I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

The magical affinity test was over. Next came the test of his magical rank.

“Aim at the wall in front of you and cast every spell you know. Don’t hold back. That wall is extremely sturdy—it can withstand an attack from a Senior Grand Mage,” Job told the little seven-element mage.

Shu Li took two steps forward, raised his jet-black low-rank magic staff, and began chanting, “Great Fire God Amafa Chieps, I am... Sperien, your faithful messenger. I beseech you to command the elements of fire to gather around me and bring me a fireball that will burn all things to ash!”

The elements of fire in the air instantly stirred, surging eagerly toward him.

Shu Li immediately felt as though he were surrounded by a horde of springy “slimes.” With a thought, he rejected most of them, absorbing only a small portion and gathering them at the tip of his magic staff.

Unwilling to accept their rejection, the countless fire elements jostled one another and circled Shu Li, clinging to him incessantly. If they had been capable of making sounds, they would already have been sobbing pitifully.

Shu Li told himself he could not give in. Controlling the release of his magic, he forcibly squeezed out a tiny fireball, swung his magic staff quickly, and flung it with all his might. The little fireball struck the wall more than twenty meters away and vanished with a faint hiss, leaving no trace of scorching behind.

He lowered his magic staff and took a breath, his forehead drenched in sweat.

It was not from exhaustion. He had nearly drowned beneath the fire elements’ enthusiasm.

Rejecting them was incredibly difficult.

Seeing him like this, Job assumed that gathering the elements had been extremely taxing for him. Just as he had thought: the boy had poor circumstances and no renowned teacher to guide him, wasting such exceptional magical affinities for nothing.

His Elven was remarkably standard, though. Job wondered who had taught him.

All magical incantations had to be spoken in Elven, or they would be ineffective.

It was said that Elven was the language of the gods. Anyone who understood Elven could communicate with them.

“You did wonderfully.” Not wanting to undermine the child’s confidence, Job offered praise he did not truly mean. “Do you know spells from the other elements? Cast them all!”

Shu Li wiped the fine sweat from his face and replied earnestly, “Yes, Teacher Job.”

He proceeded to cast wind, water, light, earth, and wood spells in turn. With every spell, another layer of sweat appeared on his face. By the time he finished casting the wood spell, his entire body was soaked.

This was hard. Far too hard.

Rejecting those enthusiastic natural elements was making things unbearably difficult for him!

The final wood spell had been particularly nerve-racking. He had been terrified that a wood spirit might suddenly appear and frighten Teacher Job.

Fortunately, none had.

Shu Li lowered his magic staff. He was so exhausted that he could barely remain standing. Bending over, he braced one hand against his knee. His back felt as though it were carrying an enormous weight—the “slimes” that refused to leave were still clinging stubbornly to him.

Job looked at the exhausted child with immense sympathy.

The boy had cast spells from six elements in succession, which proved his extraordinary talent. Unfortunately, without the guidance of a renowned teacher, the power of his magic left much to be desired.

“You still haven’t cast any dark magic.” After writing a long evaluation on the form, Job asked the panting child, “Do you know any?”

Using his magic staff as a walking stick, Shu Li propped himself upright. He wiped the sweat from his face and shook his head. “Well... I... I haven’t learned any dark magic yet.”

Of course he knew dark spells, such as Dispel, Immobilize, and Slow.

However, the Elven King had once told him that the Magic Association strictly controlled books on dark magic. Ordinary people could not buy them unless they enrolled in a magic academy and studied the subject systematically.

Since he was pretending to be an ordinary commoner who had never attended a magic academy, he should not know dark magic.

Job accepted his answer without question.

A trace of approval flashed through Ilio’s eyes as he watched from the side.

The little fellow was clever. He had finally learned to conceal his true ability.

Job finished writing his final remarks, stamped the form to certify that Shu Li had passed, and handed it to him. “Congratulations on passing the Mage Apprentice examination. Take this form to the registration desk outside and collect your magic badge.”

