《A Dream to the Summit》 001: The Sons of Eliad Hassan Celeste, Uruk System, Erebus Planet, Titania City Across the double-layered fiberglass, a man was staring deeply to the twin inside the incubator from. The green-patched outfit shrouded in a blue armor-vest and the custom long-barrel gun tied in its hostler on his waist. Added to the rough face filled with a deep scar on the right eye, the intimidation from his appearance alone enough to scare strangers. Perhaps, it would be difficult to recognize this man as a normal human if it weren¡¯t for his gentle expression while raising his finger to lure the babies into a reaction. Behind the man, was a scientist in lab coat looking at the holographic screen projected from his glasses and was reading the content with a small, non-disruptive voice. ¡°The child¡¯s heart pulse is at a constant 50, there is no abnormality existing from the child.¡± ¡°One of them has genetic rating of A++¡± ¡°The operation was a success, Sir Hassan¡± ¡°I see¡± Hassan lightly replied. The scientist concluded the report as the screen dimmed off, he then saluted before quietly moving out from the area. Hassan made no regard to the scientist and was still playing with the baby by twirling his finger again and again to gain the twins attention. It wasn¡¯t long before one of them was attracted and raising his small hands following the movement of the finger. Hassan was excited by the reaction and he continued playing to gain more attention. Although, it didn¡¯t last too long as the baby exhausted his little energy and switched his attention to other things while the other was already sleeping. Realizing that he was ignored and being a burden, the man put down his finger and smile wryly. He glanced at the twin a little while longer before leaving with a tinge of bitter loneliness. ¡°Captain!¡± Outside the building, Hassan was already welcomed by salute from a pair of soldiers outside the facility as well an uniformed woman whose hair cut short. Hassan ignored the girl and was walking inside the glass tunnel connected to other buildings in the area, the girl just smiled and followed beside him while the other two soldiers standing behind 10 meters away. ¡°How¡¯s the situation, lieutenant?¡± He asked in a low but clear voice. Hearing the word, the girl quickly gave him a glass-sized tablet and with a little touch it projected an overview of a small planet with small details such as spaceships and its trajectory. ¡°There are a total of twelve hostiles and three spaceships hijacking our asteroid base, our crew stationed there was also kidnapped.¡± ¡°They had demanded a ransom delivered in the next 24 hours, it has been 1 hour since then¡± ¡°The upper echelon direct order was to send your team to re-capture the base, at all cost¡± ¡°Your order?¡± Hassan kept quiet for a moment, he focused himself on the projection of the glass tablet. With few swipes from his hand, he tweaked the angle of the asteroids and was looking at it at different perspective. ¡°Sortie our four elites from the nearby region.¡± Hassan turned off the device and then gave it back to the girl. ¡°Yes sir.¡± The woman received the order and immediately wrote typed command lines on her device with a hand. It was obvious to see that she had received training by looking at the speed of her hands ¡°Congratulations for being a father¡± In the middle of her typing, she made a small smile towards her captain. Hassan¡¯s face twitched as he heard the words from the woman and the commanding air around him was dissolving as the memory few minutes ago played in his mind. He gave a quick look to the woman and nodded awkwardly. The woman giggled at the sudden awkwardness but it didn¡¯t stop her from talking further. ¡°As expected from the teacher, even the birth of his child brought news to the colony.¡± ¡°Genetic rating of A++ and B+, that¡¯s talent flowing from the bloodline¡± Hassan was quiet and didn¡¯t seem to be moved by the words of the lieutenant, instead he raised a critique in a flat voice. ¡°I don''t care about rating, if they have time to ponder about that. They should commit those energy into something more productive.¡± ¡°But.. It¡¯s A++ rating you know?¡± A disbelief filled the woman¡¯s face, it also showed how the importance of genetic rating in the heart of society. Hassan lightly sighed, ¡°How superficial, talent alone doesn¡¯t mean success¡± ¡°Discipline, Perseverance ¡ª¡± ¡°And diligence are more important, right?¡± The woman interjected in between the sentence and said it in a condescending tone. Hassan nodded in satisfaction. ¡°But, isn¡¯t it still better to have good talent instead of having none?¡± The girl made a quick look to Hassan, she was no longer typing on the tablet. ¡°I mean, discipline perseverance and diligence are something you could learn and attain¡± ¡°But talent are something that came through luck and hard to obtain even with hard work¡± He became quiet for a moment before he replied with a cold tone, ¡°Not necessarily, innate talent may bring complacency. Easy success tends to bring destruction.¡± ¡°The world is fair, those with talents will not experience hardness unlike those who doesn¡¯t. It¡¯s harder for them to understand the bitterness of training and enjoyment from advancing.