I stared up at the small opening of the cage and I recalled I still had some light crystals with me. So, I brought a few out of [Dimensional Box] and laid them around me.

With my prison illuminated, it was no longer as suffocating as before. It wasn't impossible to escape, I just knew it would be too much of a hassle right now. So, I settled in comfortably to wait it out, retrieving what looked like a dried apricot from one of the supply bags in my store to eat.

«What a model prisoner.» Sensei tutted disapprovingly. «Daring to eat, when you could be buried at any time.»

"Tension makes me hungry." I retorted. "Panicking doesn't solve anything either, so I'm saving my strength and energy."

«Show some awareness of your current predicament!» Sensei was completely fed up.

"I am well aware." I replied with an eye roll. "I won't let myself get buried if things don't go well."

I was prepared to fight my way out, if that's what it came down to. But somehow I had a feeling the trees didn't want that. They had made such an effort to trap me, like they were trying to limit the amount of damage they took to the very minimum.

If they were truly powerful, they would have fought me instead.

It wasnt that I was ignoring Sensei, I was more concerned about my nestlings than the trees. And I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be released. I imagined they had dealt with many other trespassers in the same way, however unlike other creatures, burying me would only be poison for their roots, a fact I planned to reveal if they did try.

And so, rather than worry, I checked the nestling's progress on the atlas instead. It was not to try and pinpoint who was at fault for the failure, but more to count all of them to see if they were all alive. And to my relief, all thirty squiggly snake outlines were present.

Some were moving quickly across the map, others gathered in stretches of forest and some were already on their way back.

Of the six groups, I saw three were very close to reaching the cave. The atlas had since transformed and was looking rather amazing. Alongside my location in the peachy pink forest, there were new area's I'd never seen.

I never knew the Upper stratum had barren areas, but a team had discovered it. Another had even found a lake that could substitute for the one that went missing.

It was all going so well, I couldn't help smile watching their progress and the annoyance from earlier disappeared.

Once I got out of here, I planned to extend the cave even more. I zeroed in on the outline of the cave on the atlas. There was miles and miles of bedrock, between the Upper and Middle Stratum, but before the might of my [Dimensional Box] it was simply wasted space waiting to be melded into shape.

My eyes sparkled as the idea of an underground dwelling began to form. It would be tall, comfy and filled with all kinds of treasures and I would make sure of it. There had to be enough space for all the nestlings and for me to indulge in all my interests and perhaps even the lizard could come and live with us.

There was only one thing limiting my dreams – my [Dimensional Box] was small compared to the size of my imagination. To expand more efficiently, I need its capabilities to get an 'upgrade' per say.

As I was in thoughts, a sliver of light shone in through the hole as the roots above parted. I immediately stared up at the opening, towards the sound of whispering. However, I didn't see the tiny dark fae I was expecting. Instead I saw a series of branches and stems that twisted and changed as they moved, forming curious shapes in the trees.

It was eerie, they seemed to have taken on the appearance of people, each one shifting to form a face and a body with their leaves forming around them like hair. But as the opening of the hole extended wider, the shapes in the trees solidified, returning to silent trees once more and I was relieved at the sight of pink leaves swaying gently in the wind.

I reeled back in shock, wondering which was their true form.

The roots covering my prison were gone, and the opening spread wide like an invitation to fly away.

Fortunately, the eerie trees did not move closer and soon the head of a familiar tiny figure appeared above the hole. My head immediately started to hurt as the telepathic connection was established once more.

[You can come out now.] The dark fae said. [They want to meet you.]

I was immediately relieved I no longer had to stay in the hole. But I was still hesitant. If every tree could change forms, wasn't I in for a beating then? I must have broken their noses or some ribs when I crashed into them. Now I realised why they were so angry.

The dark fae squinted as she looked at me. [What is that on your tail? What are you eating?]

Ah.

[None of your business.] I retorted immediately.