“Thank you, Teacher!” Shu Li accepted the form with both hands and bowed politely. Then he skipped over to Ilio and urged, “Come on, Al! Let’s go get my badge!”

Amused, Ilio allowed himself to be pulled toward the door.

Watching their hurriedly retreating figures, Job called out to them without thinking. “Please wait, you two.”

“Huh?” Shu Li stopped and looked back. “Is there something else, Teacher Job?”

Job swiftly pulled a sheet of writing paper from his storage pouch, picked up a quill, and rapidly wrote several lines in the Continental Common Language. When he finished, he placed the letter inside a golden envelope, wrote the recipient’s name on it, and sealed it with wax.

The entire sequence flowed seamlessly, completed so quickly that Shu Li stared in amazement.

Holding out the golden envelope, Job said solemnly, “Little Sperien, you are an exceptionally rare magical prodigy. As a magic examiner responsible for discovering talented individuals, I simply cannot bear to see your gifts go to waste.”

Shu Li tilted his head back and blinked his clear gray-green eyes.

What did he mean?

Looking at °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the child’s innocent face, Job said gravely, “Take this letter to Saint Velia Magic Academy in the central courtyard and give it to the magic instructor, Gabri Muse. She will arrange for you to study at the academy.”

“This...” Shu Li hesitated instead of accepting the letter immediately, turning his head to look at Ilio.

Did a Little Fairy like him need to attend a human magic academy?

If he accepted this letter but never reported to the academy, wouldn’t he be betraying Job’s kindness?

Job assumed he was worried about tuition and patiently explained, “Every magic examiner is allowed to recommend one student each year, and I have not used my recommendation this year. I believe you have tremendous potential and should develop your talents somewhere better. Don’t worry. Recommended students receive special consideration—the first year’s tuition is completely waived. You won’t have to begin paying until your second year.”

If Sperien displayed truly exceptional talent, it might even be possible to have all his tuition waived.

Shu Li stared at him in astonishment.

In this backward society where royal authority reigned supreme, there was actually a magic academy with such generous benefits, leaving commoners a path to rise in the world.

He had heard Siet mention that Saint Velia Magic Academy had been founded by Saint Mage Danlov.

Someone blessed by the Elven King truly was extraordinary.

The offer was excellent and extremely tempting. If Shu Li had been a genuine commoner, he would already have been too excited to know what to do.

But he was a Little Fairy personally taught by the Elven King. Hearing Job’s offer, he merely parted his lips in surprise, failing to put on a delighted expression in time.

“Teacher Job, thank you so much!” Ilio accepted the envelope and excitedly clasped Job’s hand. “Thank you for helping us! I truly don’t know how I can ever repay you! This letter means so much to us! I’ll work hard and save enough money for my little brother’s tuition!”

By the end, even his eyes had reddened.

Shu Li stared dumbfounded at his exaggerated performance, but reacted quickly. He secretly pinched his own thigh. The pain brought moisture to his eyes and turned the tip of his little nose red.

“Teacher Job... thank you... I’ll study hard and strive to become an outstanding mage as soon as possible!”

The two brothers’ tearful gratitude deeply moved Job. He eagerly escorted them to the registration desk, where they submitted the form and collected the Mage Apprentice badge.

Shu Li could not stop admiring his brand-new badge.

It was shaped like a six-pointed star, with recesses for crystals at each point and in the center. Since he was a seven-element mage, seven tiny crystals of different colors had been set into it.

Job enthusiastically escorted them all the way to the entrance of the Magic Association.

After offering him several more expressions of gratitude, Shu Li and Ilio reluctantly departed, constantly looking back as they went. Only after they turned down a narrow side street and disappeared from view did they stop and exchange glances.

“Pfft—”

Shu Li could no longer hold back his laughter, and Ilio began laughing with him.

“Hahahaha—”

They laughed until their stomachs hurt, while passing pedestrians stared at them as though they were fools.

It took quite a while for them to stop and wipe the tears of laughter from the corners of their eyes.

