Saharan Successor

A/N: First let me take this chance to tell you that today is a Mass-Release Day (5 chapters for you my loyal readers who waited patiently for the old man to settle his academic problems)

If you want to read 20+ chapters ahead  or support me, visit here:

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Chapter 136 - Vol. 3 - Chapter 1

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As he was watching the city ornamented with the Christmas ornaments from the large windows with no major changes this year too, a journey back home on the bus that in his mind was normal, it didn't stay normal, since his little brother had something to remark.

His little brother, Chris, was having a troubled expression initially, as if he was pondering about something, and without bothering him, leaving him to his thoughts, unexpectedly heard him open about something that made him frown.

"Big brother, I don't know if I should tell you but I met Alexandra while shopping for some gifts in the mall. There seems to be some remorse on how things ended between you two, by how she was mentioning you.

She asked about you … A lot."

Chris glanced at Mathias whose expression remained calm, unbothered by him mentioning his ex-lover, with whom he had a relation that ended rather unfortunate after quite the lengthy adolescence love. The response he gained from his older brother was something he didn't expect, he sounded too indifferent.

"And? Let me guess, she tried to pull some words from you, about my whereabouts, my situation, if I moved over that event with her cheating on me and so on?"

Mathias' response was simply detached, and unbothered, as he asked his younger brother what that girl might have done.

"Well, big brother, you know her probably the best." replied Chris, starting feeling stupid for bringing this in the open, but lucky for him, Mathias moved past that incident.

"You think? Heh, I used to think I knew her, but that girl is just a manipulative spoiled "princess" that played with my feelings just so she could make me jealous. Hah,  now that I think about it, Chris, what you know is a fragment of the story, but I found the entire picture."

"Wait, really? You know everything?"

Giving him a long stare that told a lot, he later on changed the subject.

"Let's forget about it.  I don't care about that incident nowadays. Lifes continues, and there are plenty of girls out there that might fit old me, quite well. There's so many gorgeous women in this world that also have bright personalities, caring, loving, why would we be stuck with some specific girl? Love? Don't get me started."

"Sorry for bringing it up." appologized Chris, while Alex was giving him a stare as if telling him "idiot", yet he thought it was worth telling Mathias about his encounter, in case he still had feelings for his former lover.

"You really shouldn't stress yourself on that matter.  Now tell me, what food did mom make for this occasion?"

"You know, the usual since we were small."

"Ohhh, great. I kind of missed mom's cooking after one year. The jars don't count in the discussion."

His brothers laughed a bit seeing Mathias swallow his saliva just thinking about his mom's food, and on their way home, the boys began asking Mathias about life in the big city, about his job, and other curiosities they had accumulated for almost one year since he left his hometown.

Questions that weren't left unanswered, with the exception of the one about his job, which made him stop and look at the two.

"Everything is good, apart from the job."

"What do you mean big brother?"

"Hah, I got fired. The reason? Staff restructuring. But it will be fine, I have other things planned which will keep me afloat with my rent and expenses."

"You'll become a fighter to earn money?" asked Alex, interested to know about his other side-job, training himself to become a professional fighter.

"That is on the table, Alex. Once I return back, the coach will put me into a hellish training camp since I will soon have my first fights."

"Woah, once we get home can you show me some tricks so when some jerk tries to pick on me, I can punch his face."

Mathias glanced at Alex brown eyes, turning a bit serious as he later asked him something short.

"Problems with bullies at highschool?"

"Well … Is not me in particular, but I got some stupid classmates that think of themselves as some gangsters, picking on the quiet guys I got to know better."

"You want to defend those guys?"

"Yea, at least if I get into a fight, I should make sure I can beat the crap out of them. Ahem, to be able to defend myself" responded Alex to Mathias inquiring, giving him a cheeky smile.

"Right, to defend yourself." said Mathias with a wink, which kept the cheeky smile on the face of his youngest brother.

"Good, at least I know it is for self-defense, not that I really care that much, just don't pick on the weak and turn into some bully."

"Obviously, I'll not do something so stupid. I still remember what you told me about bullying. I'll not be that pussy to make myself feel better by picking on people just because."

"Big brother, that saying of yours, still remains strong to this even for me." replied Chris, after Alex mentioned what he told them when Mathias was in the 10th grade and the two were still in elementary school.

"You make it sound as if I am an old man."

.

