READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 55: The Shaman.
The duo continued walking through the village, side by side until they reached a large hut on the outskirts of the village borders.
The hut was surrounded by a small garden that had various plants growing in rows and labeled with wooden signs.
As for the hut itself, it was a stone building that had a singular glass window that was cloudy, and illuminated from behind with a bright orange light.
The roof was thatched and had a chimney that pumped white and gray smoke high into the evening sky.
Quite the nice abode…
Alexander tilted his head curiously as he nodded his head. "Nice, I could see myself living here."
Zara smiled as she tightened her tail around Alexander's waist. "Yes, chief… he gives shaman everything… he likes her."
Alexander nodded. "Yeah, gotta treat your doctors right."
Zara smiled wide with warmth.
She then took Alexander on the stone pathway that led to the shaman's hut.
Walking the stone pathway, the distinct smell of herbs filled the air and smoke into his nostrils.
The smells were pleasant, almost as if he were entering a sanctuary that was of another world, a place of healing and mystery.
As the duo reached the entrance of the shaman's hut, Alexander felt a faint tinge of intrigue and anticipation.
He wondered if the shaman could really change him.
He knew the chances were slim if not downright impossible, but he couldn't believe against all the odds.
Zara raised her hand and gently knocked on the wooden door.
The three knocks all softly echoing throughout the quiet evening air.
After a brief moment, the door creaked open, revealing an elderly demon who had a curious expression on her face.
She had long light blue hair and six blue eyes. Her horns were long, but still relatively short, especially when compared against the demon chief's.
Her skin was dark with a blue pattern etched into her skin, yet the pattern was slightly faded.
She was dressed in a black cloak and large brimmed hat with a tapering cone on top.
(A wizard hat if you will.)
The woman looked at Zara and Alexander with a gentle yet piercing gaze.
The woman spoke in the native demon tongue, meaning only Zara understood her.
Zara smiled warmly as she ran a hand through Alexander's hair.
The shaman– Malla, raised an eyebrow.
Zara shook her head as she pushed Alexander forward.
Malla's eyes flickered to Alexander, studying him intensely. She remained silent at first, not uttering a sound as she studied the young boy before her.
Alexander looked up at the woman curiously, studying her just as she did him.
I wonder what Zara said, she didn't make me look like an idiot, did she?
Finally, Malla slowly nodded her head as she stepped back from the door, revealing a cluttered interior.
Zara nodded as she moved to enter the hut, Alexander hesitated briefly before Zara's tail dragged him along like a leash.
Inside Malla's hut were walls lined with shelves filled with jars and bottles that were sealed and labeled.
Alongside the jars and bottles were bones, crystals, herbs, and more.
The light that could be seen from outside the hut, was a small illuminated sphere that hung from the ceiling.
And in the corner of the main room, was a fireplace, with a fire that burned and cracked, cooking a pot that sat on top of it.
Malla closed the door behind the duo, before guiding them towards a table in the room past the main one.
Stepping into the room, Malla gestured for both Alexander and Zara to take their seats around the small wooden table.
As Alexander took his seat on a wooden stool, Zara stood closely beside him, her tail gently brushing against him to remind him of her presence.
Malla sat across from Alexander, as she settled into her stool, she spoke, "You are Alexander, yes?" She asked, setting her arms on the table.
Alexander nodded. "Yes ma'am." He replied with a smile.
Malla returned the gesture. "It's nice to meet another pale conqueror, it's been a while since the first."
"Yeah, about six years or so, right?" Alexander, guessing by the age of Mimi.
"Indeed," Malla said with a nod. "So, I'm told your mana levels are low, is there a reason for that?" She asked curiously.
Alexander sighed as he nodded.
Straight to businesses I guess…
"Yes," Alexander said softly, "it's how I was born, it's how I'm supposed to be." He further explained.
Malla raised an eyebrow. "How… you're supposed to be?" She asked skeptically, "What do you mean?"
Alexander leaned forward, "I mean, it's how I'm supposed to be, like…" Alexander paused briefly, before pointing a finger to his arm. "My skin, I was born with pale skin, just as I was born with low mana."
Malla narrowed her eyes, "do you mean to say that it's normal for you to have low mana?"
Alexander nodded, "yes, that is exactly what I'm saying."
Malla frowned as she brought her hands closer together. "Hmm, is this true for every pale conqueror?"
Alexander nodded. "I think so, I mean, it's what my mother told me, and it's in the books I read."
Malla gave a slow nod, "interesting, so I'm assuming you have small mana nodes, right?"
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Mana nodes?" He asked curiously, "What's that?"
"You… you don't know what a mana node is?" Malla asked in slight disbelief, briefly glancing at Zara, who looked at Alexander in an equal amount of disbelief.
Alexander looked over to Zara, then back to Malla, before shrugging. "No…?"
Should I know what that is?
Malla blinked in surprise, "w-wow." She stammered, "Okay, uhm…" She looked down at Alexander's arm. "Reach your arm over the table."
Alexander hesitated briefly, before slowly leaning further forward with his arm outstretched.
Malla gently wrapped her hand around Alexander's arm, with her thumb on Alexander's wrist near the palm.
"Mana nodes," Malla began as she pressed her thumb against Alexander's wrist, "are conduits that help control the flow and help store mana. Every living creature has them, some in large quantities, others large in size…" Malla began to wiggle her thumb against Alexander's wrist.
"…but, sometimes these nodes can become blocked or damaged, leading to poor mana levels…" Malla began squeezing Alexander's wrist as she pressed down harder with her thumb.
Alexander slightly frowned in response to the pain but remained silent.
"You can tell they're blocked, by finding a hard lump, instead of a soft, squishy–" Suddenly Malla froze mid-sentence, her thumb pressing against a hard lump in Alexander's wrist, "Mhmm." She muttered to herself.
Alexander curiously tilted his head as he noticed Malla stopping. "Is something wrong?"
Malla pressed her thumb against Alexander's wrist once more, feeling the resistance from the hard lump. "Mhmm, pass me your other arm." She asked, releasing the arm she held currently.
Alexander raised his other arm on the table and reached it towards her. "Am I okay?" He asked worriedly as Malla wrapped her cold fingers around his wrist.
Malla ignored him, instead moving to massage Alexander's wrist, and stopping when she found another hard lump.
Her expression then soured.
Upon seeing her expression, Alexander felt his heartbeat slightly pick up…
"Uhhh, Ms. Malla?"
"Do you remember when you first developed the ability to use magic?" Malla asked curiously, "if you ever tried?"
Alexander hesitantly nodded, "Yeah, when I was around three." He answered, "What does that–"
"Three!!!" Malla exclaimed in shock, "That's two years earlier than the youngest age of mana development, no wonder your nodes are blocked!"
"Huh?" Alexander asked in confusion, "I don't…"
Malla hurriedly stood from her stool. "Your nodes are small, so you don't have a massive pool of mana." She explained, "But they're hard, meaning there's not much mana passing through them anyway, and I assume your development from such a young age has caused this…" Malla began talking a mile a minute as she hurriedly exited the room.
"…but I bet there are dozens of nodes within you, meaning your control of mana can be fine-tuned, however, given that the nodes are blocked you shouldn't even be able to use mana, but the fact that you can, you must at least have a hundred nodes, that could create a decent sized mana pool!"
As Malla disappeared into the main room, rambling a mile per minute, Alexander nervously turned to look at Zara, "am…. am I gonna be okay?" He asked worriedly.