21 21. Chance Meeting

Five Years Later

Arthur Leywin's POV

The trip through the dimensional rift invoked a very peculiar sensation. It felt as if I was trapped in the middle of a fast forward movie scene. My surroundings were whizzing by in an indistinct blur of colors as I sat on my ass, staring blankly off in the distance with no more tears left to cry.

The ground I landed on cushioned my fall with a pile of leaves and vines. It didn't matter though. Even if I landed on jagged rocks, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

I remained in the same, seated position I was during the trip, not even bothering to take in my surroundings.

She was gone....

I would never have the chance to see her again...

Those two thoughts triggered another wave of emotions as I heaved out dry sobs.

I began recalling the near four months we had spent together; how caring she was, treating me like her own blood. I didn't care that she had prolonged sending me home so that I could stay with her. Through the short time I had been with Sylvia, she taught me so much and gave me insight that I had been lacking since coming to this world.

Succumbing to the faculty of my mind that desired sleep in order to cope with the pain, I curled up into a ball where I landed, when a searing pain propped me back up. The burning sensation spread from my mana core throughout my body until a voice echoed in my head.

"Ahem! Testing, testing...Ah good! Hello Art, this is Sylvia."

My heart fluttered as I instantly responded to the voice. "Sylvia! I am here! Can you hear..."

"If you are listening to this right now, it means I have shown you what I actually am.."

Ah, it was some kind of recording that she had infused into me when she gouged that small hole into my mana core.

"....You are nowhere near ready right now to know the whole truth. Knowing you, if I were to have told you what the figure in the sky had been, you would have brashly tried to fight. Little Art, you barely passed the age of four. Upon looking at your mana core, I have realized that you have a rare talent seeing that your mana core is already at the dark red stage. I will leave you with this: I have infused with you my unique will. This is something incomparable to a normal beast's will. Your future progress as a mage depends on how well you will be able to use my will that is embedded into your mana core.."

Was that why the purple in her eyes and golden patterns disappeared?

"The moment your mana core reaches a level past the white stage is when you will hear from me again. At that time, I will explain everything and what you do from there is your choice.."

There was a stage past white?

"Lastly, Art....I know you may be in grief but remember that you have your family to look out for and the stone I entrusted you with. My only wish for you is to embrace the joys and innocence of childhood, train hard and make your parents and I proud. Do not go chasing after shadows in a fit of rage. Killing the ones that are responsible for my death will neither bring me back to life nor make you feel better. There is a reason for everything and I do not regret what has happened. With this I bid you farewell for now. Remember, protect your family and the stone, study what I have left you and enjoy this life, King Grey..."

"..."

That name and title was from my previous world.

She had known the entire time...Did she discover something in my mana core? Was she able to look into my memories? So many questions but the only one who could answer them was gone.

I refused to move for a long time, staying in my cozy fetal position, deep in thought.

Sylvia was right...She had said all of this knowing what my life back in my old world was like. I can't make the same mistake of living for the sake of solely pursuing strength. I want to be strong but also want to live my life without any regret.....I want to live a life that Sylvia can be proud of. I don't think she would be happy even if I reached whatever stage was after white while living a life of only training.

No, I need to hurry and reach my family. That comes first and takes priority but.....

Where the hell am I?!!

____________________________________________

Tessia Eralith's POV

Mission - Pudding.

Yes, that is my mission for today. To get the pudding from the chilling artifact without Brother noticing me. That is the sole reason I forced him and Grandpa to play Hide-N-Seek all for the sake of pudding. Plus they were loitering around like a pair of good-for-nothings and having an arm-wrestling match. They claimed they had nothing to do at the moment so roping them into the game of Hide-N-Seek was fairly easy.

It was grandpa's turn to find both of us and with my brother hiding, I had the perfect chance to snag my favorite pudding. Can't let brother have this win from me at all costs.

Tiptoeing to the kitchen, I checked around and found no one suspicious in the vicinity, it was just the workers and knowing them they wouldn't snitch at all if they were to catch me snagging a pudding from the chilling artifact. A chilling artifact is used to keep food items and vegetables cold so as they don't get spoiled. It runs on principles of Ice Magic, according to brother.

This time there were a few workers in the kitchen since the eating time was hours away. Perfect chance! Being careful so as to not to alert anyone, I snuck in and quickly reached for the chilling artifact. This artifact uses cold mana to keep things cold. It is mainly done to store fruits and vegetables at a low temperature so as to prevent them from getting spoiled.

What welcomed me once I reached the artifact and opened it was a missing pudding. It was supposed to be here and right now it ain't. Did someone take it already? Is it kept somewhere else? Or did brother--

"Definitely worth it.." Hearing the all-familiar voice of my brother, I turned around to see him, seated on the kitchen slab, relishing on the pudding I was supposed to snack on.

