[Moontouched: Your vital essence has been touched and transformed by the moon. Affinity with all moon-related Daos augmented.]

Rydel was surprised that all his statistics have increased. However, it wasn’t worth it, he could have died and that’d been his true ending. He was an idiot.

He was preoccupied with his trait. It was a good thing, but it also showed him how near death he had truly been. Let it be his reminder.

At least he had asked his mother to not tell anyone about the transformation. She told him that it was their secret. He didn’t have much appetite, so he only ate a bit of dinner and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Thalia and Galather were sipping tea in the backyard. Rydel approached them.

“Thalia told me that you wanted to tell me something.” Galather stated.

Rydel looked at his mother, and seeing her nod, he gathered courage.

“I have formed a Daodrop.” Rydel said.

Rydel didn’t see the shock that he was expecting in Galather’s face. That man was too serious. If one day a fissure opened in front of him, and Mother Earth descended to tell him that he was the chosen one, he would probably just nod and follow her.

“Show me.” Galather asked.

“I can’t, I can only do it at night-time.” Rydel confessed.

“Then show me the Daodrops section of your system.” Galather said.

“You can do that? How?” Rydel asked.

“Just open your status, concentrate in the Daodrop section and imagine forwarding it to me.” Galather said.

He did just that and managed to send it after a couple of tries.

[Daodrops:

Dao of Moonlight (Early): Spirit +10, Perception +5]

“How did you manage to comprehend the Daodrop of the Dao of Moonlight?” Galather asked.

“My bedroom’s window and bed are collocated in a way that the moonlight hits me. I also have the habit to sit there and relax every night, me forming the Daodrop happened naturally.” Rydel responded.

Galather nodded. “You wanted me to bring him to the rest of Elders for directions?” Galather asked Thalia.

Seeing her agreeing, he just started walking and went ahead. Soon, you could hear the clicking of the cane on the ground.

‘The old fart sure can be fast when he wants.’ Rydel thought while watching Galather in the distance.

“What are you waiting for? Chop-chop, don’t let him wait for you, little firefly.” Thalia admonished him. He raced behind Galather to follow his steps.

“You are not an animal to be seen running. It does not matter the situation, always maintaining your poise is key for others to take you seriously.” Galather naturally explained while walking.

Rydel took the advice and tried it. He had the grace of a drunken sailor. Rydel could swear that he saw the hint of a smile in Galather for an instant, he truly had to be exhausted.

They went to the north of the village. It is a place that he hasn’t visited before, as there wasn't much to see. The houses weren’t any different than back home, if he wasn’t told that it was here that the Elders lived, he’d have never guessed. Soon, he was led to a little private garden where four old-looking elves were sitting and chatting.

“Galath, did you come to brag about some of your grandsons? I am telling you that none can surpass my little petal. You are just asking to be humiliated.” One of the elders greeted him with a competitive spirit.

Galather ignored his antics and took one of the empty seats. Rydel went next to him and stood there without knowing what to do. A grandma-looking elf waved at him and a leafy plant grew from the ground, Rydel took the hint and sat down. Then, she moved a glass of milk next to her along with some cookies that floated in front of him.

“How did you make them float?” Rydel accepted the snack and nibbled it. He still hasn’t made any progress. He tried asking his mother when he was younger and she said that he was too impatient, only grown-ups could do it.

“You need to control your spiritual energy with finesse and gently elevate them. You will be able to do it in the future.” The grandma smiled.

“What did you bring the kid over Galath? The one that loves to boast about his granddaughter is Kiiri.” A peaceful-looking elf said.

“It’s not boasting when you are stating facts.” Kiirion replied. He looked very pleased with himself.

“Rydel’s talent is not too shabby. He has formed his first Daodrop at the age of 5.” Galather replied.

The rest of the Elders had shocked faces. Rydel saw that and looked extremely pleased. ‘That’s it, that’s the reaction I was looking for.’

“Are you sure Galath? That’d be incredible news if it was true.” A one-legged Elf said.

“He has never lied to us, Aubron.” The peaceful-looking elf said.

Galather looked at Rydel. He immediately showed them his system screen.

“Sigh, young people these days sure had it easy. In my days, you had to fight to the death to even have a chance to form a Daodrop. Fighting for your life in the more dangerous areas of the forest was an everyday thing too. Sigh, if I only had one century less I would still be there going against ferocious…” Aubron started to murmur. Everyone methodically rolled their eyes and ignored him.

“I am guessing that your parents told you to come here for our guidance.” The grandma asked Rydel. He nodded.

