I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

The scene was so solemn and beautiful that the cubs hovered quietly in midair, not daring to disturb the Elven King’s prayers.

Shu Li looked up at the statue of the Light God, then slowly descended to the floor. Copying the Elven King’s posture, he clasped his hands before his chest, bowed his head slightly, closed his eyes, and silently recited a prayer.

Great Light God... Lainte Freis, I am Sperien of the Faerie Forest, your faithful believer! Please bless me so that I may grow up quickly, master Elven, master magic, and become a mighty hero. Let me defeat the evil Demon King as quickly as possible, return to my original world, and reunite with my family. I will praise and follow you forever!

The tiny Fairy cub stood upon the gleaming stone floor, his fair, chubby face solemn as he earnestly petitioned the towering statue.

Although the other cubs did not understand what was happening, they knew how to imitate him. One after another, they descended to the floor, stood behind Shu Li, and assumed the same prayerful posture.

The holy Elven King stood at the front, with a neat row of Fairy cubs behind him. An indescribable air of cuteness permeated the solemn hall.

This was the scene Aisha encountered when she entered the hall on silent feet.

A trace of surprise flashed through her silver eyes. She stopped where she was and quietly watched the Elven King and the cubs before the statue.

After an unknown amount of time, the Elven King finished his prayer. He turned toward the row of tiny figures on the floor, and a gentle smile appeared on his handsome face.

Without disturbing the little ones, he went around them and walked toward Aisha, who stood beside a pillar.

Aisha hurriedly bowed to him and was about to apologize on the cubs’ behalf when the Elven King raised one slender finger to his lips.

Understanding his meaning, she bowed again in apology.

Shu Li was immersed in his prayer, completely unaware of what was happening around him.

Once he had silently finished reciting his prayer, his consciousness seemed to enter a mysterious state. He could not tell what it was. He could only sense strange things approaching him.

He wanted to open his eyes and see what they were, but his body refused to obey him. He could not move.

After several unsuccessful attempts, he had no choice but to perceive them with his consciousness.

The things came in all different colors and looked like droplet-shaped slimes. They were springy and bouncy, squeezing against one another and changing into all kinds of shapes.

Shu Li suddenly craved fruit jelly.

The slimes seemed to notice his interest in them and approached even more eagerly. Red, yellow, blue, green, white, black, purple... They all surged toward him like starving wolves pouncing upon a lamb, surrounding him completely.

Suddenly submerged in a sea of slimes, Shu Li found it difficult to breathe and nearly suffocated.

This would not do. He had to do something.

Since these slimes had delivered themselves right to him, then... why not have a taste?

Without another thought, Shu Li swallowed a blue slime pressed against his mouth.

Huh?

It was delicious!

It really did taste like springy jelly!

Shu Li stopped holding back and opened his mouth to feast. One from the left, another from the right—who cared what color they were? He would eat them all! Every last one!

Slurp, slurp.

Delicious. Absolutely delicious!

This was his consciousness, anyway. No matter how much he ate, his stomach would not burst. He might as well treat them like jelly and indulge to his heart’s content.

Shu Li ate with tremendous enthusiasm and accepted everything that came his way. Stranger still, the slimes had no fear of death. They streamed relentlessly toward him, charging ahead without hesitation as though fully prepared to be eaten.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally began to feel full.

So even his consciousness could overeat?

Looking at the line of slimes waiting to “sacrifice themselves,” Shu Li regretfully declined.

When the slimes realized he was unwilling to eat any more, they were bitterly disappointed. One after another, they crowded around him and rubbed against him, begging him to continue.

Although Shu Li was deeply moved, he firmly refused.

His parents had taught him from an early age never to be greedy.

Seeing that he would not change his mind, the slimes reluctantly dispersed.

Then they discovered many other nearby targets willing to accept them and charged over without hesitation.

These new targets, however, did not indiscriminately devour everything as Shu Li had. Instead, they chose their food according to color.

Most ate only one color. A few ate two or three, but almost none were willing to eat four or more.

The slimes darted about, searching for targets willing to eat them.

After devouring a pile of slimes, Shu Li felt warm all over and exceptionally comfortable.

