"Evil spirit... Shaman, I am not possessed by an evil spirit, I am very clear-headed!" In the dark woods, Kapak quickly responded after hearing the Old Shaman's words, and the Shaman spoke calmly.
"Almost everyone possessed by an evil spirit says that. They influence people subtly, unknowingly. If you weren't possessed by an evil spirit, then where did your medical skills come from?"
"This..." Hearing the Old Shaman's words, Kapak was speechless for a moment. When he communicated with Aka, she said she didn't want too many people to know about her existence, so Kapak made up a story about encountering a traveling Shaman to explain the origin of his medical skills. But he didn't expect to be exposed by the Old Shaman of the tribe so quickly.
Now, facing the Old Shaman's questioning, Kapak couldn't answer anything at all. Facing Kapak's reaction, the Old Shaman didn't say much, but instead turned around and continued walking deeper into the dense forest.
"Keep walking. You'd better not make me force you, Kapak."
The Old Shaman said so. Hearing the Old Shaman's threatening words, Kapak swallowed, and then continued to follow the Old Shaman all the way forward.
During this process, Kapak couldn't help but feel worried. He thought that since he had hidden it from the Shaman, he might as well be honest with him about Aka's existence, but this went against Aka's wishes.
'Perhaps I can pray to Aka now, inform her of the current situation, and ask her if she can allow me to be honest with the Shaman.'
Thinking this, Kapak began to pray silently to Aka in his heart, preparing to inform her of the situation at the scene.
'Great Aka, please listen to me...'
...
Preet Kingdom, in Green Shade Town, Tivian North Suburb, on the balcony of a certain residence.
Dorothy, who was watching the distant sunset while sipping coffee on the balcony, suddenly paused slightly, heard a sound from across the distant ocean, and then frowned.
'That kid Kapak is suspected of being possessed by an evil spirit because he cured someone? Suddenly gaining some skill is because of an evil spirit? Is that how they understand it over there?'
Listening to Kapak's message, Dorothy thought to herself. She had no prior knowledge of the customs of the tribal people in the New World, thinking that medical skills that could improve their lives would not be overly scrutinized. Now, it seemed she was wrong.
'Now Kapak is being led somewhere by the Shaman of the tribe. Kapak is a little scared, so he wants me to agree to let him be honest with the Shaman about Aka's existence? Hiss... This is a bit difficult. I don't really want to become too famous yet...'
Listening to Kapak's words, Dorothy thought to herself. She wasn't confident that she could fool a shrewd Old Shaman right now. What if the other party really considered her an evil spirit?
'No need to rush. I'm not a real evil spirit anyway, just using the information channel to have contact with Kapak... There's nothing attached to Kapak, so no matter how much that Shaman tries to exorcise, he won't be able to exorcise anything. Kapak revealing Aka's existence might instead mislead them into thinking Aka is an evil spirit.
'Let Kapak follow that Shaman for now. Let's see what kind of exorcism method that Shaman has. I'll connect the visual link and watch in real-time. If there's any problem, I'll think of another way...'
Thinking this, Dorothy sent a response message to Kapak.
"Now is not the time to reveal. Go with the flow, do not resist."
After sending it, Dorothy also established a visual connection with Kapak, beginning to obtain his perspective and control the situation on his side in real-time.
...
In the woods, Kapak, who heard Dorothy's response, was slightly stunned, and then began to think.
'Now is not the time to reveal... Go with the flow... Does Aka mean that I cannot be honest about her existence yet, and should just go with the flow and follow the Shaman... This... There's nothing I can do.'
Hearing the response, Kapak could only helplessly continue to follow the Old Shaman. Just like that, after the twilight glow, Kapak and the Old Shaman walked through the woods. After not knowing how long they had been circling, they finally arrived at their destination, a clearing in the forest.
Surrounded by tall trees, this was a wide grassy area. In the center of the grass, stood several dilapidated totem poles. Surrounded by the totem poles was a withered large tree, and on the large tree, a white cloth was nailed.
Stepping into the clearing, the Old Shaman walked directly to the withered tree, and Kapak followed closely behind. Looking at the surrounding scene, Kapak couldn't help but murmur with emotion.
"This is..."
"This is our Shaman's training ground. There are countless such places on this land. To become a Shaman, one needs to go through several such places. When I was young, I stayed here... This place is guarded by some loyal spirits. If no one leads the way, you will get lost halfway."
Looking around at the withered tree and the surrounding totem poles, the Old Shaman explained, and Kapak, who was beside him, continued to ask in confusion.
"Shaman's training ground, Shaman... Why did you bring me here?"
"The function of this place is not just for training, but also has other uses, such as some rituals that need to be completed here, such as exorcism rituals for troublesome evil spirits." Turning around to look at Kapak, the Old Shaman continued to speak.
"The evil spirit possessing you is very troublesome and powerful. I used ordinary methods but couldn't make it appear, and it was even difficult to sense its existence. Now I can only rely on this training ground to expel it."
"Shaman's training ground... It has such a function?" Hearing the Old Shaman's words, Kapak said in confusion, while the Old Shaman shifted his gaze to the white cloth covering the withered tree.
"To be precise, it is the Shaman knowledge recorded in the training ground and passed down through generations that has this function. What is carved on this tree is Shaman knowledge from our ancestors. This knowledge is highly toxic to both humans and spirits."
The Old Shaman said slowly. Hearing the Old Shaman's words, Kapak was slightly stunned.
"Toxic... knowledge?"
"Yes, traveling to various places, enduring the test of toxins in the training grounds everywhere, and diligently studying while maintaining consciousness, this is the common practice of the Shamans on this land. Thinking back then, I stayed here for a full year."
Looking at the white cloth slightly fluttering on the withered tree, the Old Shaman recalled the scene from back then, and then turned his head and spoke to Kapak again.
"Spirits attached to humans share many senses with humans. In other words, if you see this Shaman's knowledge, then the evil spirit in your body will also see it. The two of you will share the toxicity of what you see, and compared to living beings, dead spirits will suffer even more from the toxins, several times more than living beings.
"Later, I will lift a corner of the cloth, and you will view a very small part of the Shaman knowledge and absorb the toxins. Don't worry... Although this level of toxin will make you feel very uncomfortable, it will not damage your mind, but it is different for the evil spirit in your body. The impact it suffers is several times yours. To avoid the damage of the toxins to the spiritual body, it will be forced to flee your body, and thus the exorcism will be completed."