*** Author's Note ***
Lately I have noticed that I have been stagnating. The views are down and the people that follow my work is not increasing. I know that my infrequent post of chapters is a factor in this, but it couldn't be blamed for all of this.
Maybe my story is just not as interesting as I thought it would be. My pacing is not that good or my way of story telling is not on par with the others.
Oh well... If you have some ideas on how I could improve the story, feel free to leave a comment or review. I posted my story on other sites and is not getting good ratings, which I could accept. But the thing that is hard for me to accept is that they rate my work without leaving a review on what it is that is not working for them.
It is like a girlfriend leaving without even telling me what went wrong or what I have lacked.
Truly depressing.
Oh well. Enough sad thoughts.
Enjoy today's chapter.
***
"Hmmm… A Bihorn couple carrying their young." I whispered as the animals goes pass our group. These are majestic creatures blessed by the Gods to be able to use Magic. An intelligent top predator in the human lands with horns that could pierce and burn through anything. It truly saddens me to see them fleeing from their homes. These filthy humans. If they didn't encroach on these wonderful animals' territories, then they wouldn't even bother with their lot. Instead, they chop down forest for their houses and their farms, driving these poor animals away from their homes which often end up with bloody battles between man and beast. Sometimes, the humans seek them not because they are a threat, but because of their horns and pelts. These weakling humans don't even fight fair, often using poison and other underhanded tactics to win over these powerful beasts, driving them to almost extinction within the human lands.
From the looks of it, they are fleeing once more from the threat that is humans.
Alas, I can't do anything. Nay, I must do nothing to alert the humans to our presence. For that, I can only pray to the Gods that they protect their majestic creations from harm.
"Vice- Captain Nightwood!" I hear one of my subordinate yell.
"Keep your voice low idiot. We're in human territory without permission from their ruler. They can't find out that we are here." I scolded the woman in low voice. She bowed in apology before proceeding to walk swiftly towards me. "Now. Tell me what you've found out that you couldn't wait to tell me."
"Vice-Captain. We finally found a trail." She declared.
"You found him? Where?" I almost shout in excitement. I understood my error and felt my face heat up in embarrassment. I coughed and calmed myself. With a serious face, I asked her once more. "Where did you find him?"
"Erm… We still haven't found him per se. But we found a trail the Void-touched. It seems like he fell into the river and was washed downstream. We found his trail 5 kilometer down the river." I glimpsed at her and the couple of Rangers around us. They seemed to be not laughing at my gaffe after I scolded her for doing the same.
"I see… So that's where he went eh? Ahem… Elmar." I called one of my subordinates.
He quickly ran towards me and bowed. "Your orders, Vice- Captain?" He asked.
"Go and inform the others to meet us 5 kilometers downstream and be there after 30 minutes." I commanded him.
"As you wish Vice- Captain." He answered and quickly disappeared in the tree branches.
I then turned towards the Rangers that are left with me. "Let's go and scout the area. Be careful and don't approach him too closely. He has acute senses and will be able to discover of our presence if we're not careful. Don't let your guards down. He is dangerous and if he gets close enough to grab you, it will be over."
Looking towards the direction downstream, I remember when I tried sneaking near their party while they were travelling through the Elven Forest. He kept sensing and looking at my direction even from 500 meters away. It did hurt my pride, but like the former Captain said, I used it to hone my own skill. But even with my improved stealth, I am still not confident enough to sneak up on him without getting found out.
Even if the members of the former Captain are vouching for him, I don't care about their opinions even one bit. Other races could not be trusted. Easily corrupted by power, and nothing is more unpredictable than the power that the Void promises. They saw how it turn a weakling into an unstoppable juggernaut in the battlefield.
Those who are corrupted by the power of the Void are a threat. Threats that should either be sealed away or destroyed.
**
Man… I should've waited for the sun to come up before venturing this deep into the woods. Not only is it too dark too see more than a few meters ahead of me, which impedes my ability to find dried up branches, but also hinders me from spotting if there are wild animals are in hiding. I close my eyes and tried to extend my Sense, but it has diminished greatly from before, only able to Sense Mana and Life Energy within a 5-meter radius. While 5 meters is still able to give me some time to react if I am being attacked by bandits with swords and other short range weapons, the range of my Sense is not enough if I am attacked on my blind spot by a range weapon or an enemy who can cover 5 meters in a blink of an eye like that Bihorn. What's worse is that after maintaining Sense at my current maximum range for 5 minutes, I feel exhausted already and had to turn my Sense off to recharge my Ki reserves.
After 10 more minutes of exploring in the dark woods, my effort finally bore fruit. "Oh! There's one!" I exclaimed when I finally found dried up wood. Only… "Welp… I should've taken the axe with me. How am I going to bring this fallen tree back to the farm?" I thought to myself as I stand before a fallen tree. Hmmm… taking a better look at it, it seems that the tree didn't fell naturally. It seems that it was broken in half. "Hey. There are chunks of dried wood here. Maybe if I collect them all, it might be enough to cook breakfast with." I said as I pick up chunks of wood scattered around. After gathering all the chunks wood I could find, I was able to collect wood chunks enough to fill a pale. Don't think this is enough, but at least it is something.
