Chương 136: Chapter 120. Hank

I made it to the garden without much of a hassle. I picked a spot and began to sit and Meditate. I reached that dark place where the Spirits wait for me to find them in almost record time. I send the lighthouse light all around me. The moment I feel a presence, I sent it in that direction, but I find nothing in return. The light goes round and round, again and again. Some time passed and I feel eyes on my back, I turn the light behind me again! And I find nothing. This is ridiculous. Where is this thing?

If it's not behind me, is it below me? I looked below... Nothing... Damn. Only one place left. I waited for the feeling again." There it is!" DROP! FALL! I flashed the light up and found 2 eyes staring at me! A flash blinded me. When I opened my eyes, I was falling to the ground from really high up!" Oh shit!" I was falling really fast! What the hell is going on!?" AHHHHH!" I couldn't help but scream as the ground got closer and closer!" SHIT!" OH NO! STOP! Soft...

"HUPH!" I landed on something? Oh, I'm alive! Thank God!" Phew. Good thing I saw you, buddy!" Soft... Huh? Something was talking. Wait why's this material feel so... Soft? I moved my hand around for a few moments." Hey, that tickles!"" Who is that?" / Woosh! Woosh! / I heard the air passing by my ears." That'd be me, the guy who just saved you and is now giving you a ride. You're welcome by the way!" The voice came from below me. All I see is this black and grey material. I try pulling on it a bit." Ouch!

Don't do that again! I'll toss you off!"" It's a feather!? I'm on a bird?"" Yes! Now settle down and stop pulling!"" Just get me on the ground! Please!"" What? Scared of heights?"" No! I just nearly hit the ground from really high up! I'd like to be on the ground and be alive for a few minutes!"" Ah, fair enough, I guess..." After that, the bird I was on flew down to a mountain and we landed on its peak." Okay, you can hop off now!" / thump! / Solid ground...

I get onto the ground and sit for a second with my head down. I take some deep breaths to calm down." Wow, you really were shaken up. Sorry about that, this Magic Summoning thing is hard to get a handle on!" After a few more breaths I stand up and turn around to see a giant black and gray hawk the size of a truck staring at me. It's black and yellow beak open and closed along with it's head bobbing and twitching in the way that birds do back in my own world.

Having seen this hawk though, I couldn't help but say the first thing that came to mind." Wow, you're gigantic!"" Thank you! I'm the biggest of my brood!" The hawk smiled with its big yellow eyes as I spoke. It's somewhat husky, deep voice filled my ears as I stared at it in confusion. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it." So, you're the Spirit that wanted to contact me?"" Well, I don't really want to contact Summoners.

The Contact Magic just brings you guys to me. Sorry about the whole "almost falling" thing. I don't want Summoners to die or anything either."" Hey, no harm, no foul. You saved me. Thank you for that."" Oh, aren't you different?" I tilted my head a little." What do you mean?" The hawk looked at me like it does at prey." Usually, Summoners bark about forming a Contract and ignore me saving their asses."" Well, I'm not like normal Summoners. I'm an Otherworlder. So, I tend to think a bit differently. My name's John.

What's yours?"" Me, I'm Black Hank."" Your first name is Black?"" Yes and no. The way you refer to yourselves in Gaia is different compared to some of us Spirits. For instance, my Tribe, the Giant Hawks, refer to the color of our feathers, then the name Our Mothers gave us when we were born. So, you'd probably just call me "Hank"."" Oh, I see. In that case. Thank you for saving me, Hank. I owe you one." Hank looked at me with some confusion in his stare." Owe you one?"" Yeah, like a favor.

Because you saved me from dying just now."" But you wouldn't have died right?" Now I was confused." What do you mean?"" Well, inhabitants from Gaia can't actually come to the Spirit World. You're just your consciousness mixed with mana, right?" I strike the bottom of my fist on my palm." Now that you mention it, people do say I just look like I'm concentrating harder when I contact a new Spirit. You can't do that if your body leaves Gaia, can it?" Hank nodded to my statement, interesting."

Regardless Hank, you saved me. Thank you for that. Do you want anything in return? If you want, I'll just head back if you don't want to form a Contract. Granted, I don't know how to do that."" If I remember right, you just need to think about doing it and channel your mana with the idea of "going home", but stay for a while, you're an interesting kid." Again, I was confused by this bird's thought process." Why do you say that?""

