Stray Elf: Lost in the System

XV.

The trail the next day was less windy. As it turned out, we slept through the Cold Moon fall some nights ago with minimal casualties. I decided to investigate more on the Magic Operator Unique Skill I spent all my hard earned Souls on. Surely it was more useful than simply setting a bunch of corpses on fire, right? It had to be. Since it was warm enough to march without the fiery zombies. Ice no longer crunched my boots, which made the men happier but something unsettled me.

The illusory blizzard should be getting stronger the closer we get to its source. Its effects were real and men were freezing to death, making me wonder what was so imaginary about it. Feeling golden leaves crumple beneath my feet meant that we were simply getting further away from it. We would be out of the illusion’s reach, however, we would not know exactly where we were. In short, we were lost either way. As for my orc friend, his body was missing when we woke up. Since there were no disturbances within the camp, nor any extra souls were defeated on my Status’s tracker, I assumed the old bastard got out of here and went his own way. Not even an apology, I sighed, but then that familiar warmth clung to my side.

“Captain, what are you going to do with this… pet of yours?” Lee asked me. Emma nuzzled her ears against my side, much to my discomfort, and ignored everyone else's gaze. I shrugged. For even a beast person, the woman was shorter than average. I knew that as an elf, my height was an advantage. I towered over most women, demonesses and sometimes even reached succubi in height.

“It’s just what cats do, I guess,” I signaled the men to keep marching back into the blizzard as I messed around with settings within the Magic Operator. There was no magic energy Stat, or a limit. I did not mind the feeling channeling my magic gave me, nor did I know what would happen if I reached the theoretical limit of my magical energy. When I tried to cast the fireball that cyclops mage taught me, my head would start to spin. The limit I assumed was tied to my Intelligence stat, though now I realized moon magic was simply not compatible with my Skill. At rank B, I assumed it was more than enough to set the zombies on fire for warmth, but if only there was a way my Status could search for a path out of this hell hole. Green wind magic came to my mind, but why? Perhaps I could use it, though Dios wind and nature magics did not make sense to me. Even observing the Dios mages’ work during multiple fortress battles did not help my understanding. Their quick movements, ritualistic breathing and chants all skipped my mind.

Go, I summoned the magic with my mind and felt a familiar jolt surge through my feet. A gust blew my hair in my face, but it was not ordinary wind. Instead, a small green translucent glowing being floated in front of me. A wind elemental? I supposed this thing could guide me. Find me the White Tower, I commanded it. The elemental twinkled for a moment, leaving green sparks that intertwined with the falling snowflakes as it reacted to my command. It launched off into a certain direction, leaving a trail of emerald dust to follow. A quest tracker, I groaned. Why have I not thought of that before?

“Dios Magic?” Lee asked as we watched the elemental fly away. “No chant either…”

“It seems so,” I started to walk in its direction.

“You are aligned with Reaver and Dios?” Lee gawked. “Nameless are terrifying.”

“My magic sucks,” I muttered. “The Lunarists and Inquisitors mentioned that I was attuned to both of those moons.”

Lee looked at me in awe. I was not technically lying. I believed the magic originated from me rather from the moons. If I were to tap into more of the Magic Operator’s skill, I could create Ice and other elements. When I opened the skill, those windows had many views of various elements within them. I believed I needed to promote my Intelligence stat, so the next time I leveled up I would move both my Constitution and Intelligence up as far as I could get them.

The men were no longer complaining where I told them to go. Not since they saw me beat Yokgu up. A small percentage of them were even beginning to see me in some kind of reverence. A respect well-earned, supposedly, because surviving a Power Breaker Skill was not something anyone could do. I did notice the devastation the skill caused behind me as his fist struck me. I remember getting punched hard by a similar warrior of his strength, but that was years ago. Craters studded the landscape and avalanches shuddered off of the mountainsides quite a distance away from the Skill’s shock wave.

