Johan was sweating. Since almost two hours he had been nonstop getting hit by Bahamut for endurance training. His next mission was going to be really intense. He had to get ready for the upcoming tournament and before that he had to pass the Annual Ranking Test in school as well. That one was important for his ranking in the academy. If he ranked high he would solidify his position in the family while also making a name for him at school. That was for his first system, though. The second system was for the tournament in which he would do something special.

MY LORD DO NOT GET DISTRACTED. THE TRAINING HAS NOT ENDED YET. I WILL HAVE TO HURT YOU FOR YOUR OWN SAKE.

"For my own sake, huh?"

YES, MY LORD.

Johan was laughing inwardly. He knew that Bahamut wasn't lying but it felt so fake after getting beat up this badly. If it wasn't for his healing abilities he would be long dead.

Classes were going smoothly except for physical training. His teacher was getting more suspicious. On the second day Johan accidently pushed another student against the wall and left a dent. That was almost impossible for a B Rank Ranker. The walls were created specially for combat so nobody would destroy them. He just had to get his prowess under control.

BE LIKE WATER MY FRIEND. YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A COUPLE OF GATES IN THE NEXT WEEKS. THAT'S WHY I'M BEING SO TOUGH WITH YOU RIGHT NOW.

"I know, I know. What are these gates btw. I only heard the basics from Mrs. Schmidt. She didn't really say much though."

YEAH, USUALLY ONE GOES TO GATES WHEN THEY ARE IN THE UPPER CLASSES ALREADY. IT'S OFTEN TIMES TOO DANGEROUS. A GATES CONSISTS OF DIFFERENT LAYERS. THESE LAYERS ARE MARKED BY THEIR DIFFICULTIES. SO THE FURTHER YOU GO THE HIGHER THE DIFFICULTY. THERE ARE ALSO A LOT OF MONSTERS ESPECIALLY IN THE LATER LAYERS. THE GOOD THING IS THOUGH THAT NORMALLY YOU CAN LEAVE AT THE END OF THE LAYERS OR IF THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL IS HIGH THEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GATE. MOST RANKERS DO THAT BECAUSE THE DURATION IS REALLY LONG. ONE C RANK GATE VISIT CAN TAKE UP TO THREE OR FOUR DAYS.

THAT'S WHY STUDENTS USUALLY ONLY GO THERE IF THEY ARE ALREADY PROFICIENT WITH THEIR ABILITIES AND THEY HAVE A REASON TO GO IN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Johan nodded while rubbing his arm that was just hit by Bahamut's tail.

"You can still be a little more sensitive you know?"

Without saying anything Bahamut continued training him for the rest of the day.

...

"Haah, huuh, haah, why... can't I... use... Mana here?"

clap clap clap

"Hmm? Who's there?"

Thimauess looked up. He was leaning against a tree while hiding from a group of A Rank Goblin Chiefs. Never would he have thought to ever hide from some A Rank monster in his life. They weren't even something he would consider as threat but now there he was being scared of death in a situation like this.

A figure with a robe appeared in front of him. He could barely see him let alone recognize who he was.

"Dear Lord, it seems you have been wounded badly. Tssk ,who would do such a thing?"

"Stop... where you are. Who are you?" cough cough

"Oh my, how unbecoming of me. I should've introduced myself."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Pulling down his robe a adult male in his thirties could be seen. He had a darker taint and green eyes. His grey hair was long and braided.

"I apologize for being this rude. I'm Zahhad van der Beck. I come from the van der Beck family. We reside in the South of Nether. I was sent by Lord Tristan von Parseval to deliver a message."

"What? Deliver.. a message? Why would... he send you?"

The patriarch was barely holding himself together. At the end of the last layer an A Rank Hunter Goblin had pierced his abdomen with a spear. He couldn't activate his shield because his Mana wasn't gathering. His low stamina wasn't really a help either.

"Well, you know, he will have a lot more to do from now on. Since he's next in line for the patriarch role."

The eyes of the patriarch looked at him with horror in his eyes.

"Wait... what do-"

"Hugaaaaa hugaaaa!"

