Chapter 33 - Points of View

"You're serious?"

Ango asked before his mind could process the information but a nod from Piere made him understand.

"But but if that's the case how did Hawkwood not notice?" Hawkwood also seemed curious.

"You still can't feel him absorbing energy?"

"No, How do you?"

"Ah well the lad is absorbing even less energy than you" Piere then grabbed his beard and set out to pet the unwilling companion on his face "It might be due to your tier"

"Tier? Oh… I understand" Hawkwood replied which puzzled Ango

'Tier? What does this have to do with mana tier? Wasn't it just about the quality of mana?'

"Judging by your puzzled expression lad I can say you don't completely understand; being of a higher tier makes you more sensitive to mana and you'll have an easier time controlling it, along with some other perks"

"So Hawkwood can't sense it because the amount is so small? Hm.. that makes sense" his expression became enlightened, then happy but then it fell.

"I still have to sit still for hours shouldn't I? since the amount is so small but that makes me wonder, what was the thing that I absorbed?"

Piere shrugged his small shoulders and said "I don't have a clue lad, but I know one thing, you need to rest and get stronger, because you'll have to go for another hunt and next time, I'll be there" His expression was so enthusiastic that it made Ango nervous.

'Thankfully I'm tired otherwise we would have been on our way to hunt'

Ango nodded, not that he planned to do otherwise; getting stronger was what he was after.

Dawn was approaching and Ango wanted to sleep as much as he could, so he just ate some Earthroot that he still had with him and went to sleep in his cave. That night, unpleasant memories had surfaced when he was about to fight the tiger but killing the beast had made him peaceful... for the night.

...

…..

Three days later, at noon

Hawkwood and Ango were sitting on their usual tree trunk and talking after their physical training was over.

Ango's sweaty face seemed disappointed while Hawkwood had his perpetual poker face.

"- so you see, I can't do anything without them and wood does not do me any good"

Hawkwood nodded and replied "True, metal would be the best option for you now but since we don't have the option why not at least try to learn about the elf's magic? We hunt in the forest after all, it could be handy; even more, they can heal others so it does suit you, who is a novice and could easily get hurt"

Ango frustration grew as he answered "Don't you think I know that? I tried but unlike lightning, the professor can't explain how this one works and I didn't have any sort of dream about it to help me. By the way not all druids can heal"

He then raised his hands and locked them behind his head while Hawkwood raised his brows, waiting for an explanation.

"Being able to heal is relatively rare among the elves as far as I know, most of them can only do something with wood, I guess it's something like what professor said about lightning and gnomes"

He then suddenly let go of his hands and they fell down limply, making Little snow jump.

"I've seen elves manipulate wood and heal but I don't understand it. I don't know if you've ever noticed but there is something else in the natural energy around us, it's not just magic; I guess that's why I always fail"

Hawkwood's face showed a rare look of surprise; it's not that he was never surprised but he hardly ever showed it on his face

"Something else besides the magic? Does Piere know about this?"

"Hm? I should think so, he is tier 4 after all so he should be able to see it and we are surrounded by them, see? Faint green mist all around us" he said as he waved his hands in the air through the mist. It was the most seen color in their environment, the other one was something white; not transparent but pure white and it was no mist. He could see white lines around them, which had made him dizzy when he first gained magic but he was used to them now and ignored them.

He could also see other types, faint blue and green that he guess might be air, a deeper shade of blue that represented lightning and others.

Hawkwood's face was frozen, something that Ango noticed only after he was done talking.

"Teacher? Are you alright?"

"See them?" Hawkwood asked

"What?"

"Did you just say you can SEE them?" He asked again as he stood up, his brown eye had opened so wide that Ango began to feel uneasy.

"Ah yes? What's wrong?"

Hawkwood went silent for a moment and then

"PIERE"

His yell made Ango jump

"What the hell?"

"PIERE" he yelled again not caring about Ango's surprise

"WHAT?"

'Your mama… hehehe' Ango for a second remembered how he used to tease Berry when they were kids and it made him chuckle.

