The next time I opened my eyes I had no clue how much time had passed.

The room within the tree had no windows, so I couldn’t even see if it was night or day outside. Judging by my lack of fatigue though, I must have rested for at least a full night. When I thought about it, I realized that my whole body actually felt remarkably refreshed.

My mind felt clearer, and my very heart seemed to be beating stronger.

Normally when I awoke in this body a strong sense of hunger would always be present. However, after I had drunk the dryad’s milk the previous night, no such hunger could be felt.

‘Is this an effect from their milk?’ I wondered, subconsciously licking my lips as I remembered the heavenly taste from last night.

I knew that having a baby’s body was to blame for this, but I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of how much I’ve been craving ‘food’.

In all honesty I couldn’t wait until I had grown some teeth, so that I could actually start eating real food.

Unfortunately, I knew that I needed the nutrients regardless of where they came from, and that nutrient deficiency in infants can lead to later problems.

Either way I would suck it up for now, no pun intended.

Picea seemed to have noticed me waking up, “Oh? Hungry again are we?” they asked with a gentle smile.

Truthfully, I still felt stuffed from my last meal. I was greedy though, so I meekly nodded my head and was treated to a second full course. Whatever that substance was, every fiber of my body was craving it.

After I had drunk my fill, I loudly belched and looked around sheepishly.

I spotted the sword I had acquired laying against the bed, and the room looked exactly the same as it had before. Putting this strange residence out of my mind, I knew that I had to find a way to return home.

I felt like a traitor to my new mother. The last time I had seen them we had been attacked, and I had no idea if they were even alive or not.

Instead of trying to find them however, I was being nursed by some plant-woman inside of a magical tree. This was hardly how a son should be acting.

I grimaced as I floated up from the bed, mentally commanding my sword to rise up next to me.

“I really do appreciate the hospitality, Picea. I’m sorry to cut my visit so short, but I really do need to find my way home. I’m worried about my mother, you see.” I explained, not trying to come across as rude.

This of course would have sounded more like incoherent babbling to an onlooker.

I was grateful for all of their help, but I knew that I couldn’t stay here any longer. Picea frowned when she heard this though.

“So soon? You’ve only just arrived a few days ago. Are you sure she’s even your real mother? In all this time, I haven’t even sensed her searching for you.” she said, an imperceptible glint in her eyes.

“What the hell are you talking about, woman? And what do you mean days? I’ve only been here for a single night.” I responded, my little eye twitching.

Picea chuckled, “Heavens no! You had completely exhausted your celestial energy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone sleep so deeply.”

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I didn’t know what this ‘Celestial Energy’ she was speaking of was, as I had never heard my mother mention anything similar. Speaking of that, my entire body did feel rather strange. As a matter of fact, my body even felt quite a bit larger than before.

Looking down, I confirmed my suspicion.

I seemed to have grown at least a foot taller since I had last slept!

“Can you please explain what’s going on? What is this celestial energy you spoke of, and why am I bigger than I was before I fell asleep?”

Picea lightly smiled in response to my question, “Although you are an elf, I do forget that you are so young. You have likely yet to learn about celestial energies, or even elven magic as a whole.” she said.

I nodded my head when I heard this, maybe I would finally get a chance to learn more about this strange power everyone wielded.

“Please fill me in! I would love to know more about magic.” I eagerly replied.

Picea said nothing though, and I watched with interest as an emerald light began to shine from her palms. I noted that this green energy thrummed with an intensity that put both my father and mother’s to shame.

“This is celestial energy. It comes from the aptly named, celestial core. You might be unaware, but all living beings on Amaranthine possess some degree of celestial energy.” she explained.

“I shared some of my own celestial energy with you earlier. To my surprise, you started to sprout up so fast!” they continued, their tone whimsical.

Now things were starting to make more sense, but I still had many questions.

“So is celestial energy how those other elves were attacking each other? How is that different from magic?” I asked.

Picea shook her head, “Celestial energy and magic can be used interchangeably. They are synonymous with each other.”

