Chapter 52: The Cruel Side of the Forest on the Way to the Amethyst Tree.

The sight of four Fairy cubs appearing in the small plaza outside the Mission Hall at the crack of dawn drew frequent glances from the adult Fairies.

What was going on?

Shouldn't little cubs their age still be sleeping at home?

Why had they come here?

Judging by the way they were rushing toward their companions, it seemed they had accepted a mission too.

The adult Fairies stared in astonishment.

They had thought fifteen-year-old Kumandi was already young enough, only for four five-year-olds to appear!

Kumandi watched the blond cub flying toward him and said approvingly, "Right on time."

"Hehehe!" Shu Li flew up to him, his eyes curving as he grinned. "Luckily, the plump birds helped us."

Without the plump birds' help, they definitely would have been late.

Disio and Angel flew over while dragging the bleary-eyed Budno between them. After greeting Kumandi, they curiously studied the three adult Fairies.

The moment Anna saw the children, her earlier laziness disappeared. Like an overly enthusiastic aunt, she approached them warmly, patting one and ruffling another before casually pinching Budno's soft, round cheek.

"Good morning, children. My name is Anna." She withdrew her hand in satisfaction and introduced herself.

"G-good morning..."

Budno, who had still been a little sleepy, covered his pinched cheek and stared blankly at the smiling adult female Fairy.

Oh my!

He's simply too adorable!

Anna's fingers itched to pinch him again, but Ivy intervened in time and shot her a sidelong glare.

What if she frightened the child by continuing? Did she still want them to complete the mission or not?

Anna shrugged, folded her arms, and stood to one side while Ivy enthusiastically introduced the team members to the children.

Before long, everyone knew one another.

Shu Li took out his notebook, quickly drew three cute miniature caricatures on a blank page, and wrote their names beside them.

He had no choice. Although he had learned Elven, complicated foreign names would forever be his weakness. He could only remember them clearly after spending a long time with someone and saying their name every day.

"...Little Sperien, is this supposed to be me?" Ivy bent down and curiously pointed at one of the figures on the page.

The figure had an enormous head, a tiny body, and eyes that occupied half its face. Its hair and clothing resembled his, right down to the accessories, and "Ivy" was written beside it. Who else could it possibly be?

Shu Li nodded calmly. "Yes."

When he had first started drawing caricatures like this, he would blush in embarrassment whenever the subject recognized them. After it happened enough times, he grew accustomed to it.

Admitting that he had little talent for languages was nothing to be ashamed of.

It was certainly better than pretending he understood, only to say the wrong name or mistake someone for somebody else.

Besides... every Fairy and Elf who knew him was aware that he had trouble remembering names.

Stroking his smooth chin, Ivy smiled at the completely composed child and praised him. "It's an excellent drawing. I like it very much."

"Thank you." Shu Li accepted the compliment with perfect composure.

"Oh, oh, this one must be me, right?" Anna leaned closer and seized the opportunity to ruffle the child's soft hair. Her fingertips brushed against a hair clip.

The clip was silver-white and shaped like two leaves, with four clear green gemstones embedded in it. Against the cub's golden hair, it looked both exquisite and adorable.

Anna touched the hair clip curiously. Suddenly, something stung her finger. At the faint prick of pain, she instinctively drew back her hand in astonishment.

Is this... the symbol of the Elven King's blessing? That little flower crown said to be capable of changing its shape?

It certainly was domineering. It would not even allow anyone else to touch it.

Completely unaware that the flower crown disguised as a hair clip had "threatened" Anna, Shu Li answered her question seriously. "Yes, this is you."

Anna rubbed her finger and raised an eyebrow in approval. "Not bad, not bad. It looks exactly like me."

Aside from the enormous head and tiny body, the curly hair, clothing, and accessories were all remarkably lifelike.

Shu Li put away his notebook and responded generously, "Thank you for the compliment."

Anna adored his confident demeanor. She wanted to ruffle his little head, but remembering the stinging "hair clip," she reluctantly abandoned the idea.

