Great Freya Academy, fifteen days after returning from Oaklum.
Rio's training Room.
More than half a month went by since Zach's death under Alverto's hands, but until now Rio still felt just how big the gap between their strength was.
Rio stared at his sword and clenched his palm around it tightly, although his face looked as expressionless as always, his eyes seemed to be filled with complicated emotions.
'Alverto was not even using one percent of his powers when toying with us… he barely used any technique other than his time manipulation skill..' (Rio)
'Even if several S-rankers swarmed together to attack him… I doubt they will be able to defeat him so easily…' (Rio)
'I need to get stronger…' (Rio)
Just when Rio staring at his sword and contemplating in his mind, suddenly a hand appeared in his vision, before he could have reacted, the other party flicked their finger and hit Rio's forehead.
The flick of that finger wasn't strong and it didn't do any damage to Rio, but it caused Rio to step back in surprise.
"Thinking too much about what has already happened and can't be changed, will not help you progress…. It will stall your progress if you stress over it too much…" (Ashtel)
Out of nowhere, Ashtel Rex, the strongest SS ranker of the human race appeared in Rio's private training room.
His bright Red hair waved like a lion's man and his bright red pupils shined like gems that contained huge amounts of wisdom in them.
Even the space seemed to be bending around him just because of his presence. Although Ashtel was suppressing his aura, his presence alone was so strong that he gave people an unreal feel.
He seemed like a genuine divine being who seemed to be unscathed by this mortal world.
A proud and calm expression remained on his face all the time and he seemed like the type of person who could remain calm and collected in any possible situation.
"Hmm, you don't seem that surprised after seeing me here…" (Ashtel)
Ashtel asked in a doubtful tone when he saw that Rio's face remained expressionless even after his sudden appearance.
"I am very surprised actually…" (Rio)
Rio's tone was emotionless and his face was also expressionless, he didn't look surprised from outside at all, but he was indeed surprised in his mind.
Seeing Rio's expressionless face, Ashtel thought to himself.
'Hmm, it seems what Link said was indeed true, this kid doesn't show emotions at all… is it because of his rough childhood experience? It shouldn't have been this severe though right…' (Ashtel)
'Does he have some kind of genetic disorder… ahem, no that's not it either… it's quite strange… forget it…' (Ashtel)
Ashtel Knew that things like genetic disorders could be easily healed by S-rank healers in just a few seconds.
Rio had been treated by S-rank healers after the SSA test, he could have been already treated properly if it was a genetic disorder.
'Perhaps, it's just that his personality is like that?…' (Ashtel)
Ashtel stopped thinking about this matter further and said in a calm tone.
"Tomorrow is the day we will leave for the meeting, I had asked Principal Raji to send a notification to you all, and everyone else received it…" (Ashtel)
"But you were the only one who had switched off all of your contact devices…" (Ashtel)
Rio just shook his head at Ashtel's words.
"I was doing some final training before going to the meeting… I haven't even gone out of this training room since the day we came back from Oaklum…" (Rio)
While talking to Ashtel, Rio used his sword intent to cover his body and cool down himself with its 'frost effect'.
Ashtel looked calm from the outside but he was very surprised when he noticed what Rio was doing.
'Seriously!? This little kiddo is using the legendary sword technique, 'sword intent' like an air conditioner!?" (Ashtel)
'Such extravagant wastage of power… I have only seen one person doing this before…' (Ashtel)
Ashtel suddenly remembered Link in his mind.
Link's 'Dragon Arts' technique has a skill called 'Overload', which can be said to be a final attack skill, the user ends up getting crippled after using that skill.
Thus it is treated as a final skill that no one would want to use if not as a last choice left.
But Link is the only person, who uses 'Overload' like a regular skill. He can easily control it nowadays and he doesn't suffer any injuries from it.
Due to this Link uses this skill many times, even Ashtel was surprised when he saw that Link was using that trump card attack as a regular attack.
'This kiddo is doing something very similar to Link, he is using 'Sword intent' to take care of his worldly needs…. Is this the horror of a genius?' (Ashtel)
When Ashtel was admiring Rio's talent in his mind, Rio was also thinking about Ashtel in his mind.
'First of all, shouldn't he have sent Link or someone else to bring the information to me, why is he here by himself…' (Rio)
Standing in the presence of an SS-ranker is not really a pleasant experience, it feels like the other party can see right through your very soul.
(SS-rankers can literally use their insane mana detection to see right through your body… they literally have X-ray vision…)
'Moreover, I feel kind of nervous while standing near this crazy guy…' (Rio)
'I would rather face Raji's short-tempered nature or Neo's shrewd scheme than face this guy's craziness… ugh…' (Rio)
Rio had read the novel in the previous life, and he knew just how crazy this guy actually was.