¡± The woman became quiet as she was digesting the word of wisdom from the man. The soldiers at the back was also attentively listening and seemed to gain enlightenment. ¡­ ¡°Thank you for the teaching and please take your time, captain¡± She gave a bow towards him, not long after was followed by a salute and the two guards followed suit afterwards. Hassan stood for a moment, with no reply he entered the door into the next facility while the three soldiers were looking as the man disappearing into the distance from the transparent door. After the man¡¯s shadow was no longer to be seen, the women outside let out a sigh of relief. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.¡°Gosh! That was sooooo tense..!¡± The lieutenant conveyed her feeling in words. The other two soldiers nodded in agreement, releasing the pent up tension had made the two slightly light-headed and weak. ¡°Lieutenant, you are really brave. To converse with the captain like that. Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± One of them ignored the difference in status and asked nonchalantly. ¡°Afraid? Of course I am! He¡¯s the least popular captain in the entire Lux colony, the cold-blooded Eliad Hassan.¡± She retorted to the girl. Although the answer was well within their expectation, hearing it directly from their lieutenant still made them speechless in awe. ¡°But¡­¡± she continued, ¡°One has to take risk if one wants to receive reward.¡± ¡°??? Reward? You mean sucking up to the higher-up kind of thing?¡± The soldier asked. ¡°Not that! Didn¡¯t you just understand how smart and wise he is? I am learning many things from his advice.¡± Hearing that, the two soldier understood the meaning and nodded in agreement. ¡°Now that you mentioned it¡­ His advice earlier was quite motivating.¡± ¡°I know right? Come on, let¡¯s sortie¡± The lieutenant cheerfully replied and grabbed the two by her shoulder and moved out, she was also recalling her impression to the name of Eliad Hassan in her life, whom she had served for the last two years of her service time. ¡®At times, a strict superior with ruthless decision. Other times, a scholar sharing his wisdom to his students.¡¯ She thought. Inside the other building, Hassan was walking on the circular corridor while looking at the number pasted beside the plastic partitions that separated the corridor from the space inside. The narrow, long path gave him time to recall the words of the lieutenant earlier. Many colonies in different galaxy came with the standard classification of ¡®Genetic Rating¡¯. It¡¯s a system to measure the compatibility of human with [Human reinforcement program]. A++ rating means a child could be reinforced 10x at the rate of 100%. He then stopped in front one of the room and made a wry smile. ¡°I am grateful enough to be blessed with two sons.¡± ¡°After all, at this age, I am almost at the tipping point of having none at all¡± Hassan went through the plastic partition with the room number #7877 Inside the room, a woman wearing a long, blue dress was lying on the bed while looking at the artificial scenery from the display. Her weak and thin body was a little bit concerning for Hassan; but knowing that it was a natural occurrence, he let it slide. With a chair, he approached the woman from the side and blocked the view of the display. ¡°How¡¯s your body, Sarah?¡± he held the woman¡¯s hand. ¡°Two weeks¡­ before the doctors let me out.¡± She answered with irritation, although the little voice made it sound exhausting to hear. ¡°Hassan, can you tell them to let me out earlier?¡± ¡°Im going to be stupid looking at this display as my only entertainment.¡± Seeing the woman on her 40s bawling on her bed while she was still in recovery, he quickly grabbed her shoulder to stop her from moving erratically. ¡°Easy there, you know it¡¯s for your sake.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t the portable medics enough at this point?¡± She made a pleading expression towards the man. ¡°Looking at your antics, even 2 portable medics would not be enough to contain you¡± He retorted without batting his eyes towards the woman. A silence ensued, ¡°Ahahaha!¡± a hearty laughter came from the husband and wife in the room. The earlier tension had dissolved into a warm atmosphere. Hassan then released his grip while tenderly patted her hair, ¡°I just saw our baby. They were energetic just like you.¡± ¡°They seems to take my personality rather than yours.¡± ¡°Well, their genetic talent seemed to take mine though.¡± ¡°You mean those ratings?¡± Sarah questioned him. Hassan nodded in confirmation which was followed by a spiteful remark of the woman, ¡°Bah! Since when the Eliad¡¯s care about ratings. We are the ¡®cultivator¡¯.¡± Hearing that made him smiling wryly, ¡°Well, I was just saying¡­¡± The wife knew that his husband was just teasing her, she knew his personality all too well. She made a short sigh then made a wry smile afterwards. ¡°How long will you be staying here?¡± Hassan made a small pause, before answering in clarity, ¡°I have to sortie in the next hour.