SL: Chapter 757 – Day 28,326 – Old Friends

I approached the compound and looked at the doors. I could fly over the six story buildings that acted as a wall, but that would be rude. I knocked on the door and took a step back. A window above the door opened up and a young man looked out.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Could you tell Doctor Katz and Michelle an old friend has come to say hello,” I said.

“What’s your name?” the young man asked.

“Michael,” I replied.

“You don’t look that scary or impressive,” he said.

“I could unleash my full power, but that would be a bit rude. Let your parents know I am here please. Also convey my apologies for the unexpected visit,” I said.

“Wait there. If you are lying you will regret it,” the young man said and closed the window shutters above. I waited patiently. I was in no rush and wasn’t going to make things unpleasant for the few people who could be considered old friends. At least I hope they would be.

If they turned me away, I would just leave. After five minutes, the door opened and Doctor Katz stood there. “Doctor Katz, you look well,” I said.

“Michael, you look like you haven’t aged a day,” he said.

“Thank you. I hope I am not disturbing you and your family. I came to stop by for what could be the last time. If I don’t make it, Clarissa will follow up, but I wanted to see how you were doing. It has been a long time,” I said.

“Forgive my manners, come in,” he said.

“I half thought you would have told me to leave,” I said.

“Maybe decades ago, since your visit would mean nothing but trouble. You aren’t here to ask anything of us?” he asked nervously.

“No. I heard you and Michelle have a large family and are living a happy life in this compound,” I said.

“We try,” he replied as we walked through the building wall and to a large courtyard. There were lots of food plants growing outside.

“Grandfather, is this really Michael?” the young man who had called out from the window had shown up again.

“Yes. This is Emperor Michael,” he said.

“You don’t look that strong,” he said. I was wearing simple gray clothing.

“I don’t think your grandfather would want me to show off in his home and create a disturbance,” I said.

“No showing off. Now you need to stay on guard duty. You wanted more responsibilities,” Doctor Katz said.

“Yes, grandfather,” the young man ran off.

“Looks excitable,” I replied.

“He is. Come on, Michelle is preparing dinner. Most of our children are busy with their jobs at the moment,” he replied.

“How many?” I asked.

“Seven. And Tim there is the eldest of three grandchildren. Putting him to work watching the main entrance,” Doctor Katz said. I noted concealed monsters watching as well from several locations. This place might look empty and undefended, but it wasn’t.

“Sounds lovely. You really have made a home for yourself here.”

“We do our best. Michelle, dear. Michael is here,” Doctor Katz called. Michelle stepped out of the kitchen area. Her hair was white and she had some wrinkles on her face. That was surprising, but I kept my face neutral.

“Michelle,” I greeted her and we hugged.

“Michael. It has been a long time. I am glad you are okay,” she said and we broke the embrace.

“I wanted to stop by before I leave for what could be the final time. If I don’t make it, well, Clarissa will follow up with you two,” I said.

“We aren’t that capable of fighting monsters anymore,” Doctor Katz said and I shook my head.

“If I die, then it isn’t something that can be beaten in a fight. It will take cunning and intelligence. But hopefully that won’t happen and a fight might not even occur. I just…well, I heard you settled down. Seven kids, congratulations.”

“Your gifts were appreciated over the years,” Michelle said.

“I can’t take full credit. Clarissa was on top of things, she passed on the crystals I gave her,” I replied.

“It was still quite a bit and helped our children out, a lot. Thank you,” Doctor Katz said.

“Come, sit. I am preparing burgers tonight,” Michelle replied, and we took our seats in the kitchen. Michelle went back to preparing dinner.

“This compound all yours?” I asked.

“Yes, our home. We don’t have dealings with the outside world if we can help it. Preferring to keep to our quiet lives and raise our children. We have our one granddaughter and the three grandchildren here,” Doctor Katz said.

“All of them? That is surprising,” I replied.

“We raised them to be as independent as possible,” Michelle said.

“What do they do?” I asked.

“Two of our sons grind in level 5 combat zones. Another two of our sons do work in food preparation or processing. One daughter is also involved in food preparation. And our last daughter is married, her husband is grinding in a level 5 combat zone with our two sons,” Doctor Katz explained.

“And she has three children of her own. Tim, the youngest, Adam, who is a city guard, and Amanda, who works in administration in the city here,” Doctor Katz said.

“You mentioned earlier, seven kids. Do you need me to handle something?” I asked.

“Our seventh son, Mark, died while grinding over a decade ago,” Michelle said.

“My condolences,” I replied.

“We try our best. But…it hurts to know your child won’t ever come back. We held out hope at first, but the longer he went without returning, we knew he was dead,” Doctor Katz said. I didn’t know what to say to this.

