I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

“Al, how did you make that blood?”

Shu Li asked curiously.

It had genuinely startled him at the time. The blood in Ilio’s palm had looked remarkably real, bright and sticky enough to fool everyone.

“It was jam.” Ilio took a jar of red jam from his storage ring.

Since his performance costume had an open collar, he had removed the storage ring hanging around his neck and worn it on his finger as an accessory. After singing the Elven poem while accompanying himself, he had bent over and covered his mouth as though coughing, using the motion to take out the red jam and smear it across his palm, passing it off as real blood.

Shu Li took the jam and held it beneath his nose, then exclaimed in surprise, “It’s kuku fruit jam.”

He licked his lips greedily. “Can I have some fruit?”

After everything they had been through that evening, dinner had long since been digested, and he was starving. Ordinarily, to avoid any accidents, he could not eat fruit stored in his storage ring. But it was the middle of the night, they were inside their room, and no outsiders were around. Surely it would be all right now?

Looking into the Little Fairy’s expectant eyes, Ilio smiled and nodded. “Go ahead!”

“Heh, gladly!” Shu Li happily took out two peachlike fruits and recited a water magic incantation. After washing their surfaces clean, he gave one to Ilio.

Ilio accepted the fruit and took a bite.

Shu Li ate with such relish that his cheeks bulged.

Mm. Fruit grown in the Faerie Forest really is the most delicious.

As he munched on the fruit, he asked, “What was inside that box Hobde gave you?”

“His name is Hobner,” Ilio corrected him. The little fellow still got his words tangled occasionally.

Shu Li shrugged. Who bothered remembering the names of people who did not matter?

Ilio took out a palm-sized box. A magic array was engraved on its lid.

The moment Shu Li saw it, he hurriedly warned him, “Careful! It’s sealed!”

After falling into that trap once before, he had become extremely sensitive to magic arrays. He would never dare recklessly break another seal, lest it contain some other dreadful curse.

Ilio smiled. “It’s only a minor seal. There’s no curse.”

Once bitten, the little fellow had become wary of anything remotely resembling a snake.

He recited an incantation to break the seal. With a click, the box opened by itself.

Shu Li stared fixedly at the box, so nervous that he even forgot to continue eating.

Once the lid had opened completely, the treasure inside was revealed—a piece of dark-red ore.

“What is that?” Shu Li asked.

Ilio raised an eyebrow, picked up the fist-sized red ore, and carefully examined it beneath the light of the glowing magic stone.

“It’s sunfire ore,” Ilio said. “It was mined three thousand meters beneath Woba Grand Canyon. Its quality should be eighth rank, and it’s worth no less than a sunstone.”

“Wow!” Shu Li exclaimed. The sunstone on his magic staff had been a top-grade treasure given to him by Mr. Serpent, mined more than five thousand meters beneath Woba Grand Canyon. This piece of sunfire ore had come from three thousand meters below ground, so obtaining it could not have been easy either.

Hobner had said that it was a treasure he had acquired fifteen years ago. Evidently, he cherished it greatly. Not only had he sealed it with a magic array, but he also carried it with him at all times.

Offering it as compensation showed considerable sincerity.

Even so, life was priceless.

Had a real human musician played the Elven poem, no number of priceless treasures could have restored the years stripped from his life.

“What is sunfire ore used for?” Shu Li asked indistinctly after taking another bite of his fruit.

Ilio put the ore back into the box and explained, “It’s a material used to make magical protective gear. It resists fire and extreme heat. Anyone wearing protective gear inlaid with sunfire ore can travel freely through scorching regions such as volcanoes and deserts.”

Volcanoes? Deserts?

Shu Li’s eyes lit up.

According to the information he had previously found, the fire spirit might be somewhere in the desert of the Izera Empire. If he had a set of protective gear made from sunfire ore, wouldn’t he have a chance to search for it?

Ilio handed the box to Shu Li. “It’s yours.”

Shu Li hastily pushed it back. “I can’t take it. Hobner gave this to you as compensation.”

Ilio curled a finger and lightly tapped the Little Fairy’s forehead. “I’ve lived for more than five hundred years. What treasure could I possibly lack? You helped me put on that performance and even let out that magnificent howl. Consider this sunfire ore your payment for all the trouble.”

Shu Li blinked.

Seeing that Ilio genuinely did not care about it, he delightedly accepted the box. “Thank you, Al.”

Ilio said, “Once we return to the Elven Kingdom, ask the King to make it into suitable protective gear for you.”

Shu Li was puzzled. “Why ask the King?”

He could simply visit the owner of an armor shop in the divine tree’s commercial district!

“No one can match the King’s forging skills.” The corners of Ilio’s mouth curved upward. “You’re the King’s youngest disciple. You’re allowed to make the occasional small request of him.”

Should he tell the little fellow that several of the outfits he wore in the Elven Kingdom had been cut, sewn, and enchanted by the King himself, then mixed in with the rest of his clothes for Sayah to deliver?

“But...” Shu Li scratched the back of his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Even if he was the Elven King’s youngest disciple, he could not take advantage of the King’s affection and behave like a spoiled brat. How could he ask the King to lower himself to make protective gear for him?

“Don’t worry. The King is very accommodating,” Ilio said, speaking from experience. “When I was young, I was far more troublesome than you. I went to the King every few days, asking him for one thing after another, and he never got angry.”

When Shu Li gave him an incredulous look, Ilio stroked his smooth chin. “Children are supposed to be a little willful, aren’t they?”

Looking at that thoroughly punchable expression, Shu Li was certain that Ilio had been an absolute menace as a child—the kind who constantly gave the Elven King headaches.