"Come here now, It's important"

Piere could be seen coming out of the house, wearing goggles and fine leather gloves, grumbling under his breath. A dozen seconds later he was next to them

"What is it? this better be important I was-"

"In the middle of something I know, aren't you always?" Hawkwood grumbled, his face indigent.

"Ah It's not my fault I suddenly had an inspiration" Piere looked like someone who was fed up with being scolded.

'Huh?'

"Yes I know but I wonder why it always has to happen when we are in bed" Hawkwood said as he folded his arms, waiting for an answer.

'Oh that's what this is about?'

"Not in front of the lad Hawk, we'll talk about it later" the gnome's face was getting redder by the second, clearly embarrassed.

"And when is that? The boy lives with us" he didn't seem to want to let the matter go

"I told you I'm sorry, what more can I say, I'll forget if I don't do them when they come to me. Now please can we not talk about it?" He was nearly begging near the end and Ango thought that he might even cry.

'He really is a big old softie… well … a small old softie'

Hawkwood sighed and let the matter go, clearly observing Pier's discomfort.

"So what is it?" The gnome asked

Hawkwood cleared his throat and said "Do you feel the magic around us?"

Piere seemed confused by the question "What do you mean? Of course I feel it"

"Then can you see them?"

"See them? Ango did you hit him in the head?" He replied but then the gears in his head started moving and his face quickly turned to one of surprise.

"Is he- can he?" he asked

Hawkwood nodded "Apparently he can"

"Why didn't you tell me lad?" He asked, his voice held surprise and indignation.

Ango started scratching the back of his head as he said "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to see it, I-"

"Now now tell me what you see, describe them to me"

"Well, .."

…

"I need to take notes, come come you have to help me in my research" Piere was jumping up and down, holding Ango's hand and trying to take him to the house.

"Hold on a moment" Hawkwood said "The boy still has a few hours with me, You can do those during your time"

"But- But-" Piere clearly didn't want to wait but he knew better than to argue with someone who held the upper hand.

'Well this is new'

…

"Now, We already went over your fight days ago, and I told you what you could have done but the thing is that beasts are a lot more resilient than you and me and more powerful, so unless you can keep your distance and have a better weapon, the fight would have gone down more or less the same way. One hit, in most cases, will make you half-dead so we need to train your reflexes and your avoidance skills" Hawkwood grabbed a large piece of wood from the round and swung it around.

'If those claws or teeth even touched me, I would have been torn into pieces' the memory of those teeth and claws made him shudder.

'Pity they weren't suitable for making a swordspear' he sighed in his mind

"I'm going to attack you, slowly at first so you can get a feel for it and you'll dodge" Hawkwood said

'Seems simple enough'

…

"Why are you black and blue all over lad?"

"Ah it's nothing professor"

"Then let's get to work, now look here, when I'm adding the crystal tell me what you see… Oh and wear goggles" and then he muttered "We don't want those eyes to burn off"

"What?"

"Nothing lad get to work"

.....

"Hahahahaa So your grandmother found out? Pffff after everything you did" A nearly two-meter gray-skinned young man exclaimed loudly, laughing at his friend, a short girl.

No one at the nearby tables cared though, it was a tavern after all and they were not the loudest.

"After all I did to do everything quietly, you know how much I bribed people to just ignore my last name so word wouldn't spread? I even picked only the times she wasn't home to take care of the paper works you know. I gathe-" the short girl was practically yelling while her hand and head kept wobbling about and spilling the drink in her cup every time she did. She then suddenly stopped moving and looked at the boy and said

"And do you know what she said Jacob?"

With a look of interest on his face, he replied "Oh I have to hear this, what did she say?"