"Hey! That's mine!" I stomped up to him ready to throw a few punches for stealing my pudding.

"That's sad. Its finished already.." He showed me the empty bowl while making a mock sad face. "It was tasty though. Too bad you missed it."

"Meanie!!" I threw a few good punches on his arm. Already being at a disadvantage due to my short height when compared to my brother, I could only reach up to his knees. Punching his stomach, I stomped out of the kitchen. "You are a big bully!"

He began laughing as if finding my situation amusing. That ticked me off even more. I made a run for Mother and Father.

"Oi Tess! Wait!" I heard him calling him out to me while not even trying to contain his laughter. Puffing my cheeks, I simply increased my running speed. If he is feeling sorry, it is too late for him but then again knowing how big a bully he can be, I don't think he is sorry enough.

"Mommy! Daddy!" It didn't take long for me to find them. They were taking a stroll while discussing something among themselves. Hearing my voice they turned their attention to me. "Brother is a big bully!"

"What did he do this time?" Raising an eyebrow, my father curiously inquired, halting their ongoing discussion for the time being.

"He ate all of my pudding I saved for myself!" I complained.

Exchanging a look between themselves, mother and father chuckled before mother spoke up.

"It is just a pudding Tessia, There is nothing to be angry about. Licht will--" Before she could complete her sentence I interjected.

"No! It was mine! You all are siding with him too! Everybody is a meanie!" I whined before stomping away once again. "I will not talk to any of you.."

"Tessia..." Mother called out while Father, being just like brother could hardly contain his laughter at my situation. Even he finds it amusing! It is pointless to even complain to grandpa since he would say something to tease me again. It's better to just get away from here for the time being and cool myself off.

Going back to my room would be pointless since brother would already get in there and will try to sweet talk me in numerous ways so it is better to go somewhere else where he won't be able to find me for a good while. That will teach him a good lesson and remind him to never steal my favorite delicacies ever again...hmph!

With that in mind, I skipped outside the royal palace using one of the many shortcuts that brother used. He mostly used the windows by getting on a broom and flying high in the skies. I wonder how he did that. There was no other mage in the entire kingdom who could fly on brooms like that, not even grandfather who is the strongest in our kingdom.

Accessing the royal family's personal Teleportation Gate, I set the location to Elshire Forest. This will take me straight into the forest but luckily not too deep within it, just near the gate. Hiding anywhere in Elenoir or in the palace would be futile since brother can easily find me. Maybe staying in the Elshire Forest for a few hours will teach him a lesson.

The recharge period of Teleportation Gate varies on distance; more the distance, more time for the gate to recharge.

I don't have the entire forest mapped in my head but I did mark a few safety areas near the Gate when grandpa took me for a stroll every now and then. There weren't any wild beasts in the gate's vicinity so it should be safe. Muttering the needed chant and activating the gate, I stepped in.

Dizziness is always the result when traveling through a Teleportation Gate but one slowly gets used to it as they continue accessing it. The dizziness I felt after landing on the forest floor was mild enough so I recovered quickly. The thick, mystic fog of Elshire Forest welcomed my sights. Taking up a stick, I started marking the barks of trees as I walked in.

I planned to not walk in too deep and simply hide at the top of a tree near the gate. In that way, it would be easier for me to escape as well if something were to come up though I don't think there would be any nasty stuff here.

Humming to myself, I strolled around the area occasionally marking the nearest trees. The dense fog made it nearly impossible to see so I made sure to stay near the tall trees. I had yet to awaken as a mage so defending myself from any danger is out of question. I need to make sure that I am on the right path if I were to run from any danger and prevent ending up lost.

A good number of minutes elapsed by before my ears caught the sound of slight growling of dog-like animals and people talking. Strange?

Curiosity got the better of me and I followed the direction of the sound. Climbing on one of the nearby trees and balancing myself on the lower branches, I took a peek down to see four humans on a carriage. The carriage was being pulled by Forest Hounds, mana beast that look like a mixture of deer and a dog. They were native species to the Elshire Forest and were said to have better navigation skills than us elves.

My gaze turned to the four humans seated on the carriage, talking among themselves as they moved. They didn't give off any pleasant feeling and from what I heard from others, humans cannot be always trusted though brother also said that not all humans are bad. My gut feeling right now was telling me that these humans are bad news. I need to get away from here.

Quickly getting down from the tree, I made a run for it but the Forest Hounds had already picked up my presence. Their growling intensified, alerting the humans.

"There's someone here!"

"Must be a catch for us! Today we can count our lucky stars!"

From their words, it was evident that these humans aren't the good humans brother was talking about.

