I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

The battle from ancient times was an awe-inspiring sight. When the greatest masters clashed, heaven and earth trembled.

Shu Li was grateful that this was an illusion. Otherwise, with his level of strength, recklessly appearing on such an immense battlefield would have reduced him to ashes in an instant.

Mage Sovereigns were terrifying. Every one of them possessed the overwhelming power to move mountains and seas and shift the very stars.

After passing through layer upon layer of magical “special effects,” Shu Li finally reached the silver dragon carrying the Elven King.

At first glance, he thought the silver dragon was Harmon.

But Harmon was the young king of the Dragon Clan and had not even hatched ten thousand years ago. This dragon aiding the Elven King was clearly not him.

Upon closer inspection, Shu Li noticed a row of golden scales along the top of the silver dragon’s head, something Harmon did not possess.

This dragon was probably one of Harmon’s elders.

Shu Li landed on the dragon’s back and approached the Elven King. The king did not need a magic staff at all. With a mere wave of his hand, he unleashed immensely powerful spells. He switched freely among wind, fire, water, earth, wood, light, and dark magic, wielding all seven elements with consummate mastery.

Even more astonishingly, he combined two elements to produce lightning and ice magic.

He was incredible!

Shu Li flew to the Elven King’s side and circled him, watching his heroic figure in battle with his pale green eyes full of admiration.

The Elven King’s incantations were exceptionally short. Sometimes, he spoke only two words before unleashing an attack as powerful as a colossal storm.

Everyone knew that the shorter an incantation was, the weaker its power would normally be. But with sufficient strength, one could simply overwhelm everything through sheer superiority of rank.

Shu Li was so accustomed to the Elven King’s gentle demeanor that he could never have imagined how terrifying the king would be in battle.

His power approached that of a god and allowed him to contend evenly with the God of Death. Under his leadership, the forces of darkness were driven steadily backward.

The Wood Spirit acted like a portable power source, continuously supplying the Elven King with elemental power.

War was cruel. Although the Elven forces held the advantage, they still suffered many casualties.

When Shu Li saw an Elf cleaved in half by the God of Death’s scythe, he cried out in horror.

Although he had lived in this other world for ten years and had experienced bloodshed before, the large-scale slaughter unfolding before him still nearly made his fragile little heart stop.

Enraged by the deaths of their people, the Elves launched a ferocious offensive.

The silver dragon abruptly accelerated. Startled, Shu Li instinctively reached for the Elven King’s hair. He failed to catch it and managed to grab only one corner of the king’s cloak.

The world immediately began spinning around him.

The silver dragon executed a series of extremely difficult aerial maneuvers, weaving deftly between the chaotic magical attacks. At some point, an ornate sword had appeared in the Elven King’s hand. He swung it fiercely with unstoppable momentum, unleashing a fan-shaped wave of sword energy that swept into the enemy. Fighting alone, he forcibly severed one entire flank of their forces.

Clinging to the billowing cloak, Shu Li bounced up and down until his head spun and he nearly vomited.

Only when the silver dragon resumed level flight did Shu Li finally feel alive again. He hung pitifully from the Elven King’s cloak, his little face deathly pale.

Now he finally understood just how badass fighter pilots were!

The silver dragon had performed full barrel rolls in midair, climbing and plummeting at every conceivable angle. The intense sensation of weightlessness had made Shu Li think he would drop dead at any moment.

After catching his breath, Shu Li pressed himself against the silky cloak, then suddenly froze.

Wait—

Was this not an illusion?

The magical attacks had passed straight through his body earlier. Why could he touch something now?

Shu Li could not help pinching his own cheek.

Ow! It hurt!

His eyes went blank, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his delicate face.

Had he once again taken physical form inside an illusion, just as he had before?

Or had he traveled through time?

To test his theory, Shu Li began climbing the Elven King’s cloak. It whipped violently in the wind, making the ascent extremely difficult. He clung to it with both hands and feet, afraid that if he loosened his grip for even a moment, he would tumble away and be blown who knew where.

He climbed and climbed until he finally reached the Elven King’s shoulder. Gripping the clasp of the cloak tightly, he wedged his little feet into its loop to secure himself, then expertly wrapped his arms around a lock of the Elven King’s golden hair.

The Elven King seemed to sense something and glanced toward his shoulder. A cluster of fireballs streaked toward them like meteors, and he swiftly counterattacked. Extending his free hand while keeping his sword in the other, he coldly intoned, “Tempest—”

In an instant, a violent tornado carrying a torrential downpour surged toward the fireballs. It not only extinguished them but continued onward with enough force to attack the necromancer who had cast them.