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quick. The colony is working you like a machine lately.¡± ¡°Next year I¡¯ll be decommissioned from the frontline to civil servant. Bear with me, Sarah¡± ¡°No problem, just focus on your work and leave other things to me.¡± Speaking of the devil, a beeping sound was constantly ringing from inside his pocket; it was the call of duty. Sarah also knew this sound all too well, she made a smile and then gripped his hand weakly. ¡°Go¡± There was determination on her words, she was sincerely supporting the man on his path. Hassan also understand the consequences of working in this kind of field and always showering his love when he had the time but he felt it wasn¡¯t enough to compensate for the time lost. Thus this mutual understanding, was probably the strongest bond of the husband and wife, that keep them moving forward. He removed his hand, stood up from the seat and starts to move out from the room but was stopped by the Sarah¡¯s voice. ¡°You forgot the most important thing today.¡± Hassan was puzzled by the vague statement and looked back as Sarah continued talking. ¡°Name¡­ You haven¡¯t decided of their name yet.¡± ¡°Ah¡± He remembered the conversation they had before the operation that he had promised to think of the name for the twin. ¡°Azai and Aron¡± Hassan opened the partition and left the room, leaving the woman alone. The woman left with the two names and jokingly muttered, ¡°You are a muscle-brain, dear¡± 002: Successor (1) There was not much known of the the origin of the human species, the records was lost in the passage of time. Although, all human knows that the name of the old planet where they first explored the space was called ¡°Planet Earth¡±. But, there were some lost records told the human how they get into their current, developed state. There was the discovery of new,mysterious materials that was stronger than the human ever found than on earth. They used these to construct a faster, sturdier spaceships and buildings that could make the harshest of the planet to be habitable. This became a major breakthrough that propelled space exploration into popularity. Also, during their explorations. They found out that they were not the only intelligent species that hosted the universe; there were other species that were also civilized and able to speak in language. Then, they decided to make a peaceful habitat with these people to understand the diversity of the universe. The combination of new material discovery, as well the exchange of knowledge with these intelligent ¡®aliens¡¯, had slingshot technology into new dimensions. Creating a ¡®golden era¡¯ of space exploration. However, this seemingly good fortune was also followed with great challenges. Humans were in a dire need for a stronger body and other methods to be able to explore the harder-to-live planets, as well as a self-defense mechanism against the innately powerful aliens because not all of them came in peace. The result of these needs were the different methods of reinforcing the body and mind, science had solved this through two methods: First was by exchanging flesh into a stronger artificial arms and legs, the [Cyborg Program]. The second method was through a set of genetic reengineering through successive phase or in short the [Human Reinforcement Programs]. Aside from science, the knowledge gained through interactions with the other aliens and their ways brought understanding to human that there were methods in which they could tap and absorb the nature¡¯s energy and control it. This was in line with the records of ancient myth and legends in the lost civilization where they could harness the power of the nature to crush mountains and to call heavenly thunder. This method of reinforcing was officially referred as [Ancient Cultivating Art] but the public simply known it as [Cultivation Art]. ¡­ Titania city was famous as [Radioactive City] for hosting the largest complex of nuclear fission plants powering the majority of Lux Colony. Despite being the oldest city, Titania was the least populated city thanks to the dirty mining area and the constant radiation. The protective dome enshrouded the city, protecting it from the disasters while functioning as artificial sky as well letting the sunlight to seep in during the day cycle in Erebus. In one of the residences was a boy, sitting under a small artificial waterfall, meditating in lotus formation. His expression was serene as if he was detached from the world around him to void. Outside the waterfall was an old man on his 50s quietly looking at the boy while occasionally puffing smoke from his long pipe. The deep scar on his right eye was enough to terror most stranger. He was observing the boy¡¯s training and patiently waiting for the chance to correct his fault. However, he was already standing quietly for 30 minutes but something yet to happen with the boy. Although his patience was still long way before spent, the boredom was a little bit unsettling. ¡°The Elemental Qi is surrounding him is slowly building up¡­ the rate of accumulation was stable even though a little bit slow.