《Rise of Calamitous Elf》 Prologue The soul found itself drifting along a tunnel of nothingness. There seemed to be no meaning of time for the soul whilst it aimlessly floated through space. Although technically genderless as a soul; this soul still had its memories intact and absent of anything else to focus on, meant the soul often found itself reprising over the memories of her previous life. She knew she was previously human; a human female named Ava. Her life was nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary, she passed through her school years with above average grades leading her to attend a university achieving a degree. Following this she was able earn herself a decent enough living, though with her high student debt she was never going to live a lavish life or anything; nonetheless it was enough for her. After all she had not much to complain about, she knew she was better off than most people and was content. It was a shame her existence was soon cut short when she was involved in a miraculous accident which lead to her abrupt death. All in all her life could be summarised as being remarkably ordinary. Even in death she died as some unfortunate bystander; she did not pull some remarkable feat becoming a saviour or something like that. However she supposed that indirectly another life was saved instead of hers. A truck seemed to lose control and was about to hit a young girl before a hero swooped in and saved her. Miraculously both were unharmed as the hero did enough to push the girl out of harms way, the truck desperate to not hit them also swerved changing its trajectory. Unluckily for her the truck headed directly for her. All she remembered in her last moments was staring at the truck dumbly, cursing her bad luck shortly before the truck smashed into her. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. It frustrated the soul to no end that she had died such a ridiculous death. Just as she continued to lament in her miserable fate she heard a strange voice. ¡®Mmm. What¡¯s a soul doing out here? And not fractured or broken too? What a peculiar soul...¡¯ The soul felt herself frozen in space. All thoughts seemed to be locked away making her unable to process the bizarre situation she found itself in. ¡®What a fascinating soul...¡¯ The voice uttered as she suddenly felt an uncomfortable, invasive sensation like her body was being examined meticulously. It felt odd and wrong, as if her home was being rudely invaded by a guest who stormed in uninvited. ¡®So that¡¯s what it is... I guess I can grant you a boon for being the first thing to pique my interest in eons...¡¯ Suddenly she felt a strange set of techniques enter her mind. However before she can begin to comprehend the new information the voice sounded again. ¡®Now what vessel should hold your soul? Human? Too boring and unoriginal... let¡¯s try something more entertaining. A magic beast? As fun as this sounds, they rely too much on the power of their bloodline and would end up bringing you down the wrong path. Guess that leaves... yes, what a perfect choice. ¡¯ Before she could ponder any further on the words of the voice she felt the world go black and quiet once more. After an unknown amount of time passed she felt her consciousness return. ¡®What the...¡¯ she thought as she suddenly felt sensations that have been lost once she found itself in the astral form of a soul. Suddenly she felt that her head was in tremendous pain, as though something was grabbing onto it. Her neck hurt and her body was suffering tremendous pressure. Huwah! All of a sudden the tension ended. And she felt greatly relaxed. Unconsciously she took a deep breath as she felt air entering her mouth. ¡°Huh!¡± After taking a deep breath she realised that she had let out a cry. The cry of an infant. A voice shouted excitedly in an unknown language, but somehow she could make out its meaning despite not understanding the language. The soul understood. She had been reborn as a baby girl. However, upon examining the faces of the giants that she now understood to be her parents. ¡®Huh why are their ears pointed?¡¯ she thought. Chapter 1 - New Beginings Ava soon found herself being cradled by a woman. The woman¡¯s beautiful face was filled with exhaustion yet she had a blissful smile as she was staring down at her. She knew the woman holding her was likely her mother. Examining the woman closely she reaffirmed that she wasn¡¯t hallucinating her mothers exotic appearance from before. Her mother appearance resembled an elf from folklore; a species thought to be pure fantasy. It was clear wherever this was it was no longer the same world she knew. Her mother was also clothed in a beautiful set of clothing made up of animal furs indicating this world didn¡¯t seem to have a high level of civilisation. Looking around the room she found that she was in some sort of large hut. There was a herbal smell in the air, the interior was filled with large cupboards whose shelves were filled with glass vials holding strange liquids. A wizened old man stood in the centre of the room observing her with an assessing gaze. Beside him stood a young woman who stood silent, dutifully by his side. Moving her glance from them to the final occupant in the room she found a handsome man who stared at her with a look of pure joy. ¡®Guess this must be my Father?¡¯ She theorised. The former soul has already adopted the name of her previous life since she felt a strong sense of familiarity from her life there. In comparison her short time as a soul felt like a small blip compared to the time she spent on earth. And going by her new parents'' name for her, she already decided it was appropriate. ¡®Avraliyaticus Pontimus¡¯ her mothers beautiful voice spoke clearly. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The rest though beautiful sounding was all gibberish to her as the language sounded completely foreign no matter how much she strained her brain in an attempt to decipher what they are saying. She was only able to guess her mother''s intentions since she seemed to deliberately slow down as she spoke her name in a clear tone whilst smiling down gently at her. Her new name whilst sounding pleasing from her mother lips was already deemed too long and complicated to her ears. She already decided ¡®Ava¡¯ would be a great nickname for her, she already decided to devise a plan to manipulate her parents into adopting it for her. Whilst she was lost in thought she suddenly felt her body lightly being lifted into the air as her father gently took her from her mothers arms. Carefully holding her he stroked her hair before mumbling something to her as her mother feeble protests died down with her eyes struggling to stay open from fatigue. A look of adoration filled the man¡¯s eyes as he comforted her mother to rest. Observing his features more closely she found that similar to her mother he largely appeared human if not for a few non-human features. His ears like her mothers were sharply pointed and if that didn¡¯t indicate that he was not human the row of pointed teeth whenever he smiled did. Both her parents had large canines at the front of their mouths making it impossible for her to mistake them both for being ordinary humans. ¡®Huh, so does that make me some kind of elf as well?¡¯ She thought realising that means she also is no longer human. Her father took that moment to softly stroke her head and talk to her in a affectionate tone. Looking into his loving eyes she quickly forget about no longer being human. In her previous life she was an orphan who spent large period of her childhood under foster care. Her parents died when she was fairly young leaving behind a generous inheritance for when she was of age; however since she had no relatives willing to take custody over her she moved from foster home to foster home. She never ended up being officially adopted, her foster parents were always loving and cared for her yet it still didn¡¯t fill the void left behind by the loss of her parents. ¡®So this is how it feels¡­ I almost forgot¡¯ Ava thought feeling the caring eyes of her father on her as he cradled her in his arms comfortably. At that moment Ava decided she was just going to enjoy this miraculous second chance at life. Instead of concerning herself over her sudden arrival in this strange world, she decided to adapt and get on with her new life here. Chapter 2 - Days goes by After being held tenderly by her father for a while, the wizened old man seemed to decide it was time to discuss something with her father. The old man handed her father a piece of parchment with an unknown language jotted down onto it. Her Father nodded and listened intently to the old man¡¯s instructions before a pair of men entered the room. These men had a sharp aura appearing broad and strong. Both men showed a gaze of complete respect towards her Father making her evaluate his status in this place may be important. Awaiting her Father to speak both men stood straighter than a statue as their cold faces remained expressionless. That was until her Father gaze turned solemn as he glanced towards her mother and started speaking directly to the men. The two men sprang into action after her Fathers words. Soon enough they came back with an escort, a few of which resembled maids, from what she had seen so far, this was clearly a community of elves since she has yet to see one human. Afterwards they left the hut and entered what resembled a tribal community. Elves moved around busily seeming harmonious as they went about their day. The paths were orderly leading to separate well-built wooden housing near the old man¡¯s hut. She assumed the old man from before was some sort of herbalist judging by the equipment in his hut. Shortly after seeing her Father escorted by his entourage exit the hut, the elves paused for only a brief moment before seeming to collectively pay their respects. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Her Father looked like a person of high regard here judging by how heartfelt the elves reactions are. Soon enough they past through the bustling elves without any issues and approached a building larger than any previous she had seen within the elven community so far. Even from her eyes it appeared exquisitely built. The outside materials seemed to be a mixture of fine stone and wood. At the front entrance is two ornate pillars resembling wolves giving the building a grand appearance. She almost shuddered looking into the eyes of the wolves as the frigid gaze of the statues seemed to have captured the beasts cold stare perfectly. Upon entering the building there was a buzzing of activity as she and her mother was prepared a lavish looking room. Judging by the relieved looks from some of the elves upon seeing the return of her Father alongside her and her mother allowed her to realise that her mother must have been rushed to the old man in an emergency. That seemed to be why her birth has been carried out at the old man¡¯s hut instead of here. Soon enough she was gently placed in a comfortably looking crib. And that was when she quickly found herself drifting to sleep. A few days quickly passed by without much happening. Promptly after she woke up she found herself in the arms of her mother who doted on her heavily. Her mother seemed to be shaken by the ordeal of her birth as she had barely been separate from her these few days, not that she minded it much though because as an infant she could barely do anything anyways and it clearly made her mother happy. She also found her Father visiting often despite the clear annoyance of an arrogant looking man following him around. This man was clearly irritated at her Mother and her judging by the cold looks he gave whenever he thought nobody was looking. It was not clear on who he was just yet, but judging by how her Father seemed to give some deference to him he must be someone of importance here. He was the first clear outlier she had met among the amicable elves. Either way it did not matter much to her anyways as she instantly took a dislike to the man, as anyone who gave her kind-hearted mother such a gaze was an enemy in her eyes. Only a few days had passed since she had met her new mother and she was already growing strongly attached to her. It wasn¡¯t just the constant showering of affection she gave her, but just by seeing how she treated the other elves here and how everyone seemed to admire her made her desire to protect her grow. It is also what pushed her to finally look into what that mysterious entity had pushed into her soul. Chapter 3 - Astral Tower Before she had found herself awakening in this world the mysterious being who appeared responsible mentioned bestowing her a boon. Among the information that had been forced into her mind was a method on how to enter what is called her soul space. Closing her eyes like the method described, she started focusing on her breathing, entering a state of concentration. Focusing on her inner self she found the method was not difficult and she soon found the strange object that was described to be located within her subconscious. There was a large tower that stood out inconspicuously. It felt unnatural but at the same time like something that belonged. Looking at the reflective space around her she suddenly discovered she seemed to be back in her previous body. ¡®So this is what it means imagining I¡¯m myself walking around a street¡­¡¯ The method the information described was short and concise, mentioning she was to picture herself doing something familiar to her and she would find what the entity left within her soul. It wasn¡¯t difficult for her to enter a meditative state since she practiced in her previous life, nonetheless this was strange to her, everything felt a bit too real and the visualisation of this space came about too naturally. Deciding to ignore the uncomfortable feeling, she started walking towards the one thing out of place within this space. The large tower. Despite the feeling in her soul that there was nothing out of the ordinary about it at an instinctual level she felt a powerful, oppressive aura emanating from it that was difficult to describe. Upon arriving at the tower she felt herself reaching out towards it regardless of her own trepidation. Straight after making contact with the tower she felt a strange link form as if the tower was connecting to her on an intimate level. Then as soon as the connection was formed she felt a huge amount of power force it¡¯s way into her consciousness, circling a few times until it finally retracted allowing her to gather her thoughts again. Searching her mind for anything different, she now felt that she could enter the tower whenever she willed, deciding to do so at that moment she found her consciousness becoming blurry for a period before she awoke in a strange space. Within it was a large room made of an unknown but precious looking material. There were bookshelves filled with manuals of some kind and right in the middle of the room was a large altar. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Standing beside the altar was a man who resembled a glacial piece of ice, seeming as if he was completely detached from everything around him. Before she could make any further movements, the man¡¯s voice sounded like thunder as he spoke, ¡®Welcome to the Astral Tower, now now although you are a disappointment for a new master, I guess I should introduce myself, my name is Cense and I am the spirit of the tower. I¡¯m sure you have much questions¡­ and I will answer them but firstly I will tell you why I have been bestowed to you, is that to your agreement?¡¯ Ava found herself nodding to the question before he even finished and then the spirit, Cense began explaining the whole reason behind her earning the entity¡¯s favour. ¡®Now¡­ the being who brought you here is an entity of immense power, even I am not sure exactly how strong he is despite my infinite wisdom, however even with his age and power he seen something in you that even interested him. Normally a soul artefact like me is of no use to him, in fact although it hurts my pride as a great spirit to admit, despite my unique ability I am pretty much useless to most cultivators apart from being a useful storage space. My primary usage comes in the fact that I can harness Astral Qi, an energy that usually is of no use to cultivators¡­ in fact I was created as some experiment to test how Astral Qi can be used to¡­¡¯ Cense was about to go into some rant until the confused look on her face seemed to have reminded him of something. ¡®Oh! Yes I remember now, aren¡¯t you a simpleton from a world without cultivation? How foolish of me¡¯ And just like that Cense¡¯s cold, cool appearance was shattered by his apparent idiocy. Ignoring the look of disdain on her face Cense decided it was time to give her an introduction, ¡®There are two primary paths in cultivation. One of a Warrior and of a Magus. There are subgroups belonging to either path but for now I won¡¯t go into detail about them. Warriors condense elemental force into Battle Qi, a persons elemental force is determined by their natural affinities in that element. Someone who has a good affinity of fire, can absorb that particular elemental force and convert it into fire attributed Battle Qi. A Warrior stores their Battle Qi in their bodies, therefore they would train the strength of their bodies as a strong body allows you to store more Battle Qi. Similar to the Magus path the first realm of cultivation of a warrior has nine tiers separated into three bottlenecks at the final stage of the third tier. There are further realms beyond the first nonetheless most inhabitants of this world will not even go beyond the sixth tier of the first realm.¡¯ ¡®What about a Magus?¡¯ Ava couldn¡¯t help but curiously ask, already deeply interested on the idea of cultivation in this world. And judging by the look of complete smugness on Cense¡¯s face he had noticed. ¡®The Warrior path is usually what most train in since its restrictions are less than that of a Magus. A Magus on the other hand instead of the body relies on their mental energy, in what is referred to as spiritual force. They also require a strong affinity to a specific element in order to gather the required elemental force to charge their magic, however they primarily rely on a sufficient amount of spiritual essence that comes from having a strong soul in the early stages. A Mage would control the elemental force they gather through their spiritual energy to form it into a spell for them to use¡­ both paths are powerful and have their strengths, weaknesses, you on the other hand won¡¯t have to worry about that as you have sufficient means to train in both¡­¡¯ Cense said mysteriously. ¡®Huh does that mean I¡¯m talented?¡¯ Ava couldn¡¯t help but voice aloud. The spirits face scrunched up as if he was about to burst into laughter at such a ridiculous question as he said, ¡®No! In fact for this worlds standard you¡¯d be considered pure trash if they assessed your talent for either path. However you have a very unique aspect about you that even the individuals with the best talent cannot compare to¡­ your soul seems able to harness Astral energy¡¯ Chapter 4 - Origin of Astral Qi Ava remained silent for a moment before she said, ¡®What is Astral energy?¡¯ Cense again stared at her as if she was a country bumpkin replied, ¡®It is a very rare attribute of Qi, very powerful but highly destructive, no cultivator in recorded history has been able to truly harness it without a tool like myself, the only beings who have been known in being able to manipulate Astral Qi are a race known as Astral Beasts, calamity level beings who had caused untold destruction until all of the most powerful beings in the universe had to join hands to deal with them. Even then countless experts fell until they were finally defeated and drove back to the Astral Realm.¡¯ Cense explanation only gave her more questions as she said, ¡®Wait didn¡¯t you just say I can possible harness it too? What does that make me?¡¯ The spirit only gave her an irritating looking smirk that made his face appear even more punchable as he said, ¡®Not an Astral Beast for one. They are born magnitudes stronger than you, and are practically mindless, all they care about is destruction and wiping out all life¡­ as for you, well apart from being a bit ugly, are barely more dangerous than a fly in your current state.¡¯ Ava shot the spirit a hateful glare but before she can voice any complaints Cense interjected and continued his explanation. ¡®When the Astral Beasts launched a full scale attack to the rest of the universe, they would corrupt the very environment, making it practically uninhabitable for most beings, Astral Qi is very destructive, you need to constantly use elemental force to shield your self from its effects, and the stronger an Astral Beast is, the purer their Qi, making it drain a cultivators reserves faster to protect themselves from it. Portions of the Universe has been infested by such Qi, and I¡¯m not sure how your soul ended up in such a place¡­ but it¡¯s practically a death sentence for most, as Astral Qi is usually very volatile and destructive, a weak soul like yours should have been crushed.¡¯ ¡®So is that why that being took an interest me?¡¯ Ava said finally realising why she seemed to have been chosen after all this time. After all if she was so talentless, then why bother with the effort to send her here with an annoying talking artefact like Cense. A look of delight filled Cense features as he did a mocking clap saying, ¡®Well done¡­ looks like your not completely brainless after all, I thought the whole re born as an infant thing reverted you back into one for a moment there.¡¯ If the spirit noticed Ava¡¯s obvious death glare, it sure didn¡¯t seem like it as he continued his explanation joyfully. ¡®Let¡¯s just say that being was able to evaluate the potential for your soul and he saw something he only found in Astral Beasts, an affinity for Astral Qi, and that piqued his interest because why would such a small, weak, insignificant little soul that came from a land void of elemental force have an affinity of a Qi type thought impossible for any other race apart from the astral beings. You don¡¯t know it yet but your potential¡­ if you can build your foundation from Astral Qi, then your elemental force will be stronger than practically any other cultivator at the same level.¡¯ Cense said. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Although the spirit was a complete fool he sure did have a knack for explaining things. Ava decided to ignore her desire to throw in a few sarcastic retorts and be petty towards the spirit who clearly seemed more excited than he liked to admit about her being able to use this Astral Qi deciding to humour him said, ¡®And how can I go about using this Astral Qi?¡¯ Again Cense looked at if her if she asked the most stupidest question in the world replied, ¡®Well, me of course! My main use is to store and contain Astral Qi, my former creator and master spent countless resources to design an artefact built for this purpose to use Astral Qi in his experiments. Unfortunately there was no success despite his best efforts, any being infused with Astral Qi, no matter what method only ended up becoming insane or imploding, meeting a horrendous, agonising end. Of course I¡¯m sure that everything will of course all go differently with you, I think¡¯ ¡®Right¡­¡¯ Ava replied not feeling at all confident about the spirits assurances. Did she even want to risk her new life in this way? Even if she had low talent she suppose she could just train using her pure effort, it¡¯s not as if her life was in horrifying danger or anything. Cense noticing her doubt from her distrustful expression decided to interject, ¡®I bet you¡¯re thinking, your new life is smooth and everything? That you won¡¯t need to rely on Astral Qi, and you don¡¯t need to use any of those natural abilities or yours¡­ well your wrong, this world is not for the weak and with your awful talent, you won¡¯t be able to rely on yourself to become strong enough to avoid the dangers coming. Let¡¯s just say you¡¯re not in the safest of positions right now and like it or not I¡¯m the best chance you¡¯ll have at both you and your new family making it through this alive. That being you met, don¡¯t think because he granted you this new life because he is some benevolent all-kind god, there is a catch and he sent you here for a purpose, to become of use to him. If you stall and don¡¯t use what I¡¯m intended to be used for, both of us will meet a miserable end, I¡¯m in as bad of a spot as you are and I do not want to fail. I¡¯m one failure away from being smelted down into the materials I was built from since I¡¯m more of use in that way if I can¡¯t help you fulfil your potential.¡¯ The spirit wreaked of desperation as he pleaded towards her. She could just ignore him, he¡¯s insulted her this entire time after all and doesn¡¯t look like the most trustworthy of sources. However staring into his eyes she knew he was right, there was something strange about her birth here, the elven tribe seemed harmonious at the moment however she couldn¡¯t help but feel this was the calm before the storm. ¡®So how do I get about using Astral Qi?¡¯ Ava asked causing the spirit for the first time to let out a bright sincere smile. ¡®Come over and sit by the Altar and I¡¯ll show you,¡¯ replied the spirit. Ava followed the spirits instructions and sat beside the altar hoping that the damn spirit was right about her being able to harness Astral Qi. Chapter 5 - Body Tempering Sitting beside the large altar Ava would be lying if she said she didn¡¯t feel nervous at the moment. Cense at that moment decided to break her stupor as he said, ¡®Astral Qi is volatile and destructive though under the control of an Astral Beast can be refined and controlled for their cultivation. At the moment your body and soul is very weak, therefore the first step will be to start with tempering your body slowly with Astral Qi, this will set a good foundation and keep your body free of impurities which for a cultivator will improve your bodies natural talent for cultivation. However none of this will even matter if you cannot correctly merge the Astral Qi with your body.¡¯ ¡®And how will I even do that? If Astral Qi is so volatile how will be I even be able to introduce it into my body without, you know, imploding?¡¯ Ava asked bluntly. The spirit smiled and said, ¡®Astral Qi is so volatile to other cultivators because the only way they have been able to manipulate it is to forcibly suppress it with their superior Qi, the stronger a cultivator gets the denser and purer the quality of their Qi is. Therefore when there have been attempts to introduce it into another cultivators body, it has resulted in mostly deaths and implosions, yet for some they benefited. Astral Qi is superior to other types, therefore it is more effective in body tempering, on the other hand you shouldn¡¯t¡¯ face this issue. Since you have an apparent affinity with Astral Qi you have innate advantage these cultivators do not have. Nonetheless most Warriors will not use the soul to refine and manipulate their Qi, this is something only a mage would do, you on the other hand will have to, Astral Qi is too volatile for your body to handle, you will effectively need to use the soul to refine the Qi and then carefully introduce it to your body in order to adapt it to the Astral Qi. In the future you will then be able to use a Warrior cultivation method to then store Battle Qi, however at the moment tempering your body is a must before beginning training using a battle Qi manual.¡¯ ¡®When do I begin then?¡¯ Ava asked ready to get this over with, she had already decided she was going to follow Cense with this method, so it was no point hesitating over it now. ¡®Haha, that¡¯s more like it. A true cultivator should be dauntless as there will always be dangers with advancement. Now, this method will also allow you to effectively train your soul, it will be difficult to manipulate Astral Qi even holding an affinity over it, your soul is weak and not at the level of even a Tier 1 Mage, progress will be slow, but as an infant you have time, after all most cultivators begin much older. A few years of setting up a foundation for the future is more effective than other options which will bring about short term gains, now firstly as your consciousness is currently within the soul artefact to the outside world you will appear to be sleeping, when I introduce you to the Astral Qi, I will instruct you on how to refine it, you then will introduce it into your body and begin circulating it ensuring your soul keeps the Qi docile enough that you can merge the Qi with your body¡¯ Ava nodded completely focused on Cense¡¯s word as he had taken a more serious attitude compared to before. ¡®Now focus, I will be introducing a sliver of Astral Qi to your soul space, I want you to fixate on it, feel its power and nature.¡¯ You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. As Cense voice filled her senses, she felt something foreign, a different kind of energy fill the space. It felt oddly intimate as if it was a distanced family member who wanted to reunite. She knew it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to manipulate it at all, it seemed like it was calling for her to just reach out and grasp it. ¡®Good now, this is the truly challenging part, now you can sense the Qi, you need to be able to manipulate it, imagine a tendril of your soul reaching out towards it, sort of like how you humans love to reel in a fish that has latched onto your bait¡¯ That was when she felt the energy respond. The energy seemed eager, like it was throwing it herself towards her, to respond to her commands. ¡®How high is your affinity with Astral Qi¡­¡¯ Cense couldn¡¯t help but voice with wonder at how the Astral Qi seemed to react to her presence. Ava wasn¡¯t sure how to answer him either, she just felt a fond connection to the energy. ¡®I guess we should move on quickly, now concentrate, your consciousness will return to your bod in a moment, try not to cause a disturbance, you¡¯re beside your mother after all. She should not be able to detect anything with my interference and with us forming a connection now I will be able to communicate with you mentally, you will also be able to enter this space again whenever if you wish, it should come natural to you, when you awake listen to my words.¡¯ Before Ava could even think about replying to the spirit she found herself again back in her infant body, this time though something was different. ¡®Listen to me control the Qi fast¡­ steady your breathing, and feel the energy coursing through you¡­¡¯ Cense voice sounded into her mind. Calming herself down she found herself quickly getting into a calm state of relaxation. ¡®This is not too bad¡­¡¯ she consoled to herself, until she realised the docile Qi in her soul space seem to require more effort to manipulate suddenly. ¡®Don¡¯t panic, this is just the effect of leaving your soul space, you are still an amateur at manipulating Qi after all, this will be more apparent here but with your affinity you should have no problems doing this next step. Keep steadying your breathing, instruct the Qi to follow through the blood in your body out towards your skin. When you have reached the outer layer of your body continue to circulate the Qi until you have made a whole circle through your body, keep repeating this until you have whittled the Qi down completely¡¯ Cense ordered calmly. Ava did what was instructed at first she was sloppy at controlling the Qi, and was not as efficient as she could have been, but despite her poor technique the Qi was docile to her manipulation. She was surprised by how eager it was to respond to her, she felt the wild and volatile nature of the Qi coursing through even such a small sliver yet to her it was calm and gentle like a soft breeze. ¡®Haha! What I would give to see my creators eyes if he knew this was actually Astral Qi! It¡¯s even more docile than Water Qi¡­¡¯ Cense amazement could be felt through his tone of voice alone. Eventually the Qi was whittled down to nothingness and she was left with a warm, fuzzy feeling coursing through her body. She was about to ask if she could have another sliver of Qi to continue but she suddenly felt a deep wave of exhaustion fill her. It was a different kind of fatigue than she had ever felt before. ¡®Looks like it¡¯s time to rest new master, I can see why you interested such an old being like that, ahhh I can¡¯t wait to see what you¡¯ll grow into, for now just enjoy some rest, we¡¯re going to be having a busy time ahead of us¡¯ Cense said as Ava found the world going black as she drifted into a peaceful slumber. Chapter 6 - Year goes by Upon awakening she felt different. Her body felt refreshed as if she had spent the previous day in a luxury spa. ¡®Haha you have awakened master!¡¯ An awfully too joyful voice sounded. ¡®Huh, is that you Cense?¡¯ Ava asked distrustfully, the friendly and respectful tone of taken by the spirit was complete opposite to what he had been like when she had first met him. ¡®Of course it is, who else would it be? You¡¯ve truly impressed me, who¡¯d of thought I finally found a master which I can finally be of use too! Haha, looks like those other spirits will get a good hiding when I can finally be used as I was meant too by a genuine Astral Qi wielding cultivator!¡¯ Cense said ruefully. Now gaining an understanding why the spirit was so pleasant to her, she realised it was purely because he had spent who knows how long being suppressed as being useless he finally seemed to find a suitable host. However Ava felt the spirit was getting off track so decided to ask, ¡®Why did I feel so exhausted afterwards anyways?¡¯ The need to rest overwhelmed her senses in a way she had never felt before. It was a type of exhaustion that was difficult to describe. Cense straightforwardly replied, ¡®That¡¯s simply because of soul exhaustion, you practically completely relied on your soul to manipulate the Astral Qi to saturate your body, the good thing is constant manipulating Astral Qi like you did previously will only strengthen your soul each time, as it is similar to straining a muscle through repeated strength training causing your soul to effectively recover a bit stronger each time. Though it is not as effective as pure meditation focusing on increasing your spiritual energy.¡¯ ¡®Then why am I not just doing them both separately?¡® Ava questioned. ¡®That¡¯s because meditation is highly tiring and it is daunting for anyone to train both. The most important reason though is your body quality is very low, so low if you began training now your Battle Qi¡¯s purity will surely be affected. It is why you will use your soul purely to temper your physique with Astral Qi, it will allow you to slowly strengthen your soul and make sure you have a good foundation before you start properly training in either path.¡¯ Cense replied. Ava decided to take the spirits words seriously. After all it was no point in rushing ahead, she was still an infant after all and it was no point ruining her future prospects believing she knew better than some ancient spirit. ¡®So when can I continue then?¡¯ Ava asked causing the spirit to chuckle. ¡®Tomorrow. Your still not fully recovered. Early on this will be exhausting, but as time goes on it will become as easy as breathing. By then we will know it¡¯s time to move onto the next step, additionally I should warn you there may be interesting effects of tempering your body with Astral Qi.¡¯ Cense said. ¡®Like what?¡¯ Ava asked confused. ¡®Who knows, tempering bodies with other Qi types usually makes your body more receptive to that Qi, it is why expensive natural treasures belonging to a cultivators attributes are often used to saturate the bodies of prospect cultivators. We¡¯re not in the position to do so, therefore we¡¯ll have to do it this way, but it may have an affect on your appearance, maybe.¡¯ Cense said with uncertainty. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡®And let¡¯s say how unusual would this appear to be, let¡¯s say if this were to happen towards an infant out of no where?¡¯ Ava said with clear annoyance. ¡®A bit strange?¡¯ Cense said stupidly causing Ava to let out a sigh. ¡®I guess I¡¯ll just have to hope for the best that nothing happens¡¯ Ava said hopefully. ¡®Sure¡¯ Cense said not giving her much confidence at all. After that the days went by quickly. She would spend her time circulating the Qi around her body like the spirit instructed until exhaustion, in other times pretending to be an ordinary infant for her doting mother. Ava never complained about the tiring routine which continued to earn the spirits respect. On the other hand Ava started viewing Cense more favourably, despite being likely considerable older than her, she started to view him as that annoying little brother she had a love, hate relationship with. Cense was after all the only person she was able to talk too after all this time. The good thing though is that the constant state of soul exhaustion has strengthened her soul greatly. The effects were already clearer to see for Ava, her memory became sharper and her overall comprehension skills improved, she was already on her way to deciphering most of the elven language. It was a beautiful language and she was already great full she was starting to be able to understand what those around her were talking about. Her Father visits has been growing less and less frequent. Nonetheless, she understood he was a busy man. She had already discovered her Father status importance was higher than even she anticipated, though she supposed she should have realised sooner with how respectful the other elves were, her Father was the tribe¡¯s chief and was the leader of this entire group of elves. She would have been proud of the fact if it wasn¡¯t for her mother missing him all the time. She knew her Fathers had his hands full with his duties and all, but it didn¡¯t prevent her feeling resentful to the man who made her mother constantly full of worry when he went out to do dangerous tasks all the time. She was also able to finally learn her parents name. Her mothers was Loriel and her Fathers was Xandas. And it turned out Cense was right about the appearance changes. Constantly saturating her body with Astral Qi, left her body, with the smoothest, glossiest skin. And paired with her big blue eyes made her stand out as a very beautiful baby. Paired with her calm temperament made her well loved in the tribe. Her mother was proud like a peacock as she went out with some escorts, going around the tribe introducing her to the other elves. Even she felt a bit embarrassed at how carried away her mother would get at how over the top she praises her for being such a good child. With the passing of days, soon enough over a year went by. Ava woke up as usual however this time she was met by a sharp shriek. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Her mother asked with a groan. ¡°My lady! The young misses¡¯ hair has become blue!¡± A servant said surprised. Her mothers eyes gazed upon her with a mix of disbelief whilst Ava was cursing Cense deep down. ¡®Wasn¡¯t my hair blonde like most of the other elves? What happened!¡¯ Ava thought until she realised what Cense warned a year ago had come to pass. ¡®I guess we¡¯ll have to hope a suitable excuse comes along to explain this one¡­¡¯ Cense said trying to calm her down. Most of her appearance changes has been superficial so far and easily explainable, however this one was far more difficult. ¡®Better hope so because that snake beside Father was looking for opportunity like this one¡­¡¯ Ava said angrily thinking of the egotistical man who follows her Father around like a lost puppy. Chapter 7 - Spirit Blessed The entire tribe was abuzz with activity soon after the news of her change in appearance spread. All of the elves were shocked by the transformation. Ava¡¯s previous short blonde locks were now a light blue. Many were quick to make wild theories. One of the most vocal about it was one of the tribes elders, an elf named Hoatan. He was the one who always seemed to be by her Fathers side, he claimed this was a message from the great spirits that it was time for her Father to ¡®spread his roots elsewhere¡¯ and to find a concubine to bear him more children. It turned out Hoatan was actually really old. Even older than her Father despite looking barely into his thirties. He was loyal to the previous tribes chief who past down his title to her Father upon his death. He believed that her Father who was the most talented elf originating from the tribe in a long time should have more than one women, since her mother had a weak body and would be putting herself at risk if she continued to bear more children. It turned out his motives weren¡¯t as vicious as she originally thought, however she still disliked him greatly as his whole vendetta about her was that she was born female and not the son he wanted as an heir. Turned out that even Elves viewed a son as the ideal heir. Especially in the outskirts of elven territory where weaker tribes like this one are located, Mages were rare even in Elven society, therefore Warriors were the norm and men in general were viewed to make better Warriors. Luckily these outlandish theories about her was soon put to bed. The old herbalist from before actually came to her rescue on this one. He examined her and said nothing about her was out of the norm, instead she was remarkably healthy and brimming with vitality. Instead he predicted her hair change was likely due to a positive thing such as having a strong affinity for a particular Qi type. Therefore instead of a curse, it was a grand blessing to the tribe as the spirits seemed to have decided to grant the tribe chiefs daughter their power over the elements. Upon hearing the old herbalist words the gloomy atmosphere of the tribe turned into a long night of celebrations as the elves gathered together in happiness. The harmonious nature of the tribe was soon demonstrated. As every elf in the tribe danced and shared food, drink with each other with everyone in the tribe treating other members as their equal during the celebrations. The only one troubled about it was Hoatan who feared that Xandas reckless nature may cost the tribe in the future, he was concerned since the line of succession had been past down to Xandas from his father and their father before. He did not want the line to end with him without a suitable male heir. The tribe made decisions as a selective community but it was tradition the tribal chief originates from Xandas¡¯s bloodline. ¡®I cannot fail my ancestors!¡¯ Hoaton thought resolutely. On the other hand for Ava everything turned normal after that night. Her Father spent a period often by her Mother and hers side in concern for a while, but soon returned back to his regular duties after nothing unusual happened to her. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The old man¡¯s conjecture was soon viewed as a good omen. Since Ava¡¯s behaviour did not change at all, she was still the obedient, beautiful well behaved infant from before. And after a few months of no disasters or bad things to the tribe happening, the remaining suspicions of it being a curse quickly died out. Meanwhile Ava wondered if her affinities could have been tested. And did not understand why they weren¡¯t if the old man theorised she was particularly talented, yet Cense quickly answered these doubts. ¡®They likely do not have the means to test you here, this is only a fairly strong small tribe. They are bottom rung among the elven coalition. And your also way too young to cultivate, most will begin at around six years old since a child won¡¯t be able to grasp the basic concepts until they are at least six. You¡¯ll likely be taken to be tested in the future when your a bit older at a larger tribe who has the means to do so.¡® Cense explained. ¡®Hmm alright.¡¯ Ava accepted readily, after all she had no reason to doubt the old spirit. She also had further doubts, ¡®Anyways what about other Qi attributes? You said you¡¯d tell me at a suitable time, this should be good one as any since the old man has put already put incredibly high expectations on me¡¯ She was already cursing the old fogey for running his mouth saying she was some super talent despite being described as trash by the spirit before. He had made the elves view her as the pride and hope of the tribe, if she now failed to meet these expectations she can already foresee the stares of disappointment. ¡®Haha. You¡¯re lucky that you happen to have an ancient spirit at your disposal who has been the artefact of many powerful masters with higher cultivation beyond anyone of this world! The other Elemental Qi types are Wind, Earth, Water, Fire, Thunder, Wood, Ice and the rarer types Light, Darkness, Space and finally Astral. No testing stone will be capable of discovering your Astral elemental affinity in this world, therefore you¡¯ll need to mask it with another Qi attribute to show promising talent, as that¡¯ll be the way to get you access to proper cultivation resources.¡¯ Cense described. ¡®Wait didn¡¯t you say I was trash with the only thing special about me being my affinity for Astral Qi? How will I be able to show suitable talent if you said I¡¯m previously untalented.¡¯ Ava argued repeating the spirits words to him. ¡®You were trash. Astral Qi has transformed your body more than your realising and I meant in terms of warrior, spiritual energy cultivation you had poor potential, your affinities on the other hand are promising, not just for Astral. You have a particular strong one for Water which can explain your appearance change perfectly. Yet we have much work to do, since you got to get selected to be trained as a Mage, you¡¯ll need to greatly improve your spiritual energy to a suitable standard. Since to people from a world like this, Spiritual Force is very important and even with yours increasing quite a bit, for a potential Mage seedling it is too low. So now it¡¯s time to step up your training and begin meditating to increase your spiritual energy.¡¯ Cense said. ¡®Guess that does solve things, and how would I even fake being a Water mage in the future if I focus on Astral? Wouldn¡¯t I look suspicious if my great talent fails to manifest anything?¡¯ Ava pointed out. ¡®For a Mage training in multiple elements does not matter, in fact a double, or triple attributed mage are more valued, versatile and stronger. However the strength of their affinities need to be closely matched otherwise they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with the training of a stronger affinity, however for you training as a Water mage would be great on top of a destructive element like Astral. Water attributed Mages are more talented in the use of healing spells, allowing you to possess an arsenal of recovery magic making you not only more valuable for training but others will instinctively underestimate the threat you pose.¡¯ Cense said. Ava couldn¡¯t deny Cense¡¯s reasoning. ¡®Now let¡¯s begin meditation¡­¡¯ Cense voice interrupted her thoughts making her realise she will now have even more training to do. ¡®Shouldn¡¯t be too hard¡­¡¯ she thought trying to fool herself because as it turned out the meditation for mages wasn¡¯t easy as she would have liked to believe. Chapter 8 - Meditation Meditation was one of the basic foundations for all magus. It was necessary for attracting elemental Qi and improving a mages spiritual energy. Ava had been receiving Cense assistance so far as he has been directing the Astral Qi towards her body whilst she circulated it following his instruction. Therefore this would be the first time she would be entering a meditative state for cultivation and would also be the most difficult. Luckily she had Cense instruction, although he was no Mage himself, he had been around plenty of Magus and had been able to read instruction manuals depicting meditation so was able to point Ava in the right direction. After a while she was finally able to enter a meditative state for the first time. ¡®Now whilst you¡¯re in this state, it would be a good time to try and sense the elemental Qi in your surroundings¡¯ Cense asked. The elemental Qi density in the surrounding area wasn¡¯t too high so he was not expecting Ava to instantly have success. However Ava who was currently in a meditative state felt full of life and energy at the moment. She saw specks different colours around her. She saw colours of green, brown, red. The most dominant colours were the blue coloured specs. ¡®I can sense it, so many of them!¡¯ Ava voiced out in amazement, eyes wide as she stared at all the beautiful specs of light. Cense on the other hand was amazed. ¡®Although I can¡¯t test for your affinities accurately, based on what you are describing, you seem to have a high sensitivty in at least 3 different Qi types.¡¯ Cense said with joy. Ava continued to be lost in staring at the specs of different elemental Qi for a while before coming back to reality. After leaving meditation she still felt full of energy and was eager for more. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Cense who seemed equally pleased said, ¡®Now we can work on meditating and improving your spiritual energy through meditation. Although it is a good thing your affinities seem to be impressive, you still need to go a long way to improve your spiritual energy, otherwise you won¡¯t even be able to become an apprentice mage at the first tier.¡¯ Starting from that day her routine became even more intense. She still would do her daily habit of saturating her body with Astral Qi, yet now she will also enter a period of meditation working on improving her spiritual energy ready for practicing magic in the near future. Cense admitted it would be a good idea to search out for a suitable teacher for magic theory, since his knowledge was based on Mages advanced in the later stages of cultivation and it would be useful to build her foundation here. Like that another year past quickly. Within this year Ava managed to get control over her body, and was able to walk around on steady legs, however she still paid extra attention to make herself fumble around a bit more than necessary since saturating her body with Qi has made her quite a bit stronger than ordinary infants her age. She did not want to make herself appear more unusual than she already had, so she made sure to play up her act as an obedient infant to reinforce her darling image around the tribe. During this year she have also managed to finally gain some control over her speech. She found it previously tiring when she was only able to make gurgling sounds with her underdeveloped vocal cords. Her mother seemed amused when she heard the funny noises she would make when she sometimes heard her attempting to practice her speech. Eventually she was able to say her first words. And already made sure Loriel heard her call her ¡®mama¡¯ forever making sure she¡¯d be a mothers girl. Her fathers disappointed face made her almost cry with laughter when he came to see her after hearing about her speaking for the first time. She ended up being mischievous in the end letting him try for hours to encourage her to say the words ¡®Dadda¡¯, she ended up giving in to him eventually as she ended up feeling sorry for him seeing the despondent look on his face. The look of ecstasy on his face afterwards was a sight to behold, especially when her mother joined along in celebration beside him creating a heartwarming scene. Nonetheless she had to conceal any further of her new linguistic skills, ensuring to show similar development to other infants her age. She was already confident she had completely mastered the spoken language of the elves already and was able to now understand everything the elves were saying. Time continues to fly by and already it was the third year since she had arrived in this world. And that was when her peaceful routine was finally shattered as a troubling development has happened within the tribe. Chapter 9 - Elves at War The entire atmosphere of the tribe grew tense like she had never experienced before. An emergency meeting was held as a messenger from a nearby clan passed on that the Evergreen clan had ordered the tribe to send a detachment of their best warriors to join the defence of their territory at the borders. Her Father, Xandas had a serious look on his face as he visited her and her mother for the last time before leaving to follow his duty. From what she heard from listening in on the elves an Empire to the West had finally set their sights on the elven territory. This was an Empire made up of humans, they were war-like and had already annexed all of the nearby human kingdoms. The only options they had left was an Empire on par with them, if not stronger to the east therefore they decided the elves were the best option to continue expanding their territory. It turns out the Evergreen clan was one of the four clans serving under the Royal Family of the elven dominion. These four clans ruled large territories and were responsible for ruling over the tribes including her Fathers within. Due to her Father being a capable warrior at the fifth tier, he was considered a senior warrior among the elves and a valuable war asset. He was tasked to bring a detachment of the tribes most capable warriors to join the Evergreen clans army to defend against the encroaching army of humans. The majority of the small amount of Mages the tribe had were also told to leave with the Warriors. Only a few remained such as the young lady following the old herbalist. Turned out she was a Tier 3 Water Magus capable of casting recovery spells. She was actually stronger than most of the Mages going with the detachment of Warriors, only weak Mages with low potential would stay in a small tribe like this one, they were Tier 2 and at most Tier 3 likely to remain at that Tier for the remainder of their lives. Turned out the old herbalist had done a great service in the past allowing her to avoid being called upon. Her Mother was distraught seeing her Father leave beside a detachment from the tribe heading to a war it was hard to determine he would return from alive. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Hoatan who was surprisingly a Tier 4 Warrior would remain to protect the tribe in her fathers stead. He was old and had answered the Evergreen clans call many times, he was allowed to remain to provide the tribe some protection with most of the tribes combatants leaving. Standing alongside her mother, Ava was apart of the group of the tribe who had come to send her Father and the tribes combatants off. Ava couldn¡¯t help but say with a tear into her eyes as her Father knelt down to say goodbye, ¡°Please return home safe¡± Xantas had a brief look of surprise at how much awareness his daughter was showing. He had left the tribe many times on errands, none being as dangerous as this one but to his daughters outlook this should be the same as last time, just longer. Judging it was a just child¡¯s sense of knowing when something is wrong with a heavy heart he lied, ¡°Of course your Father will return back in no time, this will merely be like the other times Daddy has had to leave¡± And with that Xantas turned to leave, he had already said his goodbyes to his wife and child many times. He knew if he continued to stare into his daughters big blue eyes his resolve would waver from what needs to be done. Heading out the tribe followed by his fellow tribesman who had accompanied him since he was a young elf he shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s show those damn humans they made a grave mistake thinking they can shed blood on elven lands!¡± His tribesmen roared with triumph as they started marching towards the meeting point of the elven army. Staring at the faces of passion and determination beside him he knew grimly they may never return to the tribe. A Kingdom of humans was enough, but an Empire made up of multiple human Kingdoms could be the end of them. Either way even winning this war will cause a huge amount of damage to the elves like never before. They have remained isolated in their territory for thousands of years, never thinking of expanding or clashing with the humans or other races. They had grown arrogant thinking no one would ever dare challenge them since they had remained closed off from the outside world. However they had let a force outside grow strong enough to threaten them. It was predictable that fighting with humans was always going to be inevitable, they were a greedy race, never satisfied with what they have and having far shorter lives than elves there would eventually come a ruler with a drive to conquer, setting his eyes upon the rich resources of the elven territory. The only reason it had taken this long for action was the nearby Kingdoms of humans never possessed the strength to go up against the unified elves as a whole. However now a mighty human emperor has arisen, one who has subjugated every kingdom around his own until he had built a mighty Empire that had unified the human nations in the Greenlands for the first time in history. For the first time since the elven coalition was founded they have been forced to act as one to fight an enemy in a fight that would determine if they will remain the unopposed force of the Greenlands. Xantas hoped the Royal Family does not underestimate the humans and goes all out on this one. Otherwise he was concerned it may be too late if they fail to bring out the ancient weapons of their ancestors in time. Chapter 10 - Training A few months after her Father left Ava was strolling around the tribe with her mother. Nothing from her Father or the elven army had been heard upon as of yet, the human army would take over a year to assemble and for an army of that size it would take many months to reach the elven territory borders. The Evergreen clan has called upon her Father and other tribes to get all the man power possible to lie in wait and build deep fortifications to defend against them. She was concerned about the other clans roles in the clash though. From what she heard the human empire army was ginormous, the only advantage the Elves had was in the quality of their combatants and being on home soil. Elves has far more elites than the humans, yet the elven territory had been more than enough to contain its population for thousands of years for a reason. The fertility rate of elves was not high, the growth of the elven population has been excruciatingly slow, apparently the humans outnumbered them over fifty times in the human empires territory alone and this difference would be even larger if the human kingdoms didn¡¯t have constant conflicts and wars among each other. The Royal clan of the elves have been around a long time. Elves had longevity over humans, they lived ten times longer naturally, and this only increased during cultivation. Some of the founders of the elven coalition was around even now. Nonetheless even with the humans having a great advantage, the Evergreen clan seemed to be the only one who had moved to the borders to meet the humans. The updates from the messengers concerned her. They told the tribe the Royal clan of the elves had everything under control, yet this did nothing to comfort her. It made her want to speed up her training and Cense agreed. Apparently saturating her body with Qi since she was born has done wonders for her body, it would be no problem for her to start training her body even as a child, besides any potential damage can be healed with attracting water attributed elemental force into her body. From her meditation practice with Cense she had learnt to attract elemental Qi into her body without him. It didn¡¯t speed up her practice as a mage since they relied on spiritual energy to progress through the tiers, as you required a suitable amount of spiritual energy per tier to harness more elemental Qi to channel into your spells. Nonetheless it was useful though even if she did not have the ability to cast spells yet, she can attract water attributed Qi inside her body to speed up the natural healing processes and promote recovery even if it wasn¡¯t as effective as a spell would be. That was why she innocently tried to pose the question of her joining the other kids training with Hoatan on the third time of her coincidentally passing by them in the training area. Her Mother was strongly averse to it at first, even after she used her best puppy dog eyes, after all the kids of the tribe began training at six. These kids were all at least twice her age. ¡°Ava¡­ you can play with them you¡¯re older, at the moment this is too¡­¡± Her mother found it difficult to find the words to deny her with her bringing out all the cuteness she could muster. She had already subtly made her mother refer to her as ¡®Ava¡¯ from her pretending to struggle to say her full name when she was younger, saying ¡®Ava, Ava, Ava!