“Aaaargh—”

The necromancer standing atop an enormous magical beast screamed shrilly as the tornado tore him to pieces.

The magical beast’s head was sliced off. Blood poured from its neck as its huge body crashed to the ground.

Astonished, Shu Li blurted out, “Your Majesty! You’re amazing!”

The Elven King cut down another wave of attacks and directed the silver dragon toward a relatively safe area. Turning his head, he asked, “Who are you? Why are you crouching on my shoulder?”

“Huh?” Shu Li stared stupidly. “Y-You can see me?”

“To my eyes, you appear as a tiny ball of green light.” The Elven King scanned their surroundings warily, swinging his sword from time to time to repel the enemies besieging him.

Shu Li swallowed and stammered, “I-I’m Sperien of the Faerie Forest. I... was born ten thousand years after the War of the Gods...”

The Elven King chanted an incantation. Countless vines erupted from the ground and entangled the aggressively advancing skeleton army.

The other Elves charged downward in perfect coordination, each displaying their own abilities as they destroyed the skeletons.

With a moment to spare, the Elven King asked, “If you are a Little Fairy from ten thousand years in the future, why have you appeared here?”

“I-I don’t know. I originally came to the northern part of the Elven Kingdom to search for the Wood Spirit...” Shu Li quickly explained his purpose and how he had entered the illusion.

The Elven King listened to the young boy’s childish voice as he continued fighting.

Once Shu Li had finished his report, he gazed anxiously at the Elven King’s flawless profile and waited for a response.

The Elven King eliminated another wave of enemies, then flew toward the God of Death with his sword in hand.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Huh? T-Ten,” Shu Li answered instinctively.

The Elven King smiled. Suddenly, he closed one hand around the green light on his shoulder and casually tossed it toward the nearby Wood Spirit.

“Fenlis, send him back.”

“Ah—”

Shu Li tumbled through the air like a little ball. A green vine wrapped around him and pulled him in front of the Wood Spirit.

The Wood Spirit studied the indistinct figure within the green light and asked, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

Shu Li shook his dizzy head and looked toward the silver dragon and the Elven King, who were locked in battle with the God of Death.

“I-I’m Sperien of the Faerie Forest. I come from ten thousand years in the future...”

“Since you come from ten thousand years in the future, you should return there at once—” The Wood Spirit flicked the vine in her hand, sending the ball of green light containing Shu Li soaring beyond the horizon.

“Aaah—I came here to find you—”

The ball dissolved into starlight and vanished, but the young Fairy’s clear voice continued echoing through the sky.

Thump!

Shu Li landed on his bottom in the scorched soil. He stared at the lump of iron beside his feet, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

Oh, he could not call it a lump of iron anymore.

Its blackened exterior had fallen away, revealing an exquisite golden design. It was now unmistakably an insignia.

What truly astonished Shu Li, however, was the fresh piece of green vine lying across it.

Was this... the vine the Wood Spirit had been holding?

He climbed to his feet and reached out to touch the thorny green vine, his mind full of questions. What exactly had just happened?

If it had been an illusion, why had the Elven King and the Wood Spirit been able to see him? And why had this piece of vine followed him back into reality?

If it had not been an illusion, why had none of the magical attacks harmed him?

Stranger still, both times he had entered an illusion, the Elven King had discovered him and sent him out, either directly or indirectly.

Shu Li tapped his little head, but he simply could not make sense of it.

Grrrgle—

His stomach growled with hunger.

Shu Li looked up at the sky. Only the last faint glow of sunset remained on the horizon.

Oh no!

He had to leave immediately!

The enormous lizard had warned him that the basin became extremely dangerous at night, when hordes of ghosts who had died in the war ten thousand years ago emerged to roam the area.

He hurriedly grabbed the green vine, intending to put it into his storage ring. Unfortunately, its thorns were too sharp and pierced his finger.

“Hiss—”

Shu Li winced in pain and instinctively dropped the vine, putting his bleeding finger into his mouth.

The bloodstained vine fell onto the scorched soil and erupted with blinding green light.

What was happening?

Shu Li spread his wings and beat them rapidly, flying into the air.

He was fast, but the vine grew even faster. The insignia, its true appearance now revealed, rose into the air and cast a beam of golden light upon it.

The vine absorbed the insignia’s power and grew at an accelerating rate. One became two, two became four, four became eight, eight became sixteen... It multiplied exponentially.

Horrified, Shu Li turned and fled.

The scene was far too bizarre. If he did not run, was he supposed to stay and wait for the vines to entangle him?

