I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

Upon reaching the broad platform, Shu Li circled above it, not daring to land recklessly.

He took out a gold coin and dropped it.

The coin spun as it fell into the magical array. Struck by the foreign object, the array lit up with intricate, elaborate patterns. A moment later, the coin vanished, and the array went dark again.

Shu Li’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was a teleportation array.

He released Falm’s mouth and asked, “Where does this teleportation array send people?”

Falm was still holding a grudge over having its mouth pinched shut. It merely grunted and refused to answer.

Shu Li stuffed a Kuku fruit into its arms.

Falm sniffed, clutching the fruit in its chubby paws, but kept its face stiff and remained silent.

Helpless, Shu Li gave it another fruit.

Now that it had two fruits, Falm finally spoke in satisfaction. “This is a top-tier magical array called the Mayocat Array. It can teleport you wherever you want to go. Of course, its range is limited to the temple grounds.”

Shu Li’s knowledge of magical arrays was limited, and he had not yet studied advanced ones. Whether the little magical beast was telling the truth remained open to question.

Seeing him hesitate to land, Falm gnawed on a fruit and asked indistinctly, “Are you afraid I’m lying to you? What would I gain from that? I want to get out of here as quickly as possible too.”

There was nothing underground but cold, whistling wind. It had no desire to stay here!

The temple above was much better!

It had its own private room there, where it could sleep in peace.

Shu Li steadied himself and resolutely flew toward the platform.

He had gone through so much trouble to find the labyrinth’s exit. His only choice was to press forward without hesitation.

The instant he landed on the platform, the magical array activated and erupted with brilliant light. Shu Li closed his eyes and repeated silently, I want to return to Eidas Temple! I want to return to Eidas Temple! I want to return to Eidas Temple!

Anything important had to be said three times.

Once he had repeated it three times, he quietly waited for the magical array to teleport him back to the temple, feeling somewhat regretful.

Unfortunately, he had failed to find the fire spirit and could only return empty-handed.

Rumble—

The ground suddenly shook violently. A terrifying explosion thundered beside his ears, and the surrounding temperature became scorching hot. Shu Li’s eyes flew open. He looked around in panic and was stunned to discover a fierce battle raging around him.

The entire world seemed shrouded in black and red. Boundless darkness collided with searing flames, shaking heaven and earth.

“Falm!” Shu Li reached into his arms, but the little magical beast was gone.

He was horrified.

Had the little magical beast not come with him?

What in the world was happening?

Explosions continued to erupt, and the next blast was about to engulf him. Shu Li hurriedly took his magic staff from his storage ring and rapidly recited a defensive spell, surrounding himself with an air-isolation barrier.

Even the sunstone defensive outfit made by the Elven King could not completely withstand the heat.

Although Shu Li had no idea where he had been teleported, staying alive came first. He needed to leave the center of the battle.

He beat the translucent wings on his back, searching for somewhere safe.

Yet after looking around, he found that there was not a single safe place anywhere.

He saw an army of skeletons commanded by necromancers, an order of knights radiating black energy, and all manner of hideous orcs and goblins.

They were besieging a magnificent golden palace.

A sturdy defensive barrier surrounded the palace, forcing the army of the dead to intensify its assault.

Shu Li was outside the palace, blocked by the defensive barrier and unable to enter. He did not dare descend, so he could only hover high in the sky.

He suspected that he had entered another illusion!

Yes. After five years, he had once again fulfilled whatever condition was required to enter an illusion.

How else could the scene before him be explained?

The only other time he had witnessed a war on such a vast scale was when he was searching for the wood spirit.

The battle in this illusion was no smaller than that one. The dark army stretched endlessly into the distance and had surrounded the palace so thoroughly that nothing could get through.

But in the previous illusion, the Elven King had led vast armies of Elves and Fairies in a desperate resistance. This time, not a single member of the forces of light could be seen on the battlefield.

Another explosion erupted overhead, its power comparable to a nuclear bomb. Terrified, Shu Li reinforced his defenses and was forced to fly lower.

A necromancer riding a skeletal magical dragon spotted him. Bloodthirsty excitement appeared on his face as he urged the dragon toward Shu Li.

Shu Li was appalled.

In the illusions he had entered before, only the Elven King had been able to see him. This time was different. Other people could actually see him too.

As the magical dragon drew closer, Shu Li tightened his grip on his magic staff and silently cast a light-element attack spell, deciding to strike first.

Light magic was the most effective weapon against the dark army.

A huge sphere of pure white light condensed at the tip of his magic staff, dazzling as a miniature sun. Shu Li swung the staff forcefully, and the sphere shot toward the magical dragon like a bolt of lightning.

The necromancer sneered contemptuously. A mere Grand Mage actually dared to attack a necromancer of the Mage Sovereign rank. Arrogantly cradling his magic staff in his arms, he commanded the magical dragon with his mind, ordering it to devour the sphere of light hurtling toward them.

