Somehow Alex was different. From among the kids who described their experience, he understood that he was different.
'Is it a birth secret?' Usually, that was the case. To experience something completely different from the tribesmen, he had to be different somehow.
But in his case, there could be other reasons to be different. After all, the real Meru is already dead and he was occupying the body. So, instead of the bloodline. The change in their soul might have caused him to have a different experience when he awakened.
Or else it might even be due to the interaction of interdimensional-farm.
Anyway, Alex lied through his teeth when asked about his experience. He didn't want others to notice that he was different.
Poka awakened before Alex and he saw hundreds of stone giants in his vision. And Charam who awakened after Alex had only seen a hundred stone giants. This gave Alex a baseline for him to perfect his lie. So, he said he saw two hundred stone giants when he awakened.
As expected he was not caught for lying.
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"You have learned something that can never be taught. Your life is about to change. As the awakened warriors of the Stone-head-tribe. Let me welcome you warmly to celebrate your coming-of-age ceremony. Everyone, raise your glass and drink." Mupan, the one-eyed pirate with a penchant for drugs said.
Alex curiously took a sip of the weird liquid. And he was happy to realise that it was a kind of fruit wine. It was not filtered properly and had some impurities. But overall, it was sweet and quite mild. It was a good drink.
How did they make it?
How healthy and hygienic was it?
He didn't know, yet he drank it like usual.
"This is a medicinal wine made by me for today. This will help you in feeling the mysterious energy inside you. Close your eyes, calm yourself and take a deep breath. Feel the energy inside you and its flow. More important than knowledge is the feeling. Try to immerse yourself in that feeling."
"Can you feel it? A slight warmth all around your body. Like warm water flowing through your body." Mupan asked.
He was closely observing the crowd. The fifty or so newly awakened kids had their eyes closed, trying to feel their energy.
Alex too did it. He wanted to feel what the heck MP was.
"Don't worry if you can't feel it right now. The energy within you is small, like a flickering candle when compared to your predecessors. But don't worry. Just like how we train to control and increase muscles, we can slowly train to control and increase the energy inside us. And only when we use the energy in tandem with our muscles can we express its full potential."
Alex heard everything that Mupan said. But his experience was completely different.
Just as he ingested the wine. He could feel the warmth spreading throughout his body. The cold disappeared within moments. And the torrent of energy was by no means small. It flowed through his blood vessels into his muscles and towards his skin and bones. It almost exited his body before returning to the centre and into his blood vessels.
It was a completely involuntary action. There was no need to control it at all.
But what if he could control it? A sudden thought popped up in his mind. This thought spread like poison in his mind, finally forcing him to move the energy consciously.
And just as he expected. He could move the energy from one part of his body and concentrate it on another part.
However, it was not enough to quench his curiosity. He slowly tried to move the energy outside his body.
When every one of his peers was trying to feel the energy, he was looking at his palm trying to force a little bit of energy outside. And he did.
However, he quickly regretted doing it. A thick plume of smoke came from his hand before quickly disappearing. He looked around to ensure that no one noticed his peculiar situation.
But, he could see the eyes of Mupan staring at him.
'He noticed it? Didn't he?'
"Too cold! Huh! Even vapour from my breath looks like a cloud of smoke." He said softly.
Mupan who heard it was unperturbed by his words. He walked gingerly towards him carrying a cane and said.
"Meru, come with me after the ritual. We have to talk."
'Am I in trouble?' Alex thought.
'I really didn't smoke it, Sir!' He wanted to say it. But the Mupan walked away as fast as he came.
Most of the tribesmen were surprised to see his action.
They never expected Meru to awaken properly, much less to be one of the quickest to awaken. Now, he even caught the eyes of the Mupan. Was this the same Meru they knew? The audience thought.
After that and a mini tutorial on what energy is and how to use it. The ritual was finally completed.
Now the kids can be called adults and they could join the hunting group officially and take part in any hunts.
With that also came the responsibility to help the tribe. They were also required to take part in certain hunts.
After having a lavish dinner, everyone went their own way. Alex was also ready to leave. But he didn't know where his home was.
So, he did the only thing he could think of. He went to the house of Mupan to ask why he was called. And to find more information about this tribe.
The house of Mupan was in the centre of the tribe, near the pond. It looked completely different from all the other houses in the tribe.
It was large and spacious with decorative pieces on either side of the entrance. It had drawings of animals in red and white paint all around it.
Unlike what you expect from a stone age tribe. The drawings were detailed, showing different animals and each of their peculiar features. It had a human figure drawn near them for size comparison and other tools and equipment lined up near them.
It felt more like a textbook than just a drawing to Alex.
'That might be their intended purpose.' He thought before entering the wooden house.
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