The Age of Myths.
A world where gods and demons coexisted.
"Weak and short-lived."
In front of the bonfire, Rhodes looked innocent as he saw the petite Elf who suddenly appeared before him.
After transmigrating to this world for so long, he finally saw a character he recognized.
Her smooth golden hair fell straight to her waist, the Elf's characteristic pointed ears, sharp eyes, and a faint smile at the corner of her lips. It was clearly a condescending and arrogant posture, but paired with her youthful face, it gave off a contrasting cuteness.
"Want some?" Rhodes offered the roasted mushroom in his hand.
He also wanted some grilled skewers for himself, but in this damned world, every monster was unbelievably strong, forcing him to become a vegetarian.
As for the Elf girl in front of him, Rhodes recognized her at a glance.
It was the famous petite master, Serie.
However, at this moment, she was like a several-hundred-year-old young girl, completely lacking the powerful and effortless demeanor she would possess in later generations.
As expected, he had transmigrated too early, hadn't he?
Serie looked at the roasted mushroom skewer Rhodes offered, pondered for a moment, and then took it.
Only after seeing Rhodes take a bite did she gently open her mouth and tentatively bite into it.
Juices burst forth, an indescribable deliciousness.
It was a deliciousness Serie had never tasted in the Elf Forest.
Their Elf race believed in nature and harmony, rarely even making fires, so how could they have tasted the impact of modern grilled skewers?
In fact, if it were any other Elf, they probably wouldn't have taken Rhodes's skewer, as the elemental aura on it was too chaotic, but Serie was different.
Unlike Elves who loved freedom and peace, Serie yearned for war and loved this incredibly chaotic Age of Myths.
"My name is Rhodes, what's yours?"
Although he knew Serie, Rhodes naturally couldn't call her by her name directly, as that would arouse her suspicion.
"Serie." The petite master took another bite of the mushroom skewer, replying in a calm tone.
Indeed, good food was the best way to bridge relationships. The Elf girl, who had been so arrogant just now, had to obediently tell him her name.
"Do you know where this is? I'm lost."
Ever since transmigrating to this world, Rhodes had been lost. Until he met Serie, he hadn't encountered a single being he could communicate with.
Let alone other humans.
Therefore, Rhodes speculated whether he had transmigrated a few thousand years too early, ending up in the Age of Myths from Frieren.
"The outskirts of the Elf Forest. You should be glad you didn't go deeper into this forest."
The Elf Forest was not only home to the Elf race but also various powerful magical beasts. This weak human in front of her would probably only become their food.
"Then, have you seen any humans like me... um, any creatures like me?"
Because he wasn't sure if humans had appeared in this era, Rhodes rephrased his question.
At the same time, seeing that the roasted mushroom skewer in Serie's hand was finished, he quickly handed her another one.
Looking at the fragrant roasted mushroom skewer in front of her, Serie hesitated for a moment, but ultimately took it.
"I saw one two hundred years ago, but that fellow wasn't as lucky as you and was eaten by a magical beast."
Serie didn't know much about the human race; she had only heard about them from the elders in the Elf race.
It was said that they possessed bodies similar to the great gods, but were incredibly weak.
They couldn't cast various divine spells like the gods, nor did they have the eternal lifespan of Elves, only a mere few decades.
If it weren't for their decent reproductive ability, they would probably have disappeared from this world long ago.
Even so, the weak human race still lived a nomadic life, forming small tribes and constantly migrating to avoid wars between the various races.
That's why Serie said "weak and short-lived" when she first saw Rhodes.
"If you keep walking in this direction, you'll be able to leave the Elf Forest's sphere of influence, and there are no powerful magical beasts along the way."
Serie finished her roasted mushroom skewer, patted her behind, and prepared to leave.
To her, this human in front of her was just an insignificant passerby in her long life. Perhaps a thousand years later, she might occasionally recall that on such a day, there was a human whose roasted mushroom skewers were delicious.
That was all.
"Please wait a moment." Rhodes wouldn't let such a powerful ally as Serie leave. "I have an impertinent request."
Although he didn't know how different this historical Serie was from the future master of magic known as the walking grimoire, she definitely knew magic.
After transmigrating to this world, Rhodes awakened a magical talent called [Creation]. As the name suggested, he could create various types of magic.
However, it was difficult to achieve in practice.
For example, he once tried to create fire magic by rubbing sticks together. After countless experiments, it instead turned into a magic similar to a snap lighter.
Once he wanted to make a fire, he only needed to find dry kindling, use magic to snap his fingers, and flames would ignite the pile.
In addition, there were various convenient and useful spells, such as water generation and cleaning magic.
But that was it.
He couldn't generate either offensive or healing types of magic.
Because he couldn't understand the corresponding concepts, he couldn't create them.
For example, he could understand fire generation as friction ignition, and water generation as water molecules in the air. But how to attack others, that touched Rhodes's knowledge blind spot.
A materialist transmigrated into a magical world and couldn't immediately understand what 'I think, therefore it is' power meant.
Hearing Rhodes's request, Serie turned around.
If this man wanted her to escort him out of the Elf Forest, she would never agree.
Because she currently had no intention of leaving the forest.
It was true that Serie loved war and loved this world of constant divine battles and tribal conflicts, but she wasn't foolish.
There were many beings in this world who could swat her dead with one slap, and at least until she became strong enough, she wasn't planning to emerge.
"I hope you can teach me magic."
Rhodes's request caught Serie off guard for a moment.
"Teach you magic?" Serie narrowed her eyes. She had never heard of humans being able to learn magic. "Your human race cannot learn magic. I cannot teach you."
"It's not that they can't, but that no one has ever taught them."
Rhodes snapped his fingers, and the fiercely burning bonfire instantly extinguished, the kind that would make a firefighter give a thumbs up.
Then, with another water generation spell, he completely doused the residual heat of the fire, cutting off any possibility of it reigniting.
"Interesting."
Looking at the magic she had never seen before, Serie felt such intense interest for the first time in her life.