Once he had finished his fruit, his stomach felt a little less empty. He put the pit into his storage ring so he could take it home and use it as a seed.

“Al, you should keep the gold coins.” Shu Li pointed at the pouch of gold coins on the floor.

Dragon King Hamon had given him an enormous number of gold coins. They were piled like a small mountain inside the pagoda in his storage ring, enough that he could never spend them all in several lifetimes. He did not want to add to his burden, so Ilio might as well take the money—even if Ilio probably possessed no less wealth than he did.

Elves and Fairies were long-lived peoples. The longer they lived, the more wealth they accumulated. To them, a thousand gold coins were practically pocket change.

Ilio did not refuse. He put the gold coins away.

Shu Li then took out a letter.

It was the letter of recommendation Job, the instructor who had overseen his Magic Association assessment, had given him.

“Al, what should I do with this letter?” he asked, somewhat troubled. “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Instructor Job.”

His journey this time had been entirely accidental. Once he met the queen of the Dalia Empire, he would return to the Faerie Forest. There was no possibility of taking this letter of recommendation to Saint Velia Magic Academy in the Central Court and enrolling there.

Instructor Job thought he had discovered a magical prodigy, unaware that this prodigy was actually a Little Fairy from the Faerie Forest.

“Keep it for now.” Ilio stroked his head. “When you come of age and travel across the continent, attending a human magic academy will be one of your required experiences.”

Shu Li stared at him in astonishment. “What?”

What did he mean, attending a human magic academy was one of his required experiences?

Ilio explained, “Humans may have short lives and less natural talent than we do, but they possess a remarkable spirit of exploration. They enjoy research and innovation. Each generation carries on the work of the last, constantly forging ahead in pursuit of more advanced knowledge and practical experience. We have much to learn from them.”

Understanding dawned on Shu Li. “I see.”

Fairies and Elves possessed extraordinary natural gifts, but their lives were so comfortable that they could easily become set in their ways. Humans, by contrast, lived in harsher conditions and constantly fought over resources, forcing them to innovate and change.

Only by learning from others’ strengths and making up for one’s own shortcomings could one continue advancing with the times.

He carefully put the letter away, intending to use it when the opportunity arose.

He simply did not know whether the recommendation would still be valid by the time he finally enrolled at the magic academy.

He stretched and yawned repeatedly, overcome by drowsiness.

“I’m going to bed!” He hopped down from the chair and went into the bathroom to wash up.

Ilio took some clothes from his bag and handed him a newly purchased outfit. “Wear this.”

Shu Li accepted it and changed in the bathroom.

The new outfit was far better in quality than his coarse clothes. At last, he could wear something that did not chafe his skin red.

When he noticed the small red marks on his neck in the mirror, he cast a wood magic restoration spell on himself. As green motes of light settled on his skin, the red marks gradually vanished, leaving his skin as good as new.

Shu Li rubbed his smooth neck in satisfaction and stepped out of the bathroom. At the sight of the soft bed, he bounded over in three quick hops, threw himself onto it, rolled to one side, pulled up the covers, and obediently settled down.

“Good night, Al.”

Without waiting for Ilio to answer, he closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep.

Ilio shook his head with an amused smile and dimmed the glowing magic stone lamp. He entered the bathroom, washed, changed his clothes, and tidied himself up before lying down on the other side of the bed.

Shu Li had assumed he would sleep soundly until dawn. Yet just as he was about to drift into a pleasant dream, a familiar voice called softly inside his mind.

“Little Sperien... Little Sperien...”

It was the Mother Tree!

Half of Shu Li’s drowsiness vanished in an instant. Mindful of Ilio sharing the bed with him, he kept his eyes closed and merely rolled over, turning his back to him.

“Eunomisia? How did you contact me?”

The Elven Kingdom was millions of miles away. Could the mental connection between the Mother Tree and him truly reach this far?

“My roots spread throughout the entire continent. Naturally, my consciousness is everywhere.”

“If most of my roots had not been corrupted by darkness, you wouldn’t have needed to make the arduous journey to the royal capital of the Dalia Empire. You could have traveled through the space within my roots directly to the palace and delivered the letter to the queen.”

After hearing the Mother Tree’s explanation, Shu Li understood.

The curse had nearly made him forget about the Mother Tree’s astonishingly extensive root system.

“So one of your roots runs beneath the area around this inn?”

“Yes.”

“But that isn’t the root I used to contact you.”

“What do you mean?” Shu Li was confused.

“The root here has not been purified and will not obey me. I sensed you through the magic staff you bought today.”

“What? My magic staff?” Shu Li was astounded. “But that’s only a low-rank magic staff!”

“Yes, it is indeed a low-rank magic staff, but its shaft was made from one of my roots.”

Shu Li fell silent.

“A weapon craftsman must have dug up part of my root system and used it to produce a batch of low-rank magic staffs that were then sold throughout the continent.”

“You were fortunate enough to purchase one. By using it to cast magic continuously for such a long time, you awakened the vestiges of vitality remaining within the shaft. My consciousness sensed it, so I followed the connection to you.”

That... That was possible?

Shu Li was utterly stunned.

The magic staff he had casually bought from a weapon shop had actually been made from the Mother Tree’s root.

It had sat inconspicuously in the shop, crudely made and low in rank, gathering dust in a corner for ages.

If he had not needed a magic staff simply to maintain appearances, he never would have chosen it.

A magic staff made from the mighty Elven Mother Tree’s root, treated so carelessly by humans—it was truly lamentable.

A genuine treasure buried beneath the dust!

Who knew how many similarly low-rank magic staffs bearing the Mother Tree’s roots had been overlooked, forgotten, or discarded by humans across the continent?