I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

Shu Li used his senses to “watch” them.

The white mage removed the leather pouch hanging from his waist, pulled out the stopper, and handed it to the Dark Elf he called Murrisis.

“Fill this with water.”

Without using a magic staff, the Dark Elf waved a hand and recited a water magic incantation. He drew the water elements from the air, condensed them into a stream of liquid, and directed it into the leather pouch.

The pouch was a spatial item, and it took quite some time to fill.

The other members of the party took out their own water containers. The Dark Elf patiently filled each one in turn.

“Good thing we found an oasis.” The dwarf took a long drink and sighed contentedly. “There are plenty of water elements here. We can take as much as we want.”

“I’ve been thirsty the entire way. The sun nearly dried me out,” the goblin said in his shrill voice, sounding as though he were picking a fight even when he was merely speaking.

“All right, stop complaining. Let’s hear from Murrisis. How much longer will it take us to find the Temple of Edas?” the orc asked with a frown as he roasted the freshly skinned meat.

The Dark Elf answered lazily, “If the Temple of Edas were that easy to find, someone else would have discovered it long ago. Would there be anything left for us? Be patient, my friends.”

The white mage shot him a disdainful glance. “I never should’ve joined you scoundrels in the first place! If it weren’t for the Sunfire Crystal, I would have parted ways with you long ago!”

“Sedler, don’t be so heartless!” The Dark Elf gazed passionately at the white mage with his blood-red eyes. “We’ve shared a month of hardship and grown so close. Breaking up now would hurt me terribly!”

The white mage’s face turned cold. “Who’s grown close to you? Stop making it sound so suggestive. My standards aren’t that low.”

The Dark Elf was wholly unbothered by his frosty expression. With a low laugh, he asked, “How do you know we’re incompatible if you’ve never tried?”

The white mage remained expressionless. “Tell yourself that nonsense if you want. Don’t take everyone else for a fool.”

The Dark Elf spread his hands. “My feelings for you have always been sincere. What can I do if you refuse to believe me?”

The white mage glared at him, then sat beside the orc to put some distance between himself and the Dark Elf.

The Dark Elf shrugged indifferently.

“Tch. You two have been flirting like that for an entire month. Aren’t you sick of it yet?” the goblin complained irritably. “Murrisis, you Dark Elves love taking what you want by force. If you like him, just go for it!”

The Dark Elf pointed at the goblin and muttered a simple incantation.

The next instant, a basinful of cold water drenched the goblin from head to toe.

The goblin immediately launched into a furious tirade.

Unfortunately, he was cursing in the goblin language, which few of those present could understand.

Hidden within the Mother Tree’s roots, Shu Li listened to the goblin’s abuse and rubbed his afflicted ears.

What vile language. It was even cruder than Dwarven.

“Eunomys, what is the Temple of Edas? And what is a Sunfire Crystal?”

The adventurers were speaking the Continental Common Language, and Shu Li had picked out two useful pieces of information from their conversation.

“The Temple of Edas... I have not heard anyone mention it for a very long time. It was a temple dedicated to the Fire God, Afama Chieps. During the War of the Gods ten thousand years ago, the Fire God fought the forces of darkness here. The Temple of Edas was utterly destroyed and subsequently vanished into the desert.”

“Vanished? Were no ruins left behind?” Shu Li asked in surprise.

“According to legend, the Temple of Edas sank underground and was buried beneath a thick layer of sand. It is not easy to find.”

“Underground? Your roots spread so far, yet you haven’t found any trace of the temple?”

“The Ergoga Desert is vast. My roots cover less than five percent of it.”

If not for its underground rivers and oases, her roots would have bypassed the desert entirely.

“You still haven’t told me what a Sunfire Crystal is.”

“A Sunfire Crystal is formed from the blood the Fire God shed after being wounded during the War of the Gods. It is a supreme material for crafting fire-attributed magical equipment and can effectively raise one’s level of magical power.”

After hearing the Mother Tree’s explanation, Shu Li found the entire thing rather dubious.

