Chapter 98: Quietly, the tall and handsome academic genius, has received a new mission~...

Kumandi had spent a week training in the forest, then flown four or five hours back to the divine tree. He was utterly exhausted, but the instant the white light descended upon him, warmth spread through his body. His fatigue vanished, leaving him refreshed and clearheaded.

This was an advanced purification spell.

Only a Senior Mage could cast one.

Kumandi gazed at the confidence in the blond Little Fairy’s eyes, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

Shu Li lowered his magic staff and bounded over to him in a few quick steps. "Kumandi, I’m a Senior Mage now!"

"Congratulations." Seeing that he was plainly waiting to be praised, Kumandi reached out and stroked his head.

Shu Li chuckled. Joy sparkled like starlight in his pale green eyes as he looked up at the black-haired Elf, who stood a head taller than him.

At twenty, Kumandi had grown another two inches and looked no different from an adult Fairy.

His long black hair was tied into a low ponytail down his back, and a golden circlet rested upon his head. Set in its center was a flawless purple gemstone that complemented his deep violet eyes. The baby fat of adolescence had disappeared from his face, replaced by sharply defined, handsome features. Though he had only just returned from training outside, his clothes remained neat and immaculate. Not even his cloak or shoes bore a speck of dust.

Quiet Top Student was getting more handsome by the day!

Shu Li’s heart brimmed with admiration and envy. He hoped that when he turned twenty, he would be just as tall and handsome.

"Hey, little Sperien, cast a purification spell on me too!" Carola, who had just caught up with them, leaned closer and asked with a smile.

"Sure!" Shu Li generously raised his magic staff, aimed it at him, and silently cast a purification spell.

A sphere of gentle white light immediately enveloped Carola. Surprise crossed his face, and when the light faded, he stretched out his arms and gave a long, satisfying stretch.

"Wow, that’s incredible! I’m completely refreshed. My whole body is bursting with energy." He lowered his arms and fixed Shu Li with an intense stare from his grayish-brown eyes.

His gaze made Shu Li’s skin crawl. He took a step back. "Wh-what are you looking at?"

Clap!

Carola pressed his palms together. "Little Sperien, we arrived late and missed the beginning. Could you fill us in?"

"That’s right. We only heard the second half," the other Fairies agreed, nodding.

If they had known such an important discussion was taking place that afternoon, they would not have wasted so much time in the forest. They would have returned to the divine tree an hour earlier.

What a shame they had missed the most exciting part.

Shu Li turned toward the silent Kumandi. After a moment’s hesitation, he agreed.

"We want to hear it too!"

The Fairy cubs crowded around him.

Sperien’s adventure had been far too exciting to hear only once. They needed to hear it several more times before they could be satisfied.

Shu Li sat down where he was and told the entire story again from beginning to end, speaking as quickly as possible and cutting a few minor details to focus on the highlights.

The Fairy cubs listened with rapt attention. Carola and the other adolescent Fairies repeatedly exclaimed in amazement. At some point, Kumandi took out a notebook and began writing swiftly with a white quill held between his slender fingers.

By the time Shu Li finished, his mouth was parched. His exceptional eyesight swept over Quiet Top Student’s notebook, its pages packed with writing, and his heart gave a jolt.

Oh no. Tomorrow, there would be another mountain of poetry about him!

Quiet Top Student wrote poems at a terrifying speed. He could produce ten in a single night!

Even after hearing the story again, Disio still could not understand how Sperien had advanced. Resting his chin in his hand, he muttered to himself, "Why? Why? Why?"

Kumandi’s ears twitched. He closed his notebook and answered him. "Sperien earned the recognition of the Wood Spirit and received its power."

"Huh?" Disio’s red eyes widened. "That’s all it took?"

Shu Li spread his hands innocently. "Yes. It really was that simple."

There was no secret to it. He had merely stumbled into the right outcome through sheer blind luck.

Disio asked enviously, "Then... if the Wood Spirit recognized me too, would I also advance?"

The question stumped Shu Li. He shook his head. "I don’t know."

Budno promptly poured cold water on his hopes. "But Disio, you’re a fire mage!"

Wood feared fire. It would be strange if the Wood Spirit recognized him.

Disio slumped in frustration. He wanted to argue but could not think of a single rebuttal, so he could only crouch off to the side and sulk.

Angel covered his mouth and laughed. When Disio glared at him, he rolled his amber eyes and patted Disio on the shoulder.

"Brother, don’t lose heart. There’s still the Fire Spirit, isn’t there?"

Disio’s eyes lit up.

That was right! If the Wood Spirit would not work, he could find the Fire Spirit instead! As long as he earned the Fire Spirit’s recognition, he could advance all at once just like Sperien.

Meeting his hopeful, starry-eyed gaze, Shu Li wondered whether he should tell him that he had searched through numerous ancient texts before finding even the slightest clue about the Fire Spirit.