Now, if I only have some way to carry these chunks of wood back.
I don't mind taking multiple trips taking these chunks back to the farm, only I don't want to look silly carrying these in my arms. Should I use my shirt as an improvised bag? Tying up the sleeves to close up the collar and the sleeve holes would allow me to carry all wood chunks in one go. But it would surely damage the shirt. A shirt that isn't mine. This shirt is from Bilya's son who was drafted. I feel embarrassed enough that I borrow clothing that surely have sentimental value to his family. If I damage these clothes, I don't even know how to face Bilya and his two daughters.
That's the improvised bag out of the list. What else could I do?
Walking around while trying to find a solution to my dilemma, I finally found the other half of the fallen tree. Damn. These tree got obliterated. Studying the other half of the tree, I came into a conclusion. Someone or something broke this tree in half. In one strike nonetheless.
As soon as I recognize the danger, my mind became alert and began to scan the surrounding. The tree has already dried up, meaning it has been some time since it has been struck down. The culprit might already not be around anymore but it won't hurt being cautious.
I went back to the place where I left the pile of wood chunks and began gathering them. I don't care if I have to return back to this place later to collect the rest, I only want to get back to the farm as soon as possible, and probably bring the axe back here with me for good measure.
As I pick up the pieces of wood, I can't shake the feeling that I was being watched. I stood up and glanced around, trying to catch a glimpse on whoever is watching me. Damn it. My body may not be aching, and I am back in form. But only in the level when I was back on Earth. I am nowhere near the level of the Mages and Fighters in this world with their Mana and Ki enhanced physiques. Not to mention they could pelt me with magic from far away, leaving me with no fighting chance whatsoever unless I close the distance. Not to mention the wild animals. I have memory of fighting waves of them for day and night, on months on end when I first woke up in the middle of the forest. But my memory is foggy at best with my mind exhausted from sleep deprivation and stress from trying to survive alone with just my body and stubborn will to live as my tools for survival.
After a few minutes of my heart threatening to jump out of my chest, I still haven't found anything. I breathe deeply and sighed as I try to calm myself down. Calm down Cloud. You are only imagining things. Just like after watching a scary movie, my mind must be trying to see threats where there is none. I laughed at myself. When did I became so spineless? Just because I lost access to Void-energy, an energy that made me almost unstoppable, I lost my nerves with it.
Remember the times when you overcame hurdles without it. I fought two Mages at the same time without it and beat them both. Defeated Vash, a warrior who is far above me in strength with the combination of skill and perseverance. Finally, although none would believe even if I tell them, Kaizer who is a literal godlike figure from what I heard. I defeated him with grit, perseverance, and a boatload of luck. I have achieved much even when I was powerless, no access to both Mana and Ki.
Even without Void-energy, I at least have Ki at my disposal. I am in a far better condition than when I first came to this world.
Suddenly I heard a sharp sound of branches cracking and my alert level shot up once more. "Who's there! Show yourself." I shout at the mysterious being who must be lurking around. A minute or two have passed and there is still no response, but even with silence as the only reply, I kept an eye in my surrounding. Stretching the area of my Sense as far as I could, I started gathering wood chunks as fast as I can.
**
Being the Vice-Captain of the Elven Rangers and a member of the Nightwood family, I must fulfill my duty and bring honor to both the Rangers and my Family. But it seems that each time I had the chance to prove my worth, something goes wrong. Just like at this moment.
Damn it! I cursed in my head as I gaze around trying to find which of my subordinates stupidly stepped on a branch and gave away our position. I look at each Rangers with me and they shook their heads, saying that they were not the one responsible in spooking our target.
With no one admitting their fault, I growl under my breath with a promise to reprimand them when we come back to camp.
It has been an hour of careful tracking, trying our best to be outside the range of his senses. At first we slowly moved forward when we first followed his tracks from the riverside. We found a corpse of a human, bones broken and seems to been drown in his own blood since his face is buried in mud. Such a crude and cruel way to die. Clearly the handiwork of the Void-touched. It was clear that this man suffered before he died slowly, inhaling bloodied mud instead of air, suffocating, gasping for air that will never come until he died. If it was up to me, I will just slit his throat and be done with it. When in a hunt or in a fight, kill the prey or the enemy cleanly and instantly. No need to cause unneeded pain. For in the end, dead is dead.
Truly, the humans are cruel. Even to one of their own.
We continued to follow the tracks, keeping at least a kilometer of distance from the furthest trail we can see in order to not get discovered by his acute senses. Slowly but steadily, we will approach until we can catch him unaware. Even with a kilometer between us and the Void-touched, we could still kill him by firing plain arrows outside of perimeter of his Senses without infusing it with Mana in order for it to be undetected even by his acute Sense.