¡¯ until her mother gave up trying to make her pronounce her full name. Though she grew to like referring to her like this as well. ¡°Please momma, I can do it!¡± Ava said protesting. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Her Mother was about to argue her point again until Hoatan who noticed their little argument stopped instruction the other children and approached them. ¡°What does the problem seem to be here?¡± He asked. ¡°She has been watching you for the past few days and wants to now be a warrior like her Father, I¡¯ve tried to talk her out of it¡­¡± Loriel grew upset as she thought about her child seeming to just want to grow to be strong like her Father. ¡°Hmm.¡± Hoatan mumbled thoughtfully. ¡°Ugh please let me join sir I promise I won¡¯t let you down¡± Ava asked ignoring her mothers protests. ¡°Alright sure.¡± Hoatan said to both her and Loriels shock. ¡°What! Are you crazy? I know you didn¡¯t approve of me marrying my husband because of me not being good enough but that doesn¡¯t mean you should take it out on her.¡± Her mothers eyes turned fierce for a moment as they glared at the older elf. At that moment she realised her mother was far stronger than she thought, standing up to the most powerful and senior elf in the tribe despite her fathers absence made her far braver than Hoatan ever gave her credit for. Hoatan eyes grew as a brief glint of respect filled them before reverting to his usual cold expression said, ¡°I would never harm the child of my chieftain. I wanted to be by his side one last time however I promised I would remain to protect his family at all costs. I don¡¯t see a problem with her joining the training, she¡¯s a strong girl for her age and we usually let the youngins like her practice with the others until they¡¯re tired, she won¡¯t be forced to do anything she doesn¡¯t want to do, she¡¯s a child Loriel, it¡¯s natural she looks up to her Father and wants to follow him, besides it let¡¯s her take her mind of the damn war and she can interact with the other children.¡± Her Mother couldn¡¯t field much of a protest after Hoatian made a strong argument and she couldn¡¯t find it in her heart to refuse her. Soon she found herself lined up with the other children as her Mother watched her worriedly in the background. The sun was bright today over the tribe. Large trees surrounded the area of the tribe offering some relief from the glaring rays as she felt the heat on her skin. A moderate group of children lined up beside her. She was the youngest and smallest of the lot numbering around fifty. Considering the elven tribe had over a thousand elves living here it wasn¡¯t a particular high number. Especially considering this was all the children in the tribe up to the age of sixteen. Hoatan briefly introduced her to the animated group of children who seemed surprised a child so young was joining them until they realised who she was. The tribe chieftain was a legend among the elves, being the first senior warrior the tribe had in a long time. It brought the tribe great pride, although only children they understood how great a senior warrior is. Ava being his only child, it was only natural she would follow her fathers footsteps. After the introductions was complete, Hoatan split them into three groups. She was put into the one which held the children aged six to nine, whereas the other two groups held the older children. Two other older men went to teach the other two groups whereas Hoatan came to hers. ¡°If you want to be a great warrior serving the tribe you must train hard from a young age! The foundations of a warrior is all built on having a strong body, too often warriors don¡¯t realise this soon enough and later in life cannot increase further as a warrior due to their Battle Qi reaching their bodies limit!¡± Hoatan glared fiercely at the young children ensuring they understood. The children looked back seriously, not daring to make a sound. Ava nodded, this was similar to what Cense told her. ¡°Now we may not have resources compared to the larger tribes, but all Elves will have equal opportunity to train and grow their strength to be worthy of respect. If you show sufficient talent and effort you may even be recruited by a larger tribe, maybe some of you will have the honour to be under the Royal clan themselves. However none of this is possible if you don¡¯t exercise and build your strength in the most ancient way possible, is that understood?¡± Hoatan asked sweeping his gaze over the children. None of the children backed down from his glare and seemed eager to follow his orders. Hoatan let out a satisfied smile, especially when he saw Ava¡¯s resolve, ¡°Good. Now to remind you form is important, if you¡¯re tired and it gets sloppy, it¡¯s best to just give it day and rest for the next session. Now let¡¯s begin!¡± Ava¡¯s eyes grew wide thinking this was a bit more intense than Hoatan made out. Nonetheless this did little to damp her enthusiasm, she was ready to begin her training. Cense felt satisfied watching Ava. So far she had rose up to every challenge so far, now he wanted to see how she will progress when her training steps up once again. Chapter 11 - Sword and Bow Practice After Hoatan was satisfied enough that he got his message across, it was time to begin training. Virtually every male elf would be expected to exercise diligently from a young age otherwise they would be looked down upon in the future. The best way to contribute to the tribe was though strength and all elves respected a capable member of the tribe. It was less expected for females however they were not discouraged to do so either, though most elven women who became warriors ended up as bow women since they had generally less potential in strength training compared to men making a clash of pure strength with a melee weapon disadvantageous to them. There were exceptions with very talented elven women who became masters of the sword and axe, but they were not the norm, so in general the men of the tribe was expected to make up most of the combatants. Ava found there were only seven girls in attendance including her, yet this did not dissuade her from training. A steely gaze of determination filled her eyes, compared to the six year olds around her who still reflected the innocence of a child it was a oddity, however this went unnoticed to the onlookers who saw nothing but a cute child with a overly serious look on her face. ¡°How adorable!¡± One of the female elves next to Loriel couldn¡¯t help but exclaim. Loriel didn¡¯t mind the girls outburst, after all she was thinking the same thing when she saw her daughter among the other children looking so focused. ¡°My daughters still the cutest.¡± She thought her chest puffing up in pride as she saw the other mothers watching their young children guffawing over her daughter. ¡°Through training we can improve our body condition faster, when we exert ourselves our bodies will soak up the natural energies in the surroundings improving our bodies condition. Now assume this stance, we will work on these simple exercises that have been developed over the years by our tribes ancestors.¡± Hoatan ordered. The children tried their best to follow Hoatans movements, Ava did not find it too difficult with her stronger memory from the improvement of her soul and her body condition being good from all those years of merging it with Astral Qi. ¡°Try to concentrate on your breathing, make sure you exert per movement and inhale when you reset.¡± Hoatan said as he walked among the children inspecting their stances. He only needed a quick look to discern who was using the proper form, he knew that usually among younger aged children they would take a few years to gain proficiency in these movements. After all they were only children and did not have the maturity to grasp everything just yet, for instance some of them lacked the stability and power in their movements that will come with age compared to the older children. He rotated around the other groups of children before returning to this one. ¡®Wonder how his child is doing.¡¯ Hoatan thought not having much expectation for the cheeky brat. She stared at him with the same fiery eyes that reminded him of her father when he knocked him down to the ground many years ago when he was just a young elf with the weight of succeeding his father on his shoulders. ¡®She¡¯s not her Father¡¯ Hoatan had to remind himself. Her Father did not pass his bloodline onto the wife chosen for him, she would have had better talent making her more suitable for producing a stronger heir, instead he choose the weakest female in the tribe. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡®A mistake, a mistake!¡¯ He thought grumpily however what he saw when he returned to the group holding the youngest children he was shocked. ¡®How is she that proficient already?¡¯ He thought looking at Ava, it should have taken a while for a young child to build up the strength needed for some of these movements, yet she was doing far better than the children within her group who had been practicing longer than her. She was not yet comparable to the older children, but showing this much promise at her age, even her Father did not show it. ¡®I did you wrong my friend¡¯ Hoatan thought, the idea of putting his all into training his friends offspring filled his mind, this is what he needed to fill the gaping hole to be of service to the tribe that was left with being unable to follow his chief into battle. His eyes glistened however he reminded himself to not get too carried away. After all she is just too young, children her age lack both strength and wisdom at this age. I can¡¯t demand too much of her, but I must ensure she maintains a good habit of exercising. It¡¯ll increase her survivability by many fold, and will prove useful even if the old man words are right and she ends up a Mage in the future. ¡°Attention, stand firm.¡± The young children did their bests to straighten their backs at his sudden orders. On the other hand the older ones looked practiced by now and was already as straight as an arrow from his orders. ¡°Alright we¡¯ll continue these exercises for a while longer and the finish off with some punching drills. I¡¯ll show you a few techniques that won me a Silver Falcon from my service under the Evergreen clan.¡± Hoatan said making the children¡¯s eyes shine bright. Afterwards when the training finished a tired Ava walked to her mother who had a bright smile on her face. ¡°You did so well darling.¡± Her mother said pleased. Although Loriel was initially worried the training would be too rough for her young daughter, seeing her daughter throw punches and kicks with such a serious look on her little face was so adorable she decided they¡¯d return if it was what her daughter wished to do. After all it was good exercise for a young child to pour their energy into. Ava who was also pleased feeling a warmth spread through her tired muscles let out a satisfied smile as she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go tomorrow!¡± Henceforth Ava would attend every training session held by Hoatan and veterans of the tribe. Cense would compliment her progress, saying it would not long until she built a good enough foundation to start training Battle Qi. Her body strength was progressing well. Soon another few months pass, and the tribe was finally met with some good news. The Redgrove and Blacktree clans have arrived in full strength to support the Evergreens clan at the borders bolstering their strength greatly. Now more than half of the elven combat force has gathered to defend against the approaching human army. Scouts have already confirmed the humans were coming with an army larger than the eyes can see, it was estimated to be five hundred thousand strong. It explained why it took such a long time to prepare, the logistics for an army that size must be extremely complicated. The tribe felt greatly relieved of the two neighbouring clans support to the Evergreens, however they still felt nervous that the Royal and Darkwood clan have yet to act. Ava¡¯s training has progressed greatly since her first session. She was able to perform the techniques at a better standard than some of the older children. Hoatan was greatly pleased with her, he was so happy with her he brought her aside and asked if she wanted to do some additional training with him. Ava straightforwardly accepted, finding out it was sword and bow training. Usually only the older groups would do this but Hoatan felt she was ready. Her mother protested at first but when she found it out she would just be practicing the techniques with hardy wooden swords, she was happy with Ava to play sword fighting with the other kids. Cense was also pleased with this development as it was a good idea to practice with a weapon from a young age as it was a useful skill to have. And like that she started practicing using a sword and bow with Hoatan on top of her usual training sessions, making her hectic schedule even busier. On top of this she also made sure to continue her meditation and circulating Qi around her body. It was a tiring schedule but the rewards were evident, so she persisted with her routine. Chapter 12 - Troubling News Swinging the sword like Hoatan taught her she launched herself at the older boy opposite her. Hoatan remarked she was fast and stronger than she looked so should always use that to her advantage. The boy went to block the sword aimed for his body, however, the movement was merely a feint with her quickly re directing the sword hitting him squarely in the head. ¡°Ow¡± The older boy said feeling the light whack against his wooden helmet. Hoatan clapped smiling brightly and said, ¡°Well done, your doing very well for such a short time of training, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll end up a master of the sword just like your Father if you keep this up.¡± It had been months since she started practicing the sword and bow with Hoatan. It was standard practice for young elves to learn to use both weapons, having long lives they prided themselves on being skilled, adaptable warriors in both range and melee combat. Since elves have long lives and most end up eventually reaching their limit in cultivation, instead of focusing on cultivation they spend a significant amount of time improving their strength in other areas like their mastery over weapons. Ava found she enjoyed practicing with both weapons, though preferred the sword. She found her stronger soul helped her massively progress in both the sword and bow under Hoatan. She was a quick learner and had impressed him but still needed to go a long way to meet his strict standards of what an elf component with either weapon looks like. Satisfied with what he had seen so far, Hoatan brought the children who had been weapon training for a light exercise session to finish off. ¡°Now let¡¯s do a quick core exercise, remember what I told you, having a strong core is essential for all Warriors, you should know strengthening this area is essential to all warriors since it where they store their Qi. Therefore this is the most important area to target during your exercises, having a weak core is unacceptable for any warrior who wants good future achievements.¡± Hoatan stressed to all the children carefully before he demonstrated the exercise to them. Ava repeated the exercise and felt a warm feeling in her core. ¡®This feels good¡¯ she mumbled. ¡®Of course it does, this is the vital area of all warriors in this world. What you feel now is the dantian, a fist sized organ responding to the stimulation of the natural energies your encouraging through this exercise. It is where you will store all of your Battle Qi in the future once you begin your cultivation as a warrior, so having a stronger, larger dantian is very beneficial. You have already been unconsciously developing your own dantian from circulating Astral Qi around your body regularly.¡¯ Cense added. Ava thanked Cense in her mind and went back to the exercise. The spirit had been very useful since coming to this world, she had no idea where she would be without him at times. She felt he kept her sane despite being obnoxious most of the time. The first few years where she could only garble and whine would have been even more torturous without him around. Even now she has to speak simple and not go overboard, so she was glad she was able to freely talk to him. Suddenly the training session was cut short as a young male elf came heaving into the training ground with a grave look on his face. He rushed to Hoatan and looked like he was about to pass out from exertion before he said, ¡°We¡¯ve received urgent news from the Greenwood clan, they have requested we hand over even more of our food and supplies, the humans have arrived a few weeks ago and are launching heavy bombardments against the border defence wall. We have managed to repel them back for now, but the humans are even stronger than expected and we are taking losses, there is an urgent request for more supplies as our only hope is to drag this out.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Hearing this a serious look appeared on Hoatan face before he told us all the session was over for today not expecting them to glean much from the conversation. Heading back home with her mother who seemed to turn pale after listening in to the frantic young elves words to Hoatan she kept consoling her, ¡°Everything is alright, your Father will just be a bit late back home that¡¯s all¡± Everything has been progressing rapidly since the months she had spent training with Hoatan. She had firstly passed her fourth birthday since arriving at this world, and had grown in the past year, she wasn¡¯t sure if it was the nourishment of Qi but she appeared a few years older than she actually was. The other children were surprised she was the youngest there since she was as big as any of the seven year olds. Additionally the war with the humans had finally begun. After a long year of preparation, the elves had done their best to fortify Fort Gasden which was apart of the border wall separating the Elven lands from the humans. She knew that the Evergreen clan had been in charge of protecting it for generations and it had never once been breached. This was one of the reasons why the Elves arrogance grew, believing the humans would never have the capabilities to enter the Elven land having a well secured fort and wall protecting the only realistic accessible route for the humans to use. The elves strictly controlled who was able to enter their lands and had maintained a control over the area in the Greenlands with the richest resources. Human rulers eyed the lands greedily for centuries but every Kingdom that attempted to breach the fort failed. However now all of the human kingdoms have been united by a strong human emperor forming the largest human army which have ever launched an attack on the fort in history. At the same time although the Royal clan had sent a detachment to aid, they have not been able to launch their full support due to a problem with the Darkwood clan. The Darkwood clan ruled over a area containing many magical beasts. Usually there would be a cycle of beast tides which would occur, however this time one happened much earlier than expected, meaning not only where they unable to lend assistance, the Royal clan also had to divert a portion of their strength as well. The tribe had already had to give out all their surplus resources to supply the Evergreen clan with to send to the army at Fort Gadsen, now they would have to send even more. She had no idea if the elves even had the capability to hold the humans off, since the gloomy young elf who arrived today came across as desperate. However she knew only the basic information she had gotten from the gossiping elves around her. She had no idea how much of it is even true as most of it came from the Royal clan in order to appease the annoyed elves at the tribe who resented them a bit for not lending much aid. ¡®Looks like it¡¯s time to speed up my plans.¡¯ Ava thought. She was rushing for time trying to pick up as much as she can before problems start to escalate further. She had no choice but to plan for the future. ¡®I need to find a way to learn from that herbalist, maybe I can even find a way to study a bit from the mage under his service.¡¯ Ava thought. Ava wanted to speak to the herbalist earlier since he was one of the most respected members of the tribe and had plenty of useful things to learn from. However she was worried about her age, that it would come across as too unusual, so far she was able to play off her shenanigans using the excuse of just wanting to exercise similar to the other children so she could follow the older children just like any other child would. Nonetheless learning herbalism from the old man was very different, children her age don¡¯t usually have the capacity to make such advanced decisions. ¡®I have no choice, I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll get another opportunity and it may prove vital.¡¯ Ava thought. After discussing with the spirit convincing herself if it was a good idea or not, they came to the conclusion she had to do her best to learn everything she could from the tribe and the only person of importance remaining was the herbalist. ¡°Mum¡­¡± Ava said looking up at her with her big blue eyes. Her mother stared back at her with a questioning look that said, ¡®You want something don¡¯t you?¡¯ This maybe harder than she thought realising acting cute may not be enough this time. Chapter 13 - Origin of Royal Clan Ava found herself searching her mind for a reasonable explanation. ¡°Can I speak to that old man who helps others in the tribe? I want to help like him.¡± Ava tried to voice in a way that doesn¡¯t give away her true intentions. ¡°You mean old Arwen? He¡¯s the tribes healer and is a very helpful and nice man, so I think it would be best to not burden him¡­¡± Her mother tried to politely let her down, but Ava had no time for that, maybe if there was no war going on in the background she could take her time with her growth yet she had no other option now, she had a bad feeling in her heart her peaceful time here was running short. ¡°Please Mother, I got something important to tell him, I¡¯ve being seeing strange lights and was told he was the one who said I was special.¡± Ava said bringing out the explanation she was going to use to convince the old man to take her on as an apprentice. She came up with it with Cense deciding to use what the old man said years ago for her to receive his help. ¡°Really?¡± Her mother replied unsure of what to make of what her daughter was telling her, after all she had no talent for cultivation and was neither a warrior nor magus. She grew up learning embroidery and cultivating crops for the tribe, it was a shock when Xantas started courting her since their status in the tribe was so far apart. Nonetheless she loved her daughter and would take her to Arwen for her sake. Ava soon found her Mother agreeing and soon they arrived to a familiar location in the tribe, the hut where she was born. Upon entering she found it was the same as she had remembered it. The smell of herbs lingered in the air and vials filled with unknown liquids filled the shelves littered around the room. At the centre of the hut was the old man from before. His face had a pleasant smile as he greeted them, ¡°What do I owe the pleasure of the lady of the tribe?¡± ¡°It was my daughter who had asked for you actually, she mentioned about seeing strange lights.¡± Her mother tried to explain to the old man not expecting him to understand. Arwens eyes widened before he sat forward and said, ¡°Really? Now explain to me what kind of lights¡­¡± The way Arwen leaned down staring intently at her made it obvious who he was directing the question too. Before her mother could interject she spoke up, ¡°I see blue specks floating around me sometimes!¡± Arwens gaze turned passionate as she said that, ¡°You said what? Did I hear that correctly?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. After she described an accurate account of seeing water elemental Qi Arwen suddenly let out a loud laugh passionate sounding like a crazy old man. ¡°Looks like I was right! Only a theory, but from ancient transcripts it has been referenced that a strong enough elemental affinity can lead to mutations maybe even evolution among elven kind. The Royal clan have been hiding things from us!¡± The old man murmured excitedly. Ava just stood there with her mouth hanging wide open unsure what is going on. Turns out the herbalist is just some crazed mad scientist, maybe it was a bad idea coming to him, however it was too late for this. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Her mother asked with a raised eyebrow. Going by that look she could tell her Mother was annoyed that the old man had seemingly forgotten them in his excitement, failing to explain anything. ¡°Well it is simple really, what separates us from the Royal clan? The answer is bloodline, they are High Elves and are born with greater talent than us naturally. The Royal clan have only selected those with the greatest talent into their ranks over the years for a reason, everything is to do with maintaining their bloodline, at times there¡¯s irregularities, your daughter is one of them. She was not born to parents with outrageous talent, but seems to possess a very powerful elemental affinity, one which the Royal clan would be desperate to get their hands on, it is why she needs to be hidden from them until she can grow into her strength. Otherwise they will manipulate her like the others.¡± Arwen explained but this only seemed to confuse them more. ¡°The Royal clan? Aren¡¯t they the head of the four clans, and those that have been responsible for maintaining peace in our land for centuries? They have been nothing but a blessing to the elven people.¡± Her mother argued, her good nature finding it hard to see anything wrong with them. Arwen scoffed and laughed, ¡°The Royal clan good? They¡¯re more sly than humans. How else could they arrive to human lands, kick them out of the most precious land in their territory, close it off for thousands of years yet act like it¡¯s always been their ancestral lands. We¡¯re on nothing but invaded land and the humans want to get it back.¡± Her mother eyes turned into that of shock as she replied, ¡°That¡¯s impossible, it would have been passed down from our ancestors, everything just can¡¯t be all a big lie! Elves don¡¯t lie!¡± Arwen grinned as he said, ¡°Now you know why I said don¡¯t let those fellows pay much attention to your daughter? They would have been suspicious of her hair the moment they heard of it, I had to come out and say she was blessed to give her time for the testing stone. If they take her under their wing at a young age she will be indoctrinated to their ways, now you said you were here for a reason, what of it?¡± ¡°I want to be your apprentice!¡± Ava said quickly causing her mother to rush to apologise at her outburst. Arwen though instead grinned and replied, ¡°I wanted you to say that! What an articulate child, of course I¡¯ll take you on. I have plenty to teach you, now let¡¯s hurry.¡± Before her mother could raise any protests the old man lead Ava to his work bench and began discussing things with her. Loriel looked on with worry, Arwen¡¯s words making her concern for her husband grow even further. ¡°Please return home safe.¡± She muttered under her breath. A light smile filled her face as her expression brightened seeing how animated her daughter was being introduced to a few basic herbs used for healing by Arwen. ¡°She¡¯s growing up so fast, your going to be so proud of her.¡± Loriel said with hope for the future. However Arwen¡¯s words about the Royal clan echoed within her mind. ¡®He can¡¯t be right!¡¯ She convinced herself in her mind, they will send the humans running away in defeat again and continue the peaceful life that they always had. After all life in the elven lands had forever been like this, there has never been strife compared to the humans, everything is harmonious and will all go back to normal. Chapter 14 - Apprenticeship An hour had past since Arwen started introducing the different herbs and their uses to her. ¡°Now this is a type of herb known as Sage Grass, you can tell by the hint of blue at the top. It is very common in the forest surrounding these lands, if you grind it down and mix it with Yellow Clovers it can make a useful salve that can be applied to wounds.¡± Arwen instructed. Ava nodded absorbing up all the information she can. At first Arwen tested her capabilities by telling her things and asking her to repeat, demonstrate what he described with the herbs on his work station. Seeing she seemed to do just fine with just about anything he asked of her, he seemed to soon forget he was dealing with a young child and started going off about all types of herbs and their uses. Arwen was a good teacher and had great insight into his craft. Shortly after a while Arwen said, ¡°Well that¡¯s just a quick introductory of what you¡¯d expect to learn from me, though the main thing is to also start your training as a magus.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ava asked shocked, it was what she hoped for but did not expect it to come about so easily. ¡°Of course! Most Magus would rely on a testing stone before they begin training, since it is useful to identify what Qi that individual can sense. If they have no talent in a Qi type then that person will never be able to detect that Qi. The first time of meditation is always the most difficult, and most individuals find it challenging to even detect elemental Qi despite having suitable talent. It is why after identifying an individuals talents through testing and they are determined to have suitable spiritual energy to become a Magus they are instructed to begin meditation to sense Qi with a suitable instructor who shares the same elemental Qi. If they still cannot sense the Qi, they will enter a chamber which contains a denser than normal elemental Qi type which the person has been identified to be attuned with. If that person still fails to detect the elemental Qi, then they are hopeless prospects to become a Magus. You on the other hand don¡¯t have to worry about this at all, at it seems you talent is so high you are already sensitive to the surrounding Qi.¡± Arwen quickly ran through how an individual is usually tested. ¡°What if my spiritual energy isn¡¯t suitable?¡± Ava knew the answer to this already since her spiritual energy has grown greatly since she started meditating regularly yet she wondered how Arwen noticed. ¡°To start with your way too astute and intelligent for a child your age, that is a sign of being born with a high amount of spiritual energy.¡± Arwen said making Ava open her mouth wide in shock. She did realise she was showing too much of her true capabilities because she was growing desperate with her current situation, but she didn¡¯t expect Arwen to throw it out there so bluntly. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Ava felt relieved there was a suitable explanation for it though with the elves not being superstitious viewing her as some demon who hijacked the body of a young a child. ¡°What else?¡± Ava asked curious since the way Arwen phrased his theory indicated there was further reasons. ¡°If you as far as I am on a particular path you can slightly sense fluctuations on untrained one¡¯s such as you. Your spiritual energy has been growing, a persons spiritual energy natural grows until they reach around seven or eight years old, however not everyone is a blessed as you. How dense your spiritual energy is at that age usually determines your talent in spiritual energy, and going by that you should have very suitable talent to become a Magus.¡± Arwen explained. Nonetheless Ava already knew he was being deceived. Her talent in spiritual energy was ordinary, yet she was able to cultivate it from birth unlike the majority who started at six. A true genius would be above her level even now despite having never trained spiritual energy in their lives. She knew if she did not figure out a way to circumvent this weakness in the future it would be difficult to keep up with those geniuses. However she would never dare admit this to Arwen who also seemed to be much more than the other tribesman think he is. ¡°Are you a Magus?¡± Ava asked curiously. ¡°You can sort of describe me as one, though my daughter will be guiding you as a water mage herself.¡± Arwen said mysteriously. Ignoring her desire to press him further on what he meant by that, she decided not to push it. ¡°Then when can we start? I want to learn some magic.¡± Ava said with an eager grin making Arwen laugh heartily. ¡°Good! I love keen students.¡± Arwen chuckled before he continued, ¡°Althaea! Looks like you¡¯re going to be more busy around here, but at least you¡¯ll get yourself a little helper now.¡± Althaea, Arwen¡¯s daughter appeared looking confused by what he meant until she looked down at her with an inquisitive gaze. ¡°You can¡¯t mean?¡± She stumbled. ¡°Yes you will train her to practice forming basic water spells, meditation¡­ give her an introduction on what it like to be a magus. You don¡¯t have to make her a war mage, but it¡¯s a good start to pick up a few things before she¡¯ll eventually go to an academy.¡± Arwen said. ¡°She¡¯s too young! And is yet to be even tested, how will we even know she has the talent, and don¡¯t tell me about that ridiculous theory you prattled on about to those tribesman year ago when you didn¡¯t know an accurate diagnosis.¡± Althaea said clearly not a believer in all of her fathers outlandish theories. Her mother on the side appeared even more abashed seeing the father, daughter duo arguing. ¡°Maybe we should leave¡­¡± Her mother said timidly. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The Father Daughter said at a similar time. Both of them glared at each other before Arwen came to a compromise. ¡°She can sense water Qi, and has been able to engage with me about basic herbology for the last hour, she isn¡¯t no ordinary child and you know it.¡± Arwen said firmly. ¡°Fine I¡¯ll give her one chance, but if this fails you will let her return home with her mother and never ask of this again. Come with me girl.¡± Althaea said pointing at the door to another room in the hut which she just came from. Ava nodded obediently following her inside wondering what test she would undergo. ¡¯I need this to go smoothly.¡¯ Ava said determined not to fail. This was her chance to start her training in becoming a Magus. She was not going to fall at the first step. Chapter 15 - Water Magic Althaea directed her to a small room inside the hut. Unlike the main portion of the hut, this room was made up of smooth stone that was adorned with detailed carvings. Ava was unsure what they meant however she felt they were unordinary. ¡®Those are minor inscriptions. Likely an energy gathering array for a specific Qi, this is a cultivation chamber.¡¯ Cense said. Understanding the likely reason she was brought here from Cense words she looked up questionably at Althaea. Althaea looked at her sternly before her gaze seem to soften briefly when Ava titled her head. Letting out a light cough before returning to her usual collected self, Althaea said, ¡°Now I will quickly describe how to enter a meditative stance¡­¡± This part was simple enough. She entered enough of them by now for it to be second nature for her. Nonetheless she still had to put on an act for her entering meditation for the first time. So after a while she successfully feed back to Althaea describing the feeling of the Water Qi and how it felt like to enter meditation. Althaea gaze looked more impressed by now and she was close to accepting her right there. However there was one last thing she wanted to see. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I want you to do¡­¡± Althaea said wondering if this is too difficult. The only way for her to see her suitable spiritual energy without a means to test her was to try and make her contract, manipulate elemental Qi with her spiritual energy. ¡°Now this time when entering meditation¡­ I want you to try and grasp those glowing specks, try to form a ball in front of you¡­¡± Althaea knew this was extremely difficult for someone who hasn¡¯t touched magic before to do, and was beyond what she should be asking of a young child. Yet she had a feeling this unusual child could do it, she wanted to know if her Father was truly right about certain individuals having a blessed connection to a specific elemental Qi. Doing what she was asked, Ava felt the elemental Qi in the air, the blue specks were much more abundant than usual likely down to the energy gathering formation. ¡®Now, Ava similar to what I taught you, grasp the water Qi, imagine it like threads from your soul tangling around them to capture them like a spider web.¡¯ Cense directed. With Althaea and Cense silent direction she felt a tug on something within her soul, she knew from experience this was her spiritual energy being drawed upon. ¡®Now what she wants you to do is similar to a spell but not quite, it is far easier and only needs to be controlled for a moment. You need to condense that elemental water Qi, just try to picture squeezing it until it contracts to form a ball of water.¡¯ Cense said. Doing what he asked, Ava pushed for that feeling. She used all her mental capacity to her limit to press the Water Qi together tightly, imagining forming a ball of water in front of her. She felt this went on forever as she lost herself in that feeling, right when she was beginning to a bit a drained, her reveree was broken by a gasp and murmur. ¡°Incredible¡± Althaea said continuing, ¡°Like Father said, some are born to be loved by a certain Qi, the way water responds to you is incredible.¡± Ava was wondering what she meant until she saw a large ball of water floating in front of her. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. For a moment her mind went blank from the shock wondering how such a thing manifested out of nothing. However this was all it needed for the ball of water to collapse leaving her a soaked mess. Althaea struggled to hold in her laughter as she saw her face scrunched up in anger. ¡°I will now instruct you on water magic if that is still what you would like to do.¡± Althaea said ignoring her soaked appearance. Ava just nodded, she wasn¡¯t going to let getting wet ruin her opportunity to train as a mage. ¡°Now let¡¯s get you into some dry clothes, if I was a wind mage, I¡¯d dry you off, unfortunately that¡¯s not an option.¡± Althaea said before she dragged her into a room to change. She provided her an oversized cloak before they returned to her mother and the awaiting Arwen who looked her up sceptically. ¡°She passed right?¡± Arwen said unconcerned. ¡°She did¡± Althaea replied annoyed by the smug look on his face. Her mother on the other hand was concerned about other things. ¡°What happened? Are you fine my baby, did she hurt you?¡± Her mother picked her up and started inspecting her stringently upon seeing the change of clothes. Althaea eyes widened as she saw the look of vengeance in Loriels eyes as she switched her attention onto her after seeing that her daughter was fine. ¡°Now it was only a harmless test¡­¡± Althaea was about to say before she received a mothers anger. After calming her mother down after explaining the contents of the test, they were able to persuade her to let her come under Althaea guidance to start learning water magic. Water mages was known as being healers, it had great appliances and gave you the ability to heal others, yourself, it was one of the most pratical magics to practice in the early stages. Her mother would not ruin her daughters future for being paranoid over magic, she knew in these type of times it could prove essential to learn. And just like that another thing was added to her routine of training. In the mornings she would practice with Hoatan, continuing her exercises, sword and bow training. Later in the evenings she would learn herbology with Arwen, learning about the different herbs and plants, gaining knowledge on their practicalities, benefits. Then in the afternoon she learnt about water magic, to do with magic theory, how to apply and control Qi. She would engage in meditation and start learning the beginning spells a water magi would learn. With Althaea she began to absorb water elemental Qi into her body and began refining it into her own. According to her a Magi must draw in elemental essence into their body first to then manipulate the surrounding elemental Qi to form a spell. The elemental essence in a mages body will be strengthened and it¡¯s volume will increase over time as they ascend tiers, however only a small amount of it is actually used to cast a spell. To form a spell you require enough elemental Qi and will then use your spiritual energy to summon surrounding Qi using your own elemental Qi as a focal point to direct the required elemental Qi in the air to build up enough power for the spell. She would store the Qi in what is known as a ¡®mage core¡¯, Mages bodies were usually stronger than non cultivators due to holding elemental Qi, however compared to warriors they were weak which is why their physical strength is often ignored. Due to her affinity with water being high, gathering elemental Qi was incredibly fast for her, compared to her spiritual energy which grew excruciatingly slow there was a night and day difference. Since she knew her soul already reached the standard of a Tier 1 Mage according to Cense, she knew she could begin practicing with spells and Althaea seemed to notice as well, which was why her training began preparing her for this. Months past with this routine, and she felt there was a qualitative difference in all areas. She felt the improvement in each passing day, due to being a beginner at all these occupations her progress was amazing. Eventually she experienced the excitement on what it¡¯s like to cast her first spell, the Tier 1 ¡®Cleanse¡¯. It was a basic spell that cleaned the body completely, leaving you with moisturised skin, removing you of any dirt or grime. It was a simple spell that had not much flashiness or flair in comparison to something like a ¡®Fireball¡¯ would, however it was practical and her first proper spell so she was very satisfied. They had not head any news about Father or the war with humans, instead of dwelling on this, she put it into the background deciding being anxious about something she could not control was not worth it, she poured all of her time and energy into her training. Eventually, Hoatan asked if she wanted to go for a trip in the forest to have a more practical session on the different herbs and plants in the forest. She was eager to go, the only problem was going to be convincing someone. Her mother. Chapter 16 - Evergreen Forest ¡°No!¡± Her mother said for the umpteenth time. Her mother had been supportive of everything she did so far however this time she wasn¡¯t having it. ¡°Why?¡± She said pleadingly trying to use her cuteness, her mothers gaze softened for a moment before hardening again. ¡°You expect me to let you go into a forest with just you and old Arwen, there¡¯s magical beasts there and you¡¯d not be safe!¡± Her mother tried to explain her worries to her. Understanding that from her mothers point of view with everyone at the tribe believing Arwen has no cultivation, it seemed ludicrous to go alone with him into the forest. She thought this was an impossible task to do so until an elf announced Arwen and Hoatan wanting to meet her. Her mother showing approval for them to enter, Arwen entered the room flanked by a stern looking Hoatan and few other elves dressed in warrior garb. After talking for a while with her mother Arwen said, ¡°We¡¯ll be escorted and only go towards the outskirts at most, it¡¯ll be good for her to see, if she ever ended up lost in the forest this experience may prove invaluable.¡± Hoatan couldn¡¯t help but show his agreement, he would bring children only a bit older than Ava to the forest to widen their horizons, it was a good experience for them. Ava was smart and capable for her age, from months of training her, he felt she would only benefit from this. Eventually both got her mother to agree, however at the cost of letting her come along, noticing they couldn¡¯t dissuade a mother from wanting to protect her daughter, they headed out of the tribe with mother, Hoatan, his men and a few more of the tribes guards who had come to protect both her and her mother. Ava knew the forest covering the expanse of land outside the tribe, holding dozens of similar tribes within was known as the Evergreen Forest. It was named after the clan which ruled the scope of this forest. It held much bountiful resources within and was a valuable resource for the elves who would send herb gatherers to collect useful plants, herbs whilst leaving behind suitable conditions for the resources to naturally grow back. The elves harvested a generous amount every year by doing so though would never upset the balance by over harvesting the natural resources in order to maintain sustainability. The forest was beautiful. Looking at her surroundings she found herself looking up as high as the eye can see since the trees were so tall she was unable to see the top. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Everything was so lush and bright, flowers, plants of an assortment of colours was a common sight in the forest. The sounds of the birds and nature was both relaxing and calming yet she knew anyone would be a fool to not be vigilant at all times here. Dangerous creatures roamed the forest, the tribe was well protected by regular patrols, magical wards that dissuaded the creatures from nearing. However outside the tribe there were plenty threats around you needed to be careful of. Having Hoatan here though meant there should be no problems since the strongest magical beasts in the forest around the tribe was only Tier 3, not a problem for Hoatan who also had the other elves for support. Magical beasts had similar tiers to cultivators though usually they were stronger than a cultivator at the same tier. Nonetheless having access to good weapons, martial techniques and usually being in groups, elves were more than a match for magical beasts. She could see why her Mother was terrified at the prospect of her coming here with just Arwen since even the normal wild beasts in the forest would be end of an old man and a little girl. ¡°Now you see here this is actually a magical herb known as a Blue Capped Mushroom, it is often mixed up with an Blue Spotted Mushroom which is highly toxic and poisonous. The way to tell the difference is an authentic Blue Capped Mushroom always has a marking to indicate its age and potency. They are used in the process of concocting potions to recover a mages elemental Qi and are valued because of this.¡± Arwen said instructing her along the way. As they went around the outskirts of the forest for the next hour she ended up learning a lot of interesting things. Arwen discussed herbs which can hide her scent from predators, that could be used in an emergency situation for sustenance, herbs of value, that can promote recovery of wounds. She found the practical nature of seeing the herbs and plants discussed over the last few months cemented them further into her mind. Hoatan and the elven guards walked silently in the background. Her mother who was sceptical at the beginning of the point of the extrusion seemed happy upon seeing how engaged her daughter was learning about the forest. She also found it beautiful and relaxing, it was a nice change of scenery to being locked up in the tribe all the time. Ava found Hoatan hawk like gaze on her often. When she first met him she assumed the worst of him however she now viewed him like a stern grandparent. Ones who may sometime have old-fashioned, narrow minded views from their upbringing but deep down are old softies. Hoatan had been looking out for them often since her Father left, and seemed to take up the father role gladly in her life when he left. He was more prudent about her safety on this expedition out to the forest than even her mother by the way he stalked around her at all times, silently ready at any moment. However the time spent in the forest went smooth throughout, deciding it was time to turn back, Arwen promised he would bring her back again another time since it was growing late. That was until the largest boar she had ever seen appeared in front of them menacingly leading the elves to halt in their tracks. This was the first magic beast she had seen up close, so far the magic beasts and other wild animals seemed to stay clear of their party sensing the strengths of the elves. Feeling nervous she wondered how Hoatan would deal with such a formidable opponent. Chapter 17 - Giant Horned Boar The elves examined the foe before them, making an assessment on the large beast. It gave of a powerful aura indicating its strength, to dare show itself in front of the large group of elven cultivators indicated it¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t ordinary. ¡°It¡¯s a Giant Horned Boar, seems to be at the Fourth Tier too since it¡¯s not afraid at all of us.¡± One of the elven guards said seriously. ¡°Hmm. Unusual a Giant Horned Boar to reach the fourth stage, especially since a magical beast of that level is rare around here anyways. Must have achieved its level recently with the patrols being less thorough due to a lack of manpower at the tribe.¡± Hoatan said before turning around continuing. ¡°Caegar and Kaiden stay behind, protect the young mistress and the lady ship, the chief has went to war with us promising we¡¯ll keep them safe they¡¯re your priority. Reylan, protect the old man, we have enough to handle this big lump of meat.¡± Hoatan said fiercely. Ava found herself being asked escorted by the elves to a safe distance from the action. The Boar huffed in rage at seeing them leave and began tensing its muscles, moving its hooves indicating it was about to charge. A Giant Horned Boar was an omnivore, it was highly aggressive and if it saw the opportunity to add meat to its diet it would take it. As a Magical Beast, anything with an aura of Qi would be fatally attractive to it and the elves appeared like delicacies to the hungry Boar who had just been promoted a tier. Ava stared at the boar with eyes of fear for Hoatan and the others, it was simply a huge beast, with extremely wide and thick tusks, having a large jagged horn on the crown of its large head. It was a bear sized boar and seemed gigantic in comparison to the elves. ¡®How will they defeat such a beast with such weapons¡­¡¯ Ava thought, she had never seen a cultivator before she had no true idea on how strong one would be at this stage. Hoatan stood challengingly in front of the Boar as if mocking it to charge. His arrogant smirk seemed to anger it as it went straight for him, at an extremely swift speed for its size. However Hoatan was faster, evading the beast with ease, dragging his sword along its hide whilst doing so leaving a swallow wound. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You have some thick skin.¡± The elf murmured as he found the blow not leaving as much of a mark as he would have liked. The other elves also sensing their opportunity sent strikes of their own, all of which were minor to the beast, who in return almost skewered an elf who was almost to slow to react to it turning around with surprising quickness. Ava found the boars eyes seemed to fill with even more rage at the pesky things stabbing at it. She grew concerned about the elves despite the display of skill, after all the boar only needed to land a good blow and it could heavily or fatally injure an elf whereas their strikes only seemed to annoy the rampaging boar. Yet she found she underestimated the elves. The boar was nothing but a dumb brute, it was far stronger and durable than the elves but it was practically mindless, relying almost entirely on its instincts. It seemed like a bully who was used to winning fights on their size had come across a smaller, but capable fighter who toyed with them, with them finding it impossible to land a blow no matter how strong they were. ¡®So this is what it means to be a warrior, this is martial arts¡­¡¯ she thought looking at the blinding display of footwork and sword work from the elves. Eventually all the wounds being drew on the boar began to add up, it was growing tired and weak from the blood loss. Despite it being full of rage and aggression, it only surmounted to so much, the elves were far more skilled and smarter, knowing when to pull away, Hoatan look most of the pressure of them being at the front of the Boars line of sight everyone since he was the only one here who matched its cultivation and was the strongest. ¡®Are Magical beasts only so much?¡¯ She thought to Cense wondering why they were so feared at the same level. ¡®Don¡¯t be arrogant watching this battle. These are seasoned elven warriors who have been training together for a long time, they make this look easy as they are used to such opponents and have been training for countless years in the martial way. And the Boar is very low tier for a magical beast, its bloodline is among the weakest and this one has likely reached its limit. Intelligence wise it is also barely above that of a wild animal, the true dangerous magical beasts are the intelligent ones with strong bloodlines, for instance if this was a Tier 4 dragon type beast there would be little these elves could do but run and hope it¡¯s not interested in them.¡¯ Cense explained. Eventually the large boar was downed. The elves expertly dealt with it without taking much damage. The final strike Hoatan used a martial technique of some sort that seemed to skewer its head right of its shoulders. It seemed to drain him greatly though as he seemed to slump afterwards however Ava was still greatly impressed her eyes gleamed a light of adoration as she looked at Hoatan. Hoatan grinned proudly upon noticing her big blue eyes looking up at him in admiration. ¡°Awesome. I want to learn that!¡± Ava proclaimed deciding that was the next thing she wanted to learn. Loriel just looked like she was about to have a heart attack at how casual her daughter was being about this. ¡®Why can¡¯t I have a normal daughter who won¡¯t worry me so¡­¡¯ Loriel felt like she was going to be constantly stressed worrying about Ava at this rate. Deciding it was what made her happy, she knew she couldn¡¯t stop her from pursuing this even if this terrified her. ¡°Well who wants some cooked fried boar meat!¡± Hoatan loudly shouted in triumph to the cheers of the other elves. Chapter 18 - Longleaf Sword Style After the Elves brought the large boar back to the tribe, a feast was held where there was enough boar meat on the massive boar to share a portion to all the remaining elves of the tribe. It was a good moral boost to the tribe who have been left anxious over the ordeal with the humans. Ava thought her time at the forest was a big eye opener, that strength isn¡¯t always everything, having good technique can bridge that to an extent, the elves spend years refining their technique for a reason. The humans always struggled against them for this point, that elves have longevity allowing them to spend longer time building their foundations not needing to worry about their life spans as much when it comes to progressing to the next level of cultivation. Ava knew the boar was a dumb brute, even by magical beasts standards, the elves have spent their entire lives fighting against similar opponents in the surrounding forest, it was not a challenge for them even if it boasted a stronger body and cultivation. A strong but slow opponent by itself was no concern for a hunting party of the tribe, though there was more dangerous threats in the forest that even they had to be cautious of. It filled Ava with the desire to learn the secrets of the tribe, she already experienced practicing basic swordsmanship, going through the motions of the right footwork and how to swing a sword correctly, yet she knew just by watching the elves the full extent of true swordsmanship has not been shown to her. It had made her more eager to go out for further excursions in the forest, not only can she expand her herbology knowledge but she can experience watching the elven warriors in action. Her eagerness was noted by Hoatan who brought her aside to talk to her about the tribes swordsmanship. ¡°Now usually we will introduce our fellow tribesman to this knowledge when they¡¯re a bit older, but since you¡¯re a quick learner I see no reason to prohibit it from you.¡± Hoatan said. Ava smiled and replied respectfully, ¡°Of course Sir Hoatan.¡± Hoatan¡¯s eyes lit up even further as he went on his description, ¡°Now each tribe of elves prides themselves on it¡¯s heritage. Our Longleaf tribe has a reputation for being good swordsman. Although we have decent bow techniques it is not our forte, your father himself is a master swordsman among the elves. This is all built on our Longleaf Sword styles, which members of the tribe who specialise in swordsmanship will learn, our ancestors spent thousands of years refining these techniques further and further until it has reached its current standard.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Ava¡¯s gaze filled with interest upon listening to Hoatan, this was something she needed after seeing Hoatan execute the style against the boar. ¡®To learn a sword style at this stage would be very useful in building your foundations. The elves have spent a long time refining their techniques, but remember don''t fixate on a sword style, to become a true sword master you must adapt and form your own style that suits you, of course, this is all in the future. This is nothing to think about if you fail to even master it.¡¯ Cense took this moment to remind her. Being a sentient artefact around powerful cultivators had allowed him to learn plenty of informative things about cultivation, he has been able to provide useful directions to her because of this, it was one of the things that allowed her to progress faster. ¡°Now our Longleaf Tribes sword style consists of using speed, always fleet on our toes, where we launch powerful attacks with the use of quick changes of direction allowing us to strike at unorthodox angles. What I will begin teaching you now that you have grasped the complete basics, is the beginning of this style, it is best to commit the techniques to memory if you can, even if you can''t execute them just yet.¡± Hoatan advised. Ava followed him feeling Hoatan knew more about the war than he let on. It strangely felt like he was passing on the technique of the tribe in fear that this may be his final opportunity, however, she just squashed these dark thoughts to the back of her mind. She felt confidence in the elves and her Father, after all, they held back the humans for a long, long time, from what she heard elves have never failed to hold them back since even the oldest elf can remember. Concentrating on Hoatan¡¯s instructions she found the concept of the technique strange. Similar to how the Elves fought the boar, the sword style focuses on wanting you to move like a Viper, moving, in, and out explosively, landing strikes to the vitals before the enemy can react. The style demands you to be on the move constantly, making it a very physically draining style to practice. She could see why it was fierce though, the ingenious of the feints, and movements, meant if you gain a high-level mastery of the style you are very unorthodox and difficult to predict. She found herself looking hilariously clumsy trying to imitate Hoatan, but still left him impressed at even the little she was able to show. ¡°Very good, it will take you a while to grasp the basics of the technique, so you don''t need to be anxious. Even talented members of the tribe are introduced to the style when they are at least eight years old.¡± Hoatan said trying to cheer her up after noticing her downtrodden expression for falling on her bottom for the umpteenth time. ¡°Again!