Stray Elf: Lost in the System

XVI.

Despite the freezing temperatures, the view of the world below was magnificent. I could not remember the last time I took in the sights of a place untainted by Demons and wars. It seemed peaceful, and too quiet, then suddenly the idea of the massive city sitting below a moon sized Tree lazily while the rest of humanity was facing certain doom sickened me.

Perhaps, change is good and I was just a small Captain churning that wheel. Or maybe I was grasping hypocritically at straws. Not every man, woman or child could balk in the face of ancient hierarchies that control magic from Goddesses and moons alike. That woman must have been onto something when she mentioned I was not free. Yet, who was my master? The Ack’Sa? Or the Mother living inside the Tree?

Speaking of being a captain, however, I instructed the rest of the men up here. Since I had to suffer climbing all the way up the spiraling staircase, I decided they should too. I expected to hear groans from them with the insect demon leading them up here, but they enthusiastically climbed up to me. Damn it all, I sighed. I could not even be evil right. I noticed that despite this building containing futuristic technologies, it served as a bridge leading out of the blizzard. I hypothesized it utilized that woman’s magic and the man child by extension as both were Crowned Entities.

“My lord,” a familiar warmth gathered in front of me. Lee looked at me apologetically. I assumed she was quite evasive and simply walked up with them despite their attempts at blocking her way.

“Emma, I—” I attempted to curtail whatever feelings this beast woman had for me. She looked at me with big eyes. “We are headed for certain death and glory. Something that normal people should not wait on.”

“I want to go with you!” Emma begged. “Please, my Lord, I have nowhere to go.”

“Here,” I pointed back inside. I knew that other woman survived the fall, and I was running out of time. The men were starting to chuckle at my hesitance. “If I promise to return, can you wait here for me?”

Aha, that was brilliant of me. Emma’s ears subdued into a relaxed, yet defeated state. Please, lady, don’t make it more awkward than it needs to be, I stifled a groan. My lie seemed to work, but I knew deep down inside whatever heart I had did not have any room for anyone besides myself. What did I have that anyone could desire? I had a sinking feeling about what lay beyond, but I couldn’t bring myself to breach the thought about it.

“I will hold that to you, My Lord,” she sobbed, pulled me into a deep embrace and then trotted off into the tower. We wrapped that up, nice and easy. The winds were dying down, so I addressed the men.

“With that out of the way, we’re going down from here,” I cleared my throat over the snickering. “The Soul Army awaits our reports, and the path leads here.”

I pointed down the metal railings leading towards another ridge. I closed my eyes and readied the wind elemental spell. A surge of energy burst forth from me and the green energetic summon manifested through a Status window before me. Go, I commanded it. Find a route to the nearest Soul Army outpost.

The green elemental floated off and we began to descend from the tower towards the ridge. Those creatures made for decent GPS units, I supposed. It was quite peaceful, save for an odd conversation I listened in on by accident.

“So you know that orc, right?” Lee was speaking to Ongran. “He and the Captain go way back.”

“Really?” Ongran was asking the Doctor, who marched silently besides them. As usual, the Doctor did not entertain their conversation. “How do you know this, Lee? Thought you and the orcs don’t get along.”

“We don’t,” Lee scoffed. “I’m glad he’s gone. It’s just that… When the Fair lineage started their Thousand Year War with the orc tribes in the Hells, we tended to find out about their cultures. For example, if you defeat one in combat as a woman, that orc will fall in love with her. Our Fair Princess found that out the hard way when the Sky Tribe’s Chieftain pursued her for a hundred years.”

I gulped. Did I really do that to Yokgu? Maybe I should have killed him to put him fully out of his misery. I assumed he was now going off on a mission to become stronger so he could prove himself worthy of my love or something equally abhorrent. I am a soldier, and like the rest of them love was simply not an option on the battlefield where our days were limited. That cat woman would never understand that either. I sighed, but someone pointed below.

A large plateau covered in snow sat below the slope ahead of us, and beyond that the sprawling city was much easier to see beyond the fog and clouds. Those beautiful, red low rise buildings with golden trims were built with perfect symmetry. Those curved, triangular roofs for drainage, the symbolic bilateral kiosk like temples, and wide open squares guiding the streets seemed reminiscent of architecture from my old world. Truly beautiful, I marveled.

