Absolute Cheater

Asher accepted all of them, watching as his contact list filled up with the names of his family. He couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed, especially with the sudden attention from his mother and the rest of his family, but he knew it was part of his new life. Being linked to all these people meant responsibility, expectations, and connections he couldn't ignore.

His thoughts drifted back to Selene—what did she want to say?

Asher's heart sank as he read the message from his mother:

"Try and become strong. You have to avenge your father."

His hand clenched around the HoloDevice, feeling a deep sense of frustration and sadness. This wasn't the message he wanted. His mother, Selene, once a bright and loving figure in his life, now seemed to see him only as a tool for revenge. The weight of her expectations pressed down on him.

"Why?" Asher questioned mentally. 'Why can't you just see me as your son? Why can't we have a family instead of this... obsession with revenge?'

The hollow feeling inside him grew as he realized the bond he longed for with her was shattered, replaced by her unrelenting focus on vengeance. It hurt more than any battle or trial he'd faced so far.

'It would've been better if you had given me a family," he thought sadly. "Anything would have been better than this sense of betrayal.'

With a heavy heart, he locked the message from Selene, leaving it unanswered. He wasn't ready to engage with her demands, not when all he craved was a mother's love—something he felt he'd never truly have again.

Asher walked out quietly, ignoring the voices around him. People tried to speak with him, but he wasn't in the mood. The sting of his mother's cold message weighed heavily on his heart. Emily, sensing his sadness, held his hand without saying a word and gently led him outside. Her silent support was all he needed for now.

As they left the hall, whispers followed them.

"What a jerk. Just because he awakened a powerful ability, he thinks he's better than us," one boy muttered, glaring at Asher.

Emily shot the boy a warning look, but Asher barely acknowledged it. He wasn't interested in petty jealousy or rivalries.

"Leave him be," another girl said, her pink eyes glowing faintly as she spoke. She was the inheritor of Black Lightning, just like Asher, but her words carried both envy and intrigue. "Sooner or later, one of us will surpass him."

Another boy, who seemed to be a rising star among the group, crossed his arms as he eyed Asher from a distance. He was known for his mix of lightning and necromancy, a combination that made him a force to be reckoned with. "He'll be our enemy one day," he said darkly, his voice laced with ambition.

Asher felt their stares, but he didn't care. These kids were already positioning themselves as rivals, but he had far more important things to think about—his family, his future, and the burden of his mother's expectations.

"I wonder who among us will be the strongest," the boy with necromancy thought to himself as he walked away with his caretaker, already dreaming of future battles.

Soon, Asher was back in his home. Emily spoke as she prepared to leave, "Asher, you'll have the day off tomorrow. I won't be accompanying you. Also, check your Holodevice. The elders would have sent the Energy Veins Creation Method. You can try to work on it here since this place has an abundance of mana and enough resources to create it. Or you can wait until you reach the Supreme Academy."

Asher nodded silently in response.

"I'll cook something myself to celebrate your awakening," she added with a smile before leaving him alone.

Asher sighed deeply as he lay back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His mind swirled with conflicting emotions.

"Why?" he whispered quietly to himself as tears slipped past his eyes. "Why did you give me a family, only for it to end up like this?"

His voice cracked as the pain and confusion surfaced.

"You know what, as an orphan, all I ever needed was a family... something real. And when I thought I finally found it, you destroyed it too." He clenched his fists, questioning the cruel fate that seemed to follow him, as the tears continued to flow unchecked.

The memory of his mother's cold message haunted him. He had yearned for her love, her guidance, but all she gave him was duty—an expectation to avenge his father. He clenched his fists, feeling the raw ache in his chest. It wasn't revenge he wanted; it was her warmth, her presence. But she was absent, emotionally and physically.

He closed his eyes, a few more tears slipping down as he lay there in the quiet of his room. He felt betrayed by the world, by the people he should have been able to trust the most.

Asher cursed the being responsible for his reincarnation, his thoughts bitter and filled with resentment. "Avenge my father, huh?" he muttered to himself, wiping away the last traces of his tears. His mother's coldness and single-minded obsession with vengeance had pushed him into a corner. If that was what it took to make her see him as her son, then fine—he would do it.

"Very well," he whispered to himself, clenching his fist as if trying to grip onto some sense of control. "If that's what you want... to love me back like your son... then I'll do it."

With a hardened resolve, Asher opened the energy veins creation method on his Holodevice, his eyes scanning the complex diagrams and descriptions. His mind was racing, but he knew this was his way forward. If mastering this method and growing stronger could bring him closer to avenging his father—and, perhaps, earning his mother's love—then that's exactly what he would do.

***

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