¡± Ava said with determination causing Hoatan to let out a big grin. ¡°Looks like you got your father''s stubbornness in you after all, so let''s go over this movement¡­¡± Hoatan described as Ava once again finding herself in the rhythm of practice. Chapter 19 - Grave News Ava once again found time flying by as the months went by, she soon past her fifth year in this world. Her mother held a big celebration for her fifth birthday, turning five was an important milestone among the elves. It was usually the time a child would begin learning about the responsibilities they would hold in the tribe in the future. Of course there was only so much a child would understand, but even young elves were instilled a sense of comradeship, that everyone in the tribe had an important role to play. Ava was an exception to this and had already been learning at a much more advanced rate to the other children, however her fifth birthday was still viewed with just as much importance. Hoatan, Arwen and all proud of her. Her progress was amazing for a child of her age and astounded them greatly. It had been two years since she last saw her Father. The fighting down at the fort that separates the human lands from the elves was intense but the elves were holding despite the large disparity in numbers. The elves had entrenched themselves deep, there was apparently no other way into these lands, large mountains surrounded the vibrant forests which made up the majority of the elves territory. It was inaccessible to any large army, the only way through has long been fortified by the elves, but if the Evergreen clan and their defences were to fail there would be nothing stopping the bloodthirsty humans from entering the lands. Nonetheless the good new was that the magical beast problem troubling them was resolved allowing the Darkwood clan to send in reinforcements, additionally the Royal Clan also made their presence more known. It was a relief for the elves and tribes who''s resources were strained further as they were requested to supply the fort more and more. Ava herself did not know how the humans were able to continue such a long siege with an army of it''s size with even the elves struggling despite having not only a shorter number of soldiers but having the backing of their prosperous lands nearby. However, she knew they would eventually crumble if they failed to breach the elven lands no matter how influential this human emperor was. Hopefully, that would mean her fathers return soon. Despite not being able to see him that much in her first five years of life she knew he cared for her. It helped that her Mother, Hoatan, Arwen and Althaea all looked out for her in the tribe. She knew she also had Cense but he was like an annoying little brother most of the time despite his maturity when discussing cultivation. Hoatan and Arwen were the strict and crazy old grandpas she never had in her previous life. Althaea was the cool aunt who taught her magic and her Mother was the compassionate, loving, protective mother that she always longed for when her mum passed away in her previous life. Her eyes grew fierce when she thought of the war and what the feeling of losing them would entail. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She was not ignorant enough to not pick up this was a peaceful world, outside the land of the elves the human lands was a chaotic, dangerous place and going by Arwen the elven lands might not be as peaceful as they were lead to believe. It was the main drive of her pushing her astounding cultivation progress. She was progressing along the Longleaf Sword style nicely. In this world sword styles and martial techniques were given appropriate rankings of mastery which was Lower, Moderate, Greater and Perfect. She had already reached Lower in her first year of training with the sword style, but apparently it was the easiest to grasp and most elves would comprehend it with two years of practice, the next stage usually took more than double so it could be a while before she saw further progress. She also heard there were things outside of sword styles and martial techniques known as sword intent, however this was beyond her at the moment so Hoatan did not go into detail about it. Althaea was also greatly impressed with her progress as a Mage since she had already reached a Tier 1 standard. A Tier 1 Mage was not impressive and fairly easy to achieve even with low talent but for a child of her age it would be considered incredible, though apparently there was prodigies even beyond her according to Althaea at the academy. This made her realise despite her unique advantages she was not invincible, she had to work hard otherwise she would not even be as good as a genius in what Cense describes as a lower-tier world. Being a Tier 1 Mage meant she knew four Tier 1 spells. The other spells apart from ¡®Cleanse¡¯ were ¡®Heal Wounds¡¯, ¡®Recovery¡¯ and ¡®Water Whip¡¯. As a Tier 1 spell ¡®Heal Wounds¡¯ was only able to heal minor injuries, but with it''s low cost and a mages Elemental Qi increasing in purity as they progress in cultivation it is a useful spell even at the later tiers. ¡®Recovery¡¯ makes a person feel refreshed and aids fatigue, it speeds up natural healing and is usually used to support individuals with minor illnesses. Even with their limitations from being Tier 1 spells they still each had their uses. Though ¡®Water Whip¡¯ was a fairly useless spell, it created a whip made out of water that felt like a weak slap making her only somewhat offensive spell disappointing making her realise why water mages had the reputation for being healers. Her progress with Arwen in herbology was also fruitful, with her knowledge of plants and herbs reaching another level withn number of excursions she had been going on with Arwen and Hoatan. They had slain a few more boars and even a lone desperate wolf who had been separated from it''s pack. The wolf had light green fur and was around the size of a tiger in her previous world. Arwen said it was called a Wind Wolf and she could see why when it shot a blade of condensed Air Qi out of it''s mouth. It was the first time she saw Hoatan break a sweat fighting something and if a starved version of the ginormous wolf she saw gave him that much trouble she could only wonder what a pack of them could do. Hoatan grew more serious that day and she was forbidden from going out with them again since it was too dangerous. It was unusual for Wind Wolves to be this close to the tribe unless it was forced to emigrate here by a larger threat. Something that would injure the Wolf this severely and separate it from it''s pack like that couldn''t be good news. The sense of foreboding danger crept up on the tribe until they were met with news that truly shook the tribe for the first time. Haggard and ruged was the form of her Father alongside him unfamiliar elves stood but she could feel the raw power that emanated from them even from a distance. They entered the tribe with the worse possible news they could hear. The humans have won the battle for Fort Gasden and now are ready to finally plunder the elven lands. It seemed this was the end to her peaceful days of training, all they can do now is run away to the Royal Clan for safety. ¡®I hope we can make it safetly¡¯ Ava muttered under her breath as her Father embraced her and her mother, somehow she knew it was not going to be easy to escape the grasp of the humans. Chapter 20 - Human Emperor Emperor Acadian sat atop the Wyvern with a sharp gaze. He has finally done it. He has breached the formerly impenetrable defences of the elves that have held back his people for thousands of years. Acadian Orgrasans ancestry dated back to the one of the first human kingdoms in these lands. The Kingdom was known as Orgrasan and had become weak, pitiful, a mere shadow of its former self before he had taken up the reigns from his father. He remembered the day clearly when his Father stared deeply into his eyes, there was a seriousness about them that his young mind had never experienced before. His normally kind and compassionate Father voice took a cold tone as he said, ¡°Boy if you ever have the strength to take back our ancestral lands from those damn elves and restore the lost honour we have lost yet choose to forsake this grudge then you are no son of mine, you have failed our ancestors and don¡¯t deserve to be an Orgrasan.¡± He had taken that to heart ever since. When he continuously gained strength, quickly becoming a well known genius of warrior cultivation and the sabre, he found himself rapidly ascending the tiers of cultivation, his reputation ever growing within the human lands. It was then his ambition grew. He knew he did not have the resources to oppose the elves in his Kingdoms current state. The lands they had was barren, barely fertile and considered one of the worst among the human kingdoms within the Greenlands continent. His people had once ruled over the most fertile and resource-rich land in the Greenland continent, they were prosperous and were in the middle of a golden age until the greedy elves decided they wanted what was theirs arriving at this continent with a detachment of their warriors and mages, the humans found themselves being driven back and forced out of their own lands. The other human kingdoms attempts to aid them failed spectacularly, the elves strength proved too great, soon it was forgotten about, the formerly powerful Orgrasan Kingdom was a husk of its previous self, it became a simple, mediocre Kingdom, many forgetting about their previous glory. However the Orgrasan line never forgot. Even as thousands of years went by, that generation after generation went by holding a deep ending hatred and resentment towards the elves that stole their birth right from them. To have a chance of fulfilling his Fathers and ancestors dreams, he had to gain sufficient strength. Acadian was no genius politician, or strategist, but he was a strong warrior, knew where his strengths laid, when he required the expertise of others and was able to manage others efficiently. He built a strong army, recruited powerful generals, changed the Kingdoms infrastructures, he promoted the education of commoners, recruiting a great deal of talented individuals from poorer backgrounds, who had the suitable talent but not the opportunity to ascend in society. His options was limited due to the Kingdom being in a backwater location having hardly any nobles or people from affluent, rich backgrounds with the low resources and territory, usually other Kingdoms would fill their ranks with talented cultivators from noble families, but instead Acadian did not discriminate and allowed all into his ranks. He was laughed at. Only a lowly place like Orgrasan would dare to fill its ranks with people holding lesser bloodlines. Talent was passed down too some degree, powerful nobles usually possess greater talent on average than commoners, it was seen as lubricious to do so, but with such a large disparity between the two groups in terms of population there were some exceptions, people with extraordinary potential were born from ordinary parents, they only needed the opportunity, one which he granted them. And with them not being born from a silver spoon like the nobles, they shown gratitude and loyalty to the King himself, not to the noble clan they belong to. It was then he needed to use his strengths to gain the influence his Kingdom needs. They had reached its limit with the sparse resources available to them. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He began to conquer like he was born to do. It took him years to build up his Kingdoms foundations, to break through into the second realm, breaking the shackles constraining his life span. His Father grew old, for a human, even powerful cultivators if you reach the peak of the first realm it grants you with four hundred years of life at most. No Orgrasan was able to break through into the second realm for thousands of years, reaching the ninth tier of the first realm at most, the difference between the second and first realm was insurmountable. Yet he had done it at the ripe age of seventy. He broken through to the second realm, a Monarch as a Warrior. The proudness on his Fathers old withered face was something he held as his dearest memory. However he was not done, with his new found cultivation base, there was no human powerful enough left to challenge him. The other Human Monarchs in the Greenland continent was content to watch him and his small Kingdom pick off the weaker ones not seeing the young upstart as a threat. They had taken much longer to break into the Monarch realm, they were weak and old, content to live out their remaining lifespan in comfort, they had lost the edge and drive they had in their youth. With his newfound cultivation realm bringing him confidence and the ability to deal with the strongest cultivators on the continent, his true ambitions began to show. He became more aggressive towards the stronger, more influential Kingdoms, who had started to grow more cautious of him. They still underestimated him. A barbaric, warfaring nation lead by some savage was not enough to make them concerned. It would be their biggest regret. He took them down one by one. Even when they futilely formed an alliance to try to take him down, it only made him stronger. Conquer, conquer, his dao grew stronger, his sabre intent grew sharper. He was becoming more one with the world, eventually he ran out of things to conquer. Eventually his cultivation became one step away from the third realm, however this bottleneck was one that had not been past by a human in this continent for a long time. It could be counted on one hand the amount of experts who had broken through to the third realm, and they had long left this continent it being unable to sustain an individual who desires to continue his path to immortality. He had subjugated all he can in the Greenlands, he had preserved much of the human fighting strength. The other Monarchs not desiring to perish after achieving their level of cultivation submitted to him if he spared their lives, they were not ones he can fully depend on, but they greatly feared his ire so would follow his orders for now and that was enough. It grew into centuries since he began his pursuit unifying the humans in the Greenlands in his pursuit of vengeance. His Father had eventually passed away with a heavy heart, unable to see his son take back the lands the Orgrasan had stole from them many years ago. He felt saddened his Father was unable to witness it, but he had a family of his own, one that will set foot into their lands once again. The Elves fortified the entrance into his ancestral lands, it being inaccessible by any other means, no Orgrasan has been able to enter the eutopia they have built at his ancestors expense in thousands of years. However his ancestors left a secret. A way into the lands even the elves were unaware of. None has tried to use it since it would be exposed after one use, it would be acted upon by the Elves and a way past their strong defences would be wasted. No Orgrasan had a strong enough army at their disposal to have the confidence to do so, not until him at least. Bringing a suitable distraction, he was able to keep the elves distracted for a year by bombarding the fort protecting the lands with just enough strength that they believed the humans were attacking with all their might. He battled with a few of the elven monarchs himself simultaneously whenever a battle arises between the powerhouses of their respective forces. The elven monarchs were stronger than their human counterparts, but his sabre intent has reached a great level, his techniques perfect, he was beyond any mere sabre master among humans, it took three of them to fight him, and that was with him holding back, he did not want his plan to be exposed as of yet, even he did not want to rush against the nasty inscriptions the elves have built into their defences. It was then he received good news. Another Wyvern swooshed down beside his. A man was hoisted into the saddle. He was heavily armoured with heavy black metallic plates. He wore a spiked helm that slightly exposed his eyes which had a feral glint in them. ¡°It has gone like planned. Fort Gasden has fallen, a good timing too as those old fogies grew impatient at the amount of resources we were using to sustain our attacks, however results speak for themselves, fort taken, with acceptable loses, only problem is a small detachment seemed to have been able to escape into the forest depth¡­¡± The man said in his gravelly, deep voice. ¡°Send the Hunters to trail them. Do not engage, merely follow, they may lead us to something interesting¡­¡± Emperor Acadian ordered. The man nodded to his emperors sharp gaze, as the Wyvern lifted itself into the air in the direction of the escaping elves. Chapter 21 - Evacuation The tribe was filled with urgency as the news of the fall of Fort Gasden spread. It was only a matter of time until the humans began invading the elven lands, therefore they had to evacuate behind the walls of the capital. Vregdornor was the capital of the elven coalition and was where the Royal Clan foundations are located. It is the oldest and most fortified elven city in which thousands of years of continuous advancement, investment on the cities defences has made it the most secure location in the elven lands. Their only hope now was to trust the Royal Clans ability to defend the city from the encroaching humans. Her Father and the others, an assortment of powerful elves from the Evergreen clan and elves from other tribes, some of which have joined have on the way here are in a rush to get to the capital city to recoup with the Royal Clan. They had ended up passing through their tribe since it was on the way to the capital city and her Father was considered decently strong among the group, therefore they did him a favour by allowing him an opportunity to warn the tribe. The preparations was quick, the tribe quickly gathered any valuables, resources that was a necessity for the trip like food and water. Some members of the tribe has prepared large wagons, unwilling to leave anything of value behind, her Father had to inform them their group was moving with haste and they would have to leave them behind to find their own way if they choose to do so. These stubborn individuals wouldn¡¯t change their stance and it was decided they would travel separately. It was the first time she saw any form of conflict in her tribe with them ignoring her Fathers warnings, she believed it maybe to do with them living in peace for far too long, they did not seem to fully grasp the threat the humans would possess if they do not reach the capital in time. It seemed even the elves were not perfect, these elves were senior to her Father and believe they knew better despite him being chief, to them the memory of humans was lowly. Their previous encounters with humans was just filled with memories of their inferiority to the elves in just about everything apart from planting their seed around. Soon enough it was time to leave. Hoatan was ready to follow her Fathers orders, however there was a problem with old man Arwen. Approaching her Father with an intense light in his eyes, Arwen said, ¡°Your making a mistake trusting a high clansman, throwing yourself in with the Royal Clan, you¡¯ll be dependent on them for the rest of your lives, it might be best for you, but for her, it will be throwing her into a prison without escape.¡± Arwens words shook the elves who stood nearby. Until now he was known as the wise, secluded old healer in the tribe, however the way he was speaking about the Royal Clan now was treasonous. No elf would dare speak of them like that, unity was viewed with great importance among them, additionally the credit to their peaceful community was down to the Royal Clan and the high clans protections and formations which clouded the land against the barbaric humans. Her Father attitude towards Arwen took an instant shift, he replied, ¡°I respect you greatly for the service you have done this tribe, Arwen, but the language your speaking right now is pure delusion.¡± Arwen face turned somber, a feeling of sadness as he looked towards her and said, ¡°You should trust me, you don¡¯t know them like I did, they are not the virtuous leaders you are lead to believe.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Knowing it would take more than that to gain their trust, Arwen revealed a badge to the crowd of elves who instantly realised what it meant. ¡°A High Druid?¡± An elf muttered. ¡°What is a member of the Druidic order doing here and why would he dare shun the Royal Clan who he serves?¡± Another elf said seriously. Her Fathers face turned to one of doubt when he realised who Arwen was as he seriously contemplated for the first time if the old man¡¯s words were to be taken as truth. In the end he loved his daughter and wife more than anything, if he were to risk them¡­ At that moment a loud ¡®hmph¡¯ sounded as wave of pressure emerged silencing the chattering elves. All eyes turned towards the origin of the pressure taking a gasp as they felt the pure elemental Qi radiating from them. Although the crowd of elves were unable to fully grasp his cultivation, it was obvious this elf was a Mage in the later tiers of the first realm. ¡°You a coward, who had forsaken your duties under the Royal Clan, to the elven people have no right to corrupt the minds of everyone present.¡± The elf said sharply. ¡°Is that Kais Evergreen the head of clan Evergreen?¡± An elf said. ¡°It sure is, served under him, if he said that about Arwen there must be some truth to it. Kais is truthful, partial. And an elf who would do that is no elf who should be respected even if he was formerly a member of that order.¡± Another elf replied. Kais Evergreen took that moment to smirk as he noticed the shift in the crowds moods, those who were a bit swayed instead now glared at Arwen with skepticism from his words. Her Father took that opportunity to say, ¡°Sorry Arwen, you done a lot for the tribe since your arrival, but I won¡¯t risk my daughters and wives livelihood all because you have some vendetta against the Royal Clan.¡± Arwen with Althaea alongside him took that moment to look around the crowd seeing their distrustful faces of the elves he knew that he would not be able to convince anyone no matter what he said. Arwen let out a light chuckle, looks like thousands of years of influence can¡¯t be unchanged even if he formed a positive impression living here a number of years. Kais grinned triumphantly seeing the elves dismiss Arwen so easy. He needed to make up for losing Fort Gasden which disrupted the formations protecting any human from entering. Now they had a horde of angry humans approaching them, he was still confident the capital will hold them out no matter what nefarious scheme the human emperor made, but he needed to bring a bunch of good seedlings to the Royal Clan to appease them, starting with the daughter of one of the tribal chiefs his clan ruled over. Just looking at her made his eyes light up in greed, he had only seen those features on the most valuable seedlings at the Royal Clan, she was sure to be worth a fortune to them. Arwen took that moment to speak again, ¡°I won¡¯t force you nor will I steal her from her family, I hope you won¡¯t regret your choice here today, I really do.¡± After that Arwen turned to leave, not before giving her one last look before doing so at that moment she felt a foreign voice enter her mind. ¡®I regretfully must leave you my disciple. I hope my fears turn out to not be the truth, but if you ever find yourself needing someone to turn to, head towards Rarmose Academy within the human lands, news of the outside world is suppressed here, but elves live on the outside and are welcome at the Academy, it is neutral and will take any student regardless of race, you will be safe there, mention to the headmaster if you run into any problems, we are old friends.¡¯ Arwen voice cryptically spoke into her mind. Instinctively turning her head around to see if anyone noticed him talking to her she found no one seemed to move or pay attention at all, not even the Evergreen clansman seemed to be any wiser. ¡®A delicate use of mental energy, what great control, it shows even in a lower realm you can¡¯t underestimate all the locals¡­¡¯ Cense choose that moment to speak in her mind. ¡®What was that?¡¯ Ava asked. ¡®Oh? Just a basic mental transmission skill, just was impressive how he managed to do it right under the nose of all those mages. You¡¯ll be able to do it easy enough with some training, all mages can learn it regardless of their elemental affinity.¡¯ Cense replied. Ava nodded, as everyone watched Arwen leave. Ava felt saddened by it, she wasn¡¯t sure if the old man was completely sane or reliable, but she knew he cared for her and treated her whole heartily as his apprentice. At that moment she felt the elf named Kais Evergreen approach her and her Father. A bright smile was on his beautiful features as he patted her Fathers back joyfully, ¡°Well done friend, it¡¯s best we get a move on, but I can assure you made the right choice, your daughter will receive the best treatment from the Royal Clan, there her limitless potential will be truly realised!¡± Her Father at that moment choose to look down at her with a smile for some reason Ava couldn¡¯t find herself to smile back. Chapter 22 - Forest Wyrm The commotion Arwen and Althaea caused before leaving did little to disrupt the elves. They soon left the tribe and started their way towards the capital. Kais Evergreen ordered there would be no further diversions on the way to the capital since there were no other tribes remaining directly in the path unless they take detours. A few of the elves from nearby tribes who have not been visited seemed displeased by this, but remained quiet since it was forbidden for an elf to speak up to a high clansman, especially from their ruling clan. Ava has felt gloomy since Arwen left on a negative note. She enjoyed learning herbology from him, some of her best moments so far have come from being under his teachings, being a young child she has been limited so far in what she could since arriving in this world, and having a mature soul made it frustrating to her. Arwen took her more seriously talking to her on a more mature level, even if all came from a major misunderstanding that her maturity was similar from his experience in dealing with children with a powerful soul. Althaea despite her initial reluctance was also a great magic instructor, she learnt to cast her first spells from her and she taught her magic! She had spent more time with them both than her own Father, although it was no fault of his own, she felt a bit angered he made an opinion for her, that he took her choice away. It was irrational she knew to an outsiders perspective she was just a young child, but it still displeased her that soon as her Father made up his mind for her future it was decided. She had no idea how the Royal Clan was like but her loyalty will not be secured just because her Father believes it¡¯s best for her to follow them obediently. Her Father and Mother seemed to notice her poor mood as they travelled, despite attempting to cheer her up, her Father even trying to drag stories from his travels she couldn¡¯t find the mood to engage with them. She knew it was immature, that she shouldn¡¯t be moping around like a child, her Father had disappeared for years and she should be putting in an effort to talk to him, yet she just couldn¡¯t find the motivation. Even when the usually stoic and stern Hoatan completely changed character in an attempt to cheer her up didn¡¯t work. And when her parents finally just accepted that she was just going through a tantrum and would be fine once she arrived, the whole group halted due to emergency sighting by the scouts. The panicked scouts arrived trying to talk to Kais Evergreen about something. All she heard was as one of them protesting about making a detour, but he was firmly rebooked by Kais who gave him a cold glare before reprimanding him. When everyone grew concerned and was starting to grow panicked, Kais took this moment to step up to calm everyone as he said, ¡°No worries everyone, just some overreacting from our scouts here, we will keep moving forward, you may witness a few dead carcasses of a bunch of beasts but this is merely a common sight here, nothing to worry about, the greater concern is the humans and I will not risk losing any of you by diverting ourself further, onward!¡± Ava found herself moving with the group obediently. She found it strange, the elves just obeyed his every word like a machine, not even the slightest hesitance filled their gaze as they followed Kais cryptic words as truth. Not one of them stepped forth to refute him, or put forward a counter argument, even the protesting scouts from earlier seem to follow vacantly, none of the previous concern in their eyes. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Even the elves at her tribe did not follow her Father with such blind fanaticism, they respected him as the tribe chief, but there was a secondary council of elders, the oldest of the tribe in place to challenge and offer second opinions to him, advising what is best for the tribe. They behaved as a community and ran harmoniously, but didn¡¯t follow blindly. On the other hand since Kais Evergreen has shown himself, everyone followed his commands perfectly, he would make an order and the elves would obey without question. Even her parents and Hoatan followed like blind sheep. At that moment a distasteful voice sounded in her head as Cense said, ¡®Mind Magic¡­ to dare use it on his own people. If one someone that high ranking among elves dare to use it like this, it does not bode well.¡¯ Ava has to suppress herself from making an outburst at Cense words, she did not want to draw any more attention than she is already receiving from that Kais fellow, he already seemed to watch her like a hawk at every opportunity as it is. ¡®What is mind magic? And why does it seem to not be working on me, or is it?¡¯ Ava said unsure if her actions are due to whatever this mind magic is. ¡®It is a distasteful type of magic, and is a rarer path of a mage. A Mind Mage uses others as their pawns, it is known for being a perverted form of magic as they can manipulate, influence others thoughts, no one trusts a mind mage as most of the time the most paranoid is the mind mage themselves, they view the need to control everything, to always ensure obedience and loyalty.¡¯ Cense described before pausing allowing her to digest the new information. The whole description of a what a mind mage is sounds disturbing, making her even more concerned over the possibility of being manipulated. ¡®How can you defend against it?¡¯ Ava asked, wondering how would you even be able to avoid such a powerful magic. ¡®It¡¯s not as strong as you may think. It is obvious mind magic is not that elves primary magic, he has a limited form of it, some talent but not a great deal. However it is enough to put suggestions into people¡¯s minds, if they are unprepared, they will find themselves agreeing with everything they say, going along with it, it works perfectly with cultivations much weaker than yourself, but if any of these people here knew about it and offer any resistance suddenly the illusion will break. Mind magic is powerful but Mages are naturally resistant with their strong souls, warriors have great mental resilience, but are usually more vulnerable, you on the other hand, as long as I¡¯m present you don¡¯t have to worry about a mind mage, being connected to your soul, as a soul artefact I naturally make you resistant to such soul manipulations.¡¯ Cense explained making the idea of a mind mage much less terrifying. ¡®Then what even is his goal? Where are we even going?¡¯ Ava asked, unsure where he was even directing them. ¡®Pay attention to your surroundings, listen, recall your teachers instructions. Look at the bark of the trees, the ground, what does this show?¡¯ Cense asked making her finally focus intently on the surroundings. It was then she noticed. The bark had deep jagged intrusions into it, like a claw was swiped across it. The only thing is the trees were absolutely massive, the bark was crazy thick, to leave such a mark, which appeared to be the claws of some beast it must have been ginormous. Looking at the ground she saw similar signs, near them was large foot prints, seeming fairly fresh, they were walking right into the territory of a magical beast. Something big. She suddenly felt a deep sense of terror as the further they moved she finally saw the beasts the scout was on about. Pools of blood lay everywhere, and an entire pack of large green wolves lay strewn about in pieces, barely recognisably. She realised they were wind wolves. Wind wolves were around the third or fourth tier in strength, and an alpha can be up to the sixth tier, a pack of them slaughtered like this, they weren¡¯t even able to put up a fight. Some of the elves in the group seemed to wake up from the foggy cloud the mind magic seem to place over their mind. Even Kais manipulation couldn¡¯t convince them everything appeared normal, that they shouldn¡¯t feel threatened. However it was too late as the loudest roar she had ever heard sounded. That was when she saw it. A large head resembling a dragon from folklore, two big horns, a row of sharp, jagged teeth, deep, piercing green eyes, it body was long and round like a snake, having two front legs with massive talons, wingless with a large jagged spiked tail, it was covered head to toe in thick dark green scales. An elf screamed the name of the beast before she could even react, ¡°A Forest Wyrm! Run!¡± And that was when all hell let loose as the beast leapt towards the front of the group in a blur of motion tearing into the elves like they were made of glass. The next thing she felt was her Father grabbing ahold of her passing her to Hoatan as he screamed for them to run. Chapter 23 - Betrayal Ava naively thought she would mentally ready to see monsters like this, now she realised how delusional she was. The Forest Wyrm was terrifying. It made the most fearsome predators in her previous world look like kittens. It was three times the size of even the biggest reptiles she remembered back on earth, everything about the beast seemed designed to kill, starting from its razor sharp talons that cut the elves into ribbons, or it¡¯s crocodile-like snout that was filled with sharp teeth, which met no resistance as she heard the elves bodies gave a sickening crunch when it ate them whole. The Forest Wyrm seemed to treat the life-death battle the elves were facing as sport, it was so at ease at the way it butchered down the elves like flies, the sharp weapons, the arrow fired with excellent precision and technique towards it all meant nothing to the tough scales of the beast, everything just bounced off harmlessly not even leaving a scratch. It did not feel threatened at all by the elves futile assault, helping itself to the feast that fell upon its lap all while the elves continued to desperately attack it with everything they have. Almost everyone anyways. The most oddest thing during the battle was Kais Evergreen himself, he just stood on the side with a detached look like everything had nothing to do with him, all whilst he and the most powerful mages of the group alongside him, instead of offering much needed support just seemed to stand there and watch the elves get killed. Ava even found it strange that she was somehow still here. She thought as soon as Father gave Hoatan the order to run whilst he handed her to him would mean the elves would all split up and escape from the terrifying beast, after all they were in a large group, the Forest Wyrm could only kill so many of them and it was only acting so aggressively because they clearly intruded on its territory. She began to feel something is going awfully wrong. The way Cense described to her Kais Evergreen shouldn¡¯t be able to do something like this, however the glassy look in the Mages eyes as they seemed to refuse to move, to help the people at the front fight the beast, they just remain still even as it grew to the stage where the Wyrm killed the majority of the group and was getting closer to them. In fact the odd thing was everyone fighting the beast seemed to be the weakest members of the group, why haven¡¯t the strongest stepped up? These where their family, their tribe, people they grew up with yet they did not seem to care! ¡®Another mind mage¡­ much more powerful, he¡¯s trying to¡­¡¯ it was when Cense seen to realise something as his voice grew panicked, ¡®Ava, he¡¯s removing all the mortals and those with weak potential, your mother!¡® At that moment she locked eyes with the Forest Wyrm. The cold unfeeling gaze of the beast sent a shiver down her soul. She did not know what happened next all she saw was a blur and the feeling of warm liquid splash on her face. It was that moment her Father seemed to break out of whatever hypnosis he was under and let out an earth shattering scream. Disoriented she did not know what happened, only that her Father seemed to charge the Forest Wyrm fresh of another kill in a fit of fury like she had never seen before in him. The Forest Wyrm cold eyes seemed to regard her Father impassively, it did not even feel the need to move from his blade coming down at it. However the next words spoken seemed to make it feel fear for the first time. ¡°Shows over beast, guess it¡¯s time to introduce myself as the hero¡­¡± Kais Evergreen said as a massive wave of Qi built up around him indicating he was about to cast a spell. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The Wyrm sensing danger for the first time tried to move in response but was unable to respond in time. ¡°Earth Collaspe¡± Kais whispered before the world of earth seemed to gather around the Wyrm. It screamed it agony but it¡¯s tough scales and hide could do little more than slow down it¡¯s agonising death as the earth seemed to collapse around it, pushing into it, squeezing the beast to death until it turned into meat paste. Her Father had long been sent flying back and laid on the floor like a heap whilst the seemingly invincible Wyrm was squished to death under the suffocating earth. ¡®Monarch level spell¡­ that man could have stopped the beast the moment it appeared, no matter how strong the Wyrm is, it¡¯s only in the ninth tier of the first realm, even if it has a minor dragon bloodline it cannot go up against a Mage Monarch¡­¡¯ Cense said in shock before he noticed she was stood there shivering. ¡®What what¡­ how can he let Mum¡­¡¯ Ava muttered brokenly. ¡®Listen Ava get yourself together¡­ you got to pretend to follow their story obediently, the mind mage won¡¯t notice anything amiss this is a wide range spell to rewrite what happens in these peoples mind, you cannot show anything otherwise they¡¯d become aware that their magic is useless against you¡­¡¯ Cense warnings filled her mind but she still couldn¡¯t get over her shock. It was then Kais Evergreen took the moment to approach her with a jubilant smile on his face. ¡°Ahaha, my little star still alive and well, bet it was cool seeing me squeeze that little dragon to death wasn¡¯t it?¡± Kais said with amusement in his voice. Ava just nodded dumbly at the man before she looked up into his eyes. At that moment Kais shivered thinking he saw a coldest in those eyes that reminded him of his leaders but they quickly reverted to the dumb glazed up look like the rest of the elves. Kais smiled thinking how silly was he to be spooked by some little child. Rubbing Ava¡¯s smooth hair he murmured, ¡°How lucky the Royal Clan get to enjoy servants like you, a child with your talent only comes in such rare instances¡­ judging by your soul potential to become a Monarch Water Mage, I¡¯m going to get such a big merits bringing you in, now come along now, time to go we got to get to the capital with haste¡­¡± She walked with him for a while before another Elf made his presence known. ¡®Mind Mage¡¯ she thought, unlike Kais she felt he was much more powerful, he had a regal air about him, an aura that gave off a sense of superiority. ¡°Sire, glad you have reached us, I¡¯m surprised the Royal Clan sent a mage of your level to do such a minor, little thing.¡± Kais Evergreen said the encounter with the Wyrm insignificant in his eyes. ¡°Well, since you have let the humans break open our farming grounds, ruining thousands of years of preparation we no longer have the means to take half measures in such instances¡­ now where is the prospects¡­¡± The cold elf said before his eyes laid on her. At that moment she could feel the assessing look in his eyes as he appraised her with dispassionate gaze. He turned to Kais with a single word, ¡°Good.¡± Kais eyes lit up at the praise showing he did not get such an answer often. All she could do was pretend that she was happy, that she did not hate them, it was the first time she felt a real desire to kill another person. Her kind mother lost her life to these bunch of heartless men who just wanted to make them move a bit quicker to the capital, so they could not waste any resources on the untalented, the mortals. At that moment her eyes turned an even icier blue than before as a cold, dangerous aura left her. ¡®Listen Ava you got to settle down¡­ your starting to manipulate Astral Qi¡¯ Cense warned as she felt as if a splash of cold water was thrown onto her face causing her to reign in her feelings. Kais did not seem to notice anything amiss as he still seemed high in the feeling of praise from the cold elf. ¡°Now little one time for you to have a little sleep¡­¡± Kais said eerily. At that moment Ava felt the suggestion of sleep fill her mind. She could choose to ignore it, but she decided she did not want to, she wanted to sleep now. However she would remember. Kais Evergreen. The cold elf from the Royal Clan. She was going to get her revenge for this betrayal. Why did the being who brought her here bring her such happiness to tear it all away from her again? Resentment. She was going to use the gifts the being reincarnated her for to burn them down, to tear apart the Royal Clan and it¡¯s foundations. She cannot allow this to happen again, all she needed was strength, if she had the strength then wouldn¡¯t none of this happen? She will store the rage within her deep, though for now all she wanted to do was sleep. And that was when her consciousness went black and she entered a peaceful slumber. Cense looked over her worriedly not knowing what monster these elves have created. Chapter 24 - Orgrasan Hunters Upon awakening Ava felt herself being carried alongside the group of elves, one which was far smaller compared to before. It seemed all of the weaker ones, the mortals and cultivators with very low potential had been culled making them push a much faster pace than before. She along with the other prospect children were carried in the arms usually by a family member who had survived the Wyrm attack. Her Father had been mostly silent, a lot more somber compared to before. The life seemed to have been sucked out of him, the cheerful man happy to be reunited with his family from before after experiencing hell in the war with the humans was nowhere to be seen. She noticed the mind mage seemingly removed his influence after the incident, his work done. Everyone seemed to believe the Wyrm attacked the group suddenly with them taking disastrous losses, if it was not for the efforts of Kais Evergreen and his mages everyone would have been lost. The great fullness the group felt towards him made Ava felt sickened, however she could do nothing but be passive in this situation, as a child she was powerless against his influence. She would just make the situation worse for her and ruin any hope of her getting revenge in the future. At least she could be honest with Cense, her Father and Hoatan as much as she cared for them where liabilities at the moment, Hoatan seemed to have barely made it out alive since he was one of the weaker elves who survived the attack. If he was any weaker he probably would¡¯ve just been another casualty. She was had already resigned herself that she will likely be dragged to the capital with these lot. Seeing the cold elf from the Royal Clan from earlier she had little hope the rest of them was any better. She just wondered how did it end up like this. Why were the higher up among the elves here all corrupt and seem to be mind mages? Even Cense said it was unusual, mind mages are rare as it is, and no community like this one would usually have them as their leaders. Elves were not even known for mind magic in the first place, that was more of a Dark Elf forte according to Cense. It was then a heated argument was sounded interrupting her thoughts. The cold elf from earlier seemed to be lecturing Kais Evergreen. ¡°You mean you thought the humans would just let you go?¡± He argued. ¡°Well¡­ we lost them in the forest didn¡¯t we? Humans are bunch of slow, inferior beings, horses and the heavy armour they wear are impractical on these forests, no one knows them better than us! How can they possibly¡­¡± Before Kais could finish the cold elf gave him a hard slap. ¡°You fool, how can you not take any measures? The formation is down¡­ those damn Orgrasan Hunters can bring their Wyverns here unimpeded now, they may already be.¡± Before the cold elf could finish a horrible shriek sounded before an elf in the distance screamed a warning. ¡°Humans!¡± The cold elf immediately told everyone to get into battle formations. His cold eyes bore into his subordinates as he said, ¡°They¡¯ve been silent following us for now, to make them show themselves now just before we reach the capital¡­ they¡¯ve found a target.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. It was then a swoosh was heard, the sound came from above. They had went through miles of forest already in their travels. She had no idea how long it had been since they had left since much of it went in a blur, but they have entered a clearing, for the first time above them wasn¡¯t covered by the ginormous trees that stretched most of the elven lands. Having a clear view of the skies, she found the clear, blue sky, with the sun rays shining down on her face beautiful, however that quickly turned into horror as she realised numerous large shadows started to get close to them. How did anyone not notice flying beasts that large? That was answered when the flying beasts seemed to be piloted by heavily dark armoured figures. She thought they appeared intimidating but the cold Royal Elf looked at them like they were a bunch of annoying flies as he ordered the mages to launch spells at them. It was then a barrage of spells was shot at the encroaching humans who similar shown no fear. The humans weaved out of the way with their flying beasts, which she noticed to be some type of dragon, they avoided the larger spells, as for the unavoidable spells, they drew their blades, cutting into them seeming to disperse the Qi around the spell causing its disintegration. ¡®Spell swords! Interesting path but for most specialising into two paths usually limits your future, surprised there¡¯s a bunch been trained in this place. The one at the lead particularly impressive, he may give those elves some trouble.¡¯ Cense said narrating the battle to her. She had no idea what to make of what a spell sword is. Someone who trains as a Mage or Warrior, would that make her one? She did not care either way, if it gave her the power to defeat those who hurt her she will use it. Some of the Elves grew panicked as they grew closer, it was time for the humans to counterattack the volley of spells being thrown at them. A wave of chanting sounded as the humans launched a string of spells back, some of them send a blast of condensed Air Qi from their blades towards them like wind wolves. However the Elven mages were similarly prepared casting defensive spells to protect them. Yet some of the spells struck true, tearing into the elven ranks, sending them sprawling and causing chaos. It was that moment Kais Evergreen grew furious, focusing on one of the human riders he launched another monarch level spell. The human was powerful clearly, he rode a strong dragon magical beast at the ninth tier, yet he clearly could not take Kais attacks head on with him attempting to evade using the quick speed of the Wyvern. Nonetheless the cold elf belonging to the a Royal Clan choose this moment to chant a spell locking the Wyvern in place, allowing Kais spell to hit it point blank. ¡°Earth Lance¡± Kais shouted as a large spear of earth shot like a lightning bolt downing the flying Wyvern, piercing its protective scales like nothing it was skewered in the air slaying it sending the Wvyern body flying down to the earth like it¡¯s rider. ¡°Hmph.¡± Kais said looking gloatingly up to the remaining riders who looked furious at losing one of their own. The lead rider took this moment to bark orders as they reverted back into battle formation. It was that moment she felt a large hand wrap around her own. ¡°We¡¯re leaving ok? Keep quiet.¡± Her Father held her firmly, as Hoatan remained staring blankly at the humans in the air. Her Father seemed to break out of the mind magic? ¡®Your Father has some willpower, my previous owners have seen warriors far above him in strength fail to break free even as they watch their family slaughtered, now is as good time as any to leave.¡¯ Cense said, Ava found herself agreeing with him. Hoatan was close to her, but her best chance at getting away to enforce any type of revenge in future is now. She had no idea what awaited her in the capital but it couldn¡¯t be good. The Orgrasan hunters reorganised came swooping back with even more firepower, losing one of their own they knew the elf to target on. Kais Evergreen found himself swamped with attacks making him spend a lot of energy to repel them. The lead human especially was pressing him badly. ¡°Do something¡­¡± he screamed to the cold elf nearby. However Ava had no idea what happened next as her Father took this opportunity to break off in a sprint fleeing from the scene. Soon she found her vision shifting as they moved at a high speed, the remaining thing she heard was a scream shouting in their direction as they tried to escape. Chapter 25 - Escape Ava felt the wind breeze against her face as her Father broke into a blinding speed away from the elves. She was unable to tell the reaction from those left behind since she was carried from the front by her Father, in which they moved so swiftly she was unable to comprehend what is happening yet judging by the shouting that continued to follow them someone was pursuing them in chase. Ava felt her heart pounding despite not exerting herself unlike her Father, can they truly get away from those powerful elves? Her Father was only at the fifth tier, which although considered very strong in their small tribe is nothing compared to a Monarch like Kais. Cense already explained that a Monarch was someone who belonged in the second realm of cultivation and they were far stronger than first realm cultivators. Even most peak ninth tier warriors in the first realm is nothing compared to even the weakest Monarch, never mind her Father who was in the fifth. The only relieving thing was that Kais was clearly a mage meaning his physical attributes was low compared to a Warrior. Not many can excel in both paths, it was incredibly rare for a dual cultivator Monarch since most can¡¯t even get to the second realm even when specialising in one path never mind multiple. In the distance she suddenly felt the battle intensify as the reverberations reached her, despite the battle being a good distance away since her Father had been running for a while with her by now. ¡®The Human Monarch has acted and they¡¯re not holding back, Monarchs rarely let loose like this among lower cultivators as even being near a battle of between Monarchs is deadly for anyone under the second realm, I¡¯m afraid the others¡­¡¯ Cense warning reminded her of Hoatan. She thought he would be safe with the elves since he had served under them previously in which he mentioned his exploits under the Evergreens and came back safely, yet now they had left him behind in a deadly war zone. ¡®You couldn¡¯t have done anything for him, the mind magic has infiltrated his mind deep, it was his good fortune he wasn¡¯t the sole target of the spell and the trauma of your mother passing that woke up your Father, he knew he could only try to save you and made that choice for a reason.¡¯ Cense explained making her realise her immaturity. She often thought of him as like a little brother when he made some snarky, light comments, yet how many times did he have to be the one to console her. If she didn¡¯t have him around to vent on mentally, she¡¯d likely be an emotional wreck of a child on the outside, it¡¯s time like this when the soul artefact shown just how old he actually was no matter how he presented himself at times. It was at that moment she had to stop worrying about Hoatan, instead she should focus on themselves as her Father made a break for the cover of the trees. In the distance the voices grew closer and she noticed her Father seemed to tense slightly as he realised who it was. Starting to move swiftly through the forest, her Father moved expertly, navigating the shrubs, large trees, overgrown wildlife like an expert, barely pausing as he transversed the forest like it was his backyard. Her Father did his best to lose them, she thought he would succeed until midway through his jump a large gust of wind hit them sending them flying into a tree. She felt body flying through the air before her Father safely wrapped himself around her, taking the full brunt of the force as his back slammed into the thick tree. ¡°Agh¡± her Father groaned as he slide down the tree, checking her in his arms he looked down to her, he said, ¡°You alright, you¡¯re not hurt are you?¡± Her Fathers worried and caring gaze made her feel guilty for being too harsh on him the past days under the corrupt elves. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She did not emphasise enough, he had lost her mother too, and it was well known in the tribe they had been childhood friends, she was the love of his life and he watched her die in front of him without being able to do anything to save her. Kais Evergreen miscalculated in his treatment, he thought mind magic would allow him to get away with anything but he took things too far in his manipulations. She looked up with a sad smile on her face, ¡°I¡¯m alright Dad, how are you?¡± Her Father looked back with a look of sadness before it changed to a slight grin as he said, ¡°I¡¯m ok sweetheart, this is little whack ain¡¯t nothing to your Father!¡± Ava smiled but the atmosphere was ruined when a loud laugh sounded. ¡°Adorable!¡± a voice said as her Father turned gloomy realising he forgot that they had company. Two elven men entered, they were young, beautiful in appearance like most elves, tall and strong looking, they resembled warriors however the wave of Qi shot by one of them clearly indicated mage training. ¡®Elven spell swords, weaker than the mounted humans though, but around the same tier as your Father yet focused on two paths, troublesome opponents.¡¯ Cense quickly assessed judging the aura released by the two. ¡°Listen Algar and Elex, don¡¯t force me to bring back my daughter to the man that killed my wife, just let us go in peace, I won¡¯t interfere with anything else, I just want to raise my daughter in peace like my wife would have wanted. We have served together for many years, I have put my life on the line for you many times as you have did me, for my sake just let me go, say I have escaped.¡± Xandas said pleadingly on his knees. He never had to beg like this in his life, but he was willing to do so for his daughter. Elex gaze softened as he look at his old friend for a moment but Algar just laughed. ¡°Always one for theatrics old friend. You know what I get if I fail that Kais? I¡¯d probably live, still valuable to them, but I don¡¯t want to get punished for you and your dead sluts daughter sake. Now pick up and your sword and die like a man.¡± Algar said venomously as he spat on the floor. Elex felt conflicted but still gripped his sword tightly, he knew Algar had always been jealous of Xandas talent in swordsmanship, besting him in repeated spars when it came to just using the blade, even if he could use magic at a limited level, something Xandas could never replicate it did nothing to soothe his ego and hate at being embarrassed by some lower tribesman over and over in the drill sessions among the Evergreens. Xandas gaze hardened, turning cold, no longer showing any cordiality to the man who disrespected him as he proposed, ¡°How about for old times sake then? Me and you, battle it out? No limits on anything this time, let us determine who¡¯s the best once and for all?¡± Algar rushed to respond before Elex could interrupt saying, ¡°I accept! Back down Elex, he¡¯s mine. You really think you can best me without me holding back, so you? Only reason you won that many times is the barbaric limitation of only using the blade, I¡¯ve been waiting to teach your arrogant ass a lesson.¡± Elex tried to intervene and tell Algar it was best to end this quickly, but the other elf pushed him aside making him just back off in defeat. Algar smirked seeing Xandas ready his blade as he replied, ¡°Now now pretty boy, I¡¯ve been waiting to bash up that smug face.¡± Enhancing himself with his Battle Qi he swung blindingly fast, but Xandas easily parried batting away his blade, however Algar was a spell sword for a reason, charging a quick incarnation Xandas felt a gust of wind throwing him back making him lose his balance before Algar was already upon him. Narrowly blocking, Xandas found himself on the defensive having to defend against the sudden gusts of winds appearing to disrupt him, backing off continuously finally there was a sufficient enough distance for Algar to use a powerful incarnation. ¡°Wind Blade!¡± He murmured sending a massive blade of air towards Xandas who burst forward in a role, missing the massive Qi blade of air that hit the tree behind him splitting it into two. ¡°I always wanted to end you with my blade!¡± Algar said smugly as he brought his sword down onto the floored Xandas who hurriedly blocked it, feeling the strain in his arms as Algar pressed down using his superior momentum to direct the blade towards his neck. Ava felt herself looking on with pure fear for her Father. The both of them moved so blindingly fast she could barely catch the battle itself. Both use of the sword was incredible, the technique, prowess and physical ability on display was mind blowing. It put into perspective how strong warriors were, she could only imagine how powerful a Warrior Monarch would be. Algar grinned as he felt victory was going to be his, savouring it, he said, ¡°Looks like end of the line for you old friend, just want to let you know I¡¯m going to enjoy handing your daughter back alongside your decapitated head.¡± It was that moment Algar felt his legs go under him as he was flipped onto the ground. Before he could react he let out a gargling sound as a blade was swiftly swiped across his neck. ¡°Always too focused on your blade attacks and magic, like I told you before, you really need to pay attention to the feet.¡± Xandas lectured to him as he heard his last words before his death. Chapter 26 - Druid Xandas returned to his feet in triumph however there was no expression of victory on his face, instead a grave look remained. Ava felt even more nervous for her father as Elex regarding him calmly seeming unperturbed by her fathers victory. ¡°Elex just let us go, you know them better than I do, I was stupid for thinking my daughter can have a life inside the capital, don¡¯t let her be punished for her fathers mistakes.¡± Her fathers pleading seemed to move Elex but it was not enough. ¡°Xandas, I respect you, you are a true elf, unlike that fool.¡± Elex said gesturing down to the fallen Algar before continuing, ¡°Though you know I can¡¯t let you go, their influence runs deeper than you think, why else do you think we sat back and let them be? We¡¯re trapped as much as the ignorant, few of us have our mental faculties, it¡¯s not worth the price to save one girl that needs time to grow, time we don¡¯t have.¡± Her Father face seemed to turn gloomy upon realising he cannot change his resolve, trying one last time he said, ¡°Elex¡­¡± ¡°Enough! Whatever you say will not convince me, prepare your blade.¡± Elex replied. Her Father gripped his blade intently, however deep down he knew this was a battle he cannot win, Elex was far stronger than Algar yet he did not waver as he faced the crushing aura from Elex. Nonetheless despite Xantas¡¯s determination to protect his daughter this was a fight he had no chance in from the start. All Ava saw was a blur as her Father¡¯s body was thrown backwards, his sword snapped into two from the force of meeting Elex¡¯s swing, a large gash was left on his chest as his armour was left shredded beyond recognition. Ava screamed as she saw her Father¡¯s prone body as he appeared still. ¡°You monster!