Leaving aside whether the temple could even be found, the existence of the Sunfire Crystal itself sounded far-fetched.

Blood had crystallized into something that useful, yet mages ten thousand years later still had a chance of finding it?

Surely it would have been fought over and picked clean at the time.

Still, the Fire God and the Fire Spirit complemented one another and shared a profound connection. They might have fought side by side during the War of the Gods.

In other words, finding the Temple of Edas might lead him to the Fire Spirit.

Shu Li was thrilled.

Eavesdropping really did yield useful information.

“Eunomys, if we follow this adventuring party, won’t they lead us to the Temple of Edas?”

“Sperien, you are far too optimistic. Countless adventuring parties have searched for the Temple of Edas over the past ten thousand years, but not one has ever succeeded. You should not place too much hope in them.”

“Nothing is ever certain. What if they actually find it? So...” Shu Li paused. “Eunomys, could you use your roots to follow them underground?”

“You always come up with the most unexpected ideas.” The Mother Tree sighed, indulgent yet helpless.

“Hehehe... Please?”

“I will try,” the Mother Tree said. “Now, may we go back?”

Fruit Number Three, Fruit Number Five, and Fruit Number Ten were still waiting to be purified!

“It is more than an hour too early to go there.”

“Going a little early won’t hurt, will it?”

Around noon, the sun over Wanaku was merciless, and the Dark Elves disliked going outside. Apart from Efit, who went to count the fruits at a fixed time, practically no Dark Elf was willing to wander through the courtyard containing the Mother Tree’s offshoot.

The Mother Tree agreed. Her root tip silently withdrew underground, carrying the Little Fairy through her root space and transporting him to the offshoot.

The members of the adventuring party continued devouring roasted meat and boasting loudly, utterly unaware that a tiny Fairy had come and gone.

Shu Li poked his head out from the trunk of the Mother Tree’s offshoot. After finding nothing unusual, he carefully climbed out, hid beneath the dark green leaves, and spread his senses to investigate the surroundings.

As expected, the courtyard was deserted.

Reassured, he began working.

First, he cast more than ten purification spells on the Mother Tree’s offshoot. Then he found Fruit Number Three.

Fruit Number Three was as large as a winter melon. It hung beneath a branch from a thick, sturdy stem, making it especially difficult to purify.

For the first year or two, there had been no visible change to its surface, so he had not needed to worry about anyone noticing anything unusual. As the purification progressed, however, the originally grayish-blue skin gradually turned pale green.

To prevent the other Dark Elves from noticing, Shu Li had been forced to tell Efit about it and coat the fruit’s skin with a layer of paint that rain could not easily wash away.

They had reapplied it every three months for five years. Keeping it up had not been easy.

Older fruits were not as easy to approach and nuzzle as the younger ones. Shu Li did not dare reveal himself, so he could only hide beneath the leaves, raise his magic staff from a distance, and cast purification spells on it.

After casting the spell ten times, he went to find Fruit Number Five and Fruit Number Ten.

The two fruits grew from the same branch and were no smaller than Fruit Number Three. Their skins also had to be repainted periodically.

Shu Li quickly finished purifying both fruits and put away his magic staff. Just as he was preparing to leave, he suddenly heard movement at the courtyard entrance.

“Eunomys, who’s coming?”

He swiftly hid beneath a leaf and flattened himself against the branch.

“They are two Dark Elf children adopted by Efit.”

“What are they doing here?”

Shu Li was surprised.

Once Dark Elf cubs emerged from their fruits, they rarely returned to the courtyard containing the Mother Tree.

Five years ago, Efit had adopted five three-year-old Dark Elf cubs. He had subsequently adopted three more, bringing the total to eight.

What could these two children want here today?

Instead of leaving immediately, Shu Li concealed his presence and quietly watched.

Before long, two Dark Elf children around eight years old reached the foot of the Mother Tree. They raised their heads and stared expressionlessly at the enormous fruits hanging from its branches.

Like Efit, they carried only a very faint scent of blood. Their eyes were clear, without a trace of violence.