The magical dragon opened its enormous jaws to receive it.

Boom—

The sphere struck the magical dragon. Its attempt to devour the attack failed, and the instant its skull touched the pure light, the bone began to melt.

The necromancer’s expression changed. By the time he tried to intervene, it was already too late. Half the magical dragon’s body had dissolved, and the necromancer himself had been burned by the light.

How was that possible?

How could one tiny Fairy possess such overwhelming purifying power?

Encouraged by the success of his first attack, Shu Li hurled sphere after sphere of light. He silently cast the spells at incredible speed, with less than two seconds between each one.

Disbelief spread across the necromancer’s face as the spheres of light slammed into him like a succession of shock waves.

Their terrifying purifying power consumed every trace of dark power within his body. His flesh was burned black, while the magical dragon had long since crumbled into ash.

The necromancer no longer dared continue the fight. He cast a flight spell on himself, turned, and fled.

Shu Li was just getting into the swing of things. When he saw the necromancer flee, he beat his wings and gave chase. His magic staff never stopped moving, and neither did his silent casting. Spheres of light continued pouring from its tip without pause.

Suddenly, two more magical dragons flew toward him. Shu Li snapped back to his senses and realized with horror that he had flown dangerously close to the dark army. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead. He cast a light-speed spell and raced away from the dark army’s territory.

The dark army had besieged the temple for days without breaching it. Now that they had finally discovered a Fairy, how could they possibly let him escape?

Dozens of Mage Sovereign necromancers mounted on flying magical beasts closed in around him.

Shu Li was horrified and bitterly regretted his actions. Even with the light-speed flight spell enhancing him, he could not shake the pursuing necromancers.

What was he supposed to do?

His face turned pale as he darted about frantically. Just as they were about to catch him, a mass of brilliant crimson flame suddenly descended from the sky.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

The beating of enormous wings stirred up a fierce hurricane, throwing the air into chaos.

Shu Li was nearly blown away. Before he could steady himself, a powerful force abruptly drew him in. Brilliant red flashed before his eyes, and his feet landed on something solid.

Huh?

Shu Li froze. To his astonishment, he found himself standing on the back of an enormous red magical beast. Its batlike wings spanned more than twenty meters. With a casual flap, it sent the pursuing necromancers tumbling through the air.

The Mage Sovereign necromancers plummeted one after another. The enormous red magical beast dived after them and opened its jaws, spewing flames.

The dark army was instantly engulfed in a sea of fire, and agonized screams filled the air.

Shu Li stared, dumbfounded.

“What are you looking at, little fellow?”

A mature man’s voice sounded behind him. A chill ran down Shu Li’s spine. He spun around in alarm and raised his magic staff, pointing it at the speaker.

“Well, look at that. An underage Little Fairy.” The man crossed his arms and studied Shu Li with interest, his flame-red hair streaming wildly in the wind.

Shu Li gazed at the man’s handsome face, his lips parting slightly.

That face and that figure looked incredibly familiar. Shu Li was certain he had seen him somewhere before.

But where?

He rapidly searched his memories.

The red-haired man assumed Shu Li had been mesmerized by him. Conceitedly stroking his smooth chin, he muttered, “Am I really that irresistible? Even an underage Little Fairy is utterly captivated by me.”

Hearing him clearly, Shu Li’s forehead filled with black lines. He protested, “I—I’m not captivated! You just look familiar.”

“Everyone who falls for me says I look familiar.” The red-haired man raised his eyebrows.

Shu Li stared intently at his face. The image of a statue flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, “Fire God Afama Chipus!”

That was it. The man’s face was identical to the statue of the Fire God he had seen!

“Hm? You’re a Little Fairy who bears the title Child of Light, and you only just realized that I’m the Fire God?” the man asked in surprise.

Shu Li was speechless.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Fire God Afama Chipus would be such a frivolous... deity.

Weren’t deities supposed to be elegant, noble, reserved, sacred, and untouchable?

The Little Fairy’s blank expression delighted Fire God Afama, who burst into laughter and commanded the fire dragon lizard beneath their feet.

“Sharo, let’s go. We’re done playing with these small fry.”

“Yes, Lord Chipus.”

The fire dragon lizard called Sharo spat two masses of flame at the dark army, then swept its long, thick, barbed tail through their ranks, overturning a vast swath of enemies. It departed with brazen arrogance and charged toward the magnificent palace protected by the defensive barrier.

Fire God Afama took two steps forward and stopped in front of Shu Li. With a wave of his hand, he opened a huge gap in the top of the defensive barrier, allowing the fire dragon lizard to pass through with ease.

Shu Li turned his head in disbelief and watched the gap close automatically behind them.

Sharo?

Sharo Redisino Falm...

The enormous fire dragon lizard carrying him through the sky had the exact same name as the miniature chubby lizard he had encountered!