I jerked awake in the morning from the sound of my phone's alarm ringing beside my bed.
I yawned and fiddled with my phone to turn off the alarm, right before my door was opened and my mother stormed into the room.
"Ah Qing! Wake up already or not?! So late already!"
I groaned, "It's barely ten, mom…"
"Sun already up! Hurry up and wake up!" She demanded, throwing open the curtains and letting out the blinding sunlight into the room.
I sighed and rolled out of my bed, picking up my shirt where I had left folded on the side table to put it on.
Moving outside to the living room, I found the rest of my family already gathered there and preparing for breakfast.
"Morning…" I yawned, rubbing my eyes sleepily and taking a seat at my usual spot at the table beside my sister, my body moving on autopilot to start spreading jam on a piece of bread.
My dad looked up from where he sat at the table, "Morning son. There's a letter for you this morning."
Huh… That's a surprise…
He slid over an envelope and I let my bread hang in my mouth to rip open the letter and read its contents.
'Congratulations Mister Lin, your application for your Vanguard rank evaluation has been approved. However, there are a few things we would still require some confirmation from you. You are hereby requested to report to the new branch within the Ministry of Anomaly Management at your soonest available convenience to have your details finalised at the Ministry.'
If you were just reading this without any context, it sure does seem like this was just an innocent looking letter about raising my Vanguard rank.
But since I already knew that I had awakened as a Mortal God, this was obviously a letter that Olivia had most likely sent to my home to let me know that she wanted to meet me today, especially when I never applied for a rank increase in the first place.
And since this arrived in such a short time frame, I believe this was delivered directly to my house instead of through the postal services as well.
Well… It has already been several days since I last met her so I guess I know what this is for…
I placed the letter aside and started to leave before my mother raised an eyebrow at me, "What does it say?"
"I just got a letter saying that I'm going to be promoted but I have to go and complete an interview with them first. I'll have to go and see what they want at the ministry later," I explained.
My sister immediately perked up, "Wah! Gor Gor getting promoted ah?! I didn't know Vanguards could get promoted!"
I raised an eyebrow, "Didn't I already tell you about the ranking system for Vanguards? We have different ranks according to how strong you are and you get paid differently for raids. Once we have reached a certain achievement threshold or obtained some kind of cheat ability or something, we can request our ranks to be evaluated again and they would test us to see if we deserve a rank increase. The rank starts at F and goes up to S rank. I'm currently a D Rank."
Nothing I have just said was a lie since what was happening with me was technically true. The only thing that they don't know about is that the promotion for me was that I was getting promoted from a D ranked Vanguard to a Mortal God.
And this excuse would also work since this 'promotion' would mean that I would be paid more and probably even be given more work which no doubt would be things that would be given to a Mortal God anyway.
My dad grinned, "That's nice. This means you are getting recognised by the government for your contributions, right?."
My sister also clapped, "Yay!! Gor Gor is getting promoted! That means you'll be earning more and can buy more pudding, right?"
Mother was obviously the only person who didn't see this as a good thing since she immediately pelted me with the usual questions again.
"Why you still doing such a dangerous job? Just go back Uni and study to become a real doctor, not do something useless like this."
"Mom… We already talked about this… This is something that needs to be done. If no one does this to clear out the rifts, monsters will appear and cross over to our World…" I grumbled.
"Just let other people do it, why does it have to be you?"
"Because I'm given these powers for a reason, Mom…"
She clucked her tongue at me but said nothing more, probably because she already knows that no matter what she says, I won't budge on this issue.
I quickly finished the rest of my breakfast and dressed myself to head out, but as I was changing my clothes, my sister peeked into my room with a grin on her face.
"Gor Gor~ Can I come with you?"
I didn't even turn back to face her as I dug through my closet for a new shirt, "For what? You don't have stuff to do today?"
"Bleh, it's a weekend~ And I'm just waiting for Uni to start now so I have nothing to do today~"
"What about your friends? Not playing basketball with them today?"
"They all busy today~ So I am yours for today, Gor Gor~"
I slipped on my shirt before giving her a pointed glance, "You want me to help you buy something, don't you? What is it?"
She stuck out her tongue cutely at me, "Ehe~ There's a new bag at--"
"No," I interrupted her immediately.
"Ehhhh! But I didn't even say what it is yet!!" She pouted at me.
I shoved her face away playfully, "Anything that isn't a need and just a want, buy it yourself."
"Not fair Gor Gor!! Come on! The bag is limited edition some more!!"
"No," I repeated, stepping out of my room.
She continued to whine and even latched onto my waist while begging me as I walked out to the living room, my dad already dressed for his work at his office as a data analyst.
"Going out already? Want me to drive you?" He asked, jingling his car keys.
I pulled my sister away from me, "Yes please. I'm heading to the MAM building."
I put on my shoes and was about to head out after my dad when my sister appeared before me with her arms outstretched and a pouty look on her face.
I sighed and stretched out my own arms as well, allowing her to hug me while I patted her head in return.
"Ehehehe~ You are so cool, Gor Gor~ Do your best!!"
"Mmm…"
I separated from her and went after my dad as my sister locked up the door behind us.
Climbing into the passenger seat of our beat up sedan, my dad pulled out of the parking lot and headed in the direction of the ministry building.
"You know… Even though I am proud that you are doing this to protect people…" Dad started, taking his time to speak as though he was considering his words. "Your mom is right, you know?"
I sighed, "Dad… Come on. We talked about this before."
"Yes, yes. You keep saying that you got those powers for a reason and you want to use it to protect people."
"Exactly. What else would my powers be used for? I can use this to fight so why shouldn't I fight?"
"Because your mom doesn't want to worry that she might lose a son at any time. What you are doing is something that can cause you to lose your life… Your mom would rather you do something safer than that. She wouldn't even complain if you just took a simple desk job at my company instead of doing whatever you are doing now."
"I know dad… But since I'm already doing it… I might as well just keep doing it."
"I know, I know… Just don't give Mom a hard time either, ok? She also cares about you and your sister a lot. This morning you said you are getting promoted right? That also means you are going to do more dangerous stuff right?"
I didn't answer him but my silence should tell him all he needed.
He continued, "That's why… I just want you to know that if things are too difficult or dangerous, just come back home safe, ok? You don't need to be a hero, just be alive and well, that is enough for your Mom and I. Ok?"
"I'll keep that in mind, dad."
"That's all I ask for."
He pulled the car into the drop off area of the ministry and I waved at him before stepping out of the car.
He took a moment to wave back before speeding off, leaving me staring up at the ministry building once again.
I wondered just how I would be able to find Olivia here but I guess I should just head inside and ask one of the staff or something…
I guess at this point, I've already accepted my role as a Mortal God.