Shu Li knew that Efit had been giving the cubs some kind of potion. It effectively suppressed the dark power within them, keeping their minds clear at all times so they would not be ruled by ambition and desire.

Shu Li had a favorable impression of Dark Elves like them.

Propping his chin on his hand, he studied the Dark Elf children below.

“Isn’t that fruit going to ripen next month?” one of the children asked, pointing toward a fruit on the branch.

Shu Li followed his finger and saw Fruit Number Three. He could not help frowning.

What did he mean by that?

Fruit Number Three truly was close to ripening, but what did that have to do with them?

At the beginning of next month, it would be transferred to the Mother Tree’s main trunk. Then it would no longer be a Dark Elf fruit!

“Yes,” the other young Dark Elf replied. After hesitating, he asked, “Luca, are we really going to... do it? Efit will be angry if he finds out!”

“Lanno, if we don’t do it, Efit will keep adopting more and more cubs.” Luca clenched his fists. “There were only five of us in the beginning!”

Lanno shook his head. “Luca, you shouldn’t think that way. Efit is always telling us that cubs must help and care for one another.”

“Then I’m sorry,” Luca said coldly, “but I don’t feel the slightest affection for an unborn cub. Once it’s born, it’ll only take more of Efit’s attention away from us.”

Lanno stared speechlessly at Luca’s stubborn face. “You have to understand Efit. He is doing everything he can to help all the cubs.”

The Dark Elves trained their cubs with extreme cruelty. Very few survived each round of special training. If Efit had not intervened, both he and Luca would have died long ago, along with the other cubs from their group.

Now Efit had adopted them. They had access to resources unavailable to the other cubs and were growing up healthy and strong. They even had a mysterious potion that suppressed the dark power within them, allowing them to retain clear awareness of themselves at all times.

Luca fell silent for a moment before saying dejectedly, “I know what Efit is trying to do... but I can’t stand watching him work himself to the bone! Every additional cub means another mouth he has to earn money to feed. The burden only keeps growing. When will it ever end?”

Lanno embraced Luca and rested his forehead against his. “Luca, I understand what you mean. But there are still so many fruits on the Mother Tree’s branches. Are you going to destroy all of them? Efit would never allow it, and the king would punish you severely. If you don’t want Efit to be hurt, put those wicked thoughts aside!”

“Lanno...” Luca bit his lip.

“What we need to do is grow up quickly so we can help ease Efit’s burdens.” Lanno patted Luca’s tense shoulder.

Luca took a deep breath. “I understand.”

He looked up at Fruit Number Three once more, took Lanno’s hand, and hurried away.

Once they had left the courtyard, Shu Li released a long breath and wiped away imaginary cold sweat on behalf of Fruit Number Three, which had narrowly escaped disaster.

He never would have imagined that the Dark Elf child named Luca was contemplating destroying Fruit Number Three. Fortunately, the child named Lanno had stopped him.

Their conversation made it clear that Luca wanted to destroy Fruit Number Three to lighten Efit’s burden.

He believed that the more cubs Efit adopted, the more time, effort, and money he would have to spend. It was a bottomless pit that might eventually crush him.

Although Luca had Efit’s interests at heart, his thinking was far too selfish.

He had received Efit’s help and been given a second chance at life, yet now he wanted to prevent other cubs from escaping their suffering. It was not only selfish but cruel.

Efit had surely considered the consequences before choosing to adopt the cubs.

Luca was still too young.

Dark Elves truly were Dark Elves. Even with their dark power suppressed, they instinctively gave rise to malicious thoughts.

That evil was innate. Only immense willpower could resist it.

That only proved how exceptional Efit was.

He had possessed no potion to suppress the dark power when he was young, yet he had remained clear-headed and relentlessly searched for a way to restrain it. In the end, he had developed the mysterious potion himself.

Most of the herbs needed to make it came from the Faerie Forest.

Only after taking a potion-making course had Shu Li learned what could be made from the herbs Efit frequently purchased from him.

