It’s been about a year and a half since I woke up in this simulation. Now I am capable of speaking and walking on my own. And by walking, I mean waddling around by quickly throwing my fat legs in front of me. 

Even now, I still fall flat on my face regularly. But I shall persevere. I’ve decided I wouldn’t give myself away yet. I was unsure about my objectives, but I’m sure screaming out “I was a Human Death Commando,” probably wouldn’t help me achieve anything.

I’ve also finally gotten a good look at myself today. Unfortunately, this home doesn’t have any glass for mirrors, but my mother left a bucket of water outside, and I managed to see my reflection for the first time. It seems the simulation has pretty much made me a perfect copy of both of my parents. 

I have light tan skin that is a mix between both my mother and father. However, I have my father’s raven black hair and my mother’s sharp chin and cheekbones. But one of my most defining features is my Heterochromatic eyes, my left eye is a purple amethyst, and my right eye is a golden pool. My irises, much like everybody else I had seen so far, also swirl around oddly.

I was staring intently into the pool of water when I sensed my father trying to sneak up on me. I quickly turned and stared right at him. “Did you actually hear me coming?” he asked with a look of surprise.

Well, of course. My hearing was astounding. I think my hearing is better than it ever was as a Human. It took me a long time to control these ears of mine, but I finally got them down, mostly. 

Combine that with my years of hardened combat senses from being a Death Commando, and it was an efficient combination. I also don’t think he was trying very hard.

“Ummm… sorry,” I tried to say innocently.

“Amazing, you definitely got my hearing after all. But you got your mother’s High Elf ears,” he said while rubbing my ears.

I usually wasn’t a fan of being touched, but having my ears rubbed was actually fantastic. They must have had double the number of nerves in them compared to Humans. And this man knew exactly where to scratch them.

But he said something I hadn’t heard before. “What is a High Elf?” I asked curiously. 

I had heard my parents refer to me as their “Little Elf.” I could only assume that is what they called our race. He went on to explain, “Well, your mom is a High Elf, and I am a Dark Elf. You can tell what race an Elf is by their ears, among a few other things. For example, your mom has high pointed ears, so she is a High Elf. I have ears that point downwards which makes me a Dark Elf. There are also Wood Elves with ears pointed straight out, somewhere between a Dark and High Elf. And, uh sorry… you probably didn’t understand all of that,” he said while scratching his head.

“Am I a High Elf?” I asked.

“Well… yes and no? You are half Dark Elf and half High Elf, which is pretty rare, but uh… we won’t talk about that right now. Most people will probably think you are a Dark Elf since you have dark skin like me,” he explained, his face having a tinge of red in it now.

“Mmm… okay,” I said.

I had asked my mother many questions, but she would often dodge around questions or answer them with more questions. It seems he is a more straightforward person. Perhaps now would be a good time to ask about magic. My mother had told me she would tell me more when I got older. 

But I had nothing else to do than wander around the house. My parents didn’t have books that I could find, at least. So I had nothing to stimulate my brain. So to curb my boredom, I had started to pick up random items and bring them to my mom so she would tell me the names of things. 

Maybe I could get lucky today.

“What is magic?” I asked.

“It’s, uh… difficult to explain to a child that isn’t even two years old.”

“I’m smart!” I attempted to say in the most childlike manner I could. I even pouted a little bit, hoping to add the extra effect. 

“What are you doing?” he gave me a weird look then shrugged. “Listen, Kal. Magic is a dangerous thing for a kid. But how about I teach you about mana?”

Mmm. It seems I won’t be getting that lucky. But this is a start. I’ll just have to accept it.

“Sure!” I exclaimed with false enthusiasm.

“Alright. How about we take a walk around the village, Kal?” he suggested with a smile.

Finally.

Since my crawling escapades, that witch has kept me on a short leash. I haven’t gotten a chance to leave this home for more than a few moments. When I was just an infant, that witch of a mother took me to what I assumed was a market at one point. But she had just fed me, and I couldn’t force myself to stay awake, so I missed the entire trip!

“Yes, please!” I said while grasping my hands in the air. 

He obliged with a soft chuckle while picking me up and placing me on his shoulders as we walked. I have been able to deduce that my family makes a decent income. We weren’t peasants, nor were we some noble lords. But we seemed to have an above-average home that was somewhat out of the way from the general populace.

I had also deduced that this was indeed a jungle. The humidity was high and tree coverage was highly dense. It almost seemed like the trees were crafted to shade everything perfectly. 

Only after a few minutes of walking were we at the outskirts of the village. It appeared to be a decent-sized village. The village shared the same architecture as our home, using the jungle wood and accenting it with plenty of greenery. Although it was much different than the metal square and rectangle architecture I was used to, it was still very appealing. 

The village just gave off a warm atmosphere, kind of like a log cabin in the forest. At least that’s what I imagine it would be like. I’ve never been in a log cabin before, let alone one in a jungle.

We had begun to walk past people on the road. The village seemed to be a good mix of Wood Elves, with their pointed ears that came out to the side, and Humans. The Humans in this simulation looked precisely like the Humanity I was familiar with, besides the whole swirling iris. 

I couldn’t help but notice a select few Humans that seemed to be slaves, or maybe prisoners? Thick red iron collars were locked around their necks, and most of them looked worse for wear. Their keepers were not far from them, but they didn’t seem like police or soldiers, just ordinary people.

Despicable. Even the Federation didn’t enslave the aliens we conquered. I suppose if the simulation attempted to recreate a fantasy world, then slavery would simply be a part of it. But choosing to enslave Humans was obviously a direct, deliberate decision by the system.

Drawing my eyes away from the shackled Humans was what looked like to be some type of Human-animal hybrid. A person with a hood on and a black cat-like tail came out from behind them. They didn’t have fur all over their body as a cat would, but the tail that was swishing to the side was a dead giveaway. A pair of black fluffy cat ears stuck out from their hood. I decided to be the “what is that” child and asked as many questions as possible.

“Ah, those are Beastmen. Just like us Elves, they have two kinds and different appearances. That woman is just called a Beastmen. They are Beastmen who have mixed blood just like you, Kal. She looks like she might be a Human mixed with jungle panthers. Then, there are True Beastmen. They look just like animals but stand tall like everybody else. They are a very strong and proud race. There aren't too many of them around here, however.” I nodded in response to his information. 

This was very informative. I should spend more time with you.

Impressive as always, the Navy really has created an actual fantasy world here. It was amazing and so realistic. But not wanting to get sidetracked from my main objective, I continued and pressed on while asking about mana.

"Sooo, what is mana?"

My dad readjusted me on his shoulders. “You see, son. All living things have mana: the trees, animals, that Beastmen, and even monsters. Mana is simply just the flow of life inside a living thing,” he explained while pointing at all these things.

“Then everyone can use magic?” I asked.

“No, just because you have mana doesn’t mean you can use magic. But you do need to have a lot of mana and have the necessary gifts to use magic. Lucky for you, your dad is a powerful mage, and one day, when you are older, I’ll teach you everything I know!” he said proudly, puffing his chest out.

But he realized too late that he might have already said too much, as the smile got wiped off his face and was replaced with a worried look. 

Haha, too easy. 

In an attempt to salvage his mistake, he continued with a warning. “Well, you can use magic when you are older, but learning magic when you are so young is dangerous. You could hurt yourself or someone else since you don’t know what you are doing. Of course, if you promise me you won’t try to use magic until you are a bit older, I promise to teach you everything,” he said nervously while a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead.

I couldn’t help but grin a little as he looked back up at me.

“I promise!” 

I lied.