She closed her mouth tightly, trying to contain the shock after screaming the loudest she had ever screamed in her entire life.
'What exactly happened to make this place feel like something terrible happened while I was unconscious?' Elara observed her surroundings cautiously, fearing that someone might be hiding nearby.
After confirming the absence of anyone within her eyesight in the grassland, she breathed a small sigh of relief, still feeling a bit anxious after the mysterious phenomena.
'That's right, I almost forgot that I had just fallen from a mysterious chasm that appeared in a safe forest near the village!'
Remembering this, Elara raised her head to find the chasm that caused her to fall into this suspicious grassland.
!!
Her adorable round brown eyes shook violently as she saw a sight that almost made her scream hysterically, but she quickly covered her mouth with her tiny hands.
Elara gazed upon a sharply towering cliff, seemingly floating amidst the green plateau. The dangerous cliff merged with a highland that almost resembled a mountain, its summit obscured by thick clouds.
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!' Elara screamed inwardly.
'That cliff!! I fell from that high cliff??!!'
After falling from a perilous height, Elara was in a state of shock, causing her to collapse onto the grass, her body limp. Frantically, she began inspecting herself, checking for any injuries.
Supposedly, the fact that she was now still alive after falling from such a high place had to be questioned.
But now she's okay. Her body, which she thought would be pain to the point of breaking bones, didn't feel any pain.
"... Huh?" Elara once again frantically ran her hands over her body, ensuring that she wasn't mistaken in her inspection.
"I'm really not hurt at all?"
Elara couldn't believe it.
"Actually what happened today? ... Is something strange starting to grow inside my body?" Elara mumbled.
After calming her panic, Elara got back to her feet. She moved her legs and arms, confirming that everything was normal.
"Huff… Thank goodness…." Elara rubbed her chest, relieved.
Elara lifted her head, staring back at the high cliff she had come from before falling. Her gaze fixated on the rim of a towering cliff, curving downward in a manner reminiscent of an extreme slide she had encountered back on Earth.
An ordinary human wouldn't be expected to survive a fall from such a height. If by some chance they did survive, it would likely result in broken limbs.
However, contrary to these expectations, Elara found herself uninjured and able to move effortlessly, as if the fall had never occurred.
"Lucky huh?" Elara was silent, thinking about the words she had spoken to herself.
As her attention fixated on the cliff before her, a sudden wave of dizziness engulfed her.
"Ugh...?"
Elara recalled an absurd scene where she conversed with a tree branch to conjure water for herself and a boy named Kai, relieving their thirst.
She vividly remembered the taste of the refreshing water flowing down her throat, transporting her back to the moment as if she had just drunk it.
Yet, the ordinary taste caused her five-year-old body to lose consciousness, returning her to a ghostly state.
Flooded with memories from four years ago, urging her not to forget them again, they seemed to convey a message.
However, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotions and memories, Elara couldn't focus on their significance. She silently allowed these memories to imprint themselves in her mind, neither dismissing them nor deeming them hallucinations.
Closing her eyes, she sought to acclimate to the peculiar sensation pervading her body.
"Trees... Roots... How strange," Elara muttered, her words slipping out unconsciously.
Sorting through the memories that surfaced in her mind, Elara began to contemplate her absurd act of talking to a big tree.
It was a moment four years ago when she had surrendered to a situation where she felt utterly powerless due to pain coursing through her entire body, especially as she tried to help someone on the brink of death beside her.
In that moment, four years ago, she made a peculiar request to a strange tree—asking for water not just for herself but also for the young boy next to her.
Elara vividly recalled feeling completely helpless and resigned to her circumstances at that time. She harbored no hope whatsoever and regarded her words as mere ramblings, a way of speaking to herself in her perceived helplessness.
But who would have thought...
Her dimmed eyes widened as she witnessed the branches of the large tree move playfully right in front of her face, as if understanding, responding to Elara's whimsical words at that moment.
Unconsciously, Elara began to touch her tiny lips with her trembling fingers, recalling those moments vividly in her mind.
