CHAPTER 141

  TO THE BIG LEAGUES

  As Dietrich and the rest of the world said: To rapidly increase aura grade was to push the body and mind past their limits—and nothing forced growth like fighting someone you couldn’t defeat.

  Hans, as Theodred, was constantly battling him day and night. The ancient man then taught him the way of the inheritor, perfecting his timeless strikes and solidifying his reputation as the phantom knight of the convention.

  Hans wasn’t there yet.

  “Remember, descendant. Being the Inheritor isn’t just about those timeless strikes. True power lies in the knowledge coursing through your veins. Focus on it and you might discover something I’ve overlooked.”

  “So you are not going to tell me how you know Solunox—”

  “That’s for you to find out.” Dietrich paused and gave a hint. “Let’s just say. I did him a huge favour.”

  “Now I’m more curious.”

  “Then find yourself. You might find the conditions to summon it. Solunox is the guardian of the spirit world—in other words—balance.”

  Hans knew he would not get much out of Dietrich when his tone shifted like that. He desired to know more. Solunox against a spirit-contracted elf would bring him surefire victory. It was his strongest card against them, but the spirit didn’t heed his call as he wished.

  “Then what about the constellation strikes—I can do Sirius but not Big Dipper.”

  “Ha! Not again, foolish descendant. I told you—I don’t have the knowledge of my descendants, only the ancestors. Those were created by your father—answers are within you. You just need to sit it out and focus.” Dietrich chuckled. However, considering your hyperactivity, that’s a difficult task for you, isn’t it?”

  “Probably.”

  When he defeated Martys, as both mage and knight, he’d felt the wall between himself and the next rank beginning to crumble. But when Homar shot him—he could feel, even if Solunox heeded his call and trapped a person of Homar’s calibre into the spirit world where he is law itself—Victory like the one over Martys wouldn’t come again so easily. Not at their level.

  The Book of Power was showing blank pages. No answer, no hint of what to do next. He could feel at this rate this will be his final stop in his journey to become a powerhouse.

  Feeling his inner thoughts, Dietrich threw him a bone.

  “Someone dear to me once stood on the opposite side. I was a threat to her. But she couldn’t bring herself to kill me. So she developed an aura skill—called it, Aura Blow—a non-lethal attack that strips a user’s aura, makes them vulnerable. Capturable. Alive.”

  Dietrich’s gaze burned deep into Hans.

  “When you reach grade seventy,” he said. “I’ll pass that to you.”

  That was the last thing Hans had heard from him.

  Remembering yesterday when he had that conversation with him, he stepped towards his final testament of his fourth-year life.

  He glanced back. The three waved him goodbye.

  It had started as revenge for Vanessa, his inheritance power kept pushing him toward—but by now, his disgust for Anfaleen had curdled into something far deeper. He hated cowards. Hated those who preyed on the one who couldn’t protect themselves. “Never strike the one who has no intentions of harming you. This is a line no one should cross.”

  Maybe it was the knight in him resurfacing—Aadya always said it was his true nature. A man who couldn’t bear to watch innocence suffer.

  He didn’t know what had brought it back. But his hatred for Anfaleen had reached its peak.

  He wanted him gone. On his knees. Begging for life. Zilong’s life, Vanessa’s shivering by just hearing his name.

  Revenge would not be the end. It was the stepping stone.

  “Your death will make the world more peaceful,” he reminded himself. “It will give those people a chance to hope again. And most importantly—it will make me very happy.”

  He paced toward the Space Door—the gateway set for the Concordia Node.

  His graduation test was the perfect cover.

  The war with Anfaleen would be his real exam.

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  His hardest battle yet.

  He had been preparing ever since he met Zilong—and the others. People with fire in their chests and nothing to burn it on. They had the motivation to bring down Anfaleen, but not the means.

  He was the means.

  And he was bringing a very dangerous army.

  Before becoming Theodred, he had thought of luring him out, but when he saw Eclipse approach him. He threw his plan under the carriage.

  A siege was coming.

  He saw familiar faces as he arrived. Many recognised him. He, in turn, remembered few. Some nodded, some offered greetings, a few even tried to forge friendships from the ashes of old acquaintance—but Hans knew better. It was all surface.

  He returned it with a businessman’s smile, professional and polite. The kind of smile that said, “ I see you, but I don't intend to remember you.”

  It didn’t take long for the others to begin arriving. His eyes scanned the crowd, searching for his friends. But instead, Vanir appeared.

  “Do you know where they are?” Hans asked, stepping closer.

  “They’ll probably enter through Clandor Node—”

  “They can do that?” Hans’s brow furrowed.

