"Ryse Palmer and Gretel Erindel are in good health. They're healthy children with no abnormalities. Father, you don't need to worry." In a spacious white rectangular room, screens displayed the health examination results of both children. Detailed information showing numbers—even though Jinyo hadn't studied medicine, he'd studied hard enough to read test results. Medical technology had advanced to the point of finding complex genetic diseases within a few hours.

  The results came out perfect. No serious genetic diseases. Perfect numbers as much as normal living beings could have.

  Ryse and Gretel were like Jinyo—products of the Genius Genes program. Pairing of top-tier genetic fathers and mothers. Passed through top-tier genetic screening to give birth to the next generation of geniuses. Children in the program would grow faster than ordinary children. Both intelligent and strong. With minimal defects.

  People in the Genius Genes program were considered valuable human resources. Especially children who were humanity's future would receive excellent care. The children's parents would receive salaries as compensation. Land and houses provided, one deed each. Tax reduction rights. If children reached adulthood, they would receive gold or gemstones. Free medical treatment rights.

  The government's demand was only one thing: they wanted children with excellent genes who would grow up as geniuses. Not just anyone could join the program. They had to undergo bloodline and seven-generation ancestor examination. The more dominant genes and success, the higher the value as genetic father and mother. In the government's eyes, people like Jinyo and Rina were like livestock bred for genetics. What was better than animals was that they had the right to refuse at any time.

  "Can I look at it in detail?"

  "Of course. If father has any questions, you can ask me anytime." The experienced doctor stood to let Jinyo use the computer to read all genetic test results himself. Jinyo adjusted his glasses, reading genetic values converted into numbers.

  "It's a very beautiful genetic code, isn't it?"

  "Yes. Beautiful to the point of being frightening." Jinyo opened Ryse and Gretel's character windows to compare. The recessive genes specified here matched the test results displayed on screen in every respect. Except for some items that weren't there—recessive genes of three black stars and above.

  Bloodline Deduction can detect genetic diseases that current technology can't find. That's why Ryse and Gretel's test results have no problems.

  "Doctor, do you know about Bloodline Inheritance Failure?" Jinyo asked the experienced physician.

  "Bloodline Inheritance Failure? I know it. It's a condition where genetic characteristics can't be inherited from parents. Gene structure will collapse and mutate negatively. Just hearing about it is frightening. No different from nuclear radiation exposure." The doctor sat with arms crossed. He hadn't heard a patient ask about this abnormal condition in a long time. Because it wasn't a widely known disease. Only people in academic circles would have heard of it.

  "Is it possible that my children could have this condition?"

  "Absolutely impossible." The doctor answered immediately without wasting even a second thinking.

  "Why is it impossible?"

  "Because children with that condition would die while still in the womb or die after birth. If unluckier than that, they'd be disabled with short lifespans. Ryse and Gretel have very strong genetic structures. There's no way they fit Bloodline Inheritance Failure."

  "Hypothetically speaking. If a patient with this condition lives normally but shows symptoms when grown, do you think it's possible?" Jinyo fired a question testing the other party's professional experience. The experienced physician furrowed his brow for a moment, turned back to the computer, typing something.

  "That's... actually, there's the latest new thesis from a professor abroad just published recently last month. About Reverse Bloodline Inheritance Failure theory."

  "Reverse Bloodline Inheritance Failure?" Even though Jinyo was in academic circles, he had never heard of this theory before. The doctor entered the computer to download the research paper from a professor named Dr. Geno, opening it for Jinyo to read.

  "If normal Bloodline Inheritance Failure is the inability to inherit genetic characteristics from parents, Reverse Bloodline Inheritance Failure is successfully inheriting genetic characteristics but gene structure will still collapse anyway. Not because inheritance failed but because too much was inherited?" Jinyo read and was amazed. He had truly never heard a theory like this before.

  "Yes. Genes inherited from parents have too much power for the body to keep up with. This research hasn't been publicly disclosed because evidence is still lacking. But the possibility is very high."

  "Not possible... it's already happening." Not just anyone but his own children.

