Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos - Volume 1

Chapter 43. Fortuna's World Tree. Meeting an Acquaintance.

Since Cinderielle was little, her appearance and talent had been well above average. Naturally, there were many suitors around her who tried to court her. Theodore was not the first, and he would probably not be the last.

During her school days before she came to the academy, it was to the point that her friends created a "who hasn't confessed to Cinderielle" list.

Something she just rolled her eyes at.

As she looked at Theodore's back, Cinderielle remembered a question she heard from one of her human friends back then. "Why don't you accept a confession, even if it is just to test?"

She never got to answer because a Sylvan friend interrupted, explaining how important love was for Sylvans, etc. But that question got stuck in Cinderielle's brain. 'Right, why have I always ignored these things? I never even took a good look at any of the people confessing to me.'

From the very beginning, Cinderielle had never felt any attraction toward anyone in a romantic sense.

She remembered that when they were adolescents, and their hormones started working, each time they went on a trip to the forest, she could spot a few trees that looked quite charming to her. Moreover, when she looked at the towering World Tree, her heart would pound in awe.

Still, even at the sight of these magnificent trees, she couldn't feel the mythical "love" that she was not searching for, and more like expecting to feel eventually. 'Love, huh.'

Strangely, each time she thought about love, the yellow and withered leaf that she had seen as a child constantly flashed in her mind. Her brows frowned. 'Why is it?'

She was bewildered. You must know that, regardless of a sylvan's sexuality, being attracted to a single leaf was like being attracted to the nail of a person without knowing how the person really looked.

In short, it was a really strange situation for Cinderielle. She was sure she liked that leaf's owner, but why she was so attracted was still a mystery.

This is what brought her here. Her doubts had started to grow alongside her maturity, making her question more and more things that she previously took for granted.

To get rid of these doubts, she wanted to explore and try to search for them.

A Sylvan's natural lifespan was at least thrice as long as an average human's, and this is the lifespan for those Sylvans that died "young" because of low levels.

As they gained Levels and strength, their lifespan increased more than other races, and they could maintain their "peak" health for most of their lives, so wasting a few decades searching for things like a floating leaf was not a big deal for Cinderielle.

When she returned, she would still be in her prime, or so was the plan in her head.

First, she wanted to learn as much as she could in the academy, graduate, and then explore the world to find that leaf so that she could track its origin. Naturally, Cinderielle didn't think that such a withered leaf could be found, but what she wanted to search for were similar ones.

Previously, even with that leaf in mind, she was too young and low-leveled to go on her own adventure to investigate and search for it.

Today was different. The reason she came to Fortuna City from the Academy was to start her search. She had a month without classes, so she wanted to take advantage of it and go out.

With her diligence and the academy's help in giving resources, she reached Level 6 a week ago and consolidated her strength. With her natural attributes and powerful skills, she was confident in protecting herself even against a level 10 or above being.