The seeds left the sparrow’s beak but did not fall to the ground. Instead, they hovered in midair.
The blond man moved his fingers slightly. Four droplets leaped from the lake, floated upward, and swiftly “washed” the seeds before falling back.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!” the sparrow protested in a shrill voice.
When it had pecked the seeds into its mouth, it had deliberately wrapped them in isolation magic so they never touched its saliva. They had been perfectly clean and hygienic, yet the king still acted disgusted.
Too much!
The blond man opened his hand. The sesame-sized seeds landed in his palm like four tiny red moles.
The sparrow stared greedily at the four little red dots in his hand.
These were rare red crystal flower seeds. Not only could they neutralize all poisons, but they could also raise one’s magical level.
As an eighth-level magical beast, it had been stuck at a bottleneck for a hundred years. If it swallowed all four red crystal flower seeds, advancing to the ninth level would be within reach.
Red crystal flowers grew only inside the Fairy Nursery in the Faerie Forest. They bloomed once every ten years, and their seeds ripened when the Little Fairies were born.
People had once tried planting red crystal flower seeds in soil outside the Fairy Nursery, but not a single one had sprouted. They either rotted or were stolen and eaten by low-level creatures in the soil.
Why couldn’t red crystal flowers be grown elsewhere?
It was said they lacked the Light God’s blessing.
While the Little Fairies were being nurtured in their flower cradles, the Elves caring for them expended vast amounts of magic every day to chant ancient hymns praising the Light God.
The Light God heard the hymns and blessed the Little Fairies. Light poured through the skylight and shone upon every living thing in the Fairy Nursery. Only by sharing in the Little Fairies’ blessing could the red crystal flowers bloom and bear fruit.
Naturally, red crystal flowers transplanted outside without the Light God’s blessing would wither.
In short, every plant seed from the Fairy Nursery in the Faerie Forest was a priceless treasure one could only encounter through extraordinary luck.
Today, it had helped the Elven King deliver a letter to a Fairy cub and had been fortunate enough to receive four red crystal flower seeds.
When the Fairy cub placed those brilliant red seeds on the windowsill, it had nearly swallowed them all in one bite.
Fortunately, what remained of its reason had suppressed its desire, and it brought the seeds to the Elven King first.
It knew that the king standing by the lake must have watched through a water mirror as it personally delivered the letter into the cub’s hands.
That was why the king had asked it for the “return gift” as soon as the delivery was complete.
Perched on the Elven King’s fingertip, the sparrow could barely contain itself. Its beady eyes darted around slyly as it hoped the Elven King would bestow the seeds upon it as a reward.
The Elven King closed his fingers around the seeds.
The sparrow chirped in devastation and collapsed into a dejected ball of feathers.
The Elven King placed the feather ball on a nearby branch and tapped its head with an amused smile. “I have a use for these seeds. I can’t give them to you.”
“Chirp, chirp!” The sparrow flapped its wings unwillingly.
Ignoring it, the Elven King placed the seeds inside a small transparent bottle, then stored the bottle in his spatial storage ring.
The sparrow was utterly crushed. It sprawled across the branch like a flattened bird pancake.
Just as it was drowning in despair, it suddenly smelled something delicious. The little tuft of feathers on its head sprang upright, and its body instantly transformed from a pancake back into a ball.
“Chirp?”
A smooth blue orb floated in midair. Its pupils abruptly widened.
A magical beast crystal!
The sparrow grew wildly excited. It spread its wings and hopped back and forth along the branch, chirping insistently at the Elven King.
Was that its reward? Was that its reward?
The Elf nodded, his loose golden hair rippling gently behind him. “A ninth-level magical beast crystal. Do you want it?”
“Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!”
Yes, yes, yes, yes!
Only a stupid bird would refuse!
Anything the Elven King offered was certain to be of the highest quality.
The sparrow snatched the crystal into its beak, afraid the Elven King might change his mind if it hesitated. It shot upward with a flap of its wings, transforming halfway into a gigantic falcon. Like a bolt of lightning, it streaked into the sky and vanished in an instant.
The Elven King glanced in the direction the falcon had flown, the corners of his lips lifting slightly, then turned away from the lakeside.
