CHAPTER 62
THE OTHERWORLDER
Hans sat in the lecture hall, anxiously awaiting Aredhel's request for a progress report. But as the lecture came to a close, he realized that nothing of the sort would be happening. Seeing no one asking him anything, he quickly fled to Agriland - a place where he could bask in the warm sunshine, possibly sleep and escape the biting chill of winter.
With only one lecture in the morning, Hans was free to spend the day however he pleased. Instead of practising, he allowed himself the luxury of sleep, skipping lunch and indulging in hours of peaceful slumber. When he awoke, he felt a sense of calm wash over him - a feeling that he could only attribute to the tranquil atmosphere of Agriland.
As the day wore on, Hans's thoughts turned to his next challenge: mastering the art of Mana discharge. He knew that the answer lay within the sentient Book that was tied to his waistband. So before opening it, he prayed in front of the book, beseeching it to reveal Mana discharge method and opened it.
An awkward grin spread across his face as he laid eyes on the very first words of the page
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> MANA DISCHARGE....
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Hans shut the book in haste and looked at the blue artificial sky above, "Sentient artefact my Butt!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing in the plains. "You're watching me from above, aren't you, Samson?" But receiving no reply from the sky, Hans sighed and reopened the book, determined to confront whatever the so-called genius planned for him.
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> MANA DISCHARGE
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> It is a powerful technique that many mages use to push back their enemies. While it may not be as flashy as some other techniques, it is a reliable and effective method for controlling the flow of battle.
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> Other mages, use their mana heart to suck in a large amount of mana from nature and holding it in the mana heart until it can no longer be absorbed. When the mage let loose his control over the absorbed mana, it ejects itself in all directions like a rubber band snapping back to its original shape. This creates a blast radius that can harm both foes and allies alike. This is called the spring effect of mana.
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> While you may not be able to create the spring effect due to the lack of a mana heart, you can still achieve a similar effect through creativity and control over the surrounding mana
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> Mana discharge is a great mana technique to push back your enemies but it loses its power several times because it is focused on omnidirectional. We will focus on the direction of our desire.
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> To achieve this, you must create a spiral flow of mana that converges towards you, the center of the technique. As the concentration of mana around you increases, take a step forward in the direction you wish the blast to go. Remember you need to take a complete step not ta partial one. By focusing the technique in a particular direction, you can ensure that it packs a punch and hits your intended target.
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> In essence, that's the core of the technique. While I believe you're capable of achieving even more than what I've written, I must caution you to be careful when using it. Though it may not seem dangerous in the hands of others, there could be potential backlash for you specifically. Therefore, I urge you to keep my words in mind and exercise caution when utilising this technique.
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The words on the page seemed simple enough, and Hans believed he could master the technique after just a few attempts. Little did he know, he couldn't have been more wrong. As he successfully created a spiralling flow of mana into himself, he quickly realized the weight of the dense mana made even breathing a challenge, let alone taking a single step.
It felt as though his body would be torn apart if he dared to move even a muscle. Though he managed to succeed in the first step of mana discharge but couldn't complete the step because his other leg couldn't follow the first one. He had to relinquish the collected mana every time when that happened due to the exponential increase in weight as the mana concentration rose.
Despite dedicating an entire day to practising, failure was the only result that greeted him. Exhausted and disheartened, he returned to his dormitory and slept for several hours after a light dinner. His same schedule continued for days with the same result, not even improving a bit.
When the weekend arrived, Hans fabricated an excuse to visit his sister, Vanessa, leaving him free to search for Sierra. Though he missed her company, his true motive for seeking her out was to get help in Mana Discharge and another one was to inquire about Aredhel's exile, a matter that had been weighing heavily on his mind for the past few days.
Hans found himself sitting in the private quarters of the Deans, surrounded by the comforting embrace of Sierra and the nitpicking of Rudolf about his childish habits filled the room with idle chatter. the atmosphere he missed dearly was right beside him. As they chatted idly about his life at the academy, Hans couldn't help but feel a sense of unease brewing inside him. He knew what he wanted to ask, but he didn't know how to broach the topic.
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Just when he thought he might never get the chance to bring it up, Sierra spoke up.
"Anything interesting happen to you, my child?" she asked, her eyes twinkling, filled with a desire to connect with him.
Hans seized the moment and blurted out his question.
Do you know why Professor Aredhel was exiled?
Before Sierra could answer, Rudolf interjected with his usual crankiness.
"Because Elves went bananas on a daily basis," he muttered, shaking his head in disapproval.
But Hans was undeterred. He fixed his gaze on Sierra with a determined look in his eyes.
"Please tell me," he pleaded.
Sierra nodded, she could not disapprove of Hans's puppy eyes,
"It will be a long story," she said.
Hans grinned, saying,
I have plenty of time today.
Sierra hesitated for a moment, knowing that the story she was about to tell was a long and complicated one. But she saw the earnestness in Hans's eyes, and she knew that he wouldn't let it go until he had heard the whole thing. So she took a deep breath and began.
Listen closely, my dear Hans. In the past, when the red demons invaded Genas and wrought destruction upon our land, they were not the only beings to cross over into our world. There was another world, the name of which I cannot recall, that was attacked and completely destroyed by these invaders. However, one person from that world managed to survive and find his way to our land.
