CHAPTER 80

TO THE DEAD GORGE

"Because I will teach you how you can get rid of that fatal weakness of yours. I don't want the only mage in our family to die miserably".

  Hans couldn't shake the words as they rang in his mind, he gazed at the imposing figure before him and thought, anything learning from this man was a boon in itself. Despite the man's caring demeanour, Hans had come to learn that nothing in this world came for free. Caution took hold and he found himself asking, "What do you want in return?"

"Do I have to get something in return for helping you out?" asked Dietrich, with a questioning gaze.

Hans didn't hesitate to reply,

"Everything comes with a cost, and there are no exceptions to this rule. sir chairman."

"But I don't have anything to ask for, foolish descendant," Dietrich replied nonchalantly.

Confused, Hans continued to ask,

"Then why? Why are you - "

"If we go into detail, I'm your great-great-great----grandfather, " Dietrich interrupted him, cutting off his words in the middle and explained, "It means I'm your family, and family helps each other without expecting anything in return."

  Hans was taken aback, meeting people in this world who always seemed to want something from him had left him feeling jaded, but this person was different. He felt genuine and the warmth in the man's eyes reminded him of Sierra, who had always looked out for him expecting nothing but for him to remain safe and sound. Overwhelmed, he closed his eyes and smiled.

"Then should I call you Great Grandfather?" he asked tentatively.

The man chuckled.

"You're quick to make connections, descendant,"

"it doesn't sound bad, right? We are family after all". Hans cheekily confirmed and Dietrich couldn't resist ruffling the boy's hair,

  Hans's willfulness shone through his smile as the warmth in his heart grew, but he couldn't forget what newly-discovered flaw his great-grandfather had told him and it was the core of his power. He had been slow to realize it but luckily a solution presented itself, and Hans asked for it, giving an anticipation look at his great grandfather.

"I can't discuss it with you now," Dietrich replied, picking Hans up. "You have hunting training to do tomorrow, right? When you come back next year, we can talk about it."

With a snap, they were in Hans's room. He looked around, surprised, and commented,

"Gramp's credibility is falling from new heights. There's a stranger in the house, and he's still sleeping like a log."

Gently placing Hans on his bed, Dietrich teased, "Do you think being an ancient is all about having an unending lifespan?" He answered his own question before Hans could respond. "We all have our own tricks up our sleeves, kid."

He went on to say, "While calling me 'Great Grandfather' is nice, you'd better be prepared to call me 'Teacher' the next time we meet. I'll teach you the true Imperial Sword Arts, not just the flashy techniques you've learned. This style has a unique step-skipping nature that only I know, and only an inheritor can learn it."

"What's the point, I can't even use aura" Hans retorted.

Dietrich, wearing an amused smile said," you'll be learning your father's way kiddo, fools charged ahead while intelligent exploit the loopholes." With that, Dietrich flicked a finger on Hans's forehead, and the boy immediately fell asleep. "Rest up," he whispered before vanishing into thin air.

NEXT DAY

  Hans woke up, feeling pain coursing through his body. In the rush of adrenaline from the night before, he had forgotten that he had pushed himself to his limits while going against his ancestor. As he dragged his battered body down, he saw Aredhel and her daughter staring at him in surprise. Seeing his condition, Delimira couldn't help but ask,

"What happened to you?"

Hans responded like it was a chore,

"I fell off the stairs."

Delimira couldn't help but notice Hans's weary tone as he responded with what seemed like an excuse. "Can't you come up with a better excuse?" she retorted, hoping for a more honest answer.

But Hans replied with the same weary tone,

"Can't you get a hint? I don't want to talk about it."

  As Sierra joined the conversation, she noticed Hans's injured body and immediately rushed to help. However, her rough handling only added to his pain. "Grandma!" Hans protested, and Sierra without asking much, quickly healed his injuries. Feeling relieved, Hans clenched his fists and whispered to himself, "Now, this is nice." Meanwhile, Rudolf entered the room munching on something and asked Hans what happened to him. Irritated by the same question, Hans replied,

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Xandor came last night, and we fought until his heart was content while you were fast asleep."

Rudolf looked here and there in anger and shouted.

"What, that bastard?"

Hans let out a sigh and responded,

"Gramps, don't you think it's time to increase your grade? Warlord at 90 doesn't look so strong to me anymore."

