I’ve Reincarnated into an Elf - Ch 02

Chapter 02

“Beastmen? Why are they here?”

Who knows?

Maybe they came looking for new land, or maybe they’re just passing through.

“That’s some nonsense.”

As Eldmir muttered a curse under his breath, the raccoon gave him a sharp remark.

Elves don’t curse like that.

“Shut up, when did I start caring about that kind of thing? Just tell me more about it. How big is it?”

What’s up with you, why are you getting so upset?

As Eldmir quickly lunged forward, the raccoon took a step back.

Not caring, Eldmir moved right up to the raccoon and grabbed him, his face now flushed with excitement.

“Tell me quickly!”

Ugh, dam!!!

The raccoon struggled a bit in Eldmir’s grip, then shot him a glare.

Hey, are you letting go or not?

“Answer me.”

Oh, come on.

The raccoon’s glare wasn’t really intimidating.

Suddenly, Eldmir, in a playful mood, started rubbing his face all over the raccoon’s cheek, causing him to twitch.

Ugh, damn it.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the raccoon disappeared in a flash of fire, only to reappear as if flames were rising from the ground.

There was fire in Eldmir’s hand, but the fire of a spirit doesn’t cause trouble.

It only burns what it wants to burn.

Now fully reformed into his spirit form, the raccoon glared at Eldmir.

Calm down a bit. You’re an elf, so why do you care so much about things outside the village?

“I’m a rebel, that’s why.”

That’s your excuse? No wonder you can’t form a contract with a spirit.

“Don’t start a fight if you’re not gonna make a contract. So, where are those guys from? Even though this is a rural area, it’s still the World Tree Forest, so if they want to settle here, they should be ready for it.”

Eldmir’s village is small, but things change closer to the center of the World Tree.

If the beastfolk are really showing any signs of wanting to settle in this forest, there would be clear movements from the central authority. Finding a home in this forest is practically insane.

“I still don’t know. I’m not sure how big they are. It’s likely just a few passing through, but I can’t say for sure. That’s why Esiria didn’t bother asking for my help.”

“Oh really?”

Fascinated, Eldmir started putting his gear back on. The raccoon frowned at him.

“Where do you think you’re going? You haven’t even had your coming-of-age ceremony yet.”

“That kid’s skills can’t be matched by anyone in the village, right?”

“Still, what can a half-baked kid do without a contract?”

“Ha, one of our ancestors shot down a dragon just with his archery skills. I might not be that good, but I can hold my own. Don’t stop me.”

“Ha, you’d crumble with just my breath…”

Ignoring the raccoon’s comment, Eldmir dashed out the door and started running fast.

Is this what it means to move like an elf?

Eldmir’s speed as he raced through the forest was incredible. He was sprinting like a cheetah, and when he reached a densely wooded area, he leaped off the ground.

Even though it was a remote area, this was the World Tree Forest, said to have existed since the beginning of time.

Each tree was massive, and the branches were huge, towering high above. The lowest branches were about 10 meters up.

With amazing jumping power, Eldmir leaped from tree to tree, landing on the branches and continuing to jump higher and higher.

Sometimes he even performed acrobatic leaps from the treetops.

“Wow, he’s ridiculously fast.”

The spirit grumbled while watching Eldmir’s retreating figure before igniting itself again and reforming right next to him.

“Hey, rebel elf.”

Flying alongside Eldmir at the same speed, the spirit spoke up, and Eldmir glanced over.

“What?”

“Wow, you sure talk a lot without even biting your tongue.” The spirit said, wrapping up its thoughts. “

“So, do you even know which way to go?”

“This way, right?” Eldmir replied bluntly, and the spirit squinted at him.

“What? How do you know that?”

“Come on. I might not have made a contract with you, but I can still communicate with nature. If I ask the forest, I’ll get the answer right away—why would I be wandering around? Huh?”

“…You can talk to the forest?”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“Hey! You crazy idiot, only high elves can communicate directly with the forest!”

The raccoon spirit shouted, and Eldmir looked a bit annoyed.
“Really?”

“Yeah! Have you ever seen villagers claiming they talk to the forest?”

“No, but they always say stuff like they’re in tune with nature or whatever.”

“That’s just a metaphor for what we do!! Wow, are you really an elf? You mentioned that dragon story earlier, and now you think you’re actually a high elf?”

The dragon story he mentioned was an elven hero who shot down a dragon in flight with a bow.

Just so you know, dragons fly at subsonic speeds.

“Wait, when did you start hearing the forest?

I’m pretty sure you couldn’t before!”

“What do you mean ‘couldn’t’? Well, I only started hearing it recently. Maybe about a week ago?”

“Are you serious? You, the one who’s being rejected by the spirits, are hearing the forest’s voice? What is El Rdael up to?”

This was probably because Eldmir had set his potential stats to the max in his past life.

But aside from that, Eldmir secretly agreed with the raccoon spirit’s mumbling.

Sure, even though his potential was maxed out, his physical growth was beyond imagination.

