The moment the torrent of mana engulfed him, Eldrin immediately knew what was happening but it was too late. When he opened his eyes he was already standing at a different spot and to make matters worse… standing right there next to him were the two women…
"What the…" He was utterly dumbfounded. "I knew it! I knew it! Damn it. I have the worst luck! That had to be a fucking mana storm and I had to get stuck with you two useless idiots!"
Still disoriented, Elira and Lunaria tried to make sense of the elf's words. "What mana storm? What are you talking about?"
Eldrin sighed in exasperation. "What did we just go through? That's called a fucking mana storm. It has teleported us here!"
Elira finally grasped the situation and her eyes narrowed at Eldrin's rudeness. "First of all, no need for the insults. Second, is this what the forest usually does? Teleport people around?"
Eldrin pinched the bridge of his nose, visibly frustrated. "No, not usually. Mana storms are rare phenomena, unpredictable, and powerful. They have the ability to twist the fabric of space within the forest, relocating anything—or anyone—caught in their path." "We've been relocated, but there's no telling where. We could be miles from where we started, or closer to the guardian, or further away." As he thought about this, he hurriedly opened his map, only to see that they had actually been teleported right to the very edge of the forbidden territory. In fact, one could even say that they had been kicked out of the forests!
"Ah shit! Shit! Shit! This is bad! All that work… Arghhhh!" Eldrin couldn't believe it. Not only were they kicked out of the forest, but he was also separated from Liam. Things couldn't get any worse.
However, just as he said it, he could faintly sense some movement in the distance. He looked around and the two women seemed oblivious to it.
Pathetic weaklings! Eldrin cursed inwardly.
Lunaria, now regaining her bearings, was also looking around calmly. "Well, there's no point in lamenting. We should try to figure out where we are and decide our next steps."
"Just shut up." Eldrin cried as right at that moment a deafening noise sounded in the distance and it was approaching them at an incredibly fast pace.
"Something probably sensed the disturbance and sniffed us out!" Elira said.
"Yes. You are a genius." Eldrin sarcastically retorted in anger. His heart pounded as he unsheathed his sword and prepared for whatever was about to show up.
He stared in the direction of the ruckus wondering what was about to come when the noise became louder and louder. Now that they could hear it more clearly, everyone could tell what it was. The flapping of wings!
"Birds? Most of them should be weak!" Eldrin saw a little hope in the darkness but the next second he saw the outline of the first bird and his heart stopped.
The shape that emerged from the