One of them must have been a mage as he suddenly appeared right beside me in the blink of an eye. Must have reinforced his body with mana to increase his speed. Stopping, he picked me up from the back of my neck.

"Let go of me!!" I protested, trying to pry his arms off my neck. But the difference in physical strength is evident.

"Ohh! An elf girl! This will definitely fetch us a good price in the black market." The man spoke with a nasty smirk on his face as he walked back to his group.

"They usually go for a lot and a young elf like her would definitely get us a fortune.." Another one who was in charge of the Forest Hounds spoke.

Dread crept up to me when they spoke of me going for a lot and fetching them a fortune. It was evident that they wanted to sell me off to some rich humans. If that were to happen, I will never see my family again. I can't have that! I shouldn't have stepped out of the palace at all.

'Brother...where are you? Save me please...'

"Quickly tie her up and put her in the carriage. It's time we head out of this damned forest." The one that looked like their leader spoke in a grumpy voice.

"NOO! HELP SOMEONE PLEASE! BROTHER! I AM SCARED! BROTHER!" There was no option left for me but to scream. If lucky enough someone might hear it and come to my aid though the chances seemed slim.

"Someone shut her up! She is gonna attract attention."

Before I knew it, I felt a heavy blow striking on the back of my head before the world went dark.

___________________________________________________

Arthur Leywin's POV

It didn't take me much longer to realize that Sylvia had dropped me in the Elshire Forest. It was evident from the tall trees and the fog surrounding the area. Applying Mana Rotation which had become a second nature to me by now and reinforcing my senses with mana, I jumped from tree to tree, since traveling on ground in this accursed fog is meaningless.

What I was looking for wasn't a way out of here but for signs of humans. Sylvia mentioned that I would be teleported close to humans so I was hoping there may be some adventurers or even merchants traveling through here that could direct me out or even escort me.

Hopping a few more trees and feeling proud of my primate nimbleness, I stopped at a nearby branch from where I spotted a group of humans.

Something was off about them though.

Hiding myself completely behind the tree trunk, I closed my eyes, imbuing mana in my ears.

"NOO! HELP SOMEONE PLEASE! BROTHER! I'M SCARED! BROTHER!!"

"Someone shut her up! She is going to attract attention!"

It didn't take much time for me to put two and two together to figure out that these people are slave traders. Similar to the bunch that attacked us on the way to Xyrus. That group seemed to be holding a grudge against the Twins Horns from what I noticed back then.

Right now, my priority lay in finding ways to escape from this damned forest and reunite with my parents but chances of that happening were slim so I had to be patient. Saving the kidnapped elf girl came first. Saving her might benefit me in some manner so I began devising a plan to do so since it was a four against one situation and my current body is that of a four-year old.

_____________________________________

Dealing with the traders was a pain in the butt but I was finally done with it and freed the elf girl as well. And since then we were stuck together, given the fact she had no idea how to get back home and traveling in the Elshire Forest alone is dangerous for kids like us. The wild beasts here could make a dinner out of us anytime so caution was necessary and it made sense traveling together rather than going alone.

I soon learned her name being Tessia and she is five, aka technically a year older than I am albeit physiologically that is. She is actually a polite girl and a great traveling companion, not even complaining about anything for that matter. She was a bit shy and reserved but I guess that's expected when you are with a stranger in a place where you have no idea of left and right.

For five days we continued traveling, setting up tents at night to rest and then resume traveling in the morning. We got comfortable with each other and our conversations became less awkward. She even started calling me Art, something that my parents and the Twin Horns call me. Of course I didn't mind at all and allowed her the privilege to do so. In return I were to call her Tess instead of Tessia.

She even pointed out that there are times where I sounded like an adult.....ahem no comments on that.

The fifth day was coming to an end and it was dusk now, the damned fog around us seemed to be getting thicker. My sense of direction was all but useless in this blasted forest. Enough so that if I were to get separated from Tess, I could end up traveling in circles without even realizing it.

Said elf girl suddenly turned to me, her face being a mixture of happiness and hesitation before she muttered. "We're here..."

Looking around, the only things visible were clusters of trees and fog. Confused, I was about to ask where we were, but I stopped myself when I saw Tess placing both her palms on a tree and muttering a chant.

Suddenly the fog around us was sucked into the same tree and what came into vision was a giant wooden door that seemed to have propped up by itself on the ground.

Tess grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. When she opened it, I was reminded of the portal Sylvia had pushed me through. The experience didn't feel any better the second time but I at least knew what to expect. As we softly landed on our feet, arriving at our destination, I immediately rummaged through my bag to make sure I still had the stone Sylvia entrusted me with. It was only after confirming it was still there did I finally look up to take in the scene around us.