When he played the game, even with maxed potential, he struggled to take down a single monster as a kid and often ended up dying and restarting.

He wasn’t the only one; players on game forums and official sites often complained about how tough childhood was, even for those with maxed potential.

But maybe it was the difference between reality and the game, or perhaps he felt the existence of that potential in his bones.

Eldmir was deeply aware that his growth speed was insane compared to playing a game character.

Whether the spirit realized this or not, it suddenly started yelling.

“Wait, why didn’t you say that before?!”

“Well, it started happening right before my coming-of-age ceremony, so I just thought all elves could hear this. And why is this such a big deal? After all, every elf has a high elf ancestor in their bloodline, so I must have inherited something special.”

You’re crazy…

The raccoon spirit looked at Eldmir with an expression that was both puzzled and filled with frustration, but Eldmir just smiled widely.

“Watch your words. Spirits don’t curse like that.”

Hey!!

The raccoon spirit yelled, and Eldmir laughed loudly.

He had always wanted to knock that cocky spirit’s nose, but teasing it like this felt pretty good.

Originally, the raccoon spirit liked to keep a mysterious vibe, speaking in riddles and acting hard to understand.

But after living with Eldmir for over ten years, it had started picking up his direct and no-nonsense style.

Rough, blunt, and never hiding its emotions.

Even though the spirit liked to tease Eldmir as a “rebel elf,” it knew full well that it had become something of a “bad-boy” spirit in Eldmir’s image.

“Looks like we’re almost there, huh?”

What, is the forest whispering to you again?

“Yep.”

Even without the forest whispering to him,

Eldmir’s elven vision had already picked up the figure of his mother, Esiria, in the distance.

Though it was still a long way off, Eldmir picked up his speed.

As the trees began to thin out, he dropped to the ground and started running full speed. At that point, moving faster than any beast could.

Unable to match his speed, the raccoon spirit muttered a curse and stopped, knowing it was impossible to catch up.

So, it burned its body again and reappeared right next to its contractor.

“Mother!”

If he were human, his voice wouldn’t have reached her from that distance, but with the elves’ superior hearing, it was more than enough for Esiria to hear him.

Esiria, a little surprised by the sudden return of her spirit and the appearance of her son, quickly broke into her signature warm smile and waved at him.

In one of her hands, she held a bow.

“Welcome, Er. You’re full of energy as always.”
“Haha, you know it.”

Esiria, She was the one he called mother in this world.

Even though he loved her deeply, after nearly 20 years, her presence never once felt awkward to Eldmir.

Who would’ve imagined that after over 30 years of having one mother, he’d end up with another one in a different world?

For someone who’d always been deeply respectful to his mother, this situation only highlighted the gap and discomfort he felt.

“Did you investigate this by yourself?”

“Yeah. The village people will get any messages from the forest, but so far there’s nothing unusual.”

“Hmm. So, they’re probably just passing through?”

“Yeah. Judging by the way they’ve moved carefully around here, considering we’re near the World Tree Forest, they seem to be well-mannered. Looks like they understand interspecies etiquette.”

At that, Eldmir couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hahaha! Beastmen being polite? That’s like barbarians following formalities, isn’t it?”

Though he’d never played as a beastman, Eldmir knew all too well what it was like to play as a barbarian.

The beastmen were one of the main rival races and the ones they fought against the most fiercely.

They’re half-human, half-beast, literally like animals.

Even if they spit on elves and insult them by calling them “earlings” or “archers,” they wouldn’t show the elves any respect at all.

But despite Eldmir’s laugh, Esiria put on a stern face.

“You shouldn’t say that, Eldmir.

Beastmen live in the forest, too, and as fellow creatures of the forest, they deserve respect.”

“Creatures of the forest? Them?”

Eldmir’s expression twisted in disbelief.

“They don’t think of the forest as a home. They probably see it more as a convenient place to mark their territory, like a giant bathroom.

Those beasts have even set up their own ‘kingdoms’ outside the forest. They’re not really part of the forest tribe.”

If it had been before, Eldmir might not have known, but the beastmen now were nothing more than rebellious troublemakers who had left the forest.

“Really?”

Esiria’s eyes widened in surprise.

Despite having lived nearly a century and being an elder, as well as his mother, Esiria didn’t know much about the world.

She had never left the forest, so while she had wisdom from her long life and experience as an elf, she couldn’t know much about life outside the forest.

Seeing Esiria like this, Eldmir gave a bitter smile.

“Mother, I know that we elves value harmony and respect for the forest, but we also need to be cautious of other races.

If you look at what they’re doing, you’ll understand.”

How do you even know that?

Eldmir scoffed at the spirit’s question.

“Why wouldn’t I know?”

What? …Ah.

The raccoon spirit seemed to realize something and frowned.

Definitely a lot to learn from the forest’s memories.

The muttered words were so soft that even an elf wouldn’t have heard them, but Eldmir, being different from the usual elves, could clearly make them out.

It was probably just based on his five years of experience and multiple playthroughs of the game, but in his world, assumptions were free.