I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom - Chapter 81

Chapter 81 – Sending Mr. Big Snake’s Return Gift

The Faerie Forest, now in its rainy season, experienced rainfall for half the month, causing considerable hardship for its animal and magical beast inhabitants.

Fortunately, Lake Bogman and numerous rivers of varying sizes helped alleviate the pressure on the forest. Adult fairies frequently ventured out in the rain to drain excess water, preventing catastrophic floods.

Today, however, the weather was clear. The heavy, dark clouds had dispersed, revealing the long-awaited sunlight.

Shu Li sat comfortably on the back of a giant Magic Bird, soaring through the skies with carefree ease.

Dore flew high and fast, the wind buffeting them fiercely. With practiced skill, he erected a transparent protective barrier around himself and Shu Li, shielding them from the wind’s force.

An hour later, Dore carried Shu Li to the eastern part of the forest. After circling for several minutes, they slowly descended, spotting a towering Giant Tree. Extending his powerful talons, Dore landed securely on a thick branch high in the tree’s canopy.

“Chirp~”

Dore chirped to alert the Little Fairy on his back that they had reached their destination.

Shu Li yawned, then crawled out from beneath the thick layer of feathers.

The feathers were so warm he nearly fell asleep.

Shaking his thin, gauze-like, translucent wings, he flew off Dore’s back. “Thank you, Dore.”

“Chirp~” Dore replied, flapping his wings and soaring away from the Giant Tree.

This was Demonic Serpent territory, and any unauthorized intrusion by high-level magical beasts would be considered a provocation.

Dore, a Fourth-Tier Demonic Bird, had no desire to clash with the Seventh-Tier Demonic Serpent at its peak. After dropping off Shu Li, he promptly headed to a nearby public hunting ground to satisfy his own appetite.

Shu Li watched Dore depart, then flew down along the Giant Tree’s main trunk.

He remembered his first time here, when the Big Silly Bird had brought him. To find the Divine Tree, he had struggled to fly upward from below, nearly falling midway. Only Mr. Big Snake’s help had allowed him to reach the canopy safely.

Ten years had passed. He was no longer that naive cub.

Now an Intermediate Mage, he wielded magic with ease, possessed considerable combat prowess, and could fly ten times faster than before.

Tucking in his wings, Shu Li leaped off the branch, plummeting in free fall.

He plunged downward at breakneck speed, fearless.

Finding his descent too slow, he retrieved an exquisitely crafted magic wand from his Storage Ring and cast a Wind Magic spell on himself.

In an instant, his fall accelerated, plummeting over two hundred meters. An ordinary person would likely have been terrified to the point of cardiac arrest.

But Shu Li, having adapted to his Fairy form and overcome his fear of heights, found this routine.

Not only was he unafraid, but he even performed acrobatic maneuvers mid-air, deftly avoiding obstructing leaves and branches.

After plummeting over three hundred meters, with only a hundred or two remaining until the ground, a colossal shadow suddenly loomed below.

Shu Li felt an immense pressure. With a flick of his wand, he dispelled the acceleration spell and unfurled his gossamer wings with a whoosh. A few gentle flaps effectively cushioned his descent.

The Black Shadow surged upward with equal speed, closing the distance in mere breaths.

When Shu Li recognized the massive silhouette, joy lit up his delicate features, his tender green eyes sparkling like stars.

“Mr. Big Snake—!”

He called out, flapped his wings, and landed lightly on the Black Shadow’s head.

Hiss—

The colossal Demonic Serpent caught the young fairy who leaped down from above, coiled around the tree trunk, and rested its head on a nearby thick branch.

Shu Li landed nimbly on the branch, facing the Demonic Serpent.

“Good morning, Bazne,” the young fairy greeted cheerfully, his golden ponytail bouncing.

Though he usually called the Demonic Serpent “Mr. Big Snake,” Shu Li always addressed it by its proper name during formal encounters.

“Good morning, Sperien,” the Demonic Serpent replied, its voice raspy and languid, as if it had just woken up.

“I’m sorry to disturb you so early,” Shu Li said apologetically. Mr. Big Snake loved to sleep in, and its hunting activities usually began in the afternoon.

“It’s no trouble,” the Demonic Serpent assured him. It was always generous with its friends and wouldn’t get upset over such a minor matter.

Besides, the Little Fairy was a dear friend with whom it had exchanged gifts for ten years, forging a deep bond.