This individual played a crucial role in helping us during the invasion and we hailed him as a war hero and saviour. But for Aredhel, he was much more than that. They had fallen in love and promised to spend their lives together. However, fate had other plans for them, as you can't see him with us.
Hans cut in with a confused expression on his face,
So let me get this straight, Delimira is the child of that man from another world who saved us from the red demons, but the Elves didn't approve of him because he wasn't of their high lineage?
Sierra nodded, surprised to see how fast Hans reached the answer
"Yes, that's right. usually, the higher order race like elves cannot birth a child with others but he was different from us since the beginning " She responded.
Hans furrowed his brow as he said,
But that's ridiculous! If he saved us and helped defeat the red demons, shouldn't they have been grateful?
Rudolf chimed in,
Well, you see, Elves have so much unnecessary pride. They place a lot of importance on their lineage and status. To them, it doesn't matter how much someone has done for the greater good, if they don't meet their standards, they won't be accepted.
Hans let out a sigh,
That's just stupid.
Rudolf shrugged,
I told you, Elves are nuts.
Hans couldn't help but agree with his grandpa. It seemed that sometimes even the most heroic deeds could be overshadowed by narrow-mindedness and prejudice.
Sierra finished her explanation with a thoughtful tone,
But there could be more to the story than what we know. Who knows what really happened to him, some say, elves conspired and killed him, and some even said that he is chained and imprisoned somewhere in Clandor. We can't be sure of the public knowledge.
Hans was sitting in Sierra's lap, listening intently. She turned him and asked,
You are asking me this because of your new friend?
Hans shook his head.
No, it's just been on my mind for a while.
Vanessa, who was preparing tea, chimed in,
Don't believe everything the elves say, little brother.
Hans smirked and retorted,
I don't trust humans either, sister.
So, you do remember my words?
Of course, you told me being sceptical will help me live longer.
Vanessa's smile grew wider as she listened to her brother's reply. Ever since she took on the task of teaching Hans, the elder couple had stepped back and allowed her to take charge completely. They were both proud of Vanessa's efforts to prepare Hans for whatever challenges lay ahead, but it was bittersweet to see him grow up so quickly and miss out on the carefree joys of childhood.
Rudolf wanted to test how much his child had grown away from his wings so he offered a friendly spar with him. Hans accepted readily. As he continued to spar with Rudolf, his physical strength and agility improved noticeably. In addition to his swordsmanship, he also showcased his mastery of new spells like SharpDeath, SugarDrain, and Ensnare. Although these spells proved to be ineffective against the veteran knight, they still managed to surprise the two ladies witnessing them.
Not one to waste time, Hans quickly sought the advice of his trusted family members on how to improve his mana discharge skills. Despite the wealth of knowledge and experience possessed by Sierra, a world mage of eight circles, and Rudolf, a grade 90+ warlord knight, they were unable to provide him with any tangible solutions.
But Since Hans was under the vigilance of his trusted family, he wanted to push himself further. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, moving the surrounding mana into a dense spiral that created an intense pressure that both Sierra's ManaVision and Rudolf's ManaSense could perceive.
As the dense mana continued to swirl around Hans, he could feel the weight and pressure building up on his body, threatening to tear him apart. With a deep breath, he completed a single step in a direction away from his family and let the mana loose, unleashing a powerful blast of energy propagating in that direction.
The sound was deafening as the mana spiralled out of control, ravaging everything in its path in their backyard. The intense display of power was enough to draw the attention of many onlookers to the Dean's quarters.
The aftermath of Hans's attack left him feeling both exhilarated and in pain. He couldn't help but admire the damage he had caused, imagining his enemies writhing in agony under his spell. But the pain of his torn muscles and damaged skin reminded him that he had pushed himself too far.
He shouted, to his coolest yet deadly spell in work,
Sweet…
He staggered and collapsed onto the ground, his body giving out from the strain. Sierra rushed to his side, using her healing spell,
~ God’s Grace ~
Slowly restoring his body to its former state. The spell had worked its magic on Vanessa before, and now it did the same for Hans.
As the night crept in, Hans lay in deep slumber, his body slowly regaining its strength under the watchful eyes of Sierra in the Dean's quarters. She knew Hans was reckless, but this time, his carelessness had pushed her to the brink of anger. How could he not prioritize his own safety? She sighed heavily, casting a healing spell on the boy whose face was contorted in pain. Despite the healing, Hans remained unconscious, his body exhausted from the ordeal.
Vanessa had to inform the dorms about Hans staying out for the night. The dorms were not strict for those related to the staff members so it was easy to convince the authorities, especially when Sierra's name was used in things.
The following morning, Hans woke up excitedly, only to find Sierra's angry gaze fixed on him. It was unusual for her to be this mad. She demanded in a stern voice, "Is this also written in your book?"
Hans felt a lump form in his throat, but he involuntarily nodded, feeling relieved to find the book still attached to his waistband. In a bid to make Sierra relax, he added a little white lie, "It was written that when I use the mana discharge, I must use it in your presence."
"So you also learned lying from that damned book, too," She asked pulling his ears.
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