Chapter 318: Changed Lives...
?
Rex Mansion, Living Room.
"Do you know where Father goes when he enters seclusion training?"
Hearing Link''s question, Olin shook his head and said, with aplicated look on his face,
"I never asked him about it, actually; usually those kinds of ces are meant to be kept secret, so I thought it would be better if I didn''t ask about it..."
"Well... even though I don''t know where it might be.. but I am sure he''s not in the mansion at the least... I know every corner of this mansion, including all the hidden rooms..."
"He''s likely underground somewhere in the capital..."
Link nodded his head at those words and didn''t pry further for information on Ashtel.
Although he wanted to talk to his father before leaving, it wasn''t that urgent of a matter. "Sigh... I wanted to ask him if it was really safe to go to the ''Dragon Valley''... After all, the dragons are known for their arrogant nature..."
"And it''s their home turf; we will be at a disadvantage if something happens..."
Hearing Link''s words of worry, Olin shook his head and said,
"Young master, they have invited you as a ''Guest''... In other words, your safety is their responsibility. If something happens with you guys, then the Dragon King himself will be responsible..."
"After all, you are his ''Guests''..."
Link contemted those words and asked,
"But, can we really trust the dragons? We went to the Elven Empire without any problems because humans and elves are on good terms..."
"But the Dragon Valley has been cut off from the world since two millennia ago; they rarely have any contact with the outside world... Their opinion of humans may vary..."
Unlike other races who were coerced into joining the World Alliance by King Allen, Dragons were one of the few races who never joined the World Alliance.
Moreover, they have established their home in the Dragon Valley, which is located in a sub- space of its own.
You can''t even go there without a proper invitation.
Due to this reason, Dragons were totally unaffected by the demon race''s influence, and even if some miasma entered their sub-space, they could easily purify it with their insane power.
And since they were unaffected by demons, they never participated in the demon extinction war and never felt the need to join the alliance.
Even King Allen couldn''t force them to enter a war that clearly had nothing to do with them, so they always remained neutral.
...
Seeing the concerned look on Link''s face, Olin smiled a bit and said,
"Young Master, you are worrying too much... Dragons are not foolish beings; they are wise and thoughtful creatures... Even they wouldn''t want an unnecessary conflict..."
"If something happens to you and your group, they will be facing the wrath of the whole human empire... They aren''t foolish enough to be too bad to you..."
Link sighed and said,
"But their home is located in a different space... I don''t know if they will even be affected much..."
Olin smiled at Link''s words of concern and said,
"Young Master... Don''t forget what kind of existence ''Ashtel Rex'' is... He shattered the space- time fabric to nullify the ''Heavenly Punishment'' just to save your life..."
"Do you really think he can''t shatter the ''Space-Time'' fabric again to invade the Dragon Valley?... As a matter of fact, I don''t think he would be much weaker than the Dragon King himself..."
"I believe in him.... You shall too..."
Link sighed after hearing those words and agreed.
He has never seen a person as strong as his father in his whole life.
Even Alverto, who was able to manipte time, wasn''t anything much in front of Ashtel.
''Sigh... When will I be as strong as him... He''s so far away that I can''t see the end of his power...''
Link has seen his father use his power on several asions, and even the slightest bit of Ashtel''s power is enough to overpower anyone below rank SS.
Link has been chasing his father''s back and has been following in his footsteps for years now. But he is still so far away from reaching Ashtel''s level that the distance seems insanely big. Aside from Rio, who is his rival and a big source of motivation, Ashtel is the main source of motivation for Link.
Not only does he respect him, but he also idolizes him.
Link nced at his clenched fist and said,
"Grandpa Olin... Do you think I will ever be able to catch up to my father''s level?... you know... He''s quite strong and all... I sometimes feel very insignificant whenparing myself to
him..."
Before Olin could say anything, Link shook his head and got up to leave.
