I’ve Reincarnated into an Elf - Ch 03

  Chapter 03

“Anyway, do you know where they came from and where they’re heading?”

“Roughly. They’re probably moving from the south to the north.”

From south to north, huh?

It was a fairly casual expression, but that’s how elves speak, and in this forest, there probably weren’t many other ways to say it.

Frowning and trying to recall the memories from my past life, which were now blurry and hard to remember, I started to get a rough outline of the situation.

Looking at what the forest’s memories were showing me, I became sure of it.

“These guys, I think they’re probably residuals from a defeated army.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, there was a territory of theirs in the south, right?”

Eldmir’s village was located on the outskirts of a vast forest with the World Tree at its center.

It was so far out that people often considered Eldmir’s village as a separate forest from the World Tree’s main forest.

Since it was on the outskirts, the village interacted more with neighboring villages than with those at the center.

In short, it was a rural village.

When interacting with such neighboring villages, the residents of Eldmir’s village would sometimes notice that elves, despite their usual reputation, could actually be quite aggressive.

“Didn’t they get raided by other tribes… or maybe invaded and are now fleeing?”

Huh?

Eldmir’s village, despite being on the outskirts of the forest, was still relatively far from the outermost boundaries, so it didn’t get attacked by outside forces as much.

However, the outlying villages were often under threat from other powers. Eldmir’s village had managed to live in relative safety.

The World Tree’s forest was actually a popular area for non-elven races too, including beastmen, werewolves, and goblins…

Those who were a bit more violent and less civilised.

In fact, when Eldmir played as a werewolf or goblin in his past life, he even had to do a quest to reclaim the World Tree.

And yes, he succeeded.

When playing as a goblin he had burned everything down and rebuilt the village to suit his taste.

Anyway, because of all this, the villages on the outskirts didn’t feel like typical villages, but more like battle groups tasked with defending against outside forces.

Having been through so many fights, they often showed a surprisingly aggressive side, even for elves.

They’re so aggressive that they sometimes attack first, going into enemy territory to destroy the opposing forces.

Back in my past life, when I played as a goblin in a village near the World Tree area, I got killed by those elves a few times in the beginning, leading to forced endings.

“Well, it’s obvious, right? They’re being careful not to step on our toes. They’re not being polite, they’re just scared.”

Hm, that’s a fair point.

“So they’re not just passing through… they’re running away, huh?”

Esiria, who had been thinking for a moment, nodded slowly.

“Then we’ll have to hunt them down.”

“…Huh?”

Eldmir was shocked by his mother’s unexpected harsh words.

“We missed them, didn’t we? Then it’s our job to clean it up.”

“Uh… but you just said we should respect other races…”

“They’ve already been attacked by our kind. There’s always a reason for that.”

Even the gentle, warm mother, Esiria, was still a protector when it came to protecting the village and the forest.

For the sake of her home, she didn’t hesitate to show her more ruthless side.

“And you said they’re not from our forest, right? Then there’s no need to show respect.”

For someone who values harmony, she sure has a strong black-and-white view of things.

Eldmir swallowed his thoughts and spoke carefully.

“Should I come with you?”

He couldn’t just send his mother off to battle alone, but Esiria smiled warmly at him.

“This isn’t something you need to go through yet. Stay at the village for now.”

“Uh…”

Eldmir hesitated at his mother’s firm attitude, but then an unexpected accomplice stepped forward.

What’s the matter? Eldmir’s about to become an adult anyway, so it’s not like he can’t handle something like this.

He’s not a kid anymore.

Esiria looked over at her contract partner.

“Atir.”

The raccoon spirit, Atir, kept going.

It’s not that he lacks experience, he’s the strongest in the village already. Do you really think some residuals who got beaten by our people are going to be a threat to him?

“Mm.”

Eldmir looked at Artir with a surprised expression as he saw Esiria deep in thought.

Artir raised one eyebrow and, without speaking, mouthed the words, “Take good care of her… My contractor.”

Ah, so that’s what he’s up to. Eldmir made a sour face and shot a glance at Artir before mouthing back, “I don’t need your advice.”

After all, it’s my mother. Of course, I’ll take care of her.

Oh, but there’s still something I’m curious about, Artir suddenly spoke.

“Why are they running to the north? They were from the south, right? If they’re escaping, shouldn’t they be heading further down? Why come up here?”

“There are goblins down south,” Eldmir replied.

“That makes no sense.”

Artir tilted his head.

“You’re telling me they were invaded by Elves, and then they’re more afraid of goblins than the Elves, so they head into Elf territory? Isn’t that like being more afraid of potential invaders than the ones right in front of you?”

It was a sharp point, but Eldmir simply responded, “Elves kill their enemies cleanly.

Gobkins make slaves. Usually, they just use them for menial tasks, but in the worst cases, they turn them into sex slaves or worse, treat them like toys.”

…Huh.

Of course, other races also enslave others, but none did it as brutally and openly as the goblins.

Eldmir had found this particularly hard to adjust to when playing as a goblin in the past. By the way, Omega World was rated for ages 19 and up.

So they value dignity over survival?

