Brother, have you considered the fact that I am just an underage, inexperienced elf?
I am NOT one of those legendary elves who can destroy mountains with a flick of their hand!
Look at the giant sword that guy is carrying—who do you think is stronger here?!
But there was no way out.
Illiya could only grit his teeth and prepare for battle.
With a flick of his wrist, a faint golden glow emanated from the delicate bracelet around his right hand.
In an instant, a staff materialized in his grip.
The staff was roughly the same height as Illiya, its body crafted from a naturally fallen branch of the Elven Mother Tree.
It retained its original form, devoid of elaborate carvings, its only decoration being a gleaming green magic stone embedded at the top.
Illiya swung the staff, and the green stone glowed brightly.
In an instant, a shimmering green barrier materialized around him.
Elves were truly the most favored of all beings.
Unlike other races, who needed to chanting the spells to activate their magic, elves could manipulate magic with their spiritual energy alone—one thought was all it took.
Illiya took a deep breath, tightening his grip on his staff as he stared straight ahead.
Even though he had already prepared himself for a fierce battle, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Hopefully, he wouldn't have to run back home to find an adult.
Because that would be really embarrassing.
Illiya had been fully prepared for a desperate fight, but to his surprise, the swordsman wielding the giant blade stopped just two meters away from him and even put his weapon away.
The man raised both hands, as if signaling that he had no ill intentions.
Illiya remained impassive, still wary.
His teacher had always warned him not to trust people from outside the Elven Forest too easily.
Those outsiders were notorious for deceiving elves without hesitation—full of lies, cunning beyond measure, and heartless to the core.
Who knew if this swordsman was just pretending to lower his guard?
As an elf with a strong sense of crisis awareness, Illiya had no intention of believing him so easily.
The swordsman seemed to realize this as well.
He scratched his head, looking troubled.
Then, with a decisive movement, he unfastened the giant sword from his waist and tossed it aside.
After that, he pointed at himself and shook his head.
Illiya was baffled.
He had no idea what this fluent sequence of gestures was supposed to mean.
Was he trying to say, "Look, I threw my sword away, so you should believe I have no bad intentions"?
…Wait, was that actually what he meant?
The more Illiya thought about it, the more it seemed to be the case, making his expression turn a little odd.
Overthinking was pointless—he could just test it out.
So, he lightly waved his staff, causing the green barrier surrounding him to disappear.
However, at the same time, a faint white glow flickered around the green mana stone at the tip of his staff—so faint that it was nearly undetectable.
This was Illiya's backup plan.
If the swordsman's intentions were truly harmless, then everything would be fine.
Howeverz if not, that white glow was his escape route.
He had already prepared an attack spell—whether or not it could harm the swordsman didn't matter.
As long as it could distract him for even a fraction of a second, it would buy Illiya enough time to tear open a teleportation scroll and make a quick getaway.
Fortunately, the swordsman really did seem to mean no harm.
He didn't reach for the blade he had tossed aside but instead took two steps forward.
At the same time, he maintained a careful distance—one that was close enough for conversation yet far enough for an elf to feel safe.
"Good afternoon, esteemed Elf… Uh, no, I mean, good afternoon," the swordsman greeted.
After saying that, he suddenly looked a bit guilty, as if he himself could hear how unconvincing his words sounded.
"I'm just saying, there's no need to be so tense. Relax. I'm just a poor swordsman who had his lunch stolen by that magical beast," he explained, addressing the earlier chase. "You have to understand, I haven't had a proper meal in two or three days. So you can imagine just how much that lunch meant to me."
Illiya hadn't expected such a complicated backstory.
He didn't doubt the swordsman's words, either.
Because the moment the man mentioned "lunch," the magical beast clinging to his arm gave an unmistakable shudder.
That alone was enough to confirm that the swordsman was telling the truth.
In short, that magical beast deserved it.
Illiya came to this conclusion.
With a slight movement of his right hand, the staff in his grasp disappeared into his spatial bracelet.
He placed his hand on his chest and gave a slight bow to the swordsman in front of him—a greeting and also an apology for his earlier discourtesy.
No elegant elf would openly display offensive magic toward an innocent person, even if he was just a young elf.
"I am Illiya Faelorien, a traveling elf who has been granted permission to leave the Elven Forest."
Illiya gave him a preemptive explanation, making sure there was no misunderstanding that he was one of those exiled for committing crimes.
"Magical beasts can indeed be mischievous, but a mistake is still a mistake. If it does something wrong, it must bear the consequences."
In other words, whatever the swordsman decided to do with the magical beast was none of his concern.
The swordsman's eyes widened slightly, as if surprised that the elf would say such a thing.
The swordsman returned the same bow. "My name is Darius Valeblade, a wandering swordsman. It is true that elves rarely leave their forests. Most of those seen outside are either dark elves or exiled criminals. But don't worry, I didn't mistake you for one. After all, I used to be a royal swordsman." He then quickly added, "But don't misunderstand—I quit because the pay was too low, and the job required constant overtime. It was terrible for my health, so I left to become a wandering swordsman instead."