Shu Li’s face lit up with a wide smile. “Thank you for the gift! I love it.”

Half a month ago, Mr. Big Snake had given him a bow.

After appraisal by an expert, it was identified as a Seventh-Tier weapon crafted by Dwarves, possessing immense destructive power and ideally suited for Elves or Fairies. Its only drawback was its inability to shrink.

Shu Li couldn’t use it yet; he would have to wait until he became a Senior Mage and could unleash his Source Power to grow larger before wielding it.

“If you like it, that’s all that matters,” the Demonic Serpent said. Living on the edge of the forest, it encountered ill-fated Adventurer’s Guild teams every month and had “collected” many valuable treasures. The bow was a high-tier weapon “dropped” by an Adventurer’s Guild team last month. To the serpent, it was merely a useless trinket, better given to the Fairy child to play with.

Shu Li vaguely understood the gift’s origins but never asked.

He knew Mr. Big Snake’s nature: generous, helpful, powerful yet unassuming. As long as one didn’t invade its territory or deliberately provoke it, the serpent would never attack unprovoked.

“I brought you a return gift,” Shu Li said, tucking the magic wand into his Storage Ring and pulling out a green fruit the size of a soccer ball. “This is a Kaka Fruit I picked from the orchard in the Elven Kingdom. It’s juicy, nutritious, and delicious. Try it.”

The Demonic Serpent rotated its massive eye, staring at the green fruit that looked like a tiny bead to its colossal form.

The Demonic Serpent was a carnivore, and fruit was optional in its diet. It rarely ate more than a few pieces a year. However, the Little Fairy’s enthusiasm for feeding it had increased its fruit consumption.

Fruits from the Elven Kingdom were extraordinary, beyond the reach of ordinary magical beasts.

Under Shu Li’s expectant gaze, the Demonic Serpent opened its mouth, its red tongue darting in and out. The fruit was swiftly coiled into its mouth and swallowed whole, like candy, without even a chew.

“I have plenty more,” Shu Li said, noticing the Demonic Serpent gulp down the Kaka Fruit like Zhu Bajie devouring ginseng fruit. Worried it might not taste the flavor, he retrieved a pile of fruit from his Storage Ring.

The Demonic Serpent flicked its tongue again, coiling all the fruit into its mouth and swallowing it effortlessly.

When Shu Li tried to offer more, the Demonic Serpent refused, indicating it had enough.

Shu Li regretfully put the fruit away and brought out the true gift he had for Mr. Big Snake—a golden crystalline shard.

The shard was about the size of an adult’s fist, hexagonal in shape, with a hard exterior and liquid flowing within, making it not entirely solid.

As Shu Li presented it, the Demonic Serpent’s eyes narrowed into vertical slits.

“This was a gift from Dragon King Hammon. He said it’s a magic core from some kind of Sea Beast. I thought you might need it.”

Five years ago, when Hammon took the Young Dragon away, he promised to send Shu Li a thank-you gift.

That “gift” has been arriving for five years straight.

Rare treasures and exotic wonders poured in endlessly, leaving Shu Li’s hands aching from receiving them. He tried to refuse several times, but Hammon skillfully changed the subject each time.

In the end, the treasures in his Storage Ring multiplied to the point where he could open his own treasure shop.

This particular Sea Beast magic core had been casually tossed to him by Hammon during a visit to the Elven Kingdom last month.

Since Shu Li had no use for it himself, he immediately thought of Mr. Big Snake.

High-tier magic cores are potent tonics for magical beasts. Consuming one not only enhances their strength but also offers a chance for advancement.

Although Hammon hadn’t specified the core’s tier, anything from the Dragon King was undoubtedly top-quality.

The moment Shu Li produced it, Mr. Big Snake’s aura shifted dramatically, confirming he had chosen the perfect gift.

“Are you… certain you want to give this to me?” the Demonic Serpent asked solemnly.

“Absolutely!” Shu Li nodded, pushing the magic core closer to the serpent’s mouth.

After a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Big Snake swallowed the core, temporarily storing it in the space pouch within his mouth.

“This is an Eighth-Tier Sea Beast magic core. It could allow me to advance to the Eighth-Tier. Thank you, my friend.”

Hearing this, Shu Li’s eyes curved into a joyful smile. “Really? That’s wonderful!”

The Demonic Serpent gazed at the tiny fairy with a complex expression, its tail rhythmically tapping against the tree trunk.

