A Failure's hopeful Journey

The girl with long hair heard what You Xi Wang said. She looked at him with a smile and spoke in a soft voice, "You all seem to be outlanders. How do you know that I am an Elf?"

The system spoke in You Xi Wang's mind, [Wake up, horny dog.] his remark slapped You Xi Wang awake from the daze. He spoke, "Intuition."

The elf girl smiled, "Well, it has been a very long time since any outlanders visited Elfheim. So, on behalf of the entire forest elf race, I, Sasha, welcome you to the capital of the Elven nation, Natura." after she was done speaking, Sasha bowed slightly to You Xi Wang and the others. 

You Xi Wang returned the gesture, and spoke, "We thank you for the welcome. My name is You Xi Wang, this is my team. We were sent in the dimensional pockets as a test of our skills. We came unannounced, please accept our apology."

Sasha shook her head and said, "No need to be humble. It has been a long time since we could interact with any outlanders. If you do not mind, please come along. I will take you to our queen. It was, her majesty, who sensed your arrival and sent me here to greet you."

You Xi Wang and the others were a little hesitant. After all, the other side was a complete stranger. Sasha sensed their hesitation and looked at them patiently with a faint smile. The system spoke, [It is fine, I don't sense any malice from her.]

You Xi Wang nodded and spoke in the minds of his team-mates, 'I don't sense any malice from her, let's go but stay alert.'

The team all nodded and You Zhichi spoke to Sasha, "Pardon the intrusion." her soft and calm voice surprised Sasha. She did not expect this outlandish girl to have such a temperament. Sasha smiled brightly and said, "Please, come along with me." with that said the elf turned her back to the group and walked to the hole inside the tree trunk. She pressed her hand on a bulge and spoke, "Open."

The tree hole enlarged and Sasha walked through it. You Xi Wang entered first, followed by the entire team. The other side of the tree hole was not something You Xi Wang could ever have imagined. Based on his knowledge of the fantasy magic species, the elves. This was blasphemy. He always thought that if this fantasy race was to be living somewhere in the world, it would be forests. The elves were the people blessed by nature. Even if it was the dark elves, he read about. They would also stay in the wild underground. 

But the scenery behind the tree hole was a deficit of anything related to nature. As far as the eyes could see, there were skyscrapers. People were riding on levitating disks, They wore green leaf-like clothes but You Xi Wang could bet that it was just a fabric design. He turned to face Sasha, who held the earing on her right ear and spoke, "Send a cab, the guests are here."

The earring which he thought was an exquisite work of elven jewelry turned out to be a communication device. What's even more exaggerated was that just as soon as she spoke a levitating boat came and stood up in front of the group. The other people in the team were surprised but You Xi Wang was shocked to his core. He never imagined this long-eared beauty to be this kind of elf. He wanted to rush over and pull her ears to see if they are real. 

The system spoke, [What happened? Why don't you utter 'tech is amazing?']

You Xi Wag snared at him, 'Bitch, these are elves? My shit is more natural than these long-eared scammers. She even called themselves Forest elves. I want to rip off her tongue. They ruined my childhood memories and fantasies about elves. Humph.' he was very irritated right now. 

The system was silent at first and then it started laughing inside You Xi Wang like a maniac. Sasha on the other side spoke to You Xi Wang, "You all board the cab. It will take us directly to the Queen's palace."

The team waited for You Xi Wang to take an action. You Xi Wang nodded to her with a functionary smile and boarded the cab. The boat was spacious enough and the group sat down comfortably. You Xi Wang spoke the mind of the team and said, "Do not reveal that we have a way to get back to Metropia that does not require us to use spirit energy. Okay?"

The team all expressed their agreement. The method was a secret. If they encounter any life-threatening situation, then with this method they can leave. But if any enemy got to know about this and disrupted their plans, then it would be an awful thing. Inside this dimension they only had themselves. This is why You Xi Wang made them remember, not to trust these people. As he was lost in thought the boat traveled along the canal these people called path (roadway) leading to the core region of the Natura City. 

