The family was almost done with breakfast and so Mateo decided to drop the last piece of information he was withholding as subtly as he could, "Oh yeah, one more thing, I completed the mission and survived 24 hours in the DEAD-ZONE, no biggie."
After dropping such a bomb, Mateo new he had to run out of the room in order to escape a very long and tiring question and answer session, and his plan would have been successful had it not been for his parents.
The divine slipper of his Latina mother found its mark on his back, knocking a little air out of him before falling down harmlessly on the tiled floor. His mother's attack was followed up by his father, who pushed him aside with the full force of his sprint, which was fast enough to fool people into thinking he could teleport.
Getting roughed up by his parents' joint attacks was a normal thing for the siblings which was evident by the lack of surprise on their faces, though the faint smirks showed that it was always a joy to watch, obviously not to receive.
Being picked up and dropped on the wooden table like a sack of potatoes completed Mateo's short but painful experience and after gaining his bearings he sat upright, defeated and a little wiser.
After panting to catch his breath Mateo continued with what he was saying. "As I was saying earlier, I completed the mission and survived 24 hours in the DEAD-ZONE, and while I'd like to credit the achievement to my wisdom and awesomeness, a lot of factors came into play, making me the first to do so. For example, in this calling, there is a 30 second window where anything you touch gets sent to the DEAD-ZONE with you and I just happened to be around old Basto and so I touched it."
"You lucky brat, you managed to send the most powerful tank to that hellhole, no wonder you survived. I'm sure you hid inside the whole time but you better hope it's sitting down safely in the underground bunker without so much as a scratch or else..." thundered Julian with a hand over his chest in an attempt to slow down his overworked heart.
"Wait you think I hid like a coward, no way. I was also able to send the guns in the tank and about a dozen grenades. But that's not even the best part."
"Yo- you sent some of humanity's best weapons with the exception of nuclear missiles and you still have the audacity to say that wasn't the best. Boy, you're making this old colonel age faster."
"No, what I meant was that in this calling, we have access to the universal store, meaning that the coins gotten from killing zombies can be used at that moment. But be warned, the items are expensive as hell. It took me about 12 hours' worth of slaying to gather enough coins to buy just two items."
"Well, what and what did you buy?" inquired Ayleen who had just recovered from her shock induced space out.
"I bought this cool looking ring with its uses unknown to me so far, other than sucking zombie blood in a disgustingly terrifying way. The second item I bought is a low grade basic elemental potion for a 1000 coins. The potion took about 90% of my earnings but for me it was all worth it, after all I can now use the earth element and make a boulder." Mateo said, flaunting his ring first, and creating a boulder next.
Try as he might, the boulder he had envisioned never formed although the plasma mana wave was seen floating. After his mana reserve emptied out, a pebble sized piece of rock was seen floating where the mana was earlier which shocked everyone, even his always stoic older brother Wilson.
After recovering from his short lapse in emotion, the ever-stoic Wilson asked a question no one had even thought of, "We all saw that the mana was picking up sand particles from the ground to form the pebble right. So, does it mean that it would eventually be absorbed back into the earth? And what will happen if you use the skill in a place without earth, for example in the middle of the ocean?"
Everyone turned to Mateo, believing that since it was his spell, he would know more about it.
With a sheepish smile and a scratch on his scalp, Mateo shrugged displaying his clear lack of answers for the important question asked. To draw their attention away from his glaring lack of knowledge, Mateo decided to tell them about another one of his benefits, "Being the first to complete the mission, I naturally got many benefits, among which is my very own dungeon."
"Wipe that grin of your face you nasty sadist. I never new you were the type to enjoy torturing people. What type of son have I raised." cried out the kind-hearted Maria, mother of the Smith household.
"What, ew – no, you don't understand. In the novels I read, the ones you discourage by the way, a dungeon is like a separate pocket of space where different beasts or monsters are located. Killing the monsters gives you experience points which you can use to level up and become stronger." quickly explained Mateo in an attempt to keep his good name from being sullied.
"Oh, well that is a relief. I didn't want to have to kick you out of the house just yet. But still, do you have to kill those poor animals. I mean, if you would eat them, I could live with it, but killing just for strength sounds cruel."
The casual revelation of how he was almost made homeless caused Mateo's forehead to be drenched with cold sweat, because no matter how kind and meek his mother might appear, once she made a decision, it was final, and no amount of begging or coercing would change it. Just before Mateo could think of an explanation, his father Julian, brought up an idea which was well received by everyone.
With breakfast now over, the dining table was cleared, and the dishes were sent to the kitchen for the one responsible(Mateo), to do the needful, while the others dispersed into their respective rooms.