Elves, a Race that strives to be peaceful and solitary. A Race that has natural Mana generating organs and a high affinity with nature as a whole. Their expertise in Magic and all things Mana-related is unrivaled amongst the many Races. Their longevity is also another clear difference between them and the other Races. For a human to be born, live and then die is like a phase compared to an elf.
And amongst the Race, there are subdivisions of smaller Races. The most notable and plentiful is the Wood Elves, common to their forest home, Lunar Forest. The highly dangerous Dark Elves, who were once Demonkins now turned Elves due to experiments. And the mysteriously famed High Elves, or Star Elves as they were called once.
Although rumors surrounding them are that of noble, carefree and peaceful lives, their daily struggles are anything but exactly that. The elves serve under a communist regime, everyone should and must obey the rules and contribute equally. So, to abide by their nature as a nature-loving Race, they can't stockpile food or hunt to the extreme. One animal kill per day, and 400-500 vegetation picked per day is the quota.
Residing in the Lunar Forest aside from the elves are a collection of primates, from long and agile to beefy and strong. Gold-hair Monkeys, Gorillas, Hairless Chimpanzees, and Yogunzas to name a few. The last primate, the Yogunzas, aren't natives to the Lunar Forest, but are the only primate species the Elves can cooperate with. They speak only and exclusively in the Elvish tongue, although crude to those that know the language.
The most important figure, to the loyal High Elves at least, is the Goddess of Protection, Nature and their High Queen, Svar'ritha the Kind, a 'daughter' to me in a sense. She is the replacement to the previous Divine Being that protected the Elves, the first Elf to ever exist. God Jarrakhan, First King of the Elves, and surprisingly, a God of War.
......…
'And that's the jizz of the lore I got to know about the elves…'
I review the very large amount of information that I have about the Race called Elves. Their many sub-Races were hard to keep track of, and that didn't count the amount that might reside within other Worlds.
'My World should only have the Wood Elves, Dark Elves, and High Elves. But since this is the future, very far into the future, I won't be surprised if there are some of the Elves I know of other Worlds who have evolved to be here.'
Yes, Evolution might be a very passive, through generation, and all around long time, it shouldn't be impossible if there are a few other sub-Races of Elves to be seen.
'Anyway, back to the task at hand.'
I am currently roleplaying as Merlin Avalon, my previous enemy and a Kingseeker. That last part, Kingseeker, isn't just a word. It's a Title and it provides the Special Skill [Ability Check], an Appraisal type Skill that allows one to evaluate another's Limit. It's not exactly broken, but it is undeniably unique as there are rarely any other Skill that can replicate this effect. Spells maybe, but they aren't as accurate to even compare to the Special Skill.
'I'm heading to the capital of the Elven Race, the Land of the Moon. Albern said he must get something there before we can proceed to recruiting his allies.'
Politics, I presume. If my memory serves me right, they're a fairly secretive Race, preferring to not interact with any other Race if they could. However, the capital city, the Land of the Moon, often ships goods in the form of beautifully crafted items to the outside in exchange for things. This usually happens in the winter, where vegetation is low and the beasts go into deep hibernation. Their trading partner, the Yogunzas, also refused to trade them anything, especially food.
'I don't like this feeling I'm having right now…'
Politics, it bores me to no end. It might just be because of power, but I no longer bothered with such things aside from theatrics, giving hope, and then crushing it underneath my boots and letting it be trampled on by my army. That was how I used to do things, the violent way, the 'strong' way. But not now, not this moment.
'I am roleplaying someone who has a different set of Skills. I could show them might, but that wouldn't be very theatrical of a Mage.'
Dashing through the trees at high speed was me and Albern. His movements were fluid and somewhat graceful, doing flips and somersaults like he were in a circus. Meanwhile, I was flying through the air, dodging tree branches and cutting some that I couldn't be bothered with dodging.
''How far are we from the destination?"
"A bit more…''
"You said that the last time I asked, seven minutes ago while we were still traveling at high speed. Even now we're a little faster, but you still repeat that?"
"I know my way… there it is."
Before I got the chance to say anything further, Albern stopped abruptly which caused me to also stop with him. I looked around, but saw nothing. My patience was running thin, since I did say I have little time to play around.
'Does he treat-'
''There, that's the entrance to the Land of the Moon.''
"Huh?"
Before I could even complain, Albern spoke again.