¡± ¡°He already had the basics in his grasp, but¡­¡± The old man slowly pours the ash from his long pipe to the ground before it was swept by an unnatural gust towards the waterfall. Then, after few seconds it was swept, a series of small explosions was occurring nearby the waterfall. Hearing the sound, the boy opened his eyes and then reflexively punched and caused a boom to the air, sweeping the explosions away from him. The state he was previously at was in disarray and the energy fluctuation was becoming unstable. The boy¡¯s face was blanked at the sudden explosion but not long after it slowly turned into an ugly face as he angrily stared at the old man. Meanwhile, a sense of accomplishment welled up and transformed into a sarcastic smile. Like a rubber band snapped, the boy clenched his fist and burst out in speed. A small footprint was engraved on the stone due to the force. The distance was covered within seconds; the boy¡¯s fist was already pointed to the old man. However, the old man quickly grabbed his long pipe and swung it towards the fist. During the contact, the boy was easily flung away back to the waterfall and hit the boulder behind; it was easy to guess who had the upper hand. ¡°You still have much to learn!¡± A spiteful remark came from the old man as he shouted to the boy. A voice originated from the waterfall shouted irritatedly, ¡°You created those explosion on purpose right?!¡± ¡°A disruption on that scale shouldn¡¯t waver a cultivator!¡± ¡°You¡¯re being unfair. I am not even at that stage yet!¡± ¡°A child of Eliad shouldn¡¯t complain like a girl!¡± As the old man was waiting for a reply but it was responded with a silence, before an explosion occurred from the waterfall. ¡°You will regret what you¡¯ve said!¡± The boy appeared in front of the man and sends a barrage of fists ruthlessly. However, it was easily deflected with the long pipe, the old man smirked to him and then coolly said, ¡°Try if you can.¡± ¡°Sure I will!¡± An angry voice could be heard as he used heel drop to his dad. ¡°Hahahaha!¡± The old man evading by a high jump into a garden filled with small flowers nearby, inside there he lured the boy who was already consumed in his anger. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. At that time, the scenery of the beautiful flower began transforming into scenery of carnage ¡­ Half an hour passed since the fight, The lush garden was partly turned into a wasteland with small holes. The boy had been subdued with injuries around his body, his energy was already exhausted to the point he was unable to get up on his two feet any longer. Meanwhile, the old man was looking down at the pitiful human while smoking his long pipe in triumph. ¡°Come back in a century and I bet you still can¡¯t hurt me at all¡± An easygoing remark came from the old man. The boy could only stayed on the ground while gritting his teeth towards his father, he forced himself to stand up but he couldn¡¯t. With irritation he replied, ¡°of course I can¡¯t beat you, you have been cultivating for decades.¡± Hearing that, Eliad Hassan, frowned and spoke coldly, ¡°Do you think those people out there care about how long you¡¯ve been cultivating?¡± ¡°We, the Eliad¡¯s do not make excuses, if you¡¯re not good enough. Grit your teeth and work harder!¡± Azai became speechless by the harsh words; the fire in his mind was suddenly submerged by a splash of cold wave. The killing intent of his father was directed to him and caused the surrounding qi in his body to fluctuate erratically. He quickly closed his eyes and forced himself into meditation, trying to compose his heart and controlling the qi inside his body. Hassan quietly observing the boy as he tried to regain the control of his body, he slowly increases the intensity of his killing intent. The frown of his face was transformed into smile, as the boy couldn¡¯t see his facial expression. Another smoke puffed from his long pipe as he was thinking, ¡®9 years old and he almost reached the mastery of qi control. His willpower is also outstanding, in both aspects¡­ He¡¯s even better than I was. ¡®I think it¡¯s time for him to learn the ancestral art.¡¯ ¡°Good¡± The voice was followed with a sudden release of the pressure burdening on Azai¡¯s body. At the same time, a surge of power was circulating inside his body and instantly recovered the small injuries he had. He was no longer exhausted and the moment he opened his eyes, the fiery emotion he had already dissipated. ¡°Sit¡± His father softly, asked his son. Hearing the word, he quickly found out that his father was sitting down under the shadow of a huge, evergreen tree. With no hesitation, he approached the man and took the spot beside him. Hassan closed his eyes as he reminisced and expressed his memory in words, ¡°Our ancestor, the founder of the Eliad clan, was a person who reached the peak of the cultivation world.¡± ¡°Before he passed away due to age, he said this words to his descendant in regret¡± ¡°He said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity, if I just had more time. I would have perfected the art.¡±.¡± ¡°The descendants were in pain and surprised at the same time because the man was someone at the level unimaginable to them, so powerful that his thought could kill even at his age. Yet, he said that the art was still incomplete.