The journey home wasn't that long, and as the brothers got off at the bus station, and with an 10 minutes walk, Mathias arrived at the familiar apartment complex, where he began looking around at the buildings and pin-pointing some old cars that remained abandoned, with their tired deflated and visible crash on them.

Getting in the apartment building, and walking toward the third floor followed by Chris and Alex, he stood in front of his home door and knocked calmly on it.

His hearing was excellent and immediately he could hear the footsteps of someone, either his dad or mother, and he didn't know if whoever was at the door looked at the door sight, but once it got opened, he smiled and said with a warm voice.

"Primiţi cu colindul?" (A/N: An english version? I don't know if there is an idiom, but the direct translation is: Do you receive some corals?)

In front of him stood a lady in her late 40s with black hair that contained some strands of white hair, medium height, with the appearance of a kind woman. Her name was Cristina Dumitrescu.

The moment she saw Mathias and even heard him say that with the luggage in his hand, and his two brothers at his back chuckling at the back, she replied to him.

"Aren't you guys old for corals? Leave some for the neighbors' children too."

"Well, I tried. Greetings mom, I am home."

"My child, didn't you tell mom that you will come tomorrow? I even kept quiet from the rest, but it seems I got fooled by you cheeky brats."

The three brothers laughed a bit, as they stepped forward with the mother welcoming them, while watching Mathias carefully being able to instantly notice the changes to his body, becoming slimmer, a sign in her mind that he didn't eat properly.

After he took his boots and coat, placing it on the clothes rack, Mathias went to embrace his mom who later on kissed his cheeks.

"Dear, don't tell mom you had it hard in the capital? Look at you, you've lost so much weight."

"It is not what you think mom, I've been working out for a while. Besides, don't make it sound as if I was fat to begin with." told Mathias, to the worried Cristina, who thought her son was starving himself trying to save money, and because of his long sleeved blouse she couldn't see his body changes properly.

Meanwhile the other two, remained quiet not telling their mom about what Mathias told them that he was pursuing, leaving it to his choice if he wanted to share it with their parents, and once Mathias arrived in the living room after washing his hands, he was placed straight on the living room couch.

"Tell me, dear, how was the journey back?"

"It was okay, other than the delay that is common to happen in the winter. I returned on my two feet. The weather is the same here, so it hasn't made an impact on me yet."

"Glad to hear this. Have you eaten something on your way?"

"I had some muffins from a cute girl on the train. Apart from this, with what food I eat before leaving this is what got me back."

"We can't have that, what do you want to eat?"

"... Some meatball soup?"

"Of course, I had prepared fresh soup today, knowing you'll arrive tomorrow."

His mom was sitting next to him on the couch before the two went to the kitchen, where while he was seated at the table, the mother was reheating the soup while talking with him, mostly her asking him with some worry in her tone, about different things, until he calmed her worries.

"You have to eat more, look at how much weight you lost."

"Ahem, I am fine mom, if I put on weight this week when I am home, I will have to lose what extra weight I have put on me, 79 kilograms is my walking weight anyway."

"There's something you are hiding from me?" asked Cristina, who was sitting with Mathias at the table, while the young man began eating the warm in a quiet manner, later on flattering her for the food.

"You know mom, no one beats your food."

"I know, but don't change the subject, you sneaky brat. You are hiding something from me, I know what that stare of yours can tell, this is what you are doing when you want to play down something you are guilty of."

Mathias chuckled a bit, and told Cristina without being affected by the event that happened to himself.

"I got fired from my work 4 days ago. This is something I didn't tell you on the phone, because I didn't want to stress you with my problems at Bucharest. I'll be fine, there's no lack of jobs in the city, as long as you want to work and earn your bread."

"I see, I'll not nag you. This will be another life experience that will help you forward."

He only nodded at her like a little chick as he continued eating before he also opened up about him going to an MMA gym, which he knew will make his mom overreact, nonetheless, he had to come clean about those things.

"Arghh, I know that sport. I remember when I went to pick you up from your grandfather that he mentioned you two would constantly watch those old matches and even try some kicks. This is all the fault of that old man for showing you all sorts of dangerous things. I'll have a talk with him when we visit him in four days." said Cristina, who had a clear memory about when Mathias would go on the summer vacation to the countryside to spend his time helping his grandfather, her father.

"You don't sound that angry." remarked Mathias as he ended eating the soup, standing in the corner of the table while Cristina simply shook her head.

