Chapter 565 - 563: Extreme Xenophobia

"Hmm, the customs of the Elf Race are indeed different from those of humans."

Hilia walked through the border city of the Elf Race, slowly taking in the scenery along the way.

The first impression Elf City gave her was that it had a lot of trees.

The streets on both sides were filled with lush greenery.

Most of the houses were low and hidden among the trees, shaded by foliage.

"I heard that treehouses are a feature of the Elf Race, so why aren’t there any treehouses here?"

Hilia looked around.

Rose’s phantom appeared beside her, smiled slightly, and said, "Treehouses are a specialty of the Elf Forest. This is just a border city for other races. How could they possibly build a treehouse city just for everyone to see?"

"That’s not right, Southern Border City, on the other hand, does showcase the style of the Ista Empire to the elves and beastmen."

"That’s human thinking, or rather, the idea of the City Lord of Southern Border City. Elves don’t think that way. I suspect they don’t even want a border city for people from other races and empires to come in and communicate." Rose smiled slightly.

"How can you not communicate?"

"Yes, how can you not communicate? Do you know why the Elf Race was beaten back to just one corner, not even matching the territory of the smallest human empire?"

"Hmm, speaking of it, the Elf Race does have a history of arrogance." Hilia pondered for a moment, recalling the historical accounts of the Elf Race.

Talking as they walked, Hilia slowly approached a shop with a treehouse style.

She glanced at the two large trees beside it, which seemed to have become the supporting pillars of the house, and walked inside.

This was a shop run by native elves, filled with little things native to the Elf Race, many of which were specialties from the Elf Forest, such as specimens of certain plants and fruits.

Many items also emitted magic power fluctuations, and Hilia only recognized a portion of them, not knowing most.

When she entered, the shopkeeper, whose face was initially stern, softened slightly and nodded towards Hilia.

"Hello, welcome."

Hilia noticed the details of the shopkeeper’s expression, was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood why.

Behind her, a human mercenary walked in, and the shopkeeper who said welcome went back to a stern face, ignoring the human mercenary entirely.

"It seems the Elf Race is quite exclusive," Hilia remarked.

Rose nodded, smiling, "Even your Elf Race friend dislikes humans, you know."

Hilia nodded; she understood why. After all, the Elf Race had been pushed into a corner because of the Holy Court’s past actions.

The Elf Race couldn’t possibly only resent the Holy Court; they generally turned hostile to the entire human race. Even if they were doing business with humans, they would put on a stern face as if they didn’t care whether you bought their goods or not.

Upon leaving, Hilia got a more direct comparison.

She bought nothing, but just because of her elf-like appearance, the shopkeeper was very friendly as he watched her leave.

Meanwhile, the human mercenary who bought a lot of Elf Race specialties was met with impatience at the checkout.

Hilia observed the expression of the human mercenary, who seemed used to it and said nothing.

"It looks like I’ll need to be extra careful on my Elf Race journey," Hilia sighed.

At the same time, she was glad she had disguised herself as an elf when she came in, rather than a human.

She had sneaked in and wanted to avoid trouble if possible.

She was very aware of how troublesome things could be for her.

Even if others looked like humans and got sneered at, that would be about it.

She might cause an incident that would directly lead to the destruction of the Elf City...

Unnecessary risks are best avoided.

After walking around the border city, Hilia purchased the survival supplies she needed for the upcoming period and then quickly left.

"If possible, I’d better avoid inns and such places in the future."

Hilia made up her mind.

After leaving the border city, she headed north, and by evening, she finally entered the range of the Elf Forest.

Upon entering the range of the Elf Forest, Hilia sensed the elements around her becoming more active.

Especially the natural elements.

She could feel that if she were a nature-aligned mage, meditating here would be almost as efficient as meditating in the Tower of Diligence at the Divine Magic Academy.

"Such rich natural elements."

Hilia took a deep breath.

"The Elf Race has such a special place; surely, they have many high-tier mages."

Hilia couldn’t help but become more cautious.

If every elf from the Elf Race lived in such an environment, and considering that most of them were nature-aligned mages, they shouldn’t be weak.

Rose smiled slightly: "In theory, yes. You might see fourth-tier mages everywhere in the Elf Race, and third-tiers are as common as dogs."

Hilia tilted her head, "Are they that strong? Then why has the Elf Race been pushed into such a small place?"

Rose said, "Why don’t you find an elf to ask about it and see what they say?"

Hilia thought about it and nodded, "Sure, I’ll ask if I get the chance."

Rose glanced at her, feeling that she was simply looking for trouble.

After entering the Elf Forest, Hilia hadn’t gone far when she sensed several elf presences ahead.

An arrow suddenly appeared, embedding itself in the ground in front of her.

"Stop and identify yourself," a voice called.

Hilia stopped and looked ahead.

Soon, a group of elves emerged from the depths of the forest and came before Hilia.

The leader was a female elf, beautiful like most elves, fitting the human aesthetic perfectly.

The rest of the group comprised two males and two females, a total of five people.

The lead female elf scrutinized Hilia and asked in confusion, "Why have you not connected with the Elf Forest?"

Hilia said, "I was born outside and have only just now had the opportunity to enter the Elf Forest."

This was her prepared explanation.

Long ago, Hilia learned from Elina about many things concerning the Elf Race, including the unique characteristics of the Elf Forest.

It seems that from the Elf God, elves can resonate with the entire Elf Forest in a special way after they are born, allowing the forest to remember the elf’s aura.

This aura can be shared with other elves so that they can sense each other’s presence when they get close.

Elina said it wasn’t very useful, mainly for identifying elves, and only in the Elf Forest.

Also, if they aren’t born in the Elf Forest and haven’t had the blessing ceremony, they can’t leave their aura in the forest.

Hilia was curious about one thing.

Can humans leave their aura in the Elf Forest?