Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 821: Chapter 617: The Past Story, A Touch of Sadness

Upon arriving at Lynn’s family, Hill understood where his friend’s pragmatic attitude, which set him apart from other elves, came from. His parents were not the reliable elders Hill had once imagined.

Children raised by such parents were either extraordinarily chaotic or exceptionally independent.

His Half-Elf father was imbued with the aura of an artist, and their home was visibly unique.

In fact, the elves living in the Star Mountain Range had relatively frugal lives. They didn’t worry about food and drink, but they could never afford the luxurious lifestyle of the Eternity Island Elves.

Moreover, the stone house, which wasn’t small by human standards, appeared quite crude for the naturally artistic and romantic elves.

However, compared to their neighbor’s vine-covered walls, the exquisitely detailed plant murals on the outer walls of Lynn’s family’s stone house had a special beauty.

Lis pulled Hill towards the stone house: ”Actually, we originally wanted to live in a treehouse, but there are too few big trees on the Star Mountain Range to provide a room for each family member. To keep it fair, we simply built a stone house.

But isn’t my house particularly beautiful? Alessio is one of the best, even among elf artists!”

As Hill approached the stone house, he gazed in admiration at the murals. The kind of exuberant life force seemed to dance on each leaf, each blade of grass in the paintings, and indeed Lynn’s father, Alessio, was a great artist.

The same went inside the house. It looked quite ordinary at first glance, but carefully crafted artworks adorned every corner. Alessio was not only skilled in oil painting but also excelled in engraving.

Moreover... Hill noticed Alessio heading straight into the kitchen as they entered the house, indicating he was also the one cooking.

”Don’t worry about Alai, we don’t have any complicated dishes, just traditional elf food, you know~” Lis pulled Hill to sit on the wicker sofa in the hall.

Hill smiled, knowing that the so-called traditional food likely consisted of fruit platters, cheese, and crackers, though he wondered if Lynn’s father was also adept at making sausages.

Realizing Lis was eager to share her childhood stories, Hill quickly took out the gift he had brought.

Fortunately, he had prepared for meeting Lynn’s family before arriving at the Supreme Forest.

He had actually prepared two types of gift boxes, one more luxurious and extravagant, and the other simple and practical.

After observing this family’s preferences, Hill decided to present the practical one.

The male host’s artistic tastes leaned towards elegance and simplicity, and the family had been arranged mainly according to his preferences.

Accepting the gift, Lis placed the delicate little box on the table, thanked Hill lightly, and retrieved a half-meter-high thick album from a nearby small cabinet.

She smiled happily: ”Let’s have a look at this... You can tell Lynn when you go back that his dear mother has preserved these very well, and she takes them out to reminisce about her children’s most adorable moments whenever she has the chance.”

When Hill opened the album to the first page, he saw a Half-Elf baby smiling adorably while holding a bouquet of flowers. The round face, the innocently wide eyes, and the soft gold-brown hair resting on top of his head, with a small mouth slightly open as if calling for his mother.

Hill chuckled; young Lynn quite truly was adorable.

Moreover, it seemed that Lynn’s mother was not quite as mischievous as he thought.

Unfortunately, Hill’s relief dissipated after flipping a few pages... as young Lynn grew into a teenager, the painting style in the oil art suddenly changed.

He suddenly realized, young Lynn had been staying on Eternity Island. During that time, his parents probably just wanted their child to be happy and safe, with fewer concerns, so the paintings had a normal style.

But the later period was different.

As a teenager, Lynn appeared to be at a bonfire party, holding a Ruth backwards, oversized robes on, looking flustered straight ahead.

Lis spoke in a very sentimental tone: ”This was when we were wandering the continent... At that time, I was not in great emotional or physical shape, Alessio was busy taking care of me, and although Lynn wasn’t of age, he had to do the housework every day.

His cooking skills were actually learned during that time from the humans and dwarves we traveled with, which differs greatly from elf tastes.

Lynn already knew by then that his talents as a mage were not very high, and if he were to be a swordsman, his physique was lacking... When he was born, we had a fright, so Lynn’s health wasn’t great.

Speaking of which, that period was harsh on Lynn, being expelled from Eternity Island, his own talents were insufficient, and becoming a ranger seemed his only hope, yet he didn’t know what to do.

At that time, I was also lost. I learned all my combat skills at sea. Alai was a part-time scholar and a Priest. Although there was no problem joining the adventure team, I was a bit self-destructive at the time...it was really shameful...completely unlike a strong Gold Elf.

