(Gregory's Mother)

TRISHA MILLER'S POV:-

Village of Falafel

House of Miller

....

Tired and enervated, Trisha reclined back and rested on the pillow-filled comfort of her bed, her tiny sunflower in her lap.

Looking at her little bundle of joy, who was peacefully sleeping, she couldn't help but to believe her little one was the most adorable baby she'd ever seen. She was sure that she was not thinking because she was a doting mother.

No!........ No!..........

Rather, he is truly very adorable. He has a sharp chin and jaw like his father. His face is a little bit like mine; his skin is a little bit yellow-golden. That means he has all the good features of mine and Edward's. The most captivating features however, were those jade and amber, or is it (hazel) eyes. Those are real lady killers; I have to make preparations to keep girls away from him. Who knows how many women might come flocking to the door for my little sunflower's hand?

All of our village's midwives had gone to Lord Brickworth's castle, as he was also expecting a child today. We thought it would be tough with just the two of us, but Edward happened to run into Aunt Helena on his way back and saved the day.

But all went well,she could say it went too well as there was less pain in labor this time than the first. However, this little rascal had caused me trouble all year long. He kept constantly moving in her stomach, causing her pain and vomiting. But it was all worth it. Seeing him sleep like that gave her heart peace.

All year round, she had been in constant tension that her son might have been in pain as he constantly kept moving, or worse, had some deformity. But looking at him now, this scallywag must have really enjoyed it in there.

Another thing was that, he only cried because Aunt Helena slapped him on the buttocks for not crying. She could even now remember how he looked at her angrily. It's almost laughable.

If not for the fact that her stitches were only recently done and she was dead tired, she would have laughed out loud even now. Right up to the end, he was giving her the stink eye. She doesn't even know how he did that, but he almost looked intelligent…… almost.

The most miraculous fact about him is that he started absorbing mana like a little glutton in her stomach. She had to use a lot of mana crystals so that her manna levels would remain optimal. At one point, she even thought that her mana was somehow leaking out and she had not suppressed it properly. But after a full checkup, she was able to ascertain that her child somehow was absorbing mana. Babies absorbing manna in the womb is not a new thing, as she had heard a lot of talented children do it unintentionally. But the amount of mana he was absorbing was phenomenal. To keep it quiet, her husband had gone to the nearest city to procure a lot of mana crystals for her. That was in itself a risk, but Edward said that the channel was safe and secure and no one would be able to backtrack them to Falafel.

I just hope that no evil will disturb the stability of our happy family.

***

If Gregory had been awake and heard that, he would have said,

"Please don't jinx it, mom."

***

(Gregory's father)

EDWARD MILLER'S POV:-

Village of Falafel

.....

Today, he felt really happy when he held that little bundle of joy in his hands. Edward felt like a bolt had passed through his body as he was holding a child.

Trisha might not be able to see that, but he was sure aunt Helena was clearly more acute, so she could tell that Edward was trembling.

Edward had always been very sensitive to mana from his childhood. That was the main reason why he had chosen the occupation as hunter. So when he held the baby in his hands, he had clearly seen the huge potential child had for mana channeling. He didn't have much mana now, but with enough training and proper tempering, his channeling potential can be harnessed.

The reason why beasts have so much potential is that they can control mana from very birth while humans or other sapient races can only do that after a lot of training. While we can bridge the gap, it uses up most of that potential. Beast bodies are a lot sturdier than humans. With a little push, they are even able to advance tiers easily, while we have to pass mental trials and tribulations to advance safely.

While lords and royal families have elixirs to reduce potential loss, even they cannot bridge the gap with manna beasts.

Then again, these days there are a lot of skirmishes between lords and the royal family, so the beasts population is not being properly controlled. The amount of force required for culling the beasts is being provided less and less. And villages that are on the outskirts of the kingdom are constantly getting attacked and ravaged by these monsters. Just thinking about lords' made Edwards' mood turn sour.

