章 18: Objective Two Completed
3 days later...
"The monsters in these magical realms don't care what you look like. Or what you believe in. "
"What you like. What you hate. Whether you are rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak."
"Whether you live here or you live across the world in Asia. If you are a human, you are their target."
Sitting in the corner of a classroom, looking at the projector screen with a blank expression, Jake took a sip of his coffee.
Coffee couldn't help him stay awake anymore, but the taste was still nice.
"You are needed." The military dude in the projector screen raised a pointing finger towards the viewers.
"Join us and protect the people you love."
"Sign up with the H.U.G.S Task Forces today."
Yep. Key words: Task Forces.
The offers at the registration ceremony was like an invitation to become special agents or military officers. The offer here was basically inviting Jake to become a marine.
Nope. Not interested. Even after watching this video three times already, Jake was still not interested.
After the video ended, the class was dismissed.
The registrants walked out in small groups. Since Jake had some beef with the guildmaster's son, nobody here wished to talk to Jake. Clearly, they saw Jake as potential trouble.
And Jake was perfectly fine with this. He was staying here for only a week anyways.
Walking out the classroom by himself, Jake took a look at his phone.
It was a dinner invite from Samantha. Uncle Chad had returned from a realm exploration trip.
On the way towards Shine city, Jake had two clear goals for this trip.
One was to get the professional explorer's license.
The other was to pay uncle Chad's family a visit.
'My first goal of getting the license is almost done. Only 4 classes left.'
'Looks like I can complete my second goal today...'
Even though it was a visit to uncle Chad, Jake still didn't want to go empty-handed.
However, buying gifts felt too troublesome...
So Jake just took a random wine out of his wine cellar. The packaging looked pretty nice. A 'Le Pin' wine. Shouldn't be too cheap right?
Taking one last look, Jake shrugged. He didn't really know wines.
Eh. Should be good enough.
Uncle Chad's family lived in a small house in the new district.
The house looked nicely maintained. Nicely trimmed front garden. Freshly painted walls and railings. Clean black-stone stairs at the front. All in all, there was a sense of order and tidiness to this residence.
Without further hesitation, Jake walked up the stairs and pressed the doorbell.
A crisp Ding-Dong sound.
Even standing outside, Jake could hear the sound of fast-paced steps.
A large dude swung open the front door. A warm breeze with the smell of baked goods flowed out.
A head taller than Jake. Got the bulky physique of a warrior.
A clean shave and a buzz-cut hairstyle. In mid-age, the grey in his hair was starting to gain more and more ground. Also, even with this hairstyle, his loss of hairline was still a little obvious.
Wearing a blank white T-shirt and sturdy looking jeans. Also an arm cast.
"Jake! Haven't seen you for a while!" The big fella gave Jake an one-armed hug.
Overwhelmingly welcome as usual.
This was uncle Chad.
Auntie Martha also walked over and hugged Jake. "Dinner is ready. Honey, it's been so long since I've last seen you."
What could Jake say. These two had always been this affectionate.
Just like uncle Chad, auntie Martha was also in her 40s.
Yet unlike uncle Chad, auntie Martha's hair was still a glossy hazelnut brown. If Jake didn't know auntie Martha, he would have certainly viewed her as someone in her 30s.
Handing over the wine to auntie Martha, the three casually chatted as they moved towards the dining room.
Spaghetti and meatballs. Fresh vegetable soup. Various small-sized thin-crust pizzas. Various salads. Looks like auntie Martha had been busy.
Samantha was also there, setting up the plates.
A nice chat and a nice dinner. Auntie Martha didn't drink, but the rest of the three just helped themselves.
With the help of some nice beer, the atmosphere become more and more lively.
Smiling while nodding (Jake), light giggles and chuckles (auntie Martha), and loud hearty laughter (those two) filled the house.
Apparently, uncle Chad felt that the green-tier realm wasn't a challenge anymore. Also, he was curious of what the local yellow-tier realm was like.
So naturally, uncle Chad being uncle Chad, he brought his squad into the yellow-tier realm in Shine city.
Which resulted in that arm cast.
Finishing up the dinner, uncle Chad's eyes started to glint from time to time.
"Erhm..." Out of nowhere, uncle Chad appeared rather hesitant. This was a rare scene from this warrior of a man.
The atmosphere in the house cooled off a little.
"So. Jake. Erhm. Is high school still going well for you?"
"I already graduated."
"Right... Right! So you are 18 now... right?"
"Uh huh... Yep." Jake squinted. He wasn't sure where uncle Chad was going with this.
"What a coincidence! Sam is also 18 now."
"Jake. You are 18 now. So are you still single?"
Maintaining his squint, Jake lightly nodded.
"What a coincidence! Sam is also single!"
*Pound!*
Samantha leaned forward and punched the table. "Where're you getting at old man."
She didn't look happy at all. Clearly, she didn't like where this conversation was heading.
Jake: +1
If the two had that intention, they would have started dating a long time ago.
Auntie Martha: +1
"Alright. Alright. Relax. I'm just asking." Uncle Chad leaned back with his hands up.
A pause of silence.
"So... Sam... The girls in your squad are all pretty strong right."
Samantha menacingly nodded in reply.
"Would any of them want to become a team leader?"
Clearly, uncle Chad was not giving up that easily. So then what, add Jake into that group? And then what?
Jake appreciated how considerate uncle Chad was. On top of his unspoken hopes, uncle Chad probably wanted Jake to be safer.
"No." Samantha instantly replied.
"Erhm." Jake took over. "I'm not planning to join any squad at the moment."
"Oh? So you are still planning to get to the other side?" Uncle Chad looked at Jake in disbelief.
Meeting uncle Chad's gaze, Jake firmly nodded.
"Hahaha!" Uncle Chad heartily laughed.
"It's good to be young!" Uncle Chad patted Jake in the shoulder.
"When you want to settle down, there is always a place for you here!"
Jake lightly sighed in his mind. By the looks of it, uncle Chad did not think he could succeed either.
At this point, Jake didn't feel like staying for dessert. He didn't like sweets that much in the first place.
Politely refusing uncle Chad's sincere offer to stay overnight, Jake left.
After Jake left, the atmosphere in the house cooled off even faster.
Sensing the displeased gazes from Martha, Chad drily coughed a few times and sat taller. Clearly, he wasn't going to give up his hopes that easily.
Martha lightly sighed. "I know you want to take care of Jake... But you shouldn't stick your wishes into the children's relationship right..."
Even though she was speaking this way, Martha clearly looked relieved with this result. To Martha, Jake was not good enough for her daughter.
"You are not a man. You won't understand brotherhood." Chad firmly shook his head.
Martha rolled her eyes.
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