The Evil-Dispelling Potion was specifically formulated to suppress dark power.

It was a highly advanced purification potion and extremely useful.

Efit used to pay enormous sums for it at auction. Since beginning his partnership with Shu Li, however, he had saved a great deal of money.

Of course, Shu Li accepted more than gold coins in their trades. He also demanded products unique to Wanaku.

Blue ganite, for example, was a mineral found only in Wanaku that could increase a weapon’s toughness.

If Elves or Fairies wanted to obtain blue ganite, they could only buy it at exorbitant prices from auction houses while traveling beyond their homeland.

Shu Li had recently been planning to forge a high-rank longsword, so he traded herbs to Efit in exchange for blue ganite.

Efit was delighted to trade Wanaku’s unique resources with him.

Because it was cheap.

Tired from lying prone for so long, Shu Li rose and stretched his stiff limbs.

“Eunomys, when can we transfer Fruit Number Three?”

They could not wait any longer. He was afraid that if they delayed, someone else might target Fruit Number Three. They were finally on the verge of succeeding and absolutely could not let all their previous work go to waste. They had to transfer it as quickly as possible before any further complications arose.

“Three days at the earliest,” the Mother Tree answered.

“Three days...”

Shu Li scratched his head.

According to the schedule, he was supposed to study at the divine tree until the end of this month. It would not be his turn to study in the Elven Kingdom until the beginning of next month.

Because of the coffin, however, he and his friends had made a special trip to the Elven Kingdom to find the Saint Mage. They were supposed to return to the divine tree early tomorrow morning.

But now Fruit Number Three had drawn the attention of a Dark Elf child and was in imminent danger!

Luca might have listened to his companion and left today, but there was no guarantee he would not change his mind and launch a surprise attack in the middle of the night.

This is bad. I’m worried!

“I won’t return to the divine tree for the next few days.”

Shu Li had made his decision. He would remain in the Elven Kingdom and come here every night to purify Fruit Number Three. The moment the three days were up, he would transfer it, leaving the Dark Elf child no opportunity whatsoever to destroy it.

“Very well.”

The Mother Tree was more than happy to hear that.

Shu Li entered the Mother Tree’s trunk and safely returned to the courtyard for Elf cubs.

He cautiously poked his head out from a branch. When he saw that all the courtyard lights had been extinguished, he emerged without worry.

The Mother Tree’s main trunk was no longer bald. Its branches were covered in lush green leaves, and seven fruits as large as gourds hung among them.

All seven were young fruits he had stolen from the offshoot. After being purified and transferred to the main trunk, they had continued to grow well.

When Fruit Number One first appeared, the Elves had been so delighted that they sang and danced. They had even held a grand procession to the Miladi Palace at Lake Shengze’an to pray to the gods.

It was during that prayer that Shu Li had entered a strange illusion.

Five years had passed since then, and he had never entered another illusion. Gradually, he stopped dwelling on what had happened inside them.

However, whenever he caught sight of himself in a mirror, he occasionally felt puzzled.

As he grew older, the baby fat had faded from his face, and his features had gradually become more defined. Sometimes, in a moment of distraction, he increasingly felt that he resembled the young Fairy from the illusion.

Whenever that thought occurred to him, he would shake his head vigorously in denial.

Illusions were like dreams—false, bizarre, unfettered by reality, and shaped by the emotions and desires buried deep within the heart.

The reason the Elven King appeared in every one of his illusions had to be because Shu Li respected him very, very much. His subconscious had therefore cast the Elven King as the central figure in them.

Shu Li nuzzled the fruits, wished them good night, then flew toward his bedroom window and squeezed through the narrow gap.

After such a busy day, he could finally rest.

He stretched, removed all his magnificent equipment, and changed into a loose sleeping robe. Once he had washed up, he did not even have the energy to write in his diary. He flopped facedown onto the soft bed and fell asleep instantly.

At some unknown hour, the Elven King appeared inside his room. Standing beside the bed, he gazed down at the peacefully sleeping Little Fairy and sighed softly.

