until his meeting with his grandfather. He was currently practicing with the sword his parents had given him when he suddenly heard his grandfather's voice.