At their present age and rank, there was no chance they could leave the Faerie Forest and travel to the distant Izerafa Empire.

By the time they met the requirements to leave the forest and gain experience on the continent, they would probably already have advanced to the rank of Archmage.

"Elemental Spirits are difficult to summon," the knowledgeable Kumandi explained mercilessly. "They disappeared without a trace for ten thousand years after the War of the Gods. Finding them will not be easy."

Disio had only just recovered his spirits, but Kumandi’s words struck him down again. He drooped like a deflated ball.

Kumandi said gravely, "We are highly gifted and powerful because we have received the Light God’s favor, but we must not grow impatient or aim beyond our present reach. What you need most right now is to build a solid foundation and improve your mastery of magic. Every Fairy will encounter opportunities meant for them. There is no need to rush."

Disio listened attentively. Gradually, he straightened his back, raised his head, and clenched his fist. "I’ll advance through my own hard work!"

"Me too!" Not to be outdone, Budno raised his hand.

"So will we!" the other Fairy cubs cried in unison.

Shu Li looked at their determined little faces and raised his hand as well. "I may have taken a shortcut, but I won’t slack off."

His current abilities did not match his rank. He needed to learn more magical skills before he could display the true strength of a Senior Mage.

After the discussion, all their afternoon classes were canceled, and the Fairy cubs happily went off to play.

There were still two hours until dinner. Shu Li planned to visit the mission hall in the commercial district and turn in his mission first. The other Fairy cubs said they would go with him to hand in theirs.

Their class had begun accepting missions earlier than any previous group of Fairy cubs.

Five years ago, Shu Li and his three best friends had accompanied some adult Fairies on a mission. Despite encountering several difficulties, they had returned with considerable gains. Inspired by them, the other Fairy cubs had followed their example.

For a time, the little cubs had practically monopolized every gathering mission offered by the mission hall.

The adult Fairies were delighted. They happily took the little cubs into the forest to experience life in the wild—and whenever the cubs became frightened, the adults could scoop them up and cuddle and ruffle them to their hearts’ content.

During that period, the adult Fairies had wrecked more than a few friendships while competing to recruit the little cubs into their teams.

Now that the Fairy cubs had grown older, they could accept some simple missions on their own.

Kumandi and his classmates also needed to turn in their missions.

They rarely had the opportunity to leave the divine tree and train in the forest, so naturally they could not let it go to waste. Completing missions also earned them money.

And so the large group of Fairy students flew grandly toward the mission hall in the commercial district.

The adult Fairies entering and leaving the hall greeted them warmly. Some of the more playful ones even began recruiting teammates on the spot, inviting the Little Fairies to join them on missions.

Any interested Little Fairies immediately followed them over to discuss the details.

Shu Li approached the counter for completed missions and took a large cloth sack from his storage ring. It was filled with freshly gathered thunderflame grass. When the adult Fairy responsible for receiving mission materials saw the heavy sack, he exclaimed in surprise, "You’ve far exceeded the mission quota this time!"

A sack that large had to contain at least two hundred thunderflame plants.

Shu Li grinned. "Thank you!"

Being able to grow larger certainly made everything more convenient.

No wonder the first generation of Fairies had begged the Light God so fervently to grant them the ability to enlarge their bodies.

After turning in the mission, Shu Li happily accepted more than three hundred gold coins, then began searching the mission board for a new gathering assignment.

"Sperien, should we accept this mission together?" Angel asked, pointing at the twentieth mission on the board.

"Gather underwater ore from Lake Pogaman?" Shu Li read aloud.

Lake Pogaman was the largest lake in the Faerie Forest. It was rich in resources and contained many kinds of underwater ore, but its high water level made gathering them difficult.

That would not pose a problem for the Little Fairies.

They had water-repelling magic pearls gifted to them by the Mermaid King!

"We’ll take it! We have to!" When Shu Li saw that the reward was one thousand gold coins for every ten pieces of ore, his eyes gleamed, and he accepted without hesitation.

The adult Fairy who had posted the mission smiled at him. "There’s a limit on the number of participants."

"How many people?" Shu Li asked.

The adult Fairy raised one hand. "Five."

Shu Li turned to the other Fairy cubs. "Who wants to come?"

The Fairy cubs looked at one another, then withdrew one after another.

Shu Li, Disio, Angel, and Budno were practically inseparable and often went on missions together. The other Fairy cubs tactfully yielded the places to them, and Lois took the final spot.

After handing in his mission, Kumandi looked toward the chattering Fairy cubs huddled together.

As though sensing his gaze, Shu Li looked up and met his eyes, then walked over. "Kumandi, we’ve accepted a mission to gather ore from Lake Pogaman. Is there anything we should watch out for?"

