Village Elder

Inside Jasmine village, a house stood out from the others. Its wood had a darker color, a dark brown seeming nearly black. Its structure was big enough to comfort a family of more than ten people. It had three big floors with several rooms and a backyard that had twenty square meters.

Ares and his father were standing in front of it. They would always stay there for some time to appreciate the imponent look of the house, which could even be classified as a mansion at that point.

As his father kept there looking at that structure with his eyes filled with nostalgia, the kid started to get annoyed by the wait. He wasn't someone as patient as his father and he didn't feel anything about that place to get so amazed when looking at it. For him, it was just another big house, and he was aware that there were other more enormous buildings out there.

For some reason, the resident of that big house was just a single person. Some maids took care of the overall maintenance but, besides them, nobody was living there except for the Village Elder, Ares's grandfather.

"Hey, dad. Let's enter there already! I am hungry." He didn't eat at school, so he wanted to have something to fill his stomach as fast as possible.

As if he was daydreaming, the man looked to his soon with a perplexed expression until he could notice that he was aloof. He resumed that strange behavior by walking past the gates surrounding the house and entering it.

Once they crossed the door, they faced a well-furnished house, with all its furniture and decorations made of hardwood of all different types of trees and colors.

Ares couldn't feel Mana in the environment yet, differently from his father who could notice the dense layer of power floating in the air. It was impossible not to notice when the Village Elder was at home because of that huge amount of Mana.

'I am his descendant, but still don't have the same quantity of Mana that he has in his body. Just his presence from far away can make me grit my teeth. That's the result of giving all your life for Mana Nourishment.'

He walked with Ares to the lastest floor of the house, greeting the maids on the way there. They seemed to be very occupied that day. Since it was Friday, the Village Elder probably would have some guests so they needed to let everything clear and prepare the food. The man was so cunning that he probably sensed that his son was coming and ordered them to make dinner earlier.

Once on the fourth floor, they stopped in front of a heavy wooden door with details in silver. Of all the things inside that house, one of the few that Ares found cool was the door of his grandfather's bedroom. Inside there, then, he always got speechless.

The Village Elder was popular among the youths, but his number one fan surely was his own grandson.

Ares's father knocked on the door twice. That gesture was just for respect. He knew that the old man was aware of their arrival.

"Please, enter, Kavir, my son. You as well, Ares." If Kavir had a calm voice for Ares's ears when he was not teaching, then it was impossible to find an adjective for the voice of his grandfather.

Always when he heard it, he imagined a feather floating serenely on a tranquil lake. Just hearing it made his heartbeat soothe, his muscles relaxed as well.

The heavy door was slowly pushed by his father. Inside the bedroom, one could see a huge bed surrounded by all sorts of furniture and decorations that filled the room. The lack of space could seem quite overwhelming, but not for Ares, whose eyes always shone when seeing that.

'So cool...' He was speechless as always while looking at the different pictures of beasts that his grandfather painted hanging on the wall.

Hunters of the legends could be seen there as well, with their mighty figures in all sorts of poses, or facing a dreadful beast.

Ares's grandfather was sitting on the bed mattress, his hands resting on his lap. He had a long white beard that reached his chest and covered half of his face. His thick eyebrows had the same color, the hair would be of a similar tonality as well if he wasn't bald at that point. Numerous wrinkles could be seen on his face.

However, none of those features stood out more than his joyful smile towards his son and grandson.

"I am glad you came here today. I was waiting for you two. I suppose that you were occupied with your daily routine." His eyes had a prideful gleam inside, which showed how ecstatic he was for his grandson finally working to become a man.

"Yes, father. We both are doing our best for Ares to acquire good results out of the training. He is going slow-paced by now, but maybe his shortage is contributing to his delay. And, well, as for the rest of the routine, such as work and school... we will work on it."

The Village Elder nodded at his words, looking back to his grandson with comforting eyes.

"Don't worry, Ares. Although your father was talented at your age, everyone has their own rhythm. You see, when I was one year younger than you, I also didn't do well with a sword; I was weak, fragile, and my willpower was as thin as a piece of paper. I just became so good afterward because of my early Awakening." He explained with an affable voice.

As always, Are's eyes kept glazed at his grandfather as long as he kept talking about his life. He knew very well about the interests of his grandson, so he always hid a thing or two from him, so he would be willing to come to his house more often.

Kavir could predict what was to come from that interaction, so he crossed his arms and leaned his back on the wall. A maid appeared, peeking inside the bedroom from the slightly opened wall. Both began to talk about something.

"So, you really Awakened at my age? I heard some rumors on school about it, but I couldn't believe it!"

The old man laughed, patting his grandson on the head lightly.

"Oh yes. Whoever said it is completely correct! After I completed twelve, my Awakening happened! By the way, do you know what it is to be Awakened, Ares?"

"Starting, usually, from the age of thirteen, the body starts to lose its barries from the influence of the outer world. Then, the Great Curse can befall on our minds and trigger off an idle capacity of the humans: control Mana, the energy that constitutes and influences every single atom of this world."

The elder nodded, satisfied with the explanation. He couldn't be more proud of his grandson than he was now.

"Exactly. Your explanation fits very well the real thing. They always lack some advanced information when teaching at the school, but that's the expected since they try to keep some things just for the military and the nobles."

Feeling energetic, Ares started to ramble while sitting on the bed with his grandfather.

"I wonder if I will be Awakened right when I turn thirteen... I would like to since I would be able to start training!"

The Village elder looked to his grandson with somewhat sadness in his eyes. Deep inside, he pitied him. However, he should keep his mouth shut for the time being.

He knew very well how fuelled someone could feel when dreaming high, so he needed to wait until the right time.

'Hold on, Arthur. That's for a greater sake.' He sighed while patting Ares's red hair.

The boy didn't understand the intentions of Arthur, but he didn't ask. Whatever that was passing for his mind, Ares knew that it was something reasonable and important. He trusted his grandfather more than his own father.

"Kavir said to me some days ago that he would discuss with you about your future, even though we all know what you want for your life, hehe! Since he is such an annoying son, he asked me to converse about it with you as well, so let's start before he gets stressed." Arthur winked at him, who giggled in response.

"I said it to my father since I was ten, you know? Of course, not too clearly, but he knew what I meant!"

"And what it is?"

"I want to explore... No, to be clear, I want to be a Beast Hunter!"

Arthur's chest was filled with joy once he saw the resolution in his grandson's eyes. However, his eyes got distant for a while and he seemed to remember something sad. That reaction was fast enough for Ares to not notice it, though.

"A Beast Hunter, huh? I was expecting it, to be honest. Since you were a kid and I told you the numerous stories about them, your eyes got brighter in a way that was not normal."

He felt like ruffling the hair of the boy to get rid of the awkwardness he was feeling by making something humorous. The giggle of his grandson calmed his heart.

"Well, since you like stories, I will tell you something, Ares. Hear me carefully, ok?"

Ares nodded his head and then his grandfather started to speak.