Chapter 9

Elara stepped through the undergrowth, her boots crunching over dried leaves as she returned to the clearing. The Wyvern's carcass still lay where she had left it, though it looked smaller now. Scavengers had been busy; chunks of the flank were missing, torn away by teeth far smaller than a dragon's. She didn't mind. She was here for the real prize. Kneeling by a patch of disturbed earth, she began unearthing the heavy, shimmering scales she had buried the day before for safekeeping. "She found me, guys!" The voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet of the forest. Elara froze, her hand still covered in dirt. She looked up to see a young man stepping out from behind a thick oak. He had a smug, annoying grin plastered across his face. "Hey look, we found another one and alone—what a lucky coincidence!" a woman called out from the opposite side. She held a bow, the string lax but her eyes locked on Elara. The young man, Daniel, stepped further into the clearing, his eyes scanning Elara with a predatory gleam. "And at such a high level, too. Today really is a very good day." Elara stood up slowly, wiping her hands on her trousers. She didn't like the way they were spreading out, circling her. Her [Discern] skill flickered, feeding her data as she looked at each of them. [Fighter – Lvl ??] stood over Daniel's head, but her intuition and the way he carried himself told her he was a warrior, likely level 52. Behind him, two more men and two women emerged. One man looked like a mage, level 41, while the other moved with the silent, twitchy grace of a rogue around level 48. The woman with the bow was a ranger, level 45. Tucked behind the rogue was a younger girl, looking pale and terrified. [Healer – Lvl 18] Elara's eyes flicked back to Daniel. "Nah," she said, her voice flat. "I think then she'd be looking at you guys." Daniel's grin didn't falter, but his eyes narrowed. "Stop looking at me so fucking creepily, you twat," Elara added, her heart beginning to thrum against her ribs. This wasn't a Wyvern. These were people. "Come on, Marcus," Daniel said, glancing at the rogue. "Grab her and we'll move on. It's a long way back." "She's getting on my nerves, Daniel," the Ranger complained, shifting her grip on her bow. "Can we start?" The Sorcerer sighed, looking bored as he adjusted his robes. "Why again are we doing this? We only needed to get that one," he said, gesturing toward the level 18 healer. "Well, now she knows too much anyway," Daniel said, his tone pragmatic. "Why not? I doubt she'll make problems. Maybe we can sell her to the army even. They've been looking all over the place for healers and any type of support mage." Elara let out a short, sharp bark of a laugh. "Nice joker cosplay. Where's the green hair, though?" Daniel's face finally darkened. "Calling me a joker... that is none of your concern. Don't resist or we'll be forced to hurt you. Not that you'll have much choice anyway." "You whore!" he screamed as Elara's expression shifted from sarcasm to cold intent. She didn't wait for Marcus to move. She [Blinked]. The world smeared for a fraction of a second, and then she was standing directly behind the Ranger. Before the woman could even turn her head, Elara drove a fist into her back with the full weight of her [Emerald Enclave Combat] skill. There was a sickening crunch of ribs and spine. The Ranger collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, dead before she hit the grass. Elara stared down at her own hand, her breath hitching. She had just killed a person. Not a monster, not a machine, but a woman who had been talking seconds ago. Her mind began to spiral, a cold numbness spreading from her chest. A sudden flash of steel toward her throat snapped her back. Daniel was lunging, his face a mask of rage. *I can think about this after I kill these fucking lunatics,* she told herself, the internal voice harsh and desperate. *It's self-defense after all.* She twisted, the air whistling past her ear as Daniel's blade missed. But as she moved, a sharp sting flared in her shoulder. Marcus, the rogue, had appeared from the shadows, his [Venomous Shiv] nicking her skin before she could fully clear the area. [You have been poisoned by [Serpent's Bane Grass] -1 HP/sec for 5 Minutes. Natural regeneration won't heal sustained wounds.] The notification flared in her peripheral vision, but she ignored it. She [Blinked] again, appearing in front of the Sorcerer. He was in the middle of a gesture, his eyes wide with shock. Elara drove her knee into his gut, doubling him over, and followed up with a hammer-fist to the base of his skull. He slumped forward, his magic fizzling out into nothing. Two down. Marcus lunged again, his daggers dancing. Elara didn't dodge this time; she reached out and caught his wrist in a grip that shattered bone. He let out a strangled gasp, and she pulled him in, meeting his face with a brutal head-butt. As he reclined, dazed, she finished him with a strike to the throat. "Die!" Daniel roared. He was faster than the others, his level 52 strength backing a heavy downward swing. Elara tried to block, but the blade bit deep into her stomach, slicing through leather and skin. She gasped, the copper tang of blood filling her mouth. She [Blinked] away, putting twenty feet of distance between them. [Rejuvenation] The green warmth flooded her, knitting the gash in her abdomen even as the poison clawed at her insides. Daniel wasn't looking at her anymore. He realized he was outmatched. In a fit of petty, murderous spite, he turned