Numbers x Casket-Chapter 36: Tattoos

"Oh my, Lindsay, my granddaughter, what brings you here?" an old man asked.

As soon as Efraim and Lindsay stepped inside the house, they saw his grandfather standing in the hallway while his gaze was fixated on the portrait hanging on the wall.

"Gramps!" Lindsay ran towards him and gave him a tight hug.

The old man returned her embrace, then lifted her hand and gently patted the woman’s head. From his perspective, she was still a little child.

Afterward, he glanced at the man standing a short distance away from them.

"It looks like you’ve really grown up, bringing someone to meet this old man," he chuckled.

Then, as Lindsay raised her head and looked at him, he spoke once again.

"Care to introduce him?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Lindsay’s cheeks blushed for a little, and she freed herself from her grandfather’s embrace and gestured for the appraiser to come closer.

"Efraim, meet my grandfather, Lien Astrum," Lindsay introduced the old man first.

Then, she smiled at the appraiser and reverted her gaze back to her grandfather.

"Gramps, this is Efraim... m-my friend," she announced her relationship with the young man, though she hesitated as she didn’t know what their current standing was.

"It’s an honor to meet you, sir," Efraim stated and extended his hand, waiting for a handshake.

The old man grabbed it and stared straight at the appraiser, then glanced at Lindsay and laughed.

"Friend? But the redness of your face says a different thing," the old man said.

"Gramps! Stop it!" Lindsay pouted.

Meanwhile, after shaking their hands, Efraim chose to keep his silence and just watched the two’s interactions, and he couldn’t help but smile thinking how close they were.

During his time in Bladehaven, he only met his grandfather a few times, and they never had such good connections.

"Hmnn, so what exactly brings you here? I heard what happened about your engagement. Let me guess, this fella is the reason for the cancellation," the old man stated and stroked his chin.

Then, he glanced at his granddaughter, and upon seeing an awkward smile flash on her lips, he turned around and walked deeper inside the house.

"Come with me," he ordered.

Efraim looked at Lindsay with a questioning gaze; however, he got no response as Lindsay followed the old man’s trail.

The appraiser stood still for a second; his left eye shifted to a cyan-hexagram color upon activating his second Flair. Then, number ninety-eight appeared at the top of the old man’s head, and Efraim’s brows furrowed in confusion.

He was Lindsay’s grandfather, so he expected a lot more, but the figures’ black hue made him a little bit disappointed.

. . . . .

While walking inside the house, Efraim’s mind was in a constant wonder. They had already walked a great distance, but they never met another person, and the paintings present hanging on the corridors gave him an eerie feeling as if they were alive.

Since they came inside, he felt constant gazes coming from everywhere, and he thought that they were coming from the paintings. However, he chose not to disclose it; he didn’t want to offend Lindsay’s grandfather.

The next moment, the three of them reached a large room with nothing but training dummies.

"If I’m not mistaken, you brought him here to train under me, am I right?" the old man stated after turning around and looking at Lindsay.

Efraim was startled by his sudden declaration, confusion plastered on his face as he diverted his eyes to the woman next to him.

Upon sensing both of the men’s curious gaze, Lindsay nodded and looked at the appraiser.

"You need this. For you to defeat Zack, you’re strong, but your strength is still lacking to achieve victory against him. He’s not considered the strongest battle mage for nothing," she blurted out without sugarcoating her words.

Efraim stared at her with a confused look, his mind thinking about how the old man would teach him. Though he didn’t want to look down on her grandfather, the color of the numbers on top of his head made him do so.

Thus, for him not to offend Lindsay, he chose to play along.

With an excited look, he answered. "It would be a pleasure to learn from your grandfather."

"Great! Though we only have a day before the festival starts, I believe that it’s more than enough, right, Gramps?" Lindsay replied and clapped with excitement.

Afterward, the old man nodded and gestured for the appraiser to follow him to the center of the room. Then, he examined Efraim; he cast a downward glance at him, starting from his head all the way to his feet.