Fortunately, at that time, there was a Bard in the adventure team we followed who liked Lynn very much, singing and learning to play guitar with Lynn every day. Later, Lynn decided to become a Bard!

He was really happy at that time, his singing voice was clear and pleasant, and it even attracted small birds to hover around the stationed place.

This was during his first official performance when he was so anxious that he held the ruthless guitar backward.

Alessio specifically recorded this scene, hoping Lynn would always remember those beautiful days.

Hill...Hill was a bit desperate: Lynn would never consider this a beautiful memory. He would probably feel ashamed every time he saw it.

For a Bard, to sing and hold the ruthless guitar backward is an absurd comedy!

Hill glanced at Lis, her face full of infinite nostalgia and sorrow. Perhaps it was then that Lynn slowly started to grow up and chose his own path.

Hill fully understood Lynn’s independence. His parents didn’t love him any less; it’s just that Lis needed Alessio’s care at the time, and healthy Lynn had to take care of himself.

In the world of Elves, Lynn’s parents’ behavior was already very responsible for the children. Many young Elves grow up exploring on their own, likely because of the other half of Alessio’s lineage; that’s why he’s so concerned about his child’s childhood life.

Hill flipped through the oil paintings. Although the Lynn in them looked very embarrassed, Hill could see how he transformed from an innocent and lovely little Elf into the steady and reliable Sheriff he is now.

Lis kept talking about the interesting stories of Lynn growing up, but Hill could understand that after Lynn’s brother was born, the family’s focus shifted to that child. They even moved to the Star Mountain Range for the child’s safety.

This forced Lynn to leave his Bard teacher.

Sometimes, a child’s life choice may suddenly be determined on a certain day. Hill suspected that on the day Lynn had to leave his teacher, he had already thought about returning to live on the Northern Continent in the future.

Hill suddenly remembered some things Lynn said when chatting; after arriving on the continent, his journey seemed to end at a village, where he stayed for a long time, only continuing his travels after those he cared about were gone.

It is likely that place was where his Bard teacher retired and passed away. Lynn surely missed that teacher a lot.

Though Elves also have Bards, most of them do it part-time to make their performances more exciting. In the years he stayed at the Star Mountain Range, he likely had to explore and grow by himself.

Hill had long noticed that Lynn learned many Swordsman skills, and compared to the average Bard, his friend’s skills were much more agile. Though it was fine for him to work part-time, from the fact that Lynn never mentioned his Swordsman part-time role, it seemed that being a Bard who had to learn Swordsman skills as he grew was not something worth celebrating for him.

But staying in the Star Mountain Range was not a place a young Elf could leave on their own, and his caring parents wouldn’t allow him as a minor to follow that adventure team of their teacher at that time.

Speaking of which, Lis and her husband did nothing wrong. Even though most of Lis’s skills were used at sea, as a 20th-Level High-level Warrior, the members of the adventure group had no intention of targeting Lynn.

As a young, beautiful, and melodious Half-Elf, that Bard simply could not protect Lynn.

Lynn wasn’t ignorant of many things, but too many regrets and missed opportunities would disturb his heart.

Beyond that, the only thing that made Hill laugh was the painting of him brewing wine: Lynn, frowning with tears driven out by the smoke, indeed was brewing vinegar.

In Alessio’s pen, Lynn’s expression was vivid and awkward, making viewers feel just how strong the vinegar taste was.

These parents didn’t love their child any less, it’s just that, like artists, they had many things to distract them. They had such little time to give to their child, and when Lynn was old enough, their focus naturally shifted more to Lynn’s younger brother.

Hill could hear that Lis didn’t expect their children to be born so close together.

The appearance of Lynn’s brother indeed caught them by surprise, but this child had very high talents, showing obvious elemental reactions almost at birth.

Unable to return to Eternity Island, the Lis couple could only risk entering the Supreme Forest; only here could they protect a child with such high talents, otherwise, he might have been snatched away.

In fact, what Lynn’s family experienced only proved one thing: the steep decline of Elves’ status on the Ferun continent. Hill guessed that Lis’s various discomforts at that time were also related to this. If it weren’t for their powerful strength as a couple, even Lynn wouldn’t have been safe.

However, when a more tempting child was born, even with her 20th-Level Warrior strength, she could only hide in the Supreme Forest, not daring to stay on the Ferun continent.

That must have been the most tragic time for the Elves, unspeakable yet sorrowful.