Buzzing and chittering drove itself into my mind. We appeared to be headed directly towards a mountain pass’s fort that guarded the frozen plateau. The gates themselves looked worn down, as if they have not been in use for some time. I checked my Status Skill, only to realize it was alerting me.

Alert: Heavily armed Elites are in the vicinity.

Elites? I wondered since they were noticeable in my Status that the Elite individuals inside this country were much more powerful than any of the ones I battled in the northern parts of this continent. I signaled the men to stop a ways back and approached with the Doctor as a precaution. I had them all draw their weapons and got into fighting formations as we were trained, while the insect demon was hidden in the sky. It could not reach the branches that stretched beyond the atmosphere. This Tree reminded me of the World Tree from Norse mythology. What was it again? Yggdrasil? Whatever, the preparations were good, I confirmed that the men listened to me and slowly moved closer ahead to the gates. My emerald elemental scattered into particles, before dissipating within the misty window that reappeared beneath it.

There goes all that magical energy, I groaned. I noticed the alert gave me a short time limit before I could use my magic again. It regenerated quickly, but hopefully I could use it soon.

“Shit, Demons!” Someone called out to their friends while a faint melody played from behind the walls. War music? What moon did war music belong to? “They made it through the Tower?”

These Elites were not soldiers, I discovered. They were adventurers!

I have not seen those kinds of people since we eradicated Sarwitz’s adventurer guild several years ago. They were a thorn until the end; I hated those guys. There were a lot more hostiles inside then just the three Elites. I stood there and waited for someone to poke their head out. The Doctor sighed, but summoned a wall of protective Folly magic. I wondered if I could use my own energy to create such a Status window barrier. It did not seem like anyone was going to stick their necks out. I groaned, since that would mean I would have to yell.

“Attention, humans,” I shouted, half-heartedly. “We don’t wish to fight. Allow us through and we will spare you.”

There was a moment of stillness, with nothing making noise besides the humming of the energy shield conjured by the Doctor. Are we sure that this flimsy thing will project against a Skill? What if they targeted the ground beneath our feet? I looked at the translucent bubble, but heard something move behind the shoddy walls. This mountain pass’s fort seemed long abandoned, but people made a temporary stay out of it. I noted that despite of the quick renovations done to the place the survivors have also recently gathered here. The footprints in the snow were too recent for this fort to be well lived in and there was no melted snow from activity anywhere.

“As if I’d trust your kind, Demon,” a man’s voice shouted over the walls, shaking me out of my boredom. More shuffling fanned behind the fortifications. I checked the aerial view from the insect demon. Several adventurers were lined up against the walls, weapons prepared for an ambush. This personal UAV was quite helpful. “Your words ain’t worth a spittle! Huh!”

I heard him spit as the music grew louder.

“Last call,” I yelled. “I see all of you lined up behind there. Let us through or be eradicated!”

“Fat chance,” he retorted. Was it his theme song growing his stupidity? I felt my eyes roll on their own. A bushy bearded man leapt over the wall, with a Power Body Skill ready. I leapt back, and as the snow collapsed I saw two more of them emerging from the fog. “How did worthless demons such as you get past Nanalos? Wait...”

Nanalos? That must be the woman who I spared and who spared me. What a horrible way of learning someone’s name. I stood there, debating if I should attack him or not. The insect demon will take care of those inside the fort. In my experience, the humans of this world could not be reasoned with. The war has probably made us all cynics.

“Those piercing red eyes, crimson as a Reaver Moonfall,” he gazed at my face. Was I being hit on? “You’re the Nameless who destroyed the Adventurer Guilds!”

He raised a glowing axe. The other two behind him were identified as his fellow Elites by my Status Skill. I shifted uncomfortably, but pretended to be in a deep thought. The man’s armor had the insignia of that Guild. These adventurers must have taken refuge in this pathetic place.

“I defeated a woman named that some time ago,” I remarked, but turned my voice cold again. I noticed the insect demon hovering above his friends in preparation for a swift ambush. “My offer still stands. I don’t want to fight—“

The bearded man laughed bitterly.