"You'll be 22, in April. An adult on his feet, maybe stepping sideways like a drunk for now, but still my baby I remember cradling at my chest so he would stop crying."

"The old man told me I wasn't that much of a crybaby. Was I that bad?"

"I don't know how you were when dad took care of you, but you were a spoiled child, until your brothers come in our family. Since you were 5 when Cristian was born it was the time I would have dad take care of you. I don't know if you remember about that since you were small."

"Mhm, I have some memories about it, but just puzzle pieces." told Mathias who tried to recollect about his younger self memories, since he was a little boy, but he had blank spots, remembering only sequences.

Still with Cristina's help, the things he was mentioning he remembered, the mother would fill in immediately, as if she remembered everything her sons did until today. The two had a pleasant talk, but the worried mother brought up his new pursuit.

"For how long have you been doing this sport?"

"From early August to this day. However, I lost some weight when working out from home before starting the sport, and also having to do the housekeeping job, picking around with me the utility roller and other extra things. As for my training, you probably have the wrong perception, it is not always about beating one another."

"Yet you will still get hit by someone, which mom doesn't like hearing about."

"This is part of the sport, but things are controlled, and you'll think of it simply as a sport. There's also a lot of things to learn about each discipline, which is always interesting for a beginner like me."

Mathias began telling Cristina about his experiences at the gym, about who his coach was, which made the woman gesture with her face that she heard about old Vinisan name before, but she had no idea from where. Nonetheless, some of her worries were relieved when she heard from her eldest son that he was having fun training in those disciplines.

"Son, if you enjoy doing that, I will not try stopping you. Do what you want since it's your life, but don't regret it later on to try and quit it. I didn't raise such a child that would quit at the first sign of hardship."

"Thanks mom, I will keep in mind your words."

"Good, and what about a girl? Have you found someone in Bucharest? Maybe a colleague?"

*Cough* "You really had to ask me about girls?" asked Mathias, finding this subject a bit sensible for him, but nevertheless he still gave in to his mother's questions, in the end he was still "Mama's boy".

"Why not? Don't tell me you changed your sexual orientation?"

*Pfff* "Where does that come into your mind? A muscled head like me changing my orientation?  Well, it is a bit complicated but I did make a girlfriend, she is a foreigner."

"In that game you told me you spent that part of your savings? Now that you say so, this makes it worth it, like a dating phone app, only that it was brought to this new thing, Enhanced Virtual Reality. Is she beautiful? Come show her."

Mathias smiled warmly, and with his green eyes looking at the corner of the door, he noticed some hands on that, and with a cough, Chris and Alex also entered the kitchen, seeming curious just like Cristina.

Luckily he uploaded the pictures he took inside Satisfy to his phone, of him and Fayrene and Jeanne, as if it was a selfy or a paint portrait.

Taking his phone from his pocket, he quickly got to the folder in question where he picked a picture with Fayrene by herself working on a piece of clothing with a serious, and diligent face, no make-up on her face, with her long raven-hair tied down by a linen purple fabric, with simple clothes on her.

"Ohh my, what a beautiful girl. Is she a model or something?" asked Cristina holding in her hand her son's phone with Fayrene in spotlight, observing carefully this young lady that had a clean skin complexion, not a drop of make-up and a captured expression focused on her work.

"Not at all, she is a tailoress. Her name is Fayrene. Also, she explicitly told me to tell you her greetings and all the Christmas wishes.

"Awww, such a cutie. See Matei, I told you. You will find a better girl in the future."

"Ahem, mom because things are slightly complicated inside that world, there's one more girl I want to show you."

"Don't tell me you are cheating on little Fayrene? Have you gone blind?"

"No, no, you are wrong mom. Argh, maybe you are right, but things worked out in such a way, in that place people live by other traditions and laws. Not far away from us, but think of the world as an alternative universe that is based in the 15-16th century."

"Here, let me show you, your second daughter. Her name is Jeanne. You could say she is an inhabitant of that world."

Cristina, had in front of her eyes another gorgeous lady, with golden-hair, and hazel eyes, quite tall at similar height to Mathias, and in the picture she had some simple clothes and was staring with a warm, and sweet expression on her face, visible it was targeting her son who took a picture like some shameless crook, probably not even telling the poor girl.

"Mhm, she is cute too."

