Chapter 3: Transformation

"Follow me." The old man ordered and went inside the school without looking back.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Rydel was the first to follow, doing his best to ignore the anxious feeling in his guts. They were all part of the same clan, so he wouldn't do anything to him, Rydel convinced himself. The other kids were quick to follow too.

Inside the classroom, there were a couple of desks and seats, enough for the four of us. We were facing a big vine, when the old man neared it, its shape changed into a chair.

"Introduce yourselves." The old man demanded.

He was met with nervous silence. He raised an eyebrow with a displeased face.

"I-I am Rydel Elphyra" He immediately stood up, straightened his back, and put his right open palm in the center of his chest facing downwards, which was the gesture made by elves to greet someone with respect.

"I am Feno Elphyra!" The green haired boy sitting to his right, repeating the gesture.

"Ameria Elphyra." "Sylmare Elphyra." The twins calmly responded in unison imitating the formal greeting.

"Good." The old man merely nodded as if this was what he expected. "I am Galather Elphyra. I shall become your instructor for the next few years. I will educate and train you."

For the next couple of hours, he taught them how to properly write and read. He demanded perfection as the traditions mandated.

Rydel finished and came back home, feeling utterly exhausted. It was like going back to school on Earth, but ten times worse. At least he won't be illiterate anymore.

Children in this world matured at a faster rate, so he spent the first couple of months with classes about elven culture and traditions, Galather's personal favorites. If there were dictionaries in this world, the word for rigid would have a 4k picture of Galather's frown, he had zero doubts about that.

One morning, after half an hour of grammar class, Galather asked for their attention.

"What do you know about the so-called system?" Galather asked us.

"When you are super strong, you can see how awesome you are." Feno seriously responded. The twins surreptitiously nodded.

"The so-called system is the Will of Nature. It is given to us, elfkind, so we can become one with Mother Earth. It tests us when we are of age, fifteen years old, it is our honor and right." Galather said.

"Is it only us, elves, that have the system?" Rydel asked.

"Of course not, Mother Earth is just and wise. Every living being has the opportunity to move forward, from the most common animals to other elvenoids species, like humans. However, only those that follow the path of nature can strive for greatness." Galather responded.

"How do we follow the path of nature?" Rydel insisted.

"It varies from person to person, everyone has to gain their own insights. Even if two people studied the same tree for a hundred years, they will reach two completely different conclusions. However, you cannot advance without enlightenment, meditation and study is the path forward." Galather responded.

"How do you know that you are doing it right?" Rydel asked.

"When your spirit is high enough you will instinctively feel it. In the beginning though, when you have enough insights, it reaches a boiling point and condense into a Daodrop" Galather said with reverence.

"Is it easy to form this Daodrop?" Rydel innocently asked.

"Of course not" Galather refuted without hesitation. "Even in the entire clan, there are not that many that have comprehended a Daodrop. It gives you great advantages and flexibility. You can only form one after a long period of meditation. Some have encountered a valuable plant that has aided them. There were even others that were inspired by a natural scene or gained enlightenment during fighting." Galather thought of his next response. "Of course, if you were pure without earthly air like a newborn, then it will be much easier."

"Why is that?" Rydel asked.

"Because the earthly air that we breathe is full of impurities, even the food that we consume has impurities. Only when you have rid yourself of these influences can you become more attuned to Mother Earth. Of course, it is easier said than done, I do not know of anyone that has managed to completely remove them." Galather patiently responded. "Enough asking for now, I will explain the different paths that you can take."

Galather then explained how while there are as many paths as there are elves, of course, if it wasn't nature-related then it wasn't good enough. Rydel didn't know if it was because he was previously a human, but he could tell that his teacher was a little biased.

Galather mentioned that there were humans, meaning this world had at least another sapient race apart from elves. Rydel wondered if there were others of Earth's mythical species like giants or dwarves. Well, elves weren't so mythical anymore here.

There are classes for absolutely everything: builders, artisans, fighters, and even merchants. The limit was one's own imagination.

A fighter class was the way to go. If he could choose a second class, maybe some type of artisan to earn money would be good, but it's too dangerous to travel without assurance. He also now knew how he gained proficiency in the Dao of Moonlight and why he couldn't advance it anymore. He took advantage of being a baby, but now he had grown up.

Rydel pondered about this issue on his way home. He tried remembering what he knew about moonlight from his previous world. Moonlight in a nutshell was just light from the sun that was reflected from the moon's surface. That was a fact and easy to comprehend, but his instincts told him that there was much more to it. His Daodrop mainly upgraded his spirit, so that's a hint.

In his previous life, the moon was considered a bad omen. When a total lunar eclipse occurs, the moon transforms into a blood moon, tainting the world in red. It's the time of the day when monsters and nightmares hunt.

