Reincarnated Jester: Taming Players

Summoning persona energy, Jung held Nero's presence. Eventually, he touched it and pulled it to his heart. The cat pixelated and merged into him, falling asleep immediately after.

'I have two entities inside me, and both are asleep,' Jung mused as he ran.

Nero's company felt light. It was exactly like a system but in his heart. Carrying no heaviness brought liberation, like the first sip of fresh water at night.

Jung changed his current appearance and got back to his childlike face. 'Thank god the outfit is adjusting along with it. But wait, I shouldn't be thanking gods, one of them is my enemy.'

With thoughts all over the place, he remembered his bonus and opened his status window and inventory.

««Archetype System V2.0»»

«Rewards: Unknown; Unknown.

'Excuse me? What are those changes?' Not only was the alias Balatro added but there were also two new quests with unknown rewards. 'Who is this *(%#) god, and why on Maskera don't I know his blasted name?'

Jung may have behaved like he was constantly pissed off, but it wasn't even close to the truth. He sought to entertain himself. After leaving as a jester, he had trouble forgetting that archetype. Even he couldn't explain it, nothing like this had ever happened before.

As for his inventory, he found the bonus system told him about. 'What is this thing?' Taking it out, he read the description.

[Shadow Star]

-Crystal orb containing 0.001% of its original power with persona energy born from Shadow Star. When thrown, it unravels dark threads enveloping a 10-meter radius. Nero can leap through these threads.

'Sounds useful, but I need to see what can be done with it.' Jung considered a couple of scenarios, but decided to wait for another opportunity.

Finally, he left the deep forest and arrived at home. It was almost dark, players everywhere, but nobody paid attention to him. The loud noises filled the entire city and transformed it within hours.

'I am going to be fine.' Jung opened the front door and went in. 'Or not!' His prediction, or one might call it hope, was shattered instantly.

"Baki, our precious son, is back," said Lisa angrily. She tied her hair back, her hands ready for action.

Baki stood next to him. He wouldn't help him, he was another hurdle Jung had to overcome. "I can see him, dear," he stated, his hands itching to strike.

"Mom! And Dad, you too, stop it. I can explain, I promise." Jung tried to reason with his parents, but no one knew better than him how futile his attempt was.

"Really?" Lisa asked, but it wasn't a question. "Baki, you heard him as well, right?"

"Yes, but Jung, my child, does it look like we care about that?" Baki answered, adding another point.

Corresponding events contain graphic violence, and as a narrator, I don't want to describe it.

After what felt like a good three minutes, Jung came out alive. Barely!

His cheeks were swollen, and his eyes glowed with mist. They didn't actually beat him or anything. He got slapped more than once, yes, but nothing more, nothing less.

"Now you can talk, young man," Baki told him, leading him into the living room.

"You better watch your pouch, because it might evaporate like your stupid books." Jung snorted and called to Baki. Once he stole Baki's romance books, their condition was a mystery to this day.

"I see you need more beating."

Father wanted to charge at him, but Mother took matters into her own hands.

"Stop, you two, and sit down. Jung, it's time to explain yourself and get ready, because you are getting an earful from me." Lisa was a woman of her word, when she said something, she delivered. No exceptions!

'Where should I start?' the boy asked in his mind but found an almost perfect lie. "You guys saw those new people, right?" Self-justification started with a query and the issue the entire Inbox City faced.

"And? What are you trying to say?" asked Baki, his interest piqued. These new people were a wonder not only in their city but in the whole country. Players, that was what they called themselves.

With more than one case of their resurrection, people called them Immortals. Nothing was confirmed, but officials already started looking into it.

"I was late because of them." Jung continued and tried to lie through his teeth. "When I was fighting against Tier I monsters, they appeared, and I hid."

"Good j…" Baki's compliments stood cut short after he got a stern look from his wife. "He is lying?"

"How come you believe everything he says?" Lisa complained and scolded her husband. "Not only is he lying, but he is hiding something!"

"No, I am not!" Jung said in desperation to protect himself. He even cursed his inability to lie to her. Lisa was the only person across all the planets who could guess his mind.

"Yes, you are." She was confident, and there was a reason for that. "You are Tier II, aren't you?"

"How?" That was the only word Jung could utter. 'System, can other people tell as well?'

[No, I have built-in security about your status windows. Even gods can't bypass that.]

'But how come she is doing that?' he asked with no hope of an answer.

"Why are you hiding it?" Baki rebuked him but hugged him at the same time. He was truly happy for his child, even though there was a trace of sadness in his smile.

"I…" Of course, Jung knew what to say. But it was something he SHOULD NOT state. At least for now. 'Nero, I am sorry.' The first thing that popped up in his mind was his new companion.

"I have a cat," he declared with pride.