And there's another thing about Adam, as he had been insistent on becoming a knight. Edward's inability to talk his own son out of this made it far worse, but his training with instructor Markus is commencing pretty well. So he doesn't really have a problem with it in general. And there is still a lot of time before the recruitment process for his age group.

But his biggest concern is that these lords and their petty squabbles with each other or the royal family had been happening at an increased rate compared to previous years; knights and regular soldiers are paying the absolute price, while lords and ladies sit on their high mounts.

If Aiden really wants to be a knight, then he will have no choice but to teach their baby how to hunt and pass his skillset and mantle onto him. But the tricky part was that Edward had to convince Trisha to let teach him, so that if the worst happens he should be able to fight or defend himself.

She might not be ready to have him train while most of the kids of his age will be playing in dirt. But times are changing and this will be the cost he and we had to bear, as his constitution is incredible so will be his destiny.

There are only two other options. Either he will have to suppress his talent and act as a farmer or botanist for the rest of his life or wear realm suppression bands for the following future. If the wrong kinds of people even get just a wind of his potential, then it will not bode well for any of us. So to keep that from happening, we must trade the path properly.

So when I can get the consent for training from him and Trisha, we will start his training. Because no genius is safe until he has time to grow. I will even have to talk to Aunt Helena about it, to keep this information to herself. If she was able to teach him her herbal knowledge, it would be the icing on the cake.

But the most important question would be, at which age do children start training? Will I be allowed to begin his training when he will be three years old or was it four? Markus and I need to talk about this teaching and training thing.

***

(Midwife)

HELENA POV:-

Village of Falafel

House of Helena

....

'What a cute little child Edward and Trisha has. That and the look in the child's eyes was hilarious when I slapped him on his butt. He was giving me quite an angry stare at that time.' Helena smiled as she leaned into her chair.

Stolen story; please report.

But I can see a lot of potential in that child's eyes; if raised properly, he might be able to solve the problem that had been bothering me over the years.

Even so, he has to become a lot stronger than what this backwater kingdom can provide. I knew Edward saw through me a long time ago, that I was no normal villager, and he knew that I saw too, that his child had a lot of channeling potential. Since he is a hunter, and being sensitive to manna and all, he should be able to sense a child's manna in the same way he senses manna beasts.

But the most interesting question is how he plans to open up to me about his talent. By the time I left his residence, he appeared to be quite wary and he should be worried since it will be difficult even for me to retain control of the situation if that petty lord learns about the child.

But what he and Trisha will do for the child will pave a path for child's future and mine too. But right now I only have one thing, and that is time. So I am willing to wait patiently until he grows up and can at least handle himself in this region.

Another important factor for his future growth will be his gift and its development. Whether his gift blooms his talent to reach its greatest potential or snubs it, will depend upon the gift of his awakening.

I've seen a number of high endowment youngsters that are unable to travel the path because they lack the appropriate gifts for their development.

Some gifts were so overwhelming that their bodies could not initially handle that amount of energy following their awakening, and they became crippled or worse, died, as a result. This is the risk of walking the path that every cultivator, martial artist, or mage has to bear.

However, there might be a possibility that the use of the unreality field of this region may suppress such gifts to the necessary levels so that the body can withstand overloading. However, in order for such gifts to blossom, they will need to spread their wings and leave this valley behind.

***

Helena was considering how to address Trisha or Edward about this as she reclined in her chair. She heard a knock on her door. At first, she didn't quite understand why anybody would be looking for her at this late hour.

So, She expanded her senses outside of her house and speak of the devil. It was Edward, standing outside her front door. He appeared a little flustered. She then got out of the chair adjusting the curls on her dress and went to the door and opened it.

Looking at Edward Helena asked, looking concerned, "Oh dear! Is everything OK? You kind of came pretty late at the hour!"

"Aunt, you know why I'm here and what I want to talk about," Edward said with a bitter smile as he turned to face Aunt Helena. “Could you please let me in so we can talk?”