"One can only access it if they have the Recognition Rune or one of the High Elves' Runes. If anything that doesn't have the Rune try to interact with it, then nothing happens."
"Hmm… most interesting.''
The door intrigued me, while also slightly amazed me. If my intuition is right, then that should be a gateway to a Divine World, a space which its Divine Being rules over completely.
'If I go in there… will my cover be blown?'
I am using Merlin's Soul as a case to cover for mine, but if it doesn't work against her eyes inside her own domain, then I might as well give up on this roleplay.
'No, wait. What if…'
A plan suddenly came to mind, and so I acted upon it.
'Chronic Bubble.'
Suddenly, everything in a 40 meter radius turned gray and stopped moving. This is the Super Spell Chronic Bubble, which can stop time flow in a space.
'This drains a lot of my MP, so I should hurry.'
Even now, 1/320th of my MP is being consumed. It was ticking by with every slow second, and so I acted quickly.
"Soul Materialization."
I strip away the cover that is Merlin Avalon, his Soul, now separated and afloat on my palm. It wriggled outwards like hundreds of tied up worms, and so I released him to materialize.
"Form thyself, and serve my purpose."
Following my order, Merlin Avalon materialized in his physical form, somewhat similar in appearance to my own. The only difference is his white long hair, adorned with flowers of many colors.
'...You know, his appearance is really similar to that game character.'
His appearance wasn't unique per say, but it's very close to resembling a game character of another massive franchise. His specialty may be very different, but his appearance is undeniably very close.
''You will replace me for now, stick with him, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"...Understood."
So, I disappeared in a puff of black smoke through the still, gray space of stopped time. Merlin was left there, still and unmoving.
.........
I am Merlin Abigail Avalon, my middle name being my real middle name. I am a male born in the States Of Freedom. I played games my entire life, and strived to be the best alongside those that I cherished. However, that dream of mine will never be realized anymore. This form of mine, it is an extension of the original, I'm just a discarded husk.
'...'
Now, I regretfully serve a master, Absolute Death. From the brief time I got to observe and interact with him, he was different from the rumors, but still somewhat similar. His carefree side wasn't something I expected, as well as him taking my first and last name. However, he is still the fearsome Death. The same entity that slaughtered billions without so much as a bat of an eyelid in my generation.
'Meeting with elves…'
I have some experience with encountering elves, but the encounters were all hostile ones. For this situation, I'm not hostile with them, so I hope I can keep it that way.
'Making them hostile would only result in their slaughter later.'
I don't know much about this World since it isn't my own, but it seems like Death is also like me since he sent me out to scout first. Cautious as the rumors say, I could only sigh as I began my work.
"Dispel."
Time resumed, and color instantly returned back to the surroundings. Albern, the elf that accompanied Death on his journey for something, spoke again.
"When we go inside, don't speak a word. I'll do the speaking, so you just stay close to my side. Did you get all that?"
"Yes, let's go."
"..."
Albern was still even though I said that, and his face turned to look at me with furrowed brows.
"Something's… different."
"What? What nonsense are you speaking? Let's go, my time isn't to be wasted meaninglessly."
I mimicked how Death would've acted, urgent and hasty, and prompted the elf to follow through with whatever he's doing.
"...Alright, my bad. I apologize. Be sure to remember my warning."
The elf averted his eyes back to the stone doorway that is my objective. He jumped down, and I followed behind him.
We landed and made our way towards the doorway. Upon entering 20 meters of it, the Runes on the doorway lit up a purple and blue glow on each Rune. Albern raised his hand towards it, and the doorway's big Rune inscribed on the door lit up instantly. I could see the shape of an eye-like Rune on the back of his hand that wasn't there before.
'...Seems easy to mimic.'
With my knowledge of Magic, inscribing Runes are pretty easy. Complex Runes would take me about a day at least to finish, while the eye-like Rune on the elf's hand could be replicated instantly from a glance. I sighed, again, it's really a habit of mine that I couldn't fix thoroughly even in death.
'Well, I guess that'll be for later if he asks for it.'
The doorway shook briefly, and as we reached in front it opened its wooden door for us.
"Remember."
"Yes yes, what do you take me for?"
The elf was getting on my nerves, repeating his warning for the third time now. The entrance was white, with blue flakes of Mana leaking out from it.
'A teleportation… no, there's Divinity infused in it.'
I now know why Death sent me out first. He must be afraid to be ambushed, or overwhelmed.
