Chapter 287 - The Challenge of Being a High Half-Elf
Nathan Evenhart:
I was stepping out of the bath. I had woken up just a few minutes ago, and today was the day I'd take the Underground Transport to travel back to Apsalon and resume my academy classes. My vacation had been a bit short—I spent almost half of it working. Lucky for me, once the ship arrived in the royal capital, the dukes personally took their treasures on their own ships through the underground transport.
"I still haven't gotten used to this," I muttered, staring at my silver-white hair in the bathroom mirror as I got dressed.
I was now undeniably a High Half-Elf. I even had the ability to radiate that mystical aura of theirs if I concentrated mana into my hair. Though, even without activating it, my hair naturally attracted attention. Adrihna once told me it was beautiful, and… well, if a High Elf went out of their way to say that, then it probably really was.
My hair had turned like this after the Nikolaus Wolves incident. That was also when Cylla revealed her dragon form to others for the first time, though I hadn't seen it myself. I continued the process of dyeing my hair.
"Good old black," I murmured to myself.
Because I had control over the mana channels flowing outside my body—specifically through my hair—the dye lasted longer if I suppressed my mana from circulating in it. But here's a fun fact: the moment I let mana flow through my hair, the dye instantly evaporated. So, even after spending time dyeing it, if I channeled mana to activate my High Elf aura… my hair would turn silver-white again.
Is it fun? Absolutely. But dyeing my hair, especially with how long it is now, is a pain in the ass. So, no, it's not fun to waste hours of work for nothing.
As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw a familiar face.
"Good morning, Master Nathan."
"Good morning, Kinue," I greeted back.
Kinue, dressed in her maid outfit, was making my bed.
"You're my girlfriend… you know you don't have to do this, right?" I asked.
She looked at me and smiled.
"I like helping around the house. At the same time, I'm honing my skills to be a good wife," she said proudly. "I'm really good at housework."
Kinue stepped closer, her fox ears twitching slightly, and wrapped me in a warm embrace. I returned the gesture, sliding my hand over her head and gently stroking the space between her soft ears.
"And you don't have to keep calling me 'Master Nathan.' We're not at a formal event," I said.
"I-I know…" she replied, her voice quiet and hesitant. "But I don't know why… I just feel more comfortable saying it. Maybe it's because I spent the past year practicing so much… but I promise I'll try to stop."
She paused, and suddenly, her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. Her eyes widened slightly, as if she had just realized something.
"What is it?" I asked, curious about her sudden change in demeanor.
"I-it's just that…" she began, stammering as she averted her gaze. "You know… you're the person I chose to be with for life… and… and to have pups with."
She blushed even harder, her tail twitching nervously behind her. "M-maybe it's just my beast side… since you're the leader of our pack…"
I stayed silent for a moment.
"I see…" I murmured, continuing to stroke her head. Her ears twitched with each motion, lowering and perking up in sync with her shifting emotions, while her tail kept swaying restlessly.
"Makes sense," I added, trying to keep my tone casual.
She buried her face against my chest, her voice muffled as she murmured something incomprehensible. I just chuckled softly, letting the moment flow as I continued to stroke her hair, which seemed to calm her.
"Do you want me to get your breakfast?" she asked.
"I'm not that hungry. I'll just grab something simple, don't worry," I replied.
I really wasn't that hungry… all the time.One of the side effects of my new self as a High Half-Elf was my appetite—or rather, the lack of it. I almost never felt hunger and had to force myself to eat, sticking to my usual schedule. Sometimes, I even forgot to eat, like when I was working on the ship. I went a few days without eating anything and, honestly, I didn't miss food at all. My teacher only eats once a week out of necessity, and the rest is purely indulgence. I still make an effort to eat regularly, following my human habits, but it's strange not feeling hunger. I know that in another life, I didn't need food to stay alive, but returning to being biologically human and experiencing these natural changes in my body… it was peculiar.
I also have more stamina than before my hair turned silver. Maybe I became naturally stronger? I can't really test that. Since I'm predominantly a Transmitter-type and have been using magic since I was eight, I was already naturally stronger due to enhancing my physical attributes with mana.
My sleep patterns were also affected. High Elves can go days without sleep. Not only that, but they also possess an impressive level of natural resistance and physical enhancement, making them superior to humans in many aspects. However, because of these inborn advantages, they rarely dedicate themselves to physical training or hand-to-hand combat. The lack of motivation to train comes from the simple fact that, to them, they are already physically perfect. After all, why push themselves to the limit when they can naturally run for long periods without feeling fatigued? That's why their lifestyle is different—more focused on stability and longevity.