  "Pardon?"

  "Excuse me, Doctor. Suppose if someone had Reverse Bloodline Inheritance Failure condition, how would it be treated?"

  "There's no way to treat it at all. It's completely impossible."

  "Why?"

  "We can edit genetics so the next generation doesn't get sick. But we can't change the genetics of people already born. Even if you transplant the brain to a new body, the brain is still the same brain. Unless you clone a new one, but that's not changing genetics, it's creating anew. Do you understand? There's no technology in this current era that can cure Bloodline Inheritance Failure."

  "..." Jinyo sat tapping his finger on the expensive white table surface. Lightning struck straight through his heart because it seemed he'd hit a dead end. Even if he said Ryse and Gretel had Bloodline Inheritance Failure, doctors would never believe him. Because health examination results came out that way. If Jinyo trusted mathematics and botany, doctors trusted medical knowledge and genetics principles even more. As long as Jinyo couldn't present evidence to counter, debate wouldn't be useful.

  What was called the system—Jinyo didn't plan to reveal it to anyone except his younger sister and Rina, his childhood friend. Because he couldn't trust outsiders. When he came to his senses again, Jinyo had picked up papers, stored them in a brown envelope, and walked out of the room with an expressionless face. He couldn't rely on current era technology at all. Current technology still couldn't even detect three black star recessive genes. But the system could detect up to five black stars maximum.

  Not completely without options yet. Just need to be patient and look to the future. Move forward firmly with the next step.

  Jinyo saw his son and daughter playing in the hospital ball pit with other children. Other children came with fathers and mothers or grandparents. There were several familiar faces Jinyo knew. He walked to stop in front of the ball pit silently, watching Gretel pick up a yellow ball and throw it at a child sitting on the slide. The ball hit the other side's head squarely. Followed by crying.

  "Gretel, don't throw at other people's faces." Jinyo shouted, teaching his son. But it seemed Gretel played deaf, not hearing his father's words even once.

  "Gretel, Brother Yo is talking to you."

  "Whatever. The one crying is wrong for being weak. If it were me, even if hit in the face with a hundred balls, I wouldn't cry. Just so you know." Gretel picked up several plastic balls into his arms. He gradually threw balls at other children. Almost every ball floated into faces.

  "Gretel, if you don't play nicely, I'll take you home."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Hmph!" Gretel made a sullen face, dropping all the balls in his arms onto the ball pit floor.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't teach my child well. I'm sorry." Jinyo raised his hands, squeezing between his eyebrows, running to apologize profusely to the other children's parents. Everyone seemed not to hold grudges or anger. Gretel was just a seven-year-old child—it was normal to be a bit mischievous and naughty, befitting a boy.

  Jinyo took Ryse and Gretel out of the hospital. Stopped by the shopping district. Bought school uniforms and school supplies. Red bag, pencil box, eraser, compass. Finally ended at a bookstore. Gretel's eyes lit up upon entering and seeing thousands of books lined up. He ran into the comic book section immediately.

  "Ryse, aren't you interested in books?"

  "I want a coloring book."

  "When you've chosen, come find me. I'll buy it myself."

  "Is that okay?"

  "Of course. No matter how down and out I am, I'm not so broke I can't buy a few coloring books and books for my daughter. You can buy many. Making up for the part where I never gave Ryse any gifts."

  "Ah, mm. Thank you. I love Brother Yo the most." Ryse smiled sweetly. She ran in to grab coloring books from the shelf into the basket. She swept up a lot—not just two or three books, but threw in twenty to thirty books. Oh, God help us. The more coloring books, the more Jinyo's heart rang like a bell.

  Oh no. His wallet's health was entering crisis mode!

  Thinking positively, how much could one coloring book cost? Jinyo walked to one corner of the store. Besides sections for knowledge books, history books, science books, social science and psychology books, there was one corner that compiled especially expensive good books—the martial arts, magic, and secret technique books section.

