Chapter twenty-six: Idealness and Preparation

The months passed briefly as Gilly continued her training. By this time she had become very proficient with sword and mana. By using mana to strengthen her body, her physicality increased also. She had gotten into various missions, had various spar sessions, and even learned more magic from Ephini.Even though she could not manifest magic yet, she still took the classes either way.

Now she was very popular among the trainees. She was known for being mischievous. She was respected because of her growth rate.Now it was just two weeks to the exam; she was already the top trainee. Just because she was there, Zin offered guidance to others who needed it too.

This was the fifth day of the night cycle. A full moon and three crescent moons shone above the forest canopy.Gilly strolled among the busy streets heading towards Valmor’s office. She would occasionally get greetings from people as she passed by.When she reached the front of the building, she found two guards standing at the doorpost. They wore strange armor that was not native to Elnor. They looked imposing.It was indeed strange. Valmor never had guards follow him around. She approached trying to pass but she was blocked.“Peasant, can’t you see?”

Gilly was confused. She understood what a peasant meant but she failed to see what he was talking about. One of the guards pushed her back, making her trip on the stairs and fall on the floor.

They laughed at her.Gilly did not find this funny. The only reason why she held back was because she promised Zin not to cause any trouble. As she got up the door opened up.

An elf very similar in appearance to Valmor came out. Valmor followed suit, standing just by the doorpost.

“Frinre, I hope you understand.”

Frinre turned back, looking disgusted. “You don’t understand what you’ve just done.”

He stomped away as the guards followed him. Before Frinre passed he took a close look at Gilly. He turned back to Valmor then smirked, leaving the scene with his guards afterwards.

Valmor sighed. He waved to Gilly and entered deep into the building. For a moment Gilly had felt a bit of hostility from that elf. She shook her head and followed Valmor. She was here to help him out with paperwork.

After two hours she was done. Before she left, Valmor asked, “Do you know your mother?”

This question caught her off guard. It made her feel uneasy.“Just forget what I said. You will eventually find out.”Gilly left, but that question had triggered something hidden in her soul.

On the first day of the Day cycle, just two days until the exam, she was strolling around town when she came across Zin. He was seated in the garden just beside the large tree where the library stood.

What caught Gilly’s attention was the woman seated beside him. She was an elf but the tone of her skin was dark. She wore a black gown and carried a staff wrapped in cloth. Gilly was mesmerized when she looked into her purple eyes.

“Perfect timing, Gilly,” Zin said as she approached. “Do you want to go boar hunting with us?”

Gilly, surprised at first, became excited the next moment. Then they headed south of Elnor, towards the sea.

Gilly was awfully excited. After the wolf incident, she hadn’t gotten any opportunity to fight any form of monster. She was a bit curious as to who this elf with dark skin was.

“Umm, Zin, who is this?”Zin turned aside to look at Ai-lyn, but she in turn kept her gaze to the ground.

He was hoping she would have grown confident in herself by now. Things seemed otherwise instead.

“This is Ai-lyn. We were trained by the same person. You might have noticed it, but she is a dark elf from the southeastern continent.”Gilly had heard of dark elves but she never paid attention to it. But seeing one in person was quite surprising.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Gilly.”Gilly came closer to her but Ai-lyn just walked faster, leaving them behind. The situation got awkward.“Don’t mind her, she is usually shy around new people. She will get used to you with time.”

“Ah, the shy type,” Gilly thought.

After a few hours of walking through the forest they came across an open space. For as far as the eyes could see there were flowers. Not a single tree in sight.“So what are we hunting?” Gilly asked. She had just followed since she was getting bored of her daily routine.

After picking up a purple flower, Zin pointed. At a distance—just a few hundred meters—were two large beasts with tusks and large manes on their backs, standing around four feet tall. These were mad boars.

“Are we going to eat them? Now that I think of it, aren’t we not supposed to eat meat since we are elves?”Ai-lyn turned back. Zin too was stunned. Both of them stared at Gilly for a second, then they burst into laughter.

Gilly was beginning to feel uncomfortable. After the laugh died out, Ai-lyn said, “We’re not pure-blooded elves, so we don’t do such.”She suddenly sounded casual; her usual shy personality had vanished.

When they turned, the two mad boars had already spotted them and were charging.“Gilly. Why don’t you and Ai-lyn give it a shot.”

He hopped onto a tree behind them. Gilly wasn’t feeling very confident. But she knew that if she was in danger, Zin would step in. She dashed forward, flanking from the left.

Ai-lyn unveiled her staff. It was made of black wood with a purple orb at the top.Gilly had gotten the attention of one, so it turned in her direction. It dashed forward with tusks set in front.

Gilly jumped, stepping on one of the tusks. With her sword down she broke it off.Not giving up, the boar shook its head to the left, using its remaining tusk. Gilly blocked but she was tossed to the side. She was getting excited, and her eyes began to glow faintly. She dashed forward again; this time the boar stood like a rock.

When Gilly landed on its tusk, she was flung several meters into the air. The boar set its tusk as she fell to the ground.She smiled as she swung her sword vertically—360 degrees—within a second before landing. The head was cut in half as the corpse fell to the ground.

She was happy with how much she had grown. When she turned back she saw a peculiar scene: Zin and Ai-lyn were seated on the grass field. The figure of a boar hung suspended in the air, wrapped by vines coming out of the ground.Gilly just realized that she had a lot of work to do if she was to be considered strong in this world.

They chatted all the way back to town, the journey taking the better part of half a day.

By the time they arrived, the streets were alive with movement. Some townsfolk were hanging colorful decorations between the buildings, while others set up food stalls, games, and other attractions.

Gilly realized she’d read about this in a letter she’d sorted while helping with Valmor’s paperwork—a note about a coming festival. At the time, she hadn’t paid much attention. But now, seeing that the whole town was taking part, she couldn’t help but feel excited.

Music drifted through the air, mingling with the chatter of the crowd. This was the celebration for candidates about to take their various exams in the coming days—adventurers, alchemists, mages, explorers, and more.

Gilly, as the top trainee among the cadets, quickly became the center of attention. Ephini was there, along with many others she recognized.

For the next two days, the celebration continued—food, music, and laughter filling every corner of town. Then, after the grand feast on the final night, the reality settled in.

The exam was only a day away.