I wondered if I could survive a Land Breaker, but doubted it. That skill alone leveled cities, as a fine offensive ability to reap souls in great quantities. Something shimmered in the blizzard. I clicked my tongue. I was leading my men straight into the storm and I was not paying near enough attention. I halted the squads, but the storm intensified. We were right on the mark, although there was one slight issue: How were we supposed to breach the White Tower? That shimmering light was not a star or moon, I used the flying Demon Insect’s sight to scout what it was.

“What’s wrong, Boss?” Lee asked. “Do you want us to freeze out here to death?”

“No, I want you all to get ready for a fight,” I told him with a dark tone. It was enough for him to fall back into formation. The Insect detected what it was, and I immediately sprang into action with a simple mutter. “Flaming Spear.”

I raised my hand up, and immediately the fiery spear manifested from a window in my grip with a roar matching the whipping storm wind. The men cheered. I waited for the Insect’s signal, then threw the spear as he told me the exact trajectory of the shimmering light. The object in question exploded as my spear collided with it. It was some kind of Ice spell.

“Mages, get ready to intercept those projectiles!” I shouted. “Move, move, move!”

Some of them murmured on what I saw, before realizing a volley of those ice rocks were being launched on our position from the darkness. For a bunch of seasoned warriors from Sarwitz and Krisha they were too slow, so I swore and raised as many Flame Spears as I could. Were all of those rocks created by one person? Emma next to me suddenly unlatched from my side, or maybe I shoved her off, and looked like she was ready to fight.

Come on, cat lady, show me why you are a Crowned Entity! I thought about her. Several ghostly copies of her stepped from her, before she hissed out another Skill. All at once, multiple Power Breaker Skills launched at a barrage of the falling Ice. If all these rocks were made by one person, then I was not going to be out done!

“There’s too many!” Someone shouted.

I dug my heels in the snow and smirked. This alien feeling jolting and churning my insides was too different to ignore. Windows from my Status screen appeared behind me as I summoned more and more of the magic. I felt like I was going to explode.Still!

Seventeen Flame Spears launched from me, like a salvo of anti-ballistic missiles from my old world. Each volley of Ice spells had a delay which meant we could advance towards the Tower, whose silhouette pushed through the snowy veil. My furor and magic must have encouraged the men, so I would like to think, since with every delay we pushed even further.

“The faster we get to this Tower, the sooner we can finally get out of this cold!” I cheered for them. “Let’s get going!”

Soon we made it to the Tower’s walls, scratching our heads. The group suffered another few losses, but this journey has cut a massive amount of troops from my unit. I was down twenty men, thanks to whoever was inside of this damn Tower. I hoped the Generals would not dock my pay too much after they found out. If we make it out alive.

“No entrance,” I sighed. I was impressed by Emma’s usage of her two Skills, but it appeared we were able to hide from the Ice spells by taking shelter underneath the buttresses of this massive tower. I recalled several warriors would charge their Skills, or at least psych themselves up, in order to face tough obstacles in battle. I stared at the wall and wondered if I could do the same. I grunted, ignoring the Status windows alerting me that my Skills were ready. “Power Breaker.”

I launched an empowered fist directly at the wall. My men eventually figured out what I was planning at some point before I deployed the Skill, and moved quite a distance. We were too close to the defenses for them to hit us, but I was not sure if those massive Ice spells were because of mages within here or actual war mechanisms. After the dust settled, a gust of warm air pushed out at me.

“Well, that was one way to breach a tower,” I heard someone mutter. Beyond the hole in the wall was absolutely otherworldly. I breached what appeared to be familiar technology, but for whose world? The demon army moved to peer inside, gasping in awe. I gasped as well, although for different reasons.

There were rows of pipes tightly bundled, leading up to certain tanks and sprinkling liquid on what appeared to be farms of food below them. What genre of novel was I in, again? I scoffed. Hydroponic farms seemed straight out of my world, albeit these were missing many of the components that aided such a self-sustaining plant. I theorized that magic was compensating for the missing parts. This tower brought an idea to me that it was designed for extensive live-ins, not just to be a fortress that guards against invaders.