Well, usually, Summoners get really upset when I say I don't want to form a Contract, they try to use force and I usually just fly away. I can see why. You guys sit for untold hours Meditating, hoping to find a good Spirit and then you find one and I don't even want to partner up! I'm sure that can be infuriating. However, that and being rude are 2 separate matters." Hank began to laugh with his black and yellow beak opening and closing.

Honestly, if not for his eyes and the breaths he's taking as he laughs, there's not much difference in the way his beak moves when he either talks or laughs. After he spent a good minute laughing, he continued to speak to me." And now, I have that same situation, but instead of being angry, the Summoner is being accommodating. Do you even know how valuable of a Spirit I am, John?"" No clue." I answered honestly as I shrugged my shoulders to Hank's question. He began to laugh." See? That's what I mean!

You have no idea! I don't blame you though, you said you were an Otherworlder, right? Plus, you're young. You must've Unlocked this Job not too long ago." Hank was bobbing his head up and down now, I tried to keep eye contact and I looked like I was nodding along to his words. Well, he's not wrong either. Heck, it's taken me almost a year to finally meet Gil and Rex, now Hank. Hank stopped bobbing his head and had a serious look in his eye."

You see John, I'm a Giant Hawk, like the name implies, I'm big enough to use as a mount and I can fly in the sky. Something that only a few Rare Jobs give access to off of the bat. And the only thing on Gaia that does that inherently is Dragons. And in terms of mounts, they're really stubborn and temperamental. They could be your Friend, but they could also burn you alive instead. Granted I'm a carnivore, but I have no real interest in Human meat. I like fish the best."

I began to understand what Hank was explaining." So, in summation. Giant Hawks and others like them are prized because of the ability to use them as flying mounts." I couldn't tell if Hank was bobbing his head or agreeing with me." Exactly." Oh, he agreed with me." Well, still, I don't want to force you to form a Contract. I prefer the Spirits I'm Contracted to, to be my Friends, not just tools." Hank began to laugh again." You know what, kid? I like you! I'll form a Contract with you after all!" This guy...

He's quite jovial, all things considered." Are you sure?"" Yeah, if you're thinking of Spirits as Friends, I think we can get along."" Well then, nice to meet you, Hank. Let's work well together from now on."" Likewise, John!" Shake... Soft... Hank brought his wing to my hand, and I shook it." Oh, by the way. I'm hiding my identity from everyone besides my Wives. So, if I Summon you and other people are around, call me "Matthew", okay?"" Gotcha!"

With that, Hank and I did the Contracting Ritual, and the scenery began to melt away. Before fully leaving, I felt more pairs of eyes notice me. I wonder how many I can contact now? I began to hear a voice slowly grow louder as I returned home." Why is he sweating so much? Should I call his Wives? Maybe a Doctor? Mom or Dad?" It was Ellie. I opened my eyes to see a pair of light-pink eyes staring back at me." Hello, Ellie. How can I help you?"" AHHH!" Pain! Seems I scared her by speaking so suddenly."

Damn, you got a set of pipes on you!" I held my ears as they rang from Ellie's voice. Just where does she fit that megaphone in her voice box exactly?" Oh... Lord Matthew... You're back, what was that trance you were in? No matter what I did, you didn't wake up!" Great, she was messing with me while I spoke to Hank. I think I know how to get her back though.

"Well, instead of telling, would you like me to show you?"

"Sure what is it!?" Oh yes! Be excited kid! Let me show you the petty revenge of an adult!

"Well, what is it?"

"This!" To Ellie's question a burst of black light appeared next to me and out popped Hank.

"You're Summoning me already?"

"Yup, help me out! I want to take this kid for a ride."" Sure, whatever, hop on." With Ellie sitting in front of me, Hank took off. My revenge ended up failing as Ellie wanted to continue flying around until dinner time. It didn't matter what I had Hank do, from looping to barrel rolls, she just kept wanting to go higher in the sky. Since then, she's asked to go for a flight nearly every day. I guess she still isn't as mature as her goal of protecting me makes her appear to be?