“My boy has become an adult.” Edyrm said with emotion. Rydel was disorientated. He quickly remembered that he originally was in his home, it’s been so long from his point of view that he had almost forgotten it. He stood up and looked down at his father. Rydel was surprised at being a little taller than his father, after his evolution his height had elevated to 2m. “I’ve been waiting for this.” Rydel took Neena in his arms and hugged his entire family. A tear rolled down his face, he had missed them. “Your father and I had prepared a gift for your coming of age.” Thalia took out a yellow-green vial. Rydel inspected it with curiosity until it clicked on his mind. “Is this what I think it is?” Rydel was astonished. “Of course! It’s heart sap from our tree.” Edyrm said with pride. The tree that they lived on was being nurtured by his parents. They collected the sap from the tree often, when they had enough quantity they boiled it down with spiritual energy until it turned into a few drops. Mind you, the tree was over 100m tall, and my parents collected the entire batch of a whole year for just a couple of drops. After boiling the concentrated sap for thirty years’ worth of batches, you get this little vial. You couldn’t cheat gathering up the sap of various trees either, as the sap contained the individual vital energy of their tree. It was like trying to mash the blood of two completely different people in a transfusion, except that having the same frequency of vitality was almost impossible. ‘Remember, my gift is priceless.’ Neena discreetly sent him a message with one of her tails. ‘Yes, yes.’ Rydel patted her. Her gift was truly priceless though. It was a cultivation manual, ‘Lunar Apotheosis’, when trained to completion one could eventually create their own moon. Of course, Neena was only permitted to give him the first part used for E-grade beings. That’s the reason why he couldn’t use it before, as he hadn’t reached the necessary stage. Also, this manual taught him an energy circulation to strengthen himself and gain the most from each level, it also multiplied the power of all moon-related Daos. It suited him quite well too, as it was originally created for elvenoids beings, Neena explained to him that it was common in her race to have companions. The Elphyra Clan possessed a cultivation method too, ‘Breath of the Forest’, that was aimed at nature-related Daos in general. He was compatible with it too, however, as it was less specialized it gave fewer benefits too. “I’m going to drink the sap now.” Rydel said with excitement. His parents sighed at his impatience, but they understood how he felt. They were the same when they were his age. Rydel seated down and uncapped the little vial. It had a strong smell of plants, it was pleasant and fragrant. He drank it in one gulp. A gentle explosion of energy emanated from the center of his chest. He redirected the energy to his pathways in a complex circulation. The gaseous pathways became denser with each passing moment, the sap didn’t contain enough energy to liquefy it, but he made great leaps forward to achieve it. Rydel finished after two hours of refinement, he looked at his status. Name: Rydel Elphyra Age: 15 years Race: Astral Elf Class: Starborn (Level 5) Daodrops: Dao of the Moonlight (Middle) Traits: Moontouched, Perfected Being (F) Vitality: 35 Strength: 25 Dexterity: 20 Endurance: 25 Perception: 103 Spirit: 163 AP: 0 He had undergone a massive transformation, his spirit had more than doubled, and his perception had tripled. He put half of his ten free attributes points in endurance and the other half in strength, to try to have some semblance of balance. He had to test his new class, but he was dead tired. Mostly, he wanted to fly with his wings, it was a pity that they weren’t made of flesh and he had to summon them. “How is the progress of the war?” Rydel said. Rydel had asked his parents to not disclose anything to him before evolving. He didn’t want any worries disrupting his training, he only knew that they weren’t in immediate danger. “The capital answered our long-range communication talisman and told us that the agreed powerhouses are coming in the next two weeks.” Edyrm explained. “Also, after losing contact with their scouts, the humans became shy and took refuge in their camp. They don’t seem to have the intention of going out any time soon.” Thalia added with annoyance. “We also don’t want to be ambushed, or be caught in any traps made by those crafty humans. We are under curfew and going out of the village is unadvised.” Edyrm explained. The leftovers of humanity that lived on the Afrein Peninsula were said to descend from refugees that crossed the Mountains of Desolation seeking refuge. Apparently where they lived was just a small portion of a bigger continent. Its entire size was boundless, nobody knowing the limits of the world. Their direct neighbors across the mountains were a humanoid race of hydras, they were ruthless predators and the scattered groups of humans decided to take a gamble and escape. Few managed to reach the lands of elfkind, strength didn’t matter, only those lucky enough didn’t get devoured by one of the many beasts living in the mountains. This was tens of thousands of years ago, so there weren’t many written records of what happened. Despite that, the image of the crafty elvenoid race that