CH 3

“Beastmen? Why are they here?”

-Well, who knows? They might be looking for a new habitat, or they could just be passing by.

What a bunch of bullshit.

Seeing Eldmir muttering curses to himself, the raccoon gave him a reproachful look.

-Elves don’t use such language.

“Nonsense, since when did you start caring about that? Tell me more about it. How big is their group?”

-Why are you getting so worked up?

As Eldmir rushed towards the raccoon, it hesitated and stepped back.

Whether or not it would react, Eldmir grabbed the raccoon tightly and shouted with a stern expression.

“Tell me quickly!”

-Ah, geez. Give me a break.

Struggling in Eldmir’s grip a few times, the raccoon finally shot back forcefully.

-Hey, let go?

“Answer me.”

-Oh, fine.

As if a raccoon could be scary.

Suddenly, it played along with a mischievous smile, rubbing its cheeks against Eldmir’s hand.

-Heh, geez.

Whoosh

The raccoon suddenly vanished in flames, only to reappear in a different spot, its form regenerating like blossoming fire.

Flames sprouted from Eldmir’s palm, but the spirit’s flames don’t cause dire situations.

They only consume what they want to burn, which is the essence of spirit flames.

The newly-formed spirit raccoon looked at Eldmir.

-Calm down. Why are you so interested in matters outside the village when you’re an elf?

“Because I’m a half-breed.”

-Boasting, I see. That’s why you can’t form a contract with spirits.

“If you’re not going to contract with me, don’t make a fuss about it. So, where did they come from? Even though this area might be rural, it’s called the World Tree Forest, and anyone trying to establish themselves here should come prepared, right?”

Eldmir’s village may be small, but things change when you approach the center of the World Tree.

If the beastmen show even the slightest sign of trying to establish themselves in this forest, their movements will be directly revealed from the center.

Searching for a habitat in this forest to that extent is nothing short of crazy.

-We still don’t know. We’re not sure about their numbers either. It’s more likely that only a few of them are just passing through, but there’s not much certainty. That’s why Elysia didn’t even bother seeking my help.

“Is that so?”

Intrigued, Eldmir began to put his armor back on.

Seeing him do that, the raccoon furrowed its brow.

-Where are you going anyway? You’re just a little kid who hasn’t even undergone an adulthood ceremony.

“There’s no one in the village who can catch up to a little half-breed like me?”

-Even if you could, what good would it do if you couldn’t even form a contract?

“Hah, one of our ancestors is said to have shot down a flying dragon with just their archery skills. I might not be at that level, but I can handle my own, alright? Don’t try to stop me.”

-Hah, even so, one swipe of my paw will be enough to teach you a lesson…

Ignoring the raccoon’s continuation, Eldmir stepped outside and quickly started running.

Whether you call it elven agility or not, Eldmir’s speed as he raced through the forest was extraordinary.

Like a cheetah moving at an abnormal pace, Eldmir leaped off the ground as soon as he reached an area densely filled with trees.

Even though it was in an outer area, this place was part of the World Tree Forest, which was said to have existed since the beginning of time.

With each tree being enormous, the size of their branches was equally immense, and of course, their height was no joke either.

Even the lowest-hanging branch grew at least 10 meters above the ground.

With tremendous leaping ability, Eldmir jumped from one tree to another, landing directly on tree branches. He continued to leap from branch to branch, sometimes even performing acrobatic maneuvers as he touched the tree’s top point during his jumps.

-Ah, you’re unbelievably fast, really.

Watching Eldmir’s back, the spirit muttered to itself and once again self-immolated to reform its body right next to Eldmir.

-Hey, half-elf.

As they flew side by side at the same speed, Eldmir glanced sideways at the spirit.

“Why?”

He speaks so effortlessly without even chewing his words.

Thinking to himself, the spirit spoke.

-Do you even know which direction we’re going?

“Right here.”

Eldmir’s curt response made the spirit widen its eyes.

-What? How do you know the way?

“Hey, I may not have made a contract with you guys, but I can communicate with nature. If I ask the forest, it’ll give me the answer. Got it?”

-…You can communicate with the forest?

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

-Hey, you crazy brat, direct communication with the forest is only possible for high elves!

The spirit shouted furiously, making Eldmir’s expression uneasy.

“Really?”

-Yeah! Have you ever seen any village residents claim they’ve been directly conversing with the forest?

“No, but they often say they have a communion with nature or have conversations with it.”

-That’s just a figurative expression! Wow, is this elf kid for real? Earlier, he brought up the Eldrasik story, and now he’s acting like he’s actually a high elf?

Eldrasik is the elf hero known for shooting down a flying dragon with his archery skills, and he is referred to as a high elf.

By the way, a dragon’s flying speed reaches the speed of sound.

-No, when did you start hearing that? There was definitely no such thing before!

“That… well, I started hearing it not too long ago. About a week, maybe?”

-Insane. The guy who’s rejected by the spirits because the forest’s spirit is absent is now able to hear the forest’s voices? What kind of prank is Eldrasik playing?

It’s probably because Eldmir set his potential ability to the highest in his past life.

However, despite that, Eldmir also secretly empathized with the murmuring of the raccoon spirit.

