Chapter 77: Silent Magic: You are the hope of the whole village!

“Mother Tree, aren’t you afraid that chanting the incantation will draw the Dark Elves here?” Shu Li asked.

Casting magic produced not only “visual effects,” but also fluctuations of energy. A high-ranking Dark Elf would undoubtedly sense them.

“Don’t be afraid... It’s daytime here now... The sunlight will conceal light magic... It’s perfectly safe...”

Shu Li was not that naive.

Was it really safe just because the Mother Tree said so?

Being transported into Dark Elf territory was already dangerous enough.

Now she wanted him to cast magic right in the middle of the enemy camp. How was that any different from showing up on their doorstep to provoke them?

If he had advanced to the rank of Mage Sovereign, he might have had the courage to challenge them single-handedly. But right now, he was only a Mage Apprentice. He would be delivering himself to the Dark Elves on a silver platter.

Ever since the Mother Tree had first spoken to him five years ago, something about her had always felt indescribably strange.

He even suspected that her main trunk had been corrupted by the severed branch, distorting her consciousness and causing her to collude with the Dark Elves and secretly work against them.

But how could someone as powerful as the Elven King allow the Mother Tree, upon whom the prosperity of the Elves depended, to sink into corruption?

There were so many Elves in the Crystal Castle she could have tricked. Why single out a useless Little Fairy like him? It did not make sense.

“Come up with a more reliable plan, or we’ll just stay here and wait.”

Shu Li prodded one of the Mother Tree’s branches with his magic staff.

“...The leaves on my branch are very dense... Your purification spell won’t attract the Dark Elves’ attention...”

Shu Li raised his head and looked around.

The enormous tree that had grown from the Mother Tree’s severed branch was luxuriant with foliage. Layer upon layer of leaves overlapped so tightly that not even light could penetrate them, forming a natural barrier. It was so exuberantly alive that any bald tree would have seethed with envy.

His magical rank was low, so the visual effects and energy fluctuations created by his spells were almost negligible.

Could it be that the Mother Tree had sought him out precisely because he was “weak”?

“What else?”

Shu Li prodded the branch with his magic staff again. He refused to believe that this was the Mother Tree’s only safeguard.

“...Perhaps... you could try silent magic?”

Shu Li’s eyes lit up.

“What’s silent magic?”

“The way you’re speaking to me now... You’re using your thoughts...”

“My thoughts?”

Shu Li was astonished.

“Will the spell work if I don’t say the incantation aloud? Will the god hear my prayer?”

“As long as your heart is sincere... you will surely succeed... Little Sperien... believe in yourself...”

Shu Li fell into thought, recalling something the Elven King had once told him.

Magic was his will, his conviction, and the deepest desire of his heart.

When his will was sufficiently resolute, the natural elements would take form and become his to command.

It was not an incantation that determined the form magic took, but his thoughts.

Not the incantation, but his thoughts.

Understanding suddenly dawned on Shu Li.

So that was what the Elven King had meant!

No wonder the Elven King could sometimes move a cup with the slightest twitch of his finger.

That was “silent magic”!

Once his mind opened to the possibility, it was as though he had found the key. Freed from the shackles of his old way of thinking, his thoughts began racing in entirely new directions.

Shu Li decided to risk giving it a try.

He had always suffered because his tongue tripped over itself, preventing him from reciting incantations fluently. Although the Elven King’s instruction had helped him improve considerably, there was no guarantee it would never happen again.

But “silent magic” was different.

His brain would not trip over its words.

His thoughts were always correct. He only stumbled when he tried to say them aloud.

If silent magic worked, it would solve one of his greatest problems.

He would trust the Mother Tree one more time! After all, aside from the Elven King, the Mother Tree was the “mother” of all Elves. If she had truly turned evil, neither the Elven King nor the other Elves would have allowed her to remain.

“I’ll try it, but if I fail, you must send me home immediately!”

He had to agree on the terms first so she could not go back on her word.

“Little Sperien... don’t worry... I won’t hurt you...”

A trace of grievance entered the Mother Tree’s voice.

