We were in the middle of vast grassland.

With the Winter gone, the sun shone its brightest above us.

This place was in an area part, or rather close, to a formerly inhabited town called Ouvant, but due to the event that took place a few years ago, there was nothing left of that town but its abandoned buildings.

This place being located in such a remote place and with the closest town being a ghost town, it was the perfect spot for Big Brother Mael and Sister’s training.

Because it’s been some time since the last time they did it, with the winter, they decided to put a pause on this type of training.

So it’s been three months since the last time I was given the opportunity to be present in a training in which they wouldn't have to hold back because of the ruckus they were causing.

From a safe distance, we were observing their training, or rather, to be exact, this was more of a duel than a training.

Both wearing a strange mask shaped like the head of a bird.

They were now standing facing one another, Sister was holding two swords, her weapon of predilection, while Big Brother Mael was on his side holding a pair of a strange weapons called "Tonfa".

From what I’ve learned from Big Brother Mael, tonfa are weapons originally from the duchy of Lilith. They are made up of a baton with a perpendicular side handle located roughly at its quarter.

But the one Big Brother wielded was different from how he described a normal tonfa. It was indeed shaped like a tonfa, but some modifications were made to it.

If you look closely, you'll notice a red blood rune motif carved on it.

Instead of a simple stick, the baton in question was made of three slightly larger cylinders distributed evenly across the baton.

Big Brother Mael was strangely circling Sister, possibly to taunt her into attacking first.

She charged at him with breathtaking speed, sending a swipe with her red sword that was immediately parried by brother with his tonfa. She immediately thrust her red sword at him, aiming for the ribs, but it was immediately diverted by Mael to his right. Having deviated her sword, he went at her in an attempt to knock her down with an uppercut with the end-pommel of his baton.

Before it could even reach her, she retaliated with a kick that propelled both of them apart.

Without wasting time, Sister went after Big Brother with a series of rapid-fire successive dual sword attacks, ranging from thrust, faint, and swipe.

With each blow exchanged, loud clangs resonated, and with each collision, sparkles cracked.

Without being an expert, I could tell that Sister was having the upper hand and that Mael was the one having a hard time parrying and escaping all her attacks.

Just as she was about to land a strike, a thick blood wall appeared between the two of them.

A halo of red smoke began coating Big Brother’s entire body.

From the ground on the sister's side of the wall, dark blood spikes began to emerge in their hundreds.

It was Mael’s magic: blood magic.

With incredible speed and deftly backstepping, she immediately retreated away from a safe distance, and with her retreat, the blood wall, and the spikes emerging from the ground dissolved, returning to Mael in the form of a floating cube. It was just big enough to fit in an adult hand, which came floating at his side.

Without words exchanged, the sister also proceeded on to use her magic.

Her body was exuding her hue’s mana, Red flame flames began to engulf her red sword, and lightning began to be embedded on her other one.

She raised both her swords and, with a swing of her swords, she sent a powerful long-range attack with the combined destructive effect of fire and lightning magic at Mael.

The attack fell on Mael with a loud explosion that made even the ground shake.

A few years back, I experienced my first earthquake. That's how it felt.

I personally couldn’t help but somehow gasp, and a hand came to pat my shoulder.

Looking at the person to whom that hand belonged

I saw the man accompanying us.

Maybe in his early thirties, with blue hair, green eyes, Uncle Matthew, as he wanted himself to be called, had been guesting with the Edouard for quite a few years now.

"They are fine,'' he said, trying to reassure me. "Look."

Slowly revealing itself under the smokescreen from the attack, a blood bubble came into sight, then suddenly popped up, revealing an unharmed Mael.

Transforming the blood from the bubble into a blood wave which rode, he immediately charged at Sister, who welcomed him with a charge of her own.

To be honest, if I were a mere witness, I would assume that these two were two masked people in the middle of a death battle, for the killing intent was real.