¡± ¡°What kind of power would a completed art would be? The descendants asked to themselves.¡± ¡°I want to see¡­ I want to experience the true power.¡± ¡°A simple statement leads to a single dream¡­ This dream had passed on from generation to generation.¡± ¡°Currently, that task is passed to me, your father.¡± He opened his eyes and stare at Azai and let out a short sigh, ¡°However, your father is destined not to attain this level; science had tampered with his body and was rejected by the qi of the heavens because of that.¡± ¡°His cultivation became static and unable to breakthrough.¡± Azai was astonished by this fact as he blurted, ¡°What?! Father, your cultivation is frozen?¡± ¡°Even though you are so powerful?¡± Listening to the surprise, Hassan could only smiled wryly, ¡°Dumb kid, of course your father lost his cultivation not too long ago.¡± ¡°I have achieved a bit in the cultivation path.¡± ¡°Look Azai, this is what our ancient art, [Four Elements], can do¡± He rotated the qi in his body and focused it onto his palm, the strand of white colored energy dispersed, then clustered into four different shapes. A flame, A transparent crystal of ice, A dark mud, and a small vortex. Azai saw the happening and it caused his eyes to glitter in excitement, at the same time he realized the art was actually about. ¡°Wow dad, you could transform your qi into different elements!¡± At the simple explanation, Hassan could only made a wry smile as he released his control, ¡°You¡¯re right, but its more than just that and you will learn about it soon.¡± Raising his hand, he patted his son, ¡°Now, this task will be passed onto you, Azai.¡± ¡°You are the next successor of the Eliad¡¯s family.¡± Then on he removed his hand and reached his long pipe, A puff of smoke rose up to the cloud as he calmly said, ¡°Be diligent, have perseverance and stubbornness in this path.¡± The boy silently nodded in agreement but the moment made his heart blazing aflame with renewed determination. Then the father mumbled in a low voice, ¡°I forgot that someone was to be punished if he couldn¡¯t finish the test this afternoon.¡± The word was like a loud thunder that brought the boy back into reality, he realized he had failed on the trial¡­ The father continued his monologue, ¡°Well, that¡¯s a round around the city and¡­ another portion of physical menu ¡ª¡° ¡°I get it already!¡± Azai interjected in the middle of his dad¡¯s speech as he quickly escaped from the area, leaving the old man alone. Hassan, who saw the boy ran around the area in excitement, couldn¡¯t help but to laugh wildly. 003: The Successor (2) ¡°I¡¯m home¡­¡± The automatic door slide open and Azai staggered as he returned home. He felt light-headed after running around the radioactive city. ¡°Welcome home bro¡± A silver-haired young boy with rather cute voice welcomed him. ¡°Yo, Aron.¡± He walked slowly towards his brother and looked at the numerous books lying on top the dining table, as well the projection from the electronic tablet he used to type. ¡°Military tactics??¡± He made a frown towards Aron. Aron nodded in confirmation and caused Azai scratched his head and grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s fun, don¡¯t you want to try?¡± He took a thick book and passed it to Azai. ¡°No way!¡± He quickly avoided by taking multiple steps backward. ¡°Ahaha! As expected from brother. All muscle!¡± He made a sarcastic laugh as he continued to study. ¡°Whatever¡­¡± Azai was also didn¡¯t want to disturb his brother any longer, he slowly reached for the kitchen area and opened the oven-like door labeled ¡®Vacuum¡¯ nearby. A fizzing sound was heard as the air goes into the container, Azai looked at the content for a moment, before taking out a metallic box labeled [Salmon Box] and came back to the dining table. Azai opened the box and inside was already filled with salmon rice set. ¡°Where¡¯s mom?¡± He asked as he took a small bite on the fried salmon. ¡°Underground, doing her things¡± Aron calmly answered as he continued typing on the screen. ¡°Oh..¡± Azai continued eating. A silence as the two brothers was doing their own things, there was a certain awkwardness that made the atmosphere rather tense. The two brothers was quite distant to each other despite being family. Perhaps due to their opposing personality, their conversation didn¡¯t seem to reach the same frequency. ¡°Ah¡± suddenly, Aron made a noise and stopped typing for a moment and attracted Azai¡¯s attention as he was puzzled. ¡°Mom told me to tell you to go underground when you get home¡± After telling him the massage, Aron continued to do his things. As soon Aron passed the massage, the laid-back Azai suddenly straighten up as if a electricity jolted his nervous system. His face paled as soon he heard that. ¡°Tell me earlier, Aron!¡± He hasten his pace as he gulped the nutrients without savoring the taste. ¡°¡­¡± Aron was quietly observing his brother, unfazed. Azai finished his salmon box within a minute and quickly moved out from his place. Just as he stood from the chair, a huge explosion could be heard from underground. It was followed by a tremor that shook the house for a moment. ¡°AZAI, where are you!!