Chapter 167: A Reluctant Farewell.

This year’s Midsummer Festival was livelier than ever. The celebrations lasted four or five days longer than in previous years. The birth of the Elf cubs represented the continuation of their race, and after nearly half a month of revelry, the Elves gradually settled back into their usual routines.

During that time, Islar became Shu Li’s devoted little shadow. The moment his lessons ended, he would scamper over to play with him.

Even when Shu Li was studying with the Elven King in the library, Islar would sit quietly nearby, his soft little fingers clutching a quill as he scribbled and drew in his notebook.

As soon as Shu Li’s lesson ended, he would immediately put down his quill, pack away his notebook, and resume following Shu Li around like a little tail.

Shu Li did not find it annoying in the slightest. On the contrary, he was secretly delighted. Being able to openly cuddle and squish an adorable cub whenever he pleased—what could possibly be more wonderful?

However, the time to part eventually arrived.

Five adolescent Fairies and one little silver dragon had finished their preparations. Today, they would leave the Elven Kingdom and the Faerie Forest behind and set out for the magic academy in the Central Court.

As the first light of dawn broke through the clouds and spilled across the vast lands of the Elven Kingdom, all living things awakened. The fresh morning air was invigorating. Birds chirped merrily among the branches, while the cries of magical beasts drifted from the distance. Everywhere was filled with the harmonious breath of nature.

Before the gates of the Elven city, numerous Elves and Fairies stood beneath the morning light, reluctantly seeing the adventuring party off.

Aisha, Siet, Lia, and the other Fairy teachers repeatedly reminded the young Fairies to stay safe. Under no circumstances were they to reveal their wings or pointed ears in front of humans or members of other races.

Already disguised, the adolescent Fairies nodded again and again.

They had changed into clothing made from ordinary fabric and drunk disguise potions, altering their skin, eyes, and ears. After dyeing their hair as well, their looks immediately dropped from a perfect ten to a six. At a glance, they appeared no different from ordinary human boys.

If one had to identify something unusual about them, it would be the exceptional purity of their bearing. Every one of them looked like an innocent child who had never experienced the ways of the world.

Although Shu Li was considerably older in actual years, he had lived for so long in the paradise-like Faerie Forest, leading a simple life every day and growing up alongside genuinely young Fairy cubs, that their influence had gradually rubbed off on him. His mental age had hardly increased at all.

Simply put, the group of them resembled a bunch of children taking their first steps into the wider world.

Amanda was even more innocent. He had spent his entire life on Dragon Island, and now that he was suddenly setting out for the continent, he was as thrilled as an elementary school student going on a field trip. He had been so excited that he refused to sleep in the middle of the night. If Harmon had not threatened to forbid him from leaving unless he went to bed, he would still have been bouncing around on the mattress.

Now that they were finally departing, he was both excited and apprehensive. The ordinary fabric of his clothes felt uncomfortable all over his body, and he kept tugging at it.

Harmon had sorted through a storage ring, attached it to a chain, and hung it around Amanda’s neck. With a grave expression, he warned Amanda to use the contents prudently and not become overly dependent upon them, or he might attract the covetous attention of villains.

Amanda tucked the storage ring beneath his collar and solemnly promised that he understood.

Nearby, Islar clung tightly to Shu Li like a koala. His sky-blue eyes were moist, and it looked as though he had just been crying.

Shu Li stroked his back soothingly and kissed his soft cheek. “Is Islar a brave little boy?”

The cub, who listened to Helena tell The Brave Sperien every day, nodded emphatically.

Shu Li asked gently, “Then what should Islar do while I’m away from the Elven Kingdom?”

The cub sniffled and said pitifully, “I have to listen to Helena, study hard, sleep well, eat properly, and play nicely... Sperien, can you please stay?”

“I can’t!” Shu Li smiled, a determined light shining in his pale green eyes. “I have a goal I want to accomplish, so I must keep moving forward bravely.”

Islar pouted, wrapped his arms around Shu Li, and nuzzled him vigorously. “Then you have to come back soon!”

Shu Li’s gaze softened. Leaning close to his ear, he whispered, “I promise that as soon as we’ve settled down, I’ll come back to visit you. All right?”

“All right,” the cub answered obediently.

Shu Li handed him to Helena, then walked over to the Elven King and bowed respectfully. “My King, I’m leaving.”

