Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 536: Nearly Five Hundred Years Of Solitude [Part 2]

Alex could barely hold himself together as he slowly made his way to the center of the forest.

His continuous journey had exhausted him, and he was riddled with injuries from his attempts to cross the barrier.

But his determination pushed him to persevere until he found the person who must’ve been waiting for him somewhere in the forest all these centuries.

For humans, a hundred years felt like eternity. But, for some races, it was merely a short period of time.

Dwarves and Fairies usually lived up to five hundred years, while elves lived for thousands of years.

And from what he’d heard... nearly five hundred years had passed since the battle in the Shadow Forest.

Every labored breath, every determined step, Alex endured it all.

Why?

Because he wholeheartedly believed that someone out there had endured loneliness for hundreds of years.

The barrier surrounding the entire forest was proof that they were still alive, but he knew... living a long life in isolation wasn’t a blessing but a curse.

After a few hours, he finally saw a clearing in the forest that should have been burned down to the ground by the Demon Lord.

A long period of time had passed, and the forest had once again regained its former glory.

And yet, no birds sang...

No animals roared...

No insects chirped...

It was void of everything except the rustling of trees as the wind blew past them.

When he finally arrived at a clearing, Alex felt a lump in his throat as he looked at the scene before him.

A beautiful flower field, filled with flowers of different colors, sent a fragrance that revitalized his senses.

And at the center of it all were five markers that could easily be distinguished.

These markers were made up of stone, and in them inscribed words and symbols that made Alex’s heart ache.

At the center of it all, sitting on a grave marker, was a small fairy with her back against the young man.

Alex bit his lip as he took a step forward.

He didn’t want to step on the flowers, but there was no other way for him to reach his destination, so he apologized to them in his heart.

When he was only a few meters away from the fairy, she finally moved, slowly turning her head to look in his direction.

The years had not been kind to her, and the exhaustion on her face was evident.

An old fairy with long white hair and wrinkles on her face looked at Alex with a smile.

"What took you so long, Alex?"

Her voice was no longer as mischievous and smooth as he remembered.

It was hoarse as if she hadn’t talked for a very... very... very long time.

But her sincere smile that seemed to stem from the bottom of her heart made the young man tear up. Then and there, he knew what Fran was thinking.

’Finally, before I met my end, I saw you again.’

Instead of replying, Alex crouched down on the grave marker where Fran sat and kissed her head.

"I’m sorry, I made you wait for so long," Alex said softly, his tears streaming down his face. "It must have been hard, Fran."

Fran blinked a few times as if forcing herself to not cry. She even smiled and reached out to wipe the tears from Alex’s eyes with her hands as if she were an older sister who was coaxing a baby to not cry.

"You don’t look like the Alex I remember, but I’m sure it’s you, Alex," Fran said, her voice slowly regaining a little strength in it. "I’m glad to see you again. Also, stop crying. Are you a child? This is why humans are no good. They cry so easily. You should have been reborn as a fairy instead."

Alex did his best to smile, but the tears just won’t stop.

Fran continued to nag at him, his playful tone returning bit by bit. However, she would cough from time to time, as if speaking was a bit hard for her.

"Hey, stop crying already. Look if I did a good job on these grave markers," Fran said. "See that? This one beside me is your grave. I even put a good epitaph for you."

Alex wiped away his tears, and looked at the grave marker that Fran was pointing at. Through his blurry vision, he read the words written there.

"Alex loved Fran with all of his heart," Alex said as he read the epitaph. "He promised that when he reincarnates, he will be a fairy so that he can be with her until they grow old together."

There was also an added small word at the bottom that said "Liar," which looked like it had been added after a few years had passed.

Alex couldn’t help but chuckle despite his tears, fully knowing that the fairy had taken liberty in writing the epitaph on "his grave."

The young man then glanced at the epitaph of the marker on the other side of where Fran sat and read it aloud.

"Here rests my loving older sister, who cared for me and Alex.

May you find peace within the World Tree.

You will always be remembered, Medina."

He then glanced at the one beside Medina’s, which was none other than Ron’s.

"Here rests Ron, a peerless swordmaster and true leader.

His blade was raised not for glory, but to protect the people.

May his courage be remembered through the ages."

Alex then glanced at the grave marker on the left side of his grave, which belonged to Carlo.

"Carlo raised his fists against the world,

and stood unbroken so his friends would not fall.

A shield in life, a guardian in memory."

Finally, Alex glanced at the grave marker where Fran was perched on and read it.

"Fran, a fairy of gentle light and unyielding will.

With her beloved Alex, she defied the Demon Lord and saved the world.

A guardian in legend,

and forever, the Queen of Hide and Seek."

Fran chuckled before closing her eyes softly.

"I’m getting a bit old, you know?" Fran said. "When fairies die, we do not leave bodies behind. We return to nature and become part of it once more. All of your bodies are buried under these markers, but all I can leave is this legacy."

The fairy then reached out to touch the side of Alex’s face and smiled softly.

"After all, it will be a very sad thing if those who tried to save the world are forgotten, right?"

Alex nodded. "You’re right, Fran. You did well."

"Of course!" Fran lightly patted her chest. "Just who do you think I am?"

A moment later, the fairy coughed a few times, which almost made her fall from the grave marker.

Alex hurriedly supported her body with his hands, making sure that she wouldn’t fall or hurt herself in the process.

"Say, Alex, it has been a while, so why don’t we do it?" Fran asked after she stopped coughing.

"Do what?" Alex replied, feeling a bit anxious because the fairy now looked very pale.

"What else? A game of hide and seek," Fran said mischievously. "I have been the Hide and Seek Queen, and no one has ever found me since the day I was born. How about we play that game one more time, what do you think?"

Alex wanted to say that she should just rest, but her determined gaze made him understand that she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

"Alright," Alex reluctantly agreed to her request. "We will play hide and seek."

"Good!" Fran’s face brightened up a bit. "But this time, give me a handicap, okay? I’m already old so count up to one hundred. Just close your eyes, but no peeking!"

"Understood." Alex nodded. "I’ll start counting now."

Alex turned around and closed his eyes. He then started to count.

Fran slowly stood up, and flapped her wings to fly away.

However, she just managed to fly a few inches from the grave marker before she slowly crashed on the ground.

"A-Alex, I changed my mind," Fran said through labored breath. "Give me a handicap and count up to three hundred!"

After hearing Alex’s affirmation, she once again tried to flap her wings, and managed to fly away for a meter before crashing once more.

She tried to flap them again, and again, but she no longer had the strength to fly.

In the end, Fran decided to crawl, using all of her strength and willpower.

Her destination was the biggest flower in front of her, which was only four meters away from her grave marker.

Sometimes, she used that place to rest when it was raining, giving her some shelter.

So, she decided to use it as her hiding place for this last hide and seek with the person she had waited for... for nearly five hundred years.