¡± A shout comparable to serial killer was exploding below. Azai¡¯s face ashen as the worst-case scenario had happened. His eyes were a little bit teary as he looked back at his brother. ¡°Good luck¡­¡± His brother could only looked at him and gave him a meaningful smile and spoke quietly. ¡°Oh no¡­ noooooo¡­.¡± Azai could only cursed himself for the misfortune as his body was trembling. ¡­ The basement layout under Eliad¡¯s house was relatively simple, it was nothing more but a single massive site that was separated by chain link fence into few smaller blocks. It¡¯s size was roughly as large as the house plus the garden above. There were automatic forklifts and small sized carts that were lifting materials in and out from the storage area. The other block were hosting many different electrical appliances for different kind of purposes. On the entrance into this place was an aluminum signpost welded to the fences, written as ¡°Eliad¡¯s Research Facility¡±. And at the moment, Azai was looking at this signpost before letting out a sigh and went inside the fenced area. He was familiar with the place and thus it didn¡¯t take him too long before he could see the presence of old woman, who was holding a welding gun, in the process of repairing an armor suit.. Although Azai didn¡¯t want to disturb her in her work, with a reluctant voice he called out, ¡°Mom.¡± The voice was small, but she quickly took off her welding mask and glared at the boy with a disgruntled face. ¡°How many times do I need to tell you? It¡¯s mandatory to be in full working clothes before you step into the area?¡± ¡°Quickly change yourself and come back here¡± She put back the mask and look away. Azai widen his eyes in surprise and was speechless, He was expecting a barrage of shouts and from his mom¡¯s unrestrained words which usually happened from his past experience. ¡®What is happening..?¡¯ He thought before he shook his head quickly ¡®No matter, I am saved!¡¯ He ran back from where he came from at haste before the old woman changed her mind. After taking a set of rugged clothing and wore the pair of specially made leather gloves and visor, he returned back and realized that his mother had finished her task with the armor maintenance and had been waiting for him with few small-sized robots beside her. Before long, Azai reached the place and stood in front of her, she smashed her fist to his head while shouting, ¡°Slow!¡± She furiously shouted. ¡°Sorry!¡± Azai quickly rubbed his head as tear almost came out from the side of his eyes. ¡®It¡¯s still happening despite me pushing myself to come asap.¡¯ Azai sighed in his heart, while rubbing his head at his unreasonable mother. His mother than grabbed a small drone and passed it to him. Azai quietly received the drone without questioning her and took a small device and plug it into the respective hole. The drone hovers on the air and a display was brought from the visors, which was filled with command lines. He tapped index finger thrice and held it down before moving it. It caused small pointer in the display to move in harmony with the hand and slowly scrolled the lines down. Although the command line was filled with gibberish sentence which wasn¡¯t spoken, there didn''t seem difficulties for Azai to understand the meaning as his face didn''t show any cluelessness. After Azai read the lines completely, he scrolled back to the top and then starts moved his hand as if there was an imaginary keyboard on the air. But somehow the command line quickly overwritten with characters. On the other hand, the old woman was observing from the identical visor she was wearing. The display was also the same, with the exception of the additional window displayed another command lines which was more densely written compared to what Azai was working on. Sometimes, she made unsightly expression as she realized there was a discrepancy between the lines. Although, she kept this feeling bottled up because she would disturb the work in progress.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Lines after lines was overwritten, some additions in the codes were put in the middle of the writing. Then, he stopped moving his finger and the display disappeared. Azai let out a deep sigh before he took off his visor and dropped his head down. ¡°Im done¡­¡± he said exhaustively. ¡°Not while Im here¡± the old woman said nonchalantly. She then threw two more small robots with the shape of a small tank and submarine. ¡°Take 15 minutes break and continue with the test.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± He gave up without retaliation. ¡­ Two hours passed since the conversation, Azai had finished the task of rewriting the command lines of three drones and was sitting down on the ground nearby the units while her mother was using the visor to check his work like a teacher marking test papers, In the middle of marking, her face was already filled with anger. ¡°Azai¡± She suddenly spoke while her hand was still moving, ¡°Yes..?¡± ¡°Do you have a tinge of my blood within you?¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean mom?¡± Azai was confused by the sudden question ¡°Are you my son?¡± She rephrased her question. ¡°Of course I am!¡± Azai quickly answered ¡°Then tell me, how long did you take to do manual system repair on the drones?¡± ¡°One hour¡­¡± She hit Azai with a wooden stick that she brought along. ¡°Ow ow¡± Azai trembled slightly due to the pain, however his body was sturdy enough to withstand a hit with no reinforcement. ¡°But mom¡­ There were just too much to do there. That was my best!¡± He started to argue with the old woman, but he was hit once again with the stick. She took a deep breathe, then let it out with a huge shout. ¡°Your best is not enough for my standards!¡± ¡°At your age, I was able to do the tasks half your time.¡± Hearing that, Azai couldn¡¯t help but smiled wryly and said. ¡°Of course, mom¡¯s trained to be a military technician since she was a child.¡± ¡°Also, I am not as smart as Aron¡­ I am not suited to learn this kind of skills¡± ¡°How could I compared to you anyway, you¡¯re at an other level to the point they called you the [Mad Scientist]!?¡± Another hit directly to the head, her face was a little bit saddened. ¡°Making excuses isn¡¯t allowed. I am teaching you for your sake, do you get it?¡± ¡°I¡­ sorry mom¡± Azai realized his words might¡¯ve hurt her feeling and quickly apologize. ¡°Come here¡± She put the stick down and then grabbed Azai¡¯s hand. She quickly leading him to an area which was filled a huge, transparent screen, that was also the heart of this underground facility. ¡°Take a seat and wait.¡± She released her grip and rummaged through the the metal cupboard where documents were usually stacked. Azai could only see his mother in confusion as he had no clue as what was in her mind, but he knew it was going to be something important. After all, his mom would rarely do things without any reason. After she had finished rummaging the place, she approached Azai and took out a small recording device and then put a black metallic cassette and played it. The tape rolled, a static buzz could be heard until a familiar voice was speaking in a rough,small voice. ¡°This is captain Hassan. Authorization ef-43679.¡± ¡°Reporting mission #6344, project black haze.¡± ¡°Sol 28, our team dispatched two personnel into the target, but hasn¡¯t returned from the required time¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely we¡¯re being compromised and it¡¯s likely there will be some retaliation to the Lux colony.¡± ¡°Following the protocol, I am going to authorize the abandonment of this project.¡± ¡°End of re¡ª¡± A huge shockwave had muffled his voice just before he was going to conclude the report and it turned into static few second after that; Azai, who was focusing at the tape, suddenly jerked up from his sitting position in anger. The tape turned off, Azai quickly shifted his sight towards his mom and realized that she made an unusual sorrowful expression. There was so many questions he wanted to ask but his mouth wasn¡¯t able to spout out a sentence with her state at the moment. However, she removed her sorrow with one heavy sigh then looked sternly toward Azai, ¡°Your father was returning from his failed mission and was intercepted by an enemy orbital satellite. Not soon after, a battleship plasma cannon obliterated all of the areas around him.¡± ¡°His team was instantly perished and he was left with nothing but burn scars with his life hanging on the line.¡± ¡°By the time we arrived, we quickly took him in and had to reengineer his regeneration rate as his own cultivation alone was simply not enough to keep him alive at that moment.¡± ¡°As a result, he had lost his chance in the pinnacle of cultivation¡± Azai was puzzled, there were some questions answered but there was a pressing question that he couldn¡¯t help but to ask directly, ¡°Mom¡­ Why are you telling me this?¡± ¡°Simple, I just gave you a case where science beats cultivator. If it were me on the mission, I would have deployed [EMP Bomb], sent [Jammer Drone] and switch to jet-propulsion to hide my noise. They will not be able to detect me and nobody would¡¯ve died that day.¡± She indifferently answered without batting her eyes. ¡°Azai, your father might¡¯ve told you¡­ No, I am sure that he said that cultivation art is superior than science.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Azai went silence in agreement. ¡°I knew it¡­ that idiot thinks that cultivation art is the heaven and earth in this world.¡± his mom sighed ¡°Isn¡¯t it true? Dad wouldn¡¯t get his title in the army if it weren¡¯t for his cultivation!¡± Azai reluctantly agreed with his father¡¯s point of view and argued. ¡°Azai, Didn¡¯t you just hear the tape?¡± Sarah gave a hit onto his head and caused it to ring in pain. ¡°He almost died because he underestimated the power of science!¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Azai was speechless, the sound itself didn¡¯t shock him too much but his mind dazed when he heard that. His mom let out another sigh, ¡°Do you know the weakness of a cultivator?