"Nice stance!" he exclaimed, smiling.

The next second, a plain-looking sword materialized in the palm of his hand out of nowhere.

Efraim squinted his eyes upon seeing what he did.

’Spatial magic? No, that’s slightly different,’ he thought.

Meanwhile, the old man checked his weapon’s sharpness, and the moment he reverted his gaze back to the appraiser, he ordered him to draw his blades.

"A sword made of glass while the other had a complete black color. You’ve got pretty nice weapons," he commented.

Afterward, he leaped backward to create some gap between them, then he raised his hand and gestured for the appraiser to come.

Efraim wanted to end this as soon as possible, though he wanted to give Lindsay’s grandfather some face.

With this in mind, he lunged forward, and upon reaching a certain distance, he swung the Seventeenth Shard enough for its tip to graze the old man’s chest.

Like he expected, Lien raised his sword and blocked the attack’s trajectory. Then, he pushed the blade away and spun around before sending the appraiser flying backwards with a kick straight to his chest.

"Don’t look down on me, young one. Yes, I’m old, but I’m still a lot stronger than you!" Lien exclaimed, laughing.

Efraim shook his head and replied, smiling. "Then, I’ll go all out."

Though he intended his attack to be blocked, he failed to anticipate the old man’s kick. Thus, he started to take it in a more serious approach. He swirled his blades around and held them in a reverse grip, and Lien knitted his brows after seeing his current stance.

"I’m coming," Efraim announced, and his silhouette vanished.

Without giving the old man any time to react, he slashed his blade, aiming for his sword. He wanted to shatter it upon impact and end the spar.

However, his expectation betrayed him once more as he found his body lying on the ground with the old man’s blade pointing at his neck.

"I’ve already told you, a half-baked approach won’t work on me; aim your blade properly..." Lien stated and paused for a second. He placed his hand under his chin and moved it sideward before continuing. "And try to cut this."

Efraim gulped while staring at the old man. He replayed what happened inside his head, but all that he saw was he grabbed his arm, and the next second, he was already on the ground. In regard to how he did it, he had no concrete idea.

Upon seeing the appraiser’s puzzled expression, Lien removed the sword and extended his hand to help Efraim stand. Then, as soon as he stood up, he spoke.

"Now, give me all you’ve got without any reservations; kill me if you can!" Lien declared, his eyes overflowing with determination.

Efraim glanced at Lindsay, his eyes throwing her questions, but the only response that he got was a smile and a nod.

The appraiser sighed in disbelief and stared at the old man; his eye shifted to a cyan-blue hexagram, and the same numbers flashed above Lien’s head.

However, this time, Efraim ignored the floating figures; he was humbled by the old man not only once but twice. Thus, he threw away the idea of him being weak, he focused himself, and he began to treat it as a real fight.

"I’m sorry about earlier, but here I come!" Efraim exclaimed.

Like a streak of lightning, he propelled forward and aimed his blade at the old man’s neck, like what he wanted.

"Now! You’re doing great! Excellent speed, by the way," Lien murmured and bent his body backward to dodge.

Then he used his free hand to prevent him from completely falling on the ground and parried the blade going straight to his chest.

"That’s a good approach, but you should slice me in half instead of stabbing," he commented.

Afterward, he kicked the appraiser’s chin as he tumbled upward. The appraiser found his head spinning in circles due to the strength of the kick. He fell on his knees and looked at his opponent.

’Seriously? How is he overpowering me this much?’ he asked inside his thoughts.

"Are you still wondering why you’re losing against this frail old man?" Lien provoked him.

His laughter echoed across the room. Then, he took off his upper clothes, and the appraiser’s eyes widened in amazement.

"I have the strength of an ox, the speed of a cheetah runs in my blood, and the tenacity of a dragon shaped my mind," he expressed with pride.

Efraim heard him loud and clear, but his entire focus was occupied by the tattoos engraved on his body.

. . . . .