"Alright then, let's go."
Hel straightened her clothes and followed Witt as they left the dormitory.
They took an alchemical carriage to the faculty residential area of the Advanced Academy.
Unlike the ordinary student dorms where Hel lived, every residence here was a standalone villa.
Under Witt's guidance, Hel arrived at a house that looked rather ordinary at first glance.
However, unlike the surrounding buildings, the vegetation here grew exceptionally lush. Two sides of the house were completely covered in climbing vines.
From afar, it looked like a treehouse hidden deep within a jungle.
The interior, however, was completely different from the exterior.
If the outside leaned toward a natural aesthetic, the inside was warm and homely. It felt as though the owner had lived here for a very long time, filling the modest space with a comforting sense of everyday life.
At that moment, a young girl with teal-colored hair walked down the spiral staircase inside.
"Are you little brother Hel? Teacher is waiting for you upstairs."
"Yes, thank you."
Hel followed the girl to a study on the second floor. She knocked lightly on the door, and a gentle, peaceful female voice came from inside.
"Come in."
"Yes."
The girl slowly opened the door and led Hel inside.
Within the room sat a silver-haired middle-aged woman, quietly resting in a rocking chair.
Though her face still looked youthful, her movements carried the weary stillness of old age.
"So you're little Hel. I'm Viola Skoll—an old friend of your grandfather from his younger days. You may call me Granny."
Viola opened her eyes and looked at Hel as she spoke.
"I've heard about you from your grandfather before."
"He mentioned me?"
"Yes."
The woman pulled open a drawer in the desk before her and took out an exquisite metal box. When she opened it, it revealed a dense stack of letters inside.
Judging by their yellowed color, these letters were clearly very old.
"Let me see… I remember that old fellow Misel bragged to me when you were born, saying that your family had produced a black-haired baby."
"Bragged?"
Hel was confused. She didn't understand why her hair color would be something worth boasting about.
"Yes, bragged. Didn't that old man ever tell your family?"
Hel shook her head.
This made Viola frown slightly in confusion. By all logic, Hel's grandfather shouldn't have kept something this important from his family.
Unless… there was a reason he couldn't say it.
"Your Heim family carries a portion of elven blood. And black hair represents an even more ancient lineage—the Origin Elves.
"Legend has it that they were the progenitors of all elves. However, the Mother Tree of Life that symbolized the Origin Elves disappeared at the end of the Fourth Era.
"Even so, the other elven branches still have a chance of reverting through ancestral awakening and becoming Origin Elves once more."
"So that's how it is… but I don't have any elven blood."
Hel nodded calmly. She knew her own situation well—she had no inherent bloodline at all.
The blood she possessed now was Witch blood, acquired later.
Even if she once had dormant elven blood, it would have long since been devoured by her Witch bloodline.
"Is that so? Perhaps it simply hasn't awakened yet."
Viola smiled gently. She picked up the metal box and pressed several hidden mechanisms. The lower half of the box suddenly separated from the upper portion, revealing a second compartment.
From it, Viola took out a small wooden plaque and handed it to Hel.
"This is a token passed down in the Heim family. It's said to be connected to the western elves.
"Back then, Misel worried that something might happen on his end, so he entrusted this item to me for safekeeping.
"But now that you're here, it proves you have the resolve to inherit the Heim family. This token should return to its rightful owner."
"A token?"
Hel instinctively activated her trait inspection system.
[Name]: Origin Token (Soul)
[Rank]: Red · Sacred Relic
[Description]: A symbol of direct lineage to the Origin Elves. When the tokens of the three primary branches—Soul, Mind, and Flesh—are gathered, one can locate the Mother Tree of the Origin Elves.
So… another treasure map fragment?
Hel was genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected that a simple visit to the Scholars' Nation would yield such a reward.
Earlier, when Viola mentioned that the Origin Elves' Mother Tree had disappeared, Hel thought the Divine Domain Keys she had previously obtained were already useless.
She hadn't expected there to be a turning point.
Without hesitation, Hel accepted the token and stored it away.
"Now that the item has returned to its owner, let's talk about your future specialization path.
"The four major departments of Skoll Academy represent the four main schools of bloodline theory:
"Blood-Melting, Arcane Arts, Curse, and Symbiosis.
"Among them, you're quite suitable for joining our Arcane Arts department.
"If you do possess elven blood, our arcane blood-refinement techniques can help you awaken it more quickly.
"If you truly don't have elven blood, then I would recommend the Symbiosis department instead.
"As for Blood-Melting and Curse… it's best not to touch them if you can help it.
"Although the Skoll family rose through the Blood-Melting school, I must still say this—those who succeed in bloodline transplantation are ultimately just lucky survivors.
"Moreover, first-generation bloodline transplanters can only refine themselves by continuously replacing old bloodlines with new ones."
"I understand. I'll consider it carefully."
Hel nodded.
After chatting for a while longer, Madam Viola—clearly fatigued—asked the girl to see Hel off.
Once they reached the entrance, the girl finally introduced herself properly.
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Xixi Skoll—Teacher's granddaughter, and also your cousin."
"Cousin?"
"Yes. Your grandfather is my grandfather as well, so that makes us cousins."
Xixi smiled and continued:
"Our branch doesn't have many young people. Besides me, there's another girl in the academy.
"But she's a bit… lively. I hope you won't be startled when you meet her."
"I don't think I'll be startled."
Hel replied calmly.
Xixi leaned in close to Hel's ear and whispered mischievously:
"Her name is Hiness. She's a second-year student in the Intermediate Division of the Art Academy.
"Don't be fooled by the fact that she's older than you—her seniority is actually lower.
"So when you meet her, feel free to confidently call her little niece. Just say I told you to."