My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 81
#81
Elven Kingdom (1)
The dreamy atmosphere continued.
Cecily is surrounded by the falling fruits of the World Tree, entangled by countless wind spirits, and all kinds of brightly colored spirits.
All around her were the rushing wind, the twinkling lights, the shaking earth, and the rapidly growing buds.
There was an enormous natural force concentrated around that place, so the people who were close to her naturally had no choice but to retreat further.
Harris, who kept the distance like that, could tell.
Before I knew it, countless elves were surrounding the area and looking this way.
‘Well, I said that the High Elves’ eye opening ritual is not easy to see. They say it’s been a very long time since Cecily’s appearance this time.’
And as he felt the storm of natural force swirling in her direction, he suddenly realized one more thing.
‘what? Come to think of it, this isn’t the time to just sit back and watch, right?’
Harris concentrated his mind and took a deep breath.
The fresh air seeped deep into my lungs.
Very nutritious air full of natural power and spirit energy.
It was truly the perfect environment for training.
‘I can’t miss this opportunity!’
This time, as the unique skills were strengthened, the avatar’s potential and growth speed increased further, so handling energy was much easier than before.
“Huh—huh….”
The deep breathing continued.
As I watched Cecily’s eye opening ceremony with my eyes, my nerves focused on drawing the energy overflowing around me into my body.
Laforie, who had been watching her bring the fruit to her mouth, looked back as if he felt something strange, but Harris, who was intoxicated with an energy of density he had never felt before, had no time to worry about such trivial things.
That was the moment when Cecily completely collected the fruit of the World Tree.
《The entity has met the conditions and achieved enlightenment. Acquire the skill “Nature Friendship”.》
Harris was also able to achieve his own results.
“Whew…”
Feeling satisfied, I looked at Cecily and saw that she, who had already lost consciousness, was being carefully carried inside by a group of elves.
In her hand, she was tightly holding the branch of a fresh world tree with fruit hanging from it.
“This is the High Elf SS. Since his eyes have just opened, we need to take him to a safe place until he comes to his senses.”
Lafori quietly approached him and added something.
“Cecily will continue to sleep for some time. “I need time to stabilize my rapidly increased energy.”
“okay. Well, it’s only natural since I was in the middle of such an enormous flow of energy.”
“Harris, you’re amazing too. “I think I understand why the World Tree is paying attention.”
As expected, he seemed to realize what Harris was doing.
“Oh, it just seems like a good opportunity.”
“It’s been so long since you learned it that you can control your energy to that level, so… hmm?”
He, who was continuously pouring out words of praise, suddenly stopped talking and looked at something behind Harris’ back.
He looked quite surprised as if he had seen something.
‘I didn’t feel any sign of it?’
Although he was in a state of heightened sensitivity due to absorbing the energy to the fullest, he could not feel anything with his senses.
Harris, who was momentarily horrified by Lafouri’s reaction, quickly turned around… and was able to face it head on.
A tree branch floating in the air.
“……?”
It was a very fresh tree branch with lush green leaves hanging from it.
“It seems that the World Tree is very interested in Mr. Harris. “You even gave me a separate gift like this.”
‘gift?’
When I looked closely, I felt that it was filled with natural power, like the branch that was lifted out by Cecily’s hand earlier.
The difference is that this branch did not bear fruit from the beginning.
“The branches given directly by the World Tree are special. Usually, it is given only to the person involved when there is a special event, such as an eye opening ceremony…”
And it is said that it is processed into weapons or accessories and performs the same as a kind of holy relic.
As such, it seemed like it was a rare item that even high elves could not easily obtain.
Harris carefully grabbed the branch floating in front of him.
Then I felt the energy inherent there more clearly.
‘That’s why I didn’t feel any presence.’
The feeling of naturally assimilating into the environment, as if holding on to nature itself.
As the concentration of natural power was already high in the surrounding area due to the aftermath of the ritual, it was bound to be difficult to notice.
But suddenly, a curiosity arose.
“Then, Lafori, did you also receive branches like this from the World Tree when you opened your eyes?”
“Of course. “I condensed that energy and made it into a pair of accessories.”
As I looked at that emotional face, I instantly felt uncomfortable.
Harris glanced at the bracelet on his wrist and cautiously opened his mouth.
“Surely that’s not this bracelet?”
“Haha, that’s not it. “I made it into a ring and used it to propose.”
Instead of feeling less burdened, I felt a subtle sense of regret.
But when I thought about it, it meant that the equipment made from branches in my hand would be more than just a bracelet, so it wasn’t a bad story.
“As expected, you are married.”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? “It’s been quite a while.”
“But you’re not wearing a ring right now…”
“I passed my ring on to my daughter. “Now it will be more helpful to that delicate child than to me.”
As Lapori said that, he smiled softly with the expression of a father who loves his family.
‘…It’s nice to see.’
As I watched him smile happily while thinking of his family, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
“Harris, you worked hard to get here. “Seeing you being recognized by the World Tree as soon as I arrived makes me feel good because I feel like I have done something worthwhile.”
“The last one?”
“I’m also getting close to retirement age. “This trip to the Aeon Continent was my last official itinerary.”
Harris stared blankly at his face.
No matter how you look at him, he was a beautiful young man in his early 30s with smooth skin.