¡± Ava shouted at Elex in frustration, tears started to spill from her little face. She couldn¡¯t hold it no more. First her mother, second Hoatan who is likely also dead and now her Father laid before her, bleeding out on the floor from trying to protect her. It was all her fault, if only she was strong enough they wouldn¡¯t have had to die in order to save her. ¡®Pay attention Ava, your father still lives¡­¡¯ Cense voice filled her mind. It was then she noticed despite the grievous wound, her Father chest was still rhythmically going up and down. ¡°He¡¯s alive¡­¡± Ava breathed a sigh of relief however she forgot about the one who put him like that in the first place. Elex sighed looking at Xantas¡¯s prone body as he said, ¡°You truly are talented in swordsmanship, that strike was to kill the fact you managed to block me despite my cultivation being magnitudes stronger is a testament to you. Maybe in a hundred or so years you¡¯d surpass me, but alas it seems your fate is to die here.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Elex gaze hardened as he walked to Xantas, his sword raised as he was prepared to finish off his opponent. However at that moment his demeanour changed to one in surprise and shock, raising his blade he swung it in another direction, behind him towards the charging behemoth that appeared out of no where. ¡°Fiend Bear¡± Elex shouted in apprehension as his sword uselessly bounced off the bears hide. The Fiend Bear roared before it swatted at him with its huge paw sending him flying. Elex felt a wave of apprehension as he felt the force of the strike, shouting, ¡°What the hell is a Fiend Bear doing here?¡± Ava looked upon the huge bear with a wave of fear. The bear would not look small even next to the giant Forest Wyrm. She was wondering if their situation just got even worse. Her Father was left injured on the ground meaning she could not get away even if she wanted too, since it would be a terrible idea for a young child to run around in a forest filled with magical beasts. If Elex was able to beat the bear, then she would end up a prisoner by the Royal Clan, her Father would die and if the bear won they¡¯d all end up dead. She was starting to ponder if ending up in a bears stomach was better than living as a prisoner for the rest of her life. That was when the bears eyes met her and she found it looked strangely familiar. ¡®Hello young in, sorry for your master being late, I was delayed¡­¡¯ A voice sounded in her mind. Did the bear just speak? Wait didn¡¯t he sound just like¡­ ¡®Your thinking correctly, Arwen¡¯s a Druid, which is a very rare class, not exactly a mage but related in ways. Looks like he¡¯s been following us¡­¡¯ Cense said with clear enthusiasm in his voice. It was then Elex seemed to notice something too. ¡°Damned Druid! I know those eyes anywhere, a Druid meddling in the Royal Clans business, are you damn crazy!¡± Elex cursed in frustration as he struggled to hold back the bears rampant attacks. Arwen replied in a grizzly, deep voice, ¡°Better than trading your morals to serve those who have betrayed our ways, the Royal Clan has long stopped acting like true elves.¡± Elex held of sadness knowing Arwen was right, however he could not go back now, not after everything he did. Knowing this was a fight he was never going to win it would be best to retreat and get reinforcements. Nonetheless right when the thought of retreating came upon his mind, he felt himself being suddenly binded by thick vines. ¡°You should pay attention to your surroundings young one, well maybe next time¡­¡± Arwen voice sounded before he felt his vision go black as the bear paw closed in on his face. With Elex slumped in the bindings of vegetation unconscious, the bear turned around to regard Ava and her prone father. Ava was about to open her mouth to ask a barrage of questions however she was interrupted by Arwen before she can do so. ¡°I will answer whatever questions you may have, but first I will need to act with haste if I want to save your Fathers life, he is almost gone, to take a full powered attack from a cultivator multiple tiers above him, it¡¯s miracle enough he¡¯s still breathing.¡± Arwen deep voice sounded. Ava found herself nodding realising the precariousness of the situation. Seeing her mentor as a big bear was the last of her worries, at least she seemed to be saved; well for now. Chapter 27 - Spotted Ava stood there watching Arwen in his big bear form wondering his plan to heal her Father, that was quickly demonstrated when he turned his large head appearing to shout at nothing. ¡°You can come out now¡­¡± Arwen said loudly. It was then Althaea came jumbling out of the forest, seeming greatly ruffled since she last saw her. Her pristine and clean image seemed completely gone as twigs, tears decorated her cloak. Althaea huffed and puffed seeming overly dramatic as she said, ¡°I haven¡¯t had to exercise that much in ages¡­¡± ¡°Althaea no time for jokes, we have an injured one.¡± Arwen lectured snapping the young elf out of it. ¡°Oh yeah, my bad; though don¡¯t worry I got this. I¡¯ve healed worse.¡± Althaea said confidently as she began chanting a spell with complete concentration on her face. A great amount of Water Qi gathered around Althaea as she said, ¡°Greater Heal.¡± Condensed Water Qi began slithering over her Father body, being absorbed into his skin through the wounds leaving behind perfect spotless skin as the wounds seemed to vanish, knitting themselves back together. Her Father suddenly looked stable after the spell washed over his body, yet she can still tell by the pale complexion on his face and the deep breathing, that even with the spell healing most of the damage the deathly wounds had taken a toil on his body. ¡°Now hoist him onto my back, I¡¯d love to have a proper discussion about this all, but we are pressed for time.¡± Arwen said seriously. On the other hand Ava now seeing her Father life was no longer threatened stared at the unconscious Elex coiled in vines. ¡°What about him?¡± Ava said in an eerie bloodthirsty tone. Arwen eyes widened in surprise as if seeing Ava for the first time, he did not expect the usual carefree child he knew to talk like that. However knowing what she¡¯s likely been through these past days he looked at her with sad expression as he said, ¡°Child it¡¯s best not to walk down that path, the sad thing of a soul like yours is your perception of the world is shaped far quicker than a child your age should experience. But don¡¯t let this determine who are you, that is a man following orders, he¡¯s not the real culprit who has hurt you. Violence for violence is never the right outcome.¡± Ava shakes her head off her previous thoughts turning her expression neutral. She was surprised how easy the thought of killing Elex came just then, she felt afraid that she allowed Arwen to see her true thoughts so easily, she was concerned of what he may think of her, she knew he didn¡¯t think of her as a normal child, nonetheless how would he truly act if he knew the truth behind how she felt. Ava felt she was always a pragmatic person. In her previous world she dealt with things in a logical way, never letting personal feelings cloud her judgement, she knew Arwen was a man who detested true violence. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. She knew that just from dealing with him, he would defend himself and others but would never aim to truly kill or cause permanent harm. The way he disabled Elex without truly injuring him is a testament to that. However she felt his outlook was naive. Sometimes people cannot be reasoned with. She saw the type of men Kais and that cold elf are. They will never stop committing evil until they were stopped permanently. Elex was following orders but he still stood by watching innocents like her mother being killed. He also tried to kill her Father despite knowing the wrongness to it and was fully intending to hand her over to the Royal Clan knowing what awaited her. Someone who passively accepts a dictatorship and allowed it to happen was not completely blameless in her eyes. He still carried out many evil things even if he was under the orders of another. She would bury these feelings from Arwen though, he was a good man and she did not have the capacity to argue since she was just a pure burden at this moment in time to them. Cense tried to comfort her at that moment seeming to sense her feelings though she brushed him off telling him she was fine. At moments she thought the spirit resembled more of a counsellor than an artefact to help her growth, it was like the entity seemed to know she has a high probability of going mentally unstable being thrown into such a chaotic world. Maybe she already had lost her mind. She experienced more pain and suffering in the last few days than her previous life and the beginning of this one combined. She experienced her parents dying before, though she was way too young to really comprehend it at the time, now she had to watch one of them die in front of her and was not able to hide from it. Arwen looked at her sadly seeming to sense the detached look in her face. ¡°Sorry I wasn¡¯t there little one¡­¡± Arwen seemed to mumble before Althaea came behind her lifting her up. ¡°Come up with auntie.¡± Althaea said chuckling with delight. She had grown to love Ava over the past year teaching her, seeing her as a niece. She always had a weakness for cuteness but Ava took that to another level, she was like a little doll, she couldn¡¯t help but hug her tight every time she held her. Ava didn¡¯t resist. She felt it comforting after what she¡¯s been through and she was already used to being fused over, even she can¡¯t deny she was a ridiculously cute child. Soon enough she was on the back of the large bear alongside Althaea who was holding her, and her Father who had been strapped on the back. Her Father was groaning but remained unconscious, despite being healed, he had been on the brink of death and the restoration from the healing magic took much out of him. Arwen started moving on the forest with them on his back. His pace was much faster than her Fathers despite the load of his passengers. Althaea held her tightly making sure she did not lose her balance and her Father was safely secured. The travel was smooth despite them moving so swiftly and they already moved a good distance away from the battle between the humans and elves. However just when Ava thought she had lost them a horrible shriek sounded nearby. ¡°Humans!¡± Arwen mumbled. ¡°This couldn¡¯t just end simply could it? Those damn Ironclaw Wyverns, probably smelt us after retreating from the elves.¡± Althaea muttered remembering something continuing. ¡°Damnit! Cleanse! How could I be so careless!¡± Right after she chanted the blood on Xandas clothes seemed to vanish as the Water Qi left it spotless. ¡°Ahh, this can be resolved simple enough. I¡¯ll take care of this one, just a few lone humans from the main group, I¡¯m sure I can persuade them to end this meeting on peaceful terms.¡± Arwen said optimistically. Ava on the other hand for some reason didn¡¯t believe things would go that simply knowing humans are involved. Chapter 28 - Humans The humans moved fast. They swooped down on their Wyverns near them careful to avoid the large trees. One of the humans, a man with a moustache, appearing middle-aged was the first to speak, ¡°I don¡¯t recognise you lot, but my friend here smelt something odd, you with those usurpers, Druid?¡± She could sense the aggressiveness from the two humans soon after he said that. They really must hate the elves, the Royal Clan in particular it seems, not she could blame them, she was starting to get a good idea they were not the best of characters. Looked like the only thing holding them back was Arwen¡¯s status as a Druid; being his strength or reputation. ¡°You know we Druids don¡¯t interfere with politics, we do not fight the wars which our people start, I merely wish to take this girl to safety from those who would wish to use her for their personal gain, which is why I must request you let us leave peacefully, we will not interfere with your Emperors plans.¡± Arwen said firmly. The humans looked at them oddly, before they truly took them in for the first time, that was when she noticed their eyes widen as they examined her more seriously. ¡°Is she a¡­¡± one of the humans murmured. ¡°Got to be one of them, I¡¯ve seen elves who look like that and they are always¡­¡± the moustached human replied. She did not have a good feeling about this, it turns out Althaea noticed as her grip on her seemed to tighten. The silence was tense but the moustached human came to a conclusion, ¡°Alright Druid, we¡¯ll let you go¡­¡± Arwen was about to move at that moment but the human did not stop, ¡°But first hand over the child, she isn¡¯t even yours, is she? This can all end peacefully if you give her up, we know what she is, no elf with features like that is ordinary, you think our Emperor would be pleased if we let go a¡­¡± ¡°Bind¡± Althaea silently chanted catching the human off guard as thick vines shot out of the earth and trees wrapping around him and his mount. The Wyvern screamed, thrashing against its bindings, the human tried to use his weapon to swipe at the thick vines to no avail. ¡°Sneaky witch¡± the other human cursed as he gestured to lift his Wyvern up to make space. Ava on the other hand was watching the scenes with shock. ¡®What Magic was that?¡¯ She thought. ¡®A dual element mage, surprising, water and wood, what an interesting combination. She¡¯s been hiding things from you she ain¡¯t a mere Tier 3 Mage at all.¡¯ Cense added. ¡°Wood Spike¡± Althaea continued chanting spells without pausing ignoring the humans curses. Big spikes of dense wood shot out towards the human mid air who hurriedly maneuvered the Wyvern in an attempt to dodge, but still failed to escape unscathed as the spikes landed on the Wyvern. The Wyvern screeched in pain taking the brunt of the spell. Though it seemed to escape any significant damage as the beasts sturdy scales protected it well. ¡°You will pay for that¡± The human cursed however surprisingly instead of engaging further he took that opportunity to retreat swiftly. ¡®Smart. Knew he was outmatched the moment he saw her level of magic, a powerful Druid and Mage combined is a formidable combination. Though this may be troublesome now that he can bring reinforcements.¡¯ Cense said worriedly. Althaea on the other hand was not happy at the human escaping and said, ¡°Damnit, now those humans are going to hound us all the way out of here! Ahhh, sometimes I wish I was an air mage so I can fly and chase down my enemies.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Arwen replied, ¡°At least this is now resolved without making us true enemies, attacking one of the Emperors men makes a grudge sure, but killing one, they will chase us until one of us falls. Though we need to leave, if only you gave me the opportunity to negotiate, you know I¡¯m sure a peaceful solution could be¡­¡± Althaea cut him off and said, ¡°Yeah, yeah old man, if I took any longer I may have failed to take that one¡­¡± she said pointing at the man still struggling in his bindings with his mount as she continued, ¡°Out of the battle, and you don¡¯t know humans if you think you can get them to back down over self-interest. They¡¯re very stubborn when it comes to benefits, you could beat them up over and over again, yet they¡¯d come back for more if a substantial reward was involved.¡± ¡°Hmm. Maybe you got a point.¡± Arwen thought looking at the human still thrashing angrily in the trees still shouting abuse at them. ¡°Well let¡¯s head off before the other one gets back with more of them, my magic will hold that one for a while, he¡¯s only a lower member of the hunters, him and his beast are Tier 6 at most.¡± Althaea said to Arwens agreement, soon enough they kept travelling. Ava spoke to them both every once and while, but kept quiet mostly. To be honest she wanted to ask them questions, demand answers from them, they knew more about the Royal Clan, even warned her Father about them. Some part of her blamed them for not acting quickly enough, making them partly responsible for her Mother losing her life, however she was pragmatic enough that she knew this was not the right time, they were still in a dangerous situation, they have yet to escape to safety and screaming, shouting, making accusations right now would help nobody. She was prepared to wait and was ready to hear their explanation when the right time came. Being a child, one that had to still rely on others made this difficult, but she promised herself when she was strong, mature enough, that she would push Arwen and Althaea to tell her everything about the Royal Clan. Ava wanted revenge. She couldn¡¯t get out Kais Evergreen and the cold elf faces out of her mind, from the entire time she was present, the elves only referred to the cold elf as ¡®Sire¡¯, as if they were unworthy to even say his name. She would find him though sooner or later, she won¡¯t be able to ever forget his face. Those cold eyes and nonchalance for life are unforgettable, he truly saw the elves who grew up in the tribes as cattle that were to be raised for the service of his own. It made her think if the Royal Clan would really be affected by the invasions of humans unless they take down their foundations, the capital, but the nonchalance in the cold elves tone despite knowing what the humans were capable off, gave her the feeling that the humans will be unable to truly take them down. However if she couldn¡¯t rely on the humans, she¡¯d just have to do it herself. She knew power can solve everything, after all the mysterious entity which brought her here shown her the true heights of power, to that being the Royal Clan was nothing, and if he saw something in her it gave her the confidence that she¡¯d be able to tear down the capital that they built one day, bringing the ones responsible to their knees. This was all talk now though at the moment. All she can do is follow Arwen and see what he has in store for her, he described an Academy, Ava thought that was the first step for her to truly gain power. They continued moving through the forests at a good pace. Soon enough her Father was awake, he was a bit fatigued from exerting himself too much with the confrontation between the two elves, but was otherwise in good health. He thanked Arwen and Althaea profusely, breaking down in tears for not believing them. Ava felt her Father was sincere, Arwen was honest where their destination will be, that she will be able to learn under a friend who has an institution that is free for all races to join. It is the premier Academy in the continent, despite the Royal Clans claims otherwise, it is in between the four continents, the best of the best from each of these continents would make it their dream to be a student there. The Academy was known as Rarmose Academy, it has the best resources, teachers available to train perspective Mages. It also trains Warriors, but this was not its speciality, it was mainly known for training the best Mages and anyone with good talent would try their best to join there. It seemed like the most ideal place to go for her in this moment in time. The only drawback was that it would take them over a year to travel there. It was located at the other side of the continent, the elven lands were in the bottom of the Evergreen continent, whereas the Academy was at the opposite end, located near the borders between the current Human Empire who ruled the majority of the Evergreen Continent and another Empire that was also run by primarily humans. The other two continents are a mixture of powerful Kingdoms, made up of Beastkin, Elves, Dwarves and a number of different races. It turned out the Elves in the Evergreen continent were known for being reclusive, and an oddity among the Elven community as they have cut off communication and isolated themselves for thousands of years. Despite the other two continents not being unified like the Evergreen and Ustrun continent are, they are no less weaker, the lands spanning these continents are ginormous, and the Kingdoms are each individually very powerful, they would not be easy for the two Human Empires to wage war with, in fact the Evergreen continent was known to be the weakest of the four, holding less resources and population. Either way her Father was satisfied by Arwens decision, choosing to not doubt him again, he wanted the best for her and coming from Arwen she had the talent to be among the best of the best there. Ava was in full agreement. She wanted the Academy to make her strong enough to oppose the Royal Clan and judging by Arwens words they had the means to do so. Chapter 29 - Human Lands It turned out they were wrong about the humans. They had been travelling for over a month now since her Father has woken up from his injuries and had yet to encounter them again. The group had managed to escape the elves attention too, she was not sure if it was assisted by Magic but they had barely encountered anything since their last meeting with the humans. They only saw a few weaker magical beasts that ended up serving as their food during all the travelling. Contrary to the stereotype elves are plant-eaters, they actually eat a varied diet of the forest they live in, her teeth were much sharper than when she was human, it tore through tough meat with ease and she was able to enjoy magical beast meat plenty. Elves were very good hunters, but had a strong love of nature, believing in looking after the forest and its denizens, which is why they only hunted an appropriate amount for the tribe to survive on and were careful to harvest plants, herbs ensuring to maintain its roots so that it will regrow once again. It was why Ava found it strange that such a race had the Royal Clan as its leaders, the tribe she lived in all strived on working together as a community, yet the Royal Clan presented themselves as self-serving narcissists, or at least Kais and that cold elf did. She had no idea what to believe in anymore, after all she was only an insignificant child in the grand scheme of things, she had potential but that counts for nothing if it isn¡¯t turned into strength, she would need to grow to a level where her abilities command respect to get any answers about this whole thing. It is the main reason why she hoped Arwen was right about the Academy being the right place for her, she was desperate to work on her growth so she would never once be put into a position of such powerlessness again. Eventually they had reached a point where Arwen gestured them to stop so he could inform them they were getting close to the borders of the barrier between the elven and human lands. They had moved much quicker than when she had been travelling with Kais, Arwen in his bear form was able to carry them with ease and moved at a pace they were unable to match. Even her Father at Tier 5 wasn¡¯t able to match his pace, Arwen obviously couldn¡¯t go at his max capacity with her on his back, since her body would be unable to handle it, so if her Father was to sprint he would likely be able to move at a similar speed, yet Arwen had endless endurance in this form he could keep moving at this pace for hours. Cense informed her Druids are a rare and powerful class, they held the strengths of the intelligent and beast races combined, however they were also limited like a Magical beast by the potency of the bloodline of the creature they held. A Fiend Bear is Arwen¡¯s magical beast form and is a strong magical beast known for being durable and powerful for its Tier. It is a much stronger magical beast than the Giant Horned Boar even if both were at a similar Tier a Fiend Bear would trounce it one-sidedly. It would even be considered above the Forest Wyrm she saw previously but would be viewed as weaker compared to stronger dragon-type beasts such as Wyverns. The Wyverns the human tamed were on the weaker side, however if they shared a similar level of cultivation Arwen had it would be difficult to say who would win, especially in an environment where the Wyvern could abuse its flight. Now that they had finally reached the destination Arwen wanted them to, they were at the edge of the elven territory, in full view she saw the large mountainous region that served as a natural border separating the lands. They were fairly high up a hillside by now and she could see the lands in it¡¯s full glory. The landscape was beautiful. It felt picturesque, the land was so magnificent she could see why the humans were so upset they lost lands holding such natural allure. Stolen story; please report. Everyone else in the group apart from her has saw this before so have been able to hold back their gasps, however she couldn¡¯t wipe the look of wonder on her face. Her Father smiled at her reaction as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t hold back looking at it with amazement every time too, I¡¯m glad you can see your Father wasn¡¯t bluffing about it now too!¡± Ava nodded as she smiled at her Fathers words, she could recall him telling her stories of how beautiful the lands were and how he needed to leave to protect the humans from their home. It was just a big shame her Mother couldn¡¯t see this, she spent all her life in the small tribe grounds believing she owed everything to the Royal Clan, yet in the end they threw away her life like nothing because she was deemed useless to them. Maybe they were the fools to believe the Royal Clan would let a non-cultivator into their walls behind the Capital. Either way it was time to leave here, she promised she would not return until she had the strength to walk back here unhindered, where she can demand an explanation from the Royal Clan starting with Kais head. Her Father stared at his daughters chuckle and grin with a big smile, believing his cute innocent daughter had cheered up finally seeing the fantasy-like lands he talked to her about in stories, he was completely oblivious that the biggest grin on her face was from her murderous thoughts about beheading a certain elf. Arwen decided it was time to speak, ¡°Now usually this method does not work; you see the Royal Clan had built in a powerful formation that used the mountains as a natural-formation, it all focused into Fort Casden as its figure point. It prevented cultivators entering through flight, the barrier it formed was able to keep out any expert cultivators who attempted to break through among the four continents for years, keeping this place protected since it also stopped the use of teleportation talismans. Powerful tools created by space mages, they are expensive and rare, that would teleport you a certain distance through space ignoring all physical barriers between you and that location, the Royal Clan somehow disrupted space with the power of this formation inside these lands, making them unusable here, until now that is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re insinuating the humans has taken down this formation? And I¡¯m guessing you may have one of these talismans.¡± Her Father asked in a questioning tone to Arwen¡¯s delight. ¡°Yes! The Royal Clan needed to have a centre point that connected the mountains to power this formation, despite critiquing them those elves behind the work of this formation are incredible. Their work on formations are leagues above the humans outside, and even at the Rarmose Academy, an academy at the top among the four continents I doubt you¡¯d find a formation master there that can compare to them, yet the formation remaining unbreakable all laid on Fort Casden never being taken by an enemy. The Royal Clan never believed it would be taken, yet the humans somehow did it, taking down the formation, making it redundant.¡± Arwen explained to her Fathers amazement. ¡®Ha unbreakable! The cultivators here are just too weak, a sufficient amount of strength can tear down any formation. However formations, especially natural ones like this, when giving a formation master sufficient time to prepare can allow them to stop cultivators leagues above them in strength. This formation is delicate work, it seems the Royal Clan has some very capable formation masters, it seems they were caught underestimating the humans, paying the price, however if they have the means to set something like this here, then I imagine the foundations of their dwellings to be beyond the means of those humans to break though.¡¯ Cense said making Ava realise the arrogance of that cold elf from the Royal Clan when talking about the humans may not be unfounded after all. Althaea on the other hand seemed to grow bored at Arwen¡¯s winded explanations as she said, ¡°Just hurry up and use the talisman old man, your deep need to go into a whole speech for these things is keeping me from finally being able to relax in comfort after trudging through this forest for weeks on end!¡± Althaea seemed to turning a stir crazy from those endless nights sleeping on the forest floor, Ava felt the mage was not use to so much exercise despite mostly being sat on Arwens back. Althaea seemed to detest exercise more than those students who would do anything to avoid PE lessons back in school, and that was despite being blessed with a much stronger physique than the average person just from being a Mage who constantly absorbs Elemental Qi into her body. Arwen seemed to ignore Althaea as he continued on his rant, ¡°And now I present you a Teleportation Talisman. You know there was a long story how I got my hands on this and it goes¡­¡± Arwen stopped when he saw the dangerous gleam in Althaea¡¯s eyes as he was about to go in on his story decided to say, ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s simple how you use them to teleport a group of a suitable size, is to maintain contact like this, then just crush it like so and¡­¡± Ava felt the world before her disappearing, as her vision was briefly clouded by blackness before she found herself appearing in a completely different environment. Ava already knew where she was without having to think further, they had finally arrived in human lands. Chapter 30 - Human Emperor (2) A few weeks before Ava arrived into human lands Emperor Acadian was beginning his armies march into elven lands. He was fully prepared to take back everything that should have been his by birth right. The notes the Orgrasan line left behind worked perfectly, allowing him to break past the elven defences that has held back a multitude of armies for thousands of years. The Orgrasan ancestors of old when they were being pushed back by the elves knew they were on limited time, that there was no hope to defeat them however they successfully lay a trap. They knew the elves plan was to lay a massive formation using their expertise, using the natural mountains to empower it many fold making it impossible for anyone under the third realm to breach it. Knowing this the Orgrasans prepared a weak point that would disrupt the formation, one that would remain undetectable until it was exploited, to the elves the formation worked perfectly they did not notice anything amiss, and why would they since the formation had served it purpose since it was built without any problems arising. No one dared to use it since it has been introduced, there would be only one chance since the elves would be able to remove the weak point making his ancestors sacrifice useless. None has the strength or confidence to oppose the elves until him, if he still wavered despite having the entire Greenlands at his disposal he would be a failure. Using the weak point he was able to breach the elves defences catching them off guard, they had been holding back the large human army almost casually at this point. They did not expect him and a detachment of his strongest monarchs to sneak into Fort Casden, this time they did not hold back and brought the full strength of the human experts to force. Infiltrating the fort they sabotaged the gate, allowing his large army to charge in, they then disrupted the formation by targeting the heart of the formation that was located at the fort, the central node of the formation had to be held at Fort Casden since the auxiliary nodes along the natural formation of the mountain points all met at this position. It was why it was heavily defended and it¡¯s fall took down the entirety of the formation. Even he despite being the strongest human in the Greenlands continent would be a bit at a lost of it if not for the weak point enabling him to breach it. However now he was able to enter his ancestors lands once and for all, it doesn¡¯t matter if the leader of the elves holes themselves inside the capital, he will annex the surroundings lands, use the territories natural resources to bolster his Empire and box them in until he flushes them out eventually. He was young for a Human Monarch, he had the means to be patient, he had already waited centuries for the opportunity to take these lands, what does a few more mean to him? Acadian almost chuckled to himself at the thought. It was then he heard the flapping of wings indicating a Wyvern flying nearby. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Expecting his subordinate the Wyvern landed, sat atop of it was his right-hand man, the leader of an elite division he had coined the Orgrasan Hunters for their detection abilities, manoeuvrability and versatility. He was one of his strongest experts so it was a great shock seeing the state he was in. His black armour was chipped, he had multiple slashes over his cuirass and his Wyvern one of the stronger ones he had reared appeared injured. Rake was a Monarch like him. Although he was weaker, he was a dual-cultivator possessing great adaptability being a Warrior and Mage although he was more adept as a Warrior. ¡°I expect that group of elves you tailed led you to an interesting find?¡± Acadian asked. ¡°Yes my liege, we were able to employ our stealth abilities to the max following the clan lord to this area, however we ran into problems as he met up with a key member of the Royal Clan, Prince Lisin. The Prince was able to detect us despite the stealth runes on the Wyverns hiding our presence, it was why we were forced into making a move for the Prince himself.¡± Rake said seriously. ¡°And what was the results?¡± Acadian replied with a curious tone. ¡°We almost got the clan lord, Kais, however Prince Lisin is as formidable as they say. His mind magic was able to penetrate the protections our Rune Masters have worked on to defend against them, the Prince is also a capable combatant, we believe he has formed his Sword Heart similar to your Majesty.¡° Rake said with disappointment. ¡°Hmm. You don¡¯t have to concern yourself about this Rake, Prince Lisin is one of their best and has been alive for a long, long time, it is to be expected for him to be strong. However even as Elves those old dogs must be reaching their end, their tricks to prolong themselves have to be running out, it has been almost ten thousand years since they have entered this land and they were thousands of years old back then. At least it will give us the opportunity to take down the culprits of my ancestors ruin.¡± Emperor Acadian said with a fire glowing in his eyes. ¡°Yes your Majesty, the Prince escaped along with the clans lord. However they abandoned the remaining elves as soon as they realised we had more Monarchs coming in as support. We have captured a few, I also have further information that may be of interest to you.¡± Rake said. ¡°Hmm, the Prince escaping is to be expected. Though what of it?¡± Acadian said questionably. ¡°A few of my men came across a Druid, a Mage, an injured elf and alongside them was a little girl¡­¡± Rake said to Acadians surprise. ¡°A Druid is somewhat interesting, accompanying a Mage too, but Druids rarely interfere with matters such as this, even if he lived among these elves their order has maintained its neutrality for years, I will respect them and not interfere with a member of their order if he knows best for him and stays out of this.¡± Acadian said believing this matter was over, however Rake continued. ¡°It¡¯s not the Druid or Mage that should be focused on, it¡¯s the child. Her features show her to very likely to be one of them, you know how valuable they are among Elves, maybe we should pursue to¡­¡± Rake was about to make a point but Acadian shook his head. ¡°Forget about the girl. The Druid spared those men¡¯s life for a reason, let¡¯s see it as doing him a favour. I don¡¯t want to needlessly provoke the Druidic order for no reason, we have more important things to focus on, Prince Lisin is one of them. Pull the rest of your men back, I want to focus on securing this land over the next few years, we will block them in that capital of there¡¯s whilst we take down their foundations within these lands one by one.¡± Emperor Acadian said firmly giving Rake no reason to rebut. He was fully focused on those lands. Acadian wanted no further distractions. The girl was interesting, but was too young to interfere with anything for a long time. He did not believe she would be anyone of importance in the grand scheme of things. Acadian found himself soon forgetting of the matter of the young girl entirely, not realising in the future he would gravely regret letting go of this opportunity. Chapter 31 - Adruil City Upon finding themselves in unfamiliar lands, Arwen took the opportunity to explain to them the situation. ¡°Now that we are outside the Royal Clans influence, I can now describe to you what we will do from here. The Rarmose Academy is far, we have to travel vast expanses of human land to get there which is why we will be stopping at Adruil City. It contains a port with vast ships that accept passengers to take them down the channel all the way towards Kaldor, a large town that is known for having many Adventurers since there is a nearby labyrinth containing a large population of magical beasts. It is also the quickest way to Rarmose Academy from here, it will cut down our travel time greatly compared to if we were to go on foot. Any questions?¡± Arwen said. Ava decided to remain silent and let her Father do the talking for her, it would be a bit strange for a five-year-old to take the initiative in asking about the travel details. ¡°Firstly, that Teleportation Talisman, why not use them to bring us closer? Why not use it earlier, making us take all that effort to move to the edge of the territory between humans lands if you had those at your disposal? Where even are we in the human lands, how far did it take us? Additionally how safe we will be in human lands like this, we have been told for centuries humans are the greediest, most vile race in creation, what would they do if they find us snooping around their cities?¡± Xandas said one after the other making Ava¡¯s eyes widen in surprise. ¡®Wow you are not holding back Dad!¡¯ She thought as he gave Arwen a scrutinising glare. After her Father admitted his wrongs to Arwen where be apologised to him, she did not think he would challenge him like this again so soon but she supposed all of it was in the consideration of. He did lose her Mother and she was the only family he had left, she could see why he would be cautious walking into a city full of humans who the elves had been in conflict with for generations. Arwen though was nonplussed by the questions and easily able to provide answers, ¡°Teleportation Talismans are limited and expensive, I was lucky to get my hands on that one, and they are not capable of travelling extreme distances it was just about able to get us past the mountains and a distance away from the Elven territory. To use Teleportation Talismans to go any further is an expense I cannot afford. And we will be able to enter the human city without trouble soon as they recognise that I am apart of the Druidic Order, though it is best you hide your faces, it will attract unnecessary attention to us that I could resolve but will cause pointless conflict.¡± Her Father nodded in understanding as he replied, ¡°I will trust your word for it, but if they try anything suspicious I will take my daughter and run.¡± Arwen smiled in reply as he said, ¡°I expect nothing less, I understand what a Father would do for their daughter, now let''s head to the city it is not far from here and it is quite beautiful. Humans though short-lived are full of creativity when it comes to designing their homes.¡± Althaea took this opportunity to speak up as she said happily, ¡°Finally returning to civilisation after so long, clean clothes, a comforting bed, finally don''t have to sleep on that hard forest floor.¡± Then she turned to look at Ava giving her a feeling of wariness. ¡°What?¡± Ava asked tilting her head which only made Althaea¡¯s smile turn wider. ¡°I can''t wait to dress you up with some proper pretty clothes, those rags your wearing do not do you justice!¡± Althaea said with passion. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Huh?¡± Ava responded looking down at her clothes. She was wearing what most her fellow tribe members wear, clothes made up of animal fur and other forest produce, she didn''t think it was that bad but maybe that was just because it was the only type of clothes she had worn since her time at the tribe. ¡°Anyways, get on this cloak for now. Humans around these parts are suspicious when it comes to elves, don''t want to spook them.¡± Althaea advised wrapping a cloak around her hiding her features. Ava was clueless about where said cloak came from until she noticed it was Arwen who had handed it to Althaea. He seemed to drag them out of thin air as he brought out enough cloaks for them all to put them on. For some reason Ava knew it had something to do with the innocuous-seeming ring on his finger, it was only when she paid attention to it that she noticed the appearance of the items likely had something to do with it with the way Arwen handled it. When she was wondering what type of item it is, Cense was able to provide an explanation for her. ¡®That is a space ring. A small one, but still rare for cultivators here from what I¡¯ve seen so far. It indicates Arwen is not lying about the status his order holds, Druids are usually respected and it''s no different in this realm.¡¯ Cense explained, making Ava realise it was just the classic spatial devices that was described in stories in her old world. ¡®Can¡¯t believe I have not realised sooner¡¯ Ava thought as her concentration was taken by noticing the outlines of a city coming into view. Although it was still quite a bit in the distance there was a clear view of Adruil City. As they continued moving closer and she was able to see the city in further clarity she was able to truly take in its appearance. The city had a striking resemblance to the medieval cities she had seen in textbooks from her previous world. The whole city was surrounded by a large 30-meter-tall wall that appeared very thick; made up of robust-looking materials. There were guards stationed at the top of the walls, the defence seemed stringent and there were multiple towers along the walls that supported weapons that resembled cannons. Strange glyphs and patterns decorated the large walls glowing with a slight hue. Big buildings appeared in view over the large walls. She was able to recognise that some of the architecture was similar to that of ancient Greece, though everything was also different in many ways despite having this as a comparison. ¡®It truly is beautiful.¡¯ Ava thought with an open mouth, she thought bringing her knowledge of the great cities in her previous world would prepare her for the sight but the city truly was incredible. It made a desire to broaden her horizons and truly see the world she found herself in blossom in her heart. Arwen and Althaea smiled at watching her and her fathers reaction, her Father who had spent his whole life living in the elven lands was shocked. He originally believed Fort Casden was impressive but compared to Adruil City it was nothing. Fort Casden was small in comparison and focused primarily on defence, he truly never seen somewhere close to the size and population of Adruil City. It made him truly admire the humans that they built such spectacular structures. Continuing to move towards the large city they started approaching a large gate that was the entrance to the city. The gate was eight meters wide and 14 meters tall, it was open at the end of the road that they had joined in their approach towards the city. It appeared heavily guarded by guards who were adorned with a crest that represented the Empire. Bundles of chatter started appearing around them as they joined the queue to enter the city. Humans were the majority who awaited entry to the City however other races that she assumed to be beast-kin by their animal-like features were also among them. She did not see other Elves however this was likely to do with the tension between the Royal Clan and the humans in these parts. The queue went by quickly, merchants who brought large wagons full of wares were checked for entry, whereas others who awaited entry were checked similarly, it was done in an efficient, precise manner, the guards were clearly used to this traffic. Eventually, it was their turn and time for them to finally enter the city. Ava could not wait. Chapter 32 - Entering the City Approaching the guards at the entrance of the city she immediately examined their appearance. The guards were an assortment of young and older men, they were well equipped and appeared able. They eyed their group with suspicion upon seeing how cloaked and inconspicuous they presented themselves to be, however still gave off an air of professionalism as they scanned their group. A guard who clearly resembled the senior of those present by the deferential way the other guards looked at him was the one to address them, ¡°Been to the City before? We will need your passes out and for you to pull down those cloaks so we can see your faces before you are permitted for entry.¡± ¡®Passes?¡¯ Ava thought worriedly wondering how Arwen was going to solve this problem. The guards definitely did not resemble the sort to take bribes and took their role seriously. Nonetheless Arwen was able to deal with the matter smoothly as he took out the same thing that demonstrated his Druidic status to the elves. After he shared a few words to the senior guard and explained the need of their cloaks, the senior guard let out a hearty chuckle as he replied, ¡°No need to concern yourself with these checks further, the Druids reputation as a neutral and just force is known, the Empire has maintained a good relationship with your kind. Another member of your order has helped saved the lives of many of my friends dealing with a particular bad monster outbreak! And we understand the need of secrecy, I¡¯ll let my men know not to bother you, people around these parts have a bit of a skewed impression of you Elves, it should be much better in Kaldor as they are more used to seeing friendly members of your kind.¡± Arwen nodded in appreciation and just like that they were able to enter the City without much hassle. She was surprised by how simple it was, but she guessed that was the nature of being a Druid around here. Druids were a unique order in these lands. They did not vie for territory, power or lands, their powers made the nature of one who choose to become one someone who had a calm, serene temperament. To control the bloodline and urges of the beast inside them was delicate and required balance, otherwise if someone who did not have such a compatible personality, one who was greedy for the power it brings, letting the urges of his bloodline take over his personality then his mind would shatter becoming a mindless monster acting on instinct. The Druids themselves would hunt down such a person, they always took responsibility for a member of their order going astray like this, it was the one time they choose violence as to them it would be ending the suffering of the person who had becoming nothing but a mindless husk of the person they were. Their ethics and doctrine made them present everywhere in the continents, a Druid never stayed in one place and would wander around for offering acts of charity everywhere they go. You can see them as adventurers who worked for free, they would want nothing in return and lived on the generosity of what was donated freely. It was no wonder Kingdoms and Empires treated then amiably as why anger an extremely powerful group of experts needlessly? This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. They benefited them greatly and saved a great deal of resources that would have went towards dealing with the problems a Druid would solve. Not to mention they mostly kept to themselves and sometimes you may not even realise a Druid helped you. Additionally the times in history where the Druids had a conflict with an Empire, Kingdom or even a Sect was down to them witnessing corruption and evil committed by them, it was why the common man who worked an honest living like the Senior Guard did adored them, the only one who had to worry about offending a Druid was someone who had something to hide. Passing through the thick gate into the city she found themselves entering a bustling street making her eyes grow wide in amazement again. The City was even more wondrous on the inside. She found herself walking along with Arwen and the others staring slack jawed at the sights of the City. Even though she saw plenty of nice looking cities in her old world, nothing could prepare her for this, everything seemed new with the technological and multicultural gap between the worlds. Soon enough she found herself seeing a number of shops and stalls all around, even a few high end market places that seemed to be catered to the rich of the city. The City was crowded with people, humans dressed in an array of different clothing. The fashion of this world was nothing like her old though the differences of a wealthy, poor individual was plain to see with the brighter, colourful and more decorated dressed individuals clearly being the more affluent members of the city. She even was able to see a few Demi-humans around much to her excitement as she stared enviously at a cat-kins soft looking tail. Initially she wondered if they would get strange looks for their suspicious looking garb but it seemed they were treated like air by the cities occupants with a few strange looks here and there. Overall the bustling City seemed too busy to take in the forms of a few strangers who wanted to remain hidden, or even more likely they were confident of the competence of their guards. Eventually they came to a stop and Arwen announced he would look about to get some lodging for today in which they will plan to leave by the boat tomorrow morning. It was that moment Althaea looked down at her with a wicked grin as she said, ¡°How about I take our little Ava here for some clothe shopping in the meanwhile then? She could do with some cute outfits.¡± The way she propositioned it sounded like she was looking out for her best interests, but the look Althaea was giving her right now was plain terrifying. Her Father meanwhile could find no reason to disagree at his daughter getting some nice clothes bought for her as he gave his permission only leaving Arwen left to give his approval. ¡°Fine, but be back here in two hours exactly, no dawdling around or causing trouble. Xandas, I think it best you escort them otherwise Althaea may get lost for time¡­¡± Arwen said in a way she all knew too well. He was politely saying they needed a man present wasn¡¯t he? Well, she had a feeling it would work out best for her anyways as the way Althaea shoulders slumped at hearing her Father would be coming was a sight to see. ¡°But only two hours? How would I¡­¡± Althaea was about to mumble more showing she fully intended to ignore the two hour advisement by Arwen in the first place. ¡°Two hours. That¡¯s final.¡± Arwen said leaving no room for further argument. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll suppose that will have to do for now but we¡¯ll have plenty of time when we get to the academy¡­¡± Althaea mumbled leaving Ava feeling a shudder run through her body. ¡®Why do I feel this is going to be a long two hours?¡¯ She wondered when Althaea gripped her little hand and they began walking off with Xandas in tow. ¡®Ah it¡¯s only shopping. I love shopping for new clothes.¡¯ She thought trying convince herself. Chapter 33 - Althaea鈥檚 Past Althaea found herself giddy with excitement as she drug her young apprentice with her along the busy streets of Adruil. Feeling in the sights and clamour of the City she found herself relieved to have returned to civilisation. The years spent living simply in the small elven tribe began to grow torturous to her, though she admitted the change of pace was refreshing at first, she was a city girl at heart and was not like Arwen who would happily spend his days in such a mundane way of life. She did not criticise or frown upon people who would prefer to live in a quiet rural place where it was a tight community in which everyone had a role to play, nonetheless this life was not for her who enjoyed the bright sights and boisterous nature of large Cities and Towns. Althaea found herself humming a tune she heard from a bard once as she navigated the busy streets with her apprentice, seeming completely at home at the City. She had been to Adruil before many years ago with Arwen so already had the places in mind to go too. Thinking about Arwen she looked back at the tag along, Xandas the Father of her young apprentice. Feeing a bit annoyed at him clearly being sent here to supervise her, she stuck her tongue out at him only for him to merely lift the corner of his lips slightly. Deciding she had let out her childish urges for the time. She looked down at her little apprentice who to her amusement was gawking at the sights everywhere they went. It was times like these that reminded her that Ava was a genuine child despite the way she carried herself at times. Sometimes she acted so well beyond her years it made her have to adopt a more stern and appropriate demeanour in order to not embarrass herself as the Master. She was very young for an elf therefore was not expecting to have an apprentice thrown onto her suddenly, but Arwen was right about one thing that she couldn¡¯t refuse her after seeing her talents. She even found herself growing to care for her like the little sister that she never had. Althaea knew she had it rough growing it up, something even Arwens kindness and care for her couldn¡¯t fill. Althaea found herself great full to him. She was an orphan before Arwen had found her, she was a lone elven child who had been abandoned in a community that loathed her. They took responsibility and provided the bare minimum for her because a kind Matron had taken pity on her. However this did not stop the jeers and abuse she had suffered within her early years. She was a lone elf child living among beast-kin within a distance Kingdom far from here, she could not remember the faces of her parents and just knew she was left there at a young age. Upon seeing Arwen for the first time her childish eyes were full of excitement finally meeting someone who was like her. However she soon realised the difference, Arwen wasn¡¯t shunned or treated like a burden, on the contrary the ones who had similarly treated with her with indifference stared at him with a respectful almost reverent gaze despite his obvious Elven heritage. It made her yearn for this feeling. She begged and pleaded him to take her in as his disciple. He refused saying being by his side was no place for a child. At the time she did not understand him, in her eyes she had once again been abandoned. She did not know what being a Druid truly meant, the duties Arwen has to carry with him everywhere he goes. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Nonetheless to the beast-kin villagers the moment she begged Arwen they felt she was shaming the Village saviour and disgraced the Village. That day she was beaten severely by one of the adult villagers who had a particular dislike for her. Luckily for her Arwen witnessed the act and heavily reprimanded the Villager. She could see the respect he had for Arwen but the hateful, spiteful glare he gave her shown the beast-kin put all the blame onto her. Arwen let out a sigh seeing the Villagers hate towards her. These beast-kin were simple people known as nothing but savages to their Elven neighbours who were their heated rivals. However this hate festered to the point they were now taking it out on an innocent child who had nothing to do with their plight. Arwen knew she could never belong here as the Village would never accept her so gave her an offer she could not refuse which is for her to leave with him. The Village was happy for her to go an unwanted burden finally gone. Only the Matron, a few other kind beast-kin and the children who had still retained their innocence wished her well as she left. Arwen initially intended to just take her where she could be loved, cherished fitting into a new family. Yet the days grew by and he became attached leading to her staring at him with watery eyes with her begging him to not abandon her like her parents when he was close to leaving her at an orphanage. It seemed she hit a sore point. Arwen was reluctant knowing his line of work did not allow him to take in a child, however he discovered she had good mage talent and knowing she was of the correct age to start being tutored he took her to the Academy. The years went by and she developed from an apprentice Mage into a capable Magus of her own right. Arwen would frequently visit her during her studies, she would be looked after when he would be called upon to do his duties as a Druid. Those years were the best of her life. She developed connections she never had the opportunity to make at the Village, had some amazing memories and grew into a respected figure like Arwen. It was then she decided to go out with Arwen on his Druidic duties now that she was capable of defending herself. Arwen was reluctant at first, he fully saw her as his adopted daughter at this point not wanting to put her in any danger, although they were not related in blood he felt like family. Althaea insisted though and she was very stubborn when she wanted something. Eventually he agreed and she had been travelling with him many times going around the continent on all sorts of adventurers, she helped a great deal of people from all sorts of races, backgrounds and she glowered in the looks she was envious of Arwen receiving when she was a child. It all led to that fateful task within the mysterious and strange group of elves lands. Not much was known about them but some very influential person had deep suspicions about them which the Druidic order was interested in verifying. Unfortunately it seemed the strange elves accepted their invite into their territory but they were told to remain in some backwater Tribe of insignificant value to them until they were given permission to visit the capital. No surprise that never came and she found herself spending time in a community she likened too much to her childhood. The Tribe had far too much faith into the ones lording over them for her liking, though she supposed they offered a stable life to the simple tribes people which was enough for most. At least she ended up finding something interesting in the tribe at the end though she thought staring down at Ava. Her little apprentice was a peculiar one, at times she talked far beyond her years that even being hyper talented could not explain. Either way she couldn¡¯t deny she made things more exciting, she never saw herself as a teacher before but she could not deny she was enjoying her role so far. Watching Ava grow brought herself a certain thrill, the joy of creating something greater than yourself made her realise what drove her teachers back at the academy. Putting these thoughts to her back of her mind, it was time to finally get her apprentice out of those drabby clothes. She felt it was a shame that such a cute child was forced into the dreary rags of the tribes people. It was time to introduce her apprentice to some good outfits, she had an old friend in the city who she would sure love to have a great model for her designs. Finally they reached her friends clothing shop and it was time to go inside. Hopefully she can stock up on a new wardrobe of clothes, some of her best was ruined in that forest and she urgently needed replacements. Grabbing Ava hand and nodding to Xandas behind her indicating this was the place she entered the shop eagerly. Chapter 34 - Serenity Clothing Store Ava found herself being dragged around Adruil by Althaea. She could feel the enthusiasm from her Master just from the expressions she made along the way making her curious of Althaea¡¯s origins. She found herself looking back at life in the tribe finding that she did not seem to fit in with the other Elves. She knew that Arwen and Althaea had not been at the tribe that long, they came from a different background that was evident more so with Althaea. It was one of main reasons why the Tribes people decided to follow the Evergreen clan in the end despite the goodwill Arwen had gained from being the resident healer of the tribe since he had arrived. In the end they were outsiders compared to the clan that had been protecting them from the greedy humans. Putting these thoughts to the back of her mind she soon found herself outside a nicely decorated building. It remained in the Ancient Greek-like style with pillars, well-polished stone and decorated with simple but high quality designs of different coloured patterns carved into the stone. There was a few windows revealing the wares and merchandise that was being advertised in the store, with a large banner made out of some kind of of silk depicting its name and designation. ¡®Serenity Clothing Store¡¯ she read gleaming the words of the sign. Since arriving in the human city she had realised that unlike having to learn Elven, the human language was strangely similar to her previous world. She had no idea what this meant or what it entailed but it was too far beyond her to even put much attention into at the moment. It had also made her realise that Arwen probably didn¡¯t even realise she could understand him fully when he exchanged words with the guards at the gate. This was reinforced when Althaea upon entering the store immediately pulled down her hood and sent a beaming smile towards the direction of a portly human woman who stood behind a large desk in the store. The woman seemed to squint her eyes together for a moment taking in the erratic appearance of the young elf before seeming to suddenly recall who she was as her eyes widened. ¡°Oh Althaea! It has been so long since the last time I have seen you! Wow you really haven¡¯t aged a day, look at that figure your making me envious.