CHAPTER 11
A TAILORED HOPE
The stars rarely showed in the deserted skies of the Ghost Isles and it was quite a sight to behold. But not today, instead of marvelling at the beauty, Hans was cursing his fate in silence. He was trying to create an aura once again but a loud voice downstairs pulled him out of his focus. He didn't have to ask who was making all these noises in the house regardless of the sleep of others. His current situation was quite troubling and the sound of knocking was putting stars on it. So he came down, wanting to reprimand the offender, but Sierra's worried gaze and call for a hug softened him.
He quietly asked Sierra.
does he not care about others' sleep? What is he even doing?
Sierra spoke up.
I'm not sure, but he is losing it.
Rudolph searched for a while, discovering the many things he had accumulated during his time in the Ghost Isles. He was unsure whether the object he was looking for was here or elsewhere. Meanwhile, Sierra's little joke amused Hans a little and distracted him from his monotonous state. She didn't want to give him any false hope, so she kept quiet. After throwing many things here and there, Rudolf burst into laughter and shouted.
I found it.
What? Sierra and Hans both asked at the same time.
Rudolf smirked and added,
"Limitless"
Hans glanced over and apathetically said.
So it's a book.
Hans was the kind of kid who used to jump with excitement at the sight of a new book, but this time he was doing the opposite. Seeing him down, Rudolf said the classic "Don't judge a book by its cover kid".
It was a book covered in tough leather for preservation and locked with various spells. Rudolf handed it to Sierra and asked her to unlock the book. Hans's disinterest towards the locked book was because even if that book carried the world's devasting spells, it was useless to him until he could form a mana heart. But that was impossible until his useless divine mana stops interfering with Wood mana.
Seeing him down again, Rudolf stroked Hans’s head and said,
I'm not bragging, but the author of that book was on a level where calling him a genius was an insult.
Hans understood who he was referring to, but this was not enough to make him feel good. He replied to his words in a sullen voice,
So what?
Rudolf replied to him,
Kid, you don't understand. We don't know how you came to be but you are probably one of his successful experiments.
Hans sarcastically replied,
How encouraging!
Just listen to me you brat, when he handed me the book he said, “I will need this so make sure you deliver this to me when I need it”. Maybe he was referring to you.
Hans's ears perked up at the mention of those words. He learned about a book called Mandate, which became the treasure of the Parv. And reading another book written by him seemed like a good way to distract himself from the gloom. So unknowingly, he was waiting for Sierra to unlock the book.
Rudolf kept stroking his beard and added,
I know for a fact; the book is for someone having a Wood mana property.
These words were music to Hans's ears in comparison to the series of the bad news he had heard since yesterday. He suddenly remembered, Rudolf calling the book "Limitless" and it sure was a tempting title.
Sierra was thinking the same thing, hoping the book would be of some help to their child. But there was nothing worse than having that last hope crushed. So he reminded the two men,
Sam wrote that book when he was 16, and you know how he was in his teenage years. Don't count chickens before they hatch.
Rudolf answered defending their hope,
That brat kept torturing my ears whenever he got the chance with his weird theories, so I don't think he would pull a big one on me like this. Probably? He clearly told me to hand this book over to him.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Rudolf lost some confidence because of her words and turned to Hans and said, "It's better than crying all night, isn't it?" Hans realized that his nocturnal events were not as hidden as he wanted.
As far as he understood, Samson was a man of intellect, his actions might be ambiguous, but this book would be worth reading at least once. He gathered his thoughts and looked at the troubled Sierra, struggling with the seals. Meanwhile, Rudolf was bolstering his and Hans’s confidence by telling him about the time when he wrote this book,
He was a sixteen-year-old boy, dreaming of mapping these lands. The thing that fascinated him most was the unique mana methods of beasts here. He tried to replicate their style and received a backlash that caused him to be unconscious for a week.
Rudolf continued after taking a small breath
After waking up, he told me of a way to get an infinite amount of mana. But your grandma beat him even harder when he reiterated his hypothesis.
He sneaked a glance at his wife and whispered in Hans's ears.
Because of his frantic experiments, he had several dates with death. And it was mostly from the backlashes or her beatings
Hans asked with an amazement
Granny could beat someone?
Rudolf whispered in his ears
Oh, you do not know how short-tempered she was then.
Hans smiled after a long time, which lighted up the dreary mood. The old man got happy to see him cheering up, so he finally glanced at the struggles of her wife. She was an excellent mage, and releasing some seals was like child's play to her, but these seals meant business.
Rudolf asked her in concern
Is there a seal that you can't handle, dear?
Sierra sighed and replied
No, but that brat had to turn the unsealing process into mana equations. Now at this age, I have to revise Mana Equations for teens.
Rudolf added to the conversation
I shouldn’t have bugged him with the book. I remember him threatening me about sealing the book in a way that I can’t open it.
His reminiscence got interrupted by Sierra's declarations of lifting the seal. Rudolf and Hans urged her to open the book. The first page of the book greeted them with only one sentence.
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> " Prove Your Worth "
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Hans did not pay attention to the words and turned the page or tried to do so, but all the pages seemed stuck together. He curiously turned to Sierra, suggesting that the seal was still there, but Sierra shook her head, saying that it was not the seal.
Rudolf was thinking back to the time Sam wrote this and trying to jog his memory to see if he missed anything. He remembered something and said.
Sam was into blood seals then.
He took hold of Hans's right hand and pricked his index finger. The boy cried, but he paid no heed to them and placed his blood-stained finger on the front page. The page absorbed the blood and after a moment the words written and the bloodstains disappeared.
Rudolf was startled and took the book from Hans's hands and put it on the table. He was turning the pages quickly like a madman but the book was empty till the end. He looked apologetically at Hans but the boy couldn't understand why his old man was doing this, so he asked him.
What are you doing?
Rudolf scratched the back of his head and replied to him anxiously,
It looks like Sam played a prank on us, squeaky; it's all empty.
Hans asked them in surprise.
What are you talking about? Can't you see things written in it?
His words led Sierra’s eyes to the book but even with various spells she also saw nothing. She turned to Hans and asked him,
What is written in it?
Hans started reading the freshly appeared text that only he seemed to see
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> To the reader, whoever you may, I don't know how you unlocked this but you should return it to me. The only way you could get anything from this book is to have wood mana, and this is nearly impossible.
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Hans felt like he had become the hero of the stories he read with Sierra. Wood Mana and Blood Seal were making this book a specific item for him. with the feeling of the chosen he continued his reading.
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> but, if you are who I think, you were not able to make a mana heart or create an aura because of divine mana in you, and now you are wondering how do I know it.
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Hans was reading it aloud and suddenly stopped after these words. He looked up at the elders, who were staring right back at him. The words were right. Hans was thinking how in the god's name Samson knew it. The elders urged him to read ahead.
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> I wrote this book for you, Hans…
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Hans stopped one more time, and the book fell from his grasp. He hurriedly picked it up again, dusting it off. The words made Rudolf burst into laughter and he said,
See, I told you; he wrote this for the brat,
Hans asked him, feeling surprised.
How…I mean, he even knew my name.
Sierra said,
The person who brought you to us said your name was Hans, so we left it that way.
Rudolf added his words in a prideful voice,
The more you try to understand Sam, the more you will get confused.
Hans read the next sentence.
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> You must have been shocked and wondering about me, right? You were born not as an experiment, but a failsafe in case I perish before my time. This is a guide I prepared for you in that situation. So sadly, if you are reading this, then I am not in this world. I am just wondering which bastard bested me.
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