Indeed, no matter how much he set his potential ability to the highest, the growth rate of this body surpassed his imagination.

When he played games, even with his potential ability set to the highest, he would struggle to defeat a single monster when he was a child, often dying and having to restart.

Not only that, on game forums and official websites, there were quite a few players who complained about the difficulties of their childhood.

Even those who set their potential abilities to the highest were not exceptions.

But is it because of the difference between reality and the game, or is it because he can feel the existence of that potential ability with his own body?

Unlike playing a game character, Eldmir was realizing at every moment how absurdly fast his own growth was.

Whether the spirit knew Eldmir’s inner thoughts or not, it suddenly screamed in surprise.

-No, but why haven’t you mentioned this before?

“Well, it just started happening right before my coming-of-age ceremony, so I thought all other elves also experienced this. And is it such a big deal? After all, every elf’s ancestry is influenced by the high elves. Maybe I inherited it belatedly.”

-This is crazy…

The flabbergasted expression on the raccoon’s face made Eldmir burst into laughter.

“Be careful with your words. Spirits don’t use such language.”

-Hey!

Seeing the spirit’s reaction, Eldmir burst into laughter.

He had always wanted to put this arrogant spirit in his place, and even though it was through playful banter, he felt satisfied.

Originally, the raccoon spirit, like other spirits, enjoyed setting the mood and speaking in a roundabout way that was hard to understand. However, after living with Eldmir for over ten years, the raccoon spirit gradually started adopting his raw and unfiltered demeanor.

Rough, straightforward, and not hiding emotions.

Although the spirit playfully called Eldmir a “half-breed elf,” he was aware that he was often seen as a mischievous spirit by Eldmir himself.

“We’re almost there, right?”

-Why? Did the forest whisper to you again?

“Yeah.”

-….

Even without that point, with the inherent vision of an elf, Eldmir started to spot his mother, Esyria, in the distance.

He accelerated even more, as the distance was still considerable.

As the trees became less distinct, he eventually came down to the ground and ran at full speed, surpassing the pace of any ordinary beast.

Unable to keep up with Eldmir’s incredible speed, the raccoon spirit muttered curses and came to a halt.

It seemed impossible to catch up with his speed.

So he set himself ablaze and instantly moved to his own contractor’s side.

“Mother!”

If it were a human, his voice might not have reached her yet, but the incredible hearing of an elf was enough for his voice to travel to his mother.

Elysia, slightly taken aback by her sudden spirit’s return and her son’s appearance, soon showed her characteristic warm smile and waved to him.

In her hand, she held a bow.

“Welcome back, Eld. You seem energetic today.”

“Haha, as always.”

Elysia.

In this world, she was referred to as his mother.

Even in such a world, Eldmir loved the existence of his mother, Elysia, and for nearly 20 years, her presence had never felt awkward to him.

Who would have imagined that after caring for his mother for over 30 years, he would end up with another mother in this world?

For someone who deeply valued filial piety, this situation only brought forth feelings of conflict and distress.

“Have you been investigating alone?”

“Yes. The villagers said the forest would inform them, and there haven’t been any peculiar signs so far.”

“Hmm, I guess it’s just passing by?”

“Yes, it seems that way. They passed through here very cautiously, perhaps showing respect between different races.”

At his words, Eldmir couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hahaha! Respect from the Beastmen towards other races? It’s almost like saying that savages put on formalities!”

Although he had never played as the Beastmen himself, he had played as the savages and knew.

The Beastmen are the direct rivals of the elves and one of the races that fiercely fights and wars against them.

They are half-human and half-beast, quite literally resembling beasts in their manners.

They would insult and spit on the elves, calling them ear-folk or bow-people, without showing any courtesy.

However, Elysia’s expression turned stern at Eldmir’s laughter.

“It’s not right, Eldmir. The Beastmen are also creatures living in the forest, so as fellow creatures of the same forest, we should show respect to each other.”

“Fellow creatures of the forest? Them?”

Eldmir’s expression strangely changed.

“Those beasts probably don’t consider the forest as their home but more like the most convenient restroom to mark their territory. They even created their own territories and called them kingdoms, but they’re not considered creatures of the forest.”

In the past, I wouldn’t have known, but these days, these youngsters are like wayward sons who have left the forest.

“Oh my, is that so?”

Elysia’s eyes widened.

Although she was an elder who had lived for nearly 100 years and was his mother, Elysia was quite ignorant about worldly matters. While she had wisdom from living in the forest and had experience as an elf, she was completely unfamiliar with things outside the forest.

Seeing Elysia’s expression, Eldmir couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Mother, I understand that we elves value harmony and show respect and consideration for the forest, but we also need to be cautious and vigilant towards other races. If you see what they are up to, you’ll understand.”

-I’m curious how you know that.

Eldmir snickered at the spirit’s question.

“Why would I not know about it?”

-What? …Ah.

As if realizing something, the raccoon spirit wrinkled its face.

-Indeed, there is much to learn from the forest’s memories.

The voice murmured quietly, almost too faint for even an elf to hear, but for Eldmir, who had surpassed the average elf in skill, he could clearly hear that faint murmur.

In truth, it was based on the memories of a veteran gamer who had played five different endings in five years, but he was free to believe whatever he wanted.