Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 204

Chapter 204: 19
In a modest apartment located in the suburbs of Chicago city, a boy’s face was illuminated by a few candles, his eyes reflecting the few rays of light.

The boy’s surprised and happy face did not change for a few seconds, and his mouth remained open…

“Happy birthday!”

A young woman who looked no older than thirty exclaimed.

Her face did not show much emotion, but the fact that she hadn’t forgotten his birthday meant a lot to Hans.

“Thank you…”

The boy replied.

“Don’t thank me, repay me, you should get back to school”

“You and I both know… that I don’t have the luxury to do that”

The woman’s dark eyes watched the boy with a mix of pity and sadness, while Hans stared at the cold floor below their feet.

“Come on, make a wish”

Incited the woman, her face still pretty emotionless.

Hans, watching the three candles in front of him on top of a little cake that looked more like a muffin, wondered what they meant.

“Why three candles? You could’ve just lit up one of them”

The black-haired woman standing opposite him watched the boy before saying:

“Huh?! Is that what I get after deciding to gift you a cake?!”

“No, I was just… wondering”

“It’s how much time it will take”

“Uh?”

“Three… they’re the years you’re missing before becoming an adult”

“Oh…”

“They don’t sell the numbered candles anymore, and I couldn’t put fifteen candles on the same cake, so I just put three”

“I see… thank you.”

Seeing as the boy still hadn’t blown the candles out, the woman looked at him intrigued:

“What’s wrong? You ran out of wishes?”

“No, I was wondering when you would start singing me a happy birthday song”

The boy replied smiling.

“This prick!…”

The clearly embarrassed woman turned her gaze away, and Hans chuckled in response.

Not playing around anymore, Hans blew on the candles.

‘Dear god, or whatever is in the sky, I beg of you, let my family wake up once again, let me see my mother’s face as healthful as ever, let me hear my dad’s annoying scoldings, and let my sister live her life like any normal kid her age would’

“You should’ve done that from the start”

Exclaimed the woman.

Hans, who still hadn’t opened his eyes after blowing, added a little part to his wish:

‘…And let my dear aunt live a long life”

The woman standing in front of Hans at that time was the person he considered his aunt.

Even if he didn’t have any blood ties with her, she was one of his mother’s closest friends and had taken care of him after the incident.

Despite her short raven-black hair and eyes, her sharp face, and her tattooed body, which made her look like a gangster, she was a kind soul.

The young boy blinked, and where just a moment earlier he could see the little apartment’s furniture, he now had a clear view of the stars in the vast sky.

‘I am getting strangely emotional today…

It’s almost been four years since then… my dear aunt…’

As the young man thought of that person, the only thing that came to his mind was a little wooden coffin that looked no different from an aged drawer.

No decorations, no fancy materials… it wasn’t much different from being buried in a pit.

‘I guess I should go and buy a little candle…

Because it’s been a year since my eighteenth birthday, I should only get one candle.’

The young man walked out of his apartment.

A cold breeze ran all around the streets, and Hans felt it as soon as he set foot outside the dorm.

After a couple of minutes, Hans arrived at the convenience store open 24/7, where he hoped to find what he was searching for.

Entering the store, he greeted the employee before moving on and searching for a candle he could light and a little cake he could eat.

Luckily, he found both of the items relatively quickly and walked out of there with everything he needed.

Once back home, he tore open the little plastic bag.

Unwrapped the cake he had just bought he then placed the candle right on top of it and lit it up using his {fire burst} spell.

‘I guess at least I won’t have to pay for a lighter thanks to my mana control’

The young man seemed particularly nostalgic that night, as his gaze drifted between the cake and the dark starry sky.

He was about to blow on the candle before he thought:

‘I just hope… this will be the last birthday I’ll have to spend alone’

Eating the cake he had just bought, his dead eyes weren’t focused on anything, and his mind was wandering the imaginary world, making him think of that tattooed woman.

The night passed slowly… as if time had taken a break to allow Hans’ thoughts to run wild for a few hours.

And of course, after that night, Hans felt tired.

However, being Monday, he couldn’t afford to waste any time.

He took a shower, cooked breakfast, and ate it slowly, sipping on his coffee as if he had all the time in the world.

His phone had run out of battery life, so he left it in his room to charge while he headed toward the Academy’s main building

“Good morning”

Greeted the whole class as Hans entered the room.

“Good morning”

He replied.

“How has your progress been for the past few days?”

None of the students replied, but their faces talked for themselves.

A show of desperation and exhaustion was painted on everyone’s faces.

“Seems like you all are doing well”

‘What the hell… where does he get that vibe from? Everyone in the class looks half-dead’

David thought.

‘And he’s the same…’

He then added, observing his teacher, who seemed to be as tired as everyone else.

‘They all seem pretty drained, maybe I should go easy on them today, something like no lesson or training, I will just help them a bit with their magic’

“Alright, since everyone looks energetic, we will start today’s lesson with a very interesting and important topic”

The faces of the students, who were already beyond tired, became even worse after hearing Hans talk.

Thankfully for them, a certain someone came to save them and took all their boredom and problems away.

Not even knocking on the door, someone barged into the room, interrupting Hans.

It was someone they all could recognize because of her stunning appearance:

The Academy’s dean.

“Welcome back Dean, what have you-”

Hans was greeting Ava, not paying much attention to her actions, but he was stopped by something…

‘Her aura… it’s… different’

What the hell happened in the last few weeks?’

It didn’t take long for Hans to realize…

“Congratulations”

He said.

No one in the room understood what Hans meant by that, no one apart from the dean obviously.

“Haha… I knew you had a keen eye, but I didn’t expect it to be so precise…

How did you know?”

“Your aura… it’s different”

“My aura…

What the hell? You can tell things like that?”

“Y-yeah, I can”

‘Can’t anyone do that?’

The students still had no idea of what was going on.

‘What’s happening to her? Why is she so happy today, is it just because she broke through the SS-rank?’

Unlike mages, warriors cannot break through by creating circles or anything.

While low-ranking warriors just have to improve their stats, from the seventh rank on, they need to receive some enlightenment before advancing, and it is definitely not easy to achieve.

“Incredible…”

The woman got closer to Hans before whispering in his ear:

“…I guess you aren’t part of the black market for nothing”

“Sigh… for god’s sake, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not associated with anything of the sort”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll believe your words”

‘Like hell she will…’

Hans thought, watching the woman smile like a devil.

“So? Have you come here to see how the students are doing?

I guess you could say they’re doing well…

I’ve given them a challenge to overcome, and if they pass it I’ll teach them a powerful spell that will help them turn the tides around in every battle they partake.”

“Oh… that’s good”

“Other than that, I would like to request a C-rank gate, at the end of the school year I’ll personally take them there to train, do I have your authorization?”

The whole class stood up in shock:

“What?!”

‘There’s no way the Dean will permit that right?’

All the students thought that, but their hopes were crushed as the woman replied:

“Ok”

‘O-ok? Is that all she has to say?’

Colton couldn’t help but be caught by surprise.

“However….”

The dean added.

“Hans, how come everyone here looks so sad, shouldn’t you be having a party or something?”

“Huh?”

Hans’s face clearly told the dean that they were not on the same wavelength.

“What?! I can’t believe you didn’t tell them!”

She exclaimed.

“Tell us what?”

Lila, one of the students, asked.

“Sigh… do I really need to do everything for you? Ok then let me do it”

“W-wait! What are you-”

“Dear students… today you will all have a day off because… it’s your special teacher’s birthday!!!”