“What have you been doing?” Michelle asked me.

“I have been grinding.”

“Just grinding points?” she asked with a bit of shock. “For decades?”

“Yes. And practicing my energy control. I could give you a run for your money Doctor Katz,” I said.

“I gave up that title long ago. You can just call me Benjamin,” he replied.

“For me, you will always be Doctor Katz. And I have finally decided to investigate and pursue everything I can. Already the ranking list from the tower has been checked and the Guidebook.”

“Both of those are a trillion points,” Michelle said.

“I can earn ten billion points a day,” I replied casually.

“Ten…ten billion a day?” Doctor Katz asked in shock.

“I have been for a while now. But now I am going to investigate everything. My next stop after this visit is to go to the Northeast corner over the void to see if there is a corner, just like there is a ceiling. The bottom of this place, the inky void, well I am not going into that liquid or whatever that stuff is,” I replied.

“You are looking for an exit,” Doctor Katz said.

“The exit has been found and is filled with powerful monsters.” I looked over at Michelle who winced. “If I don’t find anything, I will be trying to fight my way through them.”

“Ah. That…well, you are welcome to stay here for the night. I am sure our grandchildren when they return will be excited about your visit. They have heard stories,” Doctor Katz said.

“Good ones, I hope?” I asked.

“I heard we have a guest?” A middle aged man knocked on the kitchen door and entered. He was wearing a guard uniform of some kind.

“Adam, this is Emperor Michael,” Doctor Katz said, introducing me. The man looked me over. I was concealing my strength, so I knew I didn’t appear that impressive.

“You match the description we got as a warning. It is an honor, Emperor Michael,” he replied and bowed towards me.

“No need to bow. I am an old man just stopping to say hello to your grandparents before I go on a little trip. We haven’t caught up in decades. How is it being a guard?” I asked.

“Tiring. Lots of complaints and minor situations to deal with. Stopping petty arguments from exploding is my main job,” he answered and I nodded at this.

“I suppose you can’t use my method,” I replied.

“Kill them all and tell everyone else to behave?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied with a smile. “It is clear you have been telling him the right stories.”

“Um, it is the example of what not to do. At least for us city guards,” Adam said.

“Well, there is a reason I am no longer Emperor. Too much hassle. I prefer grinding.”

“My uncles would have loved to meet you. You are a legend among the monster hunters,” Adam said.

“That is nice to here,” I said.

“Go get your mother, sister, and brother. Dinner is almost ready,” Michelle said. Adam nodded and left the kitchen.

“Surprised you let your family work with the government.”

“They are adults and can decide their own lives. We can’t keep them locked up forever. They need to learn to deal with life themselves,” Doctor Katz said.

“It is stressful, but we can only do so much. Leaving…well we are happy here. If they ever want to return, they know they have a room waiting for them,” Michelle said.

“I can feel the warmth here. The colors, the small decorations. Those colored drawings on the wall. It reminds me of things that have been forgotten,” I said.

“We can’t change anything, but we can live our lives,” Doctor Katz said. A huge change from his earlier mindset of wanting to help everyone. I didn’t know if I should be impressed that his personality shifted or depressed that the bleeding heart of the Systemic Lands no longer bled for everyone.

Perhaps it had bled too much and there were no more tears or blood left to give. This place was a loving home they had carved out in hell. I had no doubt that there were corpses from people trying to bother them. The monsters Michelle had ready to intervene were a clear testament to the frightening power she still wielded.

“Dear, help me get dinner to the table,” Michelle said. Her husband helped her move the burgers to the dining table in the room next to the kitchen. I got up as well, and Doctor Katz invited me to take a seat at the head of the table.

“No, it is your home. You and your wife deserve those seats. I can sit anywhere. I am just an old man,” I joked.

“With how you look, I feel a bit jealous,” Michelle said.

“Lots of stats and fighting. Keeps the blood flowing,” I replied. I took a seat, not at the head of the table, as the rest of their family showed up. I got looks from all of them as they took their seats as well.

“Let us give thanks. And hope the family members that aren’t with us will return home safely. Amen,” Doctor Katz said a short prayer.

“Amen,” I said along with everyone else.

“Did you blow up a city? Was the Divine Empress incredibly beautiful? What was it like fighting the Ritualist?” Tim asked before we could even help ourselves to food.

“Just a couple, but they tended to be collateral. The Divine Empress was old and miserable. She had style with her black and white clothing, but her personality was terrible as well as her taste in interior decorating. The Ritualist was a mad man that had gotten high on his own power and eventually turned himself into a monster,” I answered calmly, amused by how excitable Tim was.