toward the level 18 healer girl who was huddled near a tree. "If I can't have the prize, no one can!" "Stop, you idiot!" Elara screamed. Daniel lunged, his sword burying itself in the girl's chest. The healer let out a soft, wet sound and slumped over. Daniel turned back to Elara, a manic grin on his face, but he never got to speak. Elara was on him, her fists a blur of [Annihilation] fueled strikes. She broke his sword arm, then his chest, and finally his neck. He fell in a heap, silent and still. Elara scrambled over to the healer girl. The grass was turning a dark, muddy red. "Fuck, don't die you idiot!" she hissed, her hands hovering over the wound. She poured [Rejuvenation] into the girl, but the wound was too deep, the girl's level too low. *I can feel the life draining out of her... I won't make it... fuck... isn't there...* Her hand went to her cloak, fumbling for the [Moonpetal Herb] she had stored there. It was a death sentence for most, but the girl was already dying. Elara shoved a piece of the glowing moss into the girl's mouth. "Eat it. Swallow it!" She kept her hands pressed to the girl's chest, forcing her mana to bridge the gap while the herb's volatile energy began to tear through the girl's system. "Guess you're not one of the thirty-five percent who die..." Elara whispered, watching the girl's eyes roll back. The girl began to scream—a high, thin sound of pure agony as the herb began the forced transformation. Elara didn't stop. She pushed more mana, more healing, fighting the herb's poison even as it rewrote the girl's biology. "Ssssh, don't talk yet," Elara murmured, her own voice trembling. "You're safe now. Sleep." Eventually, the girl's body went limp, her breathing turning deep and rhythmic. She was alive. "Fuck, I'm glad I didn't kill you there, girl..." Elara sat back on her heels, the adrenaline finally washing out of her. The silence of the clearing was deafening. Four bodies lay scattered around her. She had killed four people in less than two minutes. The weight of it hit her like a physical blow. She felt the hot sting of tears and didn't try to stop them. She cried as she kept a steady, low-level heal on the sleeping girl, her shoulders shaking. After a while, the sadness turned into a jagged, restless energy. She stood up, walked over to a nearby oak, and punched it. Then again. And again. She didn't use her skills, letting the bark tear her knuckles until her arms were too tired to lift. "This is difficult as fuck..." she whispered to the empty air. She looked at the bodies. "No, not again..." She walked over to the Ranger's body. She needed clothes; her own were shredded and soaked in blood. With numb fingers, she began to undress the woman. "Maybe I should get some sticks for crosses..." she mused, then shook her head. "...well I don't want a necromancer to find them... wait, maybe I should have burnt them... oh well. I hope zombies take a couple days to wake up." She stripped the others of their valuables. [84 silver and fifteen bronze coins] She picked up the weapons, testing their weight. [Steel Blade - Medium quality] [Forestheart Bow - High quality] [Venomous Shiv - Low quality] x2 "Damage still gets through... I guess the High Quality thing has something to do with it not breaking..." she muttered, looking at the bow. It felt sturdy in her hand, far better than the makeshift things she'd seen before. "I mean I've traveled with less, but they even had spare clothes..." She spent the next hour dragging the bodies to a depression in the earth and covering them with dirt and rocks. It was a grim, sweaty business. [Emerald Enclave Combat has reached 2nd Lvl 16!] [Emerald Enclave Form has reached 2nd Lvl 4!] "Two level ups... they were only my level though... maybe fighting all of them at once changes something?" She shook her head and walked back to the girl, who was starting to stir. Elara picked up the [Forestheart Bow] and a quiver she'd found. She tried to notch an arrow, aiming at a distant stump. The arrow wobbled and sailed three feet wide, disappearing into the brush. "Archery is not my thing," she sighed. A soft cough came from the base of the tree. "Wh... what's wrong with me... I... I need water..." Elara dropped the bow and knelt by the girl. Olivia Hayes, the system had told her. The girl's eyes were bloodshot but clear. "I... I mean yes. I can speak, yes!" Olivia rasped, clutching at her throat. She looked around, her eyes wide with terror until they landed on Elara. "I'm... Olivia. Th... thank... thank you!" "You're safe now," Elara said, her voice softer than she'd used all day. "They... they're gone now." She handed Olivia a waterskin and some dried meat. Olivia ate with a desperate, shaking intensity. "Now I know you've probably been through some horrific shit," Elara said, leaning back against the tree. "And frankly, I'm the wrong person to talk to about that stuff, so I won't even ask." Olivia looked down, her eyes filling with tears again, but she nodded. "Congratulations. Those fuckers... did they have a camp? I mean, only if it's close and you can handle going back there." Elara noticed Olivia flinch. "We can burn it down when we leave again if you want to." Olivia looked up, a spark of something—anger, maybe—flickering in her eyes. "I... I think I'd like that." "You're aware that I don't know where the camp is?" Elara asked. "I'm sorry," Olivia said, her voice still trembling. "It's somewhere there... only about twenty minutes away." "Tell me when we have to change directions," Elara said, helping her up. They walked in