Eich was home to a large number of forests. Some were famous, and some were unheard of. The most dangerous of them all, Fantasy Forest, was located in the Bardi Empire and was a land upon which even I wouldn't dare trod. It was a forest of peace—there were no gnomes—but any forest where elves resided would hide their countless treasures and secrets. They would be a forbidden ground to other species, but among the forests, there were still differences.
An example was the Silver Mirror Forest of the silver elves. If you walked among those trees, you would be able to faintly see elven scouts and rangers beneath the leaves.
Fully equipped centaur knights would be patrolling around, along with holy, powerful and armed unicorn knights. If you had excellent hearing, you would be able to hear the sounds of knights practicing and bows firing in the distance. But you had to be careful. There would always be eyes on you and whispers about. You could walk for half a day in the Silver Mirror Forest without meeting a single elf; it was obvious that humans were viewed with much distrust there.
Yet looking at things from a different standpoint with the other elf species in mind, many things would be different.
Should I say that it's to be expected of upper-ranked elves that transformed themselves into a fighting species? Rather than calling it a peaceful forest, it seemed more like an elven style military campground. Their bows and spears might be overly exquisite, but the enchantments and materials used were of such a high quality that they would make anyone jealous—even Legends. Well, their unicorn knights' extravagant equipment even made me want to rob them.
The moon elves' style was to make everything beautiful and to have plants flourish to the point of unnaturalness. In a moon elf forest, one would be able to see all sorts of sculptures of the Gods along with other types of artwork everywhere. Even their hereditary elven treehouses were sculpted with endless runes and designs, and they would only live in the most comfortable environments.
Unlike the Silver Mirror Forest where it would be impossible for a human to meet with a single elf, ordinary elves were seen everywhere in moon elf forests. They weren't nearly as wary of outsiders, and they even sold their products in streetside stalls. Yep, I'm talking about the former Tassel Kingdom.
Now, although these elves still had their elven magical techniques and artistry even after transforming into grayblood elves, their equipment was still overly decorative and impractical, while their expensive enchantment materials were only for the sake of making their products look more beautiful.
For me, unless they were able to abandon those useless decorative elements in their equipment, their products could only be sold off as artwork. It would be far more effective to buy some dwarven products with the money made instead.
As one of the final species of upper-ranked elves that still survived, the wood elves had already lost their own kingdom. They no longer lived in forests that belonged solely to them, nor did they possess their power to change a forest's environment. Still, they would forever be the children favored by the forest.
They didn't use any nature magic to change the environment as they pleased, but they would typically live in the most natural environments of all. Walking through such a forest would be no different from walking through an ordinary one, but you would always be able to see powerful creatures rarely seen in the outside world, such as mountain giants, treants, druids, redcaps, and chimeras. Those creatures weren't the wood elves' subordinates but undertook the important responsibility of protecting the forest.
The peaceful wood elves were also the elven species with the best reputation. They were one of the few upper-ranked elven species that didn't treat other species arrogantly, and many wood elves had the habit of traveling far and wide. They loved all forms of life, and these wood elves who were so fond of traveling were typically welcomed by all species. There were even some royalty that would invite them to become outstanding teachers.
However, this world didn't have only kind intentions. If they didn't stay on guard, perhaps the wood elves would have long since become extinct, as certain people treated them as treasures to be harvested. Any natural forest would be the best refuge for them, and the powerful creatures living within it would naturally become their allies. All the trees and plants would become sentries that watched unfamiliar invaders. In front of a living forest, those with wicked intentions wouldn't even be able to find the correct path to the elves.
Wood elves weren't easy to deal with when in a forest, but that didn't mean that wood elves were easy to deal with outside, either. If a roaming wood elf was forced to the brink, she could potentially use Nature's Wrath, a wood elf natural talent ability usable only once in her life, which would transform an entire nearby forest into a living weapon for revenge that wouldn't rest until its target was dead. Although not every wood elf possessed the ability to use Nature's Wrath, any that did could cause damage on the level of a forbidden spell's destructiveness. That was why every country strictly forbid any illegal activities against the wood elves.