¡± The woman murmured letting out a hearty chuckle as she moved from behind the desk towards Althaea lifting her up in a bear hug. Althaea seemed to chuckle in delight at the attention as she replied, ¡°And you haven¡¯t changed at all Hertha! I can¡¯t believe your running your mothers store now, is she doing well?¡± Upon hearing her words Hertha seemed to adopt a more straight tone as she replied, ¡°Ah her health isn¡¯t the best these days, is why I¡¯m practically running this ole store by myself.¡± Althaea expression grew somber as she replied, ¡°Sorry to hear that, I can get old Arwen to see what he can do for her if you would like?¡± Hertha seemed to sign as she heard her reply saying, ¡°It¡¯s alright luv. Anyway what could I do for ¡­¡± Hertha seemed to freeze at the end of her sentence as her eyes suddenly laid onto her seeing her little face peaking under the hood. Ava found herself being hoisted up into the air before she knew it, the portly woman moving at a surprising pace. ¡°So adorable, is she your daughter?¡± Hertha said casually as she held her tightly. Her hood by now has long since falling down revealing her Elven features not that Hertha seemed to mind and there was currently no other occupants in the store at this time. Althaea and Ava faces went beet red for two different reasons. Althaea mouth opened wide dramatically her arms flailing as she said, ¡°Do I look old enough to have a child! I¡¯d have you know I¡¯m very youthful still for an Elf!¡± Hinting at her age seemed to be a sore point for Althaea it seemed. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. On the other hand Ava felt annoyed she was being handled like a child. Mentally she was far older alright! Hertha took a big breath realising she got ahead herself grabbing the child like that only now realising Xantas was also within the room seeming to realise it was his child. ¡°Sorry for grabbing you a bit roughly little one, just miss when mine was that age is all.¡± Hertha said reminiscing when her son was this age. ¡°It¡¯s fine, my Daughter was the pearl of the tribe after all.¡± Her Father replied eyes shining with proudness as he thought of that before turning despondent recalling the current state of the tribe. Althaea realising her outburst was ignored decided to change subjects to hide her embarrassment as she said, ¡°How is your son Percy anyways?¡± ¡°Oh you know¡­ all grown up now, following his Father footsteps becoming a Town guard. Hmph too big now to give his old mother a hug.¡± Hertha said with dissatisfaction. Althaea nodded in reply before suddenly realising the emptiness of the shop now that there hoods were drawn down. ¡°What happened to the customers? You used to be packed at this time, I was concerned whether or not you¡¯d have the time for us.¡± Althaea said with surprise. ¡°Oh? Well where to start, a new fancier, well to do clothing brand opened up down the street, then my Mother fell ill meaning we could no longer produce the clothing of the same quality. You know my Mam was a Spirit Seamstress, and a good one too. She was an experienced Tier 2 whilst I on the other hand have not been able to follow her footsteps remaining at Tier 1 for a long time now, the clothes I can produce are good, just not quiet to the standards of the opposing store. Before that and all we were neck and neck with them with the advantage of us being here longer despite their backing, but ah well, things have gone downhill recently.¡± Hertha said dispiritedly. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll all work out Hertha, anyways may I bother to take a moment of your time? I have a deep need for a lot of clothes and I know where at the right place for that.¡± Althaea said with a big grin that seemed to cheer up Hertha realising she had customers. ¡°It¡¯ll get right too it! I have just the right things for you, and I can assure you for the price it¡¯s as good as it gets!¡± Hertha said thunderously before her eyes went down too Ava with a scorching gaze, ¡°Does the little one need some clothes too?¡± ¡°She sure does! She only speaks Elven though, don¡¯t bother with Common. Looks like we got some catching up to do on her studies when we get on that boat we¡¯ll have plenty of times to teach her.¡± Althaea said brightly. Xandas on the other hand murmured, ¡°Never thought she¡¯d see much use of it, I barely spoke Common in years so I always thought it a waste my Father taught me it.¡± Althaea scoffed looking at Xandas like he was a country bumpkin. Hertha on the other hand switched to Elven as she spoke, ¡°My Elven a tad rusty¡­. But I can hold conversation.¡± Hertha spoke awkwardly in Elvish where her pronunciation was off at times though it was passable at least for her to understand. She wanted to just admit she can speak this Common fine but she was afraid it would seem too unusual considering no one had ever talked to her before using it before until she had met those humans in the forest. That left Hertha bumbling about in Elven whilst her torture began. She thought the looks Hertha and Althaea gave her was strange but she didn¡¯t realise the dangers she was truly in until now. Playing dress up as a child was not as fun as she remembered from her current perspective as an adult. They treated her like a doll going laboriously through outfit after outfit, she wanted to speak her frustrations but the cooing from the two women as they discussed which outfit looked cuter as they dressed her up in elaborate clothes made them pay no heed to her sulking face. Instead it seem to drive them on further as whatever face she pulled seemed to be adorable in these women¡¯s eyes. Searching for a saviour her eyes fell back onto her Father who the entire time just sat back amusingly just glad he was not the focus as he minded his own business. ¡®Dad! You absolute traitor.¡¯ She thought shooting a look of killing intent at him making Xandas suddenly feel a chill which he went on to ignore believing he was just imagining things. Ava believed her saviour never would come until the door suddenly let out a loud clang indicating another person was entering the store. Seeming to remember something Hertha abruptly shouted out, ¡°Sorry I forgot to put out the sign outside but we¡¯re closed for the rest of the day!¡± However the answer she received was just an amused chuckle as a dark looking young man entered the store. ¡°Not that you¡¯d have much luck having business anyways in this dump.¡± He said rudely before his eyes fell upon her and the other occupants in the room. At first he was taken aback by the beauty of Althaea, ignoring the child and man entirely but then his eyes fell upon their ears realising exactly what they are. ¡°Elves you got damn twigs here! I knew this place was¡­¡± the young man hateful gaze roamed across them in fury. Hertha face grew red with anger at seeing her guests insulted as the portly women went right up to the young man ignoring his protests as she hoisted him up like rag doll booting him out the store like he was some child. ¡°Stay out of here Gravenport! I tolerated you long enough because of your family, but you have no right to insult my customers like that! There is no law banning elves from being in the City, I won¡¯t tolerate such low class insults in this store!¡± Hertha said with a huff before slamming the door to the flabbergasted looks of the elves. Ava suddenly decided she was fine with playing dress up with the older women. She did not want to get on her bad side. Chapter 35 - Gravenport Ava and the others stared at heaving woman wondering what was that all about. She just stood there blankly pretending she had no idea what occurred since that Gravenport exchanged words in Common. Althaea was the first to break the silence as she asked Hertha, ¡°What was all that about? And I don¡¯t believe that was purely aimed at us I saw the way he seemed to be picking a fight from the start.¡± Hertha sighed as she replied, ¡°His problem? To be honest I would like to know that myself, the boy is a Gravenport. A family of affluence in the City and also the ones responsible for opening up that store which has taken up residence near here. There is always a loss of sales when a competing business of similar standard opens up nearby, but since the stores still made plenty of profit we did not see this as a loss, Mother was not bothered by such things anyways as a Tier 2 Seamstress she could have earned even more serving some Noble. The Gravenports on the other hand, prideful twits viewed our competition as an insult, which lead things to escalate the longer it went on.¡± Althaea and Xandas already could tell by the ugly look on Hertha¡¯s face what happened next was not pleasant. ¡°Turned out this was some vanity project for them to prove that Gravenport Jr could build the most successful clothing store in the City with only a ¡®small loan¡¯ from his family. The problem was even with the Gravenport influence they couldn¡¯t find a more competent Spirit Seamstress than Mother within these parts, no matter how fancy the decor, the improved location of the store or how much they pumped into advertising the place they couldn¡¯t change that the quality of the clothes here was a tad superior. The customers they catered too were the rich, influential folk, they won¡¯t buy inferior product when they can get better, it is a face thing for these people and the Gravenports knew it. Even though the business was still a great success it was just not enough for them that there was plenty of rich folk here preferring my Mothers clothes. That lead to the constant harassments that scare my customers away, the Guards say it¡¯s just a bunch of hooligans with no connections to those Gravenports but I know those smug twits are behind it. And with all this going on in the background my poor Mothers health took a turn for the worse which left the store in a even bigger mess, I feel so ashamed that all my Mothers hard work is going to be ruined by me¡­¡± Hertha felt her eyes began to tear up as she suddenly found herself breaking down. Althaea moved in to embrace the weeping woman who had already started to grow red in embarrassment realising she had poured her heart out to practical strangers. She knew Althaea a long time ago and always got on well with her but they had not spoken in a long time. And the other two was a random elven man, who although very Handsome she felt stupid talking about her problems to him and the remaining was a small child who had been staring blankly at her with her mouth open the entire time. ¡°It¡¯s fine Hertha, if you want to talk about it¡­¡± Althaea comforting words sounded out before Hertha replied decisively. ¡°No it is completely fine. Let¡¯s get back to selecting you some clothes before that rude man interrupted us, I can assure you his type is not common here.¡± Hertha said and like that they continued browsing through the store. Eventually Althaea had selected a number of outfits she was finally satisfied with. Ava was the longer of the two since both Hertha and Althaea fussed over her like two Mothers as they went from outfit to outfit until finally finding common ground with them both agreeing on something they were happy with. Xandas despite being her actual Father was the one to have no input in the matter which funnily enough he was happy with after one of his suggestions was met with pure loathing and disgust by the two women. Not knowing what he had done wrong he decided to just sit back and let them both go back to fussing over his daughter. The two women still shot the man scathing looks for the next twenty minutes over how ludicrous his taste of clothing was, leaving Xandas sweating and wishing he¡¯d have just remained quiet in the first place. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Althaea wished Hertha well after they had already stayed in the clothing store for close to their proposed time limit. She said they will visit her tomorrow if they had the time before leaving but otherwise wished her well. The two women embraced for a good while before separating, Hertha couldn¡¯t help it but hoist Ava in the air again finding her too cute just looking up at her with her big eyes from under the hood. Xandas on the other hand just stood awkwardly, letting out a strained look as he put his hand forward inviting her to grasp his hand. Ava couldn¡¯t believe her charming talented Father seemed so uncomfortable doing something making her couldn¡¯t help but snigger. Hertha just ignored the hand yoinking him in for hug chuckling at her Father turning rigid before she released him. ¡°Ah that was worth it just to see the look on your face, anyways have a good trip and look after that daughter of yours, even someone ordinary like me can tell she¡¯s special.¡± Hertha said as she gave Ava a knowing wink. ¡®Did she pick up something?¡¯ Ava thought wondering if her clueless act had been seen through. ¡®She finished her sentence in Common Ava she knows, keep your face straight.¡¯ Cense said reminding her. The spirit has been unusually quiet since arriving in the Human City letting her take in the sights. He still found enjoyment in her torture at the clothing shore showing the spirits masochist qualities but his input here kept her from revealing anything as the homely woman seemed to try to catch her out. ¡°Hmm. I thought¡­¡± Hertha mumbled deciding she might have been mistaken seeing Ava expression failing to change showing no signs of understanding. The others just stood there straight in silence for a while before Althaea said, ¡°Well we better be off then¡­ that old man Arwen would be upset if I keep him waiting, anyhow I will ask him anyways about your Mother, the man is too uptight for his own good but he¡¯s a great healer.¡± Hertha replied, ¡°Thanks for the offer, though I used a lot of coin to ask the best healer of the City and he said it¡¯s jus¡¯ natural causes of aging with him not being able to do much but alleviate the pain though I wouldn¡¯t refuse help if it came by.¡± Althaea again thanked Hertha for the help with the clothes as the party left the store with big bundles of clothing in hand. Most of which was carried by Xandas. ¡°Looks like you were useful for something after all¡­¡± Althaea murmured evilly as his presence enabled her to purchase even more bundles of clothing. The only storage ring in the group belonged to old man Arwen who wouldn¡¯t lend his out to Althaea to use so frivolously. Apparently Althaea even had one until Arwen confiscated hers due to an untold incident. Eventually they reached the spot where Arwen asked them to meet finding the old man there waiting for them. Arwen¡¯s face was initially straight until he saw the packaging of clothing so large it hide Xandas¡¯s tall frame as he lumbered with them around his arms. Althaea didn¡¯t even pause as her face shown a broad grin saying, ¡°Told you I would be back on time.¡± Arwen couldn¡¯t find it in him to smile as he looked at Xandas with some pity before he replied, ¡°Alright let¡¯s go to the Inn and have some food, the ship for tomorrow is sorted, there¡¯s a ship willing to take us as passengers and we will be expected to join them to Kaldor. We cannot be late for boarding or they will leave without us since they are on a strict schedule, is that understood Althaea?¡± ¡°Huh! Oh understood, got it.¡± Althaea replied casually not giving anyone confidence. After that the group went off to the Inn Arwen described. Finding a nicely built lodgings made up of wood and stone. It did not look super grand or impressive rather giving a more homely, welcoming vibe. ¡®Cliff Inn¡¯ she read reading the sign atop of the entrance. Upon entering the decor inside remained similar to the outside, there were rows of table and chairs, sat upon them a mixture of patrons of different backgrounds. The atmosphere was boisterous with it still being the prime time of the day, the guests chuckling merrily as they share food and drink. Pulling up to a empty table they sat down and awaited service. ¡®My type of place.¡¯ Ava thought seeing the patrons mostly minding their own business as they enjoyed their meals. Arwen gestured to the server to get them all some food and drink. The Inn seemed family oriented with plenty of options for young children. It seemed mostly merchant families and people visiting the city would stay here, with it not being your typical Inn. Seemed Arwen did his research she thought relishing the comfort of being able to finally relax in a place after all that travelling. She just hoped that everything would remain so quiet and peaceful. Chapter 36 - The Path to Success A stern middle-aged man stared down at his whimpering progeny in dissatisfaction. Ardon Gravenport was not born to riches. He has built up his family from the ground up to the point they are today. Adruil was important to him. It was where he had started off his humble beginnings and why he had wanted the boy of his favourite son to learn his lessons here. Initially the boy was an embarrassment despite having the full support his favourite sons finances he failed to beat some paltry local business with no backing. Eventually though the boy learnt. Did he build up his riches by being a business genius? He was never particularly talented in that regard, he was competent enough to know the basic necessities of how to run a business smoothly but he had often ran into competition that was just better than him. It was to be expected, Ardon was not particularly passionate about the products he often focused in, it was to be expected business owners who were both passionate and competent to exceed what he could produce. It was why he never planned to play fair to begin with. He grew up in the poverty stricken areas of Adruil, the backwater places the rich pretend to not exist. There the gangs were a bunch of cut-throats. They did whatever they could to be on top, backstabbing, schemes, whatever you could think of to get an edge on the competition would be done without remorse. He always believed to be a good businessman you must apply the skills you learn from life-lessons. That was why he viewed it as a waste to ignore the advantages coming from such a background. Those uppity folks never saw it coming when they realised he never planned to beat them at their own game from the very beginning. He was glad he finally instilled that in this petulant whelp since arriving here. From the very beginning it was obvious the upstarts store would never eradicate all the business going to that store from the very beginning no matter how much coin he pumped into his own. The only way to blow them away was to recruit a Tier 3 Spirit Seamstress which was impossible as you¡¯d only find such individuals that proficient in their occupation serving the Royal Family or located in the richest, most affluent places in the Empire. Spirit Seamstresses were not particular rare in the lower levels, but you required some Mage talent to become one. Usually Mages with low potential would do such an occupation since it is a respectful occupation in the later levels, and if you develop fine control over your Attuned Qi it is something you can progress in, though the more talented a Mage you are the more efficient you would be. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. A Tier 1 Spirit Seamstress was usually the limit of most thought, anything above that took much time and dedication. Becoming a Tier 2 Seamstress meant they can work with more precious materials without wasting them, and since the gap to becoming Tier 3 was large, there were differences in the level of clothing produced by a Tier 2 Seamstress. Only a Spirit Seamstresses can bring out the full potential of precious silks, materials, whilst also infusing their own attuned Qi in the progress of working with them, making the clothes more resilient, resistant to certain attributes. The clothing store his upstart progeny was competing against had a surprisingly competent Tier 2 Seamstress. Superior to than the ones he found for his own store anyways, it made him extremely frustrated, irritated the boy continued to try and pull away the business from the store believing a more fancy-looking store, creating rumours to discredit his competitors and continuously pumping money on large events to bolster his own stores reputation would chase away all the high-end customers that store get. The boy failed to understand that anyone of affluence in this place was not fools. Perhaps the silver spoons would be intrigued by the fancy get up and get caught up in all the fad of this new high end store, but anyone with any power would know a superior product when they see one and these people won¡¯t play about with their lives for fancier looking clothes. In the end that store produced stronger, more resilient clothes whilst also being able to handle stronger materials than their own Tier 2 Spirit Seamstress, they was simply better at the one thing they could not pay for and the there was only one solution when a rival had such an advantage. He was initially satisfied when the boy finally realised this after being nudged by himself. Ardon still had contacts with the nefarious gangs of the city and they were put to good use this time, however now the boy once again sat before him remaining the snivelling cowardly runt he absolutely detests. To think such weakness would originate from his family, that expensive poison was wasted to gift to the boy, anyhow that didn¡¯t mean the boys next words didn¡¯t intrigue. ¡°There was a bunch of elves with her I swear it! A little girl that even had such strange features, her hair was all blue and that she looked like some¡­¡± The boy said snivelling pathetically however the words he said made him stand up in shock. ¡°You said what?¡± Ardon asked. ¡°There was som¡¯ Elves and she smacked me real hard, it friggin¡¯ hurt!¡± The boy said angering him so he couldn¡¯t help but smack him hard sending him to the ground. ¡°Focus on that child! Tell me everything.¡± Ardon Gravenport demanded sending the boy into a stupor. He did not understand, he was grovelling to his Grandfather to get revenge on that evil woman and he was focused on a bunch of elves, why the child in particular? That mature one was the one he was hoping¡­ He once again felt a hard slap as he felt himself wake up from his thoughts. ¡°Alright ¡­ alright, so she was at the back¡­ I didn¡¯t see much before that harpy got hold of me but¡­¡± The boy started describing. Ardon Gravenport found himself listening eagerly to the boys words as he heard what he saw. ¡®It can¡¯t be¡­ to have one out here, have I hit the damn jack pot? I must make plans urgently, or I might lose this opportunity¡­¡¯ Ardon thought excitedly, however he knew that he couldn''t get ahead of himself, he must research the group thoroughly before making a move. He didn¡¯t get to where he was by making mistakes. Chapter 37 - Strange Development Ava found a large palette of food in front of her that provided a great variety that would never be apart of her diet back in the tribe. Contrary to the popular folklore of her old world, Elves here did not primarily consume a plant-base diet instead they would consume whatever they can sustainably gather in the forest such as magical beasts. Elves also did not only contain a more potent talent in magic to humans but also boasted a stronger physique, being naturally more agile, bigger than humans on average. Their only detriment is their fertility that was far weaker than humans. They were also plainly less creative than a human would be, Elves are mostly content to live simply and are renowned for their outlook on life to be different than a human since their longevity granted them far more time. Despite having more talent on average compared to human experts, humans usually broke through to the next realm even faster than elves do as becoming a Monarch required more than just talent. Though even still there were similar amount of Elven Monarchs compared to humans despite the large population disparity between them as many human experts fail to reach the Monarch realm before their lifespan expired in comparison to an Elf who had far more time. Additionally Elven Monarchs were usually stronger than their human counterparts, the Human Emperor was an exception to this rule according to Arwen who remarked he was extraordinary for a human standards in these parts. Thinking about the cultural differences between the two races made her realise what an irregularity the so called Royal Clan are like compared to the general understanding of Elves. They acted nothing like what Cense told her about the Elven community growing up looked like and made her realise exactly why Arwen was tasked by the Druids to investigate them. However it did not make sense to her how they have been able to remain unhindered until now though this was not relevant to the current her since she was still too weak to make any difference. Eyeing up the food she couldn¡¯t help but lick her lips revealing her large canines that gleamed slightly in the brightly lit Inn. Having much sharper teeth compared to her life as a human seemed strange at first but she quickly got used to them and grew to enjoy them as they made tearing through tough meat effortless. It also reminded her of a problem. Moving her tongue gingerly she touched the bottom of her mouth, directly opposite her large fangs where the canines of a human would be. Strangely she felt that the sharp teeth opposite the fangs on the top of her mouth were growing to resemble the ones above them. This was unusual considering every elf she had seen so far in this world only shared the fangs at the top of the mouth, none resembled her having two sets of them at the top and the bottom. The only thing that reassured her was Cense who mysteriously informed her it was nothing to be concerned about and was healthy development for an Elf and if others knew they would only be envious of her. Ava was only incensed by the cryptic words of the spirit as those words didn¡¯t mean anything to her and only made her more curious, however Cense stated that it would ruin the surprise and decided to revert back to his annoying self from the day she had met him. Cense would not spit out the answer no matter how much she pleaded and begged. She also ruled out on asking Arwen any questions about it because she did not want to appear any more of a freak whilst she travelled with them, leading her to decide to do her own research when they finally arrived at the Academy. However these plans did not matter to her at the moment as it was times to enjoy some good food. Ravenously she started chomping down on her plate to the shock of the others present. The Inn keeper had warned that the steak they placed on her plate was too tough for a child of her age, yet she tore into the meat like soft tofu as she devoured the assortment of meat and vegetables. Guests and the staff of the Inn stared at her in complete bewilderment at the ravenous child only to realise what she was upon staring at her sharp teeth that tore into the food. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Some had looks of fear as they stared at the group since due to the great suppression the Royal Clan placed on the nearby communities of humans for years it led to the elves having a poor reputation around here. Nonetheless to the other humans who shown no fear they shown downright resentment to them and hatred feeling the need to openly show their hostility to the group of elves. Of course there were plenty that shown neutral looks, not caring about them at all, their group also shown a similar response with none of the other denizens at the Inn bothering them throughout their meal. In the end they choose the Inn for a reason, it commonly had travellers as guests and some of these included Elves, so it was not uncommon. Elves were not banned in the City and being here meant they were deemed to be non threatening, therefore although some may not like it they would shoot them a few dirty looks at most and ignore them for the most part. Soon enough they each finished their food, with them all sharing content expressions on their face. Deciding it was growing late with all of them satisfied with the food, Arwen proposed for them to each head to their rooms since they would be leaving early tomorrow. Xandas wanted to share a room with her, however the crazy woman Althaea was so insistent that both Ava and her should share since they were both girls he had to come to a compromise. Xandas would sleep in the same room for the night for safety reasons though would leave the girls to their privacy when sorting through the new clothes Althaea had bought today. Althaea agreed with heavy reluctance though understood just from the look in Xandas¡¯s eyes that wouldn¡¯t budge when it came to his daughters safety. Arwen on the other hand was satisfied to have a room to his self. The old man felt himself too old to bother with the arguments of youngsters and decided it was good for his health to leave others to deal with Althaea¡¯s antics for once. Heading to the back of the Inn they left the dining area, revealing a staircase that lead upwards to the top floor. Soon enough they found themselves at the second floor of the Inn, revealing a large hall way with a number of wooden doors with room numbers etched on a metal plate that was placed at the front. Looking at the key to their rooms. They quickly found a number inscribed on it, quickly locating the two rooms as they found the number ¡®14¡¯ and ¡®19¡¯ fairly near to each other. Arwen quickly bid the others farewell as he quietly sped off leaving the rest of them behind to argue over the room arrangements. Ava knew she would not have much of a say in the matter so just stood there with a blank look on her face as Althaea glared at Xandas with her eyes seeming to scream death upon looking at his face. Xandas interrupted the silence as he said, ¡°You can¡¯t be unreasonable, she is not your¡­¡± However her father seemed to underestimate the pettiness of Althaea as she crossed her arms as she said, ¡°How dare you question me, because we¡¯re not related by blood! You know your daughter is like a Little Sis to me, in fact why don¡¯t you call me Big Sis now!¡± Althaea seemed to stare at her with an un compromising look that refused to back down no matter how Ava tried to find a way to escape the situation, eventually she gave in knowing there was no way out forcing Ava to quietly mutter, ¡°Big sis¡­¡± Having a satisfied smirk upon hearing her mutter those words, Althaea said, ¡°See! We¡¯re basically all family now! You can trust me for sure.¡± Xandas just looked back with an open mouth not believing what he was seeing. In fact he looked at Althaea like she had a screw loose. Cense roaring laughter filled her mind as she realised her magic instructor was absolutely insane. ¡®How come she wasn¡¯t like this before? What the hell happened to her.¡¯ Ava thought wondering if Althaea bashed her head during the trip in the forest or if she was always this crazy. Xandas on the other hand felt his head throbbing in pain as no matter how he tried to word it politely, the shameless Althaea would somehow turn it around that it was he the Father who should be the one embarrassed to deprive his daughter of the company of her ¡®doting Big Sis.¡¯ He quickly realised why the old man Arwen hurriedly left the scene so swiftly with him obviously use to Althaea¡¯s tactics. Eventually he found himself admitting defeat as he agreed to give them some time alone to try on the outfits they had bought today in the room though he would be nearby checking on them regularly. Althaea seemed satisfied with the agreement with his daughter having an unreadable expression however he somehow felt she was staring at him with complete betrayal with her big blue eyes as she was dragged off into the room. ¡®I¡¯m sure I imagined things, don¡¯t girls enjoy trying new clothes?¡¯ He thought innocently thinking back to how the women always enjoyed being gifted exotic, luxurious clothes that had been imported from outside the tribe. Ava on the other hand was cursing her useless Father as she felt Althaea eyeing her with a grin as she said, ¡°Hmm which one first¡­¡± That was when a loud knock sounded from the door causing Ava to look at the door in surprise. ¡®I thought Father was going to be longer¡­¡¯ she couldn¡¯t help but think, though was delighted by the interruption. Althaea on the other hand was cross as she angrily mumbled, ¡°I thought he said he would at least give me one incense stick worth of time¡­ what was that¡­¡± She was about to walk to the door in frustration however before she could make a move, seeming as if the person outside found it was taking too long for a response, a sweet voice sounded, ¡°Room service.¡± Chapter 38 - Blood in the Air The voice behind the door led Althaea to pause in confusion, she did not expect a member of the Inns staff at this time. ¡°Is anybody inside? If so I¡¯m just letting you know we will be entering quick to do some cleaning.¡± The voice continued remaining sickingly sweet though Ava felt she can sense some impatience behind the tone. Althaea seemed to feel the same as she walked cautiously to the door muttering an incarnation under her breath. However it seemed the unknown visitors was done with waiting as the door burst open with alarming voice as chips of wood went flying everywhere. Fortunately Althaea was able to cast her spell, ¡°Water Barrier!¡± She mumbled as a dome of water surrounded her and Althaea, thick water Qi gathered until a dome was formed protecting them from the sharp pieces of wood that effortlessly rebounded from the barrier. ¡°Be careful you idiot! You could¡¯ve harmed the kid.¡± The sweet voice said sounding annoyed. ¡°Nothing the healers can¡¯t take care of, besides that Elf witch protected her in time.¡± A deep dark voice sounded as she quickly determined what smashed their room door into pieces. A large mountain of a man ducked under the doorway as a giant of a human appeared who¡¯s head almost touched the 8ft high ceiling. Intense fluctuations was felt from him as he clearly resembled a Warrior. He wore heavy-dense looking plated armour that covered him from head to toe as he lumbered into the room bringing with him a ridiculously sized looking Mace. A wolf crest hanged from his right shoulder-cauldron, it resembled a gang sign of some sorts. Althaea face turned gravely serious as she took in her opponent. As a Mage she was straight away at a disadvantage against a Warrior in close-quartered combat like this one. Even if she was more powerful compared to her adversaries, the current environment suited her enemies far more. Not to mention her schools of magic were not particularly destructive. The large man eyed the protective barrier surrounding them as he whistled in appreciation, ¡°Nice barrier, might take me a few swings to crack this one open.¡± That was when they heard a large commotion that seemed to happen further away from the room as loud clangs of weapons being struck sounded. A petite woman squeezed past the large man as the sweet voice from earlier sounded from her lips as she said, ¡°Hurry up and grab the damn child, we can only distract the others for so long, that old man is even stronger than we speculated.¡± Althaea eyed the women with even more wariness, she can tell from the dexterous smooth movements of the women she belonged to a class of Warriors that was a Mages worse nightmare, being a fighter that excelled on speed and movement she was likely an Assassin. ¡°Damnit this was meant to be a peaceful trip to the academy! Why do people have to always court death at the glimpse of a High¡­¡± Althaea was about to finish but the big man already sprung into action swinging the large mace behind into the Barrier. The Barrier trembled but held as Althaea cursed saying another incantation hurriedly. That petite women behind the big man had also moved as a light shone from her hands as her daggers lit up with Fire Qi striking the barrier at another angle letting out a sizzling noise as the clashing Qi types interacted. It was that time the big man had already brought up his weapon for another swing nonetheless Althaea was not a Magus without skill as she had already casted another spell. ¡°Wood Burrow.¡± A sudden number of roots that magically appeared out of no where coiled around them as she felt herself incased in a protective covering of wood. ¡°Hold on tight little one, wood and water may not be the most destructive elements, but for escaping, protection and healing there is no superior!¡± Althaea whispered as she suddenly felt them dropping as they seemed to pass through the floor of the Inn quickly reaching the bottom floor before seeming to stop. ¡°Shame I can¡¯t go further but that big brute had me pressed for time and I never had to bring a person let alone a child with me before¡­¡± Althaea mumbled with dissatisfaction but she was already grabbing her hand, making a swift move for the exit as a the sounds of fighting in the Inn seem to increase. Althaea and her were already at the dining area they had ate at previously, the exit of the Inn was in sights however that was then they were able to take in the scene of the dining room. It was filled with dead bodies as former patrons of the Inn who they had ate with not long ago laid prone with slit throats, the stench of blood filled the room. Looking at the dead bodies it was clear they made little resistance and their deaths was swift showing a large imbalance in power. The Inn owner seemed to have met the most gruesome fate as his expression was a mixture of horror and recognition before he died, he was hung from the wall by a discarded cleaver of some sort that was deeply in his chest, it could already be guessed he met this fate from recognising who these people were. Ava felt like she was going to vomit seeing the horrific scene but Althaea was already scanning her surroundings seeming to suddenly notice something she was already chanting. Nonetheless it seemed she was too late as a blur too quick for the eye to see shot out from under the bar as a gleaming light was directed towards Althaea. Althaea maintained a calm, collected look even when the knife was mere inches away from her throat yet at the moment it was about to make contact a cracking noise sounded, as the amulet hidden around Althaea¡¯s neck activated causing the bright gem to dim when a transparent barrier protected her from the strike. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The hooded assailant eyes widened in shock as he saw Althaea eyes turn dark. ¡°How dare you make me look bad in front of my apprentice!¡± She said furiously, before saying, ¡°Water Whip!¡± A large snake of condensed Water Qi appeared that flung towards the Assassin with tremendous force. Even a water mage would have some offensive spells and a Magus of Althaea¡¯s rank when casting such a spell the Water Qi would be incredibly dense and powerful. The Assassin eyes were filled with alarm as he tried to evade, but it was no use as the snake-like whip formed by the spell was like a viper as it harshly struck the Assassin sending him flying like a rag doll as he crashed into the wall leaving a hole behind as the force sent him crashing through into the streets outside, the prone assassin seemed to cause a commotion outside the Inn as the screams of pedestrians was heard. A warrior of lower rank would find such an attack forceful never mind an assassin who exchanged their bodies durability for agility. Ava stared at the limp assassin in shock as she looked back up at the innocent face of her Master who showed no emotion from seemingly killing a man. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here apprentice, it will prove too troublesome to deal with those two by myself without the old man, being a Mage has its downside you know¡­ some classes excel in certain situations.¡± Althaea said in a lecturing tone deciding it was a good time to teach her things even now. Ava just nodded obediently wanting to get out of this mess as soon as possible. She already resolved herself to violence the moment her Mother was killed in cold blood in front of her. Nonetheless that didn¡¯t mean it felt good being hounded and chased whilst not having the ability to fight back, being helpless in such a situation was not a good feeling. ¡®It would be good to remember this experience. Cultivation to the top is filled with tribulations and difficulties, even my former Master path was built upon mountains of blood. Having talent can be a blessing or curse depending on what you make of yourself, if you can¡¯t stomach such things there is still time to keep yourself mediocre enough that you won¡¯t be worth the effort.¡¯ Cense decided to say at this point giving Ava some time to ponder on his words. Ava thought over this whilst walking with Althaea to the exit and responded, ¡®Maybe it would be easier to just settle down and live like an ordinary person, but my Mother did that showing when a truly powerful person is around you never have true freedom here. Therefore I will grow strong to the point I have no one to fear, then I can truly live in peace otherwise it will always be to the whims of a powerful person, even I already understand I can¡¯t compare this world to my previous, I need to push to the point where I can go no further only then I could ever dream of finding a quiet place for myself.¡¯ Ava couldn¡¯t find it in herself to relax right now, not when all this mess was caused just by trying to go to the place that will enable her to deal with such problems. This was reinforced even further when the thundering sound of heavy clanking was heard behind them. The massive man had already followed them in fact he straight up smashed a hole in the floor to get to them. His imposing figure made the large dining area look small. His shoulders heaved up and down showing his frustration and anger. ¡°Hand over the child¡­ I ain¡¯t put in all this effort into capturing her for that person, you know how much that little runt is worth to the right people? We can¡¯t survive in this place under that righteous Emperor, but soon as I get my hands on that little brat I will¡­¡± The large man dramatically proclaimed before he was interrupted by the female assassin from earlier who elegantly followed. ¡°Shut up you dim wit! That old man will get here any minute now and you won¡¯t stop yapping you absolute big buffoon¡­¡± The female assassin started shouting coldly as she was growing incensed by the man. The big man decided it was best to keep quiet as he hoisted his big mace in the air ready to give the little mage another whack. Althaea grew wary as she saw the big man looked like he was about to charge. Nonetheless it seemed there was no need as the seemingly impressive big man was sent flying out of no where as the sound of a loud clang was heard. The big man was sent flying like a cannon ball as he crashed through the Inn leaving behind a hole twice the size of the recently disposed assassin as a large thump sounded when he crashed onto the cobbled streets. Luckily no pedestrians seemed to be in the way with the area being long vacated soon after the assassin was left there, but the big man clearly left a far bigger impact as sounds of exclaim and shock was heard in the distance. Turning to the direction the big man was sent flying she saw a slightly disheveled Arwen who for the first time she saw him had a slightly annoyed look on his face. ¡°How did you guys get a sealing formation? Even as low levelled as it was I can¡¯t believe someone would supply one to kidnap a child under the protection of a Druid.¡± His words seemed to stifle the atmosphere as the female assassin began shaking. ¡°I can tell you who the culprit is! Just don¡¯t leave us to those dogs of the Emperor.¡± The female assassin already seemed to lose it, she had no qualms betraying someone for improved perks after all she was a cut throat who had ascended in status through betraying and killing people, she has no true loyalty. ¡®That idiot had us go against a Druid! He must have known, all he said was it was some high status old man, with the sealing formation this should have been an easy job¡¯ The woman thought as sweat began pouring from her brows in panic. The cost of offending a Druid in that blood thirsty Emperor¡¯s territory was so terrifying that she grew incredibly flustered at the thought of what awaited her. Although not having personally met the Emperor, him and his followers were well known for their brutality, he was known as Acadian the Dread for a reason. The number of powerful experts and influential people far stronger than she was ended up being tortured horribly to set an example of belonged to backgrounds far more impressive than she and her crew ever were, yet look how they ended up. She wouldn¡¯t be concerned if she was left purely to the Magistrate of the City, but offending a Druid was far worse a crime than she believed she was committing. It was to the point where she would definitely be presented to that fiend of an Emperor followers. Seeing the shaking assassin talk of revealing the culprit so readily even made Arwen surprised. Going by the quality of the groups abilities he believed they would be far more difficult to get information out of, most people who knew they were captured by a Druid wouldn¡¯t be too fearful about being caught by them if they belonged to a member of the intelligent races, since Druids did not believe in torture. ¡®Maybe she had a change of heart.¡¯ Arwen thought believing his reputation had an impact in the scene before him. ¡°Alright tell me what you know, actually wait for whichever person comes here to investigate this mess, best we let the City and it¡¯s Guards know.¡± Arwen decided to the female assassin who nodded so readily Arwen appeared delighted how easy it was. ¡®I thought I lost my touch with my charm since interacting with that ridiculous Royal Clan, looks like things are going up!¡¯ Arwen thought thinking about his new apprentice as a grin appeared on his face. He was dissatisfied that his apprentice was once again put in danger, yet now he was about to catch the culprits so easily, therefore he couldn¡¯t help but find his mood improving from earlier when he realised someone had dared to make an attempt to kidnap her in front of him. ¡®Looks like I got work to do¡­¡¯ Arwen thought as he awaited the guards to come. Xandas has also soon joined them, visible wounds were on his body indicating he had a clash with some of the other assassins and warriors upstairs. He was clearly delighted at seeing Ava was fine and went over to comfort her, they then did not have to wait long for a large group of guards to arrive. It was time to see who put these people up to this after all. Chapter 39 - Investigation The guards soon arrived in large numbers. They similarly resembled the guards she saw previously at the gate, though their discipline and training was now on full display as they appeared in a tight formation that left no gaps for someone to escape from the Inn. Ava could already see the big man Arwen sent flying earlier was currently being surrounded by a bunch of guards who prodded and secured the giant after realising he was merely knocked unconscious. She could already tell this seemed to put the guards on edge against the occupants in the Inn as the giants original pristine and heavy armour now had a large dent in the back showing the sheer force he had been hit with. The guards knew if any of them were struck by the blow they would not have been merely knocked out like the big man and would have been mortally wounded. It caused a shiver down the spines of the guards at the thought of the expert responsible. None of them felt confident about confronting them however they were all duty bound by the city. They felt even more nervous as they found another body outside the Inn, however unlike the giant this one was clearly not breathing. The body of an inconspicuous looking hooded man laid prone and unmoving as it was clear his chest was caved in from being crushed by a massive force. Knowing they were now dealing with someone who commuted a murder openly on the steet they approached the Inn cautiously. However the guards were shocked to find upon entering they found a scene so disturbing it caused some of the younger men to wince as they felt bile rising up in their stomachs. The stench of death filled the room as the bodies of the former patrons laid still, murdered brutally. And the strangest thing of them all despite the scene from was hell that among all this carnage stood a friendly looking old man who was smiling at them, by his side stood a beautiful female elf with a look of pure annoyance, a terrified looking human woman who¡¯s clothing resembled the deceased assassin outside, a handsome grizzled male elf and the strangest of them all a small Elven child who stood there harmlessly with a blank look on her face. The scene was so bizare that the guard felt himself blinking twice to see if he was imagining things. However he quickly regained his professionalism as he interrupted the old man before he could speak, ¡°Alright we can resolve this peacefully, now put your hands behind your back so we can get to the bottom of this mess¡­¡± His thoughts were quick to think of why a child was in such a predicament in the first place but quickly decided maybe it was an Elf thing but before he could issue further commands his captain barged past. ¡°One moment men, everyone step down. Sorry Sir Druid for you experiencing such a horrid problem whilst in the City, how may we be of service? I presume that young lady is apart of the group responsible.¡± The guard captain said measurably, he had rushed in upon recognising the Druid from earlier in the day. His superiors had already informed him to make sure the Druid was well looked after whilst he stayed in Adruil. They did not want any issues to arise to complicate their relationship with the Druids. It was already clear the Emperor had a good rapport with the Druids with him even actively supporting their interests in his territory as they usually benefit him anyways since the Emperor pursued fairness in his lands. He had reformed the nobility system and now if they were not up to standard they would be replaced by individuals more capable, no one was untouchable and the Cities magistrate did not want to potentially offend the Emperor over such matters. The Guard captain had also straight away recognised the situation around him just from the emblem on the women¡¯s right-cauldron. ¡®Blood Wolf Gang, looks like they finally bitten something harder than they can chew this time. Damn fools just had to provoke the Druid under our watch, why couldn¡¯t they have court death out of the City walls? That must be the leader Barbarian Yu outside, the man fits his reputation though crazy to think he was left in such a state¡­¡¯ The guard captain thought nervously scanning Arwens reaction to his words. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Yu was a member of the Barbarian race. A large powerful humanoid race renowned for their strength and battle prowess as Warriors. He was a actually in the Seventh Tier, a sufficient level to be a member of the elite guard serving the Emperor himself and Yu was no ordinary Seventh Tier expert since being a Barbarian meant his bodily strength was astonishing for his realm with him being able to crush most experts at the same rank. It was one of the reasons why he had remained unhindered in the City for now, since it would be too troublesome for the Magistrate to deal with him and they had no concrete evidence on the man to press charges since everyone who had the pleasure to interact with him ended up dead. The Blood Wolf gang was notorious in these parts for being a ruthless, merciless group of killers who had never failed to deal with their target before now, yet now their leader was left defeated and the assassin who resembled Yu¡¯s right hand aide seemed so terrified she was about to collapse from fear. Arwen took that moment to smile as he said, ¡°That young lady will explain everything, now if you don¡¯t mind I should take my apprentice out of here, what has happened here is unsightly for a child.¡± The guard captain nodded in understanding as they left, as the female assassin began explaining everything hurriedly as if she was worried if this matter wasn¡¯t solved appropriately she would be in deep trouble. ¡®Looks like even the Emperors reputation has even led to a cold killer being wary of the consequences of his intervention.¡¯ The guard captain thought noticing the women¡¯s reaction. He knew her honesty here had likely saved her from a meeting from one of the Emperors personal Inquisitors who were experts at pulling information out of criminals like this. ¡®The Gravenports what were they thinking? All to abduct a highly prized asset among Elven kind. Though I can¡¯t believe I saw one up close, even as a child, usually Elves like that only belong to a Royal Clan or High Nobility¡¯ He thought thinking to the unique features of the elven child. He knew the Gravenports likely intended to risk everything for a chance to take the child however now they faced the consequences of failing. ¡®The Emperor will want them dealt with and fast. I must contact my superiors, we have much work to do.¡¯ The guard captain thought as he gestured to his men to take the female assassin captive and told her to repeat what she said to him to his superiors. She nodded obediently knowing full well how much this matter will blow up since it involved a Druid and a precious, rare member of Elven kind. The guards quickly went into action as they left the Inn, reassuring the public before securing the area to sort out the bloody mess the Blood Wolf gang left behind. Finding further bodies of the gangs members as they scoped the remainder of the Inn, they saw a further warriors and assassins slashed to death, each of their throats slit by a blade indicating they met their end at the hands of a swordsman. On the other hand the Druid opponents were clear since they all shared light injuries and were left in an unconscious state like Yu, the guards rounded up the surviving members of the gang and brought them to be imprisoned, interrogated like the female assassin. They then had to investigate the victims of the matter and sent out a number of guards to notify the families about the incident, fortunately the culprits were dealt with and the matter was resolved in the way that the families can rest knowing the Blood Wolf gang had been wiped out after the ordeal. The only matter left was the Gravenports in which the guards after receiving the Magistrates quick approval had sprung into action to deal with them swiftly before they can notice anything amiss dealing them a heavy blow. Their assets was confiscated and most of the members was rounded up and imprisoned. Soon enough evidence was discovered linking them to multiple gangs of the City and further illicit business, meaning even without this incident the Gravenport was guilty of heavy crimes. The incident about the Gravenports filled the City with shock. For such a large, affluent family to collapse suddenly like this was rare. Adruil Cities Magistrate soon apologised to a clothing store that had been one of the victims of the Gravenports. It turned out they were aided and acquaintances of the Druid himself who had further discovered a famed Spirit Seamstress had actually been poisoned as they competed for business against the Gravenports. Reparations were offered but they declined, in the end the ownership of the Gravenports store was attempted to be gifted to them but they still refused which led to them receiving the coin of the sale of the store in the end, only then was the Magistrate happy to put the matter to rest. The only thing that annoyed him is that the head of the Gravenports, Ardon Gravenport successfully escaped and was missing since the dissolution of his family. Fortunately the Druid had left by now with the young elf girl, hopefully that puts this matter to rest and he wouldn¡¯t have to hear about them again. It was not good for his health to be so anxious dealing with such things. Hopefully Ardon Gravenport realises the futility of his actions and gives up on such a hopeless endeavour. The Magistrate let out a deep sigh thanking that this was mess was finally over. Chapter 40 - Alchemist After they had left the guards behind to deal with the matters involving the assailants, Althaea was quickly able to recount the encounter with the Gravenports allowing Arwen to quickly realise the situation. ¡°I knew anyone who could recognise what she is will discover how valuable she is, but to cause such troubles this soon shows the dangers ahead.