All over California, there are plenty of families known for cultivating psychic powers, and the Blackwood family is definitely top-tier.
But Ethan doesn't know much about the Blackwood; ever since he was born, for reasons unknown—maybe because of his lackluster talents or his missing parents' rocky relationship with the family—he's been living at Psychic Gear, raised by Lisa.
He's seen folks from Blackwood fewer tis than he's hung out with the uncles and aunties at Psychic Gear.
As a direct descendant of his family, even though he didn't grow up with them, he still gets a decent allowance every month for his expenses, all thanks to his parents' significant contributions to the Blackwood.
As long as the Blackwood na lives on, his lineage will always be well taken care of.
So, Ethan's not sweating the small stuff when it cos to life.
Back in his room, Ethan plops down in front of his computer, zoning out for a good while.
"Guess this life's all about chilling," he mutters to himself with a chuckle as he boots up his computer.
This kind of life, living off his parents' legacy, is exactly what he's always wanted—no worries about food or clothes. He's happy with his life, you know? knowing that as long as he doesn't ss up, his life is pretty enviable.
Ethan even has a laid-back, carefree future all planned out.
"Although..."
Ethan pauses, thinking about those powerful psychics in the world who lead epic lives, seeing vast new worlds among the stars, while he's stuck at Psychic Gear for life.
"Dude, I need to chill. This life's already pretty sweet."
Ethan scoffs at himself, but by now, his computer is up and running. Even though this world is all about cultivating psychic powers, there are still gas around, a perfect pasti for a laid-back guy like him.
Mostly, it's VR gas that also help train psychic reaction speeds—a kind of alternative education.
But Ethan prefers the old-school gas from his past life, like the one he's playing now with an actual mouse, an antique by today's standards. After all, modern VR gas are mostly about fighting and killing, and that gets old fast.
He fires up an ancient ga that Lisa had managed to dig up from an antique market, copied from a millennium-old computer, just as ancient as his.
Looking left and right, Ethan hesitates to click on any ga; he's pretty much played them all to death.
Thinking it over, Ethan opens a folder to see if there's anything new forgotten in there.
Just as he's searching, a ga file catches his eye!
Ethan, always up for so new kicks, fired up a ga called "Cultivating Psychic Powers Family Simulator." Was it so kind of managent ga? He was about to find out.
The screen loaded in a flash, revealing an old-school art style that would've been considered retro even in Ethan's past life. A landscape painting slowly materialized into view, showing a small cabin.
A young man was setting up a morial cards and burning incense in front of a bronze furnace.
[Today, your only descendant left in the world is paying tribute to you. As a slave without even a last na, he heard that kneeling before the Forebearer could bring blessings.]
[Please establish a surna for this family, which might rise to prominence or fade into obscurity.]
[___ Family]
"Pfft," Ethan, sipping on his Coke, nearly spit it out. Was the ga starting off this tragic? Just one person in the whole family registry?
Still, he went along with the ga's prompt and typed in "Blackwood."
After entering the surna, the ga's interface began to change, though it remained straightforward.
Ethan glanced around and noticed a "Ti Rate" slider on the left, set to 1 hour/year—real ti.
"Is there no pause button?"
It seed that only during Ancestral Communion or special events would the ga pause, automatically resuming after 5 minutes.
And right now, it was the first Ancestral Communion.
It seed like a tutorial, as the Blackwood na magically appeared on the morial cards.
The sole descendant of Blackwood saw the change and a ssage appeared above his head.
"The Forebearer has manifested! My surna is Blackwood, haha!"
Watching the descendant's ecstatic reaction, Ethan didn't know whether to laugh or feel moved, as he couldn't really empathize with a ga NPC.
anwhile, on the right side of the screen, a large black interface popped up with a ssage.
[Your descendant feels your presence and is overjoyed. He has nad himself Nathan Blackwood.]
[Spiritual Tribute 1]
And in the family tree section...
Ethan even saw a genealogy...
[First Generation: Nathan]
He could even check Nathan's personal info—yep, totally ordinary.
"So, 'Cultivating Psychic Powers Family Simulator' ans I just watch the family grow?"
Ethan was still puzzled by the ga.
[Your descendant is participating in Ancestral Communion, a major tribute every ten years.]
[Tribute Offering: A pile of burnt paper ashes]
[Retrieve it?]
"What do I need this stuff for?"
Though he didn't see an inventory, Ethan clicked 'no.'
[You have canceled the Tribute Offering.]
A gust of wind blew across the screen, scattering the ashes.
But Blackwood's sole descendant panicked.
"Forebearer, calm your anger, your unworthy descendant failed to present a pleasing Tribute Offering!"
[Do you intend to Divine Gift your descendant during this Ancestral Communion?]
Staring at the screen, Ethan froze, his Coke can suspended mid-air, his hand trembling slightly, his eyes widening, his mouth agape.
Not because of the ga screen, but...
A Mystic Burner, which shouldn't exist, appeared right next to his cluttered desktop computer.
Ethan could even sll the scent of burnt paper that had just been on the Mystic Burner!
This Mystic Burner was identical to the one he had just seen on the ga's altar.
"Man, what the heck??"
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