Shu Li pursed his lips.

She felt wronged? He was the one with every right to feel wronged!

His peaceful sleep had been ruined, and he had been transported into Dark Elf territory instead, where danger lurked everywhere.

Shu Li looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky and frowned.

It seemed the other world had time differences too.

Night in the Elven Kingdom was daytime for the Dark Elves.

“Where should I start?”

The enormous tree was so vast. Where should he aim the purification spell for it to have any effect?

“The trunk... Little Sperien... please cast the purification spell on my trunk...”

“Then—I’m starting!”

Using the leaves as cover, Shu Li flew over to the enormous tree’s trunk, raised his magic staff, and silently recited the purification incantation in his mind.

“Great Light God Laiente Freys, I am Sperien of the Faerie Forest. I beseech you to command the light elements to gather around me and grant me the radiant power to cleanse all impurity, that I might save the Elven Mother Tree besieged by darkness—”

Unsurprisingly, the tip of his magic staff did not react at all.

Shu Li stared doubtfully at the thick trunk.

“Mother Tree, are you sure I can do this?”

Was it possible that his rank was simply too low for him to use silent magic?

“...Try... one more time...”

Shu Li composed himself, gently closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state. A mental image instantly took shape in his mind, and using it as a foundation, he silently recited the incantation.

“Great Light God Laiente Freys, I am Sperien of the Faerie Forest. I beseech you to command the light elements to gather around me and grant me the radiant power to cleanse all impurity, that I might save the Elven Mother Tree besieged by darkness—”

Shu Li did not check whether light elements were gathering at the tip of his magic staff. Instead, he continually contemplated what kind of process purification ought to be.

Drawing on all the animated shows, films, television series, and games he had experienced while growing up, he sought to understand the concept of purification.

What was purification?

Purification was the removal of impurities and harmful substances, leaving something cleaner and purer. Its scope was vast and unrestricted. As long as a mage possessed sufficient power, anything in the world could be purified.

Shu Li’s abilities were limited, and he harbored no grand ambitions. He only wanted to do what little he could to help the Mother Tree.

Even if he could purify only a tiny portion at a time, those small successes would eventually accumulate. One day, he would succeed.

His concentration became extraordinarily intense while he meditated, and his thoughts had never been clearer. Only one idea remained in his mind: casting silent magic.

“Great Elven King, please lend me your strength!”

Perhaps his prayer truly had been answered. When Shu Li recited the incantation for the third time, the little hair clip on his head transformed back into a small green flower crown. The sparse light elements in the air heard his summons and gradually gathered at the tip of his magic staff, slowly forming a tiny orb of light the size of a marble.

Faint as it was, that tiny orb of light proved he had succeeded.

Delight surged through Shu Li. With a dashing sweep of his magic staff, he sent the tiny orb shooting toward the trunk like a bolt of lightning. It melted into the wood in an instant.

A gust of wind swept past, rustling the dense leaves.

The tiny blond Fairy remained frozen in the pose he had struck while flourishing his magic staff. His face shone with excitement, and tears glimmered in his eyes.

He had truly cast silent magic.

For a mage whose tongue constantly tripped over itself, this small step was also one great stride toward a glorious future.

“...Little Sperien... you did wonderfully...”

“...It has been so long... so very long... since I last felt... the power of light...”

The Mother Tree’s voice seemed to tremble. She sounded like someone who had been imprisoned in a dark dungeon for years and had finally glimpsed the dawn of salvation—astonished, overjoyed, and almost unable to believe it.

“How many purification spells do I need to cast?”

Helping others was its own reward—though it would have been even better if he were not doing it in Dark Elf territory.

“If you can... please cast ten purification spells for me...”

“Ten? I’ll do my best.”

His stamina and energy should be enough for ten purification spells. After all, he had cast magic more than a hundred times yesterday afternoon while picking fruit.

A mere ten spells would be nothing.

Shu Li raised his magic staff with a solemn look on his chubby little face and entered “battle” mode with complete concentration.

“Great Light God Laiente Freys, I am Sperien of the Faerie Forest. I beseech you to command the light elements to gather around me...”