'Even if he's a God… he couldn't possibly face another God in their own domain, right?"
It was a ridiculous thing to consider, too ridiculous to be exact.
For starters, to get a good picture of the power a God inside their domain, their Divine World, possesses then it's fairly simple. It's based on what their Divinity, their symbol, represents. For the Goddess Svar'ritha the Kind, it is Nature, the very element the Elves are familiar with since birth. Along with it is a fragment of the Magic Divinity, symbolizing the high affinity they have with wielding Mana. And the final third Divinity this Goddess possesses is the latent, suppressed, and weak Divinity of War, the previous Divine Being's main Divinity.
So, to scale power, then one only needs to know what that Divine Being represents, or is told to be like from tales and myths. For Svar'ritha, she is only at the mid-tier of combat prowess.
'Well… if I die then I should probably return to Death's World again.'
What I referred to was the pocket space within the Absolute Death's infinite Soul. It is a dark and desolate World, filled with nothing but fighting and even small scale wars. It is hectic, and I would much rather be here and deal with these things than to stay there.
'Besides, I couldn't necessarily advance my Magic prowess anymore. I arrived at the very pinnacle, and the only way to advance is no longer available to me now. And most likely forever.'
As that thought crept into my mind, I sighed a fourth time.
We passed through the gateway and after an electrical-like burst of energy swept over my entire body, I arrived through to the Land of the Moon, the domain of a Goddess by the name of Svar'ritha. I was naturally nervous, and was on the lookout for any possible danger, but none. All I could see for miles and miles, were stretches of grasslands and hills that had some trees scattered about. The Mana density in the air was also thick, rich, and very pleasant for me to absorb.
'The Mana conversion rate has increased by almost 20%...'
I didn't need a system prompt to tell me, I could easily discern such a thing from just feeling alone.
"We'll walk a short distance. The capital city isn't far away."
"..."
I quietly follow behind Albern without a word. Although there's no sign of any elves, I still didn't say anything. A silence prevails between us, an uncomfortable silence on a rather sunny day.
'Is this Divine World…'
I look up to the sky, and examine for a few minutes to see if the sun in the sky was moving or not.
'...Yes, it is indeed moving.'
This Divine World wasn't unique, but a day and night cycle was proof of another boundary between weak and strong. A Divine World materialized by a weak Divine Being usually is very bleak, lifeless even. It is because their Divinity isn't shaped and tempered enough that they end up rather flat or just stuck in a stasis.
'I've seen my fair shares before, and this one isn't to be scoffed at.'
This made me even more nervous about the meeting. If the something Albern needed to get is from the Divine Being ruling over this World, then I probably wouldn't hold a candle if something unforeseeable happened.
'I should prepare… just in case.'
I silently cast a few Charms, which are only traceable if one has something that could scan one's Soul, along with a few Stat boosting Spells.
"...What are you doing?"
"Huh? What?''
"...Nevermind."
He turned to look at me as my Spells were being casted, before turning back to the front.
In the distance, I spotted a village atop a rather bigger hill than the rest I've seen. Most were on the trees, while some were on the ground. I could see a few small elves, most likely children, running and even jumping across the air from tree to tree as a wall.
''Do the children… play like that often?"
"Yeah, pretty much a natural occurrence. That right there are High Elves, pure bloods nonetheless. They don't get well with the outside, not even to their fellow Elvens, but they are sometimes useful in war if they want to, which is rare."
High Elves, a sub-Race of the Elves as a whole. They're the Racial Evolution I aimed for in the past, for the benefit of gaining Clairvoyance, a Race exclusive Skill that belongs to High Elves. It allows the user to see into the future, and further if they have experience and training.
'Though they're still my goal, I think I don't want to change from being Human.'
It is because, before I could completely change my Race, I gained my first level of Divinity as a Human.
'Unfortunate, but whatever.'
Drawbacks were naturally accompanied with the High Elf Race, that being natural Affinity gain is lowered to an abysmal level, and a high chance to be hostile upon first meetings due to being arrogant. To me, someone who's a solo Player in my World, this drawback wasn't as strong or debilitating. It could even be a blessing for me. But, I can't cry over what has come since forever ago now.
'...'
When we're near the village, the High Elves seem to have picked up on our arrival. Several adults in their houses peaked out from their windows, looking at us with raised eyebrows. Then, out of left field literally, a child came and hugged Albern.
