Faust took his usual spot on the dinner table, across from his dad at the head of the table. Vicky sat beside Arthur, while the twins sat on either side of Faust.

"I’m surprised this place is still standing," Faust said looking around in mock amazement.

Arthur waved him off. "How many years are going to recycle that joke?"

"You’re barely ever here anyway," Bonnie complained.

"Yeah and when you do, you spend all your time in your room," Bryan added.

Kids really knew how to bring uncomfortable truths on the table.

"Shut up, Bingo Bango."

Vicky smiled as the children argued. She squeezed Arthur’s hands and they both laughed a little.

The twins asked a lot about his stay in the Origin Trials. What type of monsters he fought. The powers he had and if he could show them anyone.

He used Shadow sSep and they went crazy. Then he generated a small fireball in his hand and Vicky almost tore off his head.

"Were you scared?" Vicky asked, "I remember when lightning struck him. My heart stopped."

"Yeah it was so loud!" Bryan exclaimed, then flinched at his mother’s scolding look. "Or I heard it was loud. I’m not allowed to watch those streams."

Bonnie puffed her chest and smiled. "Faust isn’t scare of anything. Remember when he strangled that snake in the backyard."

Vicky got up and gathered the plates, slapping the back of Faust’s head softly as she passed. "Oh, I remember."

"Make sure to take out the health potions from your stream inventory," Arthur reminded, "and some Patrons sent you gifts. They recommend opening them on stream so i doubt they’ll be very useful."

Faust got up and went to sit beside his dad as the twins ran back to the living room. He glanced at the floorboards with a suspicious look before sitting down. He could deal with that later.

He glanced at Vicky before saying. "have things been alright here? Don’t lie. I saw the driveway and the windows."

"I park at a secured garage a few blocks down," Arthur said calmly. "It’s a good morning walk to get my blood pumping. And the windows were a little break in but I handled them. We’re fine, Faust."

Even as Arthur said all this there wasn’t a flinch in his expression. Faust could hear his steady heart beat the whole time. He was fully convinced in what he said.

Or at least resolved to make them true.

Faust leaned back in his chair. "I can stay back. Make sure no one ever tries to fuck with you guys again."

"Langugae. And you already know the World Council will come here. After your performance in the fourth wave they made sure to track us down and have a talk."

"Did they threaten you guys?"

"Wipe that look off your face, son. It’s business. Incentives and sacrifices like I thought you. You are a highly volatile but profitable asset. They will provide incentives before punishments."

Arthur’s strong jaw twitched though. His blue eyes stayed locked on Faust, but there was an ephemeral feeling.

’It’s like I can sense his unease.’

High Spirit was ridiculous. It was enhancing his senses to supernatural levels. He could sense emotions to an extent now despite how well Arthur guard his.

"What are our incentives?" Faust asked instead of pushing his dad and starting a fight.

"They’re building housing for the families of Players. As Rank one, your family gets priority. Vicky and I will even get jobs as analysts in a new division they’re forming."

"All families in one place," Faust muttered, "How convenient."

"You were always a bit too aggressive for business, Tiger."

"If it’s the business of smashing heads then i’d say im the perfect amount of aggressive."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "It was the same with this house."

"It was a dump."

"It just needed some investment." He smiled as Vicky returned with mugs of tea for all of them. "And a woman’s touch."

Faust forced the bitterness out of his voice. "It needed to be run over by a bulldozer. Not a woman’s touch. Shouldn’t be bringing women here."

"I think i did a good job though," Vicky said with a smug grin.

"You’re an intergalactic alien that I will reveal one day. No normal woman could have turned that dump into this."

Vicky laughed loudly. "You aren’t off that."

"We literally found out aliens were really like yesterday. Yes, I am not off that."

Before any of them could talk Faust snapped towards the entrance with a sharp look. Arthur tapped his shoulder silently as he pulled a handgun from under the kitchen table.

"Cars, a lot of them," Faust said after a moment. "And guns. They sound military."

Vicky scrambled. "Put the gun away, Arthur, we aren’t supposed to have that. I’ll get more tea for Mr Larson."

Arthur stashed the gun in his pants and rushed to get the kids upstairs.

Faust calmed down and weighed his options on how to go about this.

Soon the living room was filled with soldiers, checking every square inch of the house. Arthur was arguing with them about how the kids needed to stay upstairs when a man walked into the room.

He took off his long black coat and said, "Leave the damn kids alone."

The soldier stood down without question. A military man? The new man was dressed in a white shirt and black suit and trousers. His physique didn’t scream power, but his eyes scanned the room with a mechanical precision that told Faust he knew what he was doing.

He was a much older asian man with short cropped white hair and a round wrinkled face that spoke of a no nonsense attitude.

"I’m Ken Larson." the man said immediately, taking a seat where Faust had sat before, opposite the head of the table where Arthur now took his seat. "You’ll be familiar with Diego? Old Dog?"

"Very. Unless this is your attempt to create familiarity between us." Faust ignored Arthur kicking him under the table.

Larson chuckled, a mirthless sound that was purely functional. "I don’t do familar, kid."

"Faust. My name’s Faust. Or you can call me Red God, if it suits you."

"Red God..." Larson nodded in approval. "I like it. Its confident. Smart. Sounds like it lets me get down to business quickly."

"Talk away," Faust said, waving a hand. "I’m not very inclined to listen as it isn’t within my interests. But I’ll listen."

Larson licked the inside of his mouth. It must have been a calming thing. He didn’t seem like a man that was used to being talked to like this, especially by a kid.

"I’ll start with the appointment of Olympic Knights. If you are not at Compound Zeta tonight, you cannot be considered for a role as an Olympic Knight."