The Elven King raised a hand and stroked his head, his fingertips brushing over the little flower crown, which had been transformed into an ordinary hair clip. “Go. I will always be watching over all of you from the Elven Kingdom.”

Shu Li blinked.

He knew that the Elven King possessed an enormous magic mirror. With the proper spell, he could use it to view anything in the outside world at will.

Of course, it was subject to certain limitations. Magical interference would render it ineffective.

Knowing that the Elven King would constantly be watching over them put Shu Li somewhat more at ease. After bidding farewell to the Elves and Fairies once again, he nimbly leaped onto a unicorn’s back and flew into the sky alongside his companions.

Six snow-white unicorns carried the reluctant boys on the wind and through the clouds, soaring over plains, hills, and forests... Bathed in the golden morning light, they flew eastward.

At last, they reached the edge of the Faerie Forest. The unicorns descended and landed one after another on the grass, making crisp calls to urge the passengers on their backs to dismount. They had reached their destination.

Shu Li jumped down from his unicorn and offered it a fruit in thanks.

The unicorn accepted it without ceremony.

The other young Fairies followed suit and fed their unicorns fruit as well.

Amanda scratched the back of his head and looked awkwardly at the unicorn that had carried him. “Um... I don’t have any fruit.”

As a picky young dragon, he disliked fruit and vegetables more than anything. His storage ring contained only meat and no fruit whatsoever.

The unicorn that had received nothing became unhappy.

Every other unicorn had gotten a fruit except for it. This was blatant favoritism. Once they returned, the others would surely mock it.

Seeing the unicorn scrape its hoof against the ground in displeasure, Amanda hurriedly pulled the storage ring hanging from the chain beneath his collar. After rummaging through it, he took out a glittering golden crystal and held it out to the unicorn in embarrassment.

“Um... This is all I have. If you don’t mind, you can take it!”

The dazzling stone almost blinded Disio, who stood nearby. He asked curiously, “What is that?”

Amanda answered honestly, “The magic core of an eighth-rank sea beast.”

The Fairies could not help clicking their tongues in amazement.

Dragons truly deserved their reputation as the wealthiest race on the entire continent. Amanda casually offered up a high-rank magic core as though it were nothing. That was obscenely extravagant.

The unicorn leaned closer and sniffed it, then turned its head away in disdain. It was a beast of principle. It had asked for fruit, and fruit was what it wanted.

When Amanda saw that it would not accept the magic core, he looked to Shu Li for help.

Holding back his laughter, Shu Li handed him a fruit.

Amanda’s eyes lit up. After thanking him, he took the fruit and fed it to the unicorn. The unicorn ate it at a leisurely pace, flicked its tail, and then spread its wings in satisfaction and flew away with the others.

Soon, only the six adolescents remained on the grass.

Shu Li had visited the Human World with Ilio eight years ago, so he had some experience and had been appointed captain of the adventuring party. Kumandi was calm, dependable, and resourceful, making him the vice-captain.

“Everyone, check one another again and make sure nothing looks out of place,” Shu Li reminded them.

“Yes,” the other boys replied before carefully inspecting one another.

Shu Li’s disguise was the same as the one he had used last time. After drinking a disguise potion, his skin had darkened by three shades, his eyes had turned gray-green, and his gleaming golden hair had been dyed black and tied into a ponytail that hung down his back.

Kumandi had not dyed his hair, but his violet eyes had become black. Were it not for his sculpted features and fair skin, he truly would have resembled someone from Shu Li’s original world.

After Angel’s disguise, his white hair had become pale gray. His eyes had barely changed and remained amber.

Budno’s brown hair and brown eyes were common in the Human World, so only the shape of his ears and the color of his skin had been altered.

Disio’s red hair and red eyes were far too conspicuous, so he had disguised himself as a human boy with brown hair and brown eyes.

Amanda had copied Shu Li and dyed his hair black, while the disguise potion had turned his eyes gray-blue.

After inspecting one another’s appearances and finding no flaws, they moved on to checking their clothing and luggage.

They wore ordinary clothes in various styles, hooded cloaks draped over their shoulders, bulging packs on their backs, and deerskin boots on their feet. Anyone looking at them would immediately assume they all came from the same “village.”

Shu Li had fabricated their “background” in advance. They were mountain villagers from a remote region. One day, the God of Magic Danlov had passed through their village and discovered that they possessed extraordinary talent and excellent potential for studying magic. Unwilling to let such talent go to waste, he had written each of them a letter of recommendation to the magic academy.

