The title of a pure native was a very interesting one. It referred to those who were born in the Republic of Northwest. It had only been established for thirty-odd years, and thus there weren’t many pure natives. Sid was one of them.

  He was twenty this year and had just graduated from the Isuka School of Magic. As an outstanding druid, his magical skills and war skills were both above average. However, his greatest strength was in his innate senses towards mining veins. The teachers at his school had felt that in his blood, he had minerals and elements from the inner layer of the earth that stimulated him.

  Although elemental creatures had no gender, magicians’ experiments had proven that many creatures with elemental blood had been born. This was especially so in the era of the wizards, where their spellcasters had transferred large amounts of the elements into their bodies or depended on elemental strength, causing blood changes and earning the desired strength. At that time, there were many elemental creatures, and some were possibly Sid’s ancestors.

  Sid’s situation was not uncommon, and they were termed as spiritual demons. While the name seemed very lofty, it was the complete opposite — one could look at the genetic strength to see this. The overlapping of the gods and elves was mostly taken up by the elves. Thus, only a little bit of powers of the gods remained.

  “Isn’t that a pity? The title sounds so prestigious!” Hopes said.

  “Actually, being a spiritual demon is nothing much. The title refers to those who have inner or outer planes. For example, if I did not have elf blood, I’d be a directionless spiritual demon or an earth element. It sounds like a pretty cool title, but these people usually turn out to be socially awkward and often receive callings from their ancestors…… These ancestors would not be clear, and they would be fanaticized by these calls and chase them back to the ancestral plane……”

  “Would they succeed?” Hopes asked.

  “It’s not that easy! Very few actually succeed, and the rest fade along with the light. Many only realize their foolish ways after they become old and regret wasting their youth, but many others don’t even reach this realization even when they’re about to die…… On the other hand, half-elves are much more stable. Even if they wanted to return to their roots, they could just go back to the Ancient Forest.”

  \r \r \r

  It was evident that he was not fond of his spiritual demon status but was rather neutral about it. At the very least, he was willing to become an exploration worker and utilize his natural element skills.

  “Actually, I did not plan to come as I wanted to learn to farm. However, Uncle Clito convinced me. He said that I was still young and that half-elves live long lives. If I wanted to be a farmer, I could wait till I was over thirty and married with children to pursue it. At this age, I should take some risks and explore the world, improving myself while I still can.”

  Hopes nodded and thought for a while before turning his attention to Ruby.

  Ruby was pouring a cup of tea while learning from a textbook and did not notice Hopes’ gaze.

  Young people should be adventurous, while middle-aged people should be stable. However, Sid’s “adventurous” stage was about the same as Ruby’s “stable” stage.

  Thinking of this, Hopes couldn’t help but laugh.

  His was short and bulky, and he wore a thick armor. He did not look like an exploration worker but rather an explorer. His name was Dudu Hill, and he was a young dwarf; this could be seen by his short beard

  To the dwarves, when the beard grew longer than the palm, it indicated that they were fully grown. Dudu Hill’s beard was thin and short, signaling that he was still young. However, he did not lack in skill, and he was able to speak several languages as well as understanding much about rocks and mining. In fact, his level of knowledge could parallel that of outstanding student Hopes. He also had decent fighting skills and followed Ruby to cut wood a while after he had arrived.

  Ruby was an explorer of tens of years, and thus, keeping up with him was no easy feat.

  The most talented in the group, however, was still Sid. Although he did not participate in the wood cutting, when Dudu Hill had wanted to challenge him, he had still produced a certificate. It showed that in the fourth season of a world fighting tournament, he had been one of the top sixteen contestants. This stunned Dudu Hill and the other two as well. They knew that he was talented, but not to this extent.

  The world fighting competitions were the most important in this world, and the youth group was full of talented young who with impressive skills even before they were grown. Some were even stronger than explorers. For example, the “King of the Seaside” Leon who won the championship title in the Eagle King Knights competition and neared the Legendary Realm.

  Being a part of the top sixteen still showed his extreme strength, even if he had been lucky enough to meet weaker opponents. Dudu stared at the certificate, unsatisfied, and said, “When I was in the first contest, I was still young. Next time…… I’ll also get some good results!”

  “All the best at you. However, you don’t really earn much if you win. It’s better if you focus on being a miner; you could earn more that way.”

  “It’s not like I lack money!”

  Sid frowned and stared at Dudu Hill.

  Dudu Hill pursed his lips and put on a “I don’t want to say anything” kind of look.

  After a while, Sid nodded and said, “Anyway, being a miner is good. It suits you. Better than fighting in some contest.”

  This time, Dudu did not retaliate and simply sat on his bed, arranging his belongings in silence. Dwarfs’ bedding needs were special, and he had brought them here.

  After a while, Dudu and Ruby left to buy undergarments and other items. Hopes curiously found Sid to ask about Dudu’s background.

  “It’s not much of a secret anyway. Just like your surname is Wilder and it represents a tribe in the Orc Empire, his surname is Hill, and it represents one of the dwarven tribes.”