"DAD???!"
"Aldred, is he really your dad?" Mary asked.
Aldred nodded. "He is. I can't be wrong."
He ran up to him. His father was handsome as always. So beautiful yet manly with an athletic built. He had short black hair, and that deep black eyes fondly looked at Aldred.
"What's sup, son."
"Dad, don't say those words. You sounded lame."
Hujarar laughed. "Alright, I won't. So how have you been doing?"
"I am doing fine. It's been fun. A lot of fun!"
"Good. So are these your wives?"
"Yep."
Hujarar laughed. "Good. You truly are my son!" He looked at the ladies. "I am sure my son have treated you all well?"
Aldred's wives all nodded.
"He's a bit naughty, but he treat us very well, sir," Mareona said.
"No need to call me, sir. Hujarar is fine, but you can also call me dad."
"Dad…" Mareona blushed at the thought of calling Aldred's father a dad. Was that meant his father accepted her status as Aldred's wife?
"So where is mom and sister? Are they not coming with you?"
"Nope. It's just me this time."
"But they said you were going somewhere. To a mysterious place or something, and they tell me that you are in danger."
"Yeah, well, I am not really in danger. But that is correct. What you currently see is a part of my soul. My true self is not here, but somewhere else."
"Where exactly?"
"You will know when you grow stronger."
Aldred was still confused as of why his father refused to tell him. But Aldred trusted him with all his heart, so he did not think much of it.
"So why are you here, dad?"
"Oh, I was the one who made this treasure hunt."
"EHHH!!!"
"You made all of these? But this treasure hunt had existed for thousands of years from what I heard."
"That is true because I have made the treasure hunt from long ago. I was bored you see. Every day, every year, the same pattern repeated numerous times. So I decided to make a little event every once in a while to make the lives of these mortals fun."
Fun… literally millions died because of this treasure hunt… Aldred's wives did not know what to think of that. Although it wasn't exactly Hujarar's fault, because the treasure hunter could quit any time they wanted to.
And it was very well-known that only one person had the chance to obtain the treasure, so the survival rate was lower than 10%.
If that wasn't enough to stop them, then they could not blame anybody.
"I see you have grown stronger," Hujarar said with a smile.
Aldred nodded proudly. He was so happy at being praised by his father. "Look at this weapon, dad." Aldred summoned his Phantom Doomblade.
"It's the best weapon I have."
Hujarar laughed. "If you have taken the sword that I offered you."
"What sword?" Mary asked.
"The sword that can send any entity to hell regardless of ranks."
Mareona grabbed Aldred by the collar. "Why didn't you accept it?"
"I don't remember why, but if I can return back in time, I will surely slap myself in the face."
Hujarar giggled. "I knew you would regret it."
Aldred smiled. "But I won't ask another gift from you dad. This godly eyes have helped me a lot, and it saved me multiple times."
"So you want to grow stronger without my help?"
Aldred nodded. "If I keep relying on you, I wouldn't be able to reach my true potential."
Hujarar smiled. "That's my boy."
"So what now?" Aldred asked. "Where is the treasure?"
"I am the treasure. Whoever managed to open the egg will be able to meet me. Usually I give them power, but sometimes I was asked other stuff."
"So… you will turn me to a Platinum Rank?"
"Nope. Those who managed to open the egg will get to be a Diamond Rank."
"Seriously? I can be a Diamond Rank?"
"Of course. How else could they survive when they returned to their homeland? You know how people are. They will kill the winners to prevent them from growing in the future. So, I just turned them into Diamond Ranks to prevent easy assassination."
"That makes sense," Aldred said. "So I will become a Diamond Rank?"
"Yep." Hujarar nodded.
"That's like two stage above me."
"Anyone that manage to destroy the golden egg deserved it. Every challenge is harder than the others, and some challenges were designed to massacre the entire contestants at once."
"Why?"
"Luck is part of it. If you are unlucky to get that challenge, then it's your bad luck."
"Is there any challenges that doesn't require any effort."
"There is. But the third challenge is always the hardest. You can't rely on luck to pass it."
"I think I got all the worst challenges, dad."
Hujarar laughed. "I think you did. But they are also the most rewarding."
Aldred agreed. After every challenge, he would grow stronger, experienced, and more powerful than before.
"So can I get my Diamond Rank now?"
"Before that, let me show you something.
Hujarar waved his hand and a floating projection appeared. It showed some sort of video of a baby.
"Wait a minute, is that… mom?"
"Mom? Is that your mother?" Stella asked.
Aldred nodded. "That's my mother when she was a baby. Right, dad?"
The projection showed baby Eve walking on all all four in the forest. She then stumbled upon a sleeping dragon the size of a mountain.
The dragon opened its mouth, about to eat her, but she slapped its jaw, which literally sent the dragon out of the atmosphere.
"…"
"What just happened?" Ivette asked.
The projection disappeared.
"And that's the end of it."
"What? That's it? Do you have any more, dad?"
"I do, but you cannot watch it yet."
"Why?"
"I will show you at another time." Hujarar disappeared.
"Wait, dad! I want to watch more!!!"
His voice went through empty air because his father had vanished. He sighed, until he felt some sort of power within him.
Aldred's body suddenly shone. His eyes radiated out powerful energy and every inch of his body shook uncontrollably. He felt like a newborn being born.
"Are you okay?" Ivette asked.
Aldred shook his head. It was so intense that he almost passed out, but the feeling slowly subsided.
"WOOOH!!"
He shouted, shouting the pain away.
Suddenly, a new form of aura appeared from his body. In the blink of an eye, his aura exploded in every direction. His wives could felt his newfound power. It was far larger than they had seen before. The aura was so powerful that it pushed them back a few steps. It did not harm them, instead, the aura enveloped them all as if it protected them.
It was warm and lovely. His wives felt like they were being hugged by Aldred. They could smell him, and sensed his touch. Their heart beat faster than before. Excitement welled up in their chest as they watched Aldred shouting to the sky, getting stronger and stronger every second.
His body underwent a massive change, especially to the quality of his mana. It was much thicker and physical now. Before it was merely gas that could be removed with a wave of a hand, but now it almost looked like a liquid. It churned around his blood vessels at rapid speed.
"This... this is the power of Diamond Rank."