And today, the moment I stepped into this forest, I felt like the entire world had changed around me. The strong sensation of being in a different world gave me a headache and dizziness which just wouldn't go away.
When I looked around me, the currently breathing plants and trees around me gave me the strong sensation of life. Yes, that's right. Life. This entire forest was living, it was breathing, it was sleeping, and from the moment I entered, it opened up its countless eyes and was silently watching me.
"Oh my, how unfriendly."
It was obviously unwise to be flying through a thick magical forest, so the bone dragon Gria stopped at the forest's edge. But right when she transformed into her human form, a purple-green wall of thorns suddenly rose and blocked Gria's path. The forest detected Gria's undead nature, so it unhesitatingly closed the door to her as it was battling against the undead, refusing to let her in.
As for me…
A pathway suddenly opened up in the forest just like a secret path from a fairy tale. On the path's sides were brilliantly blooming flowers that seemed to be welcoming me as a guest.
The moment I walked on this grassy path, that wall of thorns suddenly rose up behind me, making Gria almost crash into it when she tried following me. This obvious difference in treatment made Gria almost choke in anger.
But as I walked into this forest, I was secretly astonished. This strong sensation of being in a different world transformed into something more and more tangible, while the ridiculously strong signs of life in the forest's plants were doubtlessly the best evidence: this forest was the ruler of this world, as well as the core of this world.
What astonished me the most of all were the plant lifeforms that lowered their heads to me and smiled in greeting. Although their physical appearances were quite different from all other living creatures, and their thin and wooden bodies made them have strange and abnormal shapes, their souls and expressions indicated that they already had independent thinking and intelligence of their own. They were intelligent creatures just like humans.
"It's wonderful that you were able to come. Mother will surely be delighted."
A young-sounding voice echoed in my ears. A small wood spirit was waiting for me on a tree branch not far from me.
Seeing that I noticed her, she jumped down. I noticed that she appeared much younger than the other wood spirits, more like a child elf. However, her head reached my waist.
"You are?"
"I'm mother's second daughter, Diligence. We've all met you before in the past. It's just that you've never seen us in this form before."
She had light red hair, much different from Amelia's colors, and a more exquisite face than even an elf's. Her thorny flower petals were the best accessories, and a thorny miniskirt covered only the most important parts. There were even flower petals on her feet, and she would spread the fragrance of flowers as she walked, as if she was a forest fairy from a fairy tale.
Although the face really resembled Amelia's, I would say that her overall physical appearance only resembled Amelia by thirty percent. That's because in my impression, Amelia herself had never, ever smiled so brightly and sunnily in her life. Either she would laugh maniacally, completely out of control, or she would secretly snicker, hiding her laughter behind her mage robe. Meanwhile, this little cutie before me had the purest kind intentions on her pink face. This was a lively child that anyone would have a good impression of upon their first meeting, so how could she possibly seem related to Amelia?
"The Seven Virtues…"
I was surprised for a moment as I recalled the frightening Piranha Plant garden, but then I felt that it was only natural. Since Amelia had already reached this level, it was expected for her Seven Virtues to become completely independent.
With complete independence, they even had the possibility of betraying their creator. In that case, the first thing I needed to do here was…
"Do you not have a name yet? How about I help you come up with one?"
Don't get any mistaken impressions of me. Since I intended to go out with—er—I meant communicate with her, how could I possibly not know her name? Of course the first thing would be to give her a name.
"…Um, that's not necessary. It's really not necessary! I already have a name. My big sister helped come up with it. I'm Rosa."
Rosa seemed to have gotten scared by my passion as she hurriedly backed two steps away from me, tossing a flurry of flower petals. It seemed like she was planning on escaping at any moment.
"How uncreative. Since your foundational form was a rose, she directly used that as a name for you? How insincere! Shouldn't your name at least adhere to your color scheme? How about I give you a new one? What do you think of True Red? Right, you said you have an older sister? Is she white? How about calling her Mercury?"
