NOVEL NEXT 46 – How Does a High Elf Reproduce?
Chapter 46 - How Does a High Elf Reproduce?
It's been two weeks since we started training with Kinue while Professor Adrihna kept reading. She has a peculiar way of teaching us. It seems like she's not paying attention, but she really is. Even while looking at the pages, that woman can tell if we are stimulating our mana channels correctly.
Even though I learned Aura in my past life, it's different in this world. In my world, Aura was an armor that flowed outside the warrior's body, while mana flows inside the mage's body.
No problem... if I want to master something, I can do it!
The professor evaluated us with her eyes, she took off her monocle and stared at us with that Special Eye while placing her hand on our abdomen as we let the mana flow through our channels. She told us that the secret was in reading the position of the mana and the root. If she read the root of the mana channel with the position where the root is fixed, she could tell how the mana works in someone's body.
Through this analysis, she could identify our mana categories. However, we had already managed to use our mana in an advanced way and even transformed it into our element. Professor Adrihna only needed to identify our dominant mana category. When she discovered our Primary and Secondary categories, she began to give us specific mana circulation training.
The mana needs to circulate through our channel and then exit through our mana root.
I had the primary category as Transmitter and the secondary category as Emitter, which means I have a greater advantage in close combat with the thunder element and can also launch long-range attacks.
I don't even need to tell you how happy I was to find out that I am a primary category Transmitter and can use my element on my body. When I start to understand how mana works to physically strengthen myself, I will put into practice some of what I know about Aura and become a Mana General.
Chloe's primary category was Emitter and her secondary category was Invoker. The professor reassured her when she got upset, thinking she couldn't create golems, by saying she could, but it wouldn't be as easy for her. The secret lay in the Gem and its energy level, as it wouldn't matter if Chloe's primary mana category was Invoker if she couldn't manage and control her mana.
The Gem is a pearl of energy that condenses and generates heat. This heat is actually mana in its pure form; it's from this Gem in our soul that mana is produced for our body.
Unfortunately, the professor was only going to teach us the basics of magic introduction, as we would need to learn at the Academy in Apsalon. That place was an elite institution, and she gave us the mission to evolve our Gem and power on our own. This was our first test to prepare for when we reached Apsalon. Professor Adrihna was essentially going to teach us to fish, and it would be our job to catch the fish, as she put it.
Speaking of which, I started practicing by throwing my thunder into a lake with fish. It proved to be much more useful for catching fish than using a water mage, although I used up all my mana in the process and my aunt said it was risky as I could harm other species of fish and even damage hidden eggs.
After we learned to move the mana through our bodies efficiently with our mana category, we had the chance to meditate with them to stimulate our Gem while being evaluated.
I wanted to practice with Kinue because I was very curious about the demi-human kingdom, but it seems Chloe's curiosity was greater, and she didn't let me train with Kinue or be alone with her. I didn't understand why.
I hope she tells me later what she discovered about the other kingdom.
“You’re losing focus. Stay focused,” my teacher said while reading.
“How can you tell I’m losing focus, teacher? Is your eye really that good?”
She sighed.
“I told you to call me Adrihna. Calling me ‘teacher’ makes me sound old.”
“But aren’t you old? You’re almost 200 years old.”
Adrihna hit me on the head with her book.
“I am young and vibrant. High Elves stop aging before they hit 30, so I’ll keep this appearance until I die.”
Really? I used to be like that too.
“Does that affect your mind? For relationships and stuff, since you’re older in a young body?” I asked, curious since I had my own dilemmas.
Adrihna scratched her chin and seemed to ponder.
“I’ve never thought about that kind of thing. I have no interest in romantic relationships. But you have a good line of thought. For me, my mind remains the same as when I was 28 and will stay that way until I die.”
“So, you’ll die without ever liking someone?” I asked.
She seemed to think.
“High Elves don’t have the concept of ‘liking’ someone. It’s very rare for a High Elf to ‘love’ someone. So, when I said that beauty means nothing to us, I was serious. It doesn’t matter because we don’t care about finding someone as a romantic partner. When a High Elf surpasses the barrier of love, they begin to feel other emotions, but that is rare and almost never happens. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve heard of a High Elf falling in love, and I won’t even use all my fingers. In fact, I won't even use one finger…”
My teacher went back to reading her book, but now I had more questions than before.
“If your species doesn’t love easily… how were you born? How do you ‘multiply’?”
“My parents just agreed to ‘reproduce,’ and my brother and I were born. It’s an efficient and simple process that every High Elf goes through at least once in their life. My mother was even happy to have had twins, so she didn’t need to reproduce again. Generally, it’s recommended that a High Elf have one child, but a woman in her position should have at least two children since my father is a Duke and needs more than one heir by our tradition.”
Okay, that was a lot of information. I kind of regretted asking, but now I was even more curious.
“So how do you marry? Since there’s no love?”
“In that case, a study of personality and profession is done to see which elf is the best match. All High Elves are nobility, so they usually choose someone who will be a good match for work and family union. It’s not different from arranged marriages that some human nobility go through. As for how they ‘reproduce’… I’m not sure I should explain that to you. But you understand the concept; it’s only done once in a lifetime to produce an heir. That’s the calculation. While lower nobility High Elves need one heir, higher nobility needs two. Since we live a long time, there’s no need for constant reproduction. Carnal pleasures come only from human emotions. If a High Elf hasn’t awakened their emotions, then for us, the intimate act is just a waste of time. You get what I mean…”
She doesn’t even blush talking about this stuff? They really don’t feel many emotions…
I went back to stimulating my Gem, passing mana through it and making it flow through the mana channels. To stimulate the Gem, we needed to use our mana channels to the fullest, knowing every part of it and learning to manage mana consumption. Evolving the Gem is more practical and comes with time. When you feel it changing grades, you can concentrate on the energy to try to grasp that small thread and try to pull it.