  Eye of the Sage

  Jinyo changed his eyes to blue. He couldn't believe he could see technique names, training difficulty, compatibility, strengths and weaknesses of techniques without even opening a single page. Jinyo still didn't understand the content because he hadn't opened to read the manuals. But just this much could already tell which techniques were what grade, whether they were worth the money to spend.

  Martial arts and magic technique book prices were hundreds of times more expensive than ordinary books. It would save Jinyo a lot of expenses if he wanted to choose technique manuals. He had just regained the ability to use planar again. Even if unrelated to techniques currently used, having more books for reference should be good.

  Knowledge techniques about martial arts and magic were printed with special ink that couldn't be scanned. Couldn't be found on the internet. Or if someone extracted every sentence to post, they'd be shot by the government or have police knocking on their door. The crime of disseminating knowledge without permission could even result in death penalty. In a world where training mistakes could cause someone's death, copyright laws regarding technique manuals were especially severe.

  Jinyo chose one book that was quite expensive but also the cheapest at the best value price. The power of Eye of the Sage was truly useful. Just as he was heading to the counter to pay...

  "Brother Yo, I want this." Gretel ran in, tugging Jinyo's arm to one corner. The boy pointed to a pile of books tied with paper rope. Written in large numbers with dark blue magic marker: Path of the Sword God. Volumes 1-20 complete. Price 3600!

  The real price was 5200 but reduced to 3600 because it was a promotional price.

  "Brother Yo, I want this."

  "Why not... buy one volume at a time?"

  "If I buy one at a time, it's 5200. If I buy all volumes complete, no need to waste time waiting. No need to buy gradually. I can read all volumes for 3600. Is it worth it? Very worth it!"

  "Can we read such thick novels? No illustrations. Only text."

  "I like reading novels. What are you going to do? Buy or not buy?" Gretel sent a pressing gaze for Jinyo to decide.

  Sigh! My son is expecting something from me. Enormous pressure pressed down on Jinyo until he couldn't budge. The son who looked at his real father like air. Finally gave him a chance to prove himself. What a heavy, truly life-threatening test. But it was his wallet's life.

  Jinyo picked up his wallet and opened it. Looking at the few remaining gray and purple banknotes.

  Don't, comrade. The wallet's voice ran directly into Jinyo's head.

  It's too late already, comrade. I can't turn back. Jinyo gritted his teeth.

  What will you do about end-of-month expenses? Water bills, electricity, internet, food. Still no job. You'll die.

  I'm sorry. Forgive me! Jinyo grabbed the basket packed with more than thirty coloring books. The book set priced at 3600. As for the martial arts manual? It returned to where it belonged. Empty eyes looked at the hollow wallet. The life monitor's beeping echoed in his head.

  His wallet didn't just enter the ICU—it had already departed for the afterlife.

  "Goodbye. I'll resurrect you myself next month."

  "Yay! My books! So many books!" Gretel looked at the large pile of more than twenty books. The young boy's heart swelled like getting an expensive toy. If it were Mother Rina, she definitely wouldn't agree to buy it. Gretel already knew that Jinyo would have to agree to buy it no matter how much he had to force the money from his wallet. That was because if the children accepted him as their father... Gretel was exploiting this point.

  But it wasn't that simple.

  Gretel didn't know that the man before him wasn't a pig waiting to be slaughtered.

  "My books? What are you saying is yours?"

  "!?"

  "These... are my books!"

  "What!?"

  "These are books I bought for myself. Not Gretel's."

  "You said you'd buy them for me! Brother Yo, you liar. I'll tell Mother."

  "Liar? Where did I lie? No, I bought them for Gretel, that's right. But these books are mine."

  "Sneaky person! Forked tongue! If you bought them for me, they should be mine."

  "Heh heh heh. Spend a big chunk of money 3600 but not have to exchange anything? How could such a good thing exist! I'll give Gretel one book per week. When you finish reading, come ask me for the next one. If Gretel doesn't obey me, I won't give you the next volume. Even if you throw a tantrum, I don't care, and I won't buy new books until you've read all volumes. But if you agree to call me Father instead of Brother Yo, I'll give you all 20 books. How about it?"