The slimes he had eaten had not disappeared. Instead, they existed somewhere within his body in a different form.

After observing them for a while, Shu Li discovered that they had sorted themselves by color. They remained neatly grouped together, leaving one another alone and coexisting peacefully.

As long as they did not cause any trouble, they could do as they pleased!

Inside the hall, Aisha’s eyes widened in astonishment as countless natural elements surged in from every direction and enveloped the twenty-five Fairy cubs.

Light, darkness, fire, water, wind, earth, wood... Every element had appeared, sweeping in with overwhelming force like storm-tossed seas.

At first, they rushed madly toward Sperien, fighting to enter his body.

The sight filled Aisha with worry. She had no idea how to handle such a situation.

The elemental test that should not have taken place until the cubs were five had unexpectedly begun early.

Although Fairies possessed a natural affinity for the elements, one-year-old cubs were still far too fragile. If they could not endure the strain, their lives would be in danger.

Under ordinary circumstances, all Fairy cubs underwent their elemental test in Miladi Palace on Gester Island during the Midsummer Festival of their fifth year.

But today, something unexpected had happened.

That Ilio had coaxed the cubs into entering the temple early. Without any guidance from an adult Fairy, they had assumed convincing prayer postures.

Aisha had thought they were merely imitating what they saw. Never had she expected their prayers to succeed. Summoned by the cubs, all the major elements poured into the temple, and the cubs spontaneously underwent an earth-shaking elemental test.

Afraid that Sperien would be unable to withstand it, Aisha anxiously looked to the Elven King for help.

To her surprise, he remained perfectly calm and indicated that she should be patient.

Seeing that the Elven King was not worried, Aisha gradually composed herself.

Perhaps the situation was not as dire as she feared.

Sure enough, Sperien displayed astonishing talent.

He actually... absorbed every element!

He simultaneously absorbed even mutually opposing elements such as fire and water, light and darkness, without the slightest difficulty.

Aisha cupped her cheeks in utter disbelief, too stunned for words. She had lived for nearly a thousand years and cared for countless Fairy cubs, yet she had never seen one awaken an affinity for every element as Sperien had.

What did an affinity for every element mean?

It meant Sperien could learn any form of magic, including white magic and dark magic.

It was simply unbelievable.

How could he possess such an extraordinary ability?

It was entirely unprecedented.

Before Aisha’s astonished eyes, every major element poured into the golden-haired cub’s body in remarkably equal amounts.

Just as she began to fear that the cub did not know how to refuse them and would allow his body to burst, the torrent of elements stopped.

Despite his young age, Sperien already understood restraint.

No matter how the elements tempted him, the little cub remained unmoved.

Unable to do anything about him, the elements shifted their attention and surged toward the other cubs.

This time, Aisha relaxed slightly.

The other cubs were like those who had come before them. Most absorbed a single element, while a small number absorbed several, though never more than three.

The elements never cared how much their vessel could withstand. As long as the vessel did not reject them, they would continue pouring in until its capacity was exceeded and the excessive elemental power tore it apart.

Of the twenty-four cubs, a few knew when to stop, just as Sperien had. The others, ignorant and fearless, accepted everything offered to them.

At that moment, Aisha acted without waiting for instructions from the Elven King.

She cast a spell to disperse the elements and erected a transparent barrier around the cubs.

Having lost their targets, the elements lingered for quite some time before reluctantly dispersing.

Once they were gone, Aisha removed the barrier and quietly waited for the cubs to awaken from their meditation.

Shu Li’s consciousness withdrew from that mysterious realm. He slowly opened his eyes and looked ahead, only to discover that the Elven King was gone.

Startled, he spread his wings and flew into the air, looking around. When he turned, he saw the Elven King and Aisha standing beside a stone pillar.

“Your Majesty! Aisha—” Shu Li fluttered his gauzy wings and flew happily toward them.

The other cubs woke one after another. Hearing Shu Li call out, they followed him toward the Elven King and Aisha.

The little ones greeted them in a lively chorus, bringing a touch of merriment to the solemn temple.

The Elven King smiled and gently asked Shu Li, “Do you feel unwell anywhere?”

