She looked at the blood splattered all over the void's ground with a gaping mouth, horror and confusion warring on her ghostly features.

Then gradually, impossibly, it started crawling back together like living liquid responding to an unseen call.

Azel's body began forming slowly from the pooled crimson, starting from his internal organs first.

His heart materialized, then his lungs, liver, kidneys… they became just like they were before, except noticeably stronger and more refined. The tissue was denser, more efficient, and restructured at a fundamental level.

The mana cores that he possessed… the Holy mana core glowing with golden light, the Life mana core pulsing with vibrant green energy, and the Ice mana core radiating freezing blue power… all three shriveled simultaneously to become even smaller and more perfectly concentrated.

They compressed like stars collapsing into neutron density as more of Azel's cardiovascular system formed around them.

His blood vessels grew like spreading tree roots, weaving through newly formed muscle and bone. His blood seeped back into the forming circulatory system and rebuilt the body completely from the inside out, organs connecting to skeletal structure, nervous system threading through everything.

About a full minute later, Azel finally let out a deep exhale as his eyes opened, the lids lifting to reveal transformed irises.

"Your ears…" Gwendolyn said with shock, pointing.

He reached up instinctively and touched his ears.

They were no longer shaped like his normal human ones… they were distinctly pointed like that of an elf, though the shape was more like that of a half-elf than a pure-blooded royal. The points were less extreme and more subtle but unmistakably elven.

And his eyes had changed too. They remained primarily crimson like before, but now they had some golden texture woven into them, creating an almost mesmerizing pattern.

Flecks and streaks of gold swirled within the red, catching light in ways human eyes never could.

He could feel that his body had become significantly stronger overall, though the enhancement was shifted more toward his magical capabilities than his physical ones.

His muscles felt the same, but his mana channels burned with power.

System notifications began appearing in glowing text.

[Congratulations, You have unlocked Bloodline: Royal Elf Halfling]

[Your magical power has gone through a fundamental breakthrough]

[You have now reached the level of a Grand Mage]

[You have finished Hidden Mission: Ascension]

[You have received a reward: Summoning Card]

[You have received a reward: Ultimate Skill - Royal Beam]

Azel sat properly on the void's ground, cross-legged and trying to process everything.

He was completely naked now after the explosive reformation, and his eyes felt profoundly weird, like looking through a new lens.

"Are you okay?" Gwendolyn asked with concern, floating into his direct line of sight to check on him.

Only for his transformed eyes to trigger automatically in response to her proximity.

A devastating beam similar to the ones he'd used while inhabiting the Elf Queen's body shot out from his eyes, except this one was completely crimson rather than tri-colored.

It launched forward with incredible speed.

Gwendolyn made herself translucent just in time, the beam phasing through her ghostly body entirely as she avoided being hit by the dangerous attack.

The energy beam shot upward to the top of the infinite void and vanished into the darkness.

"Hey, what was that for!" She protested, looking genuinely annoyed.

"Sorry… I needed to get it out of my system." Azel said apologetically as he stood up, testing his balance.

Gwendolyn's eyes involuntarily followed the movement and focused on his dangling member. Even though it was currently soft and relaxed, it was impressively long and easily visible.

It made her genuinely wonder how Azel normally fit something that size into his clothes comfortably without it being obvious.

"So where are we now?" He asked, looking around the void.

Immediately, he stopped giving her that distracting sight by willing clothes to materialize over his body through spatial magic.

Dark fabric covered him completely, forming into regular clothes and a flowing cloak that concealed everything.

"How do you feel? Your body literally exploded before…" She asked while floating in a circle around him, examining him from every angle with concern.

She even reached out to touch his new pointed ear curiously.

There was that familiar cold sensation since she was a ghost without body heat, but he could definitely feel her ethereal fingers touching the sensitive cartilage.

"And why do you even have elf ears now…? Are you actually related to them?" She asked with confusion.

"Yeah, apparently I'm a distant relative." He said with a casual shrug while extending his hand outward.

He willed his ice magic into existence experimentally, wanting to test his new capabilities.

A brilliant glow covered his entire hand and extended outward into the air around him, and he immediately understood viscerally what it felt like to be a Grand Mage rather than a Great Mage.

The difference was staggering.

His magical abilities seemed to have tripled if not quadrupled in raw power output and when he added divinity to the ice magic, the frozen energy branched apart dramatically. It filled the surrounding air with intensely cold wind that made frost crystals form in the void itself.

This was just the passive effect of summoning the magic, he hadn't even directed it into an actual attack yet.

A new system prompt appeared:

[Would you like to leave the trial space?]

[Y / N]

He stared at the floating text for a while, considering, then looked back at Gwendolyn thoughtfully.

"How about I experiment with my new abilities a bit before we return…? We have time." He suggested. "Wait, since our souls are magically entwined now, can't I potentially use your magic types through that connection?"

Gwendolyn placed a translucent hand on her chin, thinking carefully about the question.

"For my soul magic… you'll probably have to do extensive research and study if you want to even grasp the basics properly. It's incredibly complex." She said honestly. "I would happily give you all my compiled research books and notes, however like you correctly pointed out earlier, I'm not remembered in this world's history. We need to check if I have any properties or belongings left anywhere… if we can locate the old mansion and the Empire hasn't found a way to break through my soul seals protecting it, then we might recover everything. That would be invaluable."

She paused, then continued more optimistically.

