Chapter 13: Meeting in the forest

The creature slowly came out of the darkness with its two large bright yellow eyes fixed on me. However, I quickly noticed that these two monstrous eyes were slowly shrinking. Not believing my eyes, the creature continued to walk out of the shadow.

After a few seconds, its entire body was visible in front of me. 

“A hamster?!?” I gasped in surprise while saying out loud the word on my mind. 

The animal in front of me with two shining eyes was a small white fur hamster with a little horn on its forehead. The creature that viciously pursued me was cute and not scary at all.

I didn't know what kind of creature it was, but I still breathed a sigh of relief nonetheless.

*Tchak*

An arrow suddenly crashed to the ground near my feet.

I jumped out of surprise while seeking the shooter.

It took me a few seconds to notice a man with a bow on a tree on my left side.

“Who are you?”

I retreated a few steps while raising my left hand toward this unknown assailant.

The man didn’t answer. Another voice came from my right instead. 

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

I turned my head and saw another man with a bow.

I finally realized that I was surrounded by a dozen men standing hidden behind the dense foliage of various trees.

I didn't notice any of them approaching. Their stealth abilities clearly weren't ordinary. I didn't know if their fighting strength was as impressive, but with so many of them, I clearly didn't have much chance to win.

I was confident in my evading skills if only a couple of arrows were shot but it was different with a dozen of them.

I raised my hands above my head in a sign of submission.

I was ready to use my strongest magic 'Water shield' to defend myself if they suddenly tried to shoot me despite my apparent surrender. This magic wasn’t an almighty barrier, but it would surely be enough to deal with normal arrows.

We stayed in this uncomfortable situation until a thin man finally left the shadow to approach me with his bow ready to shoot.

I looked at him in detail as soon as I could discern his face.

It was a woman.

She was really beautiful with her silver hair and green eyes but I didn’t pay it any mind as I was focused on her ears.

They were long and pointy.

It was my first time seeing an elf except for Aten, but there was no doubt. Her thin figure and her healthy pale skin along with her hair not hiding her ears gave her an attractiveness that few humans possessed.

I looked carefully at the other men and saw the same ears.

“Who are you?”

Her voice brought me back to reality.

It was a beautiful voice, almost melodious, but I didn’t miss the threat in it. If she didn’t like my answer, she would turn me into a porcupine.

I chased those useless worries from my head, took a deep breath to calm down and answered with a clear voice.

“My name is Sillath. I’m just a normal nine-year-old boy who is lost in this forest.”

I tried to look innocent by making my puppy’s eyes, but her glare became colder.

“Normal, huh? If you were normal, you wouldn’t be here alone, so far in our forest. Last chance, who are you and why are you here?”

I gulped down.

No more acting. 

“Well, I’m a mage. I was able to survive using magic, but I couldn't find a way out of this forest. I didn’t know it was yours either.”

“You entered the Great Forest of the West without knowing? Don’t take me for a fool!”

Her voice betrayed her anger, so I answered as fast as I could.

“It’s the truth, I didn’t know. I was kidnapped four years ago and finally escaped last week. I entered the forest so that nobody could track me down.”

I nervously waited for her answer.

Her face became gentler, but she didn’t put her bow down.

“How did you escape?”

I felt my body turning cold after her question.  

I didn't know if I should tell her the truth. It was clearly better if I lied, but I had the feeling that she would see through it.

I spent several seconds thinking before realizing that my silence was enough to betray my thoughts.

Therefore, I told her the truth.

“My kidnappers were an old man and a woman. They had an argument and killed each other when we stopped near your forest.”

Well, a better version of the truth at least.

I heard some whispers coming from the mouth of some men. I wasn’t sure that they bought it.

A heavy silence followed while I felt all the gazes on me.

The woman finally broke this unnatural quietness.

“We are in charge of the safety of our people in the Great Forest. This is our territory. Humans aren't allowed inside without any prior invitation. We don’t kill children, but you’re clearly hiding something.”

I felt my entire body tensing as I prepared for any sudden attack. I began to gather mana, but before I could do anything, she continued to speak.

“However, I can’t make a decision. I don’t have enough authority for that. You will come with us to meet our Queen. She will be the one to decide what we will do with you."

I relaxed a little knowing that they would not attack me immediately. However, after hearing about their Queen, I became nervous. I didn't like the idea of someone else choosing my fate.

I turned my head left and right to find a possible escape route, but the other elves weren't giving me any chance to run away. Five men were surrounding me while the others were further away and ready to shoot arrows at any moment. They were perfectly dispatched around me, forming a perfect net.

Without any other choice, I followed them deeper into the forest.

I sighed while looking at the cute little hamster who was staring at me with interest.