Emma pressed her face against one of the glass panels, looking at the pipe system doing its work. Self-automating, magical food farms. The humans of the Golden Lands seemed like they had a lot more up their sleeves than what I could ever imagine. Could the Soul and Pestilent Armies survive against technology brought from my world? Even worse, I did not know how I knew any of these technologies existed in my old life. My head spun, for the first time in years. I hated it. I remembered facing off a Crowned Holy Empire Knight a long time ago, who did not possess any futuristic weapons. Hopefully we were simply hallucinating at best, or these types of technologies were confined to this White Tower only.

“What are your orders, Captain?" Lee asked me. He looked apprehensive of all the strange machinery, as with the rest of the men. What does one do in close and tight quarters like this?

“Soldiers and I first, mages second, the… cat person, last,” I ordered. We had the manpower, even if this initial corridor would be chaotic to fight in if an ambush awaited us.

The insect demon immediately flew in ahead of me. I rolled my eyes, but I guess it counted as a soldier. In its multifaceted vision, I could sense there were no enemies anywhere within the farming section. A large room lay beyond it out of another opening, filled with even larger gears. I followed in, hearing the heavy steps march within. The undead seemed to meander through the halls, but the farms behind the glass did not seem to be affected by their blight. There were six left anyways, the rest burning away from my magic and getting crushed by the Ice spells.

As we filed in, no one was present. There was seemingly nothing stopping us from walking in. Where was everyone? I checked my System Skill’s alerts.

Crowned Entities in the area: 2

Two was not enough to stop me, but the alert did not warn me of how many soldiers and others awaited us in that hall. The insect came back from the opening like a dark shadow, startling me with its buzzing and chittering. Why the hell do demons have to be so creepy?

It locked compound eyes with mine, and I was immediately fed information. It had detected only one person attending the gears. The other entity, the Master of the House, I suspected was at the top of this place.

“Secure the area and don’t break anything, though it’s telling me there’s only two enemies in this entire place,” I told the men. “It’s pretty warm in here, so hopefully we can catch a damn break.”

The men began to sweep the area, but the insect demon was correct. There was no one here. I ended up following it within the corridors to the main opening. Gears danced all along the walls, attached to various machines that circulated all the way to chutes near the ceilings. Those must be the defenses, but I was not sure on how to stop them aside from blowing this place up. If I could control this place, we could have a big jump in resources for our armys’ troops. A massive stairway greeted my eyes as I walked fully into the place. It spiraled all the way to the top, and I groaned just looking at it.

“What’s wrong, Captain?” Lee walked up to me. He was looking up the stairs as well.

“You’re telling me even with all these fancy looking machines, they don’t have elevators?” I muttered. Lee evidently did not know what an elevator was.

“Some Dios mages, I hear, can fly, Captain,” he offered.

Emma skulked to my side, silent as ever. She seemed like a true servant, which was a surprise to me. She never interrupted, nor did she make herself the center of attention. Perhaps I could ditch her here. This place was perfect and far away from conflicts. A servant like her did not deserve to die the way soldiers like me did.

“Are you… doing that brooding thing of yours again, Captain?”

“The main enemy is at the top, which is strange, don’t you think?” I mused. “ It’s a weird spot for an ambush--“

A muffled noise came from behind one of the walls. I instinctively drew my sword and so did the ensign. Sniffling? A sudden sneeze came from behind a large, decorative vase. A vase? I wondered. Emma simply marched up to it, and pulled whoever was hiding behind it out. The form of an overweight person hung uselessly in her grasp.

“A human!” Lee got ready to attack, but the human cowered within Emma’s grasp. I held up my hand, and allowed the man to speak.

“Aw! Y-You found me!” The man looked dejected, as if he lost a game.

“What?” I barely got a word out before the man started clapping. Despite dangling within Emma’s grasp and our weaponry, the man seemed unfazed by any of the danger surrounding him.

