Something's amiss. Each time I close my eyes and fall asleep. There's this feeling like I've forgotten something.
I would always dream about a vast meadow. The beautiful touch of green and the colorful touch of wildflowers.
The dream was so wonderful that I wanted to stay there. Then, magical creatures would come and greet me as they played with me on the grassy fields.
Each step I take feels like I'm floating. Everything is warm and bright. Having such dream is wonderful. It makes me feel happy each time I wake myself up.
I wake up before the sun rises. It is to finish everything that I needed to do before my master wakes up.
Doing chores is fun. You could say that I love doing them.
After doing all the chores it's my time to practice magic. Yesterday, I attended the enrollment exam for new students in the academy that my master graduated from.
After the last exam where I had to hit the target marks. The examiner told me to proceed to the enlistment room because I passed all the exams.
I really thought that it would be difficult but I did just fine.
Although, the line was the thing that made the exam time-consuming. The thing that bothers me was the Hero.
He wanted to be friends with me. He looked so gallant and was exceptionally good-looking. It made me happy that an important figure befriended me.
While I was practicing my control of mana. I realized that my master only taught me how to manipulate water. He never taught me any spells like the ones they used during the exam.
All he ever did was guide me and let me be the one to figure things out on my own. Sometimes it's difficult to achieve the outcome he expects from me.
That's the challenging part and I sometimes get frustrated when I fail to understand his teaching. I would try to comprehend the idea but there are things that I can't do.
Being his student really is difficult. All these expectations from other people who know him and my expectations from myself would sometimes drown me.
I know that I'm not that gifted with magic and all my scores are just above average. It was not exceptional. Maybe because he was the one who taught me.
If he were to teach someone other than me. Would they have achieve great results?
All this thinking and the only thing my master does is compliment me. I'm happy... Just to hear those praises... For that, I will try even harder!
...
With all the things that happened so far, I realized that I lacked offensive magic.
It seems like it was one of the requirements for students to comply. I was lucky that I had been taught how to control water and that my visualization was being polished daily. I successfully achieved the outcome I desired.
My mana was larger and denser than before. My usual training is getting easier the more I practice.
It's still fun seeing how I could control water. The solid shapes that I used to practice are now shaped like small animals. They hop around me as I drizzle bubbles making them look wonderful.
"Phew, I think that's enough practice... What are you doing there York?" I asked right after I saw him sniffing at the edge of the floating island.
He looked like he was observing the entire terrain. He turned around and followed me back to the house.
After waking Master Wilhelm up, I want to ask him to teach me offense magic. I've read about them in books but seeing the real thing is a whole different experience.
For some reason, I have been waiting for an extra hour. It seems like Master Wilhelm has yet to leave his bed yet. It was unusual but I have to wait for him.
Then, the door creaked open. "Good morning, Runa." He then gave out a heavy yawn.
"Are you okay, master?" I asked. It looks like he had slept late at night again.
"Yes, I was preparing for the things I need to finish some errands."
"Errands?"
"Yep, I have work to finish and I won't be around for a while. I think I'll have to depart by tomorrow."
"That's so sudden,"
"Well, I have to finish it before the classes begin. About three weeks before it officially starts so I have to hustle my preparations."
"Can I come with you?"
There was a long pause after my question. It seems like he had to think of it before giving an answer.
"Well... I think it'll be fine. This may serve as a good experience for you."
...
It was really too sudden. I found myself walking together with Master Wilhelm in a very old forest. It seems like we've gone too deep inside the forest that sunlight was not available.
"Where are we going, master?" I asked.
"Runa, have you heard about Guardian Beasts?"
"I don't think I have... But, I did hear about Guardian Spirits from Rachel. It was the sea serpent named Lagus."
"Really?"
"Yes, she told me you got your title after you defeated him."
"Well, half of it is true. Spirit Guardians or Spirit Beasts are common to each other. Adventurers call them spirits but they are labeled as beasts by magicians. At the end of the day, the majority decided to call them spirits instead of beasts."
There are creatures with high intelligence that have lived since time immemorial. There are four spirit guardians recorded in history. They are Malak, Welrok, Lagus, and Grama.
Each of them is living a passive life, observing other living creatures that are younger than them, and would shelter species in their territories. They have maintained the natural flow of nature and continue to do so even today.
"Grama the fire salamander lives on a large island near the kingdom of Bernin in the south. Welrok the earth tortoise resides inside the elven territory, Frol. Lagus the sea serpent is located in the vast ocean of Rowas, near the kingdom of Reolona. And Malak wind dragon has the most unexpected lair out of the rest located above the clouds."
"Are we going to a spirit guardian's lair?"
"Yes, specifically to Welrok's lair."
"Does that mean that we are inside the elven territory?"
"You got that right but we are only at the edge of their territory. I don't plan on sneaking inside their territory without notifying them."
