There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 756: Side Story 4. Endless Journey - 39

"Can time just like...stop?" Bassena stared at the horizon in a daze.

"You can use that hyperbolic chamber again," Zein shrugged.

"Then it’s only my time!" the esper buried his face on the steering wheel.

Zein rolled his eyes. Even Lucy was rolling her eyes in the back seat, before giggling as their eyes met in the rear-view mirror. Zein shook his head and chuckled, patting his depressed husband’s back.

"You should be happy that your children grow up well. What are you doing mopping like this?"

"Can’t I be happy and sad at the same time?" Bassena sobbed. "I’m happy they grow up well, and I’m also sad they grow up fast."

"You’re so difficult, Daddy..." Lucy sighed.

Bassena raised his head and turned to the back, staring sharply at his daughter. "You can’t get married too soon, okay? Stay at home with me and Zein, okay?"

"Why are you talking about marriage to your thirteen-year-old daughter?" Zein smacked his husband’s head.

"I need to start warning her from now before it’s too late!"

"Oh, you’re hopeless."

Zein rolled his eyes again and decided to ignore his husband. People would think his children were being sold somewhere looking at his dramatic ass when it was just going for a trial in the Tower. Kar wasn’t even an adult yet, technically.

For espers, they were considered an adult at eighteen when they got their license. But they could only get their license if they had already passed their first trial in the Tower. Thus, every year after the winter break, the Academy would arrange transportation for students turning eighteen that year.

This year, the twins would turn eighteen. Asa, however, would have to wait until he was twenty-one for his license. So, Kar had to go alone. If he wanted to, he could go alone since his fathers were more than capable of sending him to the Tower. But since the rate of espers succeeding in the tower impacted the school’s accreditation, Kar decided to go with the Academy’s group.

It was his father’s and uncle’s school anyway.

And so, his fathers and sister were waiting in the parking lot. From their tinted window, they could see the bus that would bring the students to the Tower, and the parents waiting around for their kids, who were still getting briefed in the hall.

Zein and Bassena would like to do that too, but the last time they appeared in the Academy, it immediately became chaotic. Since then, they never showed up on the school grounds anymore, and when they visited, the twins would come out to the hotel where they stayed.

"Oh! They’re leaving!" Lucy pointed outside, at the pouring students in front of the hall.

Well, it wasn’t that much, only around forty. Among them, it was easy to spot the twins, who were standing taller than their peers. There were only three others who were as tall as them, and two of them were built more like a bear, specializing in defense.

Without waiting for his fathers, Lucy immediately opened the car door and ran to her brothers. No matter where, and no matter if she had grown taller, the twins always caught her--first Asa, who handed her over to Kar as usual. But since they had grown and in public, Kar did not twirl his sister in the air, just held her like a child.

It was nice that she remained small. Was it because she was a girl?

Carrying Lucy in his arms, Kar approached the inconspicuous black car along with his twins. Their fathers had just got out of the car, and as expected, there were already murmurs across the field.

"Kar, Daddy is being dramatic again," Lucy whispered in his brother’s ear.

"Does he ever not?" Asa grinned, and Kar smirked in agreement.

As expected, their esper father immediately had a serious expression on his face.

"Remember," Bassena grabbed his eldest’s shoulder. "You don’t have to force yourself to break any record or whatever. Just do well and keep yourself safe. It’s just for license and graduation anyway."

"How boring, Dad..." Kar rolled his eyes. "You should taunt me to surpass you or something."

Bassena tilted his head. "No, that’s not realistic. No one can surpass me."

"The hell?"

"Language," Zein shot a look at his son.

"Oh, whatever," Kar waved his hand and patted his sister before turning around. "I’m off."

With that lackluster farewell, Kar walked away from his family. It was only the first trial climbing, anyway. No one expected anyone to reach the top right away. While Bassena was dramatic about how one of his babies was about to become an adult, he had no particular worry about the trial itself.

Asa, also never worried about the result, waved energetically. "Good luck! Or not! Whatever!"

"Good luck, Brother!"

"Rob that snake," Zein added with a smile wave.