“Too scared to show your true face, eh?” He pointed the axe directly at me. I groaned and signaled the insect demon to attack, targeting the annoying bard casting his magic. The man charged up a few skills, but it did not matter to me. “It shall be an honor to slay you. Together, we shall defeat you and your horde. We are S-Rank adventurers!”

“You’d defeat me with the power of friendship?” I asked him, looking at the Elites behind him, who were now decapitated by a swift slash of the insect. Even if it shared a portion of my stats, it was more than enough to slay men. “You and who again?”

The bearded man turned to face the horrifying sight of his dead friends. He never noticed the music ended prematurely when he charged his Skill.

“You bitch!” He screamed. Anguish and pain marred his voice.

“I told you, I didn’t want to fight,” I used my DEX skill to close the distance faster than he could react. “You are just an Elite. Your Guild and countrymen will suffer the consequences of your foolishness.”

Confusion flashed across his face from what I called him, but he was helpless in my grasp. I landed a Power Breaker Skill in his gut, launching him through the wooden walls in a thunderous crash. An alert was displayed in the corner of my vision. An ambush? I rushed quickly inside the mountain pass’s main yard to where the man lay. The rest of my men charged, eager to kill anything my insect demon left alive. To my surprise, I did a lot more damage to the bearded adventurer than I thought. His lower half was missing completely, replaced by a trail of gore streaking across the snow. He coughed in disgust and pain as I approached him.

“Now what?” I asked him. “You humans could have lived and we could have marched through without issues.”

“Ha, you could have lived too!” The man spat blood at my boot. He was rapidly turning purple. “The sames to you, you traitorous bitch!”

Before I could respond, a loud roar echoed from above the plateau and the panicked screams of my men were heard from what they saw in the grey sky. My alert pierced my vision finally on its own as all my hairs raised along my skin. An attack from above?

Alert: Skull Entity detected. Slay it to acquire level up.

That was easier said than done, I groaned. It has been years since I have even seen that level up alert, and now it shows up so close to the end? I faced the bearded man, but he was long gone already. I clicked my tongue. Now I know why bad guys should never monologue for too long. The roar came again, followed by a ripple of magical energy charging in the sky.

“It’s a dragon!”

Of course, it was a dragon. They are a staple of fantasy worlds and novels! Curse my nonexistent luck. I saw mountain sized golden scales dip briefly below the cloudy branches of the Tree and a glowing maw taking aim at our position. What in the Hells could defeat that? The Doctor stepped in the way, shielding me with the magic shield. A bright ray of solar energy blasted down from the beast, slicing a line into the plateau and shaking my ear drums. I got sent flying with the surging energy, separated from the Doctor. Men were carved to pieces in the explosion, with others scattering and drawing their bows.

I careened towards the ground, grunting as I thudded against the burning earth. There were more rows of scales flashing even further away over the city. It seemed to be quite the length, I observed it and spat out mouthfuls of golden dirt. A bow could be useful, I thought. Such a big target could take a lot of Power Breaker Skills. I crashed against the fort’s walls, where the insect demon beheaded all those hiding behind it. The bodies were still splattered against the walls, so I crawled along searching for a ranged weapon of any kind.

Come on, I flipped body after body over. That thing roared again in the skies, and all I could hope was to find something to shut it up or my men were doomed. I heard some of them shouting Skills as they lobbed arrows at it, but I kept searching for a weapon of my own.

Alert: Hostile Skill “Death Ray” imminent.

That is not helping! I pushed a headless female’s body over and found a quiver of arrows. Got it! Snow and guts covered the bloody bow that she used to have, but it was mine now. The dragon let loose its Death Ray, and I scrambled away as the blinding light of its golden attack split the earth. Turning, I watched the auric flames reduce the mountain to halves. My undead and many soldiers were swept away in the molten lava river created by it. I could barely make out the sight of my Doctor yelling something and preparing more Folly magic, but that was exactly how that magic was. It was hopeless to believe it would help. Something seared on my head. My hearing! I realized that the burning sensation on the sides of my head was the loss of my ears.

I stumbled out of the blast zone, bow in my melting hand. Pain meant nothing! It was quite apparent that I did not escape the attack fully. I thankfully could still track the glowing dragon in the sky, sight and hearing be damned. I never used a bow before, but I would die shooting it. Nocking an arrow, I traced the beast’s head. Its movements were like a swirling maelstrom in the sky, the darkness slithering above the clouds interspersed with laser bright golden scales peaking out in a loop beneath in an unending blanket.