Still, if she could not fuss over this child, there were three others!

Budno inexplicably shivered. Instinctively moving away from Anna, he hid behind Disio.

Disio pursed his lips, held his little face rigid, and stared directly at Anna with his red eyes.

His stare made Anna feel vaguely guilty, so she turned her attention to the well-behaved Angel instead.

"It's time to leave." Sil could finally bear no more. With a stern expression, he warned her, "Anna, please mind your conduct."

When they formed the mission team, the three adult Fairies had divided their responsibilities in advance.

Sil was the team leader, Ivy was responsible for their safety, and Anna was to look after the underage Fairies.

But looking after them was not the same as teasing them. There was a fundamental difference between the two.

Anna tossed back her wavy curls to show that she understood.

The atmosphere abruptly grew serious. The Fairy cubs immediately became alert and stood obediently beside Kumandi, their sparkling eyes fixed on Sil as they awaited the team leader's instructions.

Sil rarely smiled, but even his stern heart softened beneath the trusting gazes of the four little fellows.

"Everyone, take out your maps." His tone eased as he began their final preparations before departure.

The Fairies took out their maps one after another.

Sil snapped his fingers. The map in his hand floated into the air and unfolded by itself.

It was a map of the Faerie Forest, but it showed only the four cardinal directions and a handful of special symbols. It was extremely crude.

Shu Li had privately complained about it the very first day he received his copy. If he had to navigate the forest alone with this map, he would undoubtedly become lost within ten minutes.

"This is the divine tree, which is {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} where we are now." Sil pointed to a triangle in the southwest. "We will depart from the divine tree and follow this route south toward the Saint Bash Sea. This smaller triangle marks the location of the amethyst tree."

"The round trip is expected to take two days. Everyone must bring their own food, water, and camping equipment. If you encounter any problem, report it to me. Under no circumstances may you act on your own. Do you understand?"

Sil's sharp gaze swept over his teammates.

"We understand!"

The Fairies answered in unison, with Budno's voice ringing particularly loudly.

Sil rubbed his ear, put away the map, spread his wings, and took the lead into the sky.

Kumandi said to the four children, "Keep up."

The four children obediently followed close behind Kumandi, while Ivy and Anna flew on either side, guarding them in the middle.

After leaving the area around the divine tree and entering the dense forest, the four Fairy cubs were both excited and nervous. They beat their wings rapidly and flew with their heads down, terrified that the adult Fairies might dislike them if they fell behind.

In truth, adult Fairies could grow to the same size as Elves and fly extremely fast. With magic, they could even teleport through space. Given the distance between the divine tree and the amethyst tree, a round trip would take them only eight hours.

But because they were taking underage Fairies into the forest for practical experience, they remained in their normal forms and traveled slowly, patiently teaching them wilderness survival skills along the way.

Five-year-old Fairy cubs had limited stamina. After flying continuously for more than two hours, all four were panting heavily.

At Sil's command, the entire team stopped for a short rest.

They landed on a high branch of a large tree. By staying well above the ground, they eliminated eighty percent of the danger.

Splat!

The four Fairy cubs collapsed onto the thick branch in perfect unison. Their wings trembled faintly, making them look like a row of dazed moths that had finally stopped fluttering.

Waaah!

So exhausting!

Bracing his hands beneath him, Shu Li struggled to sit upright and gulped down air.

This was the first time he had flown nonstop for more than two hours without a single break. It felt as though the roots of his wings were about to cramp.

The other three Fairy cubs were hardly in better condition, especially Budno. He lay motionless on the branch with his bottom in the air. If his mouth had not been wide open as he desperately sucked in air, they might have suspected something had happened to him.

"Can you keep going?" Kumandi sat beside Shu Li, his breathing perfectly steady.

"N-no problem!" Shu Li thumped his little chest. Two measly hours were nothing. He could still fly!

Seeing his flushed face and the sweat pouring from him, Kumandi reminded him to drink some water and wipe himself down.

Shu Li gave him a grateful look and quickly took his waterskin from his storage ring. He opened it and gulped down the contents.

