LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 146
The elves living with the birds in the giant tree called themselves the Snake Catcher Tribe. It seems that the snake which had ambushed us while we were climbing cliffs and dealing with the Nightmare was its prey.
In fact, the elves were wearing armor made from snake scales.
I followed Yan’s guidance to her home. Yan lived with her father, an elf named Nephel, but I didn’t see any other family members around.
Yan briefly explained my situation to Nephel, who cheerfully permitted me to stay. After observing me quietly, Nephel spoke to Yan, who was gleaming with excitement beside him.
“Yan, you want to offer something special to our guest? Why don’t you go to the food storage above and bring back some meat?”
“Yes!”
Wearing a bright smile in response to Nephel’s words, Yan exited the cabin. With Yan gone, Nephel sat down at a small table and continued speaking.
“Did you say your name was Seris? You give off a familiar aura… almost like us elves.”
I nodded at Nephel’s question and summoned a small breeze with my hand. Although I couldn’t summon a great storm due to the lack of mana, I could harness the pure power of the wind spirit.
“It’s because the spirit is with me.”
“Remarkable… Not only can a human be accompanied by a wind spirit, but they can also wield its power… Ah, right. I truly appreciate you helping my daughter.”
I shook my head in response to Nephel’s words.
“I just returned the favor. Yan helped us from being attacked by the snake.”
“We? Do you have a companion with you?”
Instead of answering, I opened my bag to reveal the Nightmare hidden inside. The creature peeked out at my call, scanned the surroundings, then promptly retreated back into the bag.
“That’s a good sign…”
As those words faded, a subtle silence fell. Yet it wasn’t uncomfortable; perhaps it was due to the aura of spirits filling the area.
I sat at the small table, taking in the interior of the cabin. It wasn’t large by any means, but it seemed adequately sized for one girl and an adult elf. While inspecting the inside of the cabin, Yan burst through the door after retrieving the ingredients.
“I’m back!”
What Yan brought was a wide basket woven from wood. Inside were pieces of dried meat wrapped in green leaves and various fruits I had never seen before.
Nephel took over the preparation and cooking of the ingredients. Yan appeared to be used to waiting and set the dishes on the small table, then sat beside me.
“Hey, Seris. Where did you come from?”
“I came down from the Celestial Realm.”
I replied to Yan’s question without hesitation. I knew from Lesh that no one would have any prejudices just because I was from the Celestial Realm.
It’s said that people falling from the Celestial Realm happens more often than one might think. Of course, I couldn’t guarantee the survival of those who fell.
“Really? The Celestial Realm?”
Yan’s voice grew louder at my answer. I could sense Nephel subtly focusing on our conversation while cooking.
Yan’s gaze felt a little intense, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She began tapping the table with her fists and opened her mouth.
“What did you do in the Celestial Realm?”
“I was an adventurer.”
“An adventurer? Traveling the world?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… So you must have seen the sea, right?”
“Yeah.”
Yan’s questions were pure. Having lived her whole life in this canyon, she seemed more curious about what lies beyond rather than the Celestial Realm itself.
Many more questions ensued: What do children in the Celestial Realm do? When do they have their first crush? And she even asked about the relationship between elves and humans carefully.
“Well, there are hardly any elves left in the Celestial Realm.”
“Why…?”
“Because of the evil dark mages, all of them have gone into hiding.”
“Dark mages…? But what is a dark mage?”
“It’s—”
At that moment, Nephel came over holding a hot pan and began placing food on the plates. The scent of forest herbs wafted gently from the stir-fried meat with vegetables.
Enjoying a delicious meal while having a conversation with a cute girl was quite pleasurable. I kindly answered Yan’s endless questions while savoring the elven food.
After finishing our meal, we were given a place to sleep. It was a large rocking chair before the campfire and two fluffy blankets, one for the Nightmare and the other for me.
“Are you going to sleep already?”
I nodded at Yan’s question. It was a little early to sleep, but I was quite exhausted since I didn’t sleep at all yesterday. Yan seemed disappointed but stayed near me without waking me up.
*
I woke up to the faint sound of rustling. The softly glowing campfire illuminated the cabin.
“Are you awake?”
“It’s Yan?”
I rubbed my eyes and got up. I wondered what she was preparing to do at this hour. Yan was rummaging through something in a wooden chest.
