Chapter 5: Soul Drenching Squirrels

  I couldn't make any sense of why this weird old man in a gray robe was acting all frenziedly. Was he trying to act a sarcastic drama or something, just to lighten the air? Even if he had to do so, couldn't he at least give some respect to his reputation? If there was one thing I despised the most, it was a clown! Oh, those horrible fellas!

  I don't know how he was expecting me to react, but I wasn't going to fall for this.

  As I watched the old man raise a finger at me, a memory flashed into my head. I remembered when I was just five years old and my school had to go to the circus for an escortion. We had a wonderful time there, but no one expected what would happen next. A clown showed up. Standing some metres from me, he made a quick scream that made everyone's heart skip a beat. He stared at me as though I was a demon and began running. The other kids, seeing this, were so afraid that they had to run away from me. The teachers seemed to have fallen for this as well and ran away from me. I was so afraid and frustrated that I couldn't seem to turn to anyone for protection, as they all seemed to be running away from me — only to find out that it was the clown's latest trick.

  The teachers found away to bribe me into forgiving them, with lots of candies, just to shut my mouth from telling my parents. It worked, but what they didn't know was that I never could bring myself to forget that day. It was the worse in my entire life, so far.

  All of these memories jolted into my head in a split-second.

  I noticed Uncle Ramsey falling for this act. His eyes were wide and he quickly asked the Acorn Master, “Could it be that there seems to be a problem, Acorn Master?”

  As if my uncle's voice was like a gunshot beside an unsuspecting person, this fellow who seemed to have carried an heavy aura with a disposition that could make even the mighty tremble, a couple of minutes ago, had his shoulders bob in fear. It was as though he'd just escaped a minute before a breakdown from a cardiac arrest.

  “A-a prob-problem?” he stammered.

  At this moment, I could tell that this man had a screw loose somewhere in his head. Did he have to trample on his pride this much, just for... worthless fun?!

  The more I watched, the angrier I became.

  Another thought appeared in my head.

  ‘Could it be that this fellow was that same clown and he just seemed to recognise me after so many years?’

  While I was about to make a conclusion, I heard his voice again.

  “Who did you say she was?”

  My uncle turned to look at me before affirming, “Why, that's my niece!”

  “Yo-your niece carries such an aura?”

  “Aura?”

  I felt puzzled by his words, and so was Cousin Dorothy and the others in the crowd.

  My uncle stepped in front of me then wagged his spirit force around me, only to end up making a squeeze on his forehead. He looked disappointed. Turning around to the Acorn Master, he said, “I cannot feel any aura. And that's not possible. Only times when I cannot feel another's aura is when I'm either unfamiliar with the person's form of gift or the person's gift is more powerful than myself.”

  I was surprised, still none of these made any sense.

  “Ah,” my uncle slapped his forehead, “I forgot!”

  “What?!” the Acorn Master asked in anticipation.

  “According to my younger brother and his wife, they've concluded that their daughter, my dear niece here, had no gifts, after watching her closely and even employing a woman from this kingdom to be her nanny.”

  My eyes lit up. Nanny Florentine had a gift as well?! No wonder she'd come up to me sometimes asking me if I felt anything strange in my body at times. I've always thought the woman who'd been my nanny, since I was four, to refer to physical changes, like those caused by puberty... yet this!

  When I was about to burst out into anger, I heard Dorothy's voice.

  “That's not true, Dad. She does have a gift. I discovered it when we passed through the gateway of the gifted...” She went on to explain all she'd noticed and my confession after inquiring about the butterfly tattoo and realising I'd already gone through mutation.

  My uncle was surprised. Nevertheless, he nodded in complete comprehension and pride in his new discovery.

  I watched the gray-robbed man watching to see what next he had up his sleeves, but in shock he made an exclamation.

  “Ah, that's impossible!”

  I didn't know when I screamed, “What's impossible!”

  I mean, it was one thing for people in the normal world to see me as a freak, but isn't everyone a freak here? Just look at yourself, you've got freaking horns!

  Noticing how embarrassed I was, my uncle quickly turned to his friend.

  “Can you explain what you mean, Acorn Master? You see, my niece here is very shy, you'd want to go straight to the point.”

  ‘Thank you!’ I screamed in my head.

  The man's eyes narrowed to meet mine before his mouth finally gathered to speak.

  “It's normal to get the Arerat symbol the first time a gifted passes through the gateway, however, the spirit aura gushing out from you is scary!”

  Huhn? I thought my uncle claimed he couldn't feel anything, what do you mean by this?

  As if reading my mind, he began to speak.

  “As the Acorn Master, who is also one with an animal spirit of the same level of a 1-star intermediate Gifted, it is easy for me to sense your animal spirit.”

  I nodded in comprehension.

  “1-star intermediate Gifted?” Dorothy asked in grave surprise. “Doesn't that mean that you were capable of taking the 1-star intermediate exam of the Dwindling Mountains?!”

  He shook his head with a bitter smile drawn across his face.

  “Indeed, however, there's only one disqualifying factor.”

  It was obvious that there was nothing to hide amongst us, so he continued.

  “My aura is weak and cannot merge with a 1-star savage beast. Despite being capable of taking the exam, it just would be impossible to live in the Dwindling Mountains with such a disability.”

  Stroking his snow-white beard, he tried to fall back into the disposition he'd earlier kept. With an air of importance, he began to lecture.

  “As most of you here know, in a dynasty such as ours, it'd be impossible to keep its dignity if just anyone could sit on lofty seats. Because of this, one had to undergo a series of exams before one could easily advance to a higher realm kingdom.

  “The Acorn Valley might appear weak, however many dynasties such as the Entwined Dynasty pales in comparison to this kingdom alone.

  “Our kingdom is known for its Soul Drenching Squirrels which feed on spirit acorns grown in the kingdom's valley, hence the reason it's called the Acorn Valley. There are millions of Soul Drenching Squirrels in this kingdom, and despite being a guardian of the kingdom's spirit acorns, not was have I been acknowledged by a Soul Drenching Squirrel.”

  “Acknowledged?” I found myself asking.

  “Yes. You see, as a guardian of spirit acorns, I'm more entitled to get acknowledged by those beasts due to how they get fed by us from those spirit acorns. When a savage beast acknowledges one, one would be able to feel an intensive aura that connects one with the heart and spirit of the savage beast, making telepathic communication between the beast and the one acknowledged possible, regardless of the the star of the savage beast.”

  I nodded in comprehension.

  ‘So that was what I felt earlier!’

  “In this world, the greatest people are beast tamers. They are the ones who take care of the welfare and warfare of each kingdoms, and in extension, the dynasty.”

  He suddenly felt as though he'd said so much, before turning to look at me.

  “But you... despite having an obviously meagre knowledge in beast taming emitted such an aura of animal spirit! It's either you've been acknowledged by several 1-star savage beasts, or you've been acknowledged by one from a higher tiered kingdom. Even if anyone can't guess your level of aura, I can tell it's not any inferior to mine, only that you're either suppressing it, or you're yet to learn how to manipulate it.”

  “This...” My uncle was baffled.

  “Could that be the case?” I was marveled myself.