The waterskin contained water he had boiled the previous night. It had since cooled to a pleasant warmth and was wonderfully refreshing now.

After drinking, he took out a towel and wiped away his sweat. At last, he began to recover.

Disio and Angel stubbornly pushed themselves upright, then copied Shu Li by drinking water and wiping off their sweat. Only Budno remained sprawled where he was, unwilling to move.

"Well, little fellow, do you need my help?" Anna crouched beside him with a kindly smile.

Budno wheezed heavily. He tried to sit up but could not manage it. Hearing Anna's offer, he looked at her pleadingly.

Anna considerately helped him upright and took the opportunity to rub his head. The poor little fellow must be exhausted. Just look at that deathly pale face. He clearly did not exercise enough.

"Th-thank you." Sitting cross-legged, Budno eagerly took some water from his storage ring and gulped down half the container. Then he pulled out a red fruit, opened his mouth, and took a savage bite.

He had overslept that morning and eaten only two fruits because they had been in such a hurry. After flying for more than two hours, his stomach had long since begun growling with hunger.

The reason he had been unable to get up was that hunger had left him dizzy, faint, and weak in every limb.

Watching him devour the fruit like a starving beast, Shu Li covered his forehead, unable to look.

Anna and Ivy struggled not to laugh. Sil turned a blind eye and sat silently to one side. Kumandi, however, regarded Budno with a stern expression.

"Next time, you must eat until you're full before we leave."

"Uh... ah... right!" After finishing the fruit, Budno clutched the clean pit as his round little face flushed with shame. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

Disio, who usually contradicted Budno at every opportunity, unexpectedly defended him. "Budno did eat breakfast. He just gets hungry quickly."

Angel nodded to confirm his words. "Yes. That's why he can never lose weight."

Budno gave Angel a wounded look. A true brother should not expose his shortcomings.

Angel grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, while mischief sparkled in his amber eyes.

The adult Fairies were very tolerant of the children on their first mission. They waited until the cubs had finished resting and recovered their strength before continuing onward.

As they traveled farther from the divine tree, the magical beasts along the route gradually became more numerous.

Some flew through the sky, some ran across the ground, some climbed through the trees, and others swam through the water. There were so many different varieties that Shu Li hardly knew where to look.

He had the strange impression that he had entered Jurassic Park.

Although he had accidentally become stranded in the forest five years ago, it had already been growing dark at the time. The magical beasts active during the day had withdrawn, while the nocturnal ones excelled at concealing themselves. As a result, he had encountered very few magical beasts during his journey.

Now it was broad daylight, and they were deep within the forest. The magical beasts had all emerged to hunt for food.

Herbivores ate plants, carnivores ate herbivores, packs surrounded solitary prey, and higher-ranked beasts hunted lower-ranked ones. It was a cruel wildlife documentary unfolding before the innocent Fairy cubs, with every bloody detail on full display.

Shu Li had watched nature documentaries and all kinds of horror movies before, but even he could not stop his legs from trembling when he witnessed magical beasts hunting with his own eyes. As for the other three children, they collapsed onto a branch and vomited.

"Bleurgh—"

The little chubby one threw up all the fruit he had eaten earlier.

So terrifying!

Waaah!

Weren't magical beasts supposed to be kind and friendly like the plump bird and Mr. Serpent?

Why were they eating one another?

Disio and Angel clung to each other, their faces pale as they trembled uncontrollably.

Shu Li gripped the hem of Kumandi's clothes and whispered, "D-didn't you say... this route was very safe?"

Kumandi pressed a hand gently against his head and murmured, "Magical beasts do not attack Fairies."

Therefore, this route was extremely safe for Fairies.

But Kumandi had overlooked one important issue.

The cubs usually lived in a peaceful, sheltered environment and had never witnessed the forest's bloody side. Being abruptly confronted with magical beasts hunting one another had dealt them a tremendous shock.

Nevertheless, these were the forest's laws of survival.

When faced with a brutal world, Fairies had to learn to be strong.