System's POV

Chapter 317 Project Athena

"Finally, it's done," Thirteen muttered as he looked at the nearly transparent Dragon Scale in front of him.

He had just finished imbuing it with Rune Magic, and with that, all his hard work over the past three years was finally over.

The teenage boy hummed a tune as he placed it inside a container.

Once he was sure that the dozen Dragon Scales he had modified were secured in place, he started to inflate the special balloon, which he had prepared beforehand, until it was ready to go.

As the balloon rose toward the sky, the sun peeked over the horizon and bathed the world in the light of a new day.

Thirteen watched as the balloon's silhouette turned smaller and smaller until it was only a dot in the sky. Soon, this dot also vanished, making him sigh in relief.

Tiona, who was coiled around his neck, nudged his cheek as if congratulating him for a job well done.

Ever since he returned to Pangea, Thirteen spent three years solidifying his foundations in preparation for the future.

Due to his parents' intervention, the Central Government agreed to call him into service only after he reached the age of thirteen.

As someone who had "accidentally" stumbled into Solterra when he was only seven years old, the young man decided to agree to his family's request of not doing anything dangerous for three years.

But, now that he was officially thirteen years old, it was time for him to take over his position as the Head of the 69th Battalion of the Central Government.

He only had four days left before he was required to punctually report to his post, and frankly, he was happy that he finished all of his preparations before then.

Just as he was planning to take a break and have a simple breakfast, he heard a cute, familiar voice from behind him.

"Bwadder!"

With tottering steps, a three-year-old girl with short blonde hair and green eyes walked in his direction. Her arms were spread wide as if wishing to be picked up by her beloved brother.

Behind her, Boo and Albion followed closely, making sure to help her just in case she tripped and fell over, which was something they didn't want to happen.

"Good morning, Rhia," Thirteen said with a smile before picking up the adorable girl and kissing her left cheek. "You woke up early today. You're a good girl!"

"Good girl!" Rhia giggled before hugging Thirteen's neck and resting her head on his shoulder.

Tiona had moved away to make the baby girl's sleep more comfortable, which had become a common occurrence.

For some reason, Rhia liked to sleep while being held by someone. It didn't really matter if it was her father, mother, brothers, or sisters.

She always wanted to sleep with her family members, so Remi made it a point to always sleep with her at night.

"Good morning, Brother," Remi greeted Thirteen, who had just entered the living room with the sleeping Rhia in his arms.

"Good morning, Remi," Thirteen replied.

The little girl who followed him everywhere when she was still two-years-old was now an eight-year-old.

Perhaps, due to their family's background and Thirteen's teaching, Remi's intellect was quite advanced for her age.

In order to prepare her for her eventual departure to Solterra, he had bestowed upon her a Martial Skill after he returned to Pangea.

She was only five years old at the time.

The same age Zion had been when Thirteen woke up in a hospital bed after his battle with the System God.

At the tender age of eight, Remi's 'Nutcracker Kick' had become so powerful that even Rookies would feel their world shatter if her kick connected.

"Let's have breakfast first," Thirteen said. "Cristopher will pick us up in two hours."

Remi nodded her head in understanding and followed her brother to the dining room.

The smell of bacon and eggs greeted their noses as they arrived at the table.

Alessia, who had just finished cooking breakfast for her family, couldn't help but smile after seeing her son and two daughters enter the room together.

"The two of you eat first," Alessia took Rhia from Thirteen's hands and placed her on her custom chair, which was slightly higher than the others.

It didn't take her a lot of effort to wake Rhia up before she started feeding her with the cereal she liked to eat.

Right now, Mikhail and Shasha were in Solterra, so only the five of them were present at home.

Thirteen wasn't too worried about his siblings. He already gave each of them an additional Divine-Grade Martial Technique, which complemented the ones they already had.

Also, he believed that Laplace Demon and The One wouldn't give his brother and sister another set of impossible missions.

As long as they didn't face a level that was similar to Arundel and the Artemians, Thirteen was confident that both of them would return home safely.

"Zion, did you finish your preparations?" Gerald asked.

"Yes, Pops," Thirteen replied. "But it will take anywhere between half a year to a year before Athena is properly calibrated."

"I still don't know if this Project Athena of yours works, but will it really prevent anyone from messing with us once it is properly calibrated?' Gerald inquired.

"No comment," Thirteen answered with a devilish smile on his face.

Project Athena, or Athena for short, was a long-range weapon that Thirteen had created using the Dragon Scales of the Rank 9 Fire Dragon Sovereign.

This weapon was currently floating in space, and orbiting the world of Pangea.

The Dragon Scales, which Thirteen had just sent to space using a special balloon, was the last batch of Dragon Scales that would complete one of his strongest trump cards.

It didn't matter what his Rank was, how powerful his enemies were, or where they were located.

As long as they were within Pangea, he could activate Athena and give them a nasty surprise that would make them think twice before antagonizing him, his family, and the people under his wing.

After eating breakfast, Remi took Rhia to their room in order to take a bath.

Thirteen also went back to his room to take a shower and put on some fashionable clothes.

Today, he would be taking Remi and Rhia to the amusement park, just as he promised.

The two wished to spend some time with him, so he decided to take them somewhere fun.

Also, he would be reporting to the Central Government in a few days, so this was the only time he could spare for his two cute sisters, who were feeling excited about this trip that they were going to take together.

An hour later, Thirteen saw his two sisters walking down the stairs, wearing matching dresses.

Both of them looked so adorable that Gerald didn't hesitate to shower both of them with kisses, making the girls giggle.

Just then, the sound of a car horn reached their ears.

"Young Master, are you and the Young Misses ready to go?" Cristopher asked as he opened the door of the car with a smile.

"Yes, we are," Thirteen replied. "You're just in time, Cristopher."

Cristopher was now nineteen years old, but his body was still round, making Thirteen wonder if the training regimen that he was giving the teenage boy wasn't enough.

However, he set these thoughts aside for the time being and helped his sisters fasten their seatbelts in the car before waving goodbye to their parents.

Fluffy, Boo, and Albion also entered the back of the car because they would be joining their Masters on this trip to the amusement park.

After everyone was done bidding their goodbyes, Cristopher drove the car and headed for the newly opened Amusement Park that belonged to the Leventis Family.