Unfortunately, we need him alive.
Although we found traces of the demon's body, indicating that it must've been obliterated by the Void-touched last attack, I am still unconvinced that it is truly dead. Since the Void-touched was the last one who have encountered the Demon, he must have some insight on what truly happened to the demon. There must be no room for uncertainty. If there is a chance that the demon is still alive, we must use everything in our power to chase it down and seal or kill it once and for all. We might not be enough to kill the demon on our own when we clashed last night, it will be different this time. The demons should be weakened by a great deal after getting severely damaged by the Void-touched. Even if it isn't so, Mother and the other Darkmoon members are here to deal with it. The only thing left is to capture the Void-touched and learn of the location of the demon. If the Void-touched is of no use, we will capture him and carry him back as a trophy. It may not be much, but it will prove to the world that I could lead. That one day, once the Captain joins the Darkmoon, that I she can be relieved that I can lead the Rangers on my own.
That is why I must not fail this time.
With the Void-touched in my sights, I noticed that the Void-touched, even though alert, is not sensing any of us even when I should already be inside the territory of his Sense. His gaze keeps turning to and fro, but it is clear that he is not locking in any of our location. Is this a trap? Is he just playing coy so that we would lower our guards and come nearer? Damn it. Nothing will be done if we just gaze at him. If this is indeed a trap, I have no choice but to spring it myself. I signaled the others to stay in place
Using my Ranger training, I used Conceal, not only hiding my Mana, but also my Life Energy, slowly so as to not alert the Void-touched by an energy signature vanish all of a sudden. After my Conceal was complete, I use the shadow created by the slowly rising sun to meld to my surroundings.
With a clear mind so as to not release any blood lust of any kind, my eyes are locked at my target, checking for signs if he has discovered my presence or not. Swiftly reducing the distance between us but done with finesse and grace that not even a single sound of leaves or grass rustling could be heard. Swift as the wind, quiet as a shadow. A practice of the Rangers that we took in heart. Knowing where to step where no sound would be made, knowing how to move so that you will none of the tree branch would shake, knowing how to move with the wind so that the target would be unaware of our approach, and how to meld with the shadows to cover us from sight. I practiced it for years before entering the ranks of the Rangers. A training that I admittedly neglected, much to my shame when the former Captain pointed it out. After being reprimanded by the current Captain, I renewed my training, vowing to improve my skills, and who else could be the best training target for my stealth skill than the Void-touched?
His Senses were so sharp that I could not even approach him for a kilometer at first. I toiled for a day, stubbornly applying everything that I have learned in order to approach him without getting detected. For a whole day it seems to be futile, my efforts were in vain. His senses were just so sharp that I don't think even the former Captain would be able to sneak upon him. She would be able to get close enough to strike, that is no doubt, but not before she is found out by his Sense. But I did not surrender. For the first time in my life I strived to improve. I don't want to be known as an Elf who rose to his station just because of the influence of my family, no, I will prove that I am fit for this position, that I deserve it by virtue of my strength and skill. So I continued to practice, using the hated Void-touched to hone my skill. Until I reached where I am today.
Only 200 meters away.
I feel the tension rise as I am about to enter an uncharted territory. This is the furthest I was able to get close to him before getting discovered before. Am I skilled enough for him not to notice me even when I am this close? Should I use the ground route or jump to the branches so that I would be covered by the tree leaves? No… I am better in sneaking in the ground than using the high ground. Calm down and take a step. This is the time to break through my limits and become closer to their level.
I took a single step forward. My heart beats so fast that I can almost hear it.
No… I must calm down. Calm down or he might discover me. No… Did he discover me already?
I slowly gaze at the Void-touched who was busy gathering what seem to be wood chunks. His face is looking down, fully focused on carrying as much wood that his arms could carry. It looks like he is not aware of my presence.
I now only 199 meters away from him and he still hasn't detected me!
Oh yeah!
I took another step. No change in his demeanor. I took another. Still the same. I took two more steps. Still no reaction. This is great! He is not aware of me. I am so great that his Sense couldn't pick up my presence! Emboldened by my newfound leap in skill, I moved much quicker than before. Moving from tree to tree, from shadow to shadow, not even letting a single sound of leaves or grass rustle. This is the fruit of my training. My skill has improved leaps and bound. I am now only 100 meters away! Only a few more meters and he will soon be within my reach!
As I was about to take a step towards my goal, I suddenly hear a whisper to my ears.
"The world truly is full of surprises." The voice started. "Running to investigate a pillar of light that shone in the night to find Elf sneaking upon a human." How was he able to get so close without me realizing it? Who is this man? Slowly turning around, my face turn into a grimace as I recognize the person who was talking. "Now, answer me this, Elf. Why are you trespassing in human lands? I have other questions, but those could wait until later."
Damn it! So close to prove that I deserve my post, only to have my hopes shattered. Why in all the Gods' name that of all the people that we could encounter, the one who discovered our presence here is him?