Perhaps she had never come into contact with outsiders since her birth, as she was filled with embarrassment and panic when I walked up closer to her. However, she suddenly calmed down and seemed to be listening to something.
"…My sister wants me to ask if you're intending to gather a seven color combination? But, right now, there are only three of us sisters, and she's not white, either. Nor is there a possibility of having seven of us in a short period of time, so we appreciate but politely reject your intentions."
I wanted to say more, but little Rosa seemed to hear something else as she covered her ears and vanished into the forest, leaving behind only one final sentence: "Sister wants me to go help her with something; you can find mother if you just follow this path, so go."
She left, while her clear bell-like voice echoed throughout the forest. As expected of a rose's transformation, her faint aroma naturally allured others, making me want to inhale that scent as much as I could. However, I directly left; after all, I knew that Amelia's "Diligence" naturally excelled in poisons, so if I accidentally inhaled too much, that would be the end of me.
However, as I walked down the forested path, I somehow began feeling like I was quite pitiful. I created five Deadly Sins, and each of them were far stronger individually than Amelia's Virtues that were only three in number; I excelled in creation compared to her. But I felt that I had lost utterly from the very foundation when I saw that cute little girl.
"I lost… forget about the fact that apart from that silly cat, they're all male… why is it that there's not a single normal one among them? A dumb dog that doesn't even know how to play fetch, a zombie that preferred to be a male battleship, a silly fatty that could never eat his fill, and a muscular bastard who had strange ideas about beauty. If I compare them to Amelia's new Virtues that are like something out of shoujo manga or an idol drama, not to mention in a fairy tale style, while mine are all from comedy manga and horror movies, not to mention that they're idiots, how can I tolerate it!?"
In the end, my extreme pity for myself caused me to shout out loudly.
"Amelia, there's such a large difference in the drawing style! Can we switch? I know that you hate males, so I'll give the silly cat to you. If you think that's not enough, I'll throw in a doggy that can transform into anything you want, like a beautiful woman or whatever. I don't have too much for my requirements! I just want that little Rosa from earlier!"
*Clang!*
A huge pinecone suddenly smashed down on my head with enough force to knock me over. It representing a certain someone's attitude. I even heard "you stinky bad man that hurt mother's heart, go away" from above me. When I lifted my head to look, I saw a tiny purple figure secretly leaving through the trees.
"Another one of the three sisters? Is that Humility or Temperance? Why do they all have the form of young girls? Does Amelia object that much to adults and males? Forget it, since I'm here already, I'll learn sooner or later."
As I walked down this path, I was astonished by more than just the "Virtues" from earlier.
Mature wood spirits were chatting with each other in the forest. Some of the younger ones were messing around and having fun with each other, while other wood spirits were cultivating new magical plants. Some enjoyed the sweet fruits from the trees. They used shiny leaves as a currency to trade amongst themselves; this forest world filled with life had its own society and market. Perhaps, I had lost in more than just the physical appearance of my creations.
It was obvious that this patch of forest originally didn't have a path in it as there were many tiny obstacles on this path. However, the flowers would lower themselves and avoid my steps, while the gigantic trees would suddenly pull up their roots and move themselves. The thorny fences would automatically bury themselves in the ground, and the further I went in this forest, the more I could faintly detect a certain will summoning me.
"Amelia?"
As I went through the forest, I saw a green-haired sleeping beauty, deep asleep on the petals of the largest blooming lotus flower. She was floating on a peaceful and calm lake, surrounded by trees on all sides.
A light breeze kept her cool, and moonlight from an unknown source illuminated the lotus petal boat. Stars glittered in the sky above, and Amelia's snow-white skin appeared rather weak under the starlight.
"I'm here."
Before I even finished speaking, countless memories and illusions created a new world, and I was instantly drawn into a fantastical dreamlike world that had surpassed the boundaries of reality.