She continued, “Creatures who can learn to control their own celestial energy can create powerful attacks to cause harm to others, manipulate their surroundings, or even create life. Depending on the strength of one’s celestial core, the amount of energy they can release will vary greatly.”

Everything suddenly became much more clear to me. Evidently, this ‘celestial energy’ was the green light that everyone released whenever they used magic.

“So, celestial energy is like the fuel for magical spells and stuff. But that doesn’t explain why I don’t ever see any weird energy whenever I use my magic.” I said, trying to better understand my own powers.

“That is normally the case. You, however, are an enigma little one.” Picea said, causing me to tilt my head in confusion.

“I actually sense very little celestial energy coming from you. This is normally to be expected from a baby, but you seem to possess immense power that defies the very laws of magic itself.” she eventually finished.

As she said this she watched me closely, it was as if she was studying me.

‘Interesting.. my powers are a result of Celeste’s direct blessing, so they likely operate on a different set of rules entirely.’ I realized, not intending to share this tid-bit with the dryad.

“Wow, I must be pretty amazing!” I simply exclaimed with an innocent grin.

Picea let out a pearly laugh, smiling up at me as I floated in front of her in a boastful pose. It must have been quite the comical sight to see from a baby, or at least uncanny to say the least.

“You are indeed, little one!” Picea said with a gentle smile, reaching out to pinch my chubby cheeks.

I shook off her hand in annoyance, this dryad was really touchy!

Picea didn’t seem to care though, for she just continued her explanation, “The celestial energy of the world can actually be classified into several categories of what is called mana. These are namely described as Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire. There are of course many different variations of the three, but those are the main types of mana .”

She said all this while making elaborate gestures with her hands, almost as if she was teaching an elementary student.

Picea continued, “You elves largely use Emerald mana, with a few rare exceptions. This celestial energy has the highest affinity with the manipulation of the world, or the creation of life. This can range from the creation of vast forests, to magic that can destroy them.”

“Elves can use healing magic of the highest degree, but most choose to use their gifts for war. It’s probably been several centuries since you lot have created any techniques to actually enrich the world. Everytime I see an elf it's always some new violent technique they’re shooting at me.” she said, starting to ramble now.

I sighed as I shook my head with a wry smile, “Doesn’t this mean that the elves of this world are way too overpowered?”

Picea chuckled lightly, “The elves were given their Emerald mana from the Celestial Goddess herself. This is why Elven magic is so potent and powerful. With it they pushed all the other races like the dwarves and the beast-folk into unlivable mountains and deserts, and they convinced themselves that this was their god-given right.”

I saw that Picea was getting a fanatical look in their eyes, and it sent shivers down my spine.

“Even myself, as lowly as I am compared to the Goddess’ glory, come from the Elven kind. After all, I was born from the celestial energy released from one of the Elven saints.” she finished, leaving me to think for a long few seconds in silence.

I took a deep breath. This was quite the load of information to take in all at once. Realistically, it was a wonder they thought that a baby could understand all of this.

This was an amusing thought, but in truth it felt good that they treated me at my level of intelligence. It sucked pretending to be a normal baby. If I still had to pretend here I would likely not have learned half as much information.

Firstly, I remarked about the magic of this world. ‘Celestial Energy’ is essentially magic. It also looked like Celeste had branded herself front and center all over this world. Everyone uses celestial energy and worships the Celestial Goddess here.

I smirked as I thought back to the seemingly divine and perfect goddess I had met not so long ago. Her regal appearance and magnanimous acts made me think differently of them.

Who knew she had such a huge ego?

Picea was also saying something about other races living on Amaranthine beside the elves. I suppose this did make sense, it was an entire planet after all. I had just never seen anyone else other than an elf so far in my life, hopefully I would get the chance to at some point.

Putting that out of my mind, I focused on what was most important to me at that very moment. I needed to find my mother and get back home.

According to Picea, I was at least four hundred miles away from the nearest Elven settlement. To add to that, I didn’t even know if that was where my house was.

The best way to get home would be to get stronger. If I could somehow wield both the powers given to me by Celeste and Elven magic, I would be much better off.

“Picea, can you teach me how to use Elven magic?” I eventually asked her, my expression resolute.