“What do you want? I can get you anything.”

The contents of its space pouch couldn’t compare to the value of an Eighth-Tier Magic Core, making it unsuitable as a gift. Instead, it inquired about the Little Fairy’s desires.

“No, no,” Shu Li waved his hand. “I don’t really want anything right now.”

Seeing his refusal, the Demonic Serpent stopped asking, storing the thought in its mind. It resolved to gift him something truly special when it encountered a worthy treasure in the future.

Having delivered his gift, Shu Li prepared to leave.

Just as he was about to summon Dore, a commotion suddenly erupted beneath the tree.

The Demonic Serpent hissed several times, signaling Shu Li to conceal his aura.

With a flap of his wings, Shu Li darted into the foliage like lightning.

Intruders!

Mr. Big Snake’s territory lay on the edge of the Faerie Forest, frequently attracting trespassing adventurer’s guilds. These groups, disoriented by the forest’s hallucinogenic mists, often turned on each other in frenzied battles. By the time they stumbled beneath the Giant Tree, their lives hung by a thread, making them easy prey for Mr. Big Snake.

Over the past two years, Shu Li had visited Mr. Big Snake often, encountering such incidents three or four times.

Upon detecting the intruders below, he instinctively concealed his aura and hid, watching silently as Mr. Snake slithered down the Giant Tree without a sound.

The intruders were three humans: a warrior and two Dark Mages clad in gray robes.

Not good people!

Shu Li frowned. Since he began studying Dark Magic under the Elven King last month, he had learned that Dark Mages were rarely virtuous. They specialized in poison, curses, Soul Extraction, summoning the Death God, and other vile arts, leaving no evil untouched.

These intruders’ motives for entering the Faerie Forest were undoubtedly sinister.

Affected by the mist, their movements were sluggish and clumsy. They stumbled toward the Giant Tree, collapsing one after another with strange, guttural gasps.

The Demonic Serpent slithered to the base of the tree, observing coldly without immediately taking action.

The warrior, covered in blood and the most physically fit of the group, approached one of the Dark Mages and, without warning, swung his sword down.

“Ah—!” Blood spurted from the Dark Mage’s neck as he let out a piercing scream.

After killing one, the warrior threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Die! Die! All of you die! I am the strongest warrior! You’re all unworthy! Hahaha—!”

The mist surrounding the Faerie Forest, placed by the Elven King, amplified the intruders’ inner malice.

The warrior had once used treacherous means to eliminate all his rivals in his ruthless climb to power.

Now, lost in memories of the past, he mistook his comrades for his dead rivals, losing his sanity and attacking them with frenzied fury.

An adventurer’s party of ten had dwindled to just two survivors.

Having slain one Dark Mage, the warrior advanced menacingly toward the remaining one, sword in hand, his face twisted in a savage grimace.

This Dark Mage was younger, less steeped in evil, and less affected by the mist, his mind still clinging to a sliver of clarity. Witnessing his companion’s brutal demise at the warrior’s blade, he scrambled backward in terror, shouting desperately, “Hook! Hook! Snap out of it! I’m Karn, your teammate!”

The warrior, Hook, seemed deaf to the pleas. The more the Dark Mage begged for mercy, the more Hook’s bloodlust surged. He clamped a hand over the Mage’s head and, amidst the man’s horrified screams, swung his blood-soaked longsword down.

Clang!

The sword clattered to the ground, striking a small stone with a jarring clang.

Hook spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed stiffly to the ground.

The Dark Mage crawled away in a panic, his trembling hand gripping a dagger as he gasped for breath.

“Dead… dead… dead…” His expression vacant, he suddenly burst into a shrill laugh, as if recalling something. “Heh heh ha… heh heh ha… All dead! All dead!”

The laughter abruptly ceased.

He collapsed backward, the dagger that had killed his companions still lodged in his chest.

Total annihilation.

Though Shu Li had witnessed such bloody scenes before, he still felt the urge to vomit.

This was the fate of invaders.

Any outsider who dared to trespass into the Faerie Forest with malice in their heart could not escape death.

The Demonic Serpent leisurely approached the three corpses, skillfully scavenging their belongings.

Swords, magic wands, jewelry, and Storage Pouches were systematically stripped off and piled atop its head. The serpent then slowly slithered back up the tree to Shu Li’s perch.

“Hiss~”

It deposited the items before Shu Li.

“See if there’s anything you need.”

Shu Li blinked.