Cursed people were transformed into werewolves when in touch with direct moonlight. The Roman goddess Luna, the representative of the Moon, is also where "lunacy" came from.

Rydel believed that if he focused on this path, he could probably borrow great power from the moonlight. He just needed to reject the misfortune that came with it and focus on receiving strength.

At midnight, when his parents were sleeping, he decided to prove his theories. Rydel sat in a lotus position in his backyard, he was naked to directly receive the moonlight.

This time he tried to direct the moonlight inside him. As time passed, a thin fog started to gather, the moonlight trickled into every fiber of his being. It wasn't a pleasurable sensation, but he persisted. He emptied his mind, only wishing for the Moon to become stronger. After the hour mark, something snapped.

He growled. White hand-like appendages sprouted from the ground around him while his entire eyes turned black. His back hunched, and his hands were morphing into claws. Overwhelming pain threatened to destroy his mind.

"NO, I REFUSE" Rydel tried to stop the changes but it was all for naught.

He was losing control, he started hitting his surroundings to give his mind something to focus on, but it was a losing race. Rydel despaired, his vision was blurring and thinking was becoming increasingly difficult.

Then, he felt a blow on the back of his neck, the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a female silhouette.

***

"I feel like I'm being mocked." Rydel groggily said as he was woken up by a ray of sunlight.

"Wait, I'm alive?" He was exhausted, but in otherwise perfect conditions. He stretched and didn't feel any difference.

"Maybe it was a dream." He wondered.

It was at this moment that Thalia noticed that he was awake. She came like a storm, her face betraying a brief hint of relief before quickly being replaced by a freezing cold expression.

"Rydel Elphyra. Is there anything you'd like to say?" Thalia looked at him like a prisoner on death row waiting for judgment. Which at this moment, he was.

"I d-don't know." Rydel looked to the side and waited, but his mother was not compromising in the slightest. She gazed at him as if daring him to lie again. It was at this moment that he confessed.

He mixed half-truths like he liked to relax in his bed at midnight and at some point he formed the Daodrop of the Dao of Moonlight. He had subtly asked his teacher so he gained ideas and tried to practice them last night.

He didn't talk about his reincarnation. After all, he didn't want his parents to look at him like the monster that took their child away. He wasn't ready for that conversation and he didn't know if he would ever be.

At first, Thalia was incredulous, she had thought that his child was possessed or that he had been tricked into praying to an evil God. She will admonish him all the same, it's her duty and he truly had been too reckless, but at least now she knew that it was a blessing and not a curse that his child had.

She would have to talk to Galather so they could properly educate Rydel, that way he wouldn't sneak around anymore to play with the unknown.

Thalia was only satisfied after a couple of hours of telling him not to repeat something like that without supervision and making him promise it.

"You forming a Daodrop at such a young age is worthy of celebration, but before that, you will have to speak with the Elders." Thalia continued when she saw his blank look. "When we want to seek advice or decide important matters, we usually go to the Elders. Don't worry, they are quite empathic and pleasant, only a little bit strict, but it's for our good. Galather is part of the Elders, so it's not like you have never met them."

"Why has nobody mentioned this until now?"

"Well, because it isn't some formal council. It's more like the older generation guiding us. We must respect the elder, but in the end, we are all equal before Mother Earth, little firefly." Thalia gently responded.

"How old are they?" Rydel curiously asked.

"Hm… the lifespan of an E-grade elf is about 500 years, so they must be above 400." Thalia finally responded.

'Wow, they are walking fossils, if we were on Earth, they would have been contemporaries of Shakespeare and Michelangelo.' Rydel thought with wonder.

"Anyway, how much time has passed? I am still exhausted."

"You've been sleeping for a full day." Thalia responded with a bit of accusation, but she immediately hugged him. "I was truly worried about you, I don't know what I would have done if something happened."

Rydel accepted the hug feeling warm inside. The first year that he reincarnated here, he was scared. He was unsure if he was in a dream and everything would disappear in a puff of smoke when he was finally beginning to be happy. His new parents were strangers that showered him with love, and he appreciated it. He sometimes became worried about the friends and family that he left behind.

'They are probably ok, I wasn't someone worth worrying about, they probably felt perplexed for a while and are happy now.' Rydel decided to bury the dark thoughts that were creeping into his mind.

If the Elders decided to nurture him, it would be quite the boon. The road to greatness is ahead, he needs to continue stepping forward.

After reassuring his mother, he told her that he wanted to rest a bit more. He decided to check his status to see if it was affected by the transformation.

Name: Rydel Elphyra

Age: 5 years

Race: Forest Elf

Class: ---

Daodrops: Dao of the Moonlight (Early)

Traits: Moontouched

Vitality: 1

Strength: 0,9

Dexterity: 1

Endurance: 1

Perception: 16

Spirit: 25