Two of the Goblin Chiefs had heard noises from behind trees and were shouting something.

"Ah, these disgusting lowlifes. I'm here talking to the patriarch of the von Parseval family. Have some respect!"

Both of the goblins rushed towards them.

"Aaaah!"

Zahhad took out his lance while elegantly stepping to the side. His waist leaned slightly forward and with a small step ahead he pierced through one goblins neck.

"Crghhz. Uaaaahh!"

He immediately fell down. The other one alarmed by his comrade losing this quickly, swinged with his bat from a far trying to keep distance from Zahhad.

"Futile."

With a jump that looked like an eagle piercing through the air, he evaded the bat and pushed his lance into the goblins skull.

"Fhuuuh."

The other one also died immediately.

"Blasphemous! How dare they interrupt our talk. Well, the other ones will be here soon enough so let's get straight to the point. Lord von Parseval you should've been more careful with your surrounding. A lot of people have had their eyes on you for a long time. Not only did you beat the last patriarch and became a one yourself. It was also the first time the main lineage of the von Parseval family had been disrupted with their heritage. You should've never been patriarch in the first place. You're also the reason the family crystal is broken."

"Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Thimaeuss von Parseval couldn't hold back his laughter. His eyes were wide open and for a moment it seemed like he was in peak condition.

"What? Why're you laughing? Don't you understand in what situation you are right now?"

"Oy, little boy. Who do you think you're talking to, huh? I'm Thimaeuss von Parseval, the liberator of West Germania. You think your little trick would bring me to my knees?"

Zahhad had used an item which would temporarily disrupt the usage of Mana. It was usually stored in ones body and just like energy, Mana could be used up. The item just closed the path from where the Mana came out of, but for somebody like the patriarch who had a high Rank, these kind of items only had a short period of effect.

Summoning a long sword, 'Crystallizor', one of the older swords from millennia ago, which he had inherited, he in a blink of an eye dashed forward. His sword technique was remarkable. It was extremely quick but also had wide range. Trying to block the incoming attack off, Zahhad had to step away or he would've been hit.

'Shit! How did he recover this quickly? Wasn't he almost down?'

He realized that he couldn't get out of here without a major injury, so stepping back from the fight was the best option.

"Very nice! Incredible, the abilities of the great Thimaeuss."

Zahhad ran away after calling him. He was trying to gain as much distance as possible to then throw an Aether grenade. It would distort the Aether field and remove eyesight for a second. That second was enough to turn into a different direction.

The patriarch didn't run after him though. He stayed there as if nothing had happened.

"Idiot." he remarked with a smile.

"Hmm, why isn't he running after me? Is he giving up?"

He was confused as to why Thimaeuss was letting him go. It was extremely difficult to just go to another country and chase after someone without permission. Especially South of Nether was extremely corrupted. One word of him and nobody would let him come through, even if he was a patriarch of a great family.

'Well that's not my problem.'

Drinking a stealth potion, Zahhad decided to go back to the last layers entrance and then leave from there but as he was about to reach his destination, a wave of roses blocked his view.

"Huh?"

The roses started to gather around him and block the sunlight. Behind him a person appeared.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?"

It was none other than Himmelstein, who was waiting here the entire time.

"Who are you? Leave or I'll kill you!"

Zahhad was not sure who he was dealing with here. He was pretty sure he had not seen anybody with Thimaeuss when he came here. Watching him the entire time, he made sure to not make a mistake like this.

"Hahaha, that's quite funny. Kill me? You?"

Himmelstein raised his hand and the roses gathered in one place. He shot them at once from above trying to hit Zahhad.

"Hah. You think you can hit me wit-"

stung

A syringe stung his leg without him noticing. It was filled with soporifics. His smile slowly fading, he knew he had f#cked up.

"You... piece of... sh-"

boom

Himmelstein kicked his face.

"I don't know about that. Weren't you the one who targeted the patriarch first? Well, since you're knocked out anyways, what's even the point in asking."

Grabbing him, Himmelstein put him into a capsule and left.

...