"But as for my dark magic specifically, I'm sure you can learn that relatively easily. You just need to create a proper mana circle for it, or rather like I observed when your body was rebuilding itself… you'd need to form a dedicated core for dark element." She explained the mechanics.

"You do realize that Dark magic has been officially branded as the magic of demons in modern society, right?" Azel asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's illegal to practice in most human territories."

Her eyes widened in genuine surprise and dismay. "When did that happen?!"

"Forget about it for now, let's just test these new powers and leave." He said, dismissing her concern.

…

Meanwhile, outside in the real world, the Elf King stood patiently outside Yggdrasil's massive trunk.

It had been standing in essentially the same position for quite some hours now, maintaining vigil. They had all arrived here at the trial entrance during morning time, and now it was early evening.

The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.

'A proper lover waits patiently for the other…' The Elf King thought to itself, still maintaining its tall, imposing size for appearances.

It couldn't lie to itself… it was genuinely worried about Azel's wellbeing in the trial. And honestly, it also very much wanted Azel to cook dinner again like he had the previous night.

That meal had been the most enjoyable eating experience of its entire centuries-long existence.

Everyone else had already left hours ago, including Sylvia who had emerged earlier looking satisfied and carrying some kind of ornate magical staff.

Finally, after all those long hours of waiting, the section of Yggdrasil's trunk where Azel had entered began glowing.

The bark peeled open and he stepped out into the evening light, wearing completely different clothes than when he'd gone in.

But that wasn't the only thing noticeably different about him.

"Oh?" The Elf King tilted its head while studying Azel with fascination. "You turned into a half-elf?"

The change was obvious to anyone with elven heritage. The ear shape, the subtle shift in facial structure and the way he carried himself differently.

"Apparently so." Azel said as he waved at the Elf King while approaching it with a slight smile. "You were standing outside this whole time… does that mean you were actually waiting for me?"

The Elf King was still staring intently at his new pointed ears, genuinely captivated.

Even though it had told itself firmly that it couldn't fall romantically for another elf after centuries of isolation from its own kind, there was something unexpectedly cute about how Azel's ears twitched involuntarily in response to sounds and emotions.

It was adorable in its own unique regard.

The Elf King shrunk down to its usual comfortable height of about 5'7, then floated upward using magic to bring itself level with Azel's face. It reached out and touched his ear gently, curious about the texture.

The ear twitched automatically under its touch, and the Elf King barely resisted the strong urge to laugh at the reaction.

"Your ears are quite lively." It observed with barely suppressed amusement. "You don't need to twitch them up and down consciously though… they're now a permanent part of you and will move reflexively. I assume you went through a Bloodline Awakening during your trial?"

"How did you know about that?" Azel asked with surprise.

"The Elves who take the trial of Yggdrasil all receive some kind of reward if they manage to successfully complete their assigned trial." The Elf King explained, still holding his ear gently. "For example, your reward was apparently your Bloodline Awakening which fundamentally changed your physiology. And for Sylvia, her reward was a legendary Moonstaff artifact that I hadn't even seen referenced since I was first born centuries ago. A very powerful item."

"Speaking of Sylvia… did Yggdrasil not deliver the warning I sent about her plans?" He asked with concern.

The Elf King wanted very much to ask how Azel had managed to convince Yggdrasil, the notoriously lazy life tree, to actually deliver a message for him but it restrained its curiosity.

"Yes, I did receive your warning about the alleged conspiracy." The Elf King said seriously as it continued floating forward slowly. "However, both Yggdrasil and I came to a similar logical deduction after analyzing the claim."

It met his eyes directly.

"Merek was definitively not sealed anywhere inside Yggdrasil, or the tree would absolutely know about it. There is no possible way that Sylvia could have met with Merek during her trial unless someone created an incredibly sophisticated illusion." The Elf King continued. "And even if somehow she did encounter him, my Father put his entire life force into creating the seal that binds Merek, leaving behind no artifact or method whatsoever that could feasibly free him. The seal is absolute."

The Elf King paused, then asked the question that had been bothering it.

"My question is… how did you manage to observe Sylvia's trial at all? Both of you were doing two completely different trials in separate pocket dimensions… or was it through some kind of surveillance artifact that you planted on her beforehand?"

"I have a ghost familiar that I sent over to see and hear things through my perspective…" Azel said, having prepared this explanation in advance. "I am one hundred percent certain that she was speaking with someone who appeared to be Merek, though I admittedly could not hear the full conversation because he detected my familiar's presence and found me out."

"And on the other hand… I can assure you with my very soul that Merek is absolutely not inside Yggdrasil's domain, as the Life tree would know immediately." The Elf King said with finality. "And I would prefer not to speak on that painful matter again if possible…"

"I see…" Azel said, deciding not to push the issue.

He walked quickly ahead with long strides, Gwendolyn trailing invisibly behind him in her ghostly form.

Within seconds, he had exited the sacred grove and returned to the regular world outside, leaving the Elf King behind.

The Elf King stood there looking at his retreating back, and suddenly felt a strange throbbing pain in its chest. An unfamiliar ache that it couldn't quite identify.

"It's fine… I don't need you." The Elf King muttered while turning its face to the right, trying to convince itself.

Though the very next instant, it shot forward completely in Azel's direction at high speed, unable to maintain the pretense.

It needed him to give it a proper bath again, to cook another delicious meal, to talk about random things like they had yesterday evening… Just like yesterday.

"Come back!" It called out, floating rapidly after him.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.