“No!” Shu Li shook his head in confusion. Far from feeling unwell, his body felt wonderfully light. He was brimming with energy, as though he possessed inexhaustible strength, and he was not even the slightest bit sleepy.

The Elven King asked the other cubs, “What about you? Does anyone feel unwell?”

“No~” The cubs shook their heads in unison.

“Your Majesty, I think I ate lots and lots of tasty fruit just now.” Budeno licked the corner of his mouth, still savoring the experience. “They were soft and fragrant and cool. I didn’t even have to chew. They slid into my tummy all by themselves.”

“I ate some too!” Disio raised his hand. “Mine weren’t cold, though. They were warm!”

“Mine were neither cold nor warm,” Angel said. “They were white and plump and really delicious.”

“I-I ate some too!”

The other cubs all began talking at once, using their childish words to describe the “delicacies” they had eaten.

After everyone had finished, the Elven King asked Shu Li, “Did Sperien eat any?”

Aisha’s eyes brightened as she stared intently at him.

Shu Li scratched his head and answered honestly, “I ate a lot. As for how they tasted... I can’t really explain it. Some were sweet, some salty, some bitter, some icy, some hot... There was every kind.”

He actually wanted to compare them to jelly, but there was no jelly in this other world, so he could only describe them vaguely.

Come to think of it, he had assumed he was the only one who had eaten those springy slimes. Only after listening to the other cubs did he realize they had all eaten them.

Thank goodness he was not the only unusual one.

“Congratulations. You’ve awakened elemental magic,” Aisha said, astonishing Shu Li. “Sperien in particular—you have awakened Seven-Element Magic!”

“Huh?” Shu Li’s small pointed ears twitched. He suspected he had misheard.

He had merely prayed to the Light God, so how had he suddenly awakened magic? Even more astonishingly, he possessed every element.

Every element meant exactly that: all of them.

In other words, he had an affinity for every natural element.

Was that not the equivalent of possessing the notoriously worthless five-element spiritual roots from cultivation novels?

As the saying went, it was better to master one skill than dabble in many.

Five-element spiritual roots were considered the worst possible aptitude in cultivation novels precisely because they were numerous and impure, making cultivation several times more difficult. Without immense resources and extraordinary fortune, anyone who possessed them would barely make it past Foundation Establishment.

Seven-Element Magic included wind, fire, wood, water, earth, light, darkness, and more. That was two more attributes than the five-element spiritual roots.

Following the usual logic of cultivation novels, someone with Seven-Element Magic was like someone with five-element spiritual roots: the most hopeless of the hopeless.

Shu Li’s thoughts descended into chaos, and his ears drooped in disappointment.

His friends possessed either one element or two, with no more than three at most. Their futures were bright.

He, on the other hand, was the only one with every element. His prospects were bleak, and whether he could ever become a Mage remained unknown.

And here he had fancied himself a hero chosen by the gods. Instead, his aptitude was thoroughly mediocre. Forget defeating the Demon King—he might not even become strong enough to adventure across the continent.

Shu Li grew despondent, and the glow of his wings dimmed with his mood.

Aisha stared in confusion at the dejected cub.

Should he not be delighted to learn that he possessed Seven-Element Magic? Why did he look as though he had suffered a devastating blow, his head hanging and all his spirit gone?

The Elven King held out his hand beneath the swaying cub and let him sit upon his palm. Gently touching his head, he asked in a soft voice, “Sperien, what’s wrong?”

The more Shu Li thought about it, the sadder he became. Tears gathered uncontrollably in his eyes. He raised his little face and asked pitifully, “Your Majesty... is Seven-Element Magic... the most useless kind?”

Aisha froze and gave the tearful cub a peculiar look.

The question had evidently caught the Elven King off guard as well, for he did not answer immediately.

Seeing their reactions, Shu Li knew he had been right. His mouth puckered, and his tears were about to spill.

The next moment, the Elven King gently touched Shu Li’s delicate cheek with one finger and said, “A Little Fairy who possesses Seven-Element Magic is a genius among geniuses. How could it possibly be useless?”

“Huh?”

Shu Li stared blankly, forcing his tears back before they could fall.