Crackle—
The campfire flickered, and when I caught a glimpse of the black shine reflecting the light, I realized Yan was wearing armor made from snake scales.
Dressed in black scaled armor, Yan took up her spear and turned to me.
“It’s time to go hunting.”
“Hunting?”
“Yup.”
“Are we talking about that snake again?”
“Exactly. We have to go out now if we want to catch a lot.”
At her words, I looked out the cabin window. Beyond the silver moonlight, huge birds were flapping around chaotically, and I could sense the spirit’s energy alongside the elves becoming greatly excited.
The fatigue in my body had eased. I threw off the blanket and lifted the snoring Nightmare up from the floor.
“Can I come too?”
“You?”
“Yeah. I’m a little curious about how you hunt the snakes.”
“Alright!”
With Yan’s permission granted, I immediately began preparing. To be honest, preparation meant just grabbing my bag and sword. I stuffed the still sleepy Nightmare into my bag and followed Yan out of the cabin.
-Creaak!
I noticed other elves, just starting to get ready to depart. Like Yan, they were dressed in black scale armor, holding spears, and mounting huge birds.
“Failu!”
At Yan’s call, Failu responded by flapping its enormous wings and soared towards us. I climbed onto Failu’s back along with Yan.
The elves didn’t give me any second glances despite me riding with Yan on Failu. If anything, they waved happily at us.
“For the snake hunt, we’re catching the gigantic one we saw in the canyon, right?”
“Well, we’ll catch smaller ones than that. The big ones are hard to deal with.”
While continuing our conversation, a high-pitched whistle erupted, causing countless birds to suddenly take flight. Failu, carrying us, also rose towards the starlit night sky.
The flapping wings of the great birds created a storm. The rough wind surged through the entire forest, lifting green grass and leaves to sparkle in the moonlight.
It felt refreshing and pleasant. Standing atop Failu, I spread my arms wide, relishing the delightful breeze.
Dozens of birds began flying in formation. Leading the way was Nephel. The bird he rode was particularly large, making it easy to identify him as the leader.
The flight of the snake-catcher tribe was a series of wonders. As they soared gently in the soft moonlight, they suddenly ascended in response to a change in the breeze.
At that moment, I understood. Everyone flying in the sky was communicating through the wind. When the gentle breeze of the spirit tickled my left cheek, everyone turned left in unison. The opposite side reacted the same way.
Nephel guided everyone into the sky as if flying towards the moon. After a while of looking at the moonlight filtering through the hazy clouds, a massive canyon came into view.
The river flowing through the canyon sparkled brilliantly, reflecting the moon and starlight.
Suddenly, the wind direction shifted sharply. Fast and low. Like a sharp blade. With the spirit alongside, I comprehended its meaning immediately.
In that instant, all the birds folded their wings and dove into the canyon. As they rapidly descended, I spotted black snakes revealing themselves amid the canyon.
The snakes basking in the moonlight began to thrash upon sight of the snake catchers’ arrival. Some snakes writhed to escape, while others raised their heads, letting out vicious metallic sounds.
-Creaak!
The snakes were quite large, but they stood no chance against the birds. The birds, descending rapidly with wings closed, used their sharp talons to snatch the snakes and soared back into the sky.
The snakes that attempted to charge at the birds could only be met by the spears of the snake catcher tribe.
“Hyet!”
Hyet. What could that word possibly mean? All the elves wielding spears shouted the word “Hyet”.
-Creaak!
“Hyet!”
The calls of the giant birds gradually converged into one.
“Hyet!”
At that moment, all the elves and their birds became one, shouting “Hyet, Hyet!” in unison. The surrounding mana began to swirl around, responding to the word “Hyet,” creating a powerful wind around the snake catcher tribe.
-Whoosh!
The fierce wind formed a path. The entire snake catcher tribe rode this path of wind, soaring at high speed.
-Whoosh!
In that moment, a gigantic snake revealed itself from within the canyon. It was so large that it couldn’t even be compared to the ones that had been hunted. Yet, its attack couldn’t reach us. All the snake catchers had rapidly ascended along the path of wind.
I stared blankly at the wind enveloping us. I could feel the power of the spirits, but it was clearly wind formed from mana. In other words, it was magic.