-------------------------------------------------------

I followed the elf woman inside the dense forest for several hours. She didn't seem to be bothered in the least by the uneven ground and the numerous obstacles along the way, but that wasn't my case.

I had trouble ignoring my tiredness and the pain in my legs to look for an opportunity to flee.

However, despite walking for so long, the formation trapping me didn't slacken in the least. Moreover, even if I succeeded in my escape with so many elves around, I still didn’t know how to leave the forest. Therefore, I had no other choice but to temporarily give up. My only hope was that the Queen wouldn't care about a little kid trespassing into her territory.

We finally stopped in a large clearing.

“You stay here. I will call our Queen.”

The woman didn’t leave me any chance to speak and quickly left with the little hamster following her.

One hour later, she came back with someone.

It was a tall and slim woman with mid-length chestnut hair highlighted by a large fallen leaf used just like an ornament. Even comparing her with the other elves, she was incredibly beautiful with her perfect white skin and her elegant face. Her small brown eyes watched me curiously and made it awkward to observe her any further.

However, I still noticed that her ears were shorter than the other elves. This was almost as surprising as her hair color as I thought that every elf had silver hair.

This elegant woman, who clearly stood out even among the other elves around her, entered the clearing with graceful movements. The little hamster was on her left shoulder. 

As soon as she got closer, the other elves bowed to her.

I also bowed.

I knew she was a Queen, but I also felt it.

This woman was far from being ordinary.

Her melodious voice finally echoed inside the clearing.

“Hello, I’m Hirillë Turaië. I am the Queen of the Great Forest of the West. Who are you, young child?”

She kindly smiled at me, but I didn’t dare to relax because I knew that my life was in this woman's hands.

“Hello, your Highness. My name is Sillath. I’m a human from the eastern part of the Eastern continent. I was abducted four years ago and was kept captive not too far from here. I only escaped a week ago after a fight between my captors. I entered this forest without knowing it was yours. I’m totally lost so if you tell me the direction, I will leave immediately.”

“I see…”

She was looking at me with interest. I saw her beautiful brown eyes shine a little.

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I was surprised by the sudden light but didn’t dare to move. When I carefully looked at her beautiful eyes, the light was already gone as if it was never there in the first place.

“You have a lot of mana inside you.”

I was surprised by her sentence.

She didn’t continue talking, so I understood she wanted an answer.

“I know your highness. In fact, I have some elf blood, explaining why I have more mana than other humans.”

A silence followed my sentence making me uncomfortable, especially when I saw her furrowing her thin brows

“Why are you lying to me?”

She didn’t answer immediately, but after her words, the atmosphere in the clearing suddenly became colder.

I stepped back when I saw the eyes of the little hamster on her left shoulder suddenly turning red. The strange creature showed its little teeth after she finished talking, making me nervous and vigilant.

“Eh? Lying? I’m not lying." I hurriedly answered. 

"I didn't make any mistake. I’m the leader of one of the three families ruling the elves and, just like the other high elves, I have the ability to sense souls. This includes sensing the mana capacity of this soul, but also the ability to recognize fellow elves even if they just have a drop of our blood in their veins. There is no doubt. You don't have any elf ancestor. Now the question is, did you know about it or not?”

I was at a loss for words after hearing her explanation.

Various confused thoughts crossed my mind. I hoped that my elf ancestor from my mother would plead in my favor, but it seemed that this plan backfired.

“I didn’t lie, my mother told me that.” I helplessly answered after a few seconds.

“Even if you had some Elven blood, that wouldn’t explain the amount of mana I’m sensing from you.”

"I don't know, is it that unusual?"

I didn't really understand why she was speaking about this. I just wanted to leave, nothing more. As a result, my tone was quite harsh and disrespectful, especially toward a Queen. However, before I could apologize, she answered my question like nothing ever happened.

“It is. The majority of our mana is produced by our soul. Elves have a soul producing more mana than humans in general and our body can handle naturally more mana without needing any training. However, the difference between the soul of a human and that of an elf isn't necessarily very important, especially because there are a lot of differences between the individuals of each species."

I understood what she was telling me. Elves have a stronger soul in general, but that didn't mean that the weakest elf had a stronger soul than every human. However, that didn't make any sense with what Gandalf told me. I couldn't help but interrupt her to ask a question.

"If the difference between our soul isn't too important then why does your affinity with mana is better?"

The furious glares coming from the other elves for interrupting their Queen made me regret asking this question, but Hirillë didn't seem to mind and answered with a voice as calm as before.

