Chapter 77: Fairy

Chapter 77: Fairy

Bran, who was resting at night, was startled awake. He felt the starlight surrounding him was being pushed outward, and he hadn’t noticed it beforehand. This made him tense up instantly.

What was happening? With this question in mind, Bran began to sense his surroundings continuously, but found nothing. The starlight had already been assimilated by him and become a part of him, so he could clearly feel two pairs of little hands pushing hard against that mass of starlight. So he quickly made the mana in his web vibrate. The sudden intense fluctuation of the Mana Tide revealed the figures of a few small beings. Then he immediately pounced and grabbed the two little creatures who were trying hard to push the starlight.

Nothingness—that was the feeling from his hands, but Bran knew he had definitely caught them. So he neither opened his hand nor clenched it tightly. He only vibrated the mana in his palm, which made the figures of the two little beings in his hands flicker in and out of visibility.

One little being appeared and floated over, shouting at him loudly. Seeing its anxious expression, Bran let go. These little beings were too delicate, making people unwilling to hurt them. Then Bran waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

Fairies. The appearance of the little beings reminded Bran of some records. This was the home of the fairies. This was the Garden of the fairies. The fairies’ behavior left Bran somewhat disappointed, because they couldn’t communicate, at least not effectively in a short time. Bran still had to complete his Trial and didn’t want to waste more time.

Bran had read about this creature in books—Fairies—but had always thought it was just a story, so he had only skimmed through it at the time. Now he somewhat regretted that. There was too little information about fairies in his memory: a human-like race, rarely appearing before people, harmless to humans, feeding on mana. That seemed to be all. In the ancient traditions passed down, it was required not to harm the trees in the Mogu Mountains. From this point, the ancestors of the Northlanders must have made some agreements with the fairies. Perhaps some older secrets had gradually been forgotten over time.

Bran’s indifference, however, made the fairies feel at ease. They began to appear one after another, flying around Bran. If the records were correct, and they fed on mana, then the fairies were probably sampling a new treat right now. A big meal like Bran basically never appeared in the Northlands. No wonder one showing up occasionally would attract these fairies.

A small amount of mana didn’t bother Bran, especially since he didn’t feel any sign of his mana decreasing.

…

Until a greeting pulled Bran out of his meditative state.

“Hello.”

Bran replied instinctively, “Hello.”

Wait, what was this? He looked at the old fairy before him. A small, delicate, beautiful old fairy. Because her demeanor and movements were too weathered, the moment he opened his eyes, he could only categorize her as an old woman, even though she was exquisite and beautiful.

Bran blinked his eyes, confirming once again that this was indeed an old fairy. To hide his surprise, he asked first, “Is there something you need?”

The old fairy said with emotion, “An interesting child. It’s been too long since I’ve seen a Wizard from the Northlands.”

Bran replied casually, “People still Awaken in the Northlands. You should see them often. Many children enter the Wasteland from here to complete their Trial.”

“Can those even be considered Wizards? Northlanders pursue their own power too much. Never mind that. Why have you come here?”

Bran shrugged. “What else? On the way to my Trial.”

“Just for the Trial?”

“Of course. How old are you, venerable one?” Bran felt a bit puzzled.

The old fairy thought for a moment. “About two thousand years old.”

Then she realized this brat’s purpose wasn’t really to ask her age, and added, “I’m not senile yet.”

The old fairy looked at Bran and began to explain. “We and the Northlanders originally had a symbiotic relationship. It was only later, when the environment changed some, that our two races gradually separated. Now my descendants have already forgotten how to talk with Northlanders.”

The old fairy sighed, looking over the group of little fairies flying back and forth in front of Bran. “If this continues, sooner or later, we will lose contact completely.”

Bran tried to comfort her. “Don’t think too far ahead. The Northlanders have never forgotten. Like now, we Northlanders avoid this place unless it’s for the Trial or a necessary reason, trying not to disturb it.”

The old fairy shook her head. “Too much has already changed.”

“Those are my children.” The old fairy pointed at the two little fairies still trying hard to push the mass of starlight outward. “I leave them to you.”

“Hey, wait, what about these?” Bran pointed at the little fairies flying chaotically around him.

“Heh heh, they have nothing to do with me. They were all attracted to you on your way here.” The old fairy looked quite pleased.

“At least you should teach them to communicate with me, like you do. Don’t think I haven’t noticed—you’re communicating with me through the connection between my released mana and my spirit.” Bran made a not-so-high demand.

“They can’t communicate with you yet.”

“What do you mean?” Bran didn’t quite understand.

The old fairy looked at Bran strangely, realizing he truly didn’t know, and sighed again. “It seems you have started to forget as well.”

“Forget what?” Bran tried his best to open his innocent big eyes wide.

“Originally, we fairies began living with you in our childhood to speed up our own growth. This growth was more about mental maturity. They,” the old fairy pointed at those around Bran, “can only be considered infants.”

“It seems even without us, your children can still grow up slowly.” Bran reminded her.

“That takes too long.” The old fairy looked at Bran. “Maybe those guys secretly put the children near you precisely because they were afraid you would refuse.”

“Aren’t they afraid they’ll get lost?” Bran asked in return.

“They won’t get lost. They have already become a part of you. I said it before—our two races once lived together symbiotically.”

“What do you mean!? It sounds like being parasitized.” Bran felt horrified.

“Pretty much, but not in your body. They nest and settle in your mana.”

“Is there any difference?!” Bran was a bit angry. “And you should know, I need to fight, to use mana. My mana might be completely used up. Aren’t you afraid they’ll get hurt or die because of that?”

“No, mostly not. You saw it—our fairy forms are closer to spirit than matter. If needed, we can even temporarily cut off the connection to this World. As long as you don’t die, there’s basically no problem. Even if you die, they still have a chance to escape.”

“So you want me to babysit for you for free?”

“No, according to the original Covenant, this is an obligation you should fulfill.” The old fairy seemed happy. “It’s just that after all these years, someone who can fulfill the Covenant has finally appeared.”

Seeing Bran’s displeased face, the old fairy tried to comfort him. “Back in the day, many Northlanders begged us fairies and could hardly get one. Don’t be ungrateful when it’s delivered right to your door.”

“It really is delivered right to my door.” Bran said helplessly.

…

Bran smiled inwardly. “The original Covenant,” huh! Let’s just wait and see. No one mentioned anything about a Covenant. If such an important Covenant really existed, and they knew he would come here…

Since no one mentioned it, then things were getting interesting.