"Of Course, I don't have wifi connection here," Seth muttered to himself while pulling out his phone from his pocket to check.
Of course, he had absolutely no wifi connection or cellular data available in this medieval fantasy world. Sighing in mild frustration at being cut off from everything, he pulled out some wireless earbuds and went ahead to put on a song from his downloaded music library. Since the entire world had been turned completely upside down by the apocalypse, this was genuinely the first real time he'd gotten a proper chance to actually relax and do nothing.
Getting up from his room, where he'd been resting, he decided to go outside to explore the land of the elves properly, something he had never bothered to do before now. Elves lived primarily within the forest in harmony with nature. Of course, the very concept of a smartphone or modern technology didn't exist to them at all, but they did have various magical means to communicate with people who were far away across great distances.
He was genuinely curious about what people actually did to entertain themselves without television and other modern conveniences. As someone who had been born and raised in the modern era with constant digital entertainment, he had a legitimately hard time imagining what people did to pass the time during historical eras when none of these modern conveniences had existed yet.
The Elven city was built directly into the living forest itself, creating a seamless blend of nature and civilization. The massive trees held their roads and pathways at multiple levels, and the ground below served the same purpose.
Thick tree branches had been carefully shaped and reinforced to create elevated paths for the elves to walk across high above the forest floor, while the ground level also featured its own network of roads and walkways.
The bigger and more ancient the tree, the wealthier the elf family that resided within it. The homes were essentially elaborate treehouses, only these were built with masterful craftsmanship to last for centuries and withstand tremendous punishment from weather and attacks.
So as Seth walked casually through the streets, his enhanced eyes carefully scanned everyone around him, taking in the details of elven daily life. He observed children playing energetically with all types of toys, such as handcrafted wooden dolls and leather balls.
The kids frequently used their developing magic to enhance their games in creative ways. For example, while playing a game of catch, they would use magic to make the ball suddenly change direction mid-flight, catching other kids completely off guard and testing their reflexes. If a child failed to catch the ball when it came to them, they would lose points or be eliminated from that round.
But that wasn't the only thing they would do with the simple ball. As the game progressed, they would cast illusions to create multiple fake balls, use wind magic to alter trajectories, and employ other such magical techniques. So, pretty much while having fun and playing, they were simultaneously training their magical abilities and combat awareness without even realizing it.
As for the grown-up elves, those who were not currently working at their various professions were gathered in small groups with friends. They could be seen either eating meals together at outdoor tables, playing complex board games that required strategy, or simply talking and catching up on recent events. Those adults who preferred solitude were sitting back alone on benches or in quiet corners, relaxing peacefully in the tranquil atmosphere they had cultivated.
But that peaceful atmosphere was suddenly shattered when a group of excited people began running in one direction with urgency. This act quickly caused both the curious grown-ups and the energetic children to immediately join them, following the growing crowd while heading towards the center of the city, where a large stage had been hastily constructed for an important announcement.
"Everyone, I bring you all great and historic news!" a beautiful female elf announced from the stage, using sound magic to ensure that everyone gathered in the massive crowd could hear her words clearly. "The Sun Empire and the Moon Empire have finally united after all this time. Our 100 thousand-year conflict is officially over!"
Upon hearing that monumental announcement, everyone who had gathered in the city center cheered explosively in pure joy, their voices rising together in celebration.
"Alara! I love you!" a passionate cry rose from somewhere deep within the crowd, causing Alara to smile brightly in response to the declaration.
Honestly, amongst the elves in general, she was truly considered a remarkable beauty with her graceful features and flowing hair. Although even she had to admit that Evelin was far more stunningly beautiful than her now.
"I love you all too!" Alara called back warmly to the crowd. "I have composed a special song for this historic moment—a day of long-awaited peace where we can finally call each other friends instead of bitter enemies."
Her announcement caused everyone to cheer even louder in joyful anticipation.
"Trees remember—long the war!
Blades of sorrow—no more, no more!
Now the river sings with light, Now the branches dance in night!"
Alara began to sing her original composition while the enthusiastic crowd swayed and moved rhythmically to the song's melody. Her voice carried beautifully across the gathered masses.
But Seth, standing toward the back of the crowd, frowned deeply in disappointment. Had he actually removed his wireless earbuds just to listen to this performance? Alara possessed a genuinely beautiful and technically skilled voice; he couldn't deny that. But she held every single note way too long for his taste, drawing them out unnecessarily.
The song was carried primarily by the quality of her voice, the emotional way she was performing it, and the graceful choreography of how she was dancing, rather than by the actual composition itself.
Alara, who had been happily singing and scanning the crowd to gauge their reactions, suddenly noticed a figure standing in the very back. He was looking at everyone around him with what appeared to be a sneer of disdain before casually putting something back in his ears—clearly dismissing her performance.
This instantly and deeply displeased Alara. It had taken her a very long time to carefully come up with both the song's lyrics and the accompanying dance choreography. She'd spent about an entire hour perfecting every detail. The absolute least someone could do was listen respectfully to the end, yet she was being openly disdained and dismissed?
"Hey, you in the back!!" she called out sharply with a clearly displeased expression on her face, pointing directly at the offender.
Seth, who had already been about to turn around and walk away from this underwhelming performance, suddenly paused mid-step. He turned slowly to look at her with mild confusion, only to discover that he was now the center of absolutely everyone's attention. Hundreds of elven eyes had turned to stare at him.
"Who's that? He's incredibly handsome," a few female elves said softly to each other, genuinely stunned by Seth's striking appearance.
Their admiration only grew more confused when they looked more carefully at his ears. They had never heard of an elf without the characteristic sharp, pointy ears that defined their race. But that unusual detail was quickly overlooked and forgiven because of Seth's overwhelmingly attractive looks. This naturally annoyed some of the male elves watching, but even they couldn't genuinely get upset or angry since Seth was honestly extraordinarily attractive. He was truly worthy of being called the Honored One—unrivaled in both talent and physical beauty.
What truly drew everyone in and captivated them were Seth's eyes. They had never seen anything quite so beautiful and mesmerizing. When Seth's piercing gaze passed over individuals in the crowd, their entire world seemed to freeze momentarily. For just a brief moment, it felt to them as if all of creation had completely disappeared, and it was just them and Seth looking directly at each other. In that frozen instant, they could vividly imagine Seth holding out a delicate flower towards them with a devastatingly charming smile.
"You don't like my music?" Alara asked with a clearly displeased and offended expression on her face.
Just because someone was exceptionally handsome didn't mean they had the right to so blatantly and disrespectfully dismiss her hard work… well, if he apologized, he would forgive her, and even marry her. She was nice like that…
"That's correct, I don't," Seth said bluntly after a moment's thought. "In fact, I will show you what real music actually sounds like."
He began walking confidently towards the stage under the absolutely stunned looks of everyone gathered. The entire crowd was clearly shocked by how he had so easily and publicly announced his dislike of Alara's carefully composed music without any hesitation. This also initially stunned Alara herself, but her shock quickly transformed into burning rage the next moment. She instantly promised to make it hard for them to date now… that would teach him.
Seth completely ignored her angry expression while casually summoning a chair to sit on. He then proceeded to pull out a beautifully crafted wooden string instrument that had been created by skilled elven craftsmen. As for where he had obtained this particular instrument, it was from the Sun Empire's treasury. This was actually a growth-type weapon that cleverly used sound waves as its primary method of attack.