The more we walked, the more I saw how old the forest was. Creatures are living peacefully no matter their shapes and sizes. Even creatures that I saw in books are appearing in the field of my vision.
"Master look! Isn't that a Fluff Bunny?!" I couldn't resist. My eyes are drawn to that fluffy-looking animal. They have dark brown eyes, long whiskers, soft fluffy fur, and chubby cheeks, and are about half a meter tall.
"Be careful Runa, they may appear to be cute but those bunnies can kill a normal person if caught off guard."
I could see why. Despite the fluffiness it shows, there are sharp claws hidden inside their fur. They are labeled as carnivorous in books since they eat smaller creatures. They are extremely quick like a flying arrow. Although, these creatures do not approach anyone bigger than them.
While I was admiring how cute it looked. I was surprised to see it getting hit by an arrow straight to the head. The arrow was long and with a speed like that it had pulled the Fluff Bunny hitting the nearby tree.
The horror I saw... It was pitiful. I gasped and covered my mouth because of the scene. Then an elf appeared and retrieved the arrow along with the Fluff Bunny. There was no rustling of leaves nor the sound of twigs cracking, He didn't make a sound while walking.
Master Wilhelm then approached the elf slowly. But with a single rustle, the elf quickly pointed his bow at us.
"There's no need to be alarmed! We come in peace!" Master Wilhelm assured him but his guard was still up and kept pointing his arrow, ready to shoot at any second.
After a few seconds, he whistled then a group of elves surrounded us with arrows aimed at us. It was a bit alarming, their presence was also overwhelming. Master Wilhelm pulled out a small wooden slate and showed it to the elves.
They began to converse in elvish language.
"What is your purpose for visiting our forest?" Asked by the leader. He had this feminine look with ash blonde hair but had a deep husky voice.
"My name is Wilhelm, and I want to ask for your permission to enter your territory with the purpose of visiting Welrok's lair."
"Why do you want to go there?" He was very suspicious of us. I could feel it.
"That I can not reveal." His gaze sharpens after hearing Master's reply.
"Humans are not allowed to enter our territory without telling us the reason for your visit!"
"As I have said. I can not tell you."
"Then you can not enter our territory!"
The leader of the elves sounded so offended that Master wanted to keep our purpose for visiting their territory.
"I do apologize but our purpose is to be kept a secret. However, I can assure you that we bring no harm. Could we not have an audience with one of your elders? Wasn't that the purpose of the token I gave you?"
My Master remained respectful with his tone. With the way he speaks the elf had to sigh and started looking at his comrades. They all nodded once then the leader handed the token back.
"I too would like to apologize for the way I spoke it was rude of me." He apologized and slightly lowered his head, showing his sincerity.
Since then, everything went smoothly. The leader of the elves we encountered told us that we will meet his superior, that's why we followed them. He confirmed that the slate Master Wilhelm possesses was personally made by the elder and was only known by few.
After that, he personally escorted us. We had an audience with their elder but it took us two days before reaching her. Staying inside the forest was a new experience for me.
Everything was worth the view. There are plants that glow during the night and some trees that have delicious fruits. Elves are all gentle creatures, I have learned that during our short time together. But... The fluff bunny... No! It's part of nature...
When I asked them why they killed the fluff bunny. They replied,
"To eat them of course."
"You mean... You guys eat meat?"
"Uh? Yeah?"
Elves also hunt animals inside their forest. I thought that they would only eat edible plants.
But, what bothered me was the strange-looking monster that we encountered. It had an ominous aura and it looked like a bunch of beasts that were fused together.
It was two meters tall and had sharp claws with excess teeth over its large mouth. One bite and it could munch a man in half. After that spotting, the elves began to kill it. They shot their arrows at its joints, disabling its movements. I could hear the creepy screech from it until it died.
"What was that?" I asked.
"A monster." Master Wilhelm told me.
"Monster? Is it different from beasts?"
"Yes Runa, far more worst than beasts."
Monsters have roamed the world ever since the creation of all beings but no one knew where they came from, they just pop up in the land and wreak havoc. It has an ugly feature that evolves according to its environment. They are natural-born predators that hunt every creature that they see. They are very ferocious in nature.
The first war against these monsters started when one of them gained intelligence and was labeled as the monster king. With his influence the unintelligent monsters began to attack together in groups, making it harder to kill them. Until the monster king had gathered an army large enough to cause a cataclysm.
The Gods and Goddesses that watch over the world could not stomach their creations being trampled down. Therefore, they granted mortals blessings that would protect them from monsters.
Each individual that were blessed by the gods received the title 'Heroes'. They fought with all their might to repel the evil monster from wiping out every race in the world. But, despite receiving such blessings, they still received severe damage in population. Almost sixty percent of the world's population was reduced because of these creatures.
"The Great Calamity, that's what they call it."