Bassena snorted. "You’re the only one who can get away with talking like that about a deity, honey..." he glanced at his husband, who just shrugged nonchalantly. Bassena looked at his daughter and shook his head. "Don’t copy your father."

"’kay!"

* * *

For their first trial, esper students usually only went as far as the first floor. As Bassena had said, it was only for license and graduation anyway. Most of the academy students already had an internship contract somewhere, and most of those places preferred them to climb low and do specialized training with their future squad before continuing the climb. That way, they could choose a skill that geared toward the sinergy with their team.

Espers who did not go through the academy, on the other hand, would like to climb as high as possible so they would have a better selling point. That being said, they were only given a limited amount of time to do their trial, because the slot was not unlimited.

Of course, unless they did the fifth and the top floor, which rarely had any people attempting it.

Kar’s situation, however, was a bit different. He was already contracted with Trinity, but he was given the freedom to climb as long as he wanted. And so, he used the full three months that the Tower allowed and managed to finish the third floor.

A feat for normal rookies, but not for him since his father went straight to the fourth floor the first time.

To minimize the attention, Zein and Bassena did not pick him up, merely sending a helicopter with his old bodyguard, Einar, to get him straight to Ishtera Hills. There, everyone was already waiting for him, including the twin busy preparing for his college entrance exam.

"Welcome back!" Lucy ran to hug her brother on the porch.

"Mm."

Byul was following her, fidgeting behind the door until Kar ruffled his hair in greeting. The two kids led him to the patio, where the others were enjoying the spring while Bassena and Han Joon cooked them barbeque.

"Heey! Our three-star!" Han Shin raised his glass.

His Uncles were giving him congratulations, but his father was smirking behind the grill. "See? It’s impossible."

Zein smacked the back of his husband’s head while smiling beautifully. "Good job," he patted his eldest’s cheek. "How was it?"

Kar smirked. "I negotiated with Ophiucus."

Bassena raised his slightly throbbing head. "For?"

"No-class."

The answer got everyone’s head turned. Even Radia never heard of such things with his extensive knowledge. Espers usually followed a certain path because it would be easier for them to receive a centralized trial and suitable skills. Even Bassena, who trained in physical combat, still followed the path of magicians, which was his official class despite his combat style.

"...no class?"

"I don’t want to be boxed into one type," Kar shrugged, taking a grilled meat straight from the grill.

"And?"

"He got me a new class," the boy replied after swallowing the meat, licking the sauce off his thumb. "Mana Meister."

"Huh..."

A master of mana. Someone who could freely manipulate mana without fixing to a certain style or elemental. He could use it to attack, to defend, to scout--everything he wanted. With every trial, he would have a bunch of skills to choose, and the possibilities were truly endless.

But to grow his skill tree, he would have to do even more trials. Much more than anyone else.

"What a greedy kid," Radia chuckled. "Is that why you stay there for three whole months?"

"Well...He gave me a lot of trials," Kar shrugged, already inhaling more meat. After all, he could only eat what he hunted inside the Tower. "I won’t be breaking Dad’s record or anything, but He said I can be stronger than Dad."

Han Shin whistled, shuddering slightly at how terrifying this family was. It was like each one of them never did something normally.

Was ’choosing the most difficult path’ their family motto or something?

"Still...if it’s about stamina, Lucy is still unbeatable," Kar gave his sister a wink.

No matter how much mana he had, there was a limit to it. Not to mention the corrosion. He had finally experienced that while doing some dungeon runs during his internship with Trinity, so he knew how debilitating a miasma was.

Lucy, however, could guide herself. And from the miasma she absorbed, she would get a fresh batch of mana. Essentially, she could fight continuously as long as her mental strength allowed her.

"Hehe!"

"Then, what’s left is graduation," Reina clasped her hands. "You need a new suit!"

Kar grimaced at that. "Do I have to attend?"

"Why? Lu want to see a graduation!"

"Uhh..." Kar looked at his sister, who even resorted to acting cute, along with looking at him with sparkling, hopeful eyes. "Fine," he sighed.

"Yaay!"

Han Shin raised his glass again. "Indeed, Lu is the strongest."