“Mama said if a stranger showed up I was supposed to hide,” he pointed his fingers together and looked sad. “But you guys found me so quickly!”

“At ease— We’re friends of hers,” I spoke quietly. The man contemplated my words for a moment, but did not seem to understand what a friend was. I sensed an underlying current of energy coming from him, but still, his countenance was childlike and lost.

Was I talking to a fully grown man, or a kid? Play along, I guess. I signaled to Lee to leave us alone. The Fair demon wanted to watch me embarrass myself, so he hung around the entrance to the hydroponic farms.

“Where is your, ah, mama?” I asked him, putting on my best innocent voice. There was something not right with this man’s mental state, and perhaps I could steer him to what I want soon enough.

“Mama and father said they had to go to…” He looked like he was going to cry. “They said they’ll be back! Soon! They went t-to vacation for grown ups! No place for hide and seeks, they told me.”

“They told me they’ll be back soon,” I bent down to meet his eyes. Hope filled them, and a pang of guilt ricocheted inside my throat.

“Really?”

“Really, really,” I empathized with him, matching his tone. Keep it going, I told myself. Something told me Mama and Father were long gone. “Who takes care of you now?”

“Well, sometimes my Auntie comes and helps me with the Garden Controls!” He perked up. “She plays hide and seek with me, too!”

He suddenly covered his mouth, like a little kid who suddenly blurted a secret. It was odd seeing a man behaving like a kid, but that was the opening I needed. I smiled, although I was sure my smile muscles would have freaked the men out. It worked with the man, however, who immediately dropped his guard.

“How about we play, you and me and this nice lady?”

“Really?” His face lit up with a simple joy, but then he hesitated. “Mama said don’t play with strangers, though. But you don’t look like a stranger!”

“That’s right. Mama and I are friends,” I calmly coaxed the man-child into relaxing. I checked on the beast woman, who was unsure if I was going to kill him or not. That seemed like a natural instinct. I am an enemy, I suppose. It was only normal to have a lot of distrust in me. “Let’s play a game, huh.”

“What kind of game?”

“I’m going to count to ten, and you get to hide anywhere you want.”

“A-Anywhere?” The man exclaimed. Emma let go of him, and he began to pace from the sheer excitement from all of the possibilities and hiding spots he could think of.

“One,” I started. The man instantly bolted out of my vision, presumably to some spot I could not and would never find.

“You’re too kind, My lord,” Emma purred.

“Look after him,” I told her. “This place has plenty of food and shelter. Where we are headed to is full of nothing but death.”

The cat lady gave me a pitiful look, but someone started to chuckle behind me. Lee. I groaned. He emerged giggling from the corner and I gave him a glare. I was caught between two enemies! A cute one and one I found insufferable.

“I have never heard you use that voice talking to such lower lifeforms,” he busted out into even harder laughter. “Captain--“

“Whatever,” I crossed my arms and looked up at the staircase. “Whoever’s operating those controls is up at the top of this tower. Have you ever seen anything like these things?”

“N-No, Captain,” Lee inspected a gear. The machinery churned endlessly, revealing ice and gasses swirling behind its teeth. “There was actually a rumor that such devices could be operating in the deeper layers of the Hells, but I have never been there.”

“Then stay while I find whoever’s in charge,” I commanded him. “Seal the entrance, let no one pass you.”

“Who are you talking to--“ Lee followed me towards the stairs, but was interrupted by the insect demon’s furious buzzing. “Aw, I just wanted to hear your baby voice!”

Something told me I was not going to use it ever again. The winds grew louder and the temperature started to drop. A foreboding sensation began to wrap around my skin as I ascended into a kaleidoscope of churning steel gears and layers of enchanted crystalline ice. The men below were inspecting the insect demon, who stood guard silently. According to my Status skill, that creature and the Doctor shared a portion of my promoted Stats. They would not be able to win in a fight against it, but they were more than happy to rest within the warm rooms of the Tower than to try. They were smart this time around.

