Daren still looked confused. Landor sighed and said, "Celestria is huge. So huge that no one has been able to map it to date. The time dilation doesn't help. When you're transported to Celestria by the Realm Will, it diresctly transporsts you to a suitable biome. Right now, we are in a region with an abundance of Life and Wood Animakin. So we need to return and re-enter Celestria so that we can arrive in a Lightning biome."
Daren asked, "Realm Will? So does that mean that the world is alive?"
Landor replied, "The tribes in the Plains believe it to be. But when I was in the Free Territories, there were many that didn't. It depends on what you want to believe. We're much too weak to have any concrete answers."
Daren nodded. They packed their stuff and were about to leave when daren stopped Landor. He said, "Uncle Landor, how will we explain the Essence Fat to the Chief?"
Landor smiled and ruffled his hair. He said, "You just leave that to me. Don't worry about it."
Daren nodded and they both sat down again. He summoned his Anima and expressed his will to return. His Anima began glowing just like it had when they were entering Celestria. When the glow disappeared, so did their bodies.
When they opened their eyes, they were back in the village centre of Valm Village. Daren saw that nothing much had changed. For the villagers, only an hour or so had passed by. The Chief and the Council were still there. But they were extremely shocked when they saw Daren.
The Chief clearly had a lot of questions, but noticing a crowd gathering, he stepped forward and said, "It seems that the hunt was successful. But let us move elsewhere before we talk."
The Council members nodded in agreement. Landor and Daren also nodded. The entourage moved to the hall. The Chief and the Council members took their seats while Landor and Daren stood. The Chief said, "Landor, explain. What happened to Daren?"
Landor took a deep breath and said, "We found an extremely suitable Animakin for Daren in Celestria. Although it was a little older than I would have liked, it was ultimately the only choice for Daren."
The Chief asked, "The only choice? What do you mean?"
Landor looked at daren and said, "Show him."
Daren understood what he meant and nodded. Then he took of his fur shirt and showed the Anima Tattoo on his back to the Chief and the Council members. A series of gasps rang out through the hall.
"Divinity be praised, what am I seeing right now?"
"How is this possible?"
"Such a large Anima Tattoo? It seems that Landor made the right choice."
The Chief was also extremely surprised. Unlike the others, he didn't just notice the size of the Anima Tatoo, but also the level of detail. He said, "Continue."
Landor nodded and said, "We found a Hundred Roots Aspen on the verge of evolving into a Thousand Roots Aspen. We hunted it and daren dealt the final blow. He drained it. Unfortunately, even though the compatibility between the two was extremely high, the sheer amount of Life and Wood Essence in the Aspen was too much.
The extreme amounts of essence almost killed him and triggered his Body Anima. To save itself, his body did the only thing it could to store energy. It converted into fat. Essence fat, to be precise. And here we are."
Landor decided to tell the truth. He knew that the Head elder and the Chief were both cunning men with their own agendas. So it was better to just tell them the truth. Of course, he kept the important details to himself. He just ensured that the situation could be properly explained without any discrepancies.
The Chief looked deep in thought. After a few moments, he asked in a low voice, "And the result? Was it worth it?"
Now came the most important part. Landor smiled, as if he really was extremely excited, and replied, "Absolutely. Daren, show him your Anima."
Daren looked a little dazed. He said, "The hall…?"
The Chief said, "Right, I forgot. Lets go outside."
The went outside and Daren summoned his Tree Anima. The changes were extremely noticeable, even at the first glance. The Council members let out a few appreciative hums. Landor said, "As you can see, the tree has grown a lot, especially the roots. They have become stronger and more tensile.
We tested it and the draining efficiency has also reached new heights. Finally, the fruits. Those are a manifestation of Daren's Anima Skill, Violet Blood Berry. It is an all rounded upgrade of his flowers."
One of the Elders, the same one who had taught Daren healing, moved and touched the Anima. He examined it carefully. Landor began sweating a little. The retired Village Healer was the oldest person in the village. And one of the wisest.
With his Plant Anima, Landor wasn't quite sure exactly how old he was, but if it was anybody who could figure out their lie apart from the Chief, it was him. When the Elder was done, he gave Landor a deep look and landor's heart almost stopped. Had he figured it out? Before he could worry even more, the Elder said, "The lad speaks the truth. The berries are indeed a result of the boy's Anima Skill. Each fruit should be equivalent of at least 8 flowers while only costing the price of 2-3. The Village's future is bright."
The Chief finally dropped his suspicions. Unlike his relationship with the Head Elder, he truly respected the Village Healer. The man was extremely loyal to the village and wasn't ambitious. Why couldn't the Head elder be like him? Things would be so much easier. He said, "This calls for a celebration. The Village has gained a new Healer."
Landor also sighed in relief. Although he wasn't sure if the old Village Healer had figured something out, at least he seemed to be on their side. He said, "Chief, we should delay the celebration a little bit, if possible. We need to return to Celestria for the Origin Bead for daren's Body Anima."
The Chief nodded and said, "Very well. We will wait till you return. When will you leave?"
Landor said, "We just need to restock on some supplies and then we'll leave as soon as possible."
At this time, the old Village Healer said, "Why are you younguns always in such a hurry? You have just returned. Wait a little bit. Let the boy sleep in a bed for a night. You can leave tomorrow. Besides, I want to talk to him. I shall personally teach him the way of healing."
He looked deeply at Landor and Daren, his eyes like deep wells. Landor became sure. They had been busted.