Had it failed?

That was fine. One failure was nothing. He would simply try again.

“Great Light God Laiente Freys, I am Sperien of the Faerie Forest...”

Success!

The tiny orb of light melted into the trunk in an instant, so quickly that even the visual effect and energy fluctuations barely had time to manifest.

The Dark Elves could never have imagined that the Mother Tree who had given birth to them was secretly conducting a purification operation with a weak little Fairy cub, right beneath their noses.

The blazing afternoon sun was loathsome to the Dark Elves. They would rather remain indoors than venture outside, giving the Little Fairy the perfect opportunity.

Shu Li went from cautious and apprehensive at first to calm and confident.

Silent magic brought him boundless joy.

Although he succeeded only once every five or six attempts, that was already enough for him.

As the saying went, practice made perfect.

With more practice, he would eventually succeed every time.

After silently reciting the purification incantation more than sixty times, he finally completed the task.

He was exhausted.

It was the same bone-deep weariness he had felt after casting intermediate wind magic yesterday morning.

Shu Li’s head throbbed and swelled. Combined with his lack of sleep, the fatigue left his body swaying back and forth. His legs gave way, and he sank to his knees on the branch.

“Mother Tree... I don’t think... I can hold on much longer... Can I go home now?”

He clenched his fists, forcing himself to remain conscious.

“...Good child... thank you... I’ll take you home...”

The Mother Tree’s voice no longer sounded as ethereal and eerie as before. It was exceedingly gentle now, soothing him with its warmth.

Shu Li relaxed. He toppled forward onto the branch, and in the next instant, his body dissolved into a tiny cluster of green light that was absorbed by the enormous tree.

The Elven Kingdom, Crystal City, Cub Courtyard

The golden-haired Elven King and a great host of Elves stood like statues before the barren Mother Tree. The atmosphere was solemn.

Just as dawn approached and the darkness was about to recede, a cluster of green light like a firefly emerged from the Mother Tree’s enormous trunk.

Joy appeared on the Elves’ faces. The Elven King alone stepped forward and extended both hands, catching the tiny cluster of green light in his broad palms.

The green light hovered above them, revealing a tiny Fairy cub curled up inside.

It was Sperien.

At the sight of the tiny figure in the Elven King’s hands, Sayah wept with joy.

The thunderous explosion had jolted awake every Elf living in the Crystal Castle, and they had all gathered in this courtyard.

When they learned that the Mother Tree had taken Little Sperien away, they were consumed with anxiety. Even the king had abandoned his customary gentleness, his entire body radiating a glacial chill.

Had the enormous tree before them not been the Mother Tree, it would likely have been uprooted and burned to ashes by now.

They did not know where the Mother Tree had taken Sperien, nor whether he was in danger. All they could do was wait anxiously, utterly helpless.

Perhaps only the king knew where Sperien had gone, but he had stood before the Mother Tree without moving.

Without an order from the king, the other Elves could only remain where they were and await instructions.

Fortunately, amid all that misfortune, Sperien returned at dawn, allowing every Elf present to breathe a sigh of relief.

Curled up like a newborn in the Elven King’s palm, Shu Li slept soundly, utterly exhausted. He had no idea that more than a thousand Elves had spent half the night standing in the courtyard, sick with worry over him.

The Elven King gently stroked his hair with the pad of one finger, then raised his eyes and fixed the Mother Tree with a piercing stare.

“Eunomysis, you have gone too far.” His voice was colder than anyone had ever heard it.

The barren Mother Tree gave no response.

The Elven King’s loose golden hair suddenly began to move despite the absence of wind. He cradled the Little Fairy protectively against his chest with one hand while aiming his other palm at the Mother Tree. Every natural element in the air surged into violent motion.

“My king...” Ilio exclaimed softly in surprise.

“My king, please calm your anger!” the other elder Elves pleaded as they stepped forward.

That was the Mother Tree, the “mother” of the Elves. She could not be harmed lightly.

The wind gradually subsided.

The Elven King’s palm remained pointed at the enormous tree.

