The Protectors of the Forest

Oslo, if you can hear me tell me exactly how many elves are nearby. Since the result of this action will bring us too many benefits, I will use all of my crystals if I have to. I just need to know where they are.

(You want a complete vision on them? Well, I can sustain it for 5 more minutes, after that you will have 30 minutes to gather the crystals. Otherwise, I will get expulsed by this world because I am too weak.)

Five minutes is enough. So how many elves?

(11, surrounding the town. If you keep running, you can kill them quickly enough.)

So let's melt this down. I start to throw my first crystal toward the tree where I heard the noise. I don't even stop to watch the spectacle. I know how potent this thing is, the tree and the elf inside will probably melt in seconds. With a little chance, he won't be able to scream before he dies.

(5'oclock, 27 meters)

The new target is in sight, and yes, no sound was heard. Only some small pshiiiiiiit, but that's hardly enough to be noticed. I throw my second crystal.

(10'oclock, 57 meters, 12'oclock, 73 meters)

Two are close to each other. I need to hit them at the same time. I slow down a little, to be sure to not be seen or heard. When I am between the two trees, I begin my attack.

(9'oclock, 42 meters)

Damn it, one of the two trees was too big, some branches fell. That will probably be noticed by one fairy. It will take time for her little brain to understand the meaning of it. But I have still seven elves to kill. I reach my fifth target and I can see him looking toward the place I just left. I quickly silence him before he warns the others.

(1'oclock, 89 meters, 2'oclock, 94 meters)

This time they are really too close for me. They can see each other; I can't be between the two of them. I have to take my time to find a proper place to kill both of them. I lose 20 seconds but I have the perfect spot. As usual, my agility allows me two perfect shots.

(12'oclock, moving toward you 32 meters, 31 meters)

So they had someone to do a patrol. Good thing I was on his way. This time, I won't spend a crystal. A moving target is too quick for me. I can't risk it right now. The elf is running on the ground. I suspend myself on one of the branches on his way. And when he is right under me, I fall on him, using my acid. My spell manages to melt his upper body, but his legs are intact. I have no time to make all the pieces of evidence disappear.

(3'oclock, 49 meters)

Still, 3 elves living. Without incident, I dispatch him. But I can see the fairies flying weirdly. They are beginning to inspect their surroundings. Only two men standing. After that, I will just need to take care of the drake.

(They are moving inside the town)

What? Damn, the fairies have reported the melted trees. So let's start the plan B. I begin to use 5 winds of diseases. My MP pool after getting rid of the curse allows me that action. And I guess my increase in attributes will improve the lethality too. Oslo, keep your forces, I don't need your help anymore.

He doesn't respond to me, but that's good. That means he heard me. So I have 30 minutes to kill the drake and the two survivors. The problem is, I know my spell. It will take at least 15 minutes to really achieve something. So that's half of the duration wasted. But I can't do anything about it. I wait and watch the town.

I can see the fairy beginning to feel their fragility. They are even weaker than I thought. The problem is, the drake is totally awakening and the elves are chanting or something. If they are calling for help, it will take some hours. But if it is a nature blessing or the trees protecting them from me, that will be tricky. But as time pass away and fairies follow the same pattern, I see my level rising. Just the kill of the elves was enough to gain something, and now, I can add the slaughtering an entire town full of fairies. Just a bonus before the real fight beings.

Ten minutes have passed and no fairy is alive. The ground if full of little bright creatures. Only the elves are shaking in the middle. I guess either they are afraid or they are not protected enough. But the drake is clearly angered and ready to kill at sight. But it is still night. I use my new spell [Nightfall] to get closer. I have to distract them before throwing my crystals, in case of failure. I quickly arrange a rock on a plank of wood. I can see it slowly descending on it. When he will fall from it, that will make enough noise. It is really too quiet.

I go away from my alarm. And wait. Maybe I failed it. Clearly, a minute has passed. Should have been set to fall thirty seconds later. That was too archaic. So I use the good old method of throwing a rock toward a location. I put a [Nightfall] on it and surprisingly it worked. Excellent. Both the last elves and the drake turned their heads toward it. And then I throw two more crystals toward the elves. By the time the drake looks at them, they are gone. Disappeared without a trace.

Even if he is not the smartest drake in the universe, he is still able to comprehend that his enemy is in the dark. And as he is ready to fly away, my alarm finally worked. He breathes on it without waiting for just one second. But while doing that, he exposes himself to me. That time, it is all my crystals that are in the air. 9 deadly but beautiful things flying toward the drake. I will never know how many were really needed. The only things that I can see now are the head and the tail. Everything between those two body parts is gone. And it was at that moment that I reach my max level.

"Congratulation to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution:

1- Plague Warrior.

2- Plague Sorcerer.

3- Plague Assassin.

4- Plague Apostle."

Wow, so many choices. But now is not the time. First, grab those crystals, allow Oslo to recover and then stop the djinn ritual before it is too late. At the minimum, go in one of those oases inside the desert. That way, the elves won't follow me. Because for what I have done, I will definitely get hunted.

I search the drake den and found as I expected a large pile of crystals.

(Good what you have found is big enough. I will even be able to support you like I did more frequently with that. But first, absorb them. We will talk later.)

Ok, but how am I supposed to do that?

(Just take the crystal one by one, put them on your front and try to feel the dark gem, the heart of the sorcerer-king. After that, absorb the power inside the crystal and direct it toward the gem.)

Sounds kind of hard. But I will try I guess. I grab one of those blue crystal and do as I was asked. When it is in contact with my front, I begin to search for that heart. It was easy, looks like it is a part of me now. And the mana transfer was finished in second. What is lying in my hand now is just dust. I don't know how many would have been required to completely heal Oslo. But I have to trust him saying that this pile is enough for now. We can always harvest more after the imminent threat is cleared.

It took me nearly an hour to harvest all the energy possible. Oslo and I have spared 20 crystals from total destruction. We both agreed on the fact that this number was not enough to heal him more than he already is but good enough to protect me. Now is the time to leave and infuse a new spell in those crystals.

(Well, looks like you will do that in the desert, a lot of living creatures are coming toward us.)

Elves? Do you think they will catch us before we reach the desert?

(No this time, you clearly disrespected the forest itself. They didn't let the elves take care of their problems. The treants are on your tail. You better start running right now in this direction.)

As I start running I have to ask some questions. What do you mean treants? You mean treemen? Like the ents? Protectors of the forest and stuff like that?

(Yes, the only good news for us is, the desert is closer than they think, you will be able to escape before they come near us. You have 3 hours.)