¡± Arwen mumbled gloomily. He knew Ava was a special case the moment he saw the changes she had physically. It signified something significant among Elven kind, a bloodline evolution. He had no idea how a child that came from a normal bloodline had experienced such a change, but when Ava matured it would be momentous for elven kind. The Elven bloodline was different to that of a Magical Beast, they did not rely upon it as much to ascend in cultivation though its cultural significance and the boast in talent it provides makes it something greatly desired among Elven kind. Ava bloodline transformation meant she would awaken as a High Elf, that was a superior life form to a normal elf. Simply being a High Elf meant she would have a legitimate claim to the throne towards any of the Elven kingdoms in these parts, cultural significance to the bloodline in Elven culture is very high, High Elves are born leaders among Elves and are considered natural nobility among their kind. It makes them a precious resource among Elves, the only problem is they are incredibly rare, most High Elves are hereditary the high nobility and Royal Clan among a Kingdom pass on their bloodline to their offspring, though their blood may weaken over time which is why naturally awakened Elves such as Ava would be greatly desired. A naturally awakened High Elf usually possesses very strong blood that may be able to revive a High Nobility clan, or even a Royal Clan that bloodline has degraded, it could also allow a Noble family to ascend into the Upper Echelons of Elven society since they had reached the furthest they can go and are limited by their bloodline. The only problem is naturally awakened like Ava are ridiculously rare to the point that an Elf experiencing such a mutation among the millions of Elves in the four continents may only happen once in a decade and even then it is not usually as potent as Ava which can be seen just from her features alone. Arwen for all his years as a Druid had never seen such an anomaly like Ava. Even now he felt her blood seemed to be continuously changing, it was as if something was stimulating her bloodlines potential crazily, he felt that if this continued she may evolve once again to something that has never been seen on this continent in a long, long time. The only place that contained Elves of such status presently was the mainland. If it did happen he could only imagine the chaos it would cause among the Elven kind and may even stir the mainland that has not bothered with them for many years. However this was all in the future he already knew just being a High Elf would cause Ava no end of trouble until they arrive safely behind the Academy walls. Opportunists like the Gravenports would see Ava as something that could bring them untold amount of benefits. He knew even his status as a Druid will not protect her from such greedy eyes as he knew the promise of a windfall would push those to the point where they would sacrifice anything as long as they can secure Ava. However now the only thing they could do was get on the boat and head to Kaldor soon as possible, he knew as long as they arrive at Rarmose Academy she would be safe long enough to mature and have a means to defend herself. High Elves were prideful things and grew extremely quickly in comparison to most Elves, and one who had drive would suppress most geniuses to the point where they could only look up at them from afar. Nonetheless now it was time to plan for the future so he decided to ask, ¡°Does anyone has a good idea where to stay for the night?¡± Althaea stood with a thinking look on her face before she replied, ¡°I have an idea, might as well carry out a favour whilst we ask too, knowing how shady those people are I have my suspicions about something.¡± Arwen nodded and soon enough the rest of the group followed Althaea. Ava had somewhat of an idea of Althaea¡¯s plan the moment they arrived at a house near the clothing store they had visited earlier in the day. Approaching the door and knocking loudly they were greeted by the familiar figure of Hertha who appeared pleasantly shocked at the sight of them. ¡°Hello again! I didn¡¯t expect to see you so soon, I wonder how I may help you?¡± Hertha asked questionably. Althaea smiled in response before she replied, ¡°Well it¡¯s a long story, and I think we can be of great help to you.¡± Hertha nodded in understand as she looked up and saw the wizened Arwen, an Xandas who looked roughed up compared to when she last saw him and the small child Ava who once again shown a calmness way beyond her years as she looked up at her with her big eyes. ¡°Alright come on in, Husbands out on a trip out the City so it¡¯s just me and my Mum with my son all grown up now.¡± Hertha said as she gestured for them to follow as she entered the house. Soon after they entered they found themselves in a large lounge area that seemed homely and spacious. Hertha instructed them to have a seat as she offered them refreshments which the group was about to decline but Hertha insisted. ¡°You said the story may take time¡­ so might as well have some Tea whilst you explain things.¡± Hertha replied as the group nodded. Eventually she came back with a kettle and some cups handing one out to each of them. Ava found herself holding a small one with hot tea poured inside, she took a sip instantly finding the hot tea refreshing. Seeing that Hertha was now ready, they decided Althaea should be the one to start. ¡°Now you know about those Gravenports, we¡¯ll after we left the store¡­¡± Althaea said and soon enough they gave Hertha the roundabout version of the events that transpired. Hertha eyes widened in shock as she thoughtfully replied, ¡°I know those Gravenports was bad news the moment I¡¯ve met them, but didn¡¯t realise they were that sinister, well your welcome to stay here if you would like, plenty of space and I understand you feeling unsafe after what transpired.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Althaea took that moment to reply, ¡°Well that was one of the reasons I wanted to shamelessly intrude upon you, however I also think that the old man could greatly help you too. May we see your Mother?¡± Hertha pondered for a moment before she replied, ¡°Well there¡¯s no shame in trying. It¡¯s just hard to find hope after being told by a number of Physicians that there is nothing to be done.¡± Arwen found this moment to smile as he replied, ¡°Well lucky I ain¡¯t no Physician but an Alchemist, and if what happened if what I think did, well that is something I can help with.¡± Hertha eyes widened in surprise a moment upon realising what Arwen said. An alchemist! The uncommoness of one is crazy, even a Tier 1 Alchemist had great status never mind those above. It was one of the most prized and respected occupations for a reason, though most would agree Physicians are better suited to treating illnesses, there are unique situations where an Alchemist can be more helpful. Ava eyes shined brightly upon hearing Arwens words, the moment she arrived in this World she inspected the pills in Arwens little hut with inquisitiveness of the nature of them. Before when she was told he was a Herbalist she thought that was the extent of his prowess, despite the impressiveness of his knowledge she was curious about whether there were Alchemists in this world with it being one with cultivation. It was only now that she realised Arwen was the more highly considered Alchemist all this time and merely presented himself like a simple Herbalist. Hertha seemed to be filled with vigour and excitement upon realising Arwen could be of genuine help. She had long discarded any hope since every time she would be filled with expectations upon requiring the aid of a famed Physician to only have them tell her a similar thing, again and again that her Mother was simply reaching the end of her lifespan it would fill her with despondence. Though now she was filled with new enthusiasm as she directed Arwen to her mothers room with growing nervousness. ¡®Please don¡¯t give me false hope again!¡¯ She whispered in her heart, she did not have the means to have an Alchemist come check on her Mother before so it was out of the realm of possibilities but now one was here giving her renewed hope. Arriving in a large bedroom they found a sickly women laid down on a large bed. She appeared decrepit and devoid of strength, seeming listless. However despite the mature women on the bed resembling a skeleton as she laid weakly, hidden within her eyes was great strength that refused to burn no matter how weak she looked to be. Ava found herself present in the room with Xandas behind her looking down with concern. Originally Xandas and Hertha seemed to think it was not right for a young child like Ava to see the state of her mother, however Arwen insisted she be present. He fully intended to train her the ways of Alchemy upon witnessing her talent at learning herbology from him therefore he wanted her to get use to seeing such things, and to also see firsthand how miraculous the art of Alchemy is. Arwen was that confident he can heal the woman no matter what state she was in as long as she was below the Monarch realm which is why he made such assurances. The mature women seemed to notice the rooms occupants as she weakly looked at them, her voice sounded hoarse as if she had not drunk for weeks as she said, ¡°My daughter¡­ am I seeing things¡­¡± Tears seemed to fill Hertha¡¯s eyes as she looked down upon her Mother as she replied, ¡°They are real Mum, he is here to help you.¡± The mature women eyes opened slightly as she stared particular hard at Arwen who was the one Hertha gestured too as she said, ¡°Oh¡­ are you going to tell me I¡¯m not sick too?¡± Arwen gently smiled as he said, ¡°No, in fact I know something is wrong.¡± With surprising strength the old woman suddenly said strongly, ¡°Finally! Someone believes me, I¡¯m not paranoid, I can feel something wrong with my body! I know it¡¯s true! I know!¡± That sudden surge of strength evaporated quickly as it came as the old women seemed to sag back into bed after spouting those words with conviction. Arwen simply placed his hand on the women¡¯s head seeming to perform some technique before he scrunched his eyebrows with anger upon realising what was wrong. ¡°Poison!¡± Arwen shouted. The occupants in the room stared in shock at Arwen¡¯s proclamation especially since they only saw him place his hand on the women¡¯s head to identify the problem. ¡°But how? Those physician checked her blood and everything yet found nothing¡­¡± Hertha mumbled in denial at realising her Mother maybe not ill but was targeted all along. ¡°It¡¯s a malicious poison¡­ very rare. Whoever did this had connections or had a lot of luck to acquire it and wanted it to remain hidden, it would be hard for me to find it if it wasn¡¯t for the disparity in our cultivation levels. Now luckily I have just the pill to expunge such a thing.¡± Arwen said calmly before he grasped a pill from thin air, presenting it to the eyes of those present. Ava upon seeing such a pill eyes gleamed. Immediately they all smelt a strong medical scent from the pill revealing the quality of the ingredients. Hertha body stiffened upon realising the expense that Arwen was likely making for this as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can afford such a pill¡­¡± Hertha said it with hesitance as it was something that could save her mothers life but in the end she did want to take something she cannot reasonably pay for. Arwen just laughed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s all fine. I would insist to provide it to you anyways, let¡¯s just say take it as a thanks for your kindness towards my apprentice. We Druids have a strong belief in Karma.¡± Arwen then gently placed the pill towards the mature women¡¯s mouth. Hertha¡¯s mother seemed to maintain consciousness during the conversation but was unable to respond mostly since she was too weak. Now though she seemed to come to life as she received the pill, feeling it dissolve in her mouth, she quickly gulped it down without hesitation as she suddenly felt a warm stream fill her body. Suddenly she let loose a loud groan before she began trembling. Hertha eyes filled with worry however that evaporated as the old women seemed to sit up and began vomiting large swaths of black blood. Hertha remained concern though felt relief as the black blood clearly represented Arwen diagnosis was right. Luckily Arwen placed a bowel for the old women in front of her before hand, which she was able to hold onto as she expurged the poison. Afterwards the mature women stopped, despite her body still remaining frail and weak, her eyes glittered a newfound light as she said, ¡°I feel so much better! I feel like I want to move though child I¡¯m so tired, I would like to thank you sir, but my body is still¡­¡± The mature women then trembled as she felt herself forcing to keep her eyes open. In the end she was still too weak after spending that much time on bed rest with the poison running through her body. Arwen maintained his gentle smile as he replied, ¡°It is fine rest now.¡± The mature women fell back asleep, despite the weakness in her body, she clearly looked more peaceful and full of vitality now that she slept. Hertha looked at Arwen full of great fullness as she replied, ¡°Thank you! Oh thank you, how can I repay you?¡± Arwen just replied, ¡°I¡¯d enjoy another cup of tea. Though your Mother has now removed the poison, keep feeding her these pills for nourishment, it should speed up her regaining enough strength, then she should recover fine on her own naturally.¡± Hertha just nodded with great happiness, all whilst Ava stared at the scene with a newfound determination. ¡®So this is what it means to be a Druid.¡¯ She thought looking at the scene. It seemed this was all about chance, but she knew Arwen actively would look for situations like this. When they can help out a person in need like Hertha they would, it was not all about profit for a Druid, they naturally went about sharing acts of kindness. Sometimes these acts would reap their own rewards. The amount of people a Druid help are countless, but maybe only a small amount would think about paying them back, though the gifts these people give are enough to sustain the Druids charity to many more. It was a continuous cycle. Ava found herself dreaming of becoming an alchemist. She knew from looking at the pill Arwen provided it was extraordinary, it must have required adept technique yet it was only a basic pill that can deal with a poison that none of most proficient Physicians around the City could detect. It made her mind full with the possibilities of what more an alchemist can do. She found herself even more eager to arrive at Rarmose Academy as soon as possible. ¡®I need to ask Arwen about becoming an alchemist soon as I am able.¡¯ Ava thought as she found herself enjoying the joyous atmosphere of Arwen curing Hertha¡¯s mother. Tomorrow she would be leaving for Kaldor. Chapter 41 - Soul-Nourishing Pearl With the problems surrounding Hertha¡¯s mother solved they were finally able to settle down and rest for the remainder of the night. There was plenty of room in the house since Hertha¡¯s children had long moved out and the house was a spacious one. Althaea seemed to sober up after the incident and was no longer so insistent about wanting to be the ¡®female figure¡¯ in her life. Ava was pleased with this as it gave her a moment to have some breathing space for the first time since they began their hectic journey towards Adruil. Arwen did not want to pressure Hertha into allowing them to stay due to the feeling she owed them for saving her Mother, he knew that the woman may get involved in some danger with them being around but Hertha was so insistent they ended up staying for the night. Fortunately the night was quiet and nothing happened, however whether this was due to the guards pursuing the culprits or them managing to intimidate them off with their display of strength was to be seen. The group wished Hertha well before leaving, much of the clothes they had bought ended up damaged in the aftermath of the incident in the Inn therefore she provided them alternatives for free of charge. Arwen insisted on paying but Hertha firmly said it was to make up for the expense of the pill which she believed outweighed the value of the clothes anyways. The Druid couldn¡¯t force the woman to accept any reparations therefore accepted her gifts in good faith and thanked her greatly. Equipped with everything they needed, the group headed towards the docks where the ship they would be joining for the voyage towards Kaldor was located. They met little trouble on the way through the bustling City, with the incident from yesterday fresh on their minds they were prepared for trouble since it would the one who targeted them their best chance before they leave the City potentially for good. Yet nothing came about in the end, and they even met the Magistrate who was head of the guards and was in-charge for enforcing the laws here in the City. He seemed to be expecting them as he smiled with two burly, powerful looking guards next to him. It was obvious the two were strong, capable warriors by the fluctuations they emitted. They both seemed as capable as that Barbarian Yu who attacked them yesterday. It was obvious the figure of his attention was Arwen as he greeted him politely and said, ¡°I apologise for the incident yesterday, I assure you it has been resolved! The culprits have been dealt with and I can assure you the Emperor still greatly values his relationship with the Druids. Please accept these reparations for our fault in allowing this to happen on his territory.¡± Arwen was about to decline the gifts since Druids usually would not accept something that was not earned. Nonetheless the Magistrate was clearly a clever man, seeming well informed on a Druids principles so his gift was something Arwen would find hard to refuse. ¡°A Soul-Nourishing Pearl.¡± Althaea said in surprise upon seeing the item presented to them, that was some good stuff. Even Arwen seemed shocked something like that was offered as a gift to them. And it made it even harder to refuse, a soul-nourishing pearl was an excellent cultivation material for Mages, however it was extremely rare and well sought after. It was very useful in speeding up the progressing of building up a Mages soul though was mostly effective for weaker Mages, for instance someone on Althaea¡¯s level would not benefit much however Ava for instance would speed up her progress to upgrade her soul from a Tier 1 to Tier 2 Mage standard by a year. This made it difficult for him to refuse since Arwen would not accept anything for himself, however the main sufferer of the incident was Ava in the end since she was the target of the incident making him able to justify accepting such a gift. The Magistrate smiled in satisfaction upon seeing The Druids conflicted expression. Even knowing he would be dealing with the culprits of the ordeal allowing him to provide a satisfactory response for his Emperor did nothing to sate his anxiousness, he knew the Emperor maintained a positive relationship with the Druids as they were one of the few organisations who did not view him as some threat to remove. And the young Emperor being new to his throne and Empire had few friends and allies compared to the millennium old nations surrounding them, and being the one responsible for creating a problem with the Druids one of the few major organisations openly friendly with the Empire was a responsibility the Magistrate did not want to be placed upon his shoulders. It made him desperate to find whatever means possible he could do to make amends. He knew the Druid likely would never accept any reparations for himself for such an incident, so the only way was to bestow the young elf girl who was the target of the whole mess created by the Gravenports an offering to settle the affair. It pained him to give away the Soul-Nourishing Pearl. It was an item that was of great expense and something priceless for young Mages at the beginning of their training. A Soul-Nourishing pearl was something that can only be retrieved from a very rare magical sea beast known as the Blue-Spectral Clam. It is a magical beast known for its powerful soul related abilities, being extremely difficult to capture since it excelled in illusions and beguiling its predators. Each Blue-Spectral Clam would only produce five Soul-Nourishing pearls in their entire lives making them extremely valuable. He had bought this pearl from a clan specialised in breeding the clams. However there was a limited amount since Blue-Spectral Clams had very low fertility rates making the pearl a high-demand item that few in the Empire can get their hands on. He originally planned to gift it to his son, however he had to make a sacrifice for the boy this time since it was the only item of worth that would have true significance to the young elf girl at this point. The pearl gave the most benefits for its first use anyways and was most effective for young mages with still developing souls, therefore he had plenty of time to retrieve another to help speed up his training. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Arwen stared at the gift hard knowing he cannot refuse such an opportunity for his young apprentice. It would do wonders for her at this point since it would allow her to focus on developing her spells with the increase in soul-force provided by the pearl that would greatly save her training time. Therefore he replied, ¡°Thank you, you don¡¯t have to concern yourself with the actions of others. We found no offence in what happened.¡± Hearing Arwen¡¯s reply caused the Magistrate to release a bright smile as he said, ¡°Of course¡¯ Of course! Now have a nice trip to Kaldor, and remember a member of your order is always welcome in the Empire.¡± The Magistrate knew Druids are not ones to appreciate overly bootlicking behaviour so was quick to leave after handing over his gift though not before he specifically shared his apologies and well wishes directly to the remainder of the group present, focusing on Ava specifically. Ava just smiled to the sweating man who looked like he was going to faint from stress if he stayed here any longer as he hurried away. She had no idea what that Soul-Nourishing Pearl was but judging by the Magistrates pained expression handing it over and Althaea¡¯s exclamation in surprise indicated it was something very useful to her. Cense straight away confirmed these thoughts as he said, ¡®These pearls are very valuable to the current you. Though weaker and limited due to the low cultivation and poor bloodline of the beasts who produce them, these originate from a Clam-Type Magical Beast, for a weakling like the current you is, it is very beneficial. However to a higher tier cultivator it would barely make a difference, however this Pearl will speed up your training by a good amount at the very least helping your poor talent in cultivating soul power!¡¯ Althaea sighed at Cense words. Her talent in cultivating the soul was truly poor, it improved at a snails pace despite her meditating practically from birth. A truly talented individual would long be of a Tier 2 Mages standard by now with the advantages she had. It was why despite her other talents increasing greatly, such as her Elemental Qi affinity, and bodily strength she found her talent in soul cultivation remained poor giving her a new aim to find out how to improve this. The Soul-Nourishing Pearl was only a supplement in the end and would be merely a temporary fix, if she does not solve this problem soon, she would be found out to be a fake prodigy no matter how greatly her Elemental Qi Affinity was allowing her to master and gather Elemental Qi at an alarming rate, yet this all meant nothing if her Soul Force remained stagnant not allowing her to progress the Tiers as a Mage. After accepting the gift from the Magistrate, the group continued onwards towards the docks. Arriving soon after since the Magistrate met them nearby, Ava found herself in a crowded harbour full of life. A row of boats filled the bustling docks, they were an assortment of different sizes with the boats organised to accommodate their dimensions. Ava found herself staring at them in wonder as the sights before her were a mix of medieval, yet with varied advancements beyond that level with the inclusion that cultivation brings. The boats look advanced though backwards in some areas compared to her old world, the more expensive looking ones seemed to be made of unidentifiable looking materials that seemed worldly thrumming with magical power indicating they were filled with supernatural strength. A number of buildings filled the docks with the dockyard holding multiple workshops and large houses seeming to belong to the officers who managed the area. She could identify the workshops were present for mending and producing new boats, with it fully capable to replace old and damaged ones. There were even a few hospitals present to support emergencies in the case of ships needing to unload soldiers who required urgent care. Other areas of the docks seemed more designed for visiting merchant and travelling ships for disembarking here at the City. That was the area they headed towards as they neared the Ship Arwen had arranged the voyage with. The Ship was known as the ¡®The Quinte¡¯ and held a great reputation in the City, they were more expensive compared to other ships who offered the same service but its safety and reliability was one of the best in the City at providing a steady journey to Kaldor. Soon they stopped outside a particular docking bay that housed the ship they were going to be entering. And shortly after she saw the ship known as ¡®The Quinte¡¯ that captured her attention immediately. ¡®Arwen knows how to pick a ship¡¯ she thought as she saw the large Galleon-like vessel gently floating in the port. Though the ship that reminded her of the Galleon type vessels used by European nations in the medieval times, it was a large one by those standards, seeming very well armed but also plenty spacious enough to hold a good number of cargo and occupants. There was a walk-way that connected the ship to the port. At the front of the walk-way leading into the ship was two fierce looking men either side of a friendly, middle-aged man who seemed the odd one out beside the two battle-hardened men beside him. As they approached the three men, the two fierce looking ones began to let out their aura as they saw them approach. However this caused the gentle man at the front to frown as he said, ¡°Tone down men, these are our guests and we do not show this attitude towards paying customers.¡± The men immediately withdrew their intimidating aura at the commands of the man causing Xandas to appraise them with an impressed look at the fine control of the two being a Warrior himself. Althaea though seemed completely unimpressed as she scoffed at the display. Ava on the other hand was still looking bright-eyed at that gorgeous looking vessel, completely captured by the appearance of the ship. The gentle man didn¡¯t seem to pay attention to the mixture of reactions he received from the group, instead focusing entirely on Arwen as as said, ¡°Ah you made it, as promised it would cost ten gold coins for safe passage to Kaldor. Although this is a great expense, you will receive free meals for the next four months and we offer one of the most secure, fastest means of travel to Kaldor. You won¡¯t find many other ships who can do better, and you¡¯d have to pay even more for them of course.¡± The man offered his most business like smile as he told them the price. Arwen showed no hesitance to pay the price. Although as a Druid he did not have the riches an expert of his level would expect to have, he had more than enough to pay such a sum. The gentle man was pleased he received the sum readily from Arwen, making a gesture with his hands the two men moved to the side, as the man gestured up the walkway to the group. ¡°You¡¯re free to enter the ship, soon as you get onto the deck someone will direct you to your rooms and show you around. Meals will be provided at set times, so show up to those times if you want anything, you will be shown where the dining and other key areas are. And I¡¯ll just quickly remind you, violence is not permitted on the ship, and if we catch any untoward actions, you will be detained into the hold until we throw you out without a refund to the nearest Town or City, understood?¡± The gentle mans eyes suddenly turned fierce as he said those last words. Arwen just smiled amiably as he nodded, that was fine with him and the others too, none of them planned such things anyways. The gentle mans eyes softened a bit when he looked down at Ava as he said, ¡°And make sure the kid is watched, don¡¯t want her to get in trouble with some of the guests there. There¡¯s some people here with troublesome identities and if you offend them though they may not do anything on the ship, it may cause some needless problems out, alright?¡± The group once again nodded to show they understood. Xandas thought in particular had a glint in his eyes that promised violence to whoever would dare to target his daughter. The gentle man sighed as he knew from just looking at him Xandas was the vengeful type who would resolve grievances no matter the status, the others on the hand he couldn¡¯t get a read on at all, the child was impassive, Althaea had an innocent look the entire time but his intuition deep down told him she was dangerous. Arwen on the other hand from start to finish showed complete calmness, seeming completely at peace with himself. ¡®What an odd group¡¯ he mumbled under his breath as they finally walked passed him, ¡®I got a bad feeling about them, hopefully they don¡¯t cause trouble.¡¯ His gut told him something might go wrong during this trip, but he hoped that was just him overthinking things. ¡®We even have that strange noble guy who paid a fortune to join the voyage last minute.¡¯ He thought, thinking the strange group only added to the number of potential problems he may have. The noble seemed to want to leave this place urgently which seemed highly suspicious however a paying customer who abides by the rules of the ship was no problem to him, and he was confident his men can deal with him if needed. ¡°Let¡¯s leave as soon as possible, the earlier we get to Kaldor and these people leave my ship the better¡± he grumbled under his breath as he gathers his men to prepare to leave. Chapter 42 - Hidden Scheme Ardon Gravenport sighed in frustration as he stared at that large boat in front of him. He knew it would be a difficult task to procure the child from the beginning yet even knowing the risks he still went ahead with it. Times were changing and a man like him no longer suited such an environment. The Emperor was different to the previous rulers who once lorded over these lands as a Kingdom. Before Ardon was able to weasel his way around using ill-fitted means to achieve his noble status, all he had to do was be friend the right people and use bribes on the suitable occasions, maybe add a few threats here and there, since he knew the underworld well he had trodded on many unfortunate people to ascend to the position he is in now, nonetheless the results speak for himself with him transforming from some Commoner to a Minor Noble. He made a name for himself as someone to be feared and as a result it has led to his family prospering greatly, Adruil was not the only City he had influence in, he had connections all around the former Kingdom turned Empire. However in current circumstances this has led to problems. The current Emperor favoured those like him, non-natural born Nobles who used their own hard work and talent to get to where they are, the only problem is the means he had used. So far his position had remained stable, the Emperor could not just remove all the nobles around the Kingdoms he has annexed, as this would require much work and ruin the foundations in the process. Some of the many countries apart of the Empire has went through reforms, and he knew changes would be coming, however the war with the elves had put any major changes to a halt, the Kingdom he was apart of surrendered to the Emperor in hopes of earning his favour and although the upper echelons in the Kingdom had changed to the Emperor¡¯s trusted confidents they could not manage everything, leading to a number of the Kingdoms nobles to retain their position like him. However he knew things would not remain like this. He had many enemies that he has crossed to get where he was now, before he could use fear and intimidation to remain unhindered, but with the Emperors people around he knew sooner or later there may be consequences for the things he has done. Ardon was a cautious man, he did not want to remain in such a high-risk location, the Emperor was both the most powerful and unpredictable person he has met, nobles like him usually did not think the way he does. He was a commoner at heart unlike the Emperor yet he knew his nature would conflict with the man because surprisingly he values the lives of commoners even more than him, someone who was born one. Ardon was fearful because he had sunk his claws into a number of businesses over the years that would displease the Emperor greatly, he had kept them under wraps for now with his influence but this was becoming a ticking-time bomb that would explode sooner or later. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Previously he had no concerns on using the lives of commoners to fuel his growth, nor did he concern himself over nobles finding out, after all they cared about their best interests and as long as Ardon filled their coffers they were fine with him doing the dirty work for them. Yet now everything was different, if word got out just how deep Ardon was with those nefarious gangs, he could find himself in a deadly predicament. Many such groups have already been destroyed by some of the Empires people with many of them having to go into hiding in panic. It made him both wary and desperate which was why he jumped at the opportunity upon hearing about the High Elf child no matter how dangerous it was. Suddenly he realised that despite failing he had found himself feeling not as empty as he thought, instead after thinking over it had made him even more determined. ¡®No longer have I got anything holding me back. One last gambit for a windfall, every resource I have remaining will be thrown at capturing that child.¡¯ He thought darkly with a glint in his eyes. His foundations here in Adruil City had been destroyed, he had lost one of his prized assets the Black Wolf gang that dealt a many of problems for him, yet they were not the only ones under his arsenal and he had others he can call upon. ¡®I will send messages to the Cities, Towns the boat will stop at. My men will fill out all the spots that are available, whilst I will send word to form an a eventual ambush before we arrive at the destination. It will take time and patience, but my future and whether I can re build what is lost will be all solved by capturing the child.¡¯ Ardon thought deeply. A High Elf child is of immense value. Usually one would be so protected by the elves it would be impossible to even come close to one of them, they would grow up along the highest nobility of the elves and are basically royalty among elven kind. ¡®It is why I cannot let this one go, the rewards I can get¡­ I can get nobility, immense wealth, everything that was lost could be regained and I could ascend to heights even beyond what I achieved here.¡¯ Ardon was salivating at the thought of the potential gains, but he also knew he was dealing with a Druid making him turn solemn. ¡®Long as I can corner him with enough experts and his beast form is not an aquatic magical beast there will be a chance to take him out.¡¯ Ardon thought. There was a chance he could be wrong and end up failing yet he couldn¡¯t find himself caring. The amount of times he had almost lost his life in the slums yet he had come out on top has long made him fearless of death. Taking such risks invigorated him. It was when his life was truly on the line and he succeeded in a massive gambit that made him truly smile. He stared at the boat he had already bribed his way onto and smirked. ¡®The former Duke is still too arrogant. The man thinks everyone wouldn¡¯t dare try anything to a boat under his influence. If I was planning to remain here maybe I would think twice before intercepting a boat of his, but now I have nothing to lose. You won¡¯t suffer a good end too, when your greed ends up causing problems for a Druid in the Emperors territory.¡¯ Ardon thought with a deep grin etched on his face as he entered the boat. He fully intended to set upon the infamous bandits along the passage to be upon the boat. They have never went for a boat under the banner of the Duke before making them have a splendid reputation for safety and assurance in their transport to Kaldor yet now this was about to change. They would suffer big loses attacking such a fortified boat, however he knew they couldn¡¯t resist the prize that can be found onboard. ¡®I will sacrifice everything! I can¡¯t lose!¡¯ Ardon thought to himself with determination as he hid among the guests of the boat unassumingly. He had long worn a disguise not to be identified easily, no one would be the wiser of who he is until when he decided to reveal himself. Chapter 43 - Leaving Adruil, Progressing To Tier 2 Mage Upon entering the boat she found that the upper deck was spacious, seeming designed for the guests to mingle and take in the sights of the views they will be passing by. The deck was already filled with a mixture of the sailors apart of the boat and a number of the guests onboard. She could also see the boat crew took security stringently with the amount of fierce looking guards who stood by in the background watching over the ship. Their group were met with a few glares from the occupants as they boarded but this soon turned to disinterest after seeing nothing of interest. Ava received a few looks because of her apparent young age but it was not particular uncommon for children to board such ships, though since people of influence would primarily use such a high-quality ship then it was worth noting. After all although Kaldor was an adventuring town making it a popular destination, it was also where people would go on their way to the prestigious Rarmose Mage Academy, therefore a young child present may indicate this was a potential powerful Mage in the future who would be worth paying attention to. In fact some of the wealthy merchants and minor nobles eyes lit up at seeing the strange group, after all forming connections and sweet talking was apart of the reasons to pay good coin to come aboard this ship. It didn¡¯t cost anything to be courteous, and even if the child did not end up as an influential Mage, the family beside her would be worth talking too just from being able to afford paying the price to board the ship. However before they could take the initiative to approach them Arwen presented his Druid identification to the group and said, ¡°If you mind giving us some privacy, the child has been through a lot and needs some time to rest.¡± His short words caused the residents of the boat to pause and then acknowledge one after the other as a merchant flatteringly said, ¡°That is perfectly reasonable Sir Druid, we will mind our own business unless you may decide through the journey to change your mind.¡± After realising he got his point across Arwen directed the group to follow him as they continued to navigate themselves around the boat. The boats simple design yet obvious luxuriousness continued as they explored around the boat. It was clearly designed of high quality materials, with the ship looking practical, sturdy yet also presented itself in a way that shown the wealth and influence needed to build such a boat. Passing by one of the sailors on board, Althaea asked him where the mess hall on the boat was to be directed towards a staircase leading to the lower decks. The lower deck on the boat was just as spacious as that above, holding all sorts of compartments and rooms for different purposes. There was even a few small training areas on board, yet you¡¯d have to pay extra for there use due to high demand. Eventually they reached the mess hall which already had a few sailors inside who were busy eating their lunch, the galley was nearby and you¡¯d collect your food from the large window connecting it to the mess hall. ¡°Time for some food. I¡¯m starving, hopefully they have some good grub in this place.¡± Althaea said adopting some weird voice, likely believing that is what a sailor genuinely sounds like. Arwen and Xandas just ignored her, Xandas has long grown use to her by now and Arwen has dealt with her since she was practically a child so knew what to expect. Ava just rolled her eyes as she continued following them to the window where a chubby cook sat opposite, his eyes lighting up upon seeing more people to serve. ¡°Ah Bao, knows what you¡¯d lot like. How about some salted fish, with a freshly squeezed lemon on the side. I can even offer some steamed striped-sea weed on the side, rich both in Water and Wood Qi.¡± Bao seemed to lick his lips the more he described the food making you think he was describing his next meals plans and not theirs. ¡°Just give me whatever you just said.¡± Xandas requested, back in the tribe they ate simply and did not have a large variety, he did not care to go through anything else and just wanted something to eat. ¡°Oh aren¡¯t you interested, in seeing what else Bao has to offer, like saut¨¦ed wyvern with purple onion, that¡¯s a rare commodity you know I don¡¯t usually get to work with such tender, delicious meat¡­¡± Bao emphasised the last words with extra emphasis as he smacked his big lips together. Ignoring the drooling cook, Xandas just replied, ¡°Whatever you say, can you just give me some food already? Also plate up some for my Daughter, she¡¯s a growing girl after all.¡± Bao seemed dumbstruck by the flippant elf appearing offended someone could be so casual about his food, ¡°You know I¡¯m a top top chef. I¡¯ve studied under the highly decorated Corday Kamsey himself you know. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised even if I find out you love your meat raw¡­¡± However Xandas eyes lit up as he replied saying, ¡°You have raw meat here? Why didn¡¯t you say so, dish some up for me and my daughter right now.¡± There were plenty of elves who enjoyed raw meat. Although from a physical standpoint they seemed fairly similar to a human they have a completely different biology and could even eat meat raw without a shred of cultivation. Bao¡¯s eyes widened so much they seemed as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Althaea took this moment though to step and said with a voice dripping with desire, ¡°Talk me through the menu again¡­¡± Since they were still cloaked Bao could not tell they were elves however he could identify Althaea was an attractive female from the voice and glimpse of her face alone. Straightening up his posture his demeanour changed completely as he said, ¡°Well¡­¡± And that was when Arwen had to intervene, ¡°Just dish us up a mixture of what you said, doesn¡¯t have to be a large portion. We have had a bit of a tiring trip and could do with a good meal.¡± Bao sighed grumbling under his breath about not appreciating the fine things of life, however he still did what he was asked and soon enough they were each sat around the table eating up the food served by Bao. Upon taking a bite out of the food for first time she got to admit Bao knew how to cook, the texture of the meat was divine, and the sauce blended in perfectly. It impressed her despite him only having access to a the ships kitchen he could produce such a dish. And if the taste didn¡¯t sway her to the dish, the benefits of it would do so, she could already feel a warmth fill her body, as she could feel the effects of the Qi infused in the food spread throughout her body. ¡®This would be great fairly useful for any warrior or mage in training.¡¯ Ava thought realising the benefits, it would be especially useful for a warrior training their Battle Qi and for a Mage who required to progress their capacity of elemental Qi after ascending to the next tier. ¡®A Spirit Chef, although not a great one is still impressive to have as the ships chef. Though I expect the benefits you would get at the academy would far supersede this.¡¯ Cense voice filled her mind making her realise the benefits of the food. ¡®What is a Spirit Chef?¡¯ Ava asked Cense curiously. ¡®A Spirit Chef are those who infuse their own Qi in the preparation and handling on food, they also specialise in maintaining the richness of the Qi in the ingredients when preparing it for consumption. A normal chef would end up wasting much of the Qi within the ingredients, where a Spirit Chef can not only maintain it but also improve it by combining it with other ingredients. My former masters enjoyed food prepared from the most proficient Spirit Chefs, at that level they could create food with miraculous properties, almost like an alchemist!¡¯ Cense said with enthusiasm making her develop a craving to be served by such Spirit Chefs. She could only imagine how good the food would be if Bao¡¯s food could only be described as low level despite the taste and benefits of it. And the rest of the table agreed with her, with even Xandas grudgingly admitting the food was good. Althaea licked her lips and seemed to develop a yearning for Bao¡¯s food already. Arwen shown less emotion to the meal on the other hand, he enjoyed the food but as a Druid he had long got use to repressing his desires so did not outright show lust for it. Althaea seemed ready to go back for seconds but Arwen reminded, ¡°I believe it would be a good opportunity to use that Pearl, I¡¯m not comfortable leaving around resources after what happened, so why don¡¯t Ava use it right now?¡± Xandas nodded finding the answer practical and Althaea couldn¡¯t find an answer to refuse even with her wanting stomach. Knowing she can go back for more later she said, ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s find a quiet room on the deck, didn¡¯t they give us the cabins number?¡± Arwen nodded as he stood, ¡°Lets go ahead and find the room, any of the Sailors around here should be able to direct us.¡± Walking around some more, they were quickly pointed into the direction of their cabins and after moving around the ship a bit, going down one more level they were able to find their cabins. Without hesitation Arwen unlocked the door with the key provided and went ahead to look inside before instructing them to enter. Upon going inside, she found the room was fairly spacious, with enough space for her to meditate. There was a bunk bed in the corner, where a window sat beside letting in some light. The glass was thick and sturdy not giving the greatest visibility to see the outside but she could see the small waves created by the rocking of the ship. A small desk sat in the other corners of the room and also a wardrobe in the remaining corner. Deciding the middle of the room was the best place Ava was instructed to sit down and start meditating. She nodded as she did what was asked before Althaea said, ¡°We will watch over you incase anything goes awry but this should be fairly straightforward, once we take out the Pearl, it will be easy to feel the Soul Power inside. As a Mage you are already used to controlling your Soul by now so once you enter meditation, similar to how you cultivate your soul, feel the Pearls energy¡¯s and draw it in. It should be a big push, enough to get you up to Tier 2, or at the very least close to it.¡± After that, Arwen brought out the box that contained the Pearl. Carefully unlocking it a large deep blue glowing Pearl sat in the middle. Ava found herself mesmerised by the sight of the beauty of the Pearl but quickly calmed down as she began meditating as instructed. Arwen then carefully took out the Pearl and allowed her to grasp it. Feeling the Pearl between her fingers, she could feel the warmth and energy, doing what they described she entered meditation as normal however this time it was different. Growing her soul from meditating was slow and steady, requiring her to build up the energy overtime until she was ready to breakthrough, this time however she felt a large influx of powerful pure energy that seemed eager to enter her soul readily. Feeling this energy only needed the slightest direction she felt it come to her readily as soon as she began drawing it, it came so fast and easy she felt as if she was floating for the first time during soul cultivation. She had talent involving Elemental Qi, yet she always struggled with soul cultivation which was believed to be the most important aspect for being a Mage, however this time it felt effortless, as her soul grew stronger and stronger from the energy in which months of usual effort came so straightforwardly. And just like that she felt a crack, as if she broke through to new tier, her soul felt stronger and brighter, her mind refreshed as the benefits of a stronger soul came to her quickly, nonetheless that was when the bountiful energy that seemed endless appeared to stop. Suddenly feeling she had awoke from her daze she found that the previously pristine Pearl in her hands had crushed into dust from her use. ¡°Well done Ava, you are now a Tier 2 Mage.¡± Althaea said happily with a beaming smile on her face. The others quickly went to congratulate her as the realisation had sunk in. ¡®Finally I am now a Tier 2 Mage.¡¯ She mumbled with a big smile as the boat began rocking even more intensely, it looked like the ship has now left the port and it was time to head to Kaldor. However this time she had progressed once again, she was no longer a Tier 1 Mage, but a Tier 2, that was highly impressive for her age even at Karmose Academy that was famed for containing the brightest young Mages in the four continents. ¡®I can¡¯t let this distract me. I still need to solve the problem of soul cultivation. I must train the hardest I can whilst on this ship, with there being no distractions I can make great progress by the time we reach Kaldor.¡¯ Ava was hopeful, she was now finally in a quiet place for a while where she can continue to grow stronger. Chapter 44 - King of the Lake After becoming a Tier 2 Mage through using the pearl Ava found the days passing by quickly as the boat gently went down the channel. Now that her soul has reached the standard of a Tier 2 Mage, she could begin absorbing and building up the Water Qi in her body refining it to a Tier 2 standard. Althaea had also began teaching her Tier 2 spells as she had used her time on the ship to cement her foundation in becoming a true Tier 2 Mage. Fortunately spells using Water elemental Qi of a Tier 2 was not destructive making it simple to practice even on the ship. It turns out the ship has measures to guard against Mages, with there being means to sense the build up of a high amount of Elemental Qi signifying a spell is being cast, however because her spell usage was gentle and was primarily support spells it did not offset the ships defences allowing her to practice in peace. And like that months went by very quickly with the trip up to this point being smooth and calm. She had spent this time training everyday, using the time on the ship to continue her practice as a Mage and even running through the Longleaf sword style with her Father in the practice rooms. They would eat meals cooked by Bao daily, although the quality was inconsistent determined by the ingredients Bao could get ahold of, the food all shares the qualities of something prepared by a Spirit Chef, with it being beneficial for training and nourishing the body. It proved useful in speeding up her development in all areas, making her realise how advantageous it would be to grow up within an environment where you would eat such meals daily. Her foundation for beginning her training as a warrior was almost complete to the point where her Father was prepared to begin teaching her a Battle Qi method soon, it was always important to build up a suitable standard for your bodily strength before starting the steps of warrior cultivation, yet Arwen informed him to wait as he would be able to provide a top class method that would allow her to reach the peak of the first realm with hope of becoming a Monarch as a Warrior. Though it was clear by now they assumed her focus would be as a Mage, since she already shown good talent in Warrior training they saw no reason for her to stop and that it would be a good idea to continue investing some time into it. A Mages greatest weakness was their physique and having insufficient time to build up their spells, if you give a Mage time they could reek untold destruction on a level far beyond what a Warrior could do, yet even still there have been plenty of moments in history where a Warrior claimed the lives of Mages with far stronger battle potential than them. Therefore it was no harm in continuing her training as a Warrior as long as it didn¡¯t distract her too much, after all it was better to be an expert in one aspect than mediocre in two. With that being said her mastery over the Longleaf Style had improved with her Father as a teacher, although she enjoyed learning under Hoatan she could tell Xandas was another level when it came to swordsmanship and he was a good teacher too. She suddenly turned glum thinking about Hoatan, she wondered if he was still alive. Unlike her Mother she did not see what happened to him in the end, though she was not sure if ending up alive but in the humans or Royal Clans hands would be better than death at this point. She still held the hope she can save him, but knowing how the Royal Clan treats their kind she was not sure what condition he would even be left in by the time she grew strong enough to even try. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Her thoughts were disturbed by a sweet victorious sounding laugh as Althaea was onceagain retrieving another serving of food from Bao. Originally the costs of their entry only covers one serving, but Althaea seemed to have the chef wrapped around her fingers as she flattered his food to no end earning the right to have extra portions much to the sailors protest. Some sailors tried the same tactics complimenting Bao to no end, yet when Althaea¡¯s words made Bao¡¯s eyes flutter with hearts the sailors only made him briefly acknowledge them before providing a small portion. Anyways it didn¡¯t matter much to her since Althaea¡¯s flattery brought about her receiving a good sized portion too. The sailors were shocked when a little girl her size could eat that much with even Ava wondering why her appetite seemed to be growing larger recently, in fact she noticed her physical changes seemed to have been sped up since she entered the ship with her lower set of fangs growing out faster than she expected. Inspecting the new gleaming set of fangs, she found them similar to the upper-most ones, they were extremely sharp and made tearing into meat even easier. Thinking about the extra set of fangs, she found it strange all of the other elves she mad met did it seem to have them, but Ava thought it was something she would look into when she arrived at the academy. After all there was suppose to be a library with all sorts of books there from what she had heard. She was also able to ¡®learn¡¯ about the human language on the boat, also known as common. It was useful to her despite it being eerily similar to her previous worlds, except in some parts the pronunciations differed and there were some words with different meanings, with mixtures of Latin and English words as if whomever developed the language seemed to muddle the different languages together. It was strange and made her think did her old world somehow had an influence on the culture here, or was it the other way around? Could be there such coincidences? Finding her head beginning to hurt from trying to fill in the gaps about things she did not understand, she decided to move on. At least she now learned four Tier 2 spells making her able to officially call herself a Tier 2 Mage now. The spells Althaea taught her was, ¡®Detect Water¡¯, ¡®Water Armour¡¯, ¡®Purify¡¯ and ¡®Dry¡¯ Ava found the spells were fairly weak though to be expected since she was still only Tier 2 which was classed as still an apprenticed Mage. ¡®Detect Water¡¯ is self explanatory and allows he to sense nearby water sources which at the moment was incredibly useless since she was surrounded by it, however she could see it becoming valuable in another environment. ¡®Water Armour¡¯ was a defensive spell, that formed a cushioned barrier of protective water coating around her body. The Water Qi would be dense and offer a means of protecting herself from physical and magical attacks, though it was fairly weak at this level but would grow stronger the more powerful as a Mage she becomes. ¡®Purify¡¯ would allow her to purify a water source by removing all impurities within, it would become more draining towards her reserves depending on the size of the water source she was purifying itself. And finally ¡®Dry¡¯ sucked all the moisture out of an object by moving it somewhere else. Upon hearing the description of the spell she realised the potential lethality of it but quickly realised its downsides. Every person has some form of magical resistance, it works fine on an inanimate object but trying on another person would require an expenditure that she could not provide at this moment. Not that she has made an attempt but Cense explained to her the costs of the spell once she posed him that question. Discarding these thoughts she realised it had been a least a few months since they had left Adruil. They should now almost be arriving at Kaldor, thinking it was good she was finally close to some land. The time spent on the boat provided her the break she needed since that hectic fleeing from the elves lands but now she grew frustrated at being cooped up on the ship. She wanted something exciting to happen, however as if fate wanted her to eat her words she heard a loud rumbling and sound of noise as the sailors raised a commotion. She heard an explanation of a sailor as someone screamed, ¡°What is happening! That damn Beast is here, how is that thing able to get so near without us being notified!¡± And that was when she realised her quiet times were about to end. The magical beast known as the King of the Lake has beset them and it wanted blood. Chapter 45 - River Bandits, Azure Serpent! The Captain of the Quinte stared at the approaching River Serpent with a narrowed gaze as he cursed, ¡°Those damn bandits! Don¡¯t they know who¡¯s ship this is? They are going against the arrangement with this, they won¡¯t have a good ending!¡± Towards others the River Serpent was a natural calamity for merchant ships in these parts, it forced them to pay larger fees toward the nobles here for their protection as only the nobles in the Kingdom vicinity seemed to have a means to deal with it. The few ships brave enough to resist the extortion from the nobles all suffered greatly at the River Serpent hands, even those who had an incredible reputation, a number of experts and well crafted ships that should have been able to resist a River Serpent with such cultivation had all never been heard of again shortly after they had set off. However, little did people know this was all to do with the former Kingdoms corruption and desire to monopolise the river channels, which all lead towards the famed Mage Academy and a popular adventuring town making it a frequented, high in demand route. The Kingdoms nobles involved with the port towns alongside the rivers channels had made a great deal of profit working with the main culprits involved, an organised group of River Bandits who happened to have tamed a powerful River Serpent. These River Bandits despite being those responsible for a large number of missing ships over the years had no reputation to speak of, it was as if they didn¡¯t exist in the first place, instead, the River Serpent who was the tamed beast of the leader gained a notorious reputation for being a ship destroyer. However despite this the beast was allowed to remain rampant in these parts of the Kingdom, with there only being a few expeditions in an attempt to truly slay the beast. The nobles made the argument that the River Serpent was too cowardly and difficult to deal with when it used the advantageous environment to evade the experts who went after it. Normally a River Serpent of this cultivation although being far smarter than a normal beast it was by no means as intelligent as a human, it was the bandit leader who was able to scout out the potential targets that made it avoid all the traps of hidden experts. The Kingdom and nobles could deal with the beast if they decided to pore enough resources into it, yet it would have been an expensive endeavour with the River Serpent''s camouflage and natural advantages in the water making it a troublesome task that they wanted to avoid. It was why they easily agreed to the bandit leaders'' suggestion of throwing them a few easy targets now and then along the route to appease them, in return they would never face any trouble from the bandits and would also earn a certain sum of the profits. Therefore the primary cause of this problem in the first place was the noble''s incompetence, they agreed to the first way out of dealing with the King''s orders to exterminate the beast they could find. The Duke himself probably never thought he¡¯d regret his decision with the profits he raked in, after the Kingdom meekly surrendered to the new Empire they were able to maintain some of their wealth, unlike other Kingdoms that had been defeated, however, reforms to the Kingdoms leadership would be occurring eventually so loose ends like the River Bandits were planned to be dealt with. After all the only evidence of cooperation between them was the River Bandit leader, and being known as an incompetent noble who failed to deal with a river serpent was better than a corrupt noble who worked with bandits all these years. Nonetheless, the nobles were arrogant and farsighted and underestimated hidden underworld factions like the Gravenports and River Bandit, they were not fools who gained their status due to inherited wealth, they had clawed their way up through betrayal, craftiness and ruthlessness. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. They were not going to sit still whilst the Emperor''s enforcers eventually set their sights on them, which is exactly why when the River Bandits received such an opportunity to flee the new Empire, all whilst being able to bring a valuable High Elf that could provide status in many powerful Kingdoms making them decide to forgo all pretences with the nobles they had formerly cooperative relationship with. It was their chance to take all the wealth they had obtained over the years and start anew in another kingdom as respected nobles. No longer would they have to hide in the shadows like rats! It was exactly this that motivated the criminal gangs to follow the Gravenports plan even if it meant provoking a powerful Druid, if the plan succeeded none of this will matter. The Quinte Captain''s eyes grew fierce as he realised the meaning of these actions. He knew the River bandits fully intended to go after them even if it meant offending the Duke because there was no way they did not know whose ship this was. ¡°Ready the cannons, and activate the ship protections, these bandits have grown arrogant! They think that defeating a few weak merchant ships with no status means they can deal with us, now let''s blow that little snake into the sky!¡± The Quinte captain shouted with rage as the sailors responded quickly to his command. Even though the reputation of the ship was built largely from the secret agreement keeping them protected from the bandits, it did not mean the crew or ship was unworthy of praise, they were clearly a notch above any ship the bandits dealt with before and this was shown by the bright inscriptions on the ship glowing with great power as the weapons and defences were being readied. The Quinte sailors and guards showed no signs of fear as a monstrous form was revealed in the distant water moving at a ridiculous speed that was far faster than any ship they¡¯d seen. ¡°The River Serpent, the calamity!¡± A merchant screamed upon seeing it. ¡°King of the Lake! The ship sinker¡­ we¡¯re doomed!¡± A noble whimpered in fear. Although the crew did not react to the serpent''s fearsome reputation that did not mean the passengers shared their professionalism. There was already a fervour on the top deck as the guards made their presence known to calm down the panicking nobles and merchants who had already lost their minds due to the appearance of the dreaded serpent. ¡°Look at the size of it!¡± A man said in fear as the serpent''s full form was revealed amidst the movement of the water, it was still not in range of the weapons of the ship so this slow movement as it surfaced itself to reveal its bulk seemed deliberate as if to intimidate those onboard. And it boasted a terrifying figure, the River Serpent was well over thirty metres long which was almost the length of the ship itself, though far less bulky with it being sleek and lean-like snakes from Earth yet even still with its length it''s girth appeared over seven metres. It also looked to have weighed an astonishing amount likely over three thousand kilograms. The River Serpent''s head was massive, and even with its size its dark blue scales would make it hard to spot in the water if it wasn''t for the Serpent itself revealing its presence so easily, the serpent remained still for a period as it forked its tongue in apparent provocation to the observers as its dark yellow eyes gleamed at the ship with the coldness and ferocity of a true magical beast. The passengers seemed to panic at the sight of it, yet the experienced men onboard knew better, despite the power of the River Serpent it would still be a task to capsize a ship of this size, quality and that was if they stood still without them firing back. After all the River Serpent was not the heaviest beast for its size, it excelled in speed and sharp, powerful bursting attacks, but for its class, it was not known for pure strength. Yet the River Serpent was not alone, soon enough a number of ships appeared in the distance behind it and although the quality of each was clearly inferior to the Quinte, the numbers they displayed was worrying. The passengers unaware of the connection between the River Serpent all cheered loudly shouting they were saved at their timely arrival however the crew who were not ignorant stared silent, as the flags unveiled of those ships revealed the familiar shape of a dark blue river serpent. This signalled the arrival of the River Bandit gang behind the serpent, named after their signature magical beast, The Azure Serpents was here. Chapter 46 - Desperate Straits Azure Serpent''s leader, Farrox eyed the Quinte with a fierce glint in his eyes. Looking through the eyes of his serpent his vision was much sharper than an ordinary human, as a tamer and water mage he had many unique abilities at his disposal. ¡°Seems that sneaky Gravenport fucker wasn¡¯t lying,¡± Farrox murmured as he already felt the presence of a powerful being in the ship. It could only be the druid, Magical Beasts like the River Serpent was sensitive to rivals and he felt the aura of something foreign, the scent of a strong magical beast but mixed with something else. Though it seemed the Sea Serpent was provoking those on board with the way it forked its tongue at the ship whilst glaring at those inboard, it was merely getting a grasp on the Druid''s appearance in the vessel by the scent in the air. ¡°And that means the guarantee that a High Elf brat being onboard this ship is likely true.¡± Farrow said with a smirk. A powerful Druid appearing on such a ship already indicated something important was onboard, Druids were reclusive and independent, rarely transporting on ships like this unless absolutely necessary, they would prefer travelling among nature taking the longer route on land to their destination than boarding a boat like this, allowing them to visit the small communities on their way at the villages to carry out charitable deeds. And judging by the scent of the Druid himself his form was a large land animal, a strong one judging by the scent but not suited to battling a predator like a River Serpent in their own turf. Farrox knew a Druid with a beast form such as this one would not risk themselves like this easily, it would go against the instincts of their beast to find themselves in an unnatural environment, and a dominant land predator would feel uncomfortable in deep waters such as this. It would only mean he is likely protecting something far weaker than him making him even more confident the High Elf child was onboard this ship like the Gravenports informed him. ¡°Truly surprising, those Elves don¡¯t let their ¡®pure-bloods¡¯ out their sight usually, I¡¯d get nobility for this!¡± He said with a big grin. Foreign human Kingdoms who although not as strong as the unified Empire were previously much stronger than the individual Kingdoms in these lands, he would be rewarded handsomely bringing such a rare commodity to the right people. ¡°Now men, remember the target is on the ship! We want to disable the vessel, not destroy, hammer those barriers until we take them down! Then we¡¯ll board and loot those nobles dry, anyone who get their hands on the long-eared brat will get triple the compensation of this raid!¡± Farrox ordered sharply to the cheers of his men. After continuing to bark orders to his men the ships started to form a blockade surrounding the Quinte giving them no means of retreat. Farrox found himself immersing himself into the vision of his serpent, Ethir who continued to fork his tongue ¡®tasting¡¯ the scent of the Druid with greed. Magical Beasts were predatory, usually to advance in the wild the best nourishment came from rival Magical Beasts who boasted a similar strength and bloodline. The River Serpent, Ethir had been at the peak of the ninth tier in the first realm for a long time, it had taken a tonne of resources provided by the River Bandits over the years to reach its limit, it was only one step away from becoming a true Monarch Magical Beast but the barrier between crossing realms was formidable, even more so for Magical Beasts who did not boast a top tier bloodline. However, it was close to the bloodline limit of a River Serpent and would need something tremendous to push its rank further. Therefore, the Druid who held the unmistakable scent of a bloodline superior to the River Serpents made its eyes glimmer in delight, on land the River Serpent may fear such a beast but it had lorded over the local magical beasts here as the top of the food chain for a long time, it was unafraid of a land creature of a similar tier in its territory. At that time it felt the presence of its master in its mind, ¡°Ethir, let¡¯s draw that Druid out¡­ looks like you¡¯ll be getting a good meal after this one¡­¡± Its master words sent a burst of excitement through its body as it felt its fangs itch at the thought of sinking them into the scrumptious rich flesh of the Magical Beast that made its sensitive tongue quiver in delight. ¡®It¡¯s MINE, it¡¯s all MINE!¡¯ The serpents thoughts were all on its meal as it started to burst through the water at an astonishing pace that seemed to surprise its enemy whose cannons lit up at the sight of movement. ¡®Too SLOW! Slow humans, weak, only make nice meal.¡¯ The chaotic thoughts of the serpent made the tamer mind reel as he found himself once again overseeing the commencing naval battle that was about to begin. ¡°Really hope the dumb brute gets smarter once it advances¡­¡± Farrox sighed as the simple serpent thoughts most of the time wandered only to its next meal and sleeping. It already required a lot of effort and coaxing to bring it to this point after all the River Serpent was known for its bloodlust despite being a cunning predator and highly intelligent in its own way. Stolen novel; please report. The serpent was a master at its way of hunting, ambushing and was cunning when it came down to taking down opposing enemies with cleverly disguised traps but it often did not know when to hold back its greed when it came to eating, resulting in it usually provoking humans early in its development resulting in its extermination before it could grow strong enough. The fire power of the Quinte impressed him, but the serpent was right about one thing, it was simply too slow for the beast, they failed to hit it even once as the serpent navigated through the water with ease and swiftness. Yet this was not the ships only means of defence. Soon enough sailors emerged at the side of the ship with weapons resembling matchlocks. The emergence of newly developed weapons such as guns and cannons allowed even ordinary people like the sailors to launch offensive attacks towards enemies that required cultivators. However, there was a limit to the emergence of technology it had its weak-points and was not yet strong enough to cause any major damage to a magical beast at the level of the River Serpent but it can still annoy and irritate it. The River Serpent shrieked in annoyance at it felt the bullets bounce off it scales. Although it was fast with its size it could not evade all of the many small projectiles shot from the ship towards its large body. Nonetheless this was all it was to the serpent, a minor annoyance, the projectiles were small and hard to avoid but were unable to penetrate its scales. Ethir was already close to the ship, knowing its master orders was to lure out the tasty meal it had to first weaken the shell around the ship like it had done many times before. However, the Quinte was not counting on the bullets being able to damage the serpent on the first place it was only to distract it from the real weapons, large cross-bow like weapons lowered down to fire at the serpent. The bolts adorned was glittered with inscriptions showing its expense. Additionally the Mages who were aboard already began preparing their own spells, Earth and Water mages were present on the ship and Earth mages spells held great piercing power against opponents of any class. They were ideal against large magical beasts like the River Serpent who possessed thick flesh and tough scales. Ethir bloodthirsty eyes never stopped focusing on the ship though as the moment the weapons directed at it in preparation, a chorus of cannons were set off in the distance as a barrage of cannon balls struck against the barrier of the Quinte, which caused it to flicker as the ship shook gently from the impact. This did not stop them from targeting the serpent though as a barrage of Earth spells, forming spears of condensed earth and bolts were fired at the Serpent who was already preparing its own attack. To the surprise of those on the Quinte despite being able too, the Serpent chose not to avoid the torrent of attacks towards it, instead continuing to carry out its own, the cunning eyes of the serpent soon lit up as a glowing barrier suddenly appeared around it. The synergy between the tamer and magical beast allowed for it to learn and cast spells through the tamer himself, and with its abundance of Qi that was more plentiful than any mage of its tier the serpent was able to project a water barrier strong enough to ward off any of the harmful attacks, which allowed it to send its huge tail crashing towards the ship whipping it with such ferocity it shook the ship far harder than the barrage of cannon balls that just hit it. For the first time the crew members of the Quinte seemed to lose their previous calm as a hint of fear emerged in their eyes. They knew the barrier could not sustain much abuse from the serpent at all despite its strength that was fully capable of defending against the attacks of the bandits ships. The serpent growing arrogant decided to stick its head out as it declared its intentions to its meal still hidden on the ship. ¡°HSSS. WHERE ARE YOU? I¡¯M HUNGRY¡­ ARE YOU AFRAID?¡± Ethir pronounced slowly as its yellow eyes scanned the ship for its prey. The Quinte was already preparing new weapons to launch at the serpent however it was at this time the serpent finally caught the source of the delectable scent. ¡°MMM. SO TINY¡­ BUT THAT SMELL IS¡­ SO¡­TASTY, I WILL SWALLOW YOU WHOLE MAN THING.¡± The snake eyed the lone figure staring directly at it. The small humanoid gave off an intimidating aura that made the serpent pause but it was so small and looked minuscule to the serpent that it almost thought it ridiculous to think such an insignificant ant could harm it. At that moment the small humanoid said, ¡°As you wish, though I think it would be better first if we fought more up to your size.¡± The serpent felt confused for a moment noticing a large space seemed to be opened up leaving the old man a lone figure facing the serpent. It seemed to be a complete mismatch on paper with the serpent towering over the old man, but the serpent knew from its honed senses the small thing was not as weak as it appeared to be. Soon enough the serpent eyed the old man changing miraculously before it eyes until it saw the threatening thing that made it felt both fear and excitement. A large beast now stood before it directly facing the serpent, its very presence and weight seemed to cause the ship to shake for a moment before regaining its steadiness. It took a large amount of the deck to even fit the beast and its large head directly stared at the serpent as it let off a loud roar in challenge directly at it. ¡°FINALLY¡­ FINALLY A CHALLENGE.¡± The serpent screeched as it pounced crazily towards its rival before hitting the barrier that still protected the ship for a short while before it started cracking from the pressure, soon enough another barrage of cannon balls hit the ships barrier that seemed to finally finish it off as the barrier could no longer withstand being attacked from all sides. The ship continued letting off cannon shots towards the opposing ships, some of them were hit clean and clearly damaged by the firepower of the Quinte but it did not stop the siege of the bandits. Mages from the Quinte fired spell after spell, some towards the serpent buts its abundance in Qi and presence of a Mage tamer allowed it to remove its biggest weak point, its defence allowing it to tank the bolts from the inferior beings in cultivation. However, as the Serpent moved towards the opposing beast it soon found its head being hit by a large force as a large paw seemed to swipe directly at its large head causing its head to shake in befuddlement. The large beast roared in provocation to the serpent who hissed back in rage. ¡°YOU WILL PAY¡­ I WILL DEVOUR YOU AND ASCEND.¡± Ethir shrieked as it pounced towards its target, it was going to get its prey in the water and it was going to finish it. It could already taste it. Victory will belong to it. Chapter 47 - Hidden Assailants Ava felt deeply nervous as a wave of panic began to set in, the fear of the unknown was scary to her. Although her new life has ¡®livened¡¯ up greatly since she left the elven village, she still lived a rather sheltered life in the village previously and she was not used to being threatened at every turn like this, it was a horrible feeling being so powerless and helpless where she had to rely on others repeatedly. Ava knew to others she was a child, helpless and needing protection, but to her adult-like mind sometimes she just wanted to grow quickly so she could be of use to those risking their lives to protect her. She had a terrible shaking feeling their current crisis was going to be far more threatening than the group of goons who attempted to kidnap her before. Although they tried to hide it, she could tell from Arwen and Althaea''s reaction to its presence that the magical beast known as ¡®The King of the Lake¡¯ was a threat. She was unsure exactly how powerful Arwen was but she had a feeling one of the reasons he didn''t pressure Kais, and the group of Evergreen clan elves before when she was about to leave with them was due to not being fully confident he could beat them. Ava had already learnt by now Druids were granted great power by their gifts but it also made ascending cultivation in the later stages more difficult, there was a cost for their power but it made them almost invincible at their level similar to strong magical beasts. She knew Arwen was strong but he now faced an opponent who was a strong magical beast that excelled in fighting in its territory. He had already left to support the ship''s fight against the beast, they already knew he was a Druid and instantly cooperated with him to come up with a plan to hold off the beast. The ship was very large, the upper deck was even spacious enough to accomdate Arwen¡¯s goliath-sized bear form if they cleared space for him beforehand. Therefore at the moment for her safety, it was just her and her Father Xandas locked up in their room both waiting for the problem to be resolved. It was nerve-racking and mentally draining being cooped up in a closed-up ship cabin all whilst hearing the loud noises of the ongoing battle but being unable to do or see anything. She could tell by her father''s look of concern he wanted to help their new companions in the battle ahead, after all, that was the man her Father was, he always put himself at the forefront of conflict back at the tribe and risked himself for his fellow tribesmen, as a leader and the strongest warrior in the tribe he always put it upon himself to be the one leading the charge. Yet now he was hiding alongside her waiting for others to put their lives at risk to resolve a problem they shared, she knew her Father would never leave her alone again, he took his role in protecting her very seriously, especially after the incident in the Inn, he already blamed himself for being too easy to accommodate Althaea¡¯s selfish request but she supposed he felt like he owed her and Arwen for saving both his life and his daughters, from being brought back to the murderers of her mother. Xandas knew it was the best outcome, he was the weakest in the group and a powerful Mage like Althaea would be vital to helping the ship ward off the attackers and to minimise the casualties and Arwen was needed to provide the powerhouse needed to go up against the magical beast. He felt responsible and no shame in being here defending his daughter, however, he grew concerned over the ones who supported them, it was foolish of him to think he could do anything at all to protect someone who was so much stronger than him but he felt a sense of debt, that his honour demanded him to repay the one who saved his life. Nonetheless, it was best Arwen and Althaea defended the upper deck, not allowing any enemies to descend putting Ava in the least amount of danger, after all, there should be no trouble coming soon with those above protecting the lower deck from danger¡­ ¡°Hmm¡± Xandas suddenly mumbled before a shocked expression appeared on his face as he shouted, ¡°Ava get down, hide under the bed!¡± At that moment when Ava rushed to obey her father''s orders without questioning him, the wooden door to their cabin suddenly crumbled into smithereens as a figure quickly emerged shouting. Xandas responded quickly not even hesitating to parry the swinging sword of his assailant causing his opponent to stagger from overstretching himself, without even stopping to pause Xandas dug his blade into the other''s throat ending his life instantly as he fell to the floor lifeless. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Xandas didn''t even get the chance to examine his deceased opponent as another man entered though much more measured than the previous. Ava felt shocked by the sight wondering what was going on, she knew from hearing the conversations of the sailors outside the cabin that bandits appeared to be working with the magical beast, seeming as if it was a tamed creature but how could they enter the ship so fast? And how did they get past all the guards on the upper deck? Nonetheless, Ava didn''t even have the time to think about this thoroughly as her Father was beset by another opponent who swung his weapon swiftly at her Father. Due to the narrowed space of the cabin, short weapons were far more effective, and the man was already closing in on her Father as he attempted to rush him into the corner giving him less space to manoeuvre. However, her Father was an elf and by virtue of his longer lifespan, although he and the opposing man looked similar in age, her Father was far older and seemed both experienced, and stronger than the man. Despite being cautious and capable in close-quarters fighting, the man soon found himself meeting a similar fate to his counterpart as her Father cleverly baited him to lunge in thinking he had the elf cornered but soon found himself quickly being reversed, her Father sidestepped at a ridiculously tight angle bringing his blade to the others side before he could even blink, the man gurgled in pain as he felt the blade enter deep, he attempted a desperate swing in retaliation but her Father easily batted that away cutting the throat of the man like the last and letting him fall to the ground the life quickly fading from his eyes. However, this was not the last as two more entered the room charging at her Father hoping to use their numbers to pressure him. Yet her Father was just not one to be trifled with as he fought back again, deflecting attack after attack, he used the tight space to perfectly move around the two men reducing their number advantage and started leaving wound after wound that built up. The men grew sloppy, and despite the men being warrior cultivators of a similar level to her Father, blood loss still affected them and the pouring life blood from their wounds affected them. For the first time, Ava realised how strong an elf were compared to the average human counterpart, their cultivation often progressed more slowly but they were far more adept fighters at the same level. Soon enough her Father dispatched these two like the last two men, although he began to breathe more deeply compared to the beginning of the confrontation, there was not a wound in sight as he took down four human warriors of a similar cultivation. However, the bloody air and four dead bodies that littered the room were evidence of the previous battle, Ava began to feel the bile rise in her throat at the scent, the cramped room meant one of the lifeless bodies was near her, staring into the dead eyes of a human was traumatic in itself for one not experienced to such sights. Seeing no new emergence of enemies Ava almost breathed a sigh of relief, her Father seemed like he was about to call her out so they could make a move, but that was when a chuckle was heard before a man with a far more intimidating aura than the others emerged from the door. ¡°Haha, got to say I had a feeling, even with the Druid and mage distracted those twits can''t deal with such a simple task... Good thing I came here myself this time, ya¡¯know back in the day I used to do this much more, but getting old does that¡­¡° the strange man mumbled. Getting a look at him she saw a middle-aged man, well-dressed, prim and proper like a nobleman. However, although he was smiling displaying every bit of the elegance and confidence you''d find in a well-educated man of high standing, he had a strange edge about him, like he was a ravenous wolf among a bunch of sheep. ¡°So I can¡¯t convince you to step aside after seeing what became of your accomplices?¡± Her Father said smiling lightly. She could tell her Father took this man far more seriously than the others, she knew if they fought it would a hard-drawn out fight with a high risk of threatening injuries even for the victor. ¡°Hmm. What about you? I got to say¡­ although I despise my bratty children and grandchildren, or family in general, you see I don¡¯t know how I bred such weakness, anyhow enough about me¡­ in my youth I wouldn¡¯t even hesitate but being old does that to you I guess. That brat behind you is my hope of returning to my former glory now that it¡¯s ruined, I can re build, but it would be too bothersome, now I might have some complaints if that brat is traumatised from her Father being gutted in front of her, so why not move aside, I can assure you this is a losing battle, I have no idea how those outside would treat her, but me? I won¡¯t harm her, in fact I will treat her like my own¡­ children until I deliver her safely of course.¡± The man gave his best smile after that, she assumed he did his best to look harmless however it just looked as if a shark was trying to act harmless. Of course, if she knew that this was the same man who abandoned all of his children to be executed, using their sacrifice to escape safely from the city they set off from she would have a better idea how much those words are actually worth. Her Father sighed giving the man his answer. The man¡¯s smile faltered, ¡°Ah, I talked this long hoping to avoid this, but alas, looks like it¡¯s either you or me.¡± However, soon as he said that a blade followed from behind him straight for her Fathers chest. Xandas reacted quickly deflecting the attack. The man snicked, ¡°Looks like my reinforcements have arrived, don¡¯t count on anyone coming to help you, bulk of ships guards is defending the ship whilst we have took over this entire deck, shame this could have all been avoided but looks like¡­¡± At that moment the man deftly dodged as a dagger hit the head of the man who thew the dagger at Xandas previously ending another of the henchmen¡¯s lives. ¡°You talk too much¡± Xandas growled as he prepared for the fight ahead. Chapter 48 - Surrounded on all sides, Bloodline Awakening As the River Serpent and Fiend Bear battled fiercely on the top deck the River Bandits have already progressed to the point where they have disabled a good amount of the Quinte¡¯s weapons giving them the confidence on an attempt to board. Despite the Quinte being better equipped compared to the River Bandits it was always going to be an uphill battle with the amount of ships they were up against. The River Bandits had over forty ships from their years of plunder and they were able to expertly disable the Quinte with the River Serpent. A River Serpent of this size alone would be difficult to pin down for even a vessel like the Quinte, combined with the River Bandit fleet they were unable to focus on the River Serpent diverting their attention to the number of ships that cornered them from all sides. This allowed the River Serpent to act more impudently as the Mages, main offence of the ship was distracted from creating barriers, diverting attacks and launching their own offence towards the ships that surrounded them, it was why they made the decision to allow the Druid to distract it instead of focusing on it and since they realised the River Bandits wanted to only disable the vessel, not sink they put more attention on delaying the River Bandits as much as possible from boarding. ¡°What happened to the barriers and weapons? Why have they failed so quickly, those Bandits are about to board!¡± The captain of the Quinte shouted at his colleague in frustration. His colleague on the other hand nervously twitched for a while before replying, ¡°Well the crew kind of assumed we¡¯d have no trouble as always, so the Qi stones are not even at full capacity¡­¡± The captains face turned beet red before transforming to a resigned, defeated look, after all even he had began to grow too relaxed upon learning the truth. The River Bandits had made the pass too safe for the nobles, the cooperation meant the River Bandits also fiercely removed any rivals which made the pass the safest it has ever been for noble vessels. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re truly doomed this time.¡± The captain knew even running at full capacity at most it could buy them a bit longer time, however being this heavily corned it was only a matter of time before they were defeated anyways. However the captain still gave out another order, ¡°Inform the Mages to save their Qi, it¡¯s futile targeting such a strong serpent anyways, focus fully on the bandits, inform the crew that we¡¯re now preparing to be boarded!¡± A clamour emerged after the captain gave out his orders, the guards on the ship knew their duty, they were well-trained and capable, even though the nobles shirked on pretty much everything else a detachment of guards like this represented the power of their house so of course they¡¯d be fairly strong. The River Bandit vessels noticing the dwindling firepower from the Quinte decided it was time to launch their first assault. Five vessels was sent out of the bandit fleet becoming the first to approach, as they drew closer the Quinte forces suddenly came alive. The Mages began to launch an offence, the remaining active weapons also began to unload simultaneously. The ship was on the verge of defeat but was not prepared to be boarded so easily! As the River Bandits barriers glimmered upon coming under fire, a large spell was abruptly prepared, generating an intense amount of Water Qi, stronger than any of the Mages on the ship are capable of. Althaea look that moment to use a one of the few signature offensive water spells at the later tiers, although water mages were primarily healers and lacked the offensive power of other elements, being in the higher tiers whilst also having the perfect supplementary environment like this would empower a water spell greatly. ¡°Tidal Wave.¡± Althaea said saying the incarnation firmly. At that moment a large wave suddenly starting gathering out in the water in front of the small wave of ships, its height continued to climb higher and higher until it reached a staggering 40 feet. The bandits already started panicking, how where they supposed to know a Mage with the strength to cast such a spell was on board the ship? At that moment Althaea smiled as she strained to hold the spell to the limit, deciding it was time to let go she sent the wave directly towards the approaching bandits who already began to hastily put up defences. Yet would this be enough to stop the spell? The bandits barely had enough time to attempt to defuse the power of the spell before it hit them, the shields and barriers provided by the mages, inscriptions held for a period before completely collapsing sending the bandit ships into smithereens. Althaea spell still had great momentum after destroying the five bandit ships with it continuing to approach the fleet, however although the approaching bandits at the forefront had insufficient time to prepare an adequate defence, the remaining bandits had plenty of ways to reduce the power of such a spell. Though individually weaker the numerous bandit mages in their fleet began to draw the Qi out of the spell and began to disperse its power into the surroundings. With Althaea no longer manipulating the spell, the bandit Water mages strained to pull the energy out of the spell weakening it over and over until the waves strength was insignificant by the time it reached the rest of the bandit ships, harmlessly hitting against the bandits ship barrier, the wave was now a fraction of the size it had been from when Althaea sent it towards them. The River Bandits let out a sigh of relief before growing incensed at losing five ships. Mages can defend against large destructive spells like that with sufficient time but it was tiresome for the mages involved. It took a great deal of concentration from a number of bandit mages to deal with that spell, using Qi manipulation to diffuse spells was one of the means a Mage has of defending against powerful area spells such as that. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. However, the bandits knew it would almost be impossible to react in time if they were to approach so closely like the previous five vessels sending a wave of fear through them. Yet Farrox grew angered at the cowardice shouting, ¡°This is just a demonstration to make you back off! To cast a spell of such strength, I doubt there will be another anytime soon, this is the best time for you fools to attack!¡± The River Bandits knew their leader was correct and began to approach again yet this time far more cautiously. The ships were well spread out and approached from all directions at the beginning. Another five of the bandit vessels quickly approached the Quinte and this time the resistance was far less. Farrox was right, the spell had heavily drained Althaea¡¯s Qi reserves and although the destruction of the bandit vessels drew a large amount of cheers from the ship, it barely put a dent to the number of the ships that surrounded them and soon five more approached. Arwen on the other hand continued to do his best at fighting back the sneaky serpent, it seemed to have entered a frenzy and was completely focused on him at this time ignoring the others on the ship entirely. He had already torn down the water barrier surrounding the serpent and was drawing blood from his claws and maw, yet these were minor injuries too such a large serpent and it just seemed to enrage it even more. ¡°I WILL TEAR INTO YOUR FLESH¡± The serpent screeched sending the ship reeling from its shrill voice. Although the Quinte had been able to take in the large serpent and managed to focus on the Bandits at this moment in time knowing they¡¯d be of little use to helping Arwen, it was still a destructive presence and they were greatly worried for the Druid despite the small victory Althaea provided. Althaea on the other hand felt herself breathing deeply after casting such a high cost spell, she had enough Qi left in the tank for more minor spells but could no longe cast anything strong enough to further prevent the next bandit vessels from closing in. At that moment in time the next five bandit vessels had managed to storm though the offence the Quinte had put up as a last ditch effort to prevent them from boarding, the ship was already heavily depleted and the Bandits were soon close enough to tether themselves to the ship. As the Bandits began throwing grappling hooks onto the Quinte, the sails had already been heavily damaged by the Bandits making it impossible outrun them even if they got past the Bandit ships not to mention the Bandit vessels are built for speed anyways. The Bandit ships were clearly smaller than the Quinte so already they began going to the separate areas of the ship to enter the vessel, one of the bandit ships began boarding from the bow whilst the other entered through the stern. A large section of the ship was left for the Fiend Bear and River Serpent whose battle continued to grow fiercer by the moment. Both haven¡¯t went all out yet, mostly probing the other, yet it was clear the climax was soon approaching. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement as neither Bandit nor any of the Quinte crew involved themselves in the confrontation, Althaea was ready to use healing spells on Arwen but knew her offensive magic would be highly ineffective against the River Serpent as it was heavily resistant to her attribute. It was already decided she would focus on the Bandits and prevent them from taking over the ship to her best abilities. As a number of bandits began their ascent into the ship, the Quinte began fiercely returning fire to their boarders sending a number of the bandits into the water dead. Yet the bandits outnumbered them severely and they soon began returning fire themselves from their ships, the sound of matchlock and musket like weapons went off between both sides as an intense battle for the Quinte raged on. The spells of Mages fired back and forth as they fought for supremacy, the ships mages had the edge in quality but the bandits had numbers, Mages were rare compared to Warriors but the human population was huge in the Greenland continent and there were plenty of mages stuck at the low tiers with poor potential who ended up turning to a life of banditry. Warriors shown their might, they leapt onto the Quinte from the ship, jumping heights that would be impossible for any human on Earth, gripping their blades they began engaging with the Quinte warriors in a fierce clash that soon created a bloody air as the casualties on both sides began to pile up. Yet the Quinte guards although fighting fiercely taking down bandit after bandit, to the observer it would look like they were on top at the moment however they were slowly getting worn down and losing ground the longer the skirmish continued. The bandits replaced the lives lost with more men to throw at the Quinte guards, however every man the Quinte lost was a big blow. At this moment in time Althaea was launching spell after spell, ¡°Wood Spike.¡± ¡°Water Bullet¡± ¡°Wood Bind.¡± ¡°Heal Wounds¡± The well trained Mage created chaos in the bandit ranks, she was a cut above every Mage present and it showed, yet even she would grow tired at inexhaustible numbers. Another few of the River Bandit vessels were sent to bolster their numbers as the Bandits seemed to throw their lives at them in a desperate bid for the ship. The Quinte thought it unusual, what sort of greedy bandits would fight them this desperately? They thought if they demonstrated they¡¯d suffer heavy losses, they might back off, but the Bandits shown no signs of this. Maybe they would know these thoughts were futile from the beginning if they knew the rewards they have been promised, Farrox had already stimulated these bandits to the maximum, especially since he has a few hidden skills as a Tamer thanks to his bond with the River Serpent that would push these men even further. Althaea felt she was about to collapse from exhaustion at the never ending bandits, she turned to see how Arwen was faring and that was when her eyes opened in shock. ¡°No!¡± She screamed at that moment the River Serpent eyes turned red, it had gone berserk. Arwen was holding steady however at this time large currents of water was gathered around the Serpent, it was finally using its gifts in water magic. ¡°YOU ARE MY PREY.¡± Ethir screeched before an inhuman wail emerged from it as it suddenly transformed a large horn emerged from its head. ¡°That¡¯s no ordinary River Serpent!¡± Althaea said in shock. Arwen noticed too as he felt a power grip him that was many times stronger than he felt during the entire course of the battle. ¡°YOU WILL HELP ME EVOLVE, TO RESTORE THE GREAT BLOODLINE.¡± Ethir said as the surrounding river seems to listen to its command. At this moment in time Farrox smirked as he said, ¡°Finally, just a sliver of flood dragon bloodline and yet this unawakened sliver has made you the King of all River Serpents, I was lucky to find you as an egg over two hundred years ago¡­ disguising myself as bandit all these years to hide from those people was worth it! That High Elf brat will be great gift as I finally return, this time with a Monarch level beast by my side!¡± The thought made him excited all those years of hiding worth it. He was too weak to show his face but knew he needed resources, what better way than to be a bandit? He had raised his Serpent for a long time with a great deal of resources to stimulate the sliver of dragon bloodline in its veins and now finally he will bear the fruits for all this labour. The portion of bloodline had already made it larger and stronger than your average River Serpent now it was about to be awakened. ¡°Devour that Druid Ethir, use him as nutrition to fuel your ascension to a true Monarch!¡± Farrox screamed eagerly as the Serpent used it newfound strength and mastery of water magic to bring coils of condensed water around the large bear, the Fiend Bear fought back fiercely but the Serpent overpowered him as Arwen felt himself being dragged into the depths of the water as the Serpent soon followed a hungry glint in the depth of its eyes. The Flood Dragon was a master of the water, even having a very weak smidge of that bloodline made the Serpent the King of this River. It was undaunted, unbeatable it was time to feed. Chapter 49 - Snake-kin Farrox grinned in delight at the sight of the Druid being dragged into the river by his serpent. He couldn¡¯t believe his fortune at everything seeming to fall in place, before the Gravenport informed him of this opportunity he felt a great deal of frustration at his time here being forced to come to a close by the ongoing circumstances involving the Empire. His serpent was close to ascending and achieving its full potential he felt it, yet just as this was about to come to be the Kingdom finally caved in towards the Empire and surrendered. He knew the nobles would likely now turn their eyes towards his bandit gang who had been living comfortably all these years, after all they all were hungry for merits to try and restore their lost status. Therefore he knew he had to leave here sooner or later before the Empires enforcers came out to deal with him. At the time he felt extremely incensed, after all his serpent was so close to progressing towards new heights, yet all this was about to end? However none of this mattered now, not only had he been able to finally vent his anger on those pretentious nobles, but the problem for finding suitable resources for his Serpent ascension was resolved, and additionally on top of all that the problem of him returning to his lands would be dealt with far more simply with the capture of the High Elf. Nonetheless it was now time to make a move himself. He did not intend to work with the Gravenports who gave him the information in the first place. Even the Azure Serpent, a bandit gang he had formed to quickly gather resources for his serpent was now expendable to him. With the Druid absent from the ship it was time to make his presence known. Suddenly Farrox eyes revealed a strange light as his face began to consort and change. His skin changed becoming a green tint, where there was the pale skin of a human now there was scales, his eyes resembled the slit eyes of a snake as his true figure as a member of the Snakekin race was revealed. ¡°Finally I can breathe a bit¡­¡± the eyes of the surrounding bandits didn¡¯t even appear surprised instead they just blankly stared ahead. Snakekin tamers were different to normal ones, they entered a deep bond with their magical beast which was usually a serpent-type magical beast of some kind. Farrox and his magical beast due to the unique bond gained a portion of their most significant attributes from each other but it came with significant costs. The first being it was incredibly difficult to break the bond, once made even if the bond was willingly broken it would permanently weaken both parties, usually making them drop tiers in cultivation, there was also significant consequences if one member of the bond was to meet their end once the bond has been made therefore a Snakekin would only choose their bond wisely. Farrox was considered nobility among his race, therefore him forming his bond with a River Serpent was greatly mocked at the time, and this was despite the River Serpent not even being that weak for a magical beast, yet for an individual of his standing it was still not considered top-class. He was originally considered a top genius among his race however those who previously were equal to him began to outpace him after forming bonds with superior magical beasts, bonding was major for a Snakekin and usually their potential was greatly influenced by it no matter how talented one was. Although he was still not weak among his race he could tell his family was dissatisfied with him for bonding with the River Serpent, however now he would come back in triumph after being proved right. The odds of awakening the Flood Dragon blood was considered too low by his clan and a waste of resources yet he had done it. It had taken him over a hundreds years of time to finally do it but now things were finally looking up. ¡°I will show those who exiled me how wrong they were when I return to the clan not only by bringing the beast they scorned now a Monarch but I will also bring a rare High Elf brat in tow!¡± Farrox grinned extremely pleased. His people despised the Elves extremely, he was sure the High Elf would restore his comfortable life as a noble among the Snakekin even if the promotion of his serpent was not enough to smooth over the problem he had caused. His intentions from the beginning was never to gain some nobility in a blasted human Kingdom, those people would give you nobility always if you had enough funds and gave it the right people under the table, how else would those useless Gravenport fools somehow be considered nobles here. His people despise such means however it would be a great honour bringing one of their hated enemies nobility to them, the Elves had suppressed the Snakekin easily whenever conflict arose over the years, their technological and magical superiority was above them by far, although he was proud even he could admit this, they rarely caught sight of the noble High Elves and when they did it usually led to their defeat. The Human Kingdoms in other continents was always a last resort for him, he always wanted to return home to the comfortable life of nobility, but to be honest if that doesn¡¯t work out he just wants to use his strength to live luxuriously, therefore those dirty Human Kingdoms was not the worse idea if things don¡¯t work out. Which is why he prioritised getting ahold of that High Elf brat, they rarely left the cave of protection the Elven community provided, so when else would he ever get an opportunity like this one? ¡°Bring the ship closer men, it¡¯s time we board ourselves!¡± Farrox commanded. His crew knew long ago he was no ordinary human, and these bunch of misfits don¡¯t care. A good deal of them are mix-bloods, beast-kin, rejects of society in human lands, he specifically recruited these people for his crew the most as he knew they would be the easiest to manipulate. His crew were awed at his ¡®trust¡¯ to reveal his origins as a Snakekin, and a few honeyed words that it was time for them to make something of themselves where they had been repressed all their lives had won them over the years easily making his gang rather loyal. He only wore this human mask when he would interact with other humans since they trusted their own kind more easily. In fact he only retained this human mask as he was concerned the Druid might hone on him from the ship if he discovered anything, it was rather paranoid since the Druid was land beast but Snake-kin were always paranoid since they often schemed against their own kind just as much as their enemies. It was common knowledge if you end the life of a Snake-kin tamer his magical beast would significantly weaken, which was why he safely remained out of the battle until now as he grew concerned the Druid had the means to threaten him. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. However with the Quinte severely depleted, the Druid about to be disposed of, and the powerful Mage from earlier well-spent after such a battle he held no fear, he was a proud Snake-kin noble, the elite of his race and was already at the peak of tier nine only one step away from becoming a Monarch like his Serpent. Who on that ship could even threaten him now? Soon enough the Quinte noticed that the largest ship of the bandit fleet approached them alongside multiple others. Seeing the flag ship approach they knew it meant one thing, the leader of the Azure Serpents was about to make an appearance. The ship was now close enough to the Quinte for Farrox to board, his flagship was the closest to the Quinte in size and as a Snake-kin he shared a similar racial advantage over humans like all Beast-kin do, they are naturally far stronger than humans. Taking a big leap Farrox soon find himself landing on the ship deftly with the humans shouting and screaming straight away at his presence. Farrox just gave a big grin, Snake-kin were natural warriors like their Beast-kin counterparts, although they focused more on agile, speed based movements, they held a great advantage as Warriors compared to the average human. His bond with the Serpent greatly increased his Warrior capabalities allowing him to hone his magic more, though his magic was more support based focusing on buffing his magical beast like most of his race would use magic for. Shake-kin were not the best mages but they were good at support magic primarily having access to the water attribute and were good tamers. The two human warriors approached him fast as he easily side stepped them taking out his weapons casually. He smirked at them, they were fairly good, better than most of his rag-tag lot anyways, but against a well trained Snake-kin warrior? They might as well be wooden puppets, his speed was a blur as both men heads went flying in the air as they were detached from their bodies. Both of the human warriors were tier four at the very least, very respectable in the continent yet they were not even able to react to the attack that beheaded them. The rest of the human guards visibly recoiled at the sight whilst the bandits fought even more fiercely at seeing their leader defeat the enemies giving them such a hard fight so casually. They believed no one could beat their mighty leader! Farrox was satisfied with the reaction, now none would waste his time as he went on to retrieve the child. Yet just as he was about to approach the entrance to the cabins down below a bloodied elf approached him from the front. Flicking his tongue out he quickly determined what she was. ¡°Mmm Elf Mage¡­ I would enjoy sinking my fangs into your flesh if I had the time, but well, a High Elf brat is expecting me and I can¡¯t disappoint them, she will be the guest of honour for my future arrangements after all.¡± Farrox spoke in a carefree manner, however although it would appear to the observer that he was relaxed and completely unbothered his left hand was already sneakily reaching for something. Like a snake Farrox was coiled, predatorily eyeing the female elf with the corner of his eye, waiting for one moment of weakness where he could end her in one strike. Althaea just ignored him as she replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you but that¡¯s not going to happen...¡± Althaea already knew she was screwed from the beginning. Even at her best she was not confident in fighting against such a tricky opponent. ¡®Damn Snake-kin always sinking those greedy fangs into everything.¡¯ Althaea thought grumpily. Beast-king were usually known for their upfront, honest nature, they were warriors through and through, direct and open to their actions, even if they didn¡¯t like you, they would be upfront about this and are not known for back-stabbing, treacherous tactics. But the Snake-kin on the other hand? They were an anomaly, a scourge on the Beast-kin race. They were even more cunning and devilish than most humans, resorting to all sorts of means to achieve their goals. They were predators through and through, always looking for an edge they can get over their opponents, there was a saying, ¡®Snake-kin are never truly an ally, it is merely temporary when they are the beneficiary, they¡¯d sink their fangs into you the moment you show weakness.¡¯ So it was no surprise when an accursed member of that race was involved. She already had her fair share of experience with them and it always seemed to end with the other trying to backstab her in some way. However it also meant she knew the weakness behind their tamers. ¡®If the River Serpent is his bonded creature¡­¡¯ Althaea thought with hope, ¡®Arwen don¡¯t worry, I will save you like you saved me all those years ago!¡¯ At that moment without warning Farrox had already made his move yet Althaea was relying on this. She knew a Snake-kin had no qualms against going for the kill against a seemingly weakened opponent. However from the start Althaea had been pouring everything she had in one final spell. ¡°Wood Prison.¡± Althaea managed to speak out just as the Snake-kin was within reach. Farrox eyes widened for a moment before he tried to reach towards the elf before the first encasement of wood sent him reeling back. She chugged multiple recovery potions to have the energy to cast such a spell, and now the spell she had been holding since she saw Farrox approaching on his flagship was all released with him as the target. Condensed beams of Wood Qi began forming on top of each other as the swift and elusive Snake-kin soon found himself encased in multiple barriers of wood. The spell was destructive and Althaea continued pouring all her Qi to continuously maintain the spell as she pumped everything she had left into crushing the Snake-kin to death in an encasement of wood. Farrox screamed in annoyance as he tried to tear himself free but his screeches were soon muffled as he was being covered in a dome of wood and more and more barriers began forming around him. Althaea found her Qi draining at a rapid pace as she tried to maintain the spell, she was constantly having to reinforce the wooden prison as the Snake-kin was constantly trying to tear his way through. Althaea felt the drain was severe as her face began to grow pale as she was struggling with all her strength to contain the Snake-kin. However she felt great hope feeling the resistance from the Snake-kin was fading. She had little means of troubling a peak warrior in the first realm, especially a Beast-kin knowing for being particular strong for their rank, Farrox would be way too agile for most of the offensive magic at her disposal, therefore this was her only chance, she had to drain him of his Battle Qi and crush him to death. She could not lose any concentration for a moment because the Snake-kin would be a nightmare to close down once he was free, Snake-kin excel at speed and one of this cultivation was sure to be extremely quick. However right at that moment the Snake-kins aura suddenly exploded as it rose considerably, Althaea did her best to stop him but she could not hold the magic any longer. Through an explosion of wood Farrox soon emerged, covered head to toe in small wounds the Snake-kin looked enraged. ¡°You¡­ you cursed Elf!¡± Farrox hissed. Althaea could do nothing as the Snake-kin approached gripping her by the throat as he hoisted her into the air. Althaea was already spent so was barely resisting at this point, she had already mostly drained her elemental Qi pools in the ongoing battle beforehand, and had once again done the same after using priceless recovery potions to restore her lost Qi. She felt extremely weak and lethargic already and was now deprived of air as the Snake-kin squeezed her throat. Althaea felt everything going black as her vision was becoming dark. Farrox looked over her smugly as he whispered, ¡°No!!! No, you can¡¯t die yet, I will let you watch as I take that High Elf brat, I will let you watch as my serpent consumes your Druid friend, I will let you watch as I butcher every single living person on this ship¡­¡± Farrox was truly enraged this time, he came here smugly thinking there was no one present who could threaten him yet right after he was about to cruise around on his victory lap he was almost crushed to death by a dastardly Elven Mage. Althaea could do nothing at this time but meekly look up as she felt herself making gurgling noises from the lack of air. At that time the Snake-kin released her but not before she felt a sword slide deep into her chest. ¡°Now now, don¡¯t go dying on me, wait for me¡­ I hope you won¡¯t bleed out by the time I come back¡­¡± Farrox said cruelly as he discarded her body like a piece of garbage after he gutted her with his blade. He ensured it wasn¡¯t in a lethal area, he merely wanted her to experience just a small amount of the pain that is to come. ¡°I really do hate elves¡­¡± Farrox found himself muttering as he preceded to kick open the reinforced door into the cabin areas. Now it was time to find that High Elf brat and afterwards burn the ship to the ground. Maybe that will make him feel better. Chapter 50 - Unlikely Alliance Breaking through the reinforced doors Farrox was soon interrupted by a clamour of movement making him ready himself for battle. However he quickly realised who the rabble was which instantly made him adopt an irritated expression. The passengers of the ship have been hiding behind the reinforced doors to the lower decks since the battle began, some of them were already alerted by the loud noise caused by Farrox entrance and were approaching the Snakekin angrily with haughty expressions. ¡°Do you know who I am? If you don¡¯t take me to the destination promised I will¡­¡± A blonde upright human noble was unable to finish his sentence as his head left his body the second he threatened Farrox. ¡°Irritating humans, move out of the way or I will slaughter you all, move now. I have no time for this!¡± Farrox shouted with a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes scaring away all the fancily dressed fools who approached him. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his time chopping down these rich fools, although it was a pastime he felt enjoyment in, he was in no mood to do so when the chance of his prize slipping through his grasp was present. He held no trust for that Gravenport old fox, the man reminded him too much of his kin, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he was already planning to slip away from the beginning whilst he does all the hard work. Farrox knew all of men would likely end up tricked if he were to sent them here to get the job done, only he could trust himself for such a task. Shame he had to kill the old bastard though, his perfect devious nature would make any Snake-kin hatch mother proud to tears. Although he considered the Gravenports complete simpletons, he can admit the old human was tolerable to him, maybe enough for him to even consider making an ally if it didn¡¯t involve such a valuable specimen. Anyways now the irritating passengers realised he was not to be trifled with, Farrox continued moving deeper into the ship until he was met by another reinforced door, this one seeming even more sealed than the previous. ¡°Looks like I found you¡­¡± Farrox smiled as his he forked his tongue. He could already taste the presence of the delicious scent of a High Elf. It was filled with power sending waves of excitement through him. Elves were highly magical in nature making them a delicacy for Magical Beasts, Snake-kin partly shared their Magical Beasts nature and were a predatory race in general, eating humans was especially common, Elves were considered more delicious though and Farrox enjoyed savouring the hearts. At that moment despite appearing as a humanoid species Farrox mouth began to elongate wide as drool dripped out of his mouth. ¡°Got to hold back¡­ you got to hold, hahahaha, letting free really does this too me, spent too much time around these damn humans, the crew is slightly better containing many non-humans but even the beast-kin have been domesticated by the humans so called ¡®laws and rights¡¯, what rights does food have?