Shu Li exhaled, patted his chest, and composed himself before saying emotionally, “Al, there really are warmhearted, decent people among humans.”

After everything he had observed and experienced over the past couple of days, he had been somewhat disappointed in the humans of the other world. The upper classes in particular showed no compassion whatsoever toward commoners.

He had assumed that the people of the Magic Association would also be arrogant and look down on them. Instead, the mages had carried out their duties impartially, allowing him to obtain his magic badge without trouble. He had even unexpectedly received a letter of recommendation to a magic academy.

Ilio said, “Humans are a diverse people. Once you’ve met more of them, you’ll discover that every social class contains both good and bad people. But nothing is ever absolute. You will have to judge for yourself whether someone is good or bad.”

Shu Li nodded earnestly. “I understand.”

Human nature was complicated. He could not judge everyone by the same standard.

He had indeed been looking at things the wrong way. He should not condemn an entire group merely because he had encountered one or two bad people.

There were still plenty of good people in this world, such as the members of the song and dance troupe, the clothing shop owner, and Teacher Job.

“Come on. It’s time to head back.” Ilio patted him on the shoulder.

“Mm.” Shu Li walked lightly beside him toward the public carriage stop. “Al, there’s something I don’t understand.”

Ilio looked down at him. “You want to ask why we registered under our real names?”

“Yes. Why?” Shu Li was puzzled. If they had used their real names, hadn’t their aliases become pointless?

Ilio said, “Going out to gain experience doesn’t mean we must avoid using our real names. When to use a real name and when to use an alias depends on the individual and the circumstances.”

Shu Li tilted his head. “Is that how it works?”

Ilio ruffled his hair. “Most importantly, an alias cannot take the place of your real name when you recite a magical incantation.”

“Oh, right!” Realization dawned on Shu Li.

A complete magical incantation required the caster to declare his identity to the god. If he used an alias, the spell would fail.

Once a mage’s rank increased, he could omit the part where he declared his identity, but doing so would reduce the spell’s power.

Therefore, to unleash one hundred percent of a spell’s power, the caster had to recite the complete incantation.

An alias might fool ordinary people, but it could not fool a mage.

They reached the stop, boarded a public carriage, and returned to the inn.

After bustling around for more than two hours, the child’s body had reached its limit. Shu Li yawned repeatedly, and the carriage’s gentle swaying soon lulled him toward sleep.

His head bobbed lower and lower until it nearly touched his chest. Seeing this, Ilio reached out and drew him close, letting him sleep against his shoulder.

With something to lean on, Shu Li closed his eyes in relief.

More than twenty minutes later, the carriage arrived at the stop on the street where their inn was located. The passengers disembarked one after another, but Shu Li remained sound asleep, drooling freely.

Ilio could not bear to wake the sleeping Little Fairy, so he effortlessly lifted him into his arms, tucking the low-rank magic staff beneath one arm.

As they approached the inn’s entrance, a dark figure suddenly rushed toward them. Ilio’s muscles tensed, and he instantly went on guard.

“Mr. Al! You’re finally back!”

It was Mary’s anxious voice.

Ilio relaxed and lowered his guard. By the light of the magic-stone streetlamps, he regarded the elegantly dressed Mary with confusion.

“What happened?” he asked.

“There’s no time to explain. Please come with me.” Mary grabbed his arm and pulled him toward a carriage parked near the inn.

“Wait, Miss Mary...” Afraid she might wake the Little Fairy, Ilio had no choice but to follow her.

Bart, seated on the driver’s bench, saw them approaching and nimbly jumped down to open the carriage door for them.

Mary climbed into the carriage first, then turned to look at the black-haired young man standing motionless outside.

“Mr. Al, please...”

“Miss Mary, I won’t get into that carriage unless you tell me why,” Ilio said.

Mary clasped her hands together and apologized. “I’m sorry, Mr. Al. This is extremely urgent—we need you to step in and save the performance!”

Ilio stared at her without reacting.