"Forget it; I am just talking too much... It''s time to leave now. Bye for now... also say ''bye'' to Grandma Ste in my stead..."
With that said, Link left the room and headed outside to take the car and leave for the
academy.
Olin, who was looking at Link''s retreating back, smiled and thought,
''Young master... You are worrying too much... If you look from my perspective, you are already catching up to your father, extremely fast, actually...''
Olin has seen Ashtel grow up from a young snotty brat who liked to beat up all the kids in the neighborhood just for fun into a mature person who now protects the whole human empire and is the literal symbol of protection and power.
''Unlike your father... You already have a mature mentality from a young age; moreover, you have the support of amazing friends. My well wishes are with you...''
Not only does Link have more talent than his father, he also has the mentality to reach the
peak of this world.
Unlike Ashtel, Link awakened ''Dao Rhythm''; not even Ashtel has that.
In other words, Link is already starting to surpass his father in some aspects.
...
Croft Mansion.
"I amte! I amte! Link will be here to pick me up soon, and I haven''t even gotten ready
yet!"
Riya, who just took a shower and changed, was now having a hard time thinking about what to pack and what not to pack.
She hurriedly ran downstairs to look for her space ring, as she had forgotten it in the living
room.
But when she entered the living room, Damian and Farah had already ced everything that she needed for the trip.
Farah prepared her clothes, ironed them, and got them ready, and Damian took care of
packing therge boxes of candies in an orderly manner.
Usually Riya has to pack everything all by herself, so she''s alwayste, as she''s a disaster at
taking care of the small details.
But now that her parents are living with her, she has extra helping hands.
Farah handed over the space ring to her and said, with aplicated look on her face,
"You really need to learn a thing or two about keeping your things organized... I worry that
you will cause a lot of headaches for my dear son-inw..."
Hearing Farah''s words, Damian smiled a bit and said,
"Haha, I think by now, Link has already gotten used to her clumsy nature... He won''t mind it
much... just be yourself."
Farah red at Damian for a second and said,
"You spoil her too much... Sigh~ I am telling you, you father and daughter pair really cause a
lot of trouble..."
That happy and lovely talk between her parents made Riya finally realize that now she also
has parents like everyone else.
She can experience the life she always wanted.
Tears appeared in Riya''s eyes as she hugged her mother tightly and said,
"Mom.... Thank you for waking up... Thank you for everything... You are the best..."
Farah was taken aback by Riya''s crying face for a second, but then she patted Riya''s head with
a guilty look on her face.
"Forgive me for not being there for you when you needed me the most... I love you, my
daughter... I promise to always support you from now on..."
Even Damian''s eyes went moist after seeing Riya cry over such a small matter, it turns out, and Riya was really living a hard life without her parents.
She wanted the love of her parents, and now that she''s finally got it, she''s so happy that she
can''t stop crying over it.
Although everyone else may have forgiven him, Damian himself feels guilty for not being there for his daughters.
''I guess I will need to make up for all the time that''s been lost...''
On that day, Damian promised himself to give all his time to his family. He retired from the
life of an awakener and decided to spend the rest of the time with his family.
...
After half an hour of talking and chatting, Riya finally got up as she noticed the message from
Link on her phone.
"Link is here; I should go now... Mom and Dad, bye, for now..."
Farah and Damian waved their hands to say bye. Riya smiled happily and entered the car, and she opened the window and waved her hand to say bye before the car left.
From today onwards, she will always have the support of her parents with her; she won''t have to worry abouting back to a house that is empty and lifeless with no one waiting for her in it.
Rio changed the lives of all his friends for the better, but his own life remained the same as before. How ironic...
Fortunately, he got to meet and love a girl like Lia, and that alone is more than enough for
him.
Author''s Note.
Yo! It''s your beloved author here!
Question of the day. Which character do you think is living the happiest after being ''saved'' by Rio? (Including all
side characters too...)
(Tell me your opinions in thements.)
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.