My boot crunched on the icy catwalk that led outside. Through the blizzard, I could see the outline of a massive and dark shape that dwarfed the mountains and the tower combined. It was not long before I realized whatever it was covered the entire sky. Could this massive structure be…? I was shocked by its familiarity. My hair raised suddenly. An attack was incoming!

From where? Above me! Heh, I chuckled. It was too late. The Power Skill launched itself directly at my side in a barrage of strikes, and all I could do was guard against its assault. The wind threatened to push me off into the snowy oblivion, but I dug my heels in and endured the attack.

“Nameless… Turn back now,” a voice quietly spoke above the strikes, but I could hear it as clear as day. I recognized that voice as I caught the blade crashing towards me in my armored fist. The attack was calculated to be harmless, thanks to the Legendary gauntlets I wore. The sound of metal clanging uselessly in my fist rattled through my arm, but I dragged it and the assassin holding it towards my grinning face.

“I’m not the same weakling you spared years ago,” I told her, before letting the blade go and drawing my own Black Blade. It has been by my side for all this time, as well. Shock welled within the woman’s eyes, but she vanished using a Spirit Skill.

“I am not warning you again,” her ghostly voice mixed inside the howling world we were in. I closed my eyes and listened for any disturbances within the dark currents.

The alerts swirled even beneath my eyelids, but I closed those as well.

“Only Death awaits you ahead,” the woman declared inside the mist. Sorry, lady, I assumed my stance. I am the Ruler of Death. It comes with the job. I had tracked her magic, allowing some of my own energy to gather at my feet in the form of deadly ice crystal traps. “And I’m afraid, I shall be the one to deliver freedom from this world to you… As one woman to…”

“Another!” I completed her sentence, catching her by the neck. The traps triggered and bloomed into cyan pillars of ice, impaling her leg and arms in an explosion of magic. The sparks from her magic settled into an aurora, and our blades sent shock waves that pierced the winds. The woman choked up blood within my grasp, while I struggled to keep my composure. I pulled her freezing face closer to mine and looked her in the eyes as the clang of her sword bounced off the tower's rooftop. “I know what awaits me. It is a soldier’s fate. I am…”

I decided not to complete that sentence and instead tossed the helpless woman off of the side of the tower. She was slowly becoming encased inside my ice pillars. I knew she would live, but I still did not run her through with my sword. Maybe Emma was right. I was too kind for my own good.

Before I could brood more and contemplate how far the ground was off this Tower’s roof, the winds picked up. The blasts stung my cheeks, and threatened to toss me off the side of the tower, but I held onto the railings. It felt like the storm was lifting, like intense pressurized gas escaping out of a loose seal. The spell must be weakening! I jammed my sword into the roof and held onto it as my body lifted off the ground.

After a flurry of blistering whips, I regained my vision and wiped the ice out of my face. Everything was quieter, except for the clanking of my boots on a metal walkway. I could see clearly now, and the twin suns were blindingly bright despite piercing through the thick, frozen branches above. Wait. Branches?

I looked up and realized that ahead of me was a massive tree, blocking the sky but held a heaven-like glow within its canopy. Its branches held starlight and frost within them, giving a dazzling glow to the golden, snow laden valleys beneath it. Incredible, I gasped at the beauty of the world before me. I wondered how its shadow did not encompass the entire planet but guessed it was magic, because it was always magic. Directly beneath the Tower, was the ridge way below and the city sprawled beyond along what I presumed was its roots. We were supposed to invade that place, huh. I noticed flames and tents dotting the golden plains further down the mountain. Our armies were at the furthest . Yet, the human city seemed so peaceful on this side. I turned my attention towards the Great Tree and sheathed my sword.

That was my Home, a frozen Tree the size of the world wrapped in frost. The place that Mother entity was calling me, even the sense of longing stirring within my breast was caused by her. That Tree was the place the General took me from, so many years ago.

I swore I will make it back and get answers.