"Big bro Alb!!"
"Ahh~, hello there Mikeala sweetheart. How've you been during these years?"
"I've been great! I miss you dearly, big bro! Are you going to stay here now that you've returned?"
"...Hehe~, I'm afraid I can't, Mikeala. I'm accompanying someone on a mission, and I need the High Queen's permission to go."
"Awwww, then when are you going to return?"
"..."
I watch from a distance his conversation with one of the High Elf children. A red-haired girl with a rather toned physique. Her height was vastly different from her peers as well, 1m56 if I'm correct.
"Alright now, go along and play nice with the others. I'll only be here quickly and leave."
"...Alright, big bro Alb. Stay safe on your travels."
With those parting words, she left to go play with her friends. Albern, who the girl referred to as 'Alb', looked on with a certain saddened expression mixed with nostalgia.
"An… acquaintance?"
"Once… we're not that close nowadays from the time I moved out of this realm, it was just another day that I suddenly received words from an envoy. That I can no longer stay here by the order of the High Queen."
"...And why was that?"
"Why… that's a long story suitable to tell while we travel. Now, let's not dawdle further, aye? Your time is precious."
"..."
I followed quietly behind the lonely, now seemingly smaller back of the elf.
Our walk was quiet, like it has been for so long. The serene atmosphere this land brought, the silence it possesses, the peace that it induces me at every passing second. It was perfect for me, who is a Mage through and through in every type of game. A researcher, a scholar, it doesn't matter. As long as the playstyle relies on smart, intelligent and tactical usage, then that is the playstyle I would choose in a heartbeat.
The High Elves residents looked down and at us from their tree houses and on the cobblestone path we walked. I could hear murmurs, whispers of something unsavory.
"Này này, đó có phải…"
"Ừ, đó là người mà đã bị Nữ Hoàng Tối Cao của chúng ta trục xuất đấy. Sao cậu ấy vẫn còn bén mảng tới đây nữa chứ?"
"Chắc có việc nên mới tới, nếu không thì chắc cũng chả có lý do gì để tới đây.''
They spoke the ancient tongue of their people. It was so long now that I've heard it, but I could somewhat decipher what they're saying about me and Albern.
"Ai là người đang đi cùng anh ấy thế?"
"Một pháp sư chăng? Ăn mặc giống lắm."
"Một Pháp sư loài người ư…? Lâu rồi tôi không thấy một con người tới đây. Mà tại sao một con người lại được một Linh Cao hộ tống chứ?"
"Thôi, người mà đang dẫn pháp sư đó chính là người mà Nữ Hoàng Tối Cao trục xuất đấy. Không nên gọi hắn là một Linh Cao nữa. Chắc có việc gì cần sự cho phép của Nữ Hoàng Tối Cao nên mới dám quay lại nơi này."
Their way of speaking was ticking me off. Insults are a thing I can get by easily, but speaking ill in private is just too cowardly for me to tolerate.
''...Why do you tolerate this? I thought High Elves were supposed to be prideful."
"Haha…"
"You can hear them, I know you can. So? Why aren't you silencing them?"
"Because… I don't have a reason to? I don't know, but I don't mind their talks."
"Pathetic… you tolerate this behavior of theirs?"
"Well…"
He didn't seem to want to talk about it, and his body language is suggesting that it's uncomfortable for him. So, with a fifth sigh, I apologized.
''...Apologies, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"Ah, it's nothing, really. I don't mind them, and if they're not too malicious then you should also not mind them."
He turned around and said that to me. He smiled as he finished that sentence, a smile that conveyed to me a pain he can't vent properly.
'...It isn't my place to bother with. I mustn't…'
So, we continued our journey for a little longer.
.........
Fun Fact:
-There exists a Skill that Absolute Death can exercise once, and once it is exhausted Death must find its now scattered remnants to use it again.
-This Skill isn't named, and Absolute Death has never used it once ever since he got it from his Ascension Quest, a special type of Quest that enables the evolution of one's Job Class to a higher level once completed.
-The Skill's function is a summoning type. A calling of sorts, for the most heinous, deadliest, and cruelest beings across the Worlds. Be they Daemons, Divine Beings, or simply Mortals, they can be called once to aid Absolute Death upon the Skill's activation.
-However, Absolute Death never used this Skill, and would swear not to use it even if it guarantees his safety from succumbing to his own demise. It was because of fear his powers would be rivaled by someone else.