¡± Azai was still dazed, but he managed to shook his head even though he had some answers in his mind. His mother continued her speech, ¡°[Ancient Cultivation Art] is a tedious process that absorbs the energy of the nature to nourish their body and mind, the fruit of their training could only be seen after a long time.¡± ¡°Therefore, a cultivator will always have a constraint of time and if they happen to meet with someone who is stronger than them. They will probably die.¡± Then his mother looked sharply to him, ¡°Science, on the other hand, doesn¡¯t have to be in the mercy of time. As long we have the resources, we could always create weapons to overwhelm the enemy. Even if your body is fragile and could be killed by a touch, you could still have a chance to win with enough preparation and knowledge.¡± ¡°Your mother just want to help you, precisely because your road is not a simple one. Succeeding the family will eventually require you to travel all around the place, in search for insights of the nature.¡± ¡°In the journey, you will definitely face a lot of dangers. Learning some knowledge about science will benefit you, it might even life-saving. Do you understand?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes mom¡± Azai nodded. ¡°Then¡­ lesson is finished for now¡± She waved her hand slowly, signaling that he could go. ¡°Huh? Usually at this time you¡¯d¡­ never mind¡± Azai unintentionally blurted what was on his mind before he realized it. ¡°Go to sleep. I can do it by myself.¡± Her authoritative manner emerged as she waved her hand roughly. ¡®Less work for me¡­¡¯ Azai thought, before he nodded to his mom and quickly moved away from the area. His mom was looking from a distance as the body getting smaller until it was completely disappeared from her sight. She made a small sigh while looking at a direction, with a tender voice she speak. ¡°You can come out, dear.¡± The air beside her was twisting and sparks was occurring and steadily forming into a shape of an old man with an armor-vest. With a rather cheerful voice he made a casual remark, ¡°You sure lost it this time. Sarah.¡± She quickly retorted as she angrily looking at him, ¡°Even if I am, it¡¯s because he really resembled you when you didn¡¯t rely in science at all.¡± Hearing that, he could only respond with a wry smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I had chosen Azai as my successor. Even though he had the talent.¡± She turned her face towards Hassan and answered flatly, ¡°We have discussed to let our sons decide on which path he took. Azai had showed his interest as a cultivator since he was a child. While Aron determined to become a noble. Our task is only to feed their drive.¡± ¡°If he didn¡¯t show any interest as an inventor, I had no qualms about it.¡± Hassan made a smirk, ¡°Then what¡¯s with all of these training you¡¯ve been giving to him? Your standard test could even make those elite engineer in Lux Colony cry in sleeplessness.¡± With a meaningful smile, Sarah brushed her hair and closed her eyes while speaking innocently, ¡°What? This is just for his development.¡± ¡°Really? It sounds to me you do not want to give in.¡± Feigning an angry expression, she complained, ¡°Hmph, Even if he had enough talent to take on my legacy, he couldn¡¯t nurture it at his passionless state. The least I could do is to drill him the necessary skills while I can and hope he take a change.¡± ¡°As long I am not affecting his cultivation, it¡¯s fine right?! He¡¯s literally has half of my chromosomes anyway, so I have the right to teach him this!¡± ¡®How unreasonable¡­¡¯ Hassan went quiet after that as his mind was reeling from her words, He had been observing the things that she had taught Azai ever since he could read and write and was worried that her teaching might be detrimental for his cultivation growth. Therefore, there was many times he wanted to stop her from teaching him, but he bottled it in due to the fact that Azai was improving steadily. However, at her last statement. It seems she really wanted to pass on her legacy towards him but their agreement held her from doing so. ¡®Our Eliad clan is traditional, we had never relied much on external help as we believed only in the power of our body and mind. This confidence and stubbornness was the seed of perseverance and discipline¡­¡¯ ¡®But¡­¡¯ he then looked at her, she was fidgeting a little bit while her eyes was worrying about something. He then made a light sigh, then grabbed her shoulder, ¡°No implant, no injections. If you agree on me on these two rules. I will permit you teach him further¡­¡± The statement caused Sarah to widen her eyes, while her old mouth turned agape, ¡°You mean it dear¡­ You really really mean it?¡± Hassan wryly smiled, then he nodded in affirmation. Sarah hugged her husband filled with excitement, ¡°Thanks dear! To think you would do this for me¡­ This is the best day of my life. I can start teaching him ¡®real stuff¡¯ from tomorrow onwards¡­ I can¡¯t wait!!!¡± Hassan received his reward gratefully, while his head looked up to the underground ceiling with blank expression. ¡®Azai¡­ I hope you will not break down.¡¯ He prayed for the future of his child after he had unleashed the devil in his wife¡¯s heart.