I was annoyed after being left in the hole for so long and quite frankly, I didn't feel like sharing my treats.

The tiny figure crossed her arms and glowered at me.

Her tiny size was comparable to a toy and the pointed horns above her head were no larger than toothpicks.

Was she trying to look intimidating?

There was no way she actually believed that would work. I ignored her and continued to eat.

[Hey!] The dark fae rushed down the hole in an instant and began to buzz around me with an annoyed look on her face. My eyes widened and I suppressed the urge to laugh.

Was that all it took? If I had known, I'd have brought out some fruits earlier.

She held out her tiny hand to make a grab for the piece of fruit I dangled from my tail but I immediately whipped it out of the way. She missed, her tiny claws only grabbing the skin of the fruit.

[Stop staring at my food. I won't give you any.] I provoked her.

The dark fae frowned and made another dash for it, this time I barely saw her move and before I knew it she had succeeded in grabbing a chunk.

[You! How can you speak so well?] she asked, carelessly gobbling down the fruit. [How old are you?]

How old was I? A few days, a few weeks? I had no idea.

But what the heck?

Should you be saying something like that after stealing from me?

And did she just eat it? What if it was poisoned?

Just because I was free to go, didn't mean I was no longer dangerous!

I realised, to my horror, that this creature was nothing more than a brat, and I sighed, ashamed for ever taking her seriously.

Now that I could see her closely, I saw she had pointed ears, closely resembling those of an elf. And also, she wasn't really hovering. Her exposed back had tiny nobs, where translucent wings sprouted. I couldn't see them before because they were too small and moving too fast, but now that she had settled to eat on my coils, I could see their shape.

I appraised her stats immediately.

--------------

LV24 Verum Ellydian

Specie: Ailith Fae

HP: 216/216 Defence: 76

MP: 270/270 Intellect: 154

SP: 160/160 Magic: 222

Attack: 179 Agility: 350

Skills:

[Telepathy:LV7] [Buoyancy: LV10] [Flight: LV10]

[?????: LV?] [???? ?????: LV?] [????:LV?]

---------------

I closed my eyes and suppressed my irritation.

"How can something this tiny be higher levelled than me?"

Sensei snickered. «Don't judge them based on their size.»

"It's because I'm a snake, isn't it?"

Sensei scoffed. «No. Because you're less than a month old. Two weeks, three days, and 21 minutes, to be exact.»

I wanted to hide my face. "Don't say that so shamelessly!"

Why did he sound like some proud parent?

If I told the fae that, wouldn't I just get laughed at?

[Why do you want to know?] I asked instead. [How old are you?]

The dark fae counted eight with her tiny fingers before holding it out to me. [I will be this much , this season.]

"Eight?" So she was a brat!

«Eighty.» Sensei corrected. «A season in the Labyrinth lasts a decade.»

What? I found it hard to believe she wasn't really eight! Firstly she was too tiny!

[Shouldn't you look more adult then?] I asked in disbelief. [Why do you still look like this?]

[Adult? What's that?] The dark fae took another bite of fruit. [What's wrong with how I look?]

Oh…how to explain.

«Don't do it.» Sensei grumbled.

"Quiet, Sensei." Deep down I was laughing.

[Adult girls should be more developed in that region.]

The dark fae stared down at her flat chest and fell silent. Soon her calm demeanour was gone and she zipped around in the air, pointing at me in anger. [You're just a serpent anyway! What do you know about that!]

With that, the dark fae turned on her heel and vanished out of the hole without looking back.

Ahh...I might have hit a sore spot.

«You just couldn't resist, could you?»

Yes. But...how cute. I had no regrets.

I released my coils and tested out my wings, before rising out of the hole to go after her. But before I could get clear, I felt something snag at my horns and I looked up to see one of the roots quickly retreating into the ground.

"What was that?" I asked Sensei.

I felt there was something moving on my horns, just out of view in my periphery. I couldn't see it exactly, but it might have been a pink leaf.