Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 150

Chapter 150: The Way Back
“That is when…

I felt your mana coming out of the portal.

My body was not in a condition to move, but I could still feel the traces of divine power covering your mana.

I mistook you for one of them, and I waited for you on the peak of the mountain.

However, you stopped coming closer, and just a few minutes later, Khalin’s energy disappeared”

“Khalin? You mean that beast in the lake?”

“Yes, she was once my companion beast, when she was younger she was captured by a sea east from here, and she was being sold at an auction, since no one bought her, she somehow made it to the little village down the mountain, and I happened to see her by chance.

At the time she was still small, and her body fit in a box.

Me and my sister gave her a home in the glacial lake, and the goddess used her powers to take away all the cold from the lake, avoiding the freezing of the water.

Since then, Khalin served under the winter goddess.

Many years later, however, she began killing all the travelers passing from that zone, but I still couldn’t bring myself to kill her.

I left her be, hoping she would get back to how she once was, but it never happened.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.

I might know why she went crazy.”

“What do y-”

“I saw it with my eyes, I could tell she was influenced by a blessing of another god”

“What?!”

“Yes, it was the cold-heated blessing, which dulled all her positive emotions.

I could also tell she held a deep hatred towards humankind.

That hatred probably consumed her once the emotions she felt toward you and your sister were erased by the blessing.”

“But… only gods can give blessings”

“Uh? Can’t they also do it?”

Caelan took a moment to think about it.

“…. I don’t know, but I hope it is as you say.

You know why right?”

“Of course…

Because if it’s not…”

“…it means one of the gods is a traitor”

Hans reflected seriously upon the matter at hand.

They were talking about a god betraying other gods in order to ally with unknown beings who destroyed and razed worlds to the ground.

It was something way out of their league.

He began thinking that knowing too many things could have become his curse in the future.

“Enough, I do not want to know anything else, what I asked has been answered, knowing more will only bring me trouble.”

“Is it because of your daily life?”

“Yes, it is, If I dug any deeper into this I would probably find myself in an uncomfortable situation when I have to return to my normal life”

“Normal life?”

“Yes, after my family wakes up I will live a normal life, like all the other people on my planet”

“Why would you even do that?”

“I don’t think it’s something I can explain.

I am just not greedy for more”

“You… are not greedy?”

“No, no… I am greedy, I am still a human after all.

But my greed does not go beyond a certain point.

I only care about what helps me live my life as I want without having to worry about much.

What would I even do with all the power in the world?

Why would I even want it?

If I can be happy with my family that would be enough for me.”

“I see…

It is a rare point of view to have.”

“Do you think so? It seems pretty common to me”

Said Hans, thinking of Elijah.

“I almost forgot to ask you… do you know what this place is?”

“I am not sure, but I do have an idea”

Replied Caelan.

“…and? What’s this idea of yours?”

“It’s-”

“What?”

“I said it’s-”

“Tell me already, for god’s sake”

“I am telling you!”

“No, you are not!”

“What!? Can you not hear me?”

“No, I… I can’t”

“It seems like my guess is right then.

This place must be keeping me from telling you the truth, it seems like you will have to figure it out on your own.”

“And what about your spells? Could you teach me some of them?”

Asked Hans, interested in acquiring the magic of a tenth-circle archmage.

The most advanced mage in Hans’s world was at the eight-tier, and no one was sure whether a ninth tier even existed.

Receiving the teachings of an archmage such as Caelan would’ve definitely sped up his process, and it would’ve also saved him most of the time it took to create higher-tier spells.

“Yes, of course, I can teach you if you want”

“That’s great, could we do it right now?”

“I am afraid not”

“Huh? Didn’t you just-”

“It is not me the problem.

It’s you”

The man pointed at Hans’s body.

The tip of his fingers and part of his legs were starting to fade away.

“What’s happening to me?”

“I don’t know, you will find out soon I guess”

“Shit! Hey, tell me one last thing before I disappear from here.

What is it like? What is it like having the weight of the whole world on your shoulders?”

The man remained surprised by the question.

“What is it like?…

It’s… a lot”

As Caelan said those words, Hans’s body completely faded away, turning into nothingness.

…

“Pant… pant… Pant…”

Hans found himself back in the original world.

He was still in a lotus position, but a lot of time had passed, and he could already see the first signs of sunrise through the transparent plastic window of his tent.

Hans felt incredibly weak, and he soon understood why.

Analyzing once again the mana around his heart, Hans could feel it had grown stronger.

“This thing… adsorbed all the mana I had recovered from the fight.

Did I get kicked out of that place because this power had no mana left to absorb?

Ahh… had I known I would’ve asked just the main things without listening to his whole story.”

Hans was sad because he had wasted such a special opportunity, but knowing he had to depart in a few hours, he began to meditate, hoping to recover as much mana as possible before the start of the travel back.

Four hours later…

The sun had already returned to shine bright in the sky, and everyone in the camp was already getting ready by packing their tents.

The previous day, after putting Hans to rest, Caleb went to the place where the gate supposedly was, to see if Hans had cleared it or if he had just managed to run away.

He feared the worst, but fortunately, the gate was gone.

Caleb returned to the camp, announcing the news.

They were all happy about finally being able to return home, so no one complained about the fact that Hans cleared the gate alone.

…

The following morning, Hans was meditating in his tent when Caleb entered.

The young man opened his eyes.

“Is it already time?”

He asked.

“Yes, we don’t have enough supplies to survive here any more than what we already have.

The things we have left will barely keep us alive on the way back.”

“Alright then”

Hans got up and began packing his things.

Just five minutes later, everyone was ready to depart, but they still had something to do.

A camera was set into the ground, and they all gathered in front of it.

“Weren’t we supposed to make a short video?”

Asked Hans, screaming since the blizzard covered most of the sounds.

“Yes, but I thought about it, and this will be a better way to announce it to everyone curious about us”

Replied Caleb.

“Everyone… cheese!”

‘Click’

A photo was taken, and even if slightly covered by the snowflakes falling to the ground, every single one of the raid team members was in it.

It almost immediately went virtual online, and it became famous as the foto celebrating the clearing of one of the worst gates that ever appeared on Earth’s surface.

A few minutes after they took the photo, the ground started shaking, signaling the start of the tortoise’s movements.

“We will start moving as soon as ‘they’ stop doing it, and let’s hope we will make it out of the innermost area before midnight.

We will go at a slightly faster pace compared to the one we had last time because we don’t want to risk so much today.”

“Alright”

“Sure thing”

“Girl.. I don’t know If I’ll make it, I felt like dying last time”

“Come on, I know you can do it if you try”

…

Caleb’s announcement caused all sorts of reactions among the group members, as for Hans’s opinion, he just thought it was a good idea.

He wasn’t even thinking about them, but the question came up spontaneously.

‘What will happen to the tortoises and the blizzard now that the gate has been cleared?’

As he asked his question, a dot appeared on the dark power surrounding his heart,

and Hans’s mana began being sucked away.

…

“Again?!”

…