After Mr. Auger showed the tribe the power of magic, he left almost instantly. The envoy started packing up and was out of our village in about an hour. Not before I bought food with all the herbs/plants I had. I couldn't find a gift for Mother so I'll just pass the food along as a gift for the family.

"Hakkar, show us that barrier thingy you have." Said Kerr while standing next to Shakkar and Rei.

'Shit, why did I say that I'd show him the World Gift. I don't even know how to activate it yet. I guess I have no choice but to give it a try.'

I held the palm of my hand out and thought about the barrier from before. I don't know if the feeling was 'natural', but when I thought about the Gift it felt like I knew everything about it. From how to activate it to where I could make it appear. I felt as if the barrier was just an extension of my body, almost like a hand.

When I thought about materializing it on my hand it appeared in an instant. I thought it would fade into existence like how Mr. Auger's barrier did, but the second I thought about the barrier it appeared. If the cast time for Mr. Auger's barrier was 3 seconds then my barrier takes 0.1 seconds, that's how fast it was.

"Woah! Why is it so small?" Questioned Kerr.

"Actually, I would say it's average, but each to their own I guess." I said while shaking my head.

"How would you block anything with that Hakkar, that guy had to create a massive shield to block that big guy's punch. How would you block something so strong with this tiny barrier?" Said Rei.

"Good question, how about we test it out? Kerr try punching this barrier as hard as possible."

"Fine by me, I can't let you train and get strong by yourself."

After he said that I raised the shield in front of myself and waited for him to punch it. When he did, the barrier stopped his fist in its tracks even though it was only a quarter of the fist's size.

'Ha, this thing is amazing. Even though Kerr threw a haymaker all I felt was a tiny pinch, and to top it all off it can stop attacks that are larger than it. How could someone get rid of this? Even if it has heavy downsides if used right it could be amazing. I got a steal!'

"Ouch, what's up with that tiny thing? It felt like I punched a tree." Kerr said while clutching his hand.

"That's the power of my barrier. It's capable of blocking everything, but I still feel 5% of the damage that it blocked. All I felt from your punch was a pinch." I said while laughing.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"A pinch? Am I really that weak?" Kerr said while pouting.

"Let me give it a try Hakkar!" Rei screamed out.

"Fine, give it your best shot."

'What is the worst that can happen? I'm positive she's weaker than Kerr'

When she threw her punch I had a cocky expression on my face. What I didn't expect was that the punch would actually hurt. Is this what they call older sibling strength?

"That was a good one Rei... It almost hurt. Better start training Kerr because my sisters got you beat." I said through a forced smile.

"Tch, just you wait Rei, I'll definitely get Hakkar to say I'm the strongest!!" Kerr said as he pointed at Rei.

"Whatever you say pinch boy!" Rei said while laughing

'As long as Ulta lives, you guys will never be the strongest. I didn't give her the nickname 'Devil Child' as a joke.'

*****

After that day I spent every moment I could training my barrier skill. Whether it be my control or just the duration I can summon it, I trained everything.

Right when I wake up in the morning I summon the barrier and keep it active for as long as I can. Since it drains stamina instead of mana I decided to go on runs to train myself.

The specs for my barrier look something like this now. The distance I can freely control my barrier is about 10 feet. The amount of time I can keep the skill active is around 5 minutes. Lastly is the size, I can proudly say that my barrier is about 7 inches tall and 7 inches wide now.

My ability to summon the barrier in a certain locations is at its peak I would say, all I have to do is think about it appearing and it pops up exactly where I want it to. Bearing no complications like distance and time left, I can confidently say this is my strongest area.

The only thing I have no confidence in is my ability to fight. I tried to have Rei and Kerr attack me at the same time and it ended horribly. I didn't know where to put the barrier first, so I got beat up before I even knew it.

With that being said, in 3 months I have reached a new level. While sparing with Kerr I started to read his movements and place the barrier where he was going to attack before he even did it. In the end, I still lost since he was getting trained by his father already, but it was still an amazing accomplishment.

Although I could've gotten training from my Father, I opted against it... I will be my own strength. I won't allow myself to follow in the footsteps of others when I can create my own path... A new path only I can walk down.

I don't care how long it takes me to optimize a fighting style with my new World Gift, and since the Chief is relying on me... I can't give in now.

As I was clenching my fist from the determination I felt I heard someone running towards me. When I looked over I saw Ulta sprinting over to me. When she arrived she hunched over panting trying to catch her breath.

"What's up Ulta?" I said calmly.

"Hakkar, it's your Mom... she collapsed out of nowhere." Ulta said urgently.

I never thought that I grew close to my family over these years, but after hearing that my mother collapsed, I feared the worse. My body shuttered at the thoughts I was having, and my blood pressure rose with every passing second.

I didn't realize it, but after spending so much time with them, I've started to consider them my actual family. I care about them, even if they do bother me... I still love them. I guess this is what it means... to have a family.