"Wow, isn't this the Priestess of Saharan? Mom, let me see." said Chris, who stole a peek at the picture of Jeanne, and immediately he recognized her from the videos of the people inside Rebecca Church.

There was one in particular with Jeanne and a man the same height as his elder brother with crimson hair, and wearing an expensive looking vintage suit from a past era where people still staged war using old fashioned guns and where the warships ruled the warfare.

"Is this really the Priestess? My gosh, big brother, you stole the heart of the sole Priestess of Saharan. Then does this mean you are the crimson-haired nobleman?"

"Alex, can you explain to mom what that brother of yours keeps talking about?"

"Well mom, is complicated." said Alex who also took a glance at the gorgeous Jeanne looking at him with a warm and tender expression.

"Allow me to clear this situation mom, I think I am far more qualified to discuss things that have me and Jeanne in the spotlight, if you could call it like that."

Then, he began telling Christina about some things about Satisfy, and the setting of the world, following that he mentioned to her how he was part of an exclusive group that formed the Beta Testing Group. There he told her how he first met Jeanne and got to know each other, sprouting from there the romantic seeds from many interactions along the way, when he was tasked to clean the Cathedral.

Information and after information, still trying to keep it simple, he reached the current point where he reunited with Jeanne, with the specific capture of him and her being taken when he first visited her from his long journey back to where he first started in the past.

"Interesting. You know dear, since you like to write, maybe you should save this story for a future book. And don't worry, mom is an open-minded woman, and wouldn't frown on your choices."

"As you said, if her culture allows for such a thing, and also little Fayrene gave you the green light, then why should I say something? Having such cute girls, far beats that girl."

"Hah? Don't tell me that girl approached you too?"

"With apologies and all the things I would hear from the Turkish drama shows. That it wasn't her intent to make such a mistake, that she didn't know what she was doing. Just cheap talk at the end of the day. Good that I didn't raise some fools to be played by cheap women."

There was clear displeasure from Cristina tone when she was mentioning Mathias former girlfriend, evidently aware of how things ended between the two. For certain as annoyed she was encountering that girl, the more proud she was of how Mathias managed himself in this rather unique experience.

"I guess you dear could care less, after you managed to find such girls. Come tell mom more about them, I might be able to tell you some things after she learns about them."

"Mom, you've watched too much Turkish Drama." commented Mathias when he saw how eager his mom was to find more about Fayrene and Jeanne.

"Ahh, good that you reminded me. Soon the new episode will be aired on TV."

This comment lead to all of three sons to laugh at how serious Cristina was about her Turkish Drama shows.

Meanwhile, as Mathias was having a pleasant chat with his mother and little brothers, even waiting for his father to return from work and spend some time with him before going to sleep, one young lady in particular suddenly sneezed, covering her mouth and the old looking book in her lap.

*Hapchu* "A sign? Could it be, is this pregnancy? Haha, what I am even thinking is probably the dust from the ancient tome. Better continue with my studies, I am close to finding the correct way of casting Arcane Orb."

"What Mat told me was a good way of learning faster? … Teach others, or by fighting and using those exact spells."

Thinking to herself, with the book in her lap, she moved her legs in a restless manner, before her violet eyes gave off some white-purple light, immediately remarking with a pleased tone.

"I have the sparing feature. I should use it to the largest extent. But who should I spar against? Contact with Mathias friends? That Red could be a good dummy for testing my spells. A moving target with complex movement capabilities."

"No… It is too risky. I still have to learn from those girls on the weird portal mirror, how girls are on the other side. I need another target but who wouldn't tell others about me and my spells? Someone close?"

She softly hit her forehead with the palm, and with a soft tone she remarked.

"Since Mathias returned I really turned into a dummy. I need to use my mind more without relying on him to get my answers. I have little Vek to spar with me, and because of the curse effect, it will not end with either of us being hurt. Win-win for both sides, but mostly me."

Closing the arcane tome, that swiftly disappeared from her lap magically, she called out.

"Little Vek! I want you to help me with something since you are doing nothing but lazing around."

"Did something happen, Mistress?" asked Vek after entering inside Fayrene's private room, looking at the young lady with a confused expression.

"I want you to be my sparring partner."

"Pardon me?... Mistress, are you sure? Lord Mathias told me to protect you, not fight you."

"Hmph, he doesn't know how capable I am. Now stop asking questions and come with me to the courtyard, that ring made by Mathias."

***

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