"Anyway, sit here, I made the tea for two after all!" the man said as he pointed his hands toward the empty chair beside the table.
Old wooden texture and a shockingly good smell — the wooden treehouse seemed more alive, yet drier, than the entire forest. Almost as if one could spend their entire life living here without a single complaint. He now had no doubts that old man was not an ordinary guy. He was a great mage by his eyes.
Shyam slightly nodded his head and walked toward the chair, slowly, peacefully. Now this seemed more of a SoL novel unlike that moment. A novel one could put on audio only and listen to for hours without falling asleep because it contains adultery words.
Raitha, still a little shocked by just how accurate this person was, followed Shyam and sat on the edge of the table. Like a dog following its owner silently, with no doubt and full loyalty.
After sitting down on the chair, Shyam took a deep inhale and exhale before holding the teacup made of clay in his hands. The scent was refreshing — of course it was. It had:
[Leaf of the Cold / Rarity – Uncommon
Found in the mist of Tarayala winters. A once-in-a-year herb, used for making excellent tea which is both refreshing and energetic, often drunk before battles.]
The old man knew exactly what Shyam needed after walking on the dried dirt path for hours. His feet almost hurt even though he had some leather shoes on — the ones he got by default on login, lol.
After Shyam smelled the chai like he were to smell alcohol (it was supposed to be panties originally!), Shyam quickly drained the entire cup in a few seconds. It was just too good!
"So, a wandering adventurer?" the old man asked as he took a sip of the chai. He drank it slower — maybe because he had drunk it every day or maybe he was just enjoying it to the fullest!
"Yeah," Shyam replied as he burped because of the quick consumption of a liquid. Just be happy it wasn't white and sticky!
"Figured!" the man said as he slammed his hand onto the table like a drunk uncle who found out he had been cheated on a great holiday!
Shyam flinched a little. Why did he act that way so suddenly? Raitha almost fell on the ground by the sudden table slam.
"What was that for?!" Raitha yelled as she adjusted her sitting once again — but on a different place this time. Couldn't take the risk of falling to the ground by the ass twice, right?
Once again, the old man had decoded her mana frequency, though this time it was because Raitha let it out. She just didn't believe anyone with that kind of skill existed in this world and so she let her guard down. But from now on, she might just keep her mana in control all the time.
"Oh, sorry! It was just that no one visits me to be my student. It hurts that my techniques will be left unteached. The last time anyone visited this place and learned mana control was like nine years ago. I still remember her name — that's how rarely I get visitors!" the old man said as he sobbed.
Well, that was unexpected. From the moment Shyam had entered this house, that man had acted as if no emotion could make him fall. Didn't know he would be proved wrong so fast. Shyam did feel a bit sad for his situation though.
"What was her name?" Shyam asked, curious to know the name of the person whom this great man had reached. Who knows, maybe he could encounter someone like that in the future.
A book suddenly appeared in front of the old man as the pages turned like a magic spell book.
"Wait, I forgot her name — let me check," the man said.
Shyam now almost fell down. Didn't he just say he remembered her name till this day?
To Shyam, that person's cool personality fell down to the ground with every word the old man spoke. Even his actions contributed to the act. That old man was not just a great mage but also a great idiot.
But Shyam could relate. He too forgot the names of the women he often met. They were just not that important for him.
But Pallabi somehow was still stuck in his mind like a stubborn tsundere who refused to leave without a night of fun.
"Come to think of it, what might Pallabi be doing right now?" Shyam whispered as he looked up, trying to imagine what she might be doing.
While the old man turned pages, still trying to find the one where he had written down the name of the woman who learned mana control from him nine years ago…
A river — the water flowed naturally and slowly. Warm air. At the edge of the river sat a girl. Her aqua hair was — wet? And the woman was — naked??? No, wait, Shyam, imagine something else broo! This is going 18+!
> Somewhere in Nilgram
"But if we put it like this, wouldn't it come out if nothing held it?" a woman, her voice no longer soft or warm. It was more like a woman who ruled over people and made decisions worth lives!
"But if we don't put it like this, then the liquid might not come out," a man said as he rubbed his beard with his hands.
"I know! Let's just make support from this side so that the pump can stand properly!" a kid aged just a few years younger than Pallabi — the Lord of Nilgram and Shyam's promiser — said.
"Yeah… that wouldn't work," Pallabi replied as she put a smug smile on her face like an annoyed sister who just wanted to get rid of her younger sibling so that she could work in peace — completely relatable if the genders can switch!
"Found it!" an old excited voice suddenly broke Shyam's happy imagination.
"It was Ashima!" he said, acting as though he hadn't forgotten the name in the first place.
But Shyam actually fell on the ground upside down upon hearing that name. He thought after leaving Tarayala, he wouldn't hear that name ever again. But it seemed he could not get away from it just yet!
But oh well, that explains how she is able to climb walls and stick to ceilings like spiders! Though only for a few seconds, it was still impressive!
"Huh? How did you fall?" the old man said, completely unaware of Shyam's current mental situation.
"Nothing," Shyam whispered and got up like an uncle who suffered from back pain.
"Anyway, if you taught her mana control, could you teach me as well?" Shyam said as he somehow sat down on the chair and wiped off the dust on his back — though there wasn't any. Habits!
"Really!?" That old man's eyes sparkled with hope, just like a teacher who had gotten a student just when he was about to be kicked out because of no students.
"Yeah, I'd be glad to learn," Shyam said as he put his palm on his chest as if ensuring he wouldn't run from it.
The next moment, he found himself hanging upside down on a tree branch. No weapon.
"What the heck! How is this training? This is torture, Lol'd Golakar!"
Yes, that was actually the name of that old man. After Shyam had agreed to learn mana control from Lol'd Golakar, he brought Shyam to an old tree with no leaves and told him to stand on a rope. Just a little bit of trust, Shyam did — and instantly regretted it.
Though Lol'd Golakar continued to tell him it was part of the training.
But what a weird name he had, no? First Muchi the 'Olcham, now Lol'd Golakar. Did every great person have a weird name like this?
Even the guild master of Tarayala had a normal name — Koyel.
"Very good, now calm dow—" Lol'd Golakar tried to speak but was interrupted mid-talk.
"How can I calm down while I am fucking hung upside down?! See? The 'down' is already used!" Shyam said, trying to free himself.
"Shut up! Just calm down and focus your mana to your hands and try to create something sharp using it!" Lol'd Golakar yelled as he put his mana on a stick and floated it toward Shyam.
Nervous and a little bit scared by this crazy old man, Shyam somehow calmed himself and took a deep breath.
"Alright," he whispered and tried to focus his mana onto his palms. Slowly he felt something coming toward his fingers.
Wait, it didn't seem like something good.
Wait no — blood is overflowing to his HEAD!
"Hey I am dying here!!!" he shouted — death is what he feared.
The old man smiled just a little and looked up slowly.
"Don't make excuses," he said and looked at Shyam.
His eyes widened and hands moved fast.
"You are dying?! Why didn't you say so sooner!!!" he yelled and released the rope immediately!
"Are you okay?" Lol'd Golakar asked as he walked toward Shyam, whose breath became calmer and calmer — until it couldn't be heard anymore.
"Hey! Answer me! Don't die!" he yelled and ran toward him.
"I'm tryna catch a breath, crazy old man! I ain't dyin' that easily!" Shyam shouted as he took deep breaths again.
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Ch-25