"The damage is greater than I expected."
Though unconscious, Alaric heard these words. Following that, a warm, refreshing sensation enveloped the entirety of his being.
He felt as if he were drifting on a cloud, a similar sensation to whenever would rest after a gruesome training session in the Navy camp.
"I want to stay like this forever," he thought, remembering the brutal training of his navy days and the so-called meditation his mother in this world had been putting him through, each memory painful.
Yet he had endured it all, as he had been told several times that it would change his elemental affinity to that of his parents.
His only memory of his father was from six years ago: the brownish-red-haired man giving him a kiss on the forehead before he and his mother came to this place.
Irindor, the capital of the Elven continent.
Since he could remember, he had been moved around the entirety of the Elven kingdom, his mother searching for a way to change his elemental affinity.
As a filial son, he could only help her out. A little pain meant nothing to him, he was once a soldier after all.
He relaxed in his bed, brows relaxed, lips slightly curved as he allowed himself to relish the serene feeling.
Flick!
"Ow!" He opened his eyes, awakened by the sharp pain to his forehead, the same sensation he felt whenever he was flicked.
"Wake up, it's time for prayers," Vel smiled at him.
"Prayers?" he echoed, looking around the room.
In the Japanese-style bedroom, he lay on a futon. Around him stood Vel's mother, a beautiful, well-endowed elf with short green hair and gentle brows, her emerald eyes staring at him with warmth.
In the corner of the room sat his mother, curled up as if under punishment, averting her gaze as she noticed Alaric looking at her.
"What did you tell my mom to make her like this?" he inquired of the other two women in the room, his tone straightforward, lacking the curiosity or innocence of a child.
"Nothing let's go…" Vel unceremoniously pulled Alaric out of bed.
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.
.
A large towering tree stood in the center of the city of Irindor, its branches crossing the skies and extending to cover almost half the city.
Multicolored leaves adorned it, dots of light like fireflies dancing around it canopy.
Beastly cries could be heard from its top, as majestic dragons made their nests in its branches, flying in and out of their homes.
Its trunk as large as a football field, bronze-colored, and around it were thick vines rising from its base to the top, wisps of energy floating at its base.
Alaric craned his neck as he looked up at the tree, lost for words every time he saw the mountain-like flora.
"Bow down."
He felt a slap to his head and quickly knelt in the moss-covered field, bowing in worship like the thousands of elves around the tree, all gathered for the daily worship of the World Tree.
"Oh mother of nature, created by the One to protect His world… Oh mother of the world, your branches cover the entirety of the world, your roots holding the world together…"
He recited the prayer, bowing like the rest, but unlike them, he meant nothing by it.
He was not religious in his past life, and the last memory he had of worship was of a cult.
To him, this was a mere formality.
As usual, he believed he just needed to act. It only lasted five minutes after all, bow, recite some words, and go on his way, as it had been since he could walk.
But today was different. As he bowed, he noticed out of the corner of his eye blue wisps of energy moving toward him.
He ignored it at first, as these wisps were elemental spirits roaming around the World Tree, common to see.
But as he rose to bow again, he saw them directly before his eyes, tens, then more, then countless, blinding his vision.
He tried to ignore them and finish the prayer, but the wisps began moving into his body.
"What the f..."
Alarmed, he shot to his feet, his sudden movement causing those around him to turn.
That was when they noticed several water elemental spirits buzzing around him.
"Hey, don't move…" Vel's mother warned as she saw Alaric trying to swat them away.
He hesitated. The elves knew more about the World Tree than he did, and this was a new world, perhaps this was normal.
Though he wanted to swat them away, he stayed still as the blue wisps of energy flowed into his body.
One, two, three… a hundred.
The worship session ended, yet everyone remained silent, watching Alaric absorb wave after wave of elemental spirits.
"He is loved by water…" one elf murmured.
"If these were wood elemental spirits, he could become a high elf…" another whispered.
Alaric remained unmoving. He felt a serene sensation wash over him, like lying in a cool lake, and he found himself enjoying it.
"You are our chosen champion."
A voice reverberated in his head, multilayered, the voice of many yet sounding as one.
He opened his eyes, trying to understand what had just happened. That was when he noticed that all the elves who had been staring at him were now bowed, not toward the tree, but toward him.
The only one still standing was his mother and himself.
He looked around in confusion, both mother and son wearing the same expression.
"What was going on…?"
…
The worship session was over, and it was time for Alaric to return home, not to Vel's house, but to the Vulcan Dukedom no Vulcan Kingdom, as his seventh birthday was only weeks away and the journey itself would take weeks.
They had to leave now if they wished to celebrate his special year in the kingdom.
"Will you not come with me?" Alaric asked Vel, his eyes pleading.
"No," Vel answered flatly.
For some reason, this child had been flirting with her even as a baby, unaware that Alaric was actually mentally an adult attracted to her.
In his past life, he had never settled down, enjoying bachelorhood while still indulging in romance. But in this world, he believed he could finally build a life, as there was no constant danger to his life, at least that is what he believed.
The dark-haired elf was exactly his type. As a grown man in a child's body, he could not be attracted to those his own physical age, even if they were cute or beautiful. His eyes had always been on Vel.
"I will not give..."
He felt a slap to the back of his head as his mother glared daggers at him.
He could only smile awkwardly as he stepped into the carriage.
"Thank you for your hospitality. We will surely visit again," Raika bowed before entering the carriage.
Vel and her mother bowed as well. Alaric waving at them as the carriage rolled away.
The horses moved at top speed, yet inside the carriage the ride was smooth.
Alaric watched the road as they traveled, recognizing many places they had passed before, having journeyed across nearly the entire Elven kingdom.
His mother spoke with him during the ride, and he answered respectfully.
He admired her deeply, seeing the love in her eyes reminded him of his real mother from his past life, so he treated her as a true son would.
After a week of travel, they finally left the Elven Kingdom, passing through a multicolored transparent veil.
Alaric admired the Aurora like barrier his expression changing mouth falling open as they crossed it.
"What happened here…?"
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A/N
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