Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1493 Caelira - Princess of Elven Race

Shock gripped Max, rooting him in place, for the elven woman facing him bore a face he recognized all too intimately.

It was his mother.

Instantly upon locking eyes on her traits, a whirlwind of feelings battered his thoughts. The refined visage, the silky cascades of hair, the poised and majestic aura that cloaked her all perfectly echoed the recollections tucked away in his core.

No uncertainty lingered. That countenance was that of the one who had birthed him. Despite appearing far more youthful than in his recollections, the female standing there was unquestionably his mother.

Max couldn't possibly be wrong.

"Mother?" Max whispered faintly. His voice emerged raspy as the syllable slipped from his mouth.

The elven woman regarded him with gentle puzzlement upon catching his utterance.

"A human at the third level of the Rebirth Realm?" she remarked, tilting her head a touch while scrutinizing him. "Either you're some supreme genius or you've uncovered a loophole in the Combat Tower to advance this far."

Curiosity marked her features instead of any sign of familiarity.

The instant Max caught that strange look in her gaze, he grasped the truth of the matter.

His heart still trembled with raw emotion, but he compelled himself to regain composure. The intense sentiments exploding inside him were gradually reined in as his thoughts started dissecting the scenario with precision.

"Since mother retains her elven form, this has to be an era well before my birth or even Freya's," Max pondered while regulating his breath. "Back then, she hadn't forsaken her elven heritage yet."

The truth dawned gradually in his consciousness.

"That implies she must have faced a Combat Tower in her time and climbed its levels like others before. In that process, she deposited a piece of her soul inside the tower. The figure here is solely that remnant."

With this insight, the turmoil in his chest began to ebb away.

Max gazed at her anew, a tender smile blooming on his lips this time.

"Before we clash, why not exchange introductions," Max suggested softly. "I'm Max."

A subtle smile curved the elven woman's mouth as she observed him.

"How intriguing you are, human," she noted with a soft chuckle.

"Well, I'm Caelira. This is just a soul fragment of mine, yet my real self is the princess of the Elven Race and bearer of the royal bloodline."

She delivered those lines with evident pride, as if the status held immense weight.

Max absorbed her words while keeping his face serene.

Yet within his mind, a fresh idea quietly emerged.

'She resembles Lenavira so much,' Max mused inwardly with a subtle smile. 'Boasting of her royal lineage and her people's glory.'

But Max understood that the very pride gleaming in her eyes hid a heartbreaking twist she couldn't foresee.

The folk and the noble blood she proclaimed so boldly would eventually spark the destruction of her tranquil home. Visions of those tragedies rose in Max's mind like persistent darkness. The serene joy that had once filled their household was ripped away by the schemes and arrogance of the elven kin.

Merely recalling it ignited a chill fury in his veins.

Max quelled the anger bubbling up to his expression. The resentment he harbored against the elves had been etched into his being by agonizing experiences.

Nevertheless, he kept those feelings concealed.

"Elven race? I've heard tales of the elven race, but truthfully, I've never laid eyes on one," Max stated, holding onto his friendly grin.

"Haha, naturally you haven't encountered us," his mother responded with a merry laugh. Amusement tinged her voice as she eyed him. "Our elven domains span numerous star realms, and we tend to stay confined to them. We merely traverse the star realms we govern. Venturing outside our borders to other star realms is exceedingly uncommon without a compelling cause."

She explained it offhand, like a mundane fact.

"That's why our kind is seldom spotted throughout the Divine Realm," she continued.

Suddenly, she halted, as though a realization struck her.

"Why am I sharing all this with you?" she questioned, giving her head a slight shake.

Her demeanor turned grave as she fixed her stare on Max.

"Let's battle, young human."

Max inclined his head steadily, clenching his sword's hilt firmer.

Right as the duel loomed, another query arose in his mind, prompting one final question.

"Have you ever been bested?"

His mother denied it with a firm shake of her head. Confidence lit her face in her reply.

"No. I've stayed unbeatable so far. Plenty of humans have neared this level, but not a single one has triumphed over me. I'm rather formidable."

"Hehe," Max chuckled softly upon hearing her claim. "I'm fairly formidable too. Let's discover who's the mightier between us."

Scarce had Max uttered those words when the arena's air transformed abruptly.

In the blink of an eye, a blaze of golden brilliance flared around his mother's form. The glow exploded outward like a burst of dawn, and her shape disappeared from her prior spot. The speed was so blinding that tracking it bare-eyed proved nearly impossible.

One heartbeat, she stood poised directly ahead of him.

The next, she materialized at his flank.

Her silhouette rematerialized to his right, and the lengthy bow she wielded whipped in a streak toward his skull. The blow surged with immense velocity and accuracy, the bow's path slicing the atmosphere with lethal purpose.

Her speed defied all belief.