“That’s pretty much it.”

What’s the point of surviving as a slave? You wouldn’t even be able to say you lived under those conditions. Especially if your captors were goblins.

It might actually be more merciful to just be killed cleanly.

“Well, Artir’s right.”

Oh, that sounds like an acknowledgment. Eldmir said to Esiria, “Er, if something dangerous happens, you should go back to the village immediately. Got it?”

“Of course,” Esiria responded.

If things go wrong, run. Eldmir made a mental note of that.

It probably won’t come to that, but if Esiria’s safety is the priority, it’s something that needs to be kept in mind.

Seemingly reassured by Eldmir’s firm reply, Esiria smiled softly and said, “Would you try tracking them down?”

“If you’re okay with it.”

Just as Eldmir was the strongest archer in the village, his tracking skills were unrivaled as well.

Besides his impressive physical power, as the village guardian, his skills were unmatched, with the notable exception of spiritual magic.

It might seem impossible for a young Elf who hasn’t even undergone the adulthood ceremony to surpass the abilities of centuries-old fighters.

It was all thanks to the potential his character, Eldmir, had from his previous life top-tier potential in everything.

As a side note, Eldmir was rejected by spirits for reasons unknown, but in truth, his potential in spirit magic was also at the highest level.

If he hadn’t been rejected, he probably would’ve been appreciated as the next hero who would bring the Spirit King back to the mortal realm.

Anyway, even without that, Eldmir had top-tier potential in every skill, and with his racial bonuses added on top, he had near-mythical talents in areas like archery.

It was probably why he recently activated the “Blessing of the Forest,” a unique power of the High Elves, as Artir had mentioned.

Even though he hadn’t undergone the adulthood ceremony and his status window hadn’t opened yet, he was already showing abilities that made him excited about what class he might end up with.

His fingers traced the ground as he followed the scent of beastfolk. There were hardly any traces left.

All the signs were so faint and unclear they were almost unrecognizable. But for Eldmir, even the faintest clues were enough.

He sharpened all his senses—sight, touch, hearing, and smell—leaving only taste aside.

Every nerve was on alert. His tracking skills, taught by the village’s teacher and protection fighters, were now in full display.

“These guys probably took off their shoes on purpose to avoid leaving traces. The footprints are still visible though.

Hmm… judging by the shape, looks like catfolk? Beastmen. Ah, there’s a dog here too.

Four cats and one dog? Weird mix. Oh, they’re heading north from the south, just like my mom said.

But if they were avoiding goblins, they could’ve gone east… Ah, right, their tribe is up north.”

As Eldmir muttered and continued following the traces, Artir looked at him with an astonished expression.

Can you really figure all that out?

Without breaking his focus, Eldmir answered,

“Yeah.”

Artir stepped closer and whispered, – Come on, be honest. You’re looking at the Forest’s Memory, aren’t you?

“Forest’s Memory? I don’t need to spy on it to do this much. I could do this from before.”

…You’re the only Elf I know who would use “spying” to describe the Forest’s Blessing, you rebellious little…

Shaking his head in disbelief, Artir muttered, El Rderel must be fickle, giving the Forest’s glory to someone like you…

Eldmir wanted to say it was all thanks to the top-tier potential set in his past life, but he just kept that thought to himself and smiled inwardly.

Having gathered the information, Eldmir stood up.

“I found them. If we hurry, we should catch up in an hour or two.”

“Good job, my son. I’m proud of you.”

“Heh.”

The warm praise made him awkwardly smile.

It still felt strange, though—his mother’s love was so comforting, yet it also made him uncomfortable.

It was hard to adapt to this new family, and whenever he thought of his past life, it only made it harder.

But he believed time would heal all that. All he could do was keep moving forward.

As they continued running, Eldmir suddenly asked, “By the way, what did these guys do to make their tribe attack them?”

Elves generally don’t leave the forest. Even though their aggressiona had grown over time, they were still fundamentally peaceful by nature.

They avoided conflict, but stood firm when necessary.

At that thought, Eldmir’s expression stiffened.

“Ah.”

So, it was obvious that this was one of those extremely rare cases. It was actually a simple thing to figure out.

“…Did they mess with something they shouldn’t have?”

Even Elves have boundaries, particularly when it comes to safeguarding their own young or violating sacred limits.

Once Eldmir thought that, his mind was flooded with rage. He clenched his teeth.

“Should we speed up?”

“…Yeah, let’s do it.”

Esiria’s face had hardened too, as if she was thinking the same thing. The speed they were running at through the forest had long surpassed human limits.

Even though they were a race blessed by the forest, maintaining this pace for long was still exhausting, even for Elves.

But they kept pushing forward, their breathing growing heavier but without a single complaint. They didn’t slow down, not even a little.

How long they ran like that, Eldmir wasn’t sure, but soon, Esiria’s stamina was reaching its limit.

“Mother. They’re here.”

“Ha… are we there?”

They stopped running, taking a moment to catch their breath.

Even though Esiria was already exhausted from the run, the energy of the forest would quickly replenish her strength.

“Yeah. I can feel them. Their presence is close.”