Helena smiled, "You refer to me as an aunt, so why be so formal about it? As a family, your problems are mine too."

The simplicity of Helena's house was appropriate for a peasant. However, there were a few discrepancies. For example, there were a lot of magic wards behind the walls, and despite Edward's best efforts, his senses were unable to see past the house's protective veil.

Edward had never visited Aunt Helena's home before. Her strictness makes visitors to her residence rare. But he never heard her speak rudely or aggressively to anyone. It's as if there's a force field preventing anyone from approaching her and her home. He would not even have dared to ask Aunt Helena if she had not insisted on coming with him for Trisha's delivery. She was one of the oldest and one of the most secluded residents of the village. It was said that she was here even before the village's founding. She supposedly resided in this area prior to the village's founding.

However, people of all ages, from young to old, refer to her as an aunt since she was always willing to assist when there was a threat to the village or difficult problems arose.

Both of them looked at each other waiting to see who would be the one to talk first.

Finally, Edward was the one who couldn't wait any longer and said,

"Aunt, I am very grateful that you came to help us in our time of need. Without your help, I don't even know how we would have handled the birth properly, and if there were some complications or something would have happened to Trisha and the child, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself."

…

Edward abruptly got up from his seat and bowed deeply and put three fingers to his heart in the in Helena's direction.

The deep bow and figer to the heart is more of a sacred ceremony in the kingdom, reserved for those who have greatly aided them in their time of need and owe them gratitude. Every finger means numbers of debts owed each dept means responsibility and going into thick and thin to protect someone. If the person who had given you his vow would not or not able to fulfill your condition for what you asked of him he will have to cut his finger and give it to you and that man can never heal that finger ever again.

This means that they had given a part of their body and lifeblood to you in gratitude as in a world like such even missing a nail in wrong circumstances would be deadly.

Generally, such ceremonies are only only delivered when someone saves someone from mortal danger or when they are extremely appreciative of that person.

The seriousness of Edward's words caught Helena off guard as well. But collecting herself, she couldn't help but respond, "Don't worry dear, I know you would've done well even without me. so don't worry. Plus you call me Aunt right? So that was my responsibility in a way all along."

As Edward tried to speak. She cut him off and said "I already told you, right that was my responsibility and this will be the end of the discussion about it. Ok?"

Edward nodded

"Sit down and relax! I will make tea for you." she got up from her chair and walked into her kitchen

While going into the kitchen, she shouted from inside. “ Now let me know whether you like your tea with milk or without?"

After hesitating a bit, Edward said, "Ah…..a, Aunt, I'd like some milk tea with lots of sugar."

Helena called from inside, "Coming right up, hot, extra sweet, and spicy."

While Helena prepared tea for both of them, Edward was in a dilemma about how to break it to Aunt Helena about keeping the child's talent a secret.

While Edward was milling in his mind about how to talk, Aunt Helena returned, bringing tea in a mud pot and kulhad.

She served one for Edward and another for herself.

When Edward took the first sip of aromatic tea, he felt like all his taste buds were drowned in pleasure. The taste was a mixture of buttery sweet honey, coconut water mixed with the spiciness of masala and bitter tea leaves. It was the perfect combination of three flavors in one.

Edward had never felt this before, when all his worries and insecurities were washed away and he felt like a whole new world had opened for him while he was still savoring the taste of tea. Helena asked Edward.

“So, what plans do you have for your child’s future?” She further inquired, "With so much channeling capability at his fingertips from such a young age, he has certain potential to rise fairly high in the path of cultivation or magehood."

That jolted Edward out of his stupor, his half raised hand holding tea forgotten and when he looked up, he stuttered a bit but eventually said, "Aa... as you said, the child has a lot of manna channeling potential, so I was hoping if you could please keep his talent a secret between us." at least until someone got notice of him he thought in his mind.

Edward hurriedly further added, “In the meantime, I'll teach him personally so that he can at least defend himself."

