"Ieros."
A soft voice called his name, followed by a stifled giggle.
Ieros subconsciously squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as countless techniques flashed through his mind. Sword arts, movement techniques, breathing methods, and cultivation manuals surfaced one after another as he desperately searched for something—anything—that could help him deal with the little elf.
"Ieros."
The voice sounded again, this time right beside his ear.
His body jolted.
The countless techniques instantly faded away, retreating into the deepest corners of his memory as though they had never existed.
Ieros slowly opened his eyes.
Almost instinctively, he began chanting one of the remaining techniques under his breath. His voice was barely a murmur as he struggled to comprehend it.
The technique had something to do with adhering to surfaces like a gecko and crawling along walls.
It was incredibly embarrassing.
Yet, once the elf stopped calling his name, granting him a brief moment of silence, the technique suddenly unfolded before him. The complicated formulas dissected themselves, revealing their principles and allowing him to modify them according to his needs.
What felt like days to him was, in reality, only a few hours.
At last, Ieros rose from his seated position.
He looked up.
The elf was staring at him with an almost bored expression, mumbling something under her breath. He couldn't make out her words and decided not to dwell on it.
Walking toward the colossal tree, he placed his palm flat against its bark.
Mana—Qi—flowed through his arm.
Tiny hair-like structures formed beneath his palm, anchoring themselves firmly into the bark. However, the moment his mana touched the tree, he felt it being drained away.
Slowly.
Steadily.
Fortunately, the rate was still within his limits.
Silently, he began climbing.
The instant both of his feet left the ground—
Boom.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon him.
His body trembled.
His teeth clenched so hard they nearly cracked as he forced himself higher.
Five steps.
That was all.
After merely five steps, he had reached his limit.
Yet instead of descending, he tightened his grip on the tree and remained there.
He decided to meditate.
A stream of blood slowly trickled from his nose.
He hugged the trunk like a drowning man clinging to a piece of driftwood and tried to calm his breathing.
It was nearly impossible.
The pressure pounded against his head like a hammer, making concentration exceedingly difficult. Mana continuously leaked from his body as his instincts desperately resisted the crushing force.
Even so, Ieros forcibly entered a meditative state.
Minute by minute, his body began adapting to the pressure.
The elf quietly watched.
For once, she remained completely silent, seemingly understanding that he had entered a critical moment.
Five days passed.
At some point, Ieros' body subconsciously stopped resisting.
The blood around his nose had long dried.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
Mana flowed back into his body at a rate faster than the tree could absorb it.
Turning his head, he found the elf lying comfortably on a branch, lazily blowing at a leaf that had landed on her face.
Ieros stared.
Then swallowed.
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Closed it once more.
He repeated the process seven or eight times before finally gathering enough courage to speak.
"How do you know my name?" he asked, trying to hide the slight tremor in his voice.
The elf ignored him.
The leaf slowly descended toward her nose.
Just before it touched her skin, a gentle breeze blew it away.
The leaf spiraled toward the ground.
As though the wind itself refused to allow it to touch her.
The elf sat upright with a small pout, seemingly dissatisfied by this turn of events. Almost immediately, another leaf drifted down and landed in her lap.
Only then did she shift her gaze toward him.
"The screen says so," she replied eagerly.
Ieros blinked.
"Screen?" he repeated.
She pointed directly in front of his face.
He looked forward.
Nothing.
Confused, he looked back at her.
"It's hiding," she said with a pout, her voice carrying a hint of annoyance.
At once, the wind picked up.
The once-still lake surrounding the tree rippled violently, while the gigantic ape resting against the trunk merely snuggled deeper into itself as though enjoying the cool breeze.
Ding.
The familiar sound echoed in Ieros' ears.
He turned around.
The System interface appeared before him, displaying his status.
His brows furrowed.
Then his eyes widened.
The screen she had been talking about...
Was his System.
His head snapped back toward her.
"You can see the System?" he asked.
He wasn't expecting an answer. His tone carried more amusement than shock.
"Can all High Elves see the Systems we humans use?" he asked again, curiosity filling his voice.
Before he could continue, the air in his lungs suddenly vanished.
His eyes widened.
He gasped.
His body instinctively surged with mana, desperately trying to substitute it for air, but before it could fully take effect—
The air returned.
He inhaled sharply.
"No High Elf can see that thing, as far as I know. This one is just pretty weird."
She spoke with a hint of fascination, her emerald eyes never leaving the floating screen.
Ieros blinked.
Then blinked again.
No High Elf could see the System...
Yet she could.
His gaze unconsciously lingered on the little elf.
For the first time since meeting her, curiosity outweighed his caution.
What exactly was she?
A normal High Elf shouldn't be able to perceive something that, according to the System itself, existed solely for him.
Was she truly a High Elf?
Or was there something about her that even she didn't know?
He opened his mouth as if to ask.
Then stopped himself.
Some questions were perhaps better left unanswered.
For now.
Feeling somewhat invigorated, he resumed climbing.
His breathing gradually stabilized.
"Don't you think you owe me a name too?" he asked.
The weight of the tree descended upon him once more.
He groaned softly, but his steps never faltered as he continued climbing.
One step.
Two steps.
Three.
The branch upon which the elf sat remained frustratingly far away.
He pulled himself up another foot before stopping.
Closing his eyes, he adjusted himself to the pressure and forcibly entered a meditative state once more.
For a long while, the elf remained silent.
Then—
"Elle."
Her voice was soft.
Yet it seemed to echo endlessly.
As though responding to the sound of her name, Ieros sank deeper into meditation, shutting out everything around him.