“I am Roshia, sweetheart, but everyone calls me Grandma.” Roshia said with a gentle smile. Rydel was already feeling comfortable around them, so didn’t reject her.

“Grandma, what do you recommend for me to do?” Rydel asked.

“That depends on your wishes, what do you dream to do in the future?” Roshia asked.

“Explore. I want to see different places, go all over the world, meet new and different people.” Rydel said without hesitation. “I want to reach the stars.” He added as an afterthought.

“Why do you want to leave the forest? It’s very dangerous out there. It’s better if you just stay here.” The peaceful-looking elf now had a displeased expression.

“You can’t impose your views on the little one, Vulas.” Roshia glared at him. “Besides, it’s not like he will try to leave anytime soon. He can try exploring a little bit when he is an adult. In 50 years or so.”

“We are digressing. Brat, if you want to remotely achieve your dream, you have to become someone strong. Strong enough that none will want to mess with you.” Kiirion said.

“There is always a higher heaven. The path to power is never-ending.” Galather stated. “Knowing when to take risks is also a virtue. None has ascended to power without sacrificing themselves.”

“Don’t tell him that Galath. What’s the problem with living a peaceful life without risks?” Roshia reproached him. Vulas nodded in agreement.

“Only fire can forge a weapon. It is the reason why you are still stuck at the bottleneck of D-grade.” Galather said. Roshia glared but didn’t rebuke him.

“Show us your stats to see what we are working with.” Galather asked. Rydel nodded.

Vitality: 1

Strength: 0.9

Dexterity: 1

Endurance: 1

Perception: 16

Spirit: 25

“Sigh, young people sure have it easy now. When I was your age I had to fight a leopard with half your stats…” Aubron continued to mumble at his own pace. He was successfully ignored again. Kiirion whistled.

“You are good, brat, maybe you are not a bad match for my little petal. You just need to grow a little up.” Kiirion said.

“You will do well as a ranged fighter. We need to reinforce your physical attributes, or you will die if anyone so much as nears you. Roshia can tutor you in the use and control of spiritual energy. You still need to meditate in the Dao to keep your advantage.” Galather said. “I have high expectations of you for The Trial.”

“What exactly is The Trial? Even the system gave it a lot of importance.” Rydel finally asked something that has been bothering him for a long time.

The Elders looked at themselves. Aubron suddenly focused and put on a serious expression.

“The Trial is both an opportunity and the final barrier. Mother Earth doesn’t give her blessings to the unworthy. Every living being has to enter the First Trial when they have reached a mature enough age in regard to their races. For us elves, is 15 years old. What you encounter inside changes for every person. But you will be forced to show both your weakness and your strengths and surpass them. In the First Trial, you unlock your future path and your class. Thankfully, there isn't the possibility of death. Legends also said that if you do it well enough in the First Trial, Mother Earth herself will gift you what you need.” Aubron said.

“You have to take into consideration that The Trial doesn’t have an end, at least not that we know. It will just keep increasing in difficulty until you just can’t continue. That’s why training your willpower will be extremely important if you want to have a good performance.” Aubron continued. “You don’t have to worry about the time that you spend inside either. Even if you spent decades inside the First Trial, only one minute would have passed in the real world.”

“Real world?” Rydel asked.

“Yes, you will be transported to a different space. We don’t know if it’s another world, another dimension or it’s just a world that was exclusively created for your Trial. Mother Earth’s power is boundless and knows no limits, so we can assume anything.” Vulas responded this time.

It was a lot of information to process, so after some more advice, he asked the elders if he could retire. After receiving their permission, Galather accompanied him to his home.

Elven culture has changed him. He didn’t put importance on elder people in the past. Of course, he was respectful to them, but just because they were people like him, not specifically because they were elders. It’s not a bad trait to gain though, so long as he didn’t venerate them for no apparent reason.

There was also something that he had noticed. He had become more childish. He was a kid with the memories of a twenty-two years old and not the other way around.

He didn’t know if it was because his brain wasn't developed yet or if there was another reason. At least he still hadn’t become a hormonal teenager. Rydel sighed, life sure was complicated for a little elf like him.

At the very least he'd be given a training schedule by experienced elves. He shivered at the thought of the hell that Galather would enjoy putting him with the excuse of training.

He didn’t have any evidence, but he didn’t have any doubts either. Rydel tried to assure himself that Galather wouldn’t turn out to be any secret sadist, he was just strict.

‘I’m royally fucked, am I not?’