“Freyus... please forgive me for acting on my own...”

Unlike the ethereal voice from before, this one was gentle, like the voice of a true mother, loving and warm.

The Elves, who had not heard the Mother Tree’s voice in nearly a thousand years, all stared in astonishment.

In the next instant, a gentle radiance blossomed from the Mother Tree’s trunk. Opposite the sole green leaf on one of her branches, another green leaf sprouted and grew visibly larger before their eyes.

Every Elf stared at the sight in disbelief.

The Mother Tree, on the verge of withering away entirely, had regained her vitality. Though she bore only two leaves, they brought hope to the entire Elven race.

When the gentle glow around the trunk faded, it was replaced by a translucent apparition.

The apparition was a mature woman dressed in robes of green gauze. Her sparse hair was withered and yellow. Half her face was exquisite and flawless, while the other half was shattered beyond recognition. Her lower body merged with the trunk, entangled in countless black threads.

The assembled Elves’ eyes widened in shock.

“She is... the Mother Tree?” Ilio murmured.

He was the last Elf the Mother Tree had ever nurtured.

It was said that in order to keep him alive, the Mother Tree had exhausted all her energy, pouring every last trace of nourishment into the fruit that carried him.

The day of his birth had been the day the Mother Tree began to wither.

Even then, he had remained extremely weak, in danger of dying at any moment.

The king had bestowed his blessing upon him, saving his young life.

Five hundred years had passed. He had grown from a frail cub into an outstanding warrior of the Elven race, yet guilt and regret had always burdened his heart.

If not for him, the Mother Tree might still have retained some vitality instead of standing barren as she did now, stripped of her former beauty.

He had once heard the elder Elves say that during the height of her vitality, the Mother Tree often manifested an apparition beneath her branches and watched every Elf cub she nurtured with tender affection.

That was why the cubs’ residences had been built close to the Mother Tree.

During the War of the Gods ten thousand years ago, civil unrest had erupted among the Elves. The rebels had severed an important branch from the Mother Tree and fled the Elven Kingdom.

After the Dark Elves planted that branch in a land corrupted by darkness and succeeded in keeping it alive, the true Mother Tree had begun to wither day by day.

A second Elven Mother Tree had appeared on the continent, giving birth to the evil Dark Elves.

Meanwhile, after bearing her final Elf cub, the true Mother Tree had never flowered or borne fruit again.

Ilio was the youngest of the White Elves. He had never seen the Mother Tree’s apparition.

Now, as he gazed upon the woman’s form corrupted by darkness, he instinctively raised his right hand to his chest along with the other Elves, offering her their highest respect.

Only the Elven King continued to regard her coldly.

The Mother Tree gazed calmly back at him, a faint smile appearing on her face.

“Freyus, it has been a long time.”

The Elven King lowered the hand he had aimed at the enormous tree. He glanced down at the Little Fairy sleeping soundly in his palm and said coldly, “Eunomysis, you were too impatient.”

“No, Freyus. We do not have much time left.” The Mother Tree lowered her eyes, delivering the cruelest words in the gentlest voice. “Darkness has already descended. It is sweeping across the entire continent faster than ever before. Unless we prepare as soon as possible, we will... repeat the mistakes of the past... When that time comes, no pure land will remain upon the continent. Neither the Elven Kingdom nor the Faerie Forest will be spared.”

The apparition could remain for only a brief time. As soon as she finished speaking, it began to fade rapidly.

“Remember... Sperien is the only...”

Hope—

The final word echoed only in the Elven King’s mind.

“Was that a prophecy from the Mother Tree?” Ilio’s expression was grave.

Darkness would sweep across the continent. The Elven Kingdom and the Faerie Forest would both fall, while Sperien was the only... the only what?

“Was it Sperien who restored the Mother Tree’s vitality?” Sayah’s question lifted the spirits of every Elf present. Their fervent gazes turned toward the tiny Fairy in the Elven King’s palm.

Shu Li remained deeply asleep, entirely unaware that more than a thousand pairs of eyes were fixed upon him.