Kumandi quickly scanned the mission description on the board, then lowered his head and told him, "The required ore is distributed throughout the shallows, so it should be relatively easy to gather. Do not enter the deep water. Many high-ranking magical beasts are hidden at the bottom of the lake."

The magical beasts beneath the lake were far less good-tempered than those on land. Once enraged, they would not even show Fairies any consideration.

"All right." Shu Li nodded obediently.

"There’s a type of white mushroom that grows near the lake. It’s thick and plump, with a delicious flavor and plenty of nutrients. You can gather some to eat." Kumandi took a sample from his storage pouch and handed it to Shu Li.

Shu Li accepted it and examined it from every angle before indicating that he had memorized its appearance.

The Fairy diet included mushrooms, so naturally he would not pass up a delicious variety.

Unfortunately, most mushrooms were poisonous. Without an adult Fairy to guide them in the wild, they would never dare pick them carelessly.

Once they had accepted their missions, the Little Fairies left the mission hall one after another and headed for the commercial street, where they split up.

Shu Li went to a shop that sold medicinal herbs.

The Dark Elf Efit had given him a list containing a full twenty herbs. He could not possibly search the forest for every single one, so of course he would first buy whatever he could from the herb shop, then gather the rest in the forest.

He was lucky enough to purchase fifteen of them. He could gather the remaining five while carrying out his mission.

By the time he finished his errands, it was nearly dinnertime. The Fairy cubs hurried to the school cafeteria.

After eating their fill, Shu Li leisurely flew home.

No one had lived there for half a month, and dust had accumulated throughout the house.

Unhurried, he took out his magic staff and skillfully used wind magic to clear it away. Before long, the entire house was spotless, and the air smelled fresh.

Shu Li took his bedding from the cabinet and spread it neatly over the bed, then added a plump pillow and a soft quilt.

The freshly made bed looked extremely inviting. Unfortunately, it was not bedtime yet, so he could not lie down for the moment.

Regretfully, Shu Li went to the bathroom to bathe. After changing into loose pajamas, he sat at his desk and studied by the light of a magic stone lamp.

He had missed half a month of lessons. A single afternoon was not enough to catch up.

Patting his cheeks, he forced himself to concentrate on studying the crude Dwarven language.

Yes, crude.

Compared with beautiful Elven, Dwarven was extremely blunt. It did not even have polite forms of address and was peppered with rather uncivilized vocabulary. The two languages could not have been more different.

Perhaps it had something to do with the temperament of the race.

Dwarves had fiery tempers and shouted whenever something displeased them. Throwing a few curses into the mix probably helped them vent their anger, which was why their language sounded so crude.

After studying four or five languages over the past ten years, Shu Li had discovered that Elven was the hardest of them all.

So after transmigrating to this other world, the first language he had learned had been set to hell-level difficulty. No wonder it had been such a struggle!

Shu Li sighed and diligently copied his notes.

Three hours later, he finished studying and took out his notebook to write in his diary, recording the day’s events in detail.

Once he finished, he tidied everything away, flung himself onto the soft bed, and rolled around contentedly. Then he sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state.

Life in the Elven Kingdom was so busy that he rarely had time to recall his family’s faces.

To keep himself from forgetting them, he had spent the past ten years meditating and replaying his memories over and over like movies. He had watched them countless times.

Each time he revisited them, he discovered little details he had overlooked in the past.

For example, when he was five or six, his mother had bought him a small cake. He went to the bathroom, and when he returned, he discovered that a corner of it was missing. Puzzled, he questioned his three brothers, demanding to know who had stolen a bite of his cake.

All three had shaken their heads solemnly and denied everything.

Unable to catch the thief, he had been forced to let the matter go with tears in his eyes.

Now, as he revisited the scene in meditation, he noticed that his third brother had a tiny smear of cream at the corner of his mouth. It was nearly impossible to spot unless he looked closely.

Hmph. Case solved! His third brother had been the thief!

Once Shu Li returned, he would definitely settle the score with him. How dare his third brother deceive such a pure and innocent child for so many years?

When the meditation ended, Shu Li reluctantly left his private "cinema." His awareness returned, and he opened his eyes. Relaxing, he lay flat, pulled the quilt over himself, and yawned.

Good night, Dad and Mom.

Good night, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother.

Tomorrow, they would welcome the Fairy cubs emerging from the Fairy Nursery!

Shu Li could hardly wait.

He wondered whether those eight little ones would react as he once had when they saw thousands upon thousands of Fairies gathered outside the Fairy Nursery and feel their fear of dense clusters flare up.

Come to think of it, he seemed to have forgotten to mention during the discussion that the mother tree had produced a new fruit and that the Elves would soon welcome an Elven cub.

He had instinctively skipped over that part because he wanted to conceal the fact that he had purified the mother tree.

Shu Li rolled over, nuzzled into his quilt, and closed his eyes.

Forget it. He would sleep for now. Tomorrow would not be too late.