Clop, clop, clop—
The crisp sound of hooves approached from the distance. Before long, a pure white unicorn emerged from the forest. The spiral horn on its forehead sparkled beneath the sunlight. Its flowing mane and tail drifted elegantly, and its long, powerful legs carried it gracefully toward the Elven King before it lowered its head obediently.
The Elf stroked the unicorn and swung onto its back. His silken golden hair and exquisite cloak traced a beautiful arc through the air.
The unicorn raised its front hooves and stepped lightly forward, carrying the handsome Elven King deep into the dense forest.
At regular intervals, the Elves took turns patrolling the Faerie Forest, driving away poachers and members of other races who had wandered inside by mistake.
There was no rigid hierarchy among Elves. Even Freyus, exalted as the Elven King, had to take part in patrol duty.
Inside the bright, spotless classroom, twenty-five Fairy cubs sat neatly in rows and listened attentively to Aisha.
“Starting today, your formal education begins. In addition to Siet and me, other teachers will also instruct you.”
“You will attend lessons for five days and rest for two.”
“Every morning, Siv will wake you in my place.”
Aisha raised her hand and pointed toward the window. Perched outside was a golden bird much larger than the Fairy cubs.
It was Siv, a species of yellow songbird found only in the Faerie Forest. Blessed with a clear, resonant voice, it was an intelligent seventh-level magical beast.
The cubs had noticed the bird outside long ago and kept glancing at it.
After learning that it would replace Aisha in waking them, one cub in the front row asked quietly, “Does it eat Fairies?”
“No.” Aisha reached out and stroked the cub’s fine, soft hair. “Siv is our friend. It only eats grain and harmful insects, not Fairies.”
“Oh.” The cub nodded, relieved.
Shu Li sat in the back row and drew a cartoon bird in his notebook with his quill. Beside it, he added a note:
Siv—alarm clock.
The Faerie Forest might not have electronic alarm clocks, but it did have biological ones.
Not bad.
They had solved one bird’s employment problem.
But—
Why did a bird need a job?
Shu Li set down his quill, propped his cheek in one hand, and stared thoughtfully at the dozing yellow bird outside.
Aisha continued explaining the details of attending school in the future. They could not arrive late, leave early, or fail to complete the assignments given by their various teachers on time.
Fairy cubs were different from human children. Their minds awakened early, and they grew quickly. By the age of three, a cub could fluently understand, speak, and write Elven, play the harp, sing hymns, and identify more than a hundred medicinal herbs.
As a result, the older Fairies had gradually become stricter in educating their cubs. Anyone who failed to complete the school’s assignments would receive an appropriate punishment.
The cubs listened in stunned confusion.
The little fatty Budeno raised his hand. “W-what kind of punishment? Will we not be allowed to eat?”
Please, anything but that!
Otherwise, he would... would... go hungry!
Budeno: o(┳_┳
He did not dare imagine how pitiful he would become without sweet nectar and fresh, tender fruit.
Seeing that the little fatty’s tears were about to spill, Aisha hurriedly reassured him, “You will not be denied food.”
“Oh—” Budeno’s tears instantly retreated.
No food punishment? Then everything was fine!
Aisha could not help laughing.
What a greedy little fellow.
“Aisha, you still haven’t told us what the punishments are,” Redhead Disio said.
“Every teacher uses different punishments. For example, Siet usually assigns copying exercises or poetry memorization.” Aisha blinked. “As for me, I’ll have you scrub the floors.”
Whitehead Angel raised his hand as well. “I-I don’t know how to scrub floors.”
Aisha smiled. “Then you will learn.”
In the days ahead, she would teach the cubs how to perform all kinds of work.
The Fairy Clan did not support idle hands. Every cub had to learn to rely on himself.
Shu Li wrote down Aisha’s words and reminded himself that he had to study hard, improve every day, and avoid making mistakes.
There were no loving relatives here to indulge and tolerate him. The adult Fairies treated every cub equally and would not favor anyone.
If a cub made a mistake, he had to bear the consequences himself.
After finishing his notes, Shu Li used his quill to draw three dots in an empty corner of the page.
Heroes in anime who crossed into other worlds always had overwhelming combat power, heaven-defying luck, endless romantic admirers, and absurdly powerful cheats. Why did he have nothing at all? He could not even understand the language and had to start learning from scratch.
His life was far too hard!