In the center of the city, a light green building. The edifice had a metallic luster, making it look exquisite. It was as if greenish-gold was used to mold this building. This construct was not high like the skyscrapers around it. It was only nine floors high. The boat came to a stop in front of the main entrance of the building. Sasha led them all inside. 

At the entrance, a ray of light scanned them and turned red. The two guards on the sides of the gates picked up their weapons and pointed them at You Xi Wang and his team. Sasha hurriedly spoke, "Stop, they are the guest of her majesty."

One of the guards spoke in a hoarse voice, "They carry weapons. Which guests carry weapons and not gifts when visiting someone?"

You Xi Wang gazed at him with a poker face. His eyes were cold enough to freeze the guards. The guards matched his gaze and shivered. The elf city was very peaceful regardless of their tech or prosperity. They have never seen any bloodshed while the handsome boy in front of them was a cruel torturist. You Zhichi patted his shoulder lightly, only then did You Xi Wang calmed down. He spoke to Sasha in not so enthusiastic manner. 

"We are outlanders, we do not know you guys, still we came deep inside your city. Do not take my patience for my weakness. I am out on a task and will not tolerate any hindrance. We will leave now." he turned and prepared to leave when an ethereal voice rang out. 

"Please stop, sir. I apologize to you for the rudeness of my kinsmen." a woman draped in an olive green gown appeared in front of them. Her face was covered with aura, preventing anyone from glancing at her face. The woman wore a tiara made up of vines and flowers. 

The people in the lobby did not glance at her and kneeled down on one knee. They yelled, "ALL HAIL THE QUEEN"

This woman was the queen of elves. You Xi Wang glanced at her and bowed slightly without taking his eyes off of the woman. He spoke, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The team followed, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The head veiled with aura seemed to nod at them. The ethereal voice sounded again, "Young friends have come from afar. Come inside the courtroom. I have a feast set up for you." the pace of her speech was calm and steady. She made people feel calm as well. 

You Xi Wang nodded and the team followed her words. Sasha led them behind the queen. The courtroom gave You Xi Wang another shock. This place was like a classroom. On a podium, a big queen chair was placed. The woman with an ethereal voice went up and sat down on the chair while she gestured You Xi Wang and the others to sit down on the chairs in front of her. These chairs were smaller in size. They were very comfortable. As soon as the team sat down they couldn't help but sigh in comfort. 

You Xi Wang spoke, "Your Majesty, My name is You Xi Wang. Thank you for your hospitality."

The queen spoke, "Young friend You Xi Wang, my name is Ilex. I welcome you and your friends to Elfheim."

You Xi Wang asked another question, "May I ask, what is that giant tree? At first, I thought it was real but then we crossed over like it was a hologram. I feel confused."

The queen sighed. She spoke, "What you see is the result of ignorance. Ignorance of the High Elf Clan. They thought of themselves as superior to nature. They started to develop different types of technologies making it easier for the people of Elfheim. The rock plain you saw was the industrial area they had developed. Over the years the land started to become more and more desolate. To fix this a meeting of the four clans was arranged. The four clans are, High Elves, Forest Elves, Dark Elves, and Warrior Elves."

The queen paused and observed that everyone was listening to her seriously. She continued, "The four clans discussed over how to rejuvenate the lands. The forest elves and the dark elves proposed that we stop technological development for some time. The warrior elves favored it but the High elves countered us. They came forward with a research theory. An artificial rock that would be able to absorb the spiritual energy and the land will flourish again. Though, we were skeptical. We all allowed them to research the rock. The high elves, researched and in their arrogance of technological pioneers, skipped the tests and directly deployed the product. What you refer to as the rock plain, we call it the SAS. Spirit Abducting Salt. This thing was able to multiply itself. Although it is growing at a speed of only an inch per year. You can imagine how long we have been trying to deal with it. The high elves thought that we will covet their tech and sneakily they set up a Z class defense system around their laboratories. These laboratories hold the methods to deal with this salt and also the pathway to the spirit lake underground."

You Xi Wang was surprised by what he had just learned and so was his team. His pent-up frustration was already at the point of explosion and these details were like the spark over dynamite. He stood up and shouted, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?