¡± Farrox grumbled dissatisfied. He didn¡¯t even pause as he continued, one punch smashed the door and the barricades behind it. Farrox already saw the men responsible for blocking the entrance and they seemed to recognise who he was instantly. One of them put his hands up hurriedly looking at how hostile he appeared. ¡°Wait we¡¯re on the same sid¡­¡± Farrox didn¡¯t even let the man speak he already let loose on the Gravenport goons. ¡°At least these lot can provide a good exercise before the finale¡­ maybe even a little snack? Otherwise I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to hold myself back when I see such a perfect delectable¡­¡± Farrox found himself once again drooling as the thought of tearing into High Elf flesh filled him with desire. Farrox could no longer hold back as his eyes glazed red just like his serpent. Forming such a close bond in blood and soul had consequences, even Druids would not be as heavily influenced by the magical beast bloodline contained within them as it was just the will of the blood trying to influence their thoughts, however a Snake-kin would fully accept a magical beasts mind interconnecting with their own, it would change anyone¡¯s nature fundamentally never mind an already predatory race like the Snake-kin. Farrox lost himself to his bloodlust as he tore through the goons one by one. Even Farrox could not resist the bloodlust ingrained in the River Serpent psyche that pushed into his mind from the bond, however at least he had a group to vent on delivered to him. The battle with the Druid has stimulated the Serpent to the maximum causing even him to be heavily influenced. ¡°What are you doing, we had a deal!¡± A man screamed as Farrox blood red eyes didn¡¯t even blink as he continued towards the cowering man. ¡°Food tastes better with fear.¡± Farrox smiled as blood dripped out of his mouth, at that moment his mouth fully elongated as it stretched over the mans screaming head with a smack his jaws closed ending the screaming as the corridor suddenly turn still. An assortment of human remains littered the floor, as bits and pieces of different body parts were scattered about creating a scene of carnage. Loud gulping sounds occurred as Farrox neck stretched unnaturally wide as the shape of the mans face was shown in his neck muscles as he continued gulping causing it to move down and down until it disappeared completely. ¡°That hit the spot, now I think the Elf is just around the corner right? I think that¡¯s what the other guy said before I ripped his arm off¡­¡± Farrox said with a light smile. At that moment Farrox noticed the complete silence. ¡°Looks like the battle ahead has resolved. Hmm?¡± Farrox noticed from the beginning the presence of another battle. It could only mean that one of the High Elf protectors was engaging with these men, but likely not a particular strong one considering he was held back by these weaklings. Suddenly Farrox felt another wave of intense thoughts hit his mind as the thoughts of his Rivers Serpents hunger for the Druid echoed through his mind and body. ¡°Damn Serpent becoming too strong, the elders couldn¡¯t be right could they?¡± Farrox thought for the first time doubting himself. The elders warned him that he was not mentally strong enough to handle stronger magical beasts, it was one of the reasons he ended up with a River Serpent and got mocked, that he who came from a noble bloodline with great talent, who always excelled too only be deemed as being too mentally weak? It was why he sneakily selected a River Serpent with dormant Flood Dragon ancestry, it was minor, an insignificant amount of dragon blood but enough to heavily mutate the River Serpent bloodline if awoken to the point it will allow it to break its bloodline shackles and provide him a magical beast every bit as strong as the one that should have been HIS! ¡°No¡­ NO!¡± Farrox shouted at the wall, he can handle this, it¡¯s just heightened instincts to have a taste of some of that succulent High Elf flesh¡­ At that moment Farrox did not care he just had to continue, he had to compete his goal to prove his elders wrong. Rounding the corner he soon found something unexpected awaiting him. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°What?¡± Farrox mumbled in disbelief. Before him stood the strange scene of the Gravenport senior with a few of his men left alongside a bloodied but determined looking elf. Ardon Gravenport just smirked at him and said, ¡°What? I couldn¡¯t make an alliance knowing you¡¯re going to slaughter us all, I won¡¯t sit back and do fuck all but let you give me an easy death. I know your strength treacherous Snake, even combined we have little hope, but I ain¡¯t lowering my chance of survival to make this shit easier for you¡­¡± Xandas himself was reluctant but had to agree with the gang bosses logic, they were fighting hard, he had already taken down a good number of his goons but at that moment they were disturbed by the loud noises of the slaughter of Ardon¡¯s men. Xandas knew someone capable of one-sidedly butchering those men like this far outmatched him, he only lasted this long so far by using the tight, close quartered environment of the cabin room to reduce the effectiveness of the goons numbers, the corridor was far more spacious and the monster in front of him had taken down over a dozen capable men without as much a scratch on him. Therefore when Ardon hurriedly compromised telling him this was their only hope of survival, he knew his only choice was to accept his offer, if he hesitated and the thing responsible if he let that thing get ahold of his daughter, then he¡¯d fail himself and the promise he made to his wife in those final moments. However contrary to their expectations the Snake-kin looked positively bemused by their alliance, in fact it was straight up grinning. Xandas already felt his hairs stand up on its edge as he saw the things eyes roved over him. He had never previously met a Snake-kin before however he knew they were apart of the Beast-kin making them considered an intelligent race, but the thing before him does not seem to resemble anything with humanity inside it. Its eyes seemed to roam them like a predator, blood dripped from its mouth and fangs as it lazily stretched open its mouth showing its large teeth to the group of shivering goons. The only people present who looked Farrox in the eye was Ardon and Xandas who both looked at others in grim realisation. ¡®We¡¯re totally screwed aren¡¯t we?¡¯ Their expressions seem to indicate, yet they showed no signs of backing down as they held their weapons with the steadiness of a statue. ¡°How how interesting, but alas this changes nothing, and you know what, usually I may try to even turn you on that little Elf there by suggesting I¡¯d let you go if you give me his head¡­ however haha I honestly do care what you do, I¡¯m just going to feast on you like I¡­¡± Farrox said his smile growing wider and wider. At this point one of the goons could not hold his nerve anymore and screamed suddenly charging at the Snake-kin. Farrox lazily caught the goons weapon with his bare hand, before punching a hole through his chest with the other in one smooth movement. Shaking the man off his arm with a hint of disgust. ¡°With an Elf around he stinks like shit¡­ how could I have ate that crap?¡± Farrox said his gaze growing crazier by the second, his words growing incoherent. Ardon already grew suspicious as he murmured, ¡°Damn Snake is growing a mental demon, he¡¯s losing his mind to his Magical Beast, this is what happens when a Snake-kin bonds to a beast with a will stronger than them, damn idiot must have thought entering a bond with a beast holding a dragon bloodline even if it¡¯s weak is that simple¡­¡± Ardon cursed in annoyance. He heard rumours the boss of Azure-serpents was a Snake-kin, however word of it was fairly recent and was never confirmed, yet he felt there was a good chance it was true. Therefore he knew the risks beforehand but how could he have known that damn Snake would lose his mind? At that moment Ardon shouted, ¡°Everyone attack at one, he¡¯s becoming berserk it¡¯s our only chance.¡± Xandas was already on the move with Ardon as they both attacked the beast as one. The remaining goons also tried to intercept the Snake-kin, they knew it was not a chance in hell to bypass him by now, he wanted blood and was here for it. Farrox barely moved he was too busy shaking his arm as his thoughts became messy, only with the hectic thoughts of his Serpent battering into his mind and that damn stinky human blood. However at that moment he felt the air move, ¡°Huh?¡± Farrox said as he felt five blades smack into his flesh, three of them bounced off harmlessly, not even strong enough to leave the slightest scratch, as a Tier 9 warrior his flesh was already thick and powerful. Yet two of them were targeted at his weak points and were hit with great precision, skill. He felt a slight pain he felt the presence of two wounds opening up. ¡°Wounded?¡± Farrox said with wonder, Ardon and Xandas just looked in shock and helplessness as the their two full powered blows merely left two small scratches against the neck and abdomen on the Snake-kin. In fact Xandas was already impressive to leave a tiny wound, even if its extremely insignificant, there was already a great tier separation between them and Farrox was no ordinary ninth Tier warrior. ¡°Wounded¡­¡± this time Farrox said it with even more venom as his mind went chaotic. Ardon Gravenport and Xandas instincts screamed at them to dodge which they did. The three remaining goons however were not so lucky as the Snake-kin moved in a whirlwind as three newly heads were soon separated from their bodies. With the last of his men dead Ardon grew to the grim realisation of his failure this time. However at the point of his death, the fate he has been avoiding over and over, betraying, killing, doing everything he could to survive, at the final point where he was finally meeting his end, he found it so easy to just accept it. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be joining you after all¡­¡± Ardon mumbled as he thought to his family that had long met their end at the guillotine block. ¡®I should have died with you¡­¡¯ Ardon smiled as he stared into the eyes of the raging Snake-kin. There was hardly anything left in his gaze at this point, no mercy to be seen. He felt so empty in the end, was turning his heart so black worth it, at the end he finally realised he cared far more for that misfit of a family than he thought, he was fine to die here, he accepted it was time to go. That was Ardon Gravenports last thoughts as Farrox arm ripped right through his chest tearing out his still beating heart. Arton felt his vision go black as his life faded completely. Witnessing a warrior stronger than himself die so easily Xandas felt a deep pit of despair. He held a faint hope when the sneaky warrior offered an allegiance to defeat the Snake-kin but now he realised they never stood a hope in hell from the beginning. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I failed you¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Xandas muttered helplessly but still gripped his blade strongly. He was a warrior, he would never die on his knees without putting up a good fight. Farrox seemed to notice as those crazy blood red eyes of his turned intelligent for a moment. ¡°Proud are you? Think you¡¯re better than me?¡± Farrox insecurities shown instantly, his hated of Elves came from their unity, the community they held, his family were as treacherous to their own as others, he had never known love and was cold-blooded for it. Although his mind was screaming for him to KILL, he held it back as he wanted to draw this one out for him. Moving to Xandas he simply caught the Elves sword hand as he made a well executed swing for him. With a simple effortlessly movement a loud crack was held as Xandas hand was now bent backwards. ¡°Ahhh!¡± Xandas groaned loudly in pain for a moment before he gritted his teeth and didn¡¯t make a further sound, instead he used his lunged a sneakily targeted short-sword strike with the other hand as the Snake-kin reacted to his pained shout in satisfaction. Unfortunately he failed to land yet again as the Snake-kins body curved in an unnatural way causing the blow to miss, before he easily caught his other hand taking no effort to snap that one either. Farrox grinned finding the sounds of bones snapping music to his ears as he said, ¡°You won¡¯t be leaving any more wounds little Elf¡­¡± Farrox was already irritated at the first one that had long since closed over and healed, it was tiny and minuscule but still damaged his pride as a Snake-kin elite warrior. Due to his crazed state the Snake-kin failed to use any magic at all from the beginning to end of the confrontation, yet now he had a spell in mind. ¡°Water Whip.¡± Farrox mumbled as he poured a fairly good deal of power into it, he wanted to humiliate him. Sending down a harsh whip Xandas slumped to the ground letting out a whimper, Xandas gritted his teeth in pain as he refused to submissively shout out to the stupid snake. ¡°You will beg for mercy¡­¡± Farrox shouted filled with the need to torment the Elf, however at this moment a sharp soft cry sounded out. ¡°STOP! Don¡¯t hurt him, you can take me just leave him alone!¡± A small figure started running out as a little elf who slightly bore resemblance to the one he was pummelling came out. ¡°Ahhh¡­ so the guest of honour has finally arrived.¡± Farrox smiled gently for the first time, he pushed back fiercely against the dangerous thoughts screeching in his mind as he fought back the bestial urges of his serpent. ¡°No Ava don¡¯t¡­ why didn¡¯t you stay hidden? Run now don¡¯t worry about me¡­¡± Xandas pleaded the little Elf making Farrox released a sadistic grin at the realisation. ¡°Oh how adorable¡­ all this weakness for a tiny clutchling.¡± Farrox said with complete disdain. Shake-kin would never be so weak, so soft, however he finally found something that will make the Elf cave. Approaching the Little Elf he hoisted her up, placing a hand on her throat as he gripped it slightly. ¡°So delicate¡­¡± Farrox suddenly said before the urge to consume filled him. His mind suddenly felt so lost, why don¡¯t I give into the hunger? His past intentions soon faded away, the act of tormenting Xandas has now disappeared completely, only the warm, powerful blood that pumped through the small creatures veins filled him with desire. ¡°Take me, NO NOT HER!¡± The screams of a voice sounded out but he completely ignored it, his mouth opened wide to consume. Chapter 51 - Power of the Astral, Serpents Demise At the moment Ava found her life flashing before her eyes. Watching her Father handle the goons over and over gave her renewed hope that they get through this despite the circumstances. However now the Snake-kin simply cruised through the resistance like nothing, its predatory eyes stared at her with such hunger despite it appearing like a humanoid snake-person she couldn¡¯t associate it as anything else but a beast. As its mouth opened up and it became muttering to consume her, she felt her mind lose all reasoning, she felt agitated, afraid making her desperation turn into her trying to pull anything, just anything to save her from this fate. She was not ready to meet her end just when things are beginning. And that was when it happened, she found a strange power erupt inside her coursing through her veins. Unknown to Ava at that time her body began to glow a bright light, her veins became a bright-violet purple as a strange ancient aura filled the room. Farrox hungry eyes seemed to register the strange event for the first time, but instead of fear of the unknown he merely looked at her in confusion. He did not see how such a weak child could threaten him, he merely was interested in the unique power that flooded her veins. It allowed him to awaken from the ravenous state the bloodline connection left him in and for moment stare at Ava. Xandas also looked bewildered at the sight, suddenly Ava eyes began to glow the same violet-purple as her features began to contort in anger as she suddenly gazed at the Beast-kin with a mystical light. Cense was also staring at her in wonder, ¡®The power of the Astral, she¡¯s drawing it from her body¡­ all those years built up for one burst of power¡­¡¯ Cense couldn¡¯t even finish his thought as Ava an a mist started to rise up from her body. Farrox didn¡¯t even move he was just appreciating the beauty of the magic, his slit-like eyes reflecting the glow of the magic. However he would soon find that was a mistake, he should have run the moment this started as all this energy began being pushed crazily into him. At first the Snake-kin felt an intense power like nothing he had felt before filling his veins, making him feel a warm feeling. It made him smile he felt comfortable, he felt true power yet as the energy grew more and more intense he realised something. ¡®Why am I going numb? I can¡¯t feel my arms¡­¡¯ Farrox just looked slowly down as he saw his hands, arms start to disintegrate right before his eyes. He had long lost his grip of the child, yet she continued to hold him as that strange energy kept pouring through his body. ¡®I feel so weak.. what is this brat doing to me¡­ am I going to die?¡¯ Farrox found the situation so strange. He a powerful ninth tier Warrior, among the top fighting force among the four continents was about to be ended by a weak little girl. ¡°What are you?¡± Farrox said bitterly as at that moment the cunning intelligent Snake-kin noble returned, the influence of the bond faded for a moment as his body continued to break into pieces before their eyes. Ava didn¡¯t even notice the Snake-kins death she was lost in the feeling of the Astral. The Astral Qi spoke to her and it was hungry, it wanted to devour. Xandas had already started crawling to his daughter seeing her alive and well made him full of joy, he did not care how the Snake-kin died he just knew that they still lived and this crisis was over. He was so jubilant he wanted to approach his daughter then and there, but suddenly became conscious of the glowing light still surrounding her, deciding to wait until it ended and Ava regained consciousness. Ava felt the energy continued coursing through her, she was focused on this moment on one thing, she knew the Astral Qi was limited, the feeling of unlimited power was merely an illusion, yet it was enough to end the life of a Warrior many tiers beyond her. But she knew this was not over yet, as the hungry feeling filling her body never faded. ¡®Astral plunders, Astral devours.¡¯ A strange conscious feeling filled her body, like she knew what next actions to take. Farrox¡¯s body had already turned into this strange-mist like energy after being affected by the Astral Qi. Ava instinctively knew she had to draw this back into her and after a little hesitation at the unknown, she followed her instincts and drew the mist back into her body. At that moment a wave of intense power filled her. ¡®What was plundered shall be received.¡¯ The strange instincts filled her as she felt a wave of power suddenly fill her body. Her stagnant soul power that had been growing ridiculously slowly lately suddenly surged as if it was injected by steroids. It was an addicting feeling to see something rise so quickly with it usually being an incredibly laborious process, this was her current feeling as her soul surged past the Tier 2 standard before finally stopping at the Tier 3. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Her mind felt even clearer and more refreshed than before. She thought it would be many years before she hit Tier 3 after finally achieving Tier 2 yet now she has already progressed to it just like that. And this was not just it, a warm feeling spread through her body as she suddenly felt her strength surge. Her body seemingly grew stronger, in an all-around way, she felt like her fitness had taken another leap and this was not it as an unfamiliar energy surged through her veins. She instantly knew what it was even without experiencing it before, ¡®Battle Qi¡¯, however at the moment the energy was dormant, it had no active method to harness it and therefore just slumbered in her body awaiting to be directed. ¡®Astral has the power to absorb, steal talents and adapt the biology of the user. Soo fascinating¡­¡¯ the spirit suddenly said in her mind. Cense was examining her body in detail and continued, ¡®Now now although it doesn¡¯t look like it, there are many more changes than a benefit to your cultivation, your physiology seemed to have completely changed in one moment, it is stronger, more sturdy, your flexibility has increased ridiculously, it¡¯s like you have taken the racial traits of the Snake-kin race and adapted them to your own¡­ it¡¯s simple incredible.¡¯ ¡®What? But that¡¯s insane¡­¡¯ Ava responded she couldn¡¯t even form words, she knew the strange feedback from the mist changed her, but this was too much, she grew concerned she would become addicted to such easy power ups but Cense just laughed instead. ¡®Do this repeatedly? You won¡¯t be able too for a good long while at least, it seemed the remnant energy of Astral Qi laid dormant and was storing up in your cells, it is the dregs of what you have not been able to fully absorb from tempering your body, and all this energy, years of building it up has been depleted from what you just did, you won¡¯t be able to do what you did today for a good few years at the very least, maybe in the future when you have a stronger grasp of the Astral but even then this was an extremely rare chance of events, when else would a Ninth Tier Warrior just stand there and let you power up like that. This only happened because the Snake practically lost his mind and vastly underestimated you, he could have easily avoided this if he wanted too, but this set of events allowed you to leap frog ranks and integrate an opponent many times your strength with the Astral Qi ability and even still it¡¯s only a small portion, you only benefitted so much in terms of cultivation because of the rank difference, I¡¯m more interested in these other changes instead¡­¡¯ Cense said in his ramblings making Ava feel a sense of relief. At least she was not at risk of turning into a power hungry creature due to this power, she was concerned her impatience over her lack of talent would seek her to abuse this power to fast track herself but just like Cense said it was impossible to repeat such things over and over. She¡¯d have to find an enemy who out ranked her multiple times over and over, getting them to stand still and let her target them which was simply impractical and unrealistic. At that moment Ava found herself being disturbed by a big embrace as her Father brought her to his sturdy chest. ¡°Father¡­¡± Ava mumbled in fear for a moment, would he be afraid of what she just did? But she soon found her concerns for nothing. Xandas the same as he always was, his gaze filled with love didn¡¯t change as he said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I will protect you from anything, it doesn¡¯t matter what this is, you¡¯ll be all right.¡± Ava couldn¡¯t help but realise she was shivering at this moment in time making her discover just why her Father looked so concerned as he was comforting her. Deciding to let go she just relaxed into his embrace, all before she wanted to get into using her limited water magic to try and heal the damage caused by the Snake-kin. Meanwhile Ava didn¡¯t just realise the significance of the death of the Snake-kin and how it set many things into motion. Arwen who was battling for his life in the river, found himself surrounded by the ravenous creatures of the river, the Mutated River Serpent with dragon blood used its power as the king of the river to call upon its many denizens as they swarmed around him. Despite its strength increasing heavily and it being in its own territory it still felt the Fiend Bear was a challenge so was whittling him down by sending distractions to him as it hide the true deadly strikes. Arwen was irritated. In his prime he could have dealt with such a Serpent simply even it had been mutated with dragon blood, yet his injury caused his true strength to be sealed, he could erupt with the power of a Monarch for a moment but it would leave him in a severely weakened state and he was afraid the cunning Snake would slip away as soon as it discovered anything amiss. At that moment however the arrogant looking Snake suddenly shrieked in pain, absolute agony as if wailed as if it was experiencing the most horrific torment. Arwen didn¡¯t realise what exactly going on but knew it was his opportunity. Suddenly he erupted with new-found power, his size increased greatly until his bulk far eclipsed the Snake, grinning the Fiend Bear was ready to maul the stupid Snake once and for all. Charging towards it the Snake was in too much pain to even react as it suddenly felt a colossal strength grab ahold of it. It could make little resistance as a Fiend Bear, a magical beast known for its colossal strength got a grasp of it, and a Monarch level one like that, it was set in stone the moment its jaws and claws got ahold of the Snake what will happen. Ascending to the surface the waters suddenly become heavily bloodied as the bandits cheered believing it was the fall of the Druid. Yet the sight that emerged from the water terrified them as a large Snake was suddenly dragged out by a colossal sized bear, large chunks of its flesh has already been torn off and it continued to shriek in agony. The Druid deciding to finish this display used his powerful jaws and claws to clumsily tear the Serpents massive head off throwing it towards one of the Bandit ships. The Bandit screamed in hysteria as at the sight and as the Bear turned its eyes toward them, Arwen stared to move towards their ships and began battering into them, as he leapt out of the water collapsing the Bandit ships surrounding the Quinte one by one. The Bandits began to run for their lives as all fighting on the Quinte stopped as they jumped off the ship to try and escape, swimming towards their comrades in the distance. The Quinte crew cheered loudly as they shouted, ¡°Praise the Druid! He saved us!¡± Yet these cheers suddenly turned silent as the large bear seemed to tire, it boarded the large deck of the Quinte that seemed far less spacious with the bears increased size than before and suddenly collapsed, the bear shrunk before their eyes turning into an old elven man who appeared fatigued and exhausted. Slowly, he walked to the railings as he took a seat down, wordlessly he didn¡¯t seem to have the energy to continue as his eyes began to close. The Bandits in the distance who were on the brink of retreat suddenly noticed such a weird change in their spy glass. They decided to remain, now that many of them have died, it just meant more for them, all the experts are basically spent, the Quinte was there for the taking and they refused to let such a juicy target go. The Quinte fell to despair again as some of them wanted to desperately shake the Druid and tell him to scare them off, but it was no use as an elven woman limped over shouting for them all to back off. Althaea who had lost a lot of blood to the wound, had managed to stabilise her injuries through some potions and the generosity of others water magic suddenly sat beside Arwen. There was tears in her eyes but she still forced herself to sit upright as she said, ¡°It¡¯s alright I will stay here with you, I won¡¯t leave you¡­ I can¡¯t lose you too.¡± Chapter 52 - From Bad to Worse At the moment the atmosphere of the Quinte seemed helpless and defeated. The bandits has faced severe casualties, they have lost almost half their ships, their leader and the feared Serpent who had previously seemed unbeatable in their eyes. However instead of feeling the urge to retreat with their tails between their legs, the greedy and vicious eyes of the bandits still remained on the Quinte. After all it was clear to see from their spy glasses that the Druid appeared out of the fight for good, the powerful Mage was also severely diminished and much of the Quinte defences has become depleted over the course of the confrontation with the bandits. Perhaps if there wasn¡¯t such a large number of them remaining they¡¯d have retreated, but despite the heavy losses there was plenty of ships remaining compared to the lone Quinte, additionally the Quinte held a bounty higher than any of the ships they have raided before by an absolute long shot. And with their leader gone, wasn¡¯t it an opportunity to snatch up all the loot for themselves? The bandits were prepared to take a risk and fully intended to launch an attack on the Quinte again, if the Druid or the Mage seemed capable it wouldn¡¯t be too late to retreat, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hunt them all down however if they were just a bunch of paper tigers right now, seeming full of strength on the surface but weak in reality, the bandits were not prepared to let this chance go. Becoming River Bandits who preyed on merchant ships travelling through these parts they were all a bunch of ruthless characters in the first place, after suffering such big losses despite the promise of riches how could they be satisfied with this outcome? At the moment a number of ships seemed to pursue the Quinte without hesitation, to the bandits it was now a crippled ship with limited means of defence, the previously timid bandits who witnessed the Druids might not long ago became starved wolves that hungered to tear into the wounded prey before them. The eyes of the sailors and remaining guards in the Quinte seemed to be filled with desperation and helplessness, fate was just too cruel, every time they were on the brink of despair they have been saved by both the mysterious Mage and Druid yet now both were clearly spent and the Quinte defences had been worn down by the relentless attacks of the bandits. They had came through what seemed to be insurmountable odds only to find themselves still in the same situation, it was enough to drive one crazy. In fact a few men on board the ship even dared to approach the Druid in his lethargic state with the intention of screaming at him to save them. However these men were grabbed and shaken by the hardened guards to snap them out of it. They were not greenhorns and gone through a number of life and death situations before they became guards on this ship, they knew it was not the time to lose their heads like this. If the Druid had anything else left he¡¯d have long done something, it was not in their nature to ignore such things. Nonetheless even these guards were unsure what to do when the previously scared nobles made an appearance, it seemed they had forgotten they are still in a life and death situation. ¡°What is going on? Do you know who my Father is? He will have you crippled for this¡­¡± a young man in colourful clothing started screeching hysterically as he emerged on the top deck. The hardened guards stood by awkwardly as the noble continued shouting and screaming. Some of them gave him looks of contempt and outright hostility yet the young man frolicking around seemed to not notice. The River Bandits were swiftly moving closer and Althaea who was near Arwen who laid weakly began to grow incensed at the irritating screeching. Although most of her Qi reserves were depleted, she still had enough for an ordinary person without a shred of cultivation. Althaea hated those like the young man who completely relied on status and had no personal strength of their own. ¡°Wood bind.¡± The incarnation was swift and quick as the previously shouting young man quickly found his limbs coiled and tangled as he was left immobile on the ground restricted by ropes of wood. ¡°We have no time for this.¡± Althaea muttered to the agreement of this onboard, the previously incensed nobles who came out looking to vent after the scare below deck involving Farrox quickly quietened down upon noticing everyone disregarded their status completely. After a moment of silence one of the guards approached Althaea and said, ¡°Anything we can do miss? Can we still fight them off?¡± At that moment the guards eyes lit up with hope, after Althaea quick display to the noble they wondered if the mysterious mage could help fight back against the bandits after all. Althaea eyes grew heavy as she relied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, no. I have used up all of my potions already and I have already reached my max tolerance on these type of recovery potions for the time being, the best we can do is hope they just want a sum of coin that we can compensate, the leaders have been wiped out, these are just the dregs of the bandits maybe we can compromise by offering no resistance in return of some remuneration?¡± The hope from the guards, sailors and others seem to leave their eyes upon hearing her response. Although the bandit leader and his serpent had likely perished, these bandits were not the type to show mercy, after all they had been leaving no survivors among the ships they have raided in the past to retain their secrecy. Althaea was even more concerned, after all she and Arwen were both greatly compromised at the moment, the others may not know the bandits target but she did, would the rest of the crew simply give up Ava in return for their safety? Althaea fears were soon answered when the bandits soon neared with eyes full of greed and malice. They suffered much at the hands of the Quinte and seemed fully intent on reveling their advantageous position in this moment in time. One of the boats had a particularly boisterous bandit who was loudly yelling at the others, he was one of the few of the recently deceased river bandit leaders right-hand men that survived after many have been felled from the attack.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. And unfortunately for Althaea he knew about Ava and the value of her kind and with Farrox dead most of these bandits have now become desperate. They relied completely on the domineering Farrox and his serpent for protection over these years, otherwise they would have been executed and hunted down by the local nobles a long time ago for their exploits. It meant regardless of their fear of Althaea and the druid after seeing them deal with the leader they viewed as invincible, they were in a dead-end and the only way out was to retrieve Ava and trade her for sanctuary elsewhere, before the nobles decide to finish them off and hang them in front of the common people to flaunt that they have finally dealt with the problem that plagued these parts for a long time. The bandit assuming command was smart enough to realise this which is why he was loudly yelling to the Quinte, ¡°Now, we¡¯re willing to compromise here. Hand over the elven brat you have onboard, and in return we¡¯ll leave you be.¡± The other bandits tried to protest at this, their eyes already lit with greed and temptation as they eyed the riches on the Quinte, after all they were practically on their last legs and the prize Farrox promised was in sight. ¡°Shut up you fools. Farrox said that child is worth more than this whole boat combined multitudes over, we can secure passage for a new life in riches or you can finish off a boat filled to the brim of people with the type of influence that will finish us off in weeks. Farrox ain''t around no more, we lost that protection, so we need the child to get us an even bigger thigh to cling onto or we¡¯ll be gonner.¡± The bandit assuming command yelled to his men seeming to snap out of their hysterics realising just whose boat they were attacking. Before they had Farrox and his mighty serpent that held the type of deterrent that made the nobles hesitate at the price to deal with them. Now they held nothing to hold back them from just slaughtering them all. Therefore they decided to rein in their greed and let out yells of support to the bandit assuming command who had a big grin on his face satisfied his plan will work. The Quinte on the other hand was a burst of action as the guards stared at Arwen, Althaea with concerned glances as she stared back fiercly as if daring them to even suggest it. Most of the boat seemed against the idea of sacrificing a child, even to save the lives of everyone present but the loudest voices were often those who shared the ugliest opinions. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just brat? I''ll go throw her over to the bandits myself, who cares about some long-eared bastard anyways.¡± A haughty man said to the disgust of most present, he seemed to take no notice anyways his chin in the air condescendingly. Althaea was about to murmur a spell to tech the twerp a lesson but she worriedly noticed as a few burly men stepped as if to support the man, only noting now he had guards, and a good view support to readily hand over Ava. If it was before she would not break a sweat dealing with weaklings like them, but now she was utterly spent and there was too many who rose to support who obviously held some influence on the boat with his statue. The haughty man grew in confidence looking at the hesitation at those present, despite many not agreeing with him in principle their fear of his status still made them step back. At same time most of those just wanted someone like him to suggest it and his influence gave them a good excuse to sit back, watch him sacrifice a child for their own skin and it delighted the haughty man to no end as he grinned merrily. Althaea tried to weakly protect but a man glared threatingly at her and said, ¡°Think you can keep the old man safe at the same time lass?¡± His meaning was clear as a number of men lifted crossbows aimed at the unconscious body of the druid, if Althaea moved to block them, they were intent on shooting the unguarded druid. The guard captain was about to protect in disgust before a blonde haired young man had enough, walking to the haughty noble who did not expect retalliation at all, mumbling ¡°What do you want sir¡­¡± That was all he got out as he was socked clean by a right hand from the blonde man as he collapsed to the ground in a state from the punch. Wiping his fist the blonde man said, ¡°You ain''t fit for a noble. None of you are, we ain''t handing over a child to a bunch of bandits, I¡¯d rather die before that happens and none of you will get away with it when we get to shore when I tell my Father about it¡­¡± ¡°But sir surely you understand the life of one child¡­¡± a man tried to protest but was hushed by the man next to him but he could not take away his words as the blonde man turned to him. ¡°I will not let some bandit dictate terms in front of me. I wouldn''t be able to look my Father in the eye if I backed down today, regardless whether we fight to death or no, I ain''t compromising and if you can''t understand why then...¡± the blonde man shook his head at this and walked away not even bothering to explain. The haughty man who was rubbing his broken nose at this time took the moment to whimper back onto his feet murmuring under his breath, ¡°Those Valenports¡­ always self-righteous bastards¡­¡± He did not dare to even look in the blonde mans direction though and also nervously looked around after realising his error of speaking the last part a bit too loudly. The bandits at that time began to grow impatient and was starting to yell, ¡°Fine if you lot want to fight to the last man I will gladly grant you that wish.. Men¡­¡± That bandit didn''t even manage to finish his sentence and loud shrieks were heard in the distance. The bandit ships who were a bit further away back in ready to offer support were the first to witness what was coming. ¡°SHIT WYVERNS¡­ FUCK¡­¡± the bandits began screaming hysterically as large shapes in the distance became increasingly clear. Loud yells and bells starting ringing from the ships as the bandits did their best to retrieve ranged weapons. At this moment the bandits were absolutely terrified, even if Farrox lived they would dread the opponent that is arriving now, nevermind with them being greatly weakened. ¡°Orgrasan Hunters¡­¡± a man murmed in mix of fear and hope. ¡°What are they doing in these parts?¡± another said as the Quinte didn''t know whether they were saved or¡­ Althaea had the most mixed feelings at the moment, especially with Arwen by her side unconscious and so vulnerable. ¡°At least they are definitely not friends with those bandits¡­¡± she said as she watched the riders from the Wyverns dropped bursts of magic onto the bandit ships tearing them into smithereens. The River Bandits currently paled in comparison to their original force but the ease at which they were torn apart by the Orgrasan Hunters was terrifying. Screams and horrified shireks were heard was heard as the bandits were culled mercilessly to the last man, the promise of the lead bandit soon reversed as he found he and his men were the ones who were slaughtered onesidely, meaning the bandit group that was a thorn in this region for so long was finally put to rest. The occupants of the Quinte just stared on in shock watching the events realising the lauded Orgrasan Hunters did not have an unfounded reputation. Though it did not mean they were not dreading their next actions wondering what the fierce group would do next, not even the nobles were confident that their status would protect them from the great emperors hit squad if they wanted any of them killed. And soon enough the lead Wyvern of the bunch, that was by far the largest and most intimidating one she¡¯d seen, far bigger than the Wyverns they had met in the forest seemed to slowly descent as it neared the Quinte, obviously intent for the rider disembark to meet with them. For the first time Althaea felt extremely nervous, normally she always had Arwen alongside her for ha support, she never felt in danger since she knew he would always protect her or give the advice she needed, but now he was out for commission and she had no idea what the Orgrasan Hunters intentions are as she was sure it was definitely not the bandits that attracted them here. And it had to be him of all people as she saw the man hoisted on the Wyvern was a hulking man wearing his infamous plated armour and mask that drove fear into all, since wherever he went he would leave only bodies in his wake. He was the Emperors finest killer. If Rake was the man who lead the Orgrasan Hunters and was his best commander for his elite troops, then the man known only as the High Inquisitor was his best investigator, the one sent weed out the traitors and had slaughted countless groups of nobles that do not fit his emeperors ideologies, deemed incompatible for the new Empire. And now he was here leading Althaea to wonder if she would have preferred her chances with the bandits. Chapter 53 - Drawn to a Close Ava found herself sinking into her Fathers embrace for what felt like eternity. However, she knew that it was not the time to enjoy such comforts when there was a battle raging outside. ¡°Dad¡­¡± Ava found herself muttering hesitantly. ¡°Yes Ava? Is there anything wrong, are you hurt?¡± Xandas replied looking her over with concern. ¡°No I¡¯m fine now¡­ whatever happened with the snake man, well it seemed to restore me to top condition, so if anything I¡¯m better than fine.¡± Ava found herself replying quickly wanting to get to the point at hand. She felt guilty at what she was about to ask after what her Father had just been through to protect her, but she was at least not being deceptive about her condition. Cense seemed accurate with what he had gleamed to have happened after she seemed to ¡®consume¡¯ the snake-kin, she felt better than she had ever been. Her muscles felt as if she had spent the day in the spa, loose, stimulated as if she just had a good work out, stretch. However, it was more than that, she felt physically stronger, that she had become athletically more gifted than before, she instinctively felt that she may be ambidextrous now, not that she knew for sure until she practiced using something like a weapon with both hands. But she knew for sure she was far more dexterous in the way she moved, even if she barely took a step before embracing her Father, her steps felt sleeker, springier and Ava knew it was probably from her sudden power-gain but she felt the need engage in some parkour to test her limits. Cense described Snake-kin and Beast-kin in general as being the most physically gifted among the intelligent races. Though Elves similarly enjoyed natural physical gifts over humans, for Beast-kin it was on another level entirely, and Snake-kin excelled in dexterous based moments, according to Cense description their biology had a far higher percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibres concentration in comparison to the other races. They also had many other racial traits that were boons to her, and from Cense words she had gained far more than just the Snake-kins physical gifts. Nonetheless, it was not the time to investigate all that she had gained, not when Arwen and Althaea could be in trouble outside. Her Father also required urgent aid, and although he was ignoring his injuries for her sake, she was not about to let him bleed out here just to ensure her safety. Speaking of which, ¡°Heal wounds¡±, Ava murmured as chanted the spell, manipulating the Water Qi in an attempt to heal her Fathers injuries. ¡°Ava you shouldn¡¯t waste your energy on me, my injuries are quite extensive.¡± Xandras said as he smiled gently at her. Ava soon found her Fathers words correct despite not wanting to accept that she could not heal him at her current stage, although the quality of her soul had progressed to the next stage from integrating a portion of the Snake-kins strength with the door now being opened into progressing to a Tier 3 Mage, this did not make her one as she has yet to consolidate this new foundation, and was still at most a Tier 2 Mage with a stronger soul. Not to mention it became more difficult to heal injuries the further an individuals tiers are since her Fathers body was far stronger than a normal individual, it meant he was far more resistant to injuries and if for instance a non-cultivator received the damage her Father did they would have long since met their maker. However, his durability also meant he required far more Water Qi to heal, especially since his injuries were far more extensive than she thought, the Snake-kin fully intended to cripple him and would have done far worse if he wasn¡¯t distracted by her. ¡°Why can¡¯t I do much¡­¡± Ava felt helpless, her tier was simply too low as a mage, a Tier 2 Water Mage was considered a good healer for mortal or for a low level cultivator, yet she now found it was still lacking towards aiding cultivators of higher tiers like her Father. In fact she was already performing beyond what an individual of her tier should be able too, after all Minor Heal was not usually used to repair broken bones, or the extent of internal injuries Xandas suffered from and even he was surprised. After all he knew the limitations of healers for treating someone above their tier, if it was merely one it would not be as bad, but the difference between his tier and Ava¡¯s at the moment was huge. After all the gap grew wider every Tier, not to mention he did not have minor injuries, the Snake-kin did a number on him and would require something extensive, yet currently he found the pain racking his body his body was far less as Ava¡¯s extremely pure Water Qi caressed his wounds, attempted to repair the damage to his body. Nonetheless, despite the absurd purity and that Ava was abled to perform beyond well above what a Mage of her level should be, the Snake-kin was a strong Tier 9 Warrior, and the damage to Xandas was far more than it appeared to be on the surface, his internals was a mess at the moment as the blows the Snake-kin landed sent reverberations that travelled around his body from the sheer impact. Yet he felt far better than before, and all thanks to his daughter who was a mere fledgling mage who had just about started her path. ¡°It¡¯s fine sweetie you have no idea how incredible you are. Most Mages of your level shouldn¡¯t be able to even help this much¡­ Minor Heal is never even usually used to heal injuries of this extent, even for Mages who are of a much Higher Tier compared to you that having access to far stronger Qi than you do would have resorted to a stronger spell, the fact you can do this much shows your talent.¡± Xandas said with a smile that screamed proud father. Ava couldn¡¯t help but let out a small smile at this, her mood that was incredibly dampened from feeling like a failure relieved somewhat, but hearing her father words made her even more desperate to get out of here. ¡°Father we need to find Althaea and Arwen now, we can¡¯t leave you like this¡­ and what if someone finds us? You¡¯re in no state to fight right now, it¡¯s dangerous, please consider¡­¡± Ava tried to plead but Xandras interrupted. ¡°No what if there¡¯s more of them? We need to hide until Arwen, Althaea secured the boat and we¡¯re safe. And since we met that Druid I never seen anyone close to his match, even that Snake-kin there that was the strongest cultivator I seen below the Monarch level did not give of as strong as an aura as him, and experts of that calibre is rare enough at is, the likelihood of anyone stronger.¡± Xandras tried to argue but Ava cut him off. ¡°Father I¡¯m sorry for talking up to you like this, and I know you want to keep me safe, trust me I¡¯m terrified too, but sitting around whilst your this hurt won¡¯t help us. I believe in Arwen too, he¡¯s strong, but he was not able to stop these people sneaking in here, so at the moment when your this hurt and vulnerable I would much rather seek him out now, separating is a mistake and we need to meet up more than ever. We tried waiting here already and it left you badly hurt like this, we need to find Althaea and Arwen urgently and tell them what happened¡­ I¡¯m worried.¡± Ava tried to get out quickly as she was left panting afterwards, it was the most she has ever spoke up to her Father and despite it being for the best, she felt extremely nervous and worried about how he might view her opinions. She lost her Father young back on Earth, and the relationship with Xandras since being reborn was one of the best, most precious things she had gained since arriving. Xandras just stared back his face contorting, grimacing as he frowned for a period before nodding, ¡°Fine, but stay close to me. I feel uncomfortable waiting around too, leaving things up to fate again might not be the best. Let¡¯s find Arwen and Althaea and see what¡¯s going on up there.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. With that Xandras brought himself to his feet, and clutched onto Ava hand gently as they steadily made their way up deck. They took a while since they moved with measured movements, thanks to the Snake-kin Xandras was left badly injured, and despite Ava helping to relieve much of the pain, there were still significant injuries she did not have the experience, tier to handle. Xandras had both his hands dislocated by the Snake-kin making them awkwardly weak after he snapped them back in place, but Ava nourishing energy had helped him re-align, smooth the bone that was still fractured, broken. Ava was only able to grasp his hand slightly in fear of agonising the damage further. As they continued their gradual pace, the ship continued to shake at times, the sound of fighting growing louder as they made their way up deck making their brows crease in concern. Yet after realising there was no way back now and that if the ship was about to be taken over, it was best not to be sitting ducks below deck they continued. Nonetheless, the noise of battle soon abruptly ended after a chorus of loud explosions occurred. Suddenly they heard the noise of cheering, right as they were about to make their way to the upper deck too. Xandras and Ava felt themselves having smiles of relief as they found the guests, guards and other occupants of the ship all being the ones with looks of relief, gratification, indicating the battle likely ended in the ships victory. Some of them even nodded to her Father, and came over with concerns over whether she was doing alright, and asked if her Father needed support. After they explained they were looking for the Druid, the looks they received changed as grateful smiles erupted, as men came to pat her Dad on the back saying he was a saviour and that he was on the top deck talking to some Empire big wig. That was when they realised something strange, wait what Empire big wig? After they continued down the upper deck, they found the formerly beautiful, elegant looking Quinte appeared far worse for ware compared to when they first boarded. Dead bodies lay discarded everywhere, as Sailors being instructed by Guards were throwing aboard the deceased carcasses of the River Bandits that had met their end fighting on the ship. There were plenty of the ships own guards, occupants too, some she even recognised and had talked to them days prior. The bodies of these men were treated far differently to the bandits and were put in a separate area, being covered by sheets of wool obviously intended to be later preserved in order to be provided a proper burial once they reach land. The River Bandits obviously shared no such measures, and looking at the death and devastation they caused she felt it hard to feel any sympathy. Trying her best to ignore the stench of death, her eyes found themselves on the numerous burning ships and wreckages a large fleet of ships. Drawing a sharp breath she couldn¡¯t help but gasp at the number of fallen ships, although these ships were clearly grades below the Quinte, individually they made up dozens and dozens of them, the fact that the Quinte was standing up to a small fleet of this size was astounding. It felt impossible even but she soon realised just how they were dealt with in their entirety as she noticed a number of shadows hovering above them in the air, noticing the gleam of scales, draconic looking beasts she found herself gazing at something familiar, the Human Wyvern riders of the Empire, the Orgrasan Hunters. Ava and Xandras took that moment to meet each others eyes, Xandras was filled with worry and despite being a mere child on the surface, Ava eyes reflect those concerns since she knew that the Wyvern riders were not exactly friends. Nonetheless, she had no idea if they could even be considered enemies either, since it was not like they were exactly friendly with the so called Royal Clan of the Elves. And since she and her Father would likely be considered a deserter and traitor to the Royal Clan now, doesn¡¯t the saying go the enemy of my enemy is a friend? Either way there would be no way of avoiding them like last time, the mobility of the Wyvern riders would be far more than they could muster, Arwen also confessed that was his only Teleportation Talisman so that trick would likely not work again, additionally they were in the middle of a River still fairly far from land, so she had no idea of the distance covered would even be enough and Ava did not like the idea of teleporting into river that held beasts resembled anything like the King of the Lake. Nonetheless she found these worries may not be founded as both her and Xandras finally caught sight of the familiar figure of an energetic old man alongside a beautiful female elf. Standing before them was a hulking man in full plate armour, yet despite this he seemed to move like it was weightless and Ava had a suspicion he was very agile despite giving off the impression of being a tank of steel, this was affirmed when she realised he was a Wyvern rider and she could not see him using such heavy armour on a flying beast if there was not some sort of strange magic going on. Reaching the trio, Ava found the hulking man of steel turning to suddenly regard her, Xandras at this moment stood protectively in front of her, despite moving awkwardly due to his injuries. As the man of steel just regarded them silently, Arwen decided to intervene, despite not seeing him that long ago in grand schemes of things she found the old man seemed different somehow, like he was filled with vitality. ¡°Ah¡­ this is my well, the young elf child I told you about. Those fools in the Royal Clan were collecting talented children like this, doing something strange over there, so I had to do something about it. Anyways I owe you great dept for the use of such an extravagant potion on a worthless old man like me¡­ to waste such a¡­¡± Arwen mouth moved like a machine gun as he blabbered even faster than usual but the man of steel simply waved his hand and replied. ¡°No no¡­ I owe the druids a great deal. Like I mentioned we were in the area, a Mayor of Adruil mentioned a Druid, and since this area was one that was under purview by us, I had a bad feeling and it would be a bad look for the Empire to have a Druid injured on our hands, and of course even worse, I did not want my fears to come to be truth, yet, anyhow an interesting route you are travelling. Sorry for being blunt, but I guess you intend for the child to attend the Rarmose Academy?¡± The steel giants words flowed smoothly, like a deep bass, yet Ava felt a gleam of intelligence, cunningness even in the giants eyes, his outward appearance may look like a brute but she couldn¡¯t help but think this was a man that often used his looks to deceive others into making assumptions that lead them into lowering their guard around him. His words seemed simple without intent but she knew he had a hunch he was targeting her from the beginning as his gaze never left hers from the moment he started speaking. Xandras who felt the need to speak up for her was met by a look from Arwen who indicated he wanted to do the talking. ¡°You guessed right, as you know I go way back with the Headmaster, and the Rarmose Academy has a fantastic reputation for training Mages, and this child has the talent to become one of the best healers in the continent something I¡¯m sure you Empire will appreciate since my disciple fully intends to offer her services indiscriminately.¡± Arwen had a big grin as he said this full of cheerfulness as he patted the lump of metal on the chest seemingly undaunted that his head barely reached the steel giants chest. ¡°Hmm. Well, I¡¯ll be off, me and my men will escort you down to Kaldor, can¡¯t let you go dying on me after I give you such a valuable gift. I will leave you too it, no need to put the sins of others onto no child, and you lot been through much. Now have a good journey to Rarmose Academy, I have a feeling this won¡¯t be the last time we meet.¡± The steel giant finished that one off sceptically as he stared dead Arwen, not that they could really tell since his face was covered entirely by his steel helmet, yet even then she had a strange feeling he was referring to her when she said this. Call it woman intuition, or girl, whatever she was far older in her mind alright. With that the giant mounted the large Wyvern that was patiently waiting on the ship, its sheer bulk taking up most of the room on the upper deck making many of the sailors, guard having to re-occupy their positions in order to leave it room. After that the Wyvern soon flapped its wings and took off, and as the steel giant promised, he and the other Orgrasan Hunters silently floated above them, their presence fading into the background as they silently watched over them. Ava couldn¡¯t help but think about the endurance of those things, as she couldn¡¯t help but think it would be awfully exerting to follow them like this, but she just assumed that it was likely some magic bullshit that kept them full of stamina. After that Arwen turned to her and Xandras, his kind gaze meeting hers before landing on the injured Xandras before realising how badly hurt he was. ¡°Oh sorry¡­ now what happened to you both? Xandras take this potion, Althaea would help, but she has severely exerted herself greatly already. But, luckily I have a potion on hand that is more enough to heal your injuries¡­¡± Arwen said hurriedly retrieving a glowing potion filled to the brim with vitality from his storage ring. Having a grateful gaze, Xandras unhesitatingly took the potion, removed the cork and swigged it down. He was not one to refuse such an awful, especially when his daughter safety was on the line, his weakness had to be dealt with soon as possible in order to better protect her, so he would not be polite when offered a means to fully recover. As the healing energies of the potion washed over him, it was time for them to discuss what happened, and finally continue their journey to Kaldor so they can begin the final trek towards Rarmose Academy.