Ashtel seemed like a calm and collected individual with very intelligent thinking, but this was all just a façade, the real Ashtel was like a crazy mad dog.
Even in the novel, Ashtel is an intelligent and calm person, but that was true until Link was alive. Once Link died under Fade's hands, Ashtel snapped instantly.
He became so crazy that he chased Fade everywhere for revenge.
Ashtel is the 'villain' who is extremely difficult to deal with, and his immense power is enough to overpower Jin, Neo, and Raji altogether.
'It won't be wrong to say, that even if the sky falls one day, it will be easy for him to hold the sky in place with just one hand…' (Rio)
Rio admired his strength but he didn't want to have anything to do with this crazy guy, if this guy snapped, he would be the biggest threat that would be nearly impossible to deal with.
'If not for the plot armor, Fade could have never dealt with this monster either…' (Rio)
Ashtel's death means the immediate collapse of the human race's biggest pillar of support.
If Ashtel disappeared, other races would stop taking humanity seriously. (Even Neo doesn't dare plot anything against Ashtel for fear of being killed…)
In today's world, the reason why all the neighboring races avoid conflict with humanity is simply because of the existence of Ashtel Rex.
…
"So, what brings you here, uh…" (Rio)
At Rio's question, Ashtel simply shook his head and said in a calm tone.
"No need to be so restricted, you can call me Uncle Rex!" (Ashtel)
At Ashtel's words, Rio was so bewildered that a look of shock appeared on his expressionless face.
"W-what!?" (Rio)
"Heh, so you do have facial expressions after all…" (Ashtel)
Ashtel smiled triumphantly when he saw that he was able to get through Rio's expressionless face with just a simple joke.
"Ahem, well you see… how do I say, Kevin Flash… Your father used to be my direct subordinate and a close friend of mine… he helped out in a very important mission…" (Ashtel)
"At that time I didn't know that he had a son, if I had known I would have introduced you to Link much earlier…" (Ashtel)
Ashtel wanted to provide Link with the best childhood in those days.
If he had known about Rio's existence, he could have introduced Rio and Link to each other, and this way Link could have grown up with a good friend since childhood.
(Later, Riya played the role of a good childhood friend for Link…)
"Well, forget it, what happened in the past doesn't matter much…" (Ashtel)
"Your father was a close friend of mine so, let's say he was like a younger brother to me, so technically I am your 'Uncle', aren't I?" (Ashtel)
Rio was so bewildered by Ashtel's words that he had no words to refute him.
Just when he was about to say something, Ashtel stretched out his hand and placed his big hand on Rio's head.
"Yosh, I see you have grown up well! You must have worked hard! Good! I bet your father would be so proud of you!" (Ashtel)
Rio usually doesn't like someone other than Lia touching him, but surprisingly Ashtel's hand that seemed to represent a certain 'acknowledgment' made Rio feel comfortable.
Ashtel smiled a little and patted Rio's head like a 'father' who was praising his son's achievements.
"Also, don't stress yourself over your failure to save your friend, you must take that feeling of powerlessness that you felt that day as fuel…" (Ashtel)
"Use that fuel to strengthen yourself and continue to become stronger! You have what it takes to reach the heights of this world!" (Ashtel)
Ashtel took his hand back and smiled at Rio.
"Just keep in mind, that there are always people who are ready to support you, don't get lost in the darkness of loneliness, you have a bright path ahead…" (Ashtel)
After saying that, Ashtel disappeared into nothingness, just like how he had appeared out of nowhere.
Rio slowly raised his hand and touched his head which was patted by Ashtel with 'acknowledgement'.
Rio closed his eyes to calm his mind down.
'h-he messed up my hair...' (Rio)
Despite thinking that, Rio was feeling quite happy at the moment.
In his two lives and after years of efforts, this was the first time Rio was acknowledged by someone like this.
Rio finally got over Zach's death after being supported by Ashtel's acknowledgment.
That day Rio's mentality changed a lot.
…
…
Author's Notes.
Yo! It's your beloved author here! To think that Ashtel who seemed like an arrogant person, would turn out to be such a considerate person, that was truly heart-warming…
Question of the day.
Do you think Ashtel deserves the 'Best Father award'?
1. Yes (Bro went crazy to hunt down Fade for Link's sake.)
2. Yeah (He provided Link with money, love, a childhood sweetheart, and the path to strength, without him, Link would have died by the wrath of the heavens on his birth…)
3. Other (Tell me in the comments.)
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.