“Oh, of course, I won’t step down right away as I don’t have enough manpower. However, now there will no longer be a need to lead work from the front.”
Perhaps he misunderstood Harris’ gaze, and he let out an absurd sound.
“Just then, a new high elf was born, so I had a great time.”
“okay. “I’m so glad.”
Of course, I didn’t do anything to point it out loud.
Because now he was also one of the baby-faced elves.
***
The Enamel Continent where the Elven Kingdom is located was less than a fifth of the Ion Continent they had crossed over.
However, in Outerica, the Ion Continent was excessively large, and the Enamel Continent was by no means small.
And located to the northwest was the Elven Kingdom, the country of the elves.
‘Something feels different than I thought.’
Perhaps due to the influence of Earth’s media, elves were often associated with forest fairies.
There was a stereotype of vegetarians living on trees, enjoying nature as their friend…
‘I mean, civilization is quite developed here too. There are many things like street performances.’
Of course, as in the first image, there were quite a few wooden buildings built on trees, but there were just as many stone buildings built on the ground.
‘It’s amazing that they all have nature-friendly architectural styles.’
As I first set foot in the Elven Kingdom and came here, I definitely realized that there were many particularly sophisticated buildings here.
‘I guess it’s natural since it’s the capital.’
It was only natural that this place was ‘Drasha’, the capital of the Elven Kingdom.
The city where the forest and civilization formed around the large World Tree harmonized together, giving off a strangely exotic atmosphere.
And Harris was now inside a large structure.
Although it could not compare to the World Tree, it was a building that was harmonized with trees of a gigantic size that could not even be imagined on Earth.
From the wide stone building surrounding the roots to the wooden building climbing up the naturally formed trunk.
This building is like a work of art…
“You said Mr. Harris, right? “I heard that you came from the Aeon Continent with Cecily this time. Is this true?”
“They say that place is no place to live. Cecily was also said to be in a very dangerous situation this time…”
“Oh, I heard that too. “If Lapori hadn’t gone, we would have been in big trouble.”
Next to me, young elves chattered non-stop.
This was Drasha Academy, one of the educational institutions in the Elven Kingdom.
‘They are all older than me, but by elf standards, they are probably younger.’
Their appearances ranged from their mid-teens to their early twenties, and Drasha Academy was a place where promising young people from the Elven Kingdom who had passed their childhood gathered.
A place where those who will grow up to become the mainstay of the country receive education.
Harris had truly stepped into the elite course.
“Ahaha… yes yes. Of course…. Oh, I was fine. I had a lot of good colleagues. yes.”
Right now, I just feel burdened by the excessive attention.
Since they had only encountered the outside world through books and stories, their curiosity was understandable.
Since someone who didn’t just come from another region but crossed the ocean from a completely different continent suddenly appeared, you might want to ask them something.
What’s more, aren’t they now the same trainees?
“I was working as a mercenary. At that time, I didn’t know how to control spirits, so I mainly used my body to fight…”
It was a moment when Harris tried to tell an appropriate episode to promote smooth interpersonal relationships during the break right after theory education.
bang-!
Everyone’s eyes turned to the noise that was heard for a moment.
A blue-haired woman stood up, hitting the desk with both hands, and without being intimidated by the gaze focused on her, lifted her chin haughtily and glared at me.
“It’s so noisy that I can’t concentrate. Could you please be quiet?”
Her words were addressed to everyone gathered around Harris, but those blue eyes were looking directly at him.
No matter how I looked at it, it was a look that was never friendly.
‘What about that woman? ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
Even if he didn’t like the fuss made because of him, his reaction was a bit excessive.
When he was thinking for a moment why he should be looked at like that by someone he was meeting for the first time.
“Oh, I guess we talked too much…”
“Hmm… “I’m sorry for making you noisy.”
“Then Mr. Harris, please talk to me again later.”
Meanwhile, the people gathered next to Harris carefully dispersed to their respective seats, keeping an eye on her.
It was definitely more comfortable now, but I was very embarrassed by the sudden turn of events.
‘That woman seems quite influential.’
I turned my gaze again and looked at the woman who made the atmosphere cold.
Long blue hair that seems to have been carefully groomed, sharp raised eyes, and an expression that goes beyond haughtiness to one that feels arrogant.
‘Well, no matter how you look at it, she is the daughter of a noble family.’
She was also a noble lady who seemed quite picky.
Most of the elves I’ve met so far were gentle-natured people, so it felt very refreshing.
And immediately after the training ends.
“Hmph—”
As she was passing in front of Harris, she stopped for a moment and turned her head to look him up and down.
Her gaze lingered on the bracelet on his wrist for a moment, but she soon snorted and walked out of the classroom with a noble step, accompanied by a few of her friends.
‘what?’
While he was feeling dazed, he heard stories about her from people around him.
Her name is Shapiron Silvesti.
As expected, he came from a fairly prestigious family.
Except for the high elves, there were no differences in status among the elves, but the influence of old families was bound to grow as their history increased.
Wouldn’t it be even more amazing if it was a family that played a role in establishing the Elven Kingdom from the time of the great migration to the Enamel Continent?
However, among the information about her, there was one unexpected fact that Harris found surprising.
‘This is really unexpected.’
Because that lady is it.
Because she was the only daughter of the high elf ‘Laforie Granwood’, who was also somewhat acquainted with him.