POV: Frieren
Several days had passed since Riveria returned to Orario, and I hadn't heard from her since. During this time, I continued my training and accumulated a lot of mana, but I still haven't reached the next layer.
It's been six days in total.
The tree passively generates around 8,000 mana per day, and I can produce an additional 12,000 mana daily through conversion. As a result, my magic proficiency also increases by 12,000 each day.
In six days, I've managed to increase my magic proficiency by 72,000—but that's still far from the 200,000 required to reach the next layer.
Name: Frieren
Cultivation: 2nd Magic Circle – Second Layer (Conversion Bonus: +120%)
Magic Proficiency: 76,834 / 204,800
Mana: 146,169 / 204,800
Elements Collected: 0
Talent: Fast Conversion (+10% Conversion)
"Well, at least I managed to store a lot of mana."
But even with a large reserve of mana, I decided not to level up the tree. Instead, I chose to save mana to create more elves. We need new elves in this village to help with its reconstruction.
Serie and Lyuu can't handle this alone.
I approached the tree and touched it with my hand.
[World Tree]
Level: 10
Class: Primordial Element Source
Max Primordial Element: 8,000
Regeneration: 192 units per minute
Current Primordial Element: 3,048 / 8,000
Elves Created: 1 / 160
Current EXP: 223,988 / 456,000
Special Ability: Elven Creation (uses mana to create a new elf)
"I can create a good number of elves, but each one costs 10,000 mana. I'd need almost two million mana to create 160 elves… That's a lot."
I can't even store that much mana.
But I don't plan to create all of them now. I think nine more elves will be enough. Ten elves should be sufficient to begin the reconstruction.
"The problem is…"
When an elf is born, they have the mental capacity of a human child around 11 to 13 years old. That's not enough intelligence to build or repair a house. Lyuu is only just starting to become truly intelligent after several days.
Days filled with intense study.
Even though Lyuu's mind is developing well, it's still limited. Since waking up, she's only studied magic.
Serie should teach her other things too. I need to talk to Serie about that.
"Alright, let's do this."
I checked how much mana I had stored.
Mana: 146,169 / 204,800
"Yeah, spending 90,000 mana to create nine elves won't hurt too much."
Smiling, I began channeling mana into the tree to create new elves.
[You spent 10,000 mana to create a "Common Elf."]
[You spent 10,000 mana to create a "Common Elf."]
[You spent 10,000 mana to create a "Common Elf."]
...
Nine messages like that appeared.
I sighed and stepped away from the tree. Looking up, I saw nine cocoons formed from leaves slowly taking shape. It was even faster than last time. As this happened, Serie approached.
"What's going on?" she asked, glancing up.
"I created nine more elves."
"What? So suddenly? You should've told me beforehand! We don't have a place for them to live! And not enough food either!"
"Oh…"
I had completely forgotten about that.
####
But there was no time to fix everything—each cocoon began to slowly descend to the ground. When they landed, the nine cocoons opened, revealing what was inside.
All the elves were the same height, looking like children aged 12–13, just like Lyuu.
The elves slowly opened their eyes.
All of them stood up, still naked.
In total, seven girls and two boys were born.
It's always been this way—more female elves are born than males, just like in the past.
"Serie, take care of them. Bring them to your home and get them some clothes. I'll prepare a place for everyone."
"How are you going to do that so quickly?"
"Using magic, of course."
All nine elves bowed their heads respectfully before following Serie. I sighed and looked at the houses covered in vegetation near the tree. "I should clean the ones closest to Serie's house, but maybe it's better to use these here."
They're close to the tree, so I can help quickly if anything happens.
"Maybe I should ask Serie to move into one of these too. Three houses should be enough?"
One house for Serie, Lyuu, and me. Two houses for the nine elves to share. That should be enough for now.
I looked at three houses side by side. They all had windows and doors, but they were worn and damaged. The biggest issues were the roofs and the vegetation that had overtaken everything.
And there were a lot of insects.
We are in a forest, after all.
I floated into the air.
My hair began to sway with the wind I generated.
I raised both hands, wind swirling around them. "First, let's clean the outside." A strong gust blew toward the houses—strong enough to sweep away dust, leaves, and some of the vegetation.
Of course, that wasn't enough to fully clean them. There were too many roots.
I started flying around the houses, using wind magic to carefully cut the roots.
Once I finished cutting them all, I used wind to blow them away.
Within minutes, the exterior of all three houses was clean.
"Now for the inside."
But cleaning the inside wasn't as easy.
By the time I finished the second house, Serie had already given clothes to all the elves.
"Wow, it looks perfect," she said as she entered the house.
"I've cleaned two houses, but the chairs, tables, and most of the furniture are unusable. Especially the beds."
"They won't be able to sleep here tonight. We'll have to find another place."
"They can sleep inside the tree. It's warm and safe in there, and I'll be nearby."
"Good idea!" Serie exclaimed. "But won't they bother you?"
"It's fine," I replied.
Thankfully, Serie helped me clean the third house, and we finished everything before nightfall.
After that, we gathered blankets, pillows, and sheets—anything we could find—and placed them inside the tree.
The elves will sleep there tonight. I just hope I'm not making a mistake.
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