Dante sat opposite his father. His usually youthful face had grown slightly more serious, though his delicate, almost feminine features still made up the majority of his appearance. They gave him an ethereal beauty that made both Justin and Aurora, seated before him in Justin's office, feel a strange mixture of pride and sadness.
He's really growing up...
Dante reached for the glass of water on the desk before smiling.
"Hm... Father, Mother... you two are mean."
Aurora chuckled as she walked around the desk. Leaning down, she kissed both his cheeks. Dante immediately tried to turn his head away, suppressing a chuckle, only for Aurora to simply move lower and gently nip at his neck.
The office was soon filled with Dante's laughter.
After he finally managed to catch his breath, Aurora wrapped him in a warm embrace.
"Should we tie you up and make you tell us all the secrets you've been hiding?"
Dante took a slow drink before shaking his head.
"No... I just find it strange that neither of you ever tried harder to dig anything out of me. If you knew I was hiding things, why didn't you at least—"
He was interrupted by Justin's amused chuckle.
Justin stood, walked around the desk, and sat directly in front of Dante, only a few centimeters away.
"Do you know what your second brother is doing right now?" Dante blinked before slowly shaking his head. Justin smiled.
"That idiot is currently being chased by a Sage. Apparently, he slaughtered one of the higher-ranking members of the Sage Organization... then stole one of their treasures before running away." Dante stared blankly. Then burst into laughter.
"Why?"
Justin wore a helpless smile as he responded "Because he wanted to."
He shrugged adding "And the treasure happened to be useful for someone in the middle stages of the legendary tier."
Dante couldn't help laughing again that honestly sounded like something he himself would do.
Granted, with two Mythical-tier skills, he wouldn't fear an ordinary Sage nearly as much as most people would, but there was something strangely amusing about someone casually provoking an entire organization simply because they felt like it.
"So... Father is just going to let him do that?"
Aurora, now seated beside Dante, gently ruffled his hair.
"They won't grow otherwise. They didn't even ask for our help because they already understood that. the world is enormous, Dante .So enormous that even your father and I haven't explored half of it "
She paused before correcting herself.
"No... not even one-fifth If you wish to become stronger, you have to discover the limits of your own skills and surpass them yourself, alll of your siblings have to."
Her expression softened.
"With the exception of your eldest brother and sister, who will eventually return to govern the empire, the rest of you will likely choose to live elsewhere one day. And if you do..."
"You'll need to learn how to live your own lives."
She smiled warmly.
"That doesn't mean we won't protect you." Her arms tightened around him.
"I won't allow death to come anywhere near my child"
"Never."
Dante quietly listened.
His parents had always been overprotective, but moments like this reminded him that perhaps he understood them far less than he had assumed. Protecting their children from death while allowing them to struggle...
It sounded almost cliché. Like something straight out of a protagonist's story. Yet it also reflected reality. Even back on Earth, loving parents eventually let their children stumble, fail, and become independent. No parent expected their child to remain a freeloader forever simply because they had the means to provide.
Growth came through hardship. Dante knew that better than most. Ever since turning ten, he had trained almost entirely through his own efforts. He understood exactly what his parents were trying to say. His secrets simply weren't important to them.
The reality was everyone had secrets. Even his siblings clearly kept things hidden from Justin and Aurora. Not because they distrusted them...
But because not everything needed to be shared.
And if the day ever came when those secrets caused trouble...
Their parents would undoubtedly protect them without hesitation. Dante understood.
That was simply what it meant to be loved by one's parents. Something he would never admit to himself he was growing accustomed to more ana more. He never had a fun time around his parents in his previous life. They weren't exactly loving. He remembered vividly that he had to learn how to feed himself when he turned 5, simply because his parents couldn't be bothered to any longer. His parents letting him sleep in the house provided it was the basement floor , but he had a place to stay and was allowed to eat some things, even had some clothes. That was the extent of love. But since coming to this world.
Dante sighed, shaking his head internally as he looked at his parents, digesting their concern and words He gave a small nod.
"Then teach me about the skill levels And their titles."
Justin smiled before ruffling Dante's hair once more. There truly weren't words capable of expressing how deeply he loved his children.
Hundreds of thousands of years of life...
Countless battles...
Endless pursuits of strength...
None of it compared to the simple happiness of watching his children grow. Protecting them. Laughing with them and watching them slowly become people capable of walking their own paths. He glanced toward Aurora, who looked at Dante with gentle, almost wistful eyes.
Justin smiled.
Like all of his children, Dante had never asked these questions before.
And like all of his children...
Justin had never forced the answers upon him. Now that he had finally asked, there was no reason to continue withholding them. He leaned back slightly before beginning.
"Your mother has probably already told you that skills are divided into four tiers."
"Common, epic, legendary and Mythical "
"The first three each possess fifty levels."
"Mythical is... different. I'll explain that another day. "Dante nodded attentively seeing this, Justin continued. "The Epic and Legendary tiers share one important characteristic."
"Level ten. Although it's only one level higher than nine, reaching level ten signifies the point where someone truly begins to understand their skill It's less like advancing one level...and more like advancing five."
"So if someone possesses a level ten Epic skill while yours is only level eight..."
He looked directly into Dante's eyes.
"Nine times out of ten...You're going to die."
Dante's expression remained serious. Justin gave a small approving nod before continuing. "Naturally, there are exceptions there always are. For example..."
"If one person possesses a single Epic skill at level twenty and another possesses two Epic skills, both around level eighteen..."
"The second person will usually win. The reason is simple. Their combat ability isn't being supported by one powerful skill..."
"It's being supported by two.Depending on how well those skills complement one another, fighting them can feel like fighting two level eighteen experts at once. So long as the gap isn't overwhelming, multiple high-level skills can drastically increase someone's overall combat ability. Combat experience can also narrow the difference between someone at level nine and someone at level ten."
He smiled wryly.
"I'm only explaining what common sense isn't. If you need me to explain why someone with a level twenty Legendary skill would defeat someone with a level two Legendary skill...You've got bigger problems than skill levels."
Aurora covered her mouth, laughing softly as Dante gave an exaggerated nod of agreement. Justin smiled, his mind straying 'His so adorable'. With a cough he continued