would do anything to survive got integrated into the communal memory of their ancestor. They weren’t evil or had bad intentions, they’d have been exterminated in that case. However, when compared to the usually honest and simple personality of most elves, they as a group tried to take advantage of every gift given to them. That’s why some elves didn’t have a very favorable impression of humanity. Galather was a good example of this, as someone rigid and protective, he didn’t particularly like them. Their current situation was different though, as humanity and elfkind were genetically compatible, eventually, pairs of both races fell in love and their progeny became half-elves. The group of humans that came was small, nowadays, they were integrated and there weren’t any pure humans anymore. Their blood had diluted with time, sometimes elves were born with genes of their ancestors, those were the current half-elves. That’s why the current view on humanity was of indifference, as they were just elves like the rest of us. Rydel wanted to have contact with them first before having any opinion, as his previous life as a human made him a little biased. “We still have a couple of weeks then, after ingesting the sap I need to cool down my cultivation for some days to not blemish my foundation.” Rydel said. “Indeed, we can accompany you in three days to test your new class too. For now, let’s have a feast.” Edyrm said with hunger in his eyes. Thalia rolled her eyes but didn’t object, both of his parents went all out in preparing their meal. They even managed to coax a few glasses of firehoney wine from Elder Roshia, thankfully, this time Rydel was prepared as his body was stronger. The family relaxed after the meal laying down in the dining room. The four had their bellies bloated and a satisfied smile on their faces. “The other day Thuridan came to the training grounds.” Edyrm mentioned. “Did he recover from his injuries?” Rydel asked. “Thankfully, he did, Elder Kiirion managed to patch him up in a couple of days. He was mentally devastated, he didn’t want to be a farmer anymore and came begging us to turn him into a warrior.” Edyrm sighed. “Did you accept him?” Thalia asked, preoccupied. “We convinced him that it was too soon, his scars too fresh.” Edyrm said with gloom. “I understand his plight. Those that died were his closest friends.” Rydel said. “Seeking strength out of revenge is a ticking bomb waiting to explode. Even if he managed to avenge our clanmates, the emptiness would consume him in the end.” Thalia quietly said, hugging her knees. “Is it worth a life without those that you love though?” Rydel said. “It’s not like he is alone, he still is a proud member of the Elphyra Clan, we are his family.” Thalia said. “What if we were the ones that died? Wouldn’t you avenge us?” Rydel asked. “Of course I would.” Thalia said without hesitation. “Aren’t you being a little bit hypocritical?” Rydel asked, a little grumpy. “It’s different, the three of you are my immediate family, my reason to continue living. The world would transform in a lifeless painting, losing its colors.” Thalia said with a hint of sadness in her voice. The room stayed in silence for a few minutes. Neena hated having to hide her true nature because of moments like this, she wanted to reassure Thalia and say that she wouldn’t allow anyone to harm their family. Nonetheless, it was too dangerous having more people knowing her secret, if it wasn’t because Akemi had left a seed of protection in Rydel’s mind, even he wouldn’t be allowed to know it. She moved to Thalia’s lap and wrapped her three tails onto her wrists. Neena was sad inside, but she wanted Thalia to feel her warmness. “Changing your entire path is complicated. Thuridan’s skills and insights are centered in creating crops and recollecting fruits, turning all of that into an aggressive moveset would be hard.” Edyrm looked at his wife and changed the topic. “True, he’d have to form a Daodrop, maybe changing into some kind of restrictive mage, growing plants to paralyze his enemies or something like that.” Thalia said. Rydel looked at both his parents and clenched his fists. “Indeed, I’ll cheer him on whatever decision he makes in the end.” Rydel drily said. The room turned silent again. The entire family greatly loved each other, Rydel couldn’t rebuke his mother’s words, as he’d totally do the same. Besides, making oaths out of love would hurt each other. Cultivation was a long and lonely journey, as you advanced in grades and your lifespan increased, you’d leave behind the loved ones that couldn’t keep up. Making promises of eternal love was taboo in their culture. Who’s to say that the parents wouldn't have to dig the graves of their children, or the other way around. Even if it hurts, everyone had their own potential, and none wanted their loved one to be shackled by heart demons. As people grew stronger, so did their willpower, therefore oaths and promises became binding. An obsession could make someone leap out with potential destroying any barrier holding them down, but it could also signify the end of one’s own path. They kept making small talk for a while until they decided to finish the family meeting, everyone went their own ways. Rydel decided that he didn’t want to rest anymore, so he took Neena and went to their backyard. It was time to test the wings.