Despite my Stats being S tier, it took a large amount of effort to hold the bow up and aim. This was the worst kind of on-the-job training, I grit my teeth. They still clacked together violently, and the flesh on my whole right side began to melt from the intense heat. The dragon above roared again, not caring about whatever it hit on the mountainside.

“Who asked you to be here!” I roared, and let out all the Skills I could think of. “Land Breaker, Power Arrow!”

The arrow in my hand matched the light of the dragon’s attack, and I let it fly. The projectile soared through the air and left a trail of light. Normally, the Skills made the weapons they affected glow white, but perhaps it was my bloodied vision that caused me to see the light was red. The arrow, however, struck the dragon and released a massive ring of explosions. The twin suns and blue skies shined through the branches temporarily, but were instantly covered in golden scales once again. The clouds rumbled, loosening up as a roaring maw directed itself at me, and the alert of what I assumed was notifying me of an incoming Skill sounded in my vision. It was not enough, of course. I coughed out charred bile, and nearly fell to my knees.

I felt my world jerk to the side as something heavy swept me away from the blast. The heat from the blazing Death Ray was pressing against me like a thousand cuts, but I was still alive! Despite my eyes going blind, I saw the charred remains of the Doctor at my feet. The fort must have been long gone in that blast, since all I could see and feel pressing against my skull was the bright, golden flames.

If there was nothing else, I still could move my arms to draw the bow. I groped for it, but chuckled when my hands grabbed only dirt. It was lost in the flames. The alert persisted. Even as I was slowly melting into a Nameless puddle, that Unique Skill attempted to guide me. What is it? I thought at the Status. Can’t you leave a girl alone so she can die in peace?

Alert: The Ruler of Death can reap the Souls of the fallen and empower her Skills.

I know that! I groaned. Why not, just for old time’s sake? I was certain I was going to die since the dragon was moving to annihilate the rest of this mountain, but I refused to go down without a fight! My body began to move on its own, despite the excruciating pain surging through my charred limbs. Sickening energy began to pulse from the fires, straightening my arm as something else pierced through my palm. The Death Spear!

Standing on broken legs with a mass of black tentacles wriggling themselves out of my palm was certainly not an ideal way to go. I could see through the flames the dragon was preparing to attack the mountainside again. My body was breaking apart, yet moving on its own. This is a possession once again! I felt myself take aim as the Spear manifested as a massive arrow and I pointed it directly at the enemy’s massive head. This is for everything, I screamed. Because if I fail at slaying you all will be lost! My senses dulled, but my lips formed the name of a Skill I have never heard before:

“Planet Breaker.”

The runes on my arms flared to life in an ominous crimson as the Death Spear launched straight and true into the monster’s skull. After it struck, I heard nothing. My ears and eyes were melted, with the rest my body soon to follow but at least I knew that hurt it! A harsh crackling noise suddenly boomed all throughout the sky, like being directly under mortar fire. The sky lit up tenfold, then turned too bright even through my blindness. I did not hear the beast’s final moment, only the small voice of my Status Skill alerting me in perfect timing.

Level Up Achieved. Promote six stats and gain new stat perimeters.

That could wait. I closed the window and felt the familiar brilliant surge of energy envelop my body, reforming it and healing me to full. I was whole again, but that dragon’s flames were going to cook me alive if I did not escape. I tore off my armor and took off from the spreading flames. The dragon above exploded in a huge nova, most likely due to its Skill internally misfiring and my Death Spear preventing its release. The Skill attack, Planet Breaker took care of the rest. Its flaming pieces were now raining down upon the city.

Well, suck it, you stupid overpowered Skull enemy! I scoffed as soon as I made a getaway at the edge of what was left of the plateau. The number of souls defeated alerted me. Whoever the dragon meteor shower was crushing counted towards my kills and all I could do is gasp.

Number of souls defeated: 660

The number was rapidly increasing. Another alert prompted me to promote my Stats. I have not checked my Status window in years, I groaned. Since I was the sole survivor of the attack, I figured I might as well promote all the Stats I could.

