Aunt Margareth?
The reason why Zen was shocked was because of the fact that although the Earth had greatly advanced in all fields compared to a century ago, it was not at the point of having force fields or lightsabers like in a certain movie from a century ago that he liked to watch.
'Unless…'
Unless technology like those had been available already but was kept secret by the upper echelon of the world.
Zen shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
Before he could think any further, he was greeted by the sight of a tall skyscraper building.
The helicopter they were riding was flying around 1,500 meters up in the air. However, the skyscraper still looked near them.
Zen measured and found out that this skyscraper was roughly 1,000 meters tall.
He turned towards his family and saw that Sera was also amazed by it. Ren and Rina on the other hand, both had a thoughtful expression on their faces as they glanced at each other's eyes.
Zen became more curious of their past as he got to know more things about them.
Soon enough, the helicopter landed on the helipad.
Blake was the first one to exit the helicopter, followed by Sophie, Sera, Zen, Ren and Rina.
Zen held Sera and stood to the side while waiting for their parents. He still felt a bit exhausted and enjoyed the feeling of the wind.
Woosh!
However, just as Rina successfully exited the helicopter, something cutting through the air could be heard.
Zen flinched and felt something flying towards the direction of his mother.
He opened his eyes and what he saw shocked him.
A woman with a graceful body that was highlighted by her skin-tight combat suit, and a head full of pink hair was performing a perfect flying kick in the air towards Rina.
'What the fu…' Zen couldn't help but curse in his head.
Zen was about to take action when he noticed that his mother seemed ready for it.
Just as she got down from the helicopter, Rina already felt something coming towards her.
She looked ahead and saw a foot nearing her face.
Rina placed her right foot behind her, tilting her body in the process.
Seeing this, Margareth, who was in the air, said mockingly, "You're dodging this? It seems like you're skills have rusted after giving birth to two children~"
Rina heard Margareth's mocking but didn't reply. Instead, she used her right hand to grab Margareth's feet and pulled it towards her, speeding up Margareth's flying kick.
Then, Rina readied her left hand as she saw Margareth's face that was speedily coming towards her.
Her left hand flew rapidly with a grabbing motion towards Margareth's face before smashing her face on the ground, cancelling the momentum of her flying kick in the process.
Smash!
Their exchange only lasted for an instant.
Apart from Zen, the surrounding people weren't able to witness the details of their exchange, only the outcome of it.
Sera, Ren, Blake, Sophie, and the others only turned their heads towards Rina's direction when they heard the sound of something hitting the floor. When they saw "what" exactly hit the floor, they were shocked.
"Damn…" Zen couldn't help but curse on the side. He silently measured that if his mom's Strength Stat was between 3 and 4, then the pink-haired woman was at 2.
It was clear to Zen that this woman also honed her strength and combat skills to the limit. Obviously, she still can't compare to his mom.
However, one thought appeared in Zen's mind, 'Who the hell is this aggressive woman?'
If not for the fact that Ren still had a calm expression, Zen would have apprehended the pink-haired woman way before her flying kick reached Rina.
'Still, there are things that I don't know so it's best to let dad handle this. In addition, I also need to keep my strength secret, so it's better to lay low for now.' Zen thought ot himself.
"Ugh, I was wrong. You've become even more ruthless!" Margareth spoke while clutching her head, feeling dizzy from being smashed onto the ground.
Rina didn't reply again and just said, "Zen and Sera, this is your aunt Margareth."
Huh!?
This was the thought in Zen and Sera's mind. They didn't know that they had an aunt in this faraway place, much less someone this eccentric.
Margareth shot up and and ran towards Zen and Sera, circling around them.
"As expected of Commander Garen's genes! The two of you looked so handsome and beautiful!" Margareth was caught up in her own world as she stared at Zen and Sera with stars in her eyes.
Hearing this, Zen and Sera felt confused. 'Commander Garen?' They had only ever heard their dad being called "Ren" or "Sir Alcantra".
Therefore, this name felt foreign to the both of them.
Ehem!
Ehem!!
Margareth snapped back to reality as she heard a deep cough behind her. She turned around and saw Ren who had a very unsatisfied expression on his face.
Margareth whispered a soft "oops", before changing the topic. "Well, my honored guests. I know that you've had a quite an exhausting journey. Follow me, I have already prepared accomodations for you."
Zen and Sera followed their parents who were walking in the lead.
Sera looked around curiously while Zen looked absent minded. 'Eden Republic huh…' After thinking for a while, Zen remembered the bits of information from earlier.
'Sophie had said earlier that the people of Eden Republic hates the governments that participated in World War III. So "Eden" represents heaven or paradise. "Republic" represents the common people. So altogether, "Eden Republic" means paradise for the common people?' Thinking of this, Zen felt quite amazed by the person who thought of this name.
As they entered the building, Zen and Sera were once again amazed at the structure of the building.
Through the door at the rooftop where the helipad was located, they entered a hallway.
"The top floor of the building are where the various accomodations of the upper echelons of Eden Republic are located." After a while of walking, Margareth stop in front of a door. "This is the accomodation we prepared for you. You can contact me if you have any problems." With that, Margareth left hurriedly, as if afraid of even entering the room any longer.
After closing the door behind her, she tapped her mouth, "My stupid mouth! I got carried away and forgot that Commander Garen didn't want to let their children know of the past…"
***
Inside the room…
Zen and Sera looked around with eyes as wide as saucers.
The room prepared for them could only be described as "massive". Sure, they were a family of four. But the size of the "room" was comparable to a whole mansion.
"Alright! My beloved son and daughter, go choose your rooms and rest. We'll have plenty of things to talk about tomorrow." Said Ren as he clapped his hands.
Zen and Sera looked at each other. They knew that their parents must have something to do, and so, they obediently followed their dad.
The two of them explored the house for a bit before finding four doors that were facing each other.
They checked each room and chose the same one. As if they were already used to it, they played Rock, Paper, Scissors to know who will get to stay in the room.
Unfortunately for Sera, Zen could already read her body language and predict her next course of action through it. Therefore, it was an easy win for him.
The two of them kept silent along the way, they knew that they had many things to say to each other but also knew that they would have the time for it tomorrow.
They were both very exhausted by everything that happened today. As such, their priority now was to rest. After all, even Zen could get mentally exhausted.
Zen lied on the bed and stretched.
Then something beside the bed caught his attention.
It was a familiar box.
Zen's eyebrows arched up in anticipation.
'Is this what I think it is?'
He excitedly opened the box and saw the thing that started everything.
He picked up the black helmet and placed it on his lap.
Zen check the clock and saw that it was 8 in the evening.
If he were to "wake up" tomorrow at 8 am, then he would have 12 hours of "sleep".
'I'll have 24 hours inside the game…'
Not being able to wait any longer, Zen excitedly equipped the gaming device and said with anticipation,
"Dive in."