"No matter the strength of our soul, the affinity of our body and soul with the mana is better. When you suffer from mana exhaustion, generally it's not that your soul can no longer produce mana, but that your body has reached its limit by handling this mana. Our body can naturally handle more mana and we are much more sensitive than humans to the mana in nature, which greatly facilitates progress in our magic. Humans don't have such a good affinity with mana so they have no other choice but to regularly exhaust their mana when they are children. By doing this, the capacity of their body to handle the mana coming from their soul skyrocket."

I nodded after her explanation. Elves have a better talent for magic because their body can naturally handle more mana and because their perception of the mana is better. Humans don't have this talent so they are using hard work to make up for the difference.

The Queen left me a couple of seconds to digest the information before resuming her speech. I already knew why she explained that to me and what she wanted me to understand, but I didn't interrupt her this time.

"However, this advantage in affinity takes time to show. Young elves have a weak body just like any other children, so they can't really handle more mana than humans of the same age. The soul naturally restricts itself to adapt to the capacity of the body. After growing, our body grows stronger, making the difference bigger compared to Humans and, with a better sensitivity, our progress becomes easier."

After her long explanation, she smiled a little. However, her gaze became sharper as well.

"Do you understand why I'm telling you this?"

I nodded and answered her question in a low voice.

"At my age, there isn't much difference between the mana produced by an elf and a human. Our weak body naturally restricts the mana produced by our soul." I helplessly answered.

"Exactly. You look like just a human child, but if I concentrate on feeling your mana then I can sense that the mana coming from your soul is strong. In fact, it is too strong. Even with the natural restriction of your soul due to your young age, many elves don't have as much mana as you do."

The entire clearing was filled with whispers from the other elves. They all became agitated and stared at me suspiciously. I couldn’t help but be surprised by what she told me either.

Did it have something to do with the fact that I was reincarnated?

I didn’t know how to answer.

“A soul like this can't come from a human lineage, and even if it was the case, the mana from your soul is so strong that the poor affinity of a human body can't possibly handle it. Just like a small well can't contain an ocean without breaking."

She made a small pause before continuing.

"I really don't know what to do with you."

She made a troubled face.

"Human or not, this doesn't matter. I told you the truth, I want to leave this forest without causing any trouble. In fact, I'm quite in a hurry, so if you could show me the way, I would be grateful"

I was curious. I really wanted to know what was wrong with this body, but this wasn't a priority. I needed to leave this forest as soon as possible. Everything else was just unnecessary worry, for now anyway.

“I believe in your story, Sillath." She answered after several seconds of silent thinking.

A smile began to form on my face after her words, but her sentence wasn't over.

"However, I must investigate, it's my responsibility as a Queen. I would like for you to come with me to meet our ancestor. He will be able to tell us if you have evil intentions or not. This will reassure my comrades. I'm sorry but I can't completely trust you on your words alone."

Her sentence was just like she had poured cold water on my back. She waited for my answer, but seeing me without reaction, she made a sign to the nearby elves.

Two men approached me to take me with them. As soon as they began to approach, I took a step back unconsciously.

I just wanted to leave this forest quickly, I didn't have any time for that.

I gritted my teeth in frustration before making my decision.

The elf on my right put one hand on my shoulder. As soon as I felt his hand, I reacted by reflex.

I turned my body and caught his thumb with one hand before twisting his arm.

In a few seconds, the man was on the ground with his arm behind his back.

I heard the sound of arrows being shot but I was prepared and quickly rolled on the ground to avoid. Less than a second later, I heard the noise of three arrows crashing behind me.

"Don't hurt him!"

I nearly missed Hirillë's voice. I was too busy focusing on my current predicament to care about her words.

The elves were already coming to catch me.

I couldn’t defeat all of them, not with her around.

I looked at the Queen.

Her face was calm without any hint of nervousness or anger. However, I knew that I couldn't defeat her. It was almost an instinct, just like a rabbit knows that it mustn't get close to a wolf.

Hirillë wasn't making any movement for now, but the small hamster was already standing on its two back legs with its eyes glowing red.

It wasn’t cute anymore.

I avoided a few punches from an elf before gathering as much mana as I could under my feet. I avoided another arrow and started to run in the opposite direction of the Queen and her pet.

Six elves were in the way.

They pulled arrows aiming for my legs, but it was too late.

I already triggered my wind magic. I spent a lot of time thinking about ways to use my magic, especially the wind element which was known to be useless unless at a high level. A wind ball didn't have any usefulness in a fight or in any situation, but by using this magic with as much mana as I could under my feet, I was able to propel myself several feet high in the air. I already used it against Amanda.

This unconventional magic also helped me this time.

It was enough to avoid the arrows.

The elves didn't react fast enough. As soon as I touched the ground by rolling, I began to run away at full speed.

I ran as fast as I could inside the forest without turning my head behind me to look at my pursuers.