CHAPTER 4
THE SECOND BOOK
It was a rare sight, Queen Reina’s bafflement was something everyone wanted to see at least once. Yet Hans ignored the incident and turned to Samwell, with whom he had a bone to pick. “My dear uncle.” Samwell had an ominous feeling scratching his back but he lifted his chin enough to signal openness, so Hans asked with a stark tone, “Care to tell me which idiot came up with the great idea of banning flying in the capital?”
This was going overboard, even Arat lunged to stop Hans from damaging things further but it was too late. “MY FATHER.” Norwin shouted, “And you’ll show some respect.”
Norwin wasn’t asking but telling Hans but the young Parvian was riding his momentum. Accepting his identity changed something fundamental within him, as if he knew, he could get away with anything. So, with a smirk, he quipped, “I heard you blew your own respectable father’s head off in the fight.”
And surprisingly, Norwin’s short fuse was still intact as he returned those words. “It’s still better than dropping a celestial bomb in his head. Don’t you think, Prince Parv.”
Instead of agitating on each other, both were managing their composure. But it was a matter of moments for this situation to remain in stalemate. But, Hans wasn’t the one going to turn this verbal charade into something else first. Continuing his smirk, he fanned Norwin’s flame, "See, we're cut from the same cloth, but why don't you use your head." He tapped his forehead with his index finger, pushing Norwin's irritation past its limit.
“This annoying—”
Hans got the reaction he wanted. “Tsk! Tsk! Anger, if not channelled, becomes a shackle, hero King Norwin,” he mused, imparting life lessons to someone more than five times his age. “Ooh! That red face of yours, you must be holding a lot in. Breathe in and out, slowly. One two, one two one—”
“That’s it,” Norwin snapped, “You’ll die because of your damn mouth.”
“They couldn’t kill me when I wasn’t a prince. I’ve turned into an even bigger asshole after becoming one. So, I’ll wait and see. Bye-bye.” Hans waved as Norwin stomped out of the room.
“You’re walking on thin ice,” Arat said, patting Hans on the shoulder. “Norwin is a petty person and a very strong petty person. I don’t know why he’s holding back… he should’ve blown everything away.”
“Yeah, it was bothering me too. That’s why I was ruffling his feathers, but he seemed more disciplined than I expected.”
“For some reason, he doesn’t want to sour his relationship with Parv further,” Arat confirmed.
“Yeah, figures. But Dijkstra was right, annoying him is a lot of fun. Now I know how Deli feels, this is exhilarating,” Hans mused. “But back to my earlier question.” He pointed to Samwell and asked again, “Why the flying ban?”
“It is a policy to prevent the invaders from escaping—”
“Well, your policy was doing a great job when our dear undead king was whooping our assess from sky high.” Hans rebuked. “It's none of my business, but a lock doesn’t guarantee a theft won’t occur; it just makes thieves more creative. Nasty people find ways around the ban, and you’re only crippling your own army.”
“Yeah, it’s none of your business, dear nephew—”
“But, I’m not wrong, am I?” Hans persisted.
“Let it go,” Samwell said, trying to suppress his anger.
“Fine.” Hans acknowledged and then turned to Arat, “I want to go back to Concordia’s accommodation.”
“Noted.” Arat signalled, and all fifty knights took their positions. When Hans stepped outside, he saw many of them flying on top of Gryphons, the symbol of Parv. He had never seen one before. “Flying ban, I guess it doesn’t affect beasts. Can I get one of mine?” he couldn’t help but ask as he climbed into the carriage.
“It is customary to choose a Gryphon at the coronation ceremony,” Arat said, helping him up and sitting opposite him.
“So did my father have one too?” Hans asked as the Parvian carriage moved.
“He never cared; it was just a formality,” Arat explained. “He was way faster than a Gryphon anyway. And you are probably too.”
“Can’t argue with that, but I want one,” Hans said, like a kid demanding a new toy, with starry eyes.
“You’ll have one when you officially return.”
“Tsk,” Hans clicked his tongue and glanced outside. People with their mouths agape greeted him, looking baffled. “Oh god! Is this necessary?”
“Yes, it is,” Arat said proudly. “It’s your debut. What’s better than a victory parade on foreign soil?”
“Screw the debut. Geez! I want to hide in a hole. This is so embarrassing,” Hans complained. But they weren’t far from Concordia’s accommodations and soon arrived. Hans jolted out and ran inside quickly, not knowing that many curious faces were eager to ask him a lot of things.
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Vanir, in particular, was pouting, and as soon as Hans came in, he ran over like a girl who was about to get dumped. “I thought we had a thing going on,” he cried holding him.
Flustered, Hans pushed him. “Speak clearly, you idiot. They’re enjoying this,” he said, pointing at the stunned audience
But Vanir didn’t care. He was feeling his position slipping away. “I told you,” he pleaded, “I’ll follow you for life, and you chose your friend as your first knight. I was your first subordinate. I asked you to make sure I only bow to you and no one else. So I must be second to you,” he insisted
“Haa! Can we talk about this later? I'm tired—”
“No, make this clear first,” Vanir insisted again.