"Does that mean---"
"Yes, but it's still unsure. This time, we could expect to reduce the chances of them raising their numbers. Each kingdom has sent its troops to subjugate their lairs and they have summoned heroes to fasten the process."
Although, it hadn't been long since they received their blessings. You could say that all of them are still inexperienced. Training them first to ensure their survival is the wisest thing to do.
The deeper we get inside the forest, the fewer monsters we encounter. Little did I realize that we had reached their kingdom. It was gleaming with the sunny radiance and elegant creatures are to be seen.
They all coexist with one another. Respecting each life as valuable as the other. The elves on the other hand were very hospitable. Warm welcomes were given to us as if we were one of them.
As we walked inside their kingdom, almost all of their houses and were all natural. Like their houses, they live inside hollow spaces insid large trees, giant roots are their bridges by the river, and some houses built by dead trees.
It was completely different from humans. They live with nature... It was amazing.
We then headed to the elder. She was living close to a tree like wall. It was so huge that I couldn't see the end of it as its height passes through the white clouds in the sky.
It was pretty tiring, hiking our way to her. I was tired and was catching my breathe.
"Tired already?" Master Wilhelm asked.
"Y-yes... We've been walking straight up for a while now."
Master Wilhelm doesn't look like he was tired.
"Why don't you call out your summon? You can ride him from here after."
"Uhm, I think I can still keep up. We're already close to her house right?"
Then Sylios, the leader of the elven hunters that we encountered offered me a gourd with water inside it. Despite his snubbish looks and sharp gazes, he was pretty nice. Maybe because he's an elf? All of them were kind creatures so I guess that was the case.
Now that we were closer, the house that I thought was small turned out to be twice larger than the house I live in. It was created by the hardest wood ever to be found and has a dark-brown color.
"The elder is inside this room. I will inform her about you guys and in the meantime please wait here." Sylios told us.
I noticed that the pillars of the house still grow small branches of leaves indicating that it is still alive.
"Fascinating isn't it?" Master Wilhelm commented. "Despite being chopped off and made as a pillar, it is still alive and growing. This is one of the amazing things found in the elven territory. Almost every building here is alive."
...
Then, Sylios walked out the room and told us that their elder is waiting inside. After entering the room with two large doors, there was the scent of herbs and an elf brewing tea.
The elf inside the room had long longer ears than Sylios but had the same hair color. She was wearing a long, green linen dress. I expected an old-looking elf since they called her an elder. Never would I have expected that it looked so young and beautiful.
There was silence, then the sound of tea elegantly filling the cup.
"How have you been, dear child of magic?" She asked.
"I have been doing well, Lydia. How about you?" Master replied.
"I am well, as you can see." The table suddenly grew a moving tree branch and poured Master Wilhelm a cup of tea.
"I was told that you have some business in Welrok's lair. Mind telling me about it?" She asked.
"Welrok asked Lagus to tell me to come visit his lair. I think he wanted me to fix something."
"You have deepened your relationship with our guardian beast huh?"
Master Wilhelm laughed politely. "I don't think so, he's still shy about asking me directly. I was told that he didn't want to bother you since you've been dealing with a lot of work lately, that's why he reached me."
"Well yes, I have been busy. Meetings here, meetings there, and meetings everywhere. You are quite fortunate that I was free today. Oh, that reminds me. Why did you have to walk all the way here when you could just teleport inside the village?"
"I have to show my student around."
"You're not even old enough but you're already taking students. Quite unusual if you ask me."
Then, her eyes were focused on me. Her gaze, was as if she could see right through you. It was years worth of experience that she had developed insightful eyes.
"You... How much can you see?" She asked. I was confused about what she meant by that.
"Runa, Lydia was asking if you could sense her mana." Master Wilhelm told me. I don't know what they mean by that but I couldn't see or sense anything when I looked at her.
"She's still a seedling I presume. How long has she been learning magic?"
"About a couple of months. Not too bad, right?"
"Indeed."
"Going back to my purpose, I wanted to ask for your permission to explore the forest freely."
"Well, that I can permit but I want something out of this."
"What do you want in exchange?"
"I want you to teach the heroes that are gathered in Gressaia."
Master Wilhelm had already agreed to teach the heroes but the elder doesn't know about that yet.
"Sure." He replied instantly. "Should we make a contract to make it official?"
"Nah, there's no need for that. I trust you, dear child of magic." The elder told him having full trust that he would not back out on his word.
The elder gave us a pair of bracelets. They were made out of old vines with a stone attached.
"Do you want Sylios to keep guiding you?" She asked as we were about to leave the room.
"It would be too much of a trouble for Sylios and I'm still familiar with the forest so we'll manage." Master Wilhelm said as he waved the elder goodbye.
"Now then... Why don't we have a break for a while."
"Sure!"
Master and I headed south after a short break, enabling me to catch my breath. It seems like we'll have a long distance to walk but I look forward to it!