She still vividly remembered the sensation of water flowing from the tip of that peculiar tree branch. She drank it and felt remarkably refreshed, succumbing to drowsiness and falling into a deep sleep after ensuring that the boy named Kai, who was on the verge of death beside her, had also taken a sip of the water.
After a few minutes, her small lips moved slightly, emitting a sighing sound.
"Impossible..."
Elara pondered the strange events from 4 years ago and today, leading her to a bold realization.
"I might be one of the few individuals in this world with high compatibility across almost all six elemental attributes!" she exclaimed, remembering the peculiar creatures encountered in the colorful tunnel.
The kind treatment she received from a tree, a natural creature at that moment, was real proof that Elara might be one of the few lucky people born with a high affinity for nature. This made it possible for her to talk to natural creatures and made it easier for her when making contracts with medium to high-level spirits during the Spirits Contract Ceremony!
"Perhaps I possess the potential to become a Priest of Nature!"
Recalling the prerequisites for becoming a Priest of Nature, Elara remembered the necessity of forming a contract with a mid to high-level water spirit or an exceptionally rare light spirit.
"If someone manages to form a contract with this elusive light spirit, their position in the Church would be exceptionally bright! They could rise to become a High Priest, or even attain the esteemed rank of Pope!" Elara mused.
The Priest of Nature holds a revered status across the Okeanos continent, especially within the Church of the Four Elementals, dedicated to the worship of the Nature Goddess, Gaia.
Contemplating the possibility of being part of this esteemed order elevated Elara's sense of purpose beyond that of an ordinary citizen.
'Even if my dream of establishing a world-famous bakery falters, there's the potential for a new path as a priest,' Elara thought, nodding to herself.
"... But, do I really have such high compatibility with nature?"
It is absolutely impossible for a human being to be compatible with all six elemental spirits at once unless that human being is Queen Titaia, who is doubtful whether she is still categorized as human or not, considering she has the honorable title of being the Goddess' daughter.
However, rumors speak of several individuals treated kindly by these natural creatures and rare spirits. These mysterious figures are not only said to be strong but also excel at controlling spirits.
Elara recalled from historical records that these people were called Elemental Wings, pledging allegiance to Queen Titaia. They obey and carry out tasks exclusively for the Queen.
'Don't tell me...?'
Elara shook her head, choosing to focus on her surroundings.
She walked, deliberately ignoring suspicious marks suggesting a recent altercation. Instead, she observed thick, hard tree roots emerging from the ground, appearing slightly above the surface.
'I need to make sure once again if I can really talk to nature creatures or not!' thought Elara, nervous but filled with determination.
Summoning courage, Elara decided to bend down, extending her finger to tap the roots as if greeting them.
"Hello, um, if you can hear me, can you help me?"
Like when she asked the tree branch for water before, this time Elara attempted to seek help from the tree roots to climb the perilous cliff.
"..."
No response. The atmosphere remained calm, with only a faint breeze.
However, Elara, still touching the roots, sensed their subtle vibrations. It could be joy or irritation at the disturbance.
"... Gulp..." Elara swallowed nervously, mustering the courage to address the roots once more.
"Can you please help me get up there?" She pointed toward a high cliff.
In response, the roots she touched began to move slowly, seemingly attempting to emerge from the ground.
'I can communicate with beings of nature!' she exclaimed joyfully.
"...!"
Initially pleased, Elara's expression quickly shifted from joy to confusion, then panic.
The problem wasn't just the roots she touched responding. Every tree in the vicinity began to vibrate, causing the ground beneath Elara to shake violently!
Pale-faced, she took a few steps back but halted as a medium-sized tree root reached out, touching her back as if signaling her to stop retreating.
Elara spontaneously looked around and saw numerous tree roots already emerging from the ground, waving in the air as if dancing happily. Elara wouldn't be surprised if these trees started to uproot themselves and run like real living creatures.
"Uh, this isn't what I imagined... The scale is too big...!"