“Freyus... This time, Sperien will find the Fire Spirit sooner.”

The Mother Tree’s voice sounded in the Elven King’s mind.

The Elven King did not answer. He merely watched in silence as a certain Little Fairy rolled over and kicked away his blanket.

After a while, the Little Fairy’s sleeping position became increasingly outrageous. His entire body ended up sprawled on top of the blanket, leaving his two slender bare legs exposed.

The Elven King frowned. Extending a finger, he very, very gently moved Shu Li back beneath the blanket and tucked him in securely before teleporting away.

Shu Li was sleeping far too deeply to realize that the Elven King had come to his room in the middle of the night solely to tuck him in.

Early the next morning, Shu Li was awakened by Sayah knocking on his door.

He yawned and struggled out of bed, his hair resembling a bird’s nest.

After enlarging himself and leaving his room, he encountered his three bleary-eyed friends in the corridor.

“What? You’re not going back to the divine tree today?” Disio’s drowsiness vanished the moment he heard Shu Li’s announcement. His ruby-red eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s right.” Shu Li rubbed his nose. “The Saint Mage is here, so I want to ask him for advice about magic.”

Of course, he could not tell them the real reason, so he used the Saint Mage as an excuse.

The three friends exchanged glances.

Suddenly, they did not want to return so soon either.

Asking a Saint Mage for advice about magic counted as studying, didn’t it?

Angel wrapped his arms around Shu Li and vigorously rubbed his cheek against his. With great loyalty, he declared, “Sperien, we’ll stay with you!”

They would be able to play here openly!

“Uh, no... It’s fine. You can go back without me...”

If they stayed, he would have to be extremely careful whenever he slipped out to find the Mother Tree in the middle of the night.

“Good brothers stay together!”

Disio and Budno pounced on Shu Li as well, hugging him and competing to rub their faces against his.

They rubbed Shu Li’s cheeks red.

“Ah... Fine!”

“Hehehe!”

His three friends grinned happily.

They lined up to enter the dining hall. When they saw Ilio, they greeted him.

“Hi, good morning, Ilio. You don’t need to trouble yourself today. We’re staying here for a few more days!”

Ilio asked with a smile, “What changed your minds?”

Angel draped an arm over Shu Li’s shoulder. “Sperien wants to ask Danlov for advice about magic.”

“Is that so?” Ilio asked Shu Li.

The keen gleam in Ilio’s eyes made Shu Li’s scalp prickle.

“Y-yes. Didn’t you tell me before that attending a human magic academy is one of our required courses? Danlov is a human Saint Mage, so he must have many unique insights into magic. That’s why... I want... to ask him for advice...”

“I see.” Ilio applauded and praised him. “An excellent idea.”

Shu Li grinned. “Hehehe—”

His three friends joined him in perfect unison. “Hehehe—”

Shu Li was speechless.

You really don’t have to be that perfectly synchronized.

Danlov had meditated throughout the night, and something within his state of mind had changed. When he rose that morning and stood beneath the courtyard colonnade, breathing the fresh air and welcoming the morning sun that brought light and warmth to the earth, he felt refreshed and at peace.

He no longer obsessed over his rank. As the Elven King had said, he should allow everything to follow its natural course.

Even if he could not break through and become a Mage Sovereign, he would face death calmly.

Some things could not be forced.

Having adjusted his state of mind, he strolled leisurely toward the dining hall. The moment he stepped through the door, he heard Ilio greet him.

“Good morning, Danlov.”

“Good morning, Ilio.”

The meaningful smile on the black-haired Elf’s face immediately put Danlov on alert.

Ilio pointed toward the Little Fairies sitting in a neat row at the table, all busily battling their food, then winked at Danlov.

“They all want your advice about magic. I’ll have to trouble you to serve as their teacher for the next few days.”

Danlov stared at him in surprise.

The four Little Fairies chewing on fruit raised their heads simultaneously and gaped at Ilio in shock.

They had said they wanted advice about magic. They had never said they wanted lessons!!