CON: C now upgraded to S

Constellation requires more Souls for Rank SS

STR: S

Constellation requires more Souls for Rank SS

DEX: S

Constellation requires more Souls for Rank SS

INT: C (+1 Bonus Grade) now upgraded to S

Empowered by UNKNOWN ENTITY “Ack’Sa.”

STA: C

Luck: N/A

I wondered if I had Rank SS in Intelligence, therefore bypassing the Souls requirement. However, upon inquiring about the Status, it simply stated it was locked at Rank S. I groaned, and wished I had an undo button so I could promote my Stamina. For now, all of my Stats were ranked S besides Luck and STA. I breathed in and braced myself for anything strange about to occur after promoting them, but instead the level up requirement showed.

Level 6. Slay another Skull Entity to achieve experience threshold.

Alert: Come home, Stray Elf.

Of course, there was the weird stuff. My alerts wanted me to come home. Just you wait, Mother, I thought. Whoever you are, I am coming for you. No other glitches cracked my Status this time. I still remembered the awful feeling leveling up to level 5 brought upon me.

This current level, however, still seemed laughably low to me. I would not introduce myself as a Level 6 Elf, but I was more powerful than I have ever felt. The windows of magic were much grander, opening into celestial abysses that threatened to pull me in if I stared too hard in them. I could also move and expand them much further than I used to. There were more pressing matters that needed to be fixed, I shook my head and closed the windows briefly to see the situation. Things were getting hotter from the dragon’s lingering flames. The growing number of souls being defeated by me did not matter if I could not do anything about these flames.

It was time to test my new S ranked Intelligence. Blowing the flames to the town seemed appealing enough, but for now, I just launched the first spell I thought of. My vision opened a massive window in the sky and I released my supposed Will into the world: Let the world drown in mud. The surge of magic energy resonated deep within me, and the runes on my skin began to glow in an azure light. Far above the towering flames the window burst apart. My wish came true. Mud began to conjure beneath the seven moons and dumped onto all of the flames. I was worried that the magic would simply make the flames worse, but I also underestimated the sheer volume of earth I conjured. It was beginning to flood down to where I stood!

I made my escape by launching myself into the air with a burst of wind above the calamity I made. Everything was much easier as a level 6, I guessed. I could use my DEX and time where to land amongst the sliding rivers of mud. With the hour, most of the landslide solidified, covering the majority of the fires close by. I rested for a few moments, counting the numbers of souls being reaped rising in my Status, before deciding to search for survivors. I still felt like my body was gushing with energy. It felt wondrous. So this was S ranked Intelligence. I summoned multiple wind elementals and launched them to find survivors.

“Go, find people,” I told them.

They instead began to put the remaining fires out by themselves and left me alone. I sighed and was left to check the ruins of this plateau. I was much further downhill, but I could easily make out the ruins of the fort above me. The magma was leaking in carved out blast zones from the massive dragon along with its corpse down into the city. Sucks to be them, I guessed. An elemental approached me as I caught up with them, along with two familiar demons. The Doctor looked at my nakedness with a slightly perturbed look, while the insect demon simply buzzed and hovered off the ground. I realized that they must have fully healed when I leveled up.

“Any news?” I asked the elemental. It was much larger than the small wisps previously. The creature simply pointed a clawed finger at a stone jail cellar that miraculously survived the whole ordeal. “Survivors are in there?”

I asked no one in particular. I left the Doctor and the insect behind, and marched up to the locked doors. Whoever was inside, I had orders for them. I could hear voices behind it. Metal doors were not enough to stop me from ripping them off. The view of several demons hiding in the cells greeted me, who froze at the sight of me. They panicked, as I glared at them.

“C-Captain?” A soot covered Lee asked me. He jumped when I glared at them all. “What happened to your armor?”

Scanning the corpses of more dead adventurers, I stalked over there and pushed several startled soldiers out of my way. The elementals followed me in, procuring more armor for me as I rummaged through them. The soldiers watched me in complete silence or in terror, but I noticed Ongran and Moglan survived among the others. With my situation sorted, I marched towards the entrance and finally gave out my command.

“We’re moving out,” I told them, ignoring any questions. “Immediately.”