"She called me into her reading room, I was clueless and thought she might want to talk about how the academy is now over and blah blah but when I got into the room she looked up and said" Jin then changed her expression as much as he could to portray an utter stoic face and then she said "Jin, I've prepared armor and provisions for your travels, from now on, until you have made a name for yourself, do not come back. your plans to deceive me were childish and immature so I believe your travels will make a Stroud out of you. You carry my name but you are not yet worthy of it but if you are successful in your endeavors then you will be given status and responsibility befitting of it, now go; Your friend is waiting for you" She ended her impression of her grandmother there and Jacob burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha oooh hehehe by the gods what a monster, truly worthy of the nickname she was given hahahaha She even knew you were supposed to see me tonight"

"I know right? Helia the grave … I love her, but she- I don't remember ever hugging her or anything

, she isn't warm but...with her with us i always know we are safe you know"

"That I understand. Now never mind these matters Jin, look at the bright sight, you now have what you wanted and don't have to run away from home either, Let's drink" Jacob then took a mug from the waitress that was walking raised it high and yelled "To …" he then turned to Jin and asked

"What was our team's name again?"

Jin kicked his feet, zapping him with a weak lightning in the process and said "It's Storm Hawk, Storm Hawk"

"Kind of cheesy don't you think?"

"You-"

"To the storm hawks, CHEERS"

"Cheers"

…..

Inside the dining room of a mansion, three people were dining together while servants around them watched. The one at the head of the table was an old woman, grayish-white skin, four arms and long pointy ears; taller than all of them even seated. She was eating slowly with her hazel-colored eyes focusing on the person who was speaking to her. She did not have anything luxurious on her person, except her clothes which resembled armor made for battle more than casual clothes.

"Mother, are you sure it was wise to send Jin away like this? She basically knows nothing about survival and is too hot-headed"

The old woman, whose short gray hair had more in common with white than black just stared at her son without so much as a blink

"Trevor… You are my son, but not my heir for a reason. You were born powerful but you lack what she has, despite how much I poured my blood and sweat into shaping you. I will not make the same mistake again" her voice was resolute, leaving no room for discussion or debate, her demeanor made the servants shudder but not just out of fear but also respect. There, was seated a woman who had built her house out of nothing despite her many enemies, leaving grave after grave behind anyone who dared oppose her.

The man who was seated beside her, whose body seemed to have not seen a day of combat was a commander of the free city army, none in the city dared to talk to him like this, He was a proud lion disguised as sheep but in front of Helia, he was but a cat.

But even a cat fights back when cornered and so he spoke

"You might be right mother but do you plan to turn her into someone like yourself? An unfeeling lord with not a shred of kindness or care inside her? I might not have been as successful as you hoped mother but I am happy and content, that's all I wish for my daughter. Have you forgotten how you used to feel when father was alive?" he slowly stood up, and looked at her. His wife, a short dwarf looked nervous, afraid even, of what would go down that night.

Helia stopped eating; she did not rise but just kept staring at her son. Their gazes were locked and Trevor did not seem to be willing to back down. She spoke

"Happiness? Content? You can have that because I am still alive. The moment I enter the grave you will not have such luxuries, you shall see but I hope that you don't. Your father understood this, we were happy together because we built this house. From nothing we carved out a home for ourselves and we did everything to protect it."

Trevor wanted to retort but Helia did not let him.

Her gaze became sharper as she spoke and the servants were having a hard time breathing. She had not released any of her aura but her voice, the way she spoke, the authority held within them made them want to prostrate themselves.

"I do not condone happiness son, and it gladdens me that you believe yourself happy, but you are a spring flower that will not survive the winter with your mindset. You believe you have friends among the nobility but the only eternal friendship of the nobles is with profit."

She then looked at the nervous woman, which made her flinch, and said "You have chosen a good wife, one of your better choices; Manahan is of commoner lineage but that does not matter. She understands that anyone can be an enemy even while she enjoys her happiness, she is not a fighter but I've seen her fight in every way she could to protect Jin, while you tried to sue for peace with people who wanted to harm your family" for a moment a look of shame appeared on her face but it disappeared before It could even form.

"Jin will perhaps hate me for the things I am going to put her through but as long as she survives, I will have no complaint"

Helia then waved her hand toward the servants and spoke "You believe yourself wise son, but a wise man knows that peace is but an empty word, peace does not mean the end of the war, no, but the beginning of a silent one" and she slowly walked away while the servants cleaned her side of the table.