“You stupid moron,” Hans got annoyed and shouted, “Then why don’t you become the Tower Master of Parv or something? They don’t even bow to their kings.”
Vanir stood up instantly. “You said it, senior.” His tears vanished, and he resolved to become the Tower Master of Parv, not realising that Parv didn’t have a magic tower to begin with. This was the day a far-reaching obsession was born in Vanir.
Sighing, Hans asked, “Now can I please go?” He shooed him off, and before the curious people could turn their gaze into voices, he ran into a separate room. “These frickin’ idiots... I have no time for this... Now, where is my Solar Mage?”
“Tak! Tak!” A knock on the door disturbed him, but before he could shout, he heard a soothing voice. “Hans, got a minute?”
It was Sierra, so he politely answered, “Come in, Grandma.”
“Here is your precious book.” She handed him the first book he had left in her care. “Now you have two, and... the thing with Parv too. You must be feeling overwhelmed.”
“It was eventually going to happen,” Hans sighed. “I thought I was ready, but I’m not. I don’t wanna disappoint those who are waiting for something much more than me. So I’ve decided,” Hans patted his chest, “I’ll only go when I’m strong enough to be worthy and, of course, strong enough to not make you worry.”
With nothing a but warm smile, Sierra replied to Hans’s pleading eyes. “I’ve heard from Arat. But, my child, even when you become the strongest in the world, I’ll still worry.” She caressed his cheek and said, “We’re already late. So when you come back from Sunspark, I want to put this incident behind us and leave for Concordia.”
“I’d like that too,” Hans agreed promptly. She kissed him on the forehead. “Be good, don’t create more trouble.” Then she left him alone, knowing what was on his mind and asking everyone not to disturb his quality time with the books.
Hans, on the other hand, was staring at the two priceless possessions he had. The moment he had been waiting for finally arrived. He placed both books side by side on the bed and said, “Command Centre: SCAN.”
Discovered two sentient objects-
Book of Spells: Limitless (Expand)
Book of Day: The Solar Mage (Expand)
Hans had noticed the changes in his augmented display, it was more informative than before and had a significant change. His clearance level, which had previously been marked as ‘Interim,’ was now simply ‘Administrator.’ Hans had a feeling that his SCAN might yield unexpected results, and it did. “Expand second,” Hans commanded.
Book of Day: The Solar Mage is the second book in the anthology Books of Fate, authored by Samson Parv.
Please open the book.
“Nice.” Hans frantically opened the book, and the weird, unrecognisable characters greeted him again. However, in his augmented view, they changed.
Decrypting… Key exchange successful
Parameters:
Clearance level: matched
Genetic sequence: matched
Showing result in 3... 2... 1
The erratic patterns moved, transforming into readable words, but only in the augmented display. “Whatever, as long as I can read,” Hans said and started reading the displayed information.
Son,
It's good to know that you’ve found the final book meant for you.
You must’ve heard about the ruse of the Book of Power, and maybe, if you’ve investigated enough, you’d have discovered it to be a hoax—a secret boasting of unimaginable power. It would have been a perfect bait to keep others away from you. However, the book does exist.
Now, about the Solar Mage. It offers you a new kind of power, vastly different from control over mana. Having unlimited mana is nice, but you’d eventually hit a roadblock: high dependency on mana stones and gems. The wood element and control over nature’s mana are impressive but only effective in supporting others. You could restrict Warlords and Warlocks, but if you don’t possess the ability to take them down, it will be meaningless.
“Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I’ll go bankrupt every time I fight a stronger foe. Heck, I might have to run with my imaginary tail between my legs.”
The Solar Mage offers a solution—a destructive power with a great flaw. Repeat the book’s name, and you might learn before I can explain.
“Book of the Day: The Solar Mage— Crap! It's not like this will be useless at night, is it?” Hans hoped not, yet the next words of his father proved his speculation right.
Yes, these powerful attacks will be useless at night, because they need the sun to function.
“Dang it, so is there a Book of Night? And what about the Seed of Night that you mentioned? You recognised it, does it mean you know about it too?” Hans asked, but the book remained indifferent, and Hans turned the page.
Decrypting… 3… 2… 1
To understand this power, you have to explore Elven history, known to only a few. During my time in Clandor, my search for power brought me to the forbidden lands of the Elves. As usual, I was denied passage, and as usual, I didn’t care.
It wasn’t easy, as the Shadow family governs those lands, but I unearthed the knowledge they were keeping. It is said that, in the dawn of time, two trees existed, dividing the world in two: the Tree of Night and the Tree of Day. We humans, elves, dwarves—everything you see now—are descendants from the Tree of Day which Elves refer to as their god of creation.
“So, what happened to the Seed of Night?” Hans pondered, recalling its ominous nature, “A single seed is capable of drowning many in their own blood. A tree of that thing would be a dire threat to living. Perhaps that's why it was eradicated... Then again, as Dietrich said, history is often shaped by those who emerge victorious. There is no knowing who is right and wrong in the war— it happens because greed exists in every form and shape.”
He stared down the book and resumed.