When I was first invited by Big Brother to their training, I assumed it was just that: a "training" involving "sparring" and "experimentation", not dueling in which both seemed eager to plummet the lives out of the other.

I did hear from Father and mother about the ruckus they caused during their training. When I was invited, I assumed I knew what to expect, but witnessing it with my own eyes proved to me how off mark I was.

Their fight radiated with obvious violence, but it also radiated with elegance.

"Impressive, isn’t it."

"Yes."

Because it really was.

With what happened though, I was taught how to use my magic, I’m far from being capable of being that confident with using magic their way. On top of that, even without this type of prowess, with using magic is way out of my league..

"It is quite a sight to witness. Your sister is really impressive. Though dual elemental wielding isn’t rare, being this capable and adept at it at such a young age is very impressive. As for Mael, at first, I thought he was far behind Ramia, for I initially assumed he belonged to the first types of healers. It seems I was on the spot, but he did very well at keeping up the pace. "

"The first type of healer?"

"Oh, maybe I should explain myself. There are two types of healers, I usually refer to them as the first type, the second type, and the third type."

"The two first types are mainly focused on one thing: healing. The first type is the category of healer capable of performing a miracle, such as being capable of regenerating an entire limb out of nothing, while the second type is the one who doesn’t really perform miracles, truth be said, but rather in a very scientific and methodical way, capable of healing. The Edouard family definitely belongs to that category. They are indeed capable of a small miracle, such as relieving a headache, but their main focus as healers is healing through a very specific means. In Lord Emilien's case, it is bone magic, in Mael’s father's case, it is water magic, and in Mael's case, it is blood. As such, if they really want to excel in healing magic, they have to go through rigorous medical training to be as excellent as they ought to be. For example, if I were to cut my hand right now, Mael, if he went through a very exhaustive training as a healer, would be able to reattach it but still, he would have a hard time dealing with my severed bone. As such, I would be forced to go through a natural healing process to allow my bone to reattach and cicatrize."

"Yes, I see.If I understand well, the first type is literally, from through and through, performing a miracle, while the second type is more methodical, scientific, and is to be mastered through training, is it? "

"Exactly, that’s a smart boy that we have here. While the first one is capable of defying the laws of physics, the other is not all almighty, and has to be trained to achieve a very decent healing result. "

"And the third one?"

"The third type isn’t really what one would refer to as a healer. They are capable of healing feats, but these are merely passive or secondary abilities for them.Those capable of regenerative ability belong to that category. Some of them are capable of healing, but merely on a surface level."

"I see."

"Mael undoubtedly belongs to the second type, but in his own way, through hard work, he also falls into the third category as well."

"Is it?"

"The first two aren’t very well suited for fighting. The fact that he is able to go toe to toe, even though being slightly overpowered, against a fully offensive-inclined noble like Ramia, is very good proof that he is deviating toward the third type. From what I’ve seen during his practical medical lessons with his grandfather, he seems to be very decent as a healer, but his control over blood magic is also splendid. Whether he will be able to keep them at a similar level as he grows is to be discovered, but for the time being, he is to be considered quite remarquable even compared to one born from the Whiteley family of the seven great noble families."

In a melange of red, yellow, and Ramia-red, blows were exchanged inside a giant smokescreen from which one would have a hard time seeing through.

"They are really impressive." I couldn’t help but say with a small hint of jealousy in my voice, which he didn’t miss to notice.

"Yes, they are, and so can you, if you dedicate yourself. "Talent does shape a man, but a true man shapes his own talent." or so my father used to say. Well, to be exact, it sounded like that, but the subject was about destiny, but that doesn’t matter. " He said, with a burst of very joyous laughter.

"..."

"You have no need to envy anyone, little Elliel. Everyone is trying to find their own path. They found theirs, I found mine," he said, cheering, and boggling my hair. "There is no need to rush, you still have time to find yours. It is all about patience and diligence. Understood?"

"Yes, Uncle Mattew."

"Fine."