  “Yeah. Nearest node possible.” Vanir shrugged. “Don’t you know? The criteria’s the same for every node. Some reward you with artefacts and wealth—ours offers graduation and a chance at the higher academy, or referrals to the factions. I came for the Alchemy department, remember?”

  “Yeah. Then I nabbed you—I remember.”

  “Yes, boss,” Vanir said with a grin.

  Hans’s gaze shifted. His attention locked onto someone far behind Vanir. His tone turned cold.

  “What is she doing here?”

  “You told me to be nice to her—”

  “I told you to be nice, not to bring her everywhere.” Hans muttered.

  “That’s me being nice, boss.”

  Sighing, he thought to himself: It’s good Delimira and Chris aren’t here. I’d been thinking of ways to ditch them—but this spares me the trouble.

  He clung to that thought, convincing himself.

  “Good luck,” Allynna said quietly, eyes still fixed on the ground.

  “Hmm… thank you.” Hans replied, and without another word, stepped into the Space Door.

  Behind him, Vanir and Allynna stood stunned.

  “Did he eat something weird?” Vanir muttered, his voice low. “That was a death flag, boss.”

  More than thirty was recommended for red demon trials through apprenticeship and had come with their consent forms. Hans had those documents delivered to him two nights ago.

  With a buzz and the occasional prick in the head. He exited the space door; he had submitted his documents to the person collecting them.

  The Space Door was far away from the main destination.

  While he was busy looking here and there, the remaining students were making their nexus for trials.

  “Don’t you want that too?” The aide of Nodemaster appeared beside him.

  “Nah… you know I do crazy shit all the time—I don’t want their deaths on my conscience.”

  “You have a conscience?”

  “Sometimes.” Hans mused. They were having a conversation then his eyes were led to someone. “So, how’s Mr. eleventh rank faring these days?” Hans gestured with his eyes.

  “Zephyr? Cranky—well, he thought he’d enter the top tens, so don’t try to provoke him. He is not in his usual helping mood.”

  “Helping mood?” Hans chuckled inside. “I’m not seeing Nodemaster either? Is she not here—usually she’d come to pester me.”

  “Yeah. But Red demon raid is serious business. Half of you won’t return—she is making sure the intel received about the hunting ground is accurate.”

  Suddenly the barrier groaned above them—an invisible wall of light fracturing like glass under strain. Through the shimmer, the sky pulsed in feverish red.

  Kal craned his neck, eyes narrowing. “It’s cracking again.”

  “Isn’t that a bad thing?” Hans muttered.

  “The raid season always stirs the nodes. The hunt yields the sunstone, and those stones strengthen the barrier. That’s how the barrier mends itself, and that’s why all nodes offer ludicrous deals in bringing them more of them.”

  Kal explained.

  Hans paced beside him, his boots grinding against the glassy soil. “And if a node can’t gather enough of those stones?”

  Kal gave a short laugh, sharp as a blade tap. “Then they buy from their betters. A node that can’t sustain itself doesn’t deserve to hold one. It defines a nation’s power. Always has.”

  Hans’s mouth tightened. “Parv had a node once.”

  “Had,” Kal echoed, not unkindly.

  Hans’s gaze drifted upward again, tracing the trembling barrier. “After the Elven War, everyone wanted a piece of us. We signed Concordia’s treaty, handed our node to Clandor as war reparation—‘until Parv could build a barrier of god’s breath.’” He gave a dry, humourless chuckle.

  “Sad to be you,” Kal muttered, clapping him on the back and nudging him forward. “But we’ve a border to reach.”

  They passed through the Node City in silence. All was familiar to him except the people in the outskirts, looking at them with awe and worry. Some recognised them, while others guessed.

  “Is this normal?” He asked Kal, who was escorting him.

  “Yeah. They were the original residents of Star before Red demons occupied their lands. They hope to claim their long-lost lands—a young generation adding to the struggle strengthens their hope.”

  “Will it ever happen? The way I see it—it’s not.”

  “Why do you say that? Nodes are working together to contain the Red demons—”

  “Yeah. Contain. Kal. Not conquer.”

  His words cut deep to Kal’s consciousness. He too knew how the higher-ups were managing the Red demons, the only source of sunstones which could increase their power.

  Beyond its gates stretched the Deadlands—ashen, red, and hungry. The castle, a familiar sight, loomed on the border’s edge, its walls like old scars against the dying horizon.

  They moved, and the castle door swung open. Inside, the air changed. Familiar faces turned towards Hans—soldiers, artificers, old acquaintances from his volunteer days. Their nods carried warmth, even a tease. For a moment, he almost felt at home.

  And tomorrow was going to burn that comfort away.