Eldrin Silverthorn knew he had met his match when the human being had shoved him into a bunch of elves and soul-blood beasts and fled the scene. What a crafty little bastard? Wasn't he afraid of dying?
The little bitch was only level 100 something and still dared to play around with him! The audacity!
Hmph! As if he would let him leave without even putting a marker on him!
Eldrin was not in the least worried about the human slipping out of his hands. What he was worried about was surviving this ordeal.
After the human cunningly trapped him with dozens of soul blood beasts along with some elves, he couldn't run or hide. He had to painstakingly stand and fight alongside the damned elves and somehow finally made his escape.
"Wait till I get my hands on him again!"
Eldrin couldn't possibly kill his golden goose but he could definitely give him a black eye or two.
"Where is that bastard now?" He closed his eyes to sense where the tracker was. Hmmm. He frowned as he couldn't feel it very clearly but soon he found it.
"Got you!" Eldrin made his move. Just as he thought the human was still hanging around the outskirts of the ruins, probably out of fear for his life. "As he should be."
Losing that human had put a damper in his plans but now he was prepared to return to his former speed. He had already gained a lot and it was time to find some more treasures before he got the hell out of here and his world.
He had had enough of the elven bullshit. He was ready to leave this goddamn place, summer in the nymph land and relax a little. The gods know that he deserves it!
Eldrin moving swiftly through the ancient ruins suddenly noticed that something was off. There was an unusually high number of elves in the direction he was headed. Most of them did not even bother hiding their aura because of which he was able to sniff them out.
Why…? What is happening? The elf was puzzled.
The tracker he had placed on the human was a sophisticated piece of magic, nearly undetectable by those who didn't know of its existence.
Eldrin had secretly placed it on the human during one of their earlier encounters. So there shouldn't be any problem with it.
There was no chance for the human being to have discarded it, thereby leading him once again into some sort of a trap.
No. Eldrin shook his head subconsciously as he thought about it again. There was indeed no chance of something like that happening. Then what was going on?
When he reached closer, he could still sense the elves all around him. The human couldn't possibly be connected to this, could he?
Eldrin was nervous but he knew that he had to go and check out what was happening. The human was a walking treasure finder that he could not afford to miss.
Besides, in the near vicinity of the human being there were currently no elves so the risk was slightly on the lower side? Alright. It was just his wishful thinking but Eldrin did not want to give up on the human being no matter what.
The heavens had gifted the human being to him and it would be a pity to squander the opportunity. He needed to hit it big and get the fuck out of here. Forever.
Soon, he reached a clearing. At the center, there was an old, dilapidated shrine, which seemed to have some mystical inscriptions on it. There, he spotted the human, engrossed in studying something on the shrine.
He was under a [Stealth] skill of some sort but Eldrin had the tracker so he did not have any trouble locating him.
"Caught you, little rat." With a smirk, he muttered to himself. But what was this shrine? Could it be something important?
Did the human perhaps spot some soul-blood beasts here which had drawn him to it? If that was true, then the shrine really had to be something amazing!
"I need to go check it out."
However, as Eldrin was about to step into the clearing, an arrow zipped past him, barely missing his ear. He immediately leaped back, taking cover behind a large boulder.
From the trees emerged a group of elves, their royal sigils evident. Among them, the middle-aged elf in blue robes, who had previously come to investigate the scene of the battle, stared coldly at Eldrin.
"Eldrin Silverthorn, what do you think you're doing here?" The elf demanded, his voice dripping with disdain.
Eldrin grimaced. "I could ask you the same, Therion."
Therion sneered, "Don't play games, Eldrin. Why would someone like you even enter the ruins in the first place? Shouldn't you be lying on the floor of some tavern or brothel? What are you doing here?"
"Ah… Lord Therion, I am not sure what you are implying. The Emperor gave us all permission to enter. I, of course, had to respect the Emperor's wishes," Eldrin retorted, a hint of mocking in his tone.
Therion's eyes flashed with annoyance. "The Emperor's orders are for those with noble intentions, not for rogues like you. You're up to something, and I intend to find out."
Eldrin rolled his eyes. "Always with the dramatics, Therion. I'm here for the same reason as everyone else. Treasures, exploration… and perhaps a bit of fun."
"Hmph." The elf snorted in contempt. "Well whatever may be the reason you are here, right now you need to leave. This area has already been claimed by his highness."
Eldrin raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "By his highness? Do you mean the first Prince?"
Therion sneered, "Who else? He has taken a special interest in this shrine. If he knew you were anywhere near here, you'd be in chains faster than you could blink."
Eldrin weighed his options. The human had clearly found something of interest in this shrine, and the presence of the royal elven guards only confirmed its importance.
But he also knew that crossing paths with the prince was a dangerous game.
Still, the elf's curiosity was insatiable. "What's so special about this shrine? Why is the prince so interested in it?"
Therion shot Eldrin a suspicious glance. "That's not your concern. Now, be wise and leave while you still have the chance."
Eldrin grumbled to himself. He knew that he had no other choice except to leave but before leaving he would at least make these bitches choose between the human being or the shrine.
He couldn't possibly lose both of them. Come on! It was only fair that he got one!
Eldrin immediately unleashed his aura, making his presence completely known.
The sudden eruption of his aura shocked everyone in the vicinity. "Damn you, Eldrin!" Therion growled, unsheathing his elven sword, its blade shimmering with an eerie light.
However, the elf suddenly remembered something else and the group snapped to look at the human in front of them.
The human being was now looking directly at them. They had been found out!
Not that the elves were ever scared of a puny little creature. They were more curious than wary of this particular low-leveled human being.
On orders of the prince they had been patiently waiting here but now everything was spoiled and their presence had been revealed, thanks to the wastrel.
Giving Eldrin another glare, Therion ordered, his face red with rage. "After him! We cannot let him escape!" The group of elves rushed towards the human being, having no intention of sparing him.
However, to their shock, it seemed that the human being also had no intentions of leaving. Just as the group of elves arrived in front of the shrine, the human being mumbled something in a foreign tongue.
It did not matter because all of them possessed the [Realm's Tongue] skill that gave them the ability to understand and speak all the languages in the myriad realms.
And they heard him say… Army. Only one word.
"What is the human talking about? What army? Is the human being not alone?"
All the elves looked around in panic when suddenly, out of thin air, something emerged. No. not one but many!
One after the other, familiar creatures started materializing.
"SOUL-BLOOD BEASTS?" The elves' eyes widened.
All around the clearing, soul-blood beasts of varying shapes and sizes materialized, their eyes glowing with malevolent light.
Their fearsome appearance and sheer numbers caused the elves to take a step back, alarm evident on their faces. Every single one of these creatures was at least Level 800.
Therion, now pale, pointed his sword at the human, his voice shaky but firm. "You... You can control these beasts?"
The human smirked, his eyes cold and vicious. "Perhaps."
Eldrin watched the scene from his hiding spot, his eyes wide with astonishment. Wait, what? What the hell just happened? Since when can he do this?