He frantically beat his wings and shot upward as the vines spread without restraint. When he flew beyond the basin and looked back, he received another terrible shock.

The domineering vines had occupied the entire basin and continued spreading, aggressively invading the yellow sands beyond it.

Shu Li broke out in a cold sweat, utterly bewildered by the sight before him.

As the vines expanded their territory, the腐臭味 in the air gradually disappeared, replaced by the fresh fragrance of grass.

Shu Li was astonished to discover that countless resilient wildflowers and grasses had also appeared among the vines.

The barren land was returning to life!

It was simply unbelievable!

Shu Li stopped fleeing and cautiously approached the center of the vines.

The insignia continued to radiate dazzling light, as though it contained a limitless supply of power.

Who could have imagined that the unremarkable lump of iron given to him by the enormous lizard was actually such a wondrous treasure?

He stared at the insignia’s totem. The longer he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

Was this... the Elven King’s personal insignia?

To make certain his eyes were not deceiving him, Shu Li fluttered closer and examined it carefully.

Before he could identify it clearly, however, another extraordinary phenomenon occurred. A fruit formed at the center of the vines. It rapidly swelled from tiny to enormous, growing to a height of two meters within only a few breaths.

Shu Li’s wings trembled, and he hurriedly backed away from it.

Who knew whether some terrifying monster might emerge from inside?

Crack, crack, crack!

The fruit split open on its own. Countless cracks spread across its surface like a spiderweb, growing wider and wider until several objects resembling slender snakes began wriggling out through the gaps.

Aaaaaah—

Shu Li covered his mouth.

It really was a monster!

Without further hesitation, he raced toward the sky. Staying alive came first.

Crackle—

The fruit’s shell shattered, transforming into countless streaks of green light that scattered in every direction. Wherever the light touched the ground, towering trees sprang from the earth.

Halfway through his escape, Shu Li stopped in astonishment.

The yellow sands had vanished. Trees, flowers, and grasses covered the land in every direction. This northern region, which had remained barren for ten thousand years, had transformed into a dense forest.

“So you are... Sperien?”

A gentle voice rang out. Shu Li’s entire body went rigid with shock. Turning his neck like a robot, he saw the Wood Spirit reflected in his clear eyes.

She looked exactly as she had in the illusion. Seated elegantly upon a chair woven from green vines, the Wood Spirit studied the tiny young Fairy with evident interest.

“You... you... you...” Shu Li’s tongue tied itself in knots. “Where did you come from?”

Had the Elven King not said that all the elemental spirits had vanished after the War of the Gods? Shu Li had only come to the ruins of the battlefield to search for clues. He had never expected to actually summon the Wood Spirit.

Yet fortune had practically fallen from the sky, and the Wood Spirit had truly appeared.

Not only had she appeared, but she had transformed the barren battlefield into a vibrant forest.

Was this the power of the essence of wood?

The Wood Spirit rose to her feet. A cloud formed beneath her and carried her upward until she was close to the Little Fairy. Extending one slender finger, she gently touched the center of his forehead.

“Were you not the one who brought me here?” she asked with a smile.

“Huh?” Shu Li was completely baffled.

The next instant, the space between his eyebrows grew scorching hot, and a surge of pure power rushed into his body.

“Uwaah—”

Shu Li clutched his forehead and cried out in pain. The power was far too immense. His body felt as though it were about to explode.

No!

He could not explode!

He had not yet become a hero, found a way home, or reunited with his family. How could he die here?

Waaah—

This power was the rich and concentrated essence of wood. Could she not have warned him before giving it to him so he could at least prepare himself?

Shu Li’s tiny body plummeted from the air. Just before he fell into a gap between the vines, a mass of green light enveloped him.

The Wood Spirit raised her hand, drawing Shu Li toward her. She frowned slightly and recited an ancient incantation.

As the final word fell, a dazzling pillar of light erupted from Shu Li’s entire body and shot straight into the sky.

Beneath the deep blue evening sky, hundreds of unicorns carrying Elves circled continuously overhead. When the Elven King at their head saw the pillar of light, his eyes darkened. He flew toward it, and the other Elves followed without hesitation.

Upon reaching the pillar’s location, hundreds of unicorns swooped downward and landed lightly.

The Elves stared intently ahead.

The Elven King dismounted from his unicorn and walked across the vines, removing his cloak as he went. When he reached the pillar of light, he gently wrapped the cloak around the golden-haired young Fairy.

Shu Li had no idea that he had transformed from a miniature figure into an ordinary ten-year-old boy. He relaxed against the Elven King’s chest and sank into a deep sleep.