silence for ten minutes. The forest was thick here, the canopy blocking out much of the light. "We have to go this way," Olivia whispered, pointing toward a denser thicket. Soon, they reached a small clearing with two tents and a smoldering fire pit. It smelled of stale sweat and cheap ale. "Seems rather basic to me," Elara said, surveying the site. "Let's check their backpacks." She moved through the tents with practiced efficiency, tossing anything useful into a pile. Olivia stood at the edge of the camp, her arms wrapped around herself. "Change of plan," Elara said, looking at the girl's pale face. "Let's get what we need and burn it down now." Elara gathered some dry brush and piled it against the tents. She used the flint she'd bought in Stonegate, and soon the canvas was caught in a hungry orange glow. As the fire roared, Elara walked over to a sapling at the edge of the clearing and, in a sudden burst of frustration, kicked it. The trunk snapped with a loud *crack*, the tree toppling over. Olivia jumped, staring at Elara with wide, impressed eyes. "Let's go," Elara said. They walked until the sun began to dip below the horizon. Finding a small clearing with a fallen log, Elara stopped. Her body felt like lead. "Don't worry, just wake me," Elara told Olivia as she rolled out her bedroll. "I really need sleep." She was out the moment her head hit the fabric. A hand shook her shoulder what felt like minutes later. "Elara! Elara, wake up!" Elara was on her feet in an instant, fists raised. The forest was gray with the first light of dawn. "Growl," Olivia whispered, pointing into the shadows. "I heard a growl." Elara stepped forward, her [Aetheric Sense] picking up four distinct heat signatures. "Alright, come on out whatever you are." Four wolves stepped into the dim light, their hackles raised. Elara didn't reach for a weapon. She took a single, heavy step forward and stomped her foot onto the ground with enough force to send a tremor through the dirt. The wolves yelped, their predatory confidence vanishing. They turned and bolted back into the darkness. "Already morning, you say?" Elara asked, rubbing her eyes as she turned back to Olivia. They sat by a small, hidden fire and ate breakfast. The silence was more comfortable now. "So, what's your story?" Elara asked. Olivia gripped her wooden bowl. "I'm studying magic in Sunstone Tree. Me and my peers were on our way to Stonegate for the festival next week when..." she gulped. "My carriage had to stop because of a broken wheel. They... they killed the driver and took me. They said if I resist, they would kill me too." Elara poked at the fire. "It's fine. The rest is history and they're dead now. Just to be sure, there were only four of them, right?" "Yes," Olivia said softly. "No worries, they were huge asshats. I'm on my way to Stonegate myself. Maybe we can find your friends there and maybe watch the tournament together." Olivia's face brightened. "Again, thank you. I owe you my life, Miss Elara." "Well, it's going to be very full," Olivia continued, her voice gaining strength. "My school has pretty good places, though—even a whole house to stay in!" Elara looked up. "Well then, let's do this as repayment. You'll get me one of those spaces." "You can even stay with us!" Olivia offered enthusiastically. Elara smiled, though it was a tired thing. "I'll be fine somewhere in the woods outside the city, don't worry. Not the biggest fan of roommates." She thought of the guard leader she'd met. *Maybe Kevin has a spot free...* "What kind of magic can you do?" Elara asked, changing the subject. "All I know is that you're a healer... sorry if the question is rude, I'm not from around here." "No, no, it's not rude to ask that," Olivia said. "I'm a Crimson Covenant Healer... that's an order of healers in Sunstone Tree. I go there half the week, and the other half I spend in the Arcane Academy. I'm studying to become an enchantress as my second class." Elara raised an eyebrow. "That's quite impressive, actually. I'm an Emerald Enclave Restorer." Olivia tilted her head. "I've never heard of that order... any healers fighting, for that matter. Well, old man William was an adventurer once and his second class is something related to fighting... but you're very strong! You won against all four of them alone!" "Yes, yes," Elara said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'd rather like you to keep all of that to yourself, though. Let's say I sneaked you out of their camp or something, alright?" "Of course," Olivia said sincerely. "I won't say a word about your abilities." "Thanks. Appreciate that. It's apparently a great trump card to have if everyone thinks you're just a healer." Elara leaned in slightly. "By the way, did you get a message regarding some Moonpetal Herb?" Olivia's eyes went wide. "YES! The bonuses are amazing, but that was very painful... very..." "Yes, trust me, I know. That is another thing I'd like to keep a secret, though. You could now actually become an Azarinth healer yourself if you like. There are only a couple books you'd have to study..." Olivia bit her lip and looked away. "Thank you. I know it's very special for an order to share something like that with me, but I'm sworn to the Corinth order. And I really don't want to fight things like you do... no offense." Elara chuckled. "None taken. I myself don't know why I enjoy it so much... just tell me if you change your mind." She stood up and kicked dirt over the fire. "Sure, let's get moving then, Olivia. To Stonegate." ════════════════════════════════════════