  Understanding that Hans was jesting, Rudolf calmed and knuckled the boy for playing him but this time, Hans effectively dodged him. The movement came as a surprise for both as they looked at each other, their eyes fixed and their surprise apparent. Hans had never managed to dodge the incoming knuckling before but this was odd. He belatedly realised a single fight with Dietrich had sharpened his senses and instinct. There was much Dietrich had not disclosed about that spar and now he was regretting it. He thought, "he should have complied with his request to fight more", gritting his teeth he cursed loudly,

"Aah! Damn it!"

Both the elder looked at Hans, and thought it was odd, their grandson should be dancing in joy after avoiding Rudolf's blow as he always wanted, not to curse in frustration. They did not ask for more and Rudolf turned to Delimira, making a mental note of Hans's progress while asking the girl politely,

"Did you do some research on the place?"

Delimira did not disappoint him and nodded in agreement, so he tested her a bit, saying,

"Tell me a bit about it."

"It is classified as a four-star danger level beast zone. The star denotes the rarity of resources that you could excavate from there. It is home to reptile beasts and is hot and humid," she replied with a textbook answer. Rudolf nodded, acknowledging her readiness and curiosity. In return, she asked him, "When are we going there?"

Rudolf showed a wicked smile, making Hans uneasy. The old man said,

"I will follow you, and if you make me step into your matter, you both will not participate. Agreed?"

  Both nodded and Delimira, who did not receive a clear answer, asked him again. She wanted to be prepared, but Rudolf was just being Rudolf. He grinned and said loudly, "You both are leaving right now." making her startled. She did not have any survival equipment for the hot place and that is what Hans felt uneasy about too. Looking at Rudolf's wide grin, he couldn't help but said in unison with him,

"A hunter should always be prepared for surprises, lesson no. 1."

Turning to Delimira, Hans greeted her with a sarcastic tone,

"Welcome to hell, Winters."

  It wasn't like Hans enjoyed making the comment; he was also dejected at the thought of entering that infernal place. Rudolf led them to the SpaceDoor near the quarters, which was already set and ready to send them to the Dead Gorge. As the children were walking front, from behind Rudolf stopped Delimira and spoke in a low voice, "You may not like him much, and I know the brat is annoying, but he is the best option you have now, so learn from him well."

  Hans and Delimira shed their winter clothes in front of the SpaceDoor, which the attendants collected. It had been foolish to wear winter clothes in Dead Gorge, but they were soon going to learn the consequences of that decision. Before they could proceed, Aredhel approached Hans, who was hugging himself to keep warm.

"A word with you, Hans?" she asked.

  Hans scratched his head and followed her, still shivering. Concordia was located above the cold saltwater lake of Deemar, which separated Parv and Grimgar, making it relatively colder than other places and he had removed his winter wear for their departure to Dead Gorge making the situation colder.

Aredhel turned to Hans, "Can I trust that my daughter will be safe with you?" she asked.

Hans stared at her and responded,

"You don't seem to like me very much, Professor."

"What gave it away?" she asked with a non-surprising tone.

"Just a hunch," Hans said. "Delimira doesn't seem to like me much, but I don't sense any hatred from her. Your feelings towards me seem closer to hatred."

Aredhel shifted the blame onto Hans's father and replied,

"It's not you, but your damned father."

  Hans didn't feel curious about what had happened between her and his father. He had grown tired of Samson's schemes to the point where he even doubted the sincerity of leaving the book behind for him. He asked Aredhel in a sarcastic tone,

"So what did you want from a person whom you don’t like much, professor?"

"Me aside, can I trust my daughter's safety with you?"

Hans responded,

"Gramps will be there, professor."

"No, I want your word", she responded and pressed on "Will my daughter be safe with you?"

  Hans thought that Aredhel had a weird way of asking for favours. Just a moment before, she acknowledged, she did not like him, and now she was asking the same person to keep her daughter safe. However, as he saw the worry in her eyes for her child, Dietrich's words about family rang in his head, and the only thing he could say was what she wanted to hear.

"I don’t promise unless I can keep it, professor," he said pressing on his next words "That's why you have my word that there is nothing you have to worry about."

"Thank you, Hans," Aredhel said gratefully and Hans rejoined the others who were waiting for him, together with Delimira, he stepped into the SpaceDoor and disappeared not knowing there was a surprise planned for him, an event that is gonna push his calm life into chaos.

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