They're so resilient that their abilities allow them to fall from great heights without taking damage, something unthinkable for an ordinary human. But what gives me confidence is that, despite only having half of these physical advantages, I also have the human drive for combat, forged through training and discipline. This gives me a unique balance: the inherited physical prowess of a High Elf combined with the relentless determination and fighting spirit of a human. Together, they form a powerful combination.
One of my other concerns was my lifespan. Would I live as long as a High Elf? An ordinary Elf? Or just a human? I had no idea. My teacher said she would try to figure it out once I reached the Elven Kingdom, where many expert healing mages specialized in such things. She also joked that even if it didn't change much, at least by human standards, I'd take a long time to age in appearance—after all, my mother didn't look anywhere near her actual age.
I kept walking, lost in thought about my upcoming tasks. Since today was my last day here, there were a few things I needed to take care of.
"I need to stop by my mother's lab," I muttered.
Whenever my mother finished her duties as a gardener and after checking if her stationary golems had captured anyone lurking outside the castle grounds, she always headed to her lab to work on her secret project with her new plants. She was gathering a collection of seeds from the duchies and other kingdoms, conducting her own experiments. But first, she needed to let the new plants grow naturally. So, she allowed the seedlings to develop as normal plants, modifying them so they didn't require her mana. They were watered daily like any other plant. However, the next generation of seeds, once harvested, would be different—those would need to be constantly watered with mana to thrive.
She had two labs—one here in the castle and another in our estate in Apsalon. The second lab was where she kept the more dangerous specimens, the ones that required a constant supply of her mana.
My mother had overcome her trauma from the war and had started working with spells she once considered evil again. Since she wasn't using it on humans, the only thing she did was bury her creations in the soil and test new modifications. But I'd heard that the next stage of her experiments, in collaboration with my aunt, was to try growing those things inside animals.
Imagine my mother with an army of monstrous boars or rats?
Well, for now, she was just experimenting. We had no intention of developing weapons of war. It was just a simple mother who loved plants—no more, no less.
What she wanted to do was implant those things into pests that ravage crops. We already have to kill those pests anyway, so at least this way, they'd be useful. The last time I went down to her lab during these holidays, she was trying to make one of the seeds hatch inside a locust, but without success. Her goal was to make it evolve, devour other locusts, and then be deployed in plantations as mobile protectors. Once that thing died after consuming the locusts, a new, more powerful seed would be generated, strengthened by everything it had consumed.
I descended the castle stairs toward the underground area.
"Shit!" Hugo stormed out of the lab door, trembling. "I hate plants…" he muttered.
"Good morning, Hugo," I said, trying to suppress my laughter.
He shot me a look and sighed.
"Funny… Lucky you that those things don't attack you."
Since I was their "mother's" son, I had developed some kind of immunity.
"These holidays flew by," he sighed.
"Gonna miss your daughters?"
He laughed.
"Of course. Lucky for me, you'll be at the academy to keep an eye on them."
With their personalities, I doubt anyone would dare mess with them recklessly. Well, except for Frederick… but honestly, I think he's the one in danger.
Hugo stepped closer and nudged me with his elbow, flashing a mischievous grin.
"Hey, champ. If you need a good spot to take your two women out on a date… I know some great places in the city. There are some nice restaurants too. So when you come back for the holidays, you won't have to hold back," he said, patting my back before walking off laughing.
"Long live youth!" he exclaimed as he walked away.
I was left speechless.
"Dammit…" I muttered.
I can't believe I feel completely at ease walking into battle but get totally nervous when it comes to this…
I ignored what Hugo said. I still had my internal conflicts and wanted to wait a little longer. But both of them were adults, so any excuse about age I might have had to avoid taking the next step in our relationship no longer made sense.
Do they even think about this kind of thing? Probably not.
I walked up to my mother's lab door, once Cylla's old room, now transformed into a vast indoor garden with a pond.
"Mom," I called out, pushing the door open.
A carnivorous plant greeted me by tugging at my hair.
"Nathan," she responded. "I'm over here."
My mother was watering a plant. At the center of the lab, a massive seed, the size of an ox, was wrapped in thick roots.