By the time the first lesson ended, Shu Li had filled five pages with notes.
At last, it was break time. He spread his wings and flew toward the lectern, took a letter from his belt pouch, and looked pleadingly at Aisha.
“Help... help me look.”
He was currently illiterate and could not read Elven script.
Aisha accepted the letter suspiciously. When she saw the golden wax seal on the flap, she gasped in astonishment.
“This is... a letter from the Elven King!”
“What?” Shu Li widened his eyes blankly.
Had Aisha just said “Elven King”? Had he misheard her?
“You heard correctly. This really is a letter from the Elven King.” Seeing his confusion, Aisha pointed to the wax seal. “This seal belongs exclusively to the Elven King.”
After receiving confirmation, Shu Li was utterly baffled. “Why?”
Why had the Elven King sent a fat sparrow to deliver him a letter so early in the morning?
Aisha was curious as well.
Never before had a Fairy cub who had only just left the Fairy Nursery received a letter from the Elven King.
Sperien truly was unique.
“Would you like me to open it for you?” she asked gently.
“Mm-hm.” Shu Li nodded [N O V E L I G H T] repeatedly.
When the other cubs learned that Sperien had received a letter from the Elven King, they all crowded around curiously.
Without damaging the wax seal, Aisha carefully opened the envelope and removed a card and an exquisite ring.
Upon seeing the beautiful Elven script on the card, even Aisha, who had served as a Fairy godmother for many years, could not help exclaiming, “Oh, Light God above, you truly are a fortunate Little Fairy.”
“What?” Shu Li scratched his ears anxiously. What exactly was written on the card that had made Aisha so excited?
Pointing to the Elven writing on the card, Aisha slowly read it aloud to him.
“Sperien, my adorable little disciple, happy hundredth day. May the Light God be with you!
—Freyus Estel.”
Afraid the little fellow would not understand, Aisha repeated it three times.
Shu Li stared blankly at the sprawling script that resembled a doctor’s handwriting on a medical chart. Countless question marks seemed to sprout above his head.
Pointing to the tip of his own nose, he asked Aisha, “Me, disciple?”
He had only met the Elven King once. How had they suddenly become master and disciple?
Was there some kind of mistake?
Also, all twenty-five Fairy cubs had been born on the same day and had now reached one hundred days old together. Why had the Elven King given a present only to him?
Singling him out like this did not seem good.
He might be ostracized.
Shu Li quickly looked around at the other Fairy cubs. Every one of them had clear, innocent eyes. Aside from curiosity and envy, there was not the slightest trace of jealousy. Even Budeno, who contradicted him every day, showed no signs of resentment. His eyes, nearly squeezed shut by his plump cheeks, sparkled brightly.
Aisha gazed emotionally at the bewildered cub and lightly touched the flower crown on his head. Speaking slowly, she explained, “In the past ten thousand years, only three people on the entire continent have received the Elven King’s blessing: Danlov, the present Saint Mage; Ilio, the Elven warrior hailed as the God of War; and Harmon, the young king of the Dragon Clan. All three were once outstanding disciples of the king. After enduring rigorous Trials, they successfully completed their training and went on to accomplish great things. You are the fourth person to receive the king’s blessing.”
Shu Li listened carefully to the long series of sentences and struggled to understand them.
In other words, anyone who received the Elven King’s blessing was effectively his disciple. Once they mastered their abilities, they could complete their apprenticeship.
The Elven King had called him “my little disciple.” Did that mean he could one day become an important figure like those three senior disciples before him?
A hero!
He really was the chosen hero!
Shu Li clenched his fists in excitement.
As expected, the God of Transmigration had not abandoned him. On his very first day, he had been given an incredibly powerful cheat!
After being a hopelessly unlucky player so many times, he had finally struck the jackpot!
Not only had he received the Elven King’s blessing, but now he had also received a gift from him.
Speaking of the gift, Shu Li pinched the exquisite ring between his fingers, filled with suspicion.
Rings carried profound significance. Could people simply give them away casually in another world?
Seeing the little cub staring blankly at the ring, Aisha smiled.
“This is a spatial storage ring.”
“A spatial... storage ring?”
Shu Li’s eyes widened in shock.
Author’s Note:
Shushu: Waaah! I love the Elven King so much! He’s such a wonderful person!