  "Ah... ah... you!" Devil! Trickster! Gretel's face turned red with anger. He turned his face away because he'd already lost his stance to the man who was his father. He looked at Ryse who got thirty coloring books without having to exchange anything. His heart burned like freshly baked bread from the oven.

  "Cheater."

  Before going home, Jinyo stopped by a dealer shop that bought and sold parts or raw materials related to hunters. Cash of fifteen million had already been transferred into Jinyo's account. He dressed formally, walking into a shop that looked old but not dilapidated. When job hunting the other day, he happened to see this shop and became interested.

  Raw materials for mixing Earth-Dwelling Divine Fertilizer required about three million. What was truly expensive were the raw materials, sacrificial offerings needed for performing the ritual called [Ritual Worship of the Mother of Spirits] written in the God of Agriculture Manual. Summoning the spirit's soul to incarnate on the land. Having the spirit help protect and care for wondrous flora to thrive and flourish.

  The ritual only needed to be performed once. But required more than ten million.

  Consisting of furnishings used as the ritual altar. Sacrificial offerings like rare monster meat. Rare miraculous medicine of pure concentration. Magic fruits and five types of sweets that must have special properties. Lamp oil from high-level monster fat. Everything was exotic items requiring money poured into a black hole to obtain.

  Jinyo signed a purchase contract. He transferred a partial deposit and would transfer the remaining money only when goods were delivered to Jinyo's home.

  The sun had passed the horizon and darkness covered everything. Ryse hummed pleasant songs throughout the journey. For her, besides getting blood drawn with a pretty nurse sister, everything was memorable. Gretel didn't say anything but he was very relaxed. Could observe that affection points didn't decrease and increased slightly.

  Everything went well until the engine gradually lost power on its own. No matter how much Jinyo twisted, there was no force from the engine. He was confident he'd filled the tank yesterday. The sidecar motorcycle stopped completely still by the roadside. A desolate spot where people didn't pass easily. No traffic lights or public streetlights. Only small lights that villagers collected money to install.

  "This is bad. Breaking down right here. If I don't call a mechanic to fix it, it probably won't work." Jinyo wasn't an expert. He tried starting it but to no avail. Pushing the three-wheeled sidecar home wasn't feasible either. Both dark and desolate without lights. Plus the distance was almost ten kilometers.

  [Gretel Erindel, your son, feels pity toward you. Affection -5.]

  What did I do wrong! Jinyo wanted to desperately ask. He himself didn't want bad luck like this. The impression from taking them out was completely negated back to the original. Jinyo was picking up his phone to call the nearest mechanic.

  The sound of several motorcycle engines came from behind. As a local, it was very rare for several vehicles to pass this route together at night. If not a local street racing gang, there were only a few other possibilities left. Jinyo looked at those people wearing helmets. In their hands, they each held a sword.

  Jinyo prayed they would pass by without paying attention to them. But all vehicles stopped, surrounding the three-wheeled sidecar with Jinyo and the children sitting.

  Gretel's small body trembled when he smelled... the scent of planar emanating from everyone. They were different from Jinyo who had almost no planar. People who had trained until proficient in using planar. If they attacked, there was no way the weak, defenseless father could protect him and Ryse from these fierce men.

  "No. We need to run now." Ryse's legs wouldn't budge as she thought. Her brain processed cause and effect but her body wouldn't follow commands. Fear and nervousness made her think of Mama. Think of the soft embrace, the floral scent, and the small but stronger-than-men back.

  When the little girl was weak, a small body hugged her from behind.

  "It's okay. I'll protect Ryse myself."

  "..." Jinyo picked up the wooden sword that was lying down into his hand. Suddenly, his emerald green eyes became strangely calm and still. The aura Ryse sensed from her blood-related father changed like flipping a switch. He jumped down from the sidecar, sweeping his gaze across the fierce men drawing swords from sheaths one by one.

  They probably didn't know what drawing swords in front of Jinyo meant.

  But it was okay. Because soon they would find out.