Three chapters a day. Wouldn't mind some appreciation. Just saying.
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Chapter 15
It may have not sounded like a praise but trust me, that was a praise, a plethora of praises that Dad had never given me before in my life.
"Life isn't fair to everyone and not everyone is equal. But a man who doesn't just accept the situation and changes it, with what he had been given, that is the trait of a successful man." Dad continued his speech and for the first time, I couldn't believe I was saying that I agreed with him.
I agreed with him because I had to go through similar experiences in Murim. I was older than the old man and I had seen things the old man hadn't. That was why, leaving my childish feud and dissatisfaction with my Dad's control freak nature, I actually agreed with him.
"I don't expect a lot from you, I never did. But that was the same for all of my children. I only wanted you all to stand on your own two feet and you all haven't disappointed me in doing so. Although there have been setbacks in your lives, that part is natural and everyone faces that. I don't criticize you for that." Dad said and from the looks of it, the last part was aimed at Jacqueline.
"Now that brings me to the part where what I expect from you. I expect you to graduate, from Sapphire University. Second, I want you to interest yourself in family business a bit more. If you want to pursue a different path, that is fine with me as well. As long as you prove yourself, I will hand over the company to any one of you. You don't need to work, just sit at the chairman seat and handle the specialists who will do your job for you."
"But for that, you need to prove to yourself that you can control those specialists. That they wouldn't be able to take advantage of you. You need to show me you can be responsible and not just that, I need you to show me that you are a capable leader." Dad finished his speech or lecture. Tomato, tamato.
"The same goes for your brother. But I will say this, right here and right now, only one of you will be the leader. The other one will have to choose the fate of a follower if they want to remain in Conner industries." Dad ended the 'talk' and focused back on his dinner, leaving all the others a little stupefied.
"Hpmh. Hardly a challenge. Might as well just put me in charge, father." Of course, Denver had to diss me even at this moment, proving his immaturity. I mean, wasn't he listening to what Dad just said about arguing?
"I see no reason to not give an equal opportunity to Jacob. Just as you are an expert in some fields, he possesses some natural talents of his own." Dad turned out Denver's obvious proposal.
"You shouldn't underestimate Jacob, Denver. He can be quite persuasive and that is a trait often respected in business." Jaqueline said.
"Exactly." Mom chimed in, agreeing with Jacqueline.
"Hardly a challenge still." Denver didn't seem to agree with Jacqueline but he was quick to change his words when Dad interjected, "She's absolutely right. You need to be persuasive to handle troubles in the business."
"You're right, dad." Denver hurriedly replied. Seriously, how much of a pet can he be?
But that wasn't my problem at the moment. Did I even need that? I mean sure, it was an interesting proposal, becoming in charge of a company worth billions and more but it didn't interest me that much. Like I said earlier, I had more treasures in my inventory than one could count so all I needed to do was unlock that and I will be set for life.
These were my father's footsteps and I wasn't very keen on following in his footsteps even though he just showered me with praise after praise.
So obviously, I would refuse this offer. Because I was me and I never intended to do anything I didn't want to do and I didn't want to do this. Not unless it had a benefit I wouldn't get from somewhere else.
[Ding]
But before I could reply, this showed up in front of me.
[An emergency quest has arrived]
[A good son]
[Grade: Unknown]
[Task: Do as Dad says]
[Reward(s):
>An instant level up
>A F rank skill of the user's choice
>Extra stat point: 2]
[Punishment: Unknown]
Whoa! What the hell? I hadn't received an emergency quest since I killed the apostles. I had received enough quests to know the difference between them.
An emergency quest referred to an event that would cause a major change in my life. Like a lucky break, I would have just missed it if not for the quest to make me aware of it.
And not to mention the punishment. There were times when the punishment was death but even worse punishment than that was unknown punishment. I didn't want to take a risk for that sole reason but the rewards were massive just for a small quest which made me wonder if it was small at all.
This was like a major event that would heavily affect my life, hence the enormous rewards. Without further ado, I changed the answer that I was about to utter and replied, "I will do my best, Dad."
"Hmm," Dad replied, but there was a subtle smile on the corner of his mouth. The same went for my Mom who was all smiles as she said, "I'm proud of you, Jacob. You handled it like an adult."
"Thanks, mom. And thanks for the dinner, it's delicious." I replied. Now that all of this was over and I received my rewards, I turned to the last person who hadn't been discussed at all, "Don't think I have forgotten about you. How's your life going?"
I asked Jacqueline who squinted her eyes as if unhappy that I only remembered her now. But nevertheless, she still replied, "Tough. My business isn't getting the recognition I thought it would because of some big competitors who have been in the field for some time."
Jacqueline wanted to open her own restaurant and she did, however, it seemed like things weren't going very well for her.
"You can ask for my support whenever you want," I said. I wasn't ready to become a criminal, but even I could assassinate some people in the cover of the night.
"Thanks." She replied before she added, "But you're already doing me a big favor by letting me stay in your room."
"It's no trouble," I replied.
"Are you sure?" Samantha asked, "She can always move in with me like before."
"It's fine. You two are adults now and even if sisters, you still need your own privacy." I replied.
"That's not much of an issue," Jacqueline replied.
"This whole conversation is meaningless. It doesn't have to be discussed as long as I simply sleep in the basement. No worries, at all." I ended the conversation before I added, "Besides, we have already decided on the rent."
"What rent?" Samantha asked while Jacqueline glared at me.
"Oh, we decided she would pay me rent for my troubles," I said, ignoring the glare from Jacqueline.
"That's a good strategy. You should at least get something out of this." Dad chimed in.
Yeah, if he knew what kind of rent I received, I doubt he would be so supportive.
"It's not nice to receive rent from family, Jacob," Mom said sternly. She didn't seem too happy and the fact that Jacqueline was her favorite daughter might have had something to do with it.
"It's okay, Mom. I insisted." Jacqueline came to my defense which placated Mom a lot, but she still looked at me and said, "Don't overdo it."
"Of course, Mom," I said. The last thing I wanted was my mother mad at me so I agreed with whatever she threw at me without arguing back or giving any excuses.
The dinner continued and so did our chats. Then it came to an end and everyone retired to their own rooms.
I also returned to my room hurriedly because I was still yet to receive one of my rewards.
[Level: 6(76%)]
[AP: 5]
[Please choose one of the F rank skills]
I didn't need to check the long list provided by the system as there were millions of F rank skills. F rank skills were more like utility skills that people used in everyday life such as warming your tea with Yang Ki or preserving meat with Yin Ki.
There were many other types of Ki's such as dark Ki, demonic Ki, holy Ki, and so on that provided different effects.
However, there were some F rank skills that were very useful to me at my current level. One of them was the one I needed the most at the moment.
[Ki emission]
[Grade: F]
[Effect: Allows the user to emit their Ki out of their body]
[Ki consumption would be twice as when used inside the body]
[Proficiency of the skill: 0%]
[Hint: The stronger the proficiency, the lower the cost]
[Cost: Depends on the user's emission]
[Cooldown: None]