"So you are planning to train him yourself?" Helena smiled as she stirred her tea with a spoon, “But what if he receives a gift which is not related to hunter's gift at his awakening ceremony that is inappropriate for you to train in?”

Edward frowned and could not understand what Aunt Helena was implying.

So, to clarify Helena leaned forward, "You see, Edward, I have a gift that no one in the village knows about. Generally, people think that I have a botany-related gift that helps me raise the plant's growth, but actually a lie it's not actually my gift. It's just my hobby in my free time to raise plants."

She waited for mood to set in and continued,

"My gift allows me to sense people's potential plus I can predict the destiny threads of gifts and where it will lead them to."

Helena added, “As I've already mentioned, I can see the destiny strings of a person whose fate is interlinked with mine, and your child's gift and life is filled with a lot of pain and hardships. He will have quite a good gift. but the subsequent flaw will also be a major one. And if this flaw is not properly handled. Furthermore, it would not be advantageous for him, if lords or the royal family got wind of his talent at such a young age. He will either be brainwashed or imprisoned in their deepest dungeon.”

“Aunt Helena, are you threatening me?” Edward asked with a frown.

"No, dear, just the contrary. I'm asking for you to let me teach him. You will teach him how to hunt and survive in the forest. While I will teach him battle tactics, manna handling and how to conceal his talent from the rest." She paused so that Edward could process what she had said and added, “Then, what do you think about my proposal?"

After thinking it over for a bit of time, Edward asked Helena, "So what's the catch?" What will you get from all this? I haven't seen you teaching any other kids from village over the past years."

“Actually, I stand to benefit greatly from this. First and foremost, this will be an investment for your child's future. You see, over the years, while remaining hidden for certain reasons which I will not mention.I have helped a lot of kids to pave a path for them; some prospered, while others were unable to endure the path."

Helena leaned slightly forward and said, "That child of yours had a yearning for knowledge and understanding when I held him in my hands. Although I am aware that he is only a child but my gift seemed to resonate strangely with him. Since I have never witnessed my gift act so aggressively toward anyone, I can infer that your child will go a long way in the path of cultivation, if he was given the proper path to develop."

"Since you're asking what I truly want, I'll ask him what I truly need when the timing is right; it'll be in the near future when your child reaches a certain level for the task, and I won't make him take an oath or sign a contract against his will. He could even, if he so chose to, turn down my request at the moment. It is entirely his decision. But I only want to carve his path in such a direction that it will be good for him. That is all I have to say."

Edward considered Aunt Helena's advice and weighed the potential benefits and drawbacks of a situation like this. But after giving it some careful thought, he came to the same conclusion: Aunt Helena's motivations appeared sincere. And another reason he came here was to get Aunt Helena to tutor his kid in herbology. Additionally, Aunt Helena appeared to be powerful; from what he could infer; he was perplexed as to why no one in the village was aware of her ability.

He came to a decision and decided to agree with Aunt Helena, as he was about to speak.

"You don't have to make this choice in such a rush; consider it carefully and talk with Trisha as well. And you don't have to worry about the child's secret; it is safe with me whatever your response will be," Aunt Helena grinned and said before he could respond.

As Edward got ready to head back, Aunt Helena offered him advice in a serious tone: "Edward, if you happen to purchase such a large volume of manna mineral in the future, you ought to avoid directly purchasing it from the city market. This time, I was able to control the problem before it went out of hands. So, you should exercise caution in such situations going forward, because the lord and his men control all the mana crystals in the city, meaning that he always has access to first-hand knowledge. Your entire family would have been in jeopardy if the Lord had discovered of that knowledge in some way.”

Edward felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Thinking of the possibilities of how the lord would have dealt with him and his family made him turn pale. He quickly thanked Aunt Helena and bowed even deeper than before.

Finally, saying goodbye, he went out of the house toward the village chief's home.

While this was all happening, Gregory was dreaming of riding a dragon and slaying monsters left and right.