Waking up from the terrible pain from moments ago, I tried to feel my body.
It was a terrific experience and I could feel the changes in my body clearly.
I had gotten stronger.
My Mana pool had increased with this new type of special energy that was surging through my body like natural warmth.
Though this was a transparent one with no color or special characteristics than the warmth, it was almost like a very thin Mana.
This was weird when thinking about it but, I didn’t feel one bit uncomfortable.
Instead, I was feeling more like myself than anything right now.
I could feel my body, muscles, energy channels, and even the flow of Mana and Solnova inside of me. 𝒷𝒹𝓸𝓿𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Though peculiar, it was a good feeling.
I now had an alternative power source, though I didn’t know anything about it.
It was small, but the amount of this new energy inside me right now was enough to cast five or six (tier-1) spells.
And it was a lot, considering Mana could only cast around fifteen or sixteen spells at that level.
So, ultimately, I had more than enough power to kill a (Yellow) ranked creature on the higher side.
“Haaa…” I sighed as I saw the starry night sky.
It was beautiful, and I loved just how good it looked.
“It’s a good place for stargazing, right?” She said as she sat down beside me.
The process had been tough and after finishing the absorption; I had just passed out on the ground.
Though the feeling was good, it was exhausting… both physically and mentally.
These plains of green grass, this gentle breeze of the night, this clear sky, and those celestial objects shining in the sky.
Laying down in this quiet place filled with natural voices and nothing else.
This was too different from my days in the dark forest or even the green forest.
I had never had a peaceful sleep in those places, aside from with Fern.
And they filled the dark forest with things that loved darkness so, trying to sleep in that place was like finding peace in hell.
I didn’t have a sound sleep during my year-long stay in that damn place and sometimes had passed where I would have to stay awake for weeks just to avoid some certain creatures homing a place.
Those days were hell, and I can never forget them even if I wanted to.
But this place… this endless looking grass fields, that soft bed inside the tower, this even softer grass… they were something I never imagined I could have.
From those hard grounds, tree branches, and unknown places to these divine places.
Though the change was sudden and dramatic, it was a pleasant change.
All this, from this marvelous place, the new strength and the new knowledge, was thanks to her.
And even if I want to thank her with all my heart, I could never find the fitting words to express the dominant emotions filling my heart.
But she could read them, so I didn’t have to say it out.
“No need to thank me, little one. I’m doing something I want but, you will get hurt in this process countless times.
Even after healing, you will remember the pain, and that isn’t such a good thing.
You are my successor and you won’t realize the meaning of that anytime soon.
But, rest assured.
You will gain strength and knowledge and you will definitely go back to your parents.
And… you’re my grandson too, so I won’t stop you from doing things you want to do in this place.
This tower is huge, more than what it looks like, and is filled with things you won’t believe are possible.
Like the kitchen, library, or the garden we have seen.
There are labs for alchemy, magic engineering, and witchcraft.
There are also my smithy and workshop floors.
But I don’t think you will go there for a long time.” She smiled while looking at me mysteriously.
That smile was truly just mysterious. I didn’t know what to understand about it.
Well… if I can’t understand, what’s there the need to understand?
Though I was curious about them, the kitchen and library caught my ears.
Those two words were something I would check out first before anything.
Well, I had time.
I will know everything slowly as time passes and things here were already so magical my heart couldn’t contain the excitement.
Looking at her on the other side, I wondered about that unparalleled appearance.
She wasn’t a human, and her appearance was exactly like a human.
She didn’t have the long ears of elves, a short feature of dwarves. She wasn’t like anything a normal humanoid creature would have.
I had a hunch about what she was but, I can never accept it.
Maybe I looked at her for too long and she knew I was checking her out.
Turning towards me, she smirked with that mischievous smile I had seen before.
“So, you really fall for me, my grandchild. Well, I wouldn’t mind-” She was saying some nonsense with a straight face in a genuine voice and I didn’t want her to finish that line.
Cutting her off mid-sentence, I shook my head and shouted with a flushed face.
“Grandma! Don’t say it like that!”
My voice was loud, and in this quiet area, it was even louder than normal.
“Yes, yes, boy. We can still love each other without those things. Huhuhu…” She laughed teasingly and patted my angry head.
She was impossible to understand, and I didn’t know why such emotions and expressions popped up when I was with her.
“D-don’t say something like that again…” I mumbled in a weak voice while turning my head down on the grass.
I couldn’t see it, but I knew there was a smirk on that alluring face and I had no idea how to control this blushing, fiery face.
She was one thing, but I doubted that even the blue moon hanging in the sky would smirk at this sight.
Good thing I was imagining the moon to be a gorgeous lady or else I might start crying if I saw two creepy eyes and a mouth smiling down on me…
‘What the hell am I even thinking!?’
Even my mind wasn’t on the right track right now, much less this bastard of a wild heart.
‘This is my grandma dude, an old lady that just looks… amazing~. But! She is the grandma!’
Convincing myself was no use, and I knew I would have to just live with this.
Though… I didn’t hate this feeling.
Yes, I loved her.
Maybe as much as my family and maybe more but, not in the sense of attraction.
Age didn’t matter to me, as I was much older on the inside than now.
And this world was already far above those patty things like race or gender.
Everything was acceptable, and they praised strength and knowledge.
The one thing everyone commonly hated was those damn demons, and having a common enemy was always a good thing.
Looking at my grandma, who killed a demonic beast with no special effort, a question popped up in my mind that I couldn’t resist.
“Grandma? Why are the demons one of the strongest races?
What’s so special about them?”
I was curious as I didn’t have much knowledge about them, but I knew she knew about those wicked creatures.
I was just curious, but I wanted the answer to this one.
Those demons had done something that I can’t ignore.
They will pay, one day, for sure.
I will find that bastard no matter what-
“Don’t do that to yourself, Eon.” She tapped my head in a sudden, angry voice.
“You know what it is like to live for revenge and you would do that to yourself again this time too if you think like that.
Sure, the demons are powerful, but it’s not like they are all bad or every one of them is a bastard like those who send you here.
You will naturally learn about them as you grow up, so don’t think about them.
Actually, just forget about them and focus on the good side.
Try to live for the family you so much cherish, the loved ones you have and will have… as well as me.”
She was serious and worried and her voice… she was also sad.
I stood up from the ground and just sat back down, not knowing what I was doing.
My eyes were blank, filled with different, conflicting emotions as I looked at her.
Her words were sudden, and they unexpectedly closed some wounds in my heart.
I started crying without knowing the reason, and she was sad.
For the first time, she hugged me with her warm body that was the same as her head pats.
No… maybe this was far more than that.
This, this…
“Yes. You can cry. I’m here, so don’t worry.
You have endured hardships but, there will be more in the future.
But remember Eon, my child, that… being happy will be up to you.
The decisions you make will be yours.
And you won’t be alone this time.
There will be others you can rely on, and I’m always with you.
If not like this, then at least in those memories.
You will do fine without those useless feelings, so… let it go.
Not the desire for revenge, but that grudge against their whole kind.”
Her embrace was warmer than anything, filled with love and… I couldn’t think of anything at this moment.
She was right, and I knew that.
I was even more glad I had her and as she said… if those things hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be together.
-Shuuuuuuuu…
The cool breeze of night passed as we stayed like that in that endless field of grass that glistened with the gentle moonlight.
The night was long and the future ahead of me would be more different than I might think.