Death Mage with an SS-Rank Talent-Chapter 287

Thomas and Maya have returned from their duties at the restaurant.

A few months ago, it used to be at midnight that they returned home, but that started to change when the Cults became active and the monster tides became a monthly event in the alliance.

Though not all regions are directly affected, they are still indirectly affected.

The prices of certain goods that were usually supplied from those regions became scarce and pricy. Some decided to hoard certain items, waiting to see their prices grow high.

Though war may not have affected the city, certain items slowly disappeared from shelves, and it made life a bit difficult for some, but to many, these items were a luxury, and they had no problem with that.

Of course, if it were just scarcity of specialities, there would be no problem, but that was not the case.

News came about the atrocities of the cults committing in low-tier cities, even the ones that were far away from the war-torn regions. So, essentially, no place is one hundred percent safe.

So, night activities in towns and small cities have slowly disappeared, and that means restaurants had to close early, too. It meant, the couple had to return to their home early, unlike what it was before.

It was quite disruptive.

Almost two years ago, when their son became the top ranker of the alliance exam, they were promoted, and due to that promotion, they were progressing very well.

Their levels and skill ranks are improving perfectly. This type of growth, they have never experienced and though they might never experience anything better than that.

A few months later, they stood corrected.

They received some Chef items, which improved their growth rate, from their son. It made them very happy, but they were also saddened about the fact, fearing that their son might have used his earnings in the academy for their welfare.

Only after listening to their son did they accept the gifts.

Later on, they started to get some gifts from their son occasionally.

Though they didn’t like the fact that their son was spending a lot on them, they were happy too. They understood that he was growing fast, which was why he could afford such costly items.

These items have helped them, which they believed would one day help their son, but then came the issue of the reduced hours.

At first, it didn’t cause much trouble for any. Instead of till, they closed by ten, then by eight, but as time went on, the restaurant started to close by six in the evening.

It not only affected their pay, but also their growth rate.

Even though Aaron has sent them resources, they are not monsters, which can be improved by consuming resources. Humans have to do certain actions, and only through such actions can they improve their levels and skills.

With the reduced speed of growth, they felt bad about it.

They didn’t think that the cults would be interested in a place like this, but those ideas were shattered when they were attacked by some cultist members.

It was not a random attack. They targeted them because they couldn’t get their son. Only then did Thomas and Maya understand why their son had sent so many protections and resources for development to them over the months.

He is growing fast, and that means there would be a few enemies who would be either jealous or afraid of his growth, fearing what he could become in the future. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

So, they would try to cause him trouble, and the best way was through his parents.

He was protected by the academy, but the couple weren’t, and they understood why Aaron kept insisting that they grow fast, but with the reduced work, the growth was reduced. Even though that was the case, they did everything they could to increase their growth.

After that attack, they started to be more careful, making sure that they didn’t move much in the dark.

---

It was like every day.

Today, they have returned and are preparing food in the kitchen. With the restaurant closing early every day, they started to prepare their own food, from start to end, which helped them to progress well.

It was then, they heard the lock of the door opening. They immediately grabbed knives and prepared to face the intruder and ran towards the hall.

Aaron, who had just entered the hall, was shocked to see his parents holding knives in their hands. They were already in motion, ready to attack, but stopped in their tracks when they saw him.

When they heard the words and saw the face, they were stunned for a second. Only then did they recognise that it was not an intruder but their son.

Maya dropped her knife and ran towards her son, "Aaron", she hugged him.

She was happy to see her son after more than a year.

Aaron hugged her and said, "Hey Mom, I am back".

"Aaron, why didn’t you tell us that you are coming? We thought it was an intruder, someone from those damned cults", Thomas sighed as he dropped the knife on the table.

Aaron rubbed his head, clearly embarrassed by this.

He wanted to surprise them, but he forgot that they could think that he was an enemy if he entered the home, even if he used the key.

They can’t see that he was using the key, just that the door got unlocked. If they were a bit fast, they might have injured him or themselves.

"Ah, sorry, Dad, I wanted it to be a surprise", Aaron understood that he had made a mistake.

"You know, you almost gave us a heart attack", Thomas said in a stern voice.

"It’s okay, but with how things were, it would have been best if you had told us before", his mother chimed in as well.

Aaron didn’t know what to say. He was in the wrong. He, too, for a second forgot about how bad it could have been here in the city, even though there was no news of cult attacks.

He just scratched his head, not knowing what to do.

Seeing that their son, after almost two years, erased the displeasure that they felt a second ago, Thomas decided to give him a pass for just this once.

"Anyway, why are you here? I thought once a student joins the academy, it would be only after four years would be free to leave, when they graduate", Thomas asked.

Hearing those words, Aaron stiffened a little, "It is a long story", he began telling them everything that he could.