Shu Li’s circumstances were slightly different. He had an older brother who was a mage, and eight years ago, he had accompanied his brother to Daoto City in the Dalia Empire, where he passed the examination for a Mage Apprentice badge. Job, the instructor who tested him, believed that he possessed limitless potential and recommended that he study at the magic academy. However, family matters had delayed him, forcing him to report to the academy eight years late.

Amanda had joined their party midway through the journey and possessed no recommendation letter at all, but that would not prevent him from attending the magic academy.

Harmon had arranged a path for him. Once they reached the Central Court, Amanda would first visit an elder of the Dragon Clan who lived there and ask him for a recommendation letter. Then he would be able to attend the academy with the young Fairies.

Finally, they had each chosen an ordinary, easy-to-remember alias.

Shu Li—Amo.

Kumandi—Cook.

Angel—Anli.

Budno—Det.

Disio—Odi.

Amanda—Manfi.

“Does everyone remember?” Shu Li asked sternly.

“We remember!” his companions answered in unison.

“Good.” Shu Li gripped the strap of his pack, raised his head, thrust out his chest, and looked ahead. “Team Light, set out—”

“Team Light, set out!”

“Let’s go, let’s go—”

His companions cheered excitedly, every one of them brimming with energy as they followed Shu Li toward the edge of the forest.

They passed through the mist and emerged from the forest.

“Do you see those mountains?” Shu Li raised his hand and pointed toward the endless mountain range in the distance, addressing his wide-eyed companions.

“We see them!”

“The Cesis Mountains form the barrier separating the Dalia Empire from the Faerie Forest,” said Kumandi, who had memorized the map of the continent backward and forward.

“Correct.” Shu Li broke into a broad, toothy grin. “We have to cross those mountains before nightfall.”

Budno’s eyes widened. “Y-You can’t be serious?”

He had seen the map. The Cesis Mountains were both vast and extremely tall. Crossing them would be no easy feat.

Angel and Disio exchanged looks.

Amanda hesitantly suggested, “Why don’t I... assume my true form and fly everyone across on my back?”

Walking was such a bother. Flying would be much faster.

Kumandi glanced at him.

The moment Amanda met his piercing gaze, he closed his mouth. He firmly reminded himself of the four great principles: when away from home, obey the captain’s commands, never act without authorization, and above all, never reveal his true form lightly.

Kumandi looked away and said to Shu Li without the slightest doubt, “Lead the way. We’ll follow behind you.”

The others cast aside their lackadaisical attitudes and solemnly waited for their captain’s next instruction.

Shu Li smiled. “There’s no need to be nervous. Just treat it as physical training and a chance to accumulate vital energy!”

With a sweeping wave of his hand, he took off running. Channeling his vital energy down into his feet, he became as light as a swallow and covered more than a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

“Whoa! So fast! Here I come—” Budno roared and raced after him.

Angel rubbed his ears, which were nearly ringing from the shout, then broke into a run.

“Wait for me—” Refusing to be left behind, Amanda and Disio sprinted after them.

Kumandi ran at the rear without any apparent hurry. Gradually gaining on the others, he soon overtook Amanda and Disio.

Brimming with youthful vigor, the boys chased one another into the mountains like a herd of antelopes. Before long, their figures vanished from sight.

An unknown amount of time later, a black-haired, black-eyed young man emerged leisurely from the Faerie Forest with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.

“Children certainly are energetic!” Ilio stretched lazily. “Let’s hope they don’t end up crying along the way.”

The corners of his mouth curled upward. He straightened his plain clothes and gazed toward the mountains ahead.

How could the Elven King possibly feel comfortable allowing a group of sheltered youngsters to venture across the continent on their own?

Naturally, he had to send a powerful Elf to protect them in secret.

And as the greatest Elven warrior of their race, who else could possibly be entrusted with the task?

Ilio had been only too happy to accept the assignment.

He snapped his fingers. A small tornado swept several adventurers out of the forest, carried them to a massive pit fifty meters away, and tossed them inside before vanishing into thin air.

The adventurers were all unconscious and did not react in the slightest when they were dropped from the air.

Ilio shook his head and started toward the mountains.

If he had not secretly knocked out those adventurers, they would have stumbled upon the youngsters while they were standing at the forest’s edge, inspecting one another and discussing their plans.