Star-Moon Night

Compared to his emotionally indifferent kin, Kraft had witnessed far more emotions during his many years of adventuring than he had ever seen in the Elf Forest.

This gave him a far deeper understanding of emotions than his kin back in the Elf Forest.

In truth, for elves, emotional indifference was a form of protection.

Elves had such long lifespans that if they didn't learn to ignore certain things and deliberately forget others, it would only become a torment to themselves.

Over time, elves had innately learned how to dull their emotions.

Rhode chuckled, not picking up on that thread.

He naturally knew why Miss Serie valued him so much, but he wouldn't tell her.

He understood the principle that "an innocent man bears no blame for possessing a treasure."

Even though Kraft wasn't the type to blab, the fewer people who knew about this, the better—unless one day his strength grew to the point where even the gods had to tread carefully, only then would he reveal this secret.

The night deepened.

The campfire gradually died out, leaving only faint starlight illuminating the land.

Som had long since used his Battle Axe as a pillow, snoring lightly as he slept soundly, occasionally letting out soft snores.

Kraft leaned against a tree trunk with his eyes closed, as if asleep, but Rhode couldn't be sure.

Meanwhile, Miss Serie slept alone in the tent.

Ever since these two had joined, he hadn't lain in the tent with her for a long time, and he suddenly missed the feeling of holding the Little Ancestor in his arms.

To be safe this time, Miss Serie had expanded the range of her Warning Magic to two hundred meters, giving them time to react if anything went wrong.

But judging by the past few days, it seemed she had been overthinking it.

Rhode couldn't sleep, so he turned over again on the ground.

He actually had chronic insomnia, but tonight it was especially bad.

Maybe he could invent a sleep-aid magic someday.

He was letting his mind wander like this when the tent flap opened, and a small head poked out.

Their eyes met, and Rhode spoke first: "What's up? Going to pick flowers? Need me to come along?"

He was joking, having said the same thing to Miss Serie before, though back then she hadn't understood what he meant by "picking flowers."

Instead, she had replied, "Why go out to pick flowers in the dead of night?"

After Rhode explained, it took a long while before Miss Serie finally blurted out a sentence.

"Elves don't need that sort of thing."

Whether that was true or not, Rhode had no idea.

Anyway, even though they adventured together, they couldn't be together every single moment.

"No. Do you want to learn Plant Magic?" Miss Serie shook her head and suddenly asked.

This caught Rhode off guard. "Why ask that all of a sudden? And in the middle of the night, no less."

Couldn't she teach him during the day? Why pick such a strange time?

"Today is a special day. The Star-Moon Night makes plant elements more active, making it the perfect time to practice Plant Magic."

Rhode looked up at the sky.

Indeed, the moon and stars were exceptionally bright tonight.

"Fine! But we need to go a bit farther away."

Rhode didn't want to wake the other two. Miss Serie understood his meaning and waved her hand. "Follow me."

The two quietly left the camp.

Little did they know, behind them, Kraft opened his eyes.

In the wild, falling into a deep sleep only hastened one's death, so even in a group adventure like this, he still kept his guard up.

But he had no intention of interfering. Whatever Miss Serie's motives or plans were, they had nothing to do with him.

He was just an adventuring elf.

On the other side, the two arrived at an open space. Miss Serie checked the area, confirmed there were no Monsters nearby, and said, "I originally planned to teach you Plant Magic only after you fully mastered Light Magic, but I didn't expect your talent to be better than I imagined."

Rhode's magical talent was excellent.

He might not have noticed it himself, but in Miss Serie's eyes, his magical talent was already on par with hers.

And she was well-known throughout the Elf Forest for her outstanding magical talent and unconventional views.

The former was the most important factor.

Without that to back her up, she would have just been a strange outlier among elves.

In Miss Serie's plan, she might have spent ten, twenty, or even thirty years teaching Rhode, but now it seemed it wouldn't take that long.

"So should I say thank you?"

Rhode hadn't expected his magical talent to earn praise from Miss Serie.

You have to understand, she was the strongest mage of humanity in later generations.

In later ages, 'human' wasn't as clear a concept as it was now—anyone who looked human was called one.

Of course, it was also possible the Demon Race just couldn't be bothered to distinguish and deliberately lumped them all together.

But even so, Serie was still hailed as the strongest mage on the entire continent. The sheer terror of her power was easy to imagine.

To earn her praise meant his own magical talent was truly extraordinary.

"Looks like I need to set myself a small goal—starting with becoming the continent's strongest mage," Rhode joked.

But Serie's expression was a little strange.

"Such a short life..."

"Hm? Did you say something?"

Her voice was too soft; Rhode couldn't make out what she'd said.

"Nothing."

Serie didn't really believe Rhode could reach that level. If he were an elf, she might have thought it somewhat possible, but in the end, he was just a human.

A short life couldn't accumulate vast magical power, so naturally, he could never become the strongest mage.

Unless his talent was more than just not inferior to hers.

But how could that be?

Serie dismissed the possibility in her mind.

How could she possibly be outdone by Rhode?

The proud Miss Serie would never admit such a thing could happen.

"Let's begin."

Serie decided to stop dwelling on it and instead threw herself into teaching Rhode Plant Magic.

After all, for elves, Plant Magic wasn't as practical as Light Magic—or rather, it didn't have Light Magic's terrifying destructive power.

In most battles, Plant Magic served a supporting and restraining role.

For example, the Thorn Wall Serie had cast earlier to block the monsters' pursuit.

Beyond that, it was about manipulating plants to entangle or even attack. If you wanted to talk about the race most skilled in Plant Magic, it was still the Druids in the forest.

They were said to be able to summon vines as thick as ancient towering trees to attack, and when necessary, they could even summon treefolk to command.

The Elf race's Plant Magic was nothing more than a fraction of their skill.