Ben's sudden question surprises Roubaul. But the old man has anticipated it after hearing Ben's story about his finding on Nirvana's history. Ben is smart, so the old man knows that Ben will find out that there is a connection between him & Nirvana.
"As I thought, you will ask about that. Well, as you might have assumed, we are Nirvits. Or to be precise their descendants," says Roubaul.
Roubaul's answer is something that Ben has predicted and it sounds true. The Nirvits lived more than 400 years ago, so Roubaul & the native villagers must be their descendants. But he can feel that something is amiss, but he doesn't know what it is.
"Then what about Nirvana? Is it the real reason for you to send me on this journey and find the Magic Library? You want me to learn about Nirvana's history, right?" asks Ben.
"Exactly," says Roubaul.
"Why don't you just tell me about it instead of sending me for an exploration?" asks Ben.
"Because I want you to learn about it objectively, not subjectively from my perspective as Nirvits' descendant," says Roubaul.
Ben gets silent for a moment before saying, "Then you can reveal everything now, right?"
Roubaul nods before saying, "I have a dream, the same dream that I shared with everyone here. Of course, not you & your sisters, but the natives. Our dream is to find and destroy Nirvana forever. It is a great invention of our ancestors, but also a horrible past, a regret of our tribe."
"Because it destroyed your tribe?" asks Ben.
"Because it destroyed our tribe in a very horrible way," says Roubaul.
Roubaul starts to tell Ben about Nirvana and the reason it was created. Just like what Ben has read in the Magic Library, Nirvana was made to transform darkness into light. It was created to stop the war that happened at that time.
The war stopped and the Nirvits were happy. But they never thought that Nirvana has a side effect. When an amount of darkness got changed into light, the same amount of light will also change into darkness.
"The light that got changed into darkness is our ancestors, the Nirvits. They turned mad and evil, they started to kill each other. Only a few survived because they were too far from Nirvana, we are their descendants," says Roubaul.
Nirvana was sealed after that because no one at that time could destroy it. That's why it became a mission for their descendants to destroy Nirvana. But up to this day, no one of the Nirvits' descendants has the power to destroy Nirvana.
"Even you?" asks Ben.
"Even me. You might think that I am very strong, but you are wrong. If we fight all out now, I'm sure you will defeat me in no time. Sure, I have strong Magic Power, but I am not a true combatant like you," says Roubaul.
Ben ponders what Roubaul has explained. It all makes sense to him now, but something is still amiss. He can't remove that strange feeling in his heart. He doesn't want to suspect that the old man is lying to him, but that strange feeling just doesn't want to leave.
Ben thinks, 'I know that he doesn't have bad intention, but I have a feeling that he is lying. Sigh, whatever, he won't be able to hide it for too long. I will try to uncover it slowly.'
"So you want me to find and destroy this Nirvana?" asks Ben.
"Yeah, but not now, you are not ready yet. Even if you are ready, I can't let you do it alone, the risk is too big. You need to know that it's not just us who want Nirvana. Some people in the dark side also want it," says Roubaul.
"Dark Guilds?" asks Ben.
"That's right, but I'm sure it's not just them. Bad people with bad intentions are everywhere and Nirvana is a treasure for them. It needs to be destroyed before falling on the wrong hands," says Roubaul.
Ben raises an eyebrow before asking, "So what's exactly that you want me to do? You want to destroy that thing, but forbid me to do it. If it's not me, then who will do it?"
"You will, but you need to wait for now. I have asked some friends to help us. They will help us search for some people that will help you in this mission. We need to prepare thoroughly for this. I don't want to make the same mistake as my ancestors," says Roubaul.
Ben gets silent for a moment before sighing and nods. He can tell the old man that he is ready to do it alone and sure that he can do it. But he knows that the old man is a worrywart. Roubaul will never let him go alone even if Ben has the capability to do it.
After that talk, Ben walks out of the guild building with many things in his mind. The strange feeling in his heart is still lingering, but he decides to ignore it and trust the old man. That strange feeling is also not a bad feeling, but more of uneasiness, so he can ignore it.
"Ben-boy," calls Roubaul.
"Yeah?" asks Ben as he turns around.
"I'm sorry for putting you into this even though it's my problem," says Roubaul with a sad expression.
"What are you talking about, Gramps? I won't reach this level now without you. You took me in and helped me many times, so it's just right for me to help you. We are family, so your problem is my problem," says Ben while smiling before he leaves the building.
Roubaul smiles and has some tears flowing from his eyes as he thinks, 'I'm sorry that I can't tell you the truth now, Ben. But I promise I will tell you everything when the time is right.'
Ben doesn't know what Roubaul thinks and just goes to the field. The girls are there because he told them to wait there this morning. He arrives there and sees them playing with Ueki, the green Nikora.
"You guys like him?" asks Ben.
"Yes, he is very cute," says Wendy.
"Why did you tell us to come here? It's not just to make us play with him, right?" asks Carla.
"You get smarter, Carla," says Ben while rubbing Carla's head.
"Hmph, just say it, no need for praise," says Carla 'tsunderely'.
Ben smiles and takes out 3 small red gift boxes from his pocket. He gives one to each of them, except Ueki of course, which only gets a sandwich.
"Your birthday gifts," says Ben while smiling.
The girls smile happily and immediately open the boxes. Inside the boxes are necklaces with the same design as Mira's. Wendy & Carla's boxes also have rings with the same design as the one that Bella wears on her tail.
"Mira?" asks Bella while holding the necklace.
"Yeah, it's the same as Mira's necklace," says Ben.
The necklaces have the same usage as Mira's necklace, to store MP and use it in an emergency. It will be useful even for Wendy who can eat air to restore her MP. But eating air to restore MP will take a longer time than using these necklaces, so it's better for emergency situations.
As for the rings, they can reduce the weight of their user. They are very useful for Bella & Carla to make them fly faster. The ring will also be useful for Wendy as it can increase her agility because she gets lighter. She needs good agility as a Wind Dragon Slayer, after all.
"I have one more gift for each of you, but you need to wait because I need to make them first. I just need to find good materials to make them," says Ben.
Ben said that, but the girls are too absorbed trying their new necklaces & rings that they don't listen to him. He sighs and just picks Ueki to relieve his sadness because his sisters are ignoring him.
"My sisters choose gifts over their brother. It's such a sad moment, right, buddy?" asks Ben to Ueki with dropped shoulders.
"Puun," answer Ueki while nodding and eating his sandwich.
Both of them just sit there silently and watch the girls try their new necklaces & rings. It makes Ben happy that they like his gifts, but he's also sad that they are ignoring him. Luckily, it ends soon as they thank him and play with him until afternoon. At least he is not forgotten.
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You can read up to 35+ chapters ahead of this fanfic novel & the other one on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.
Clicking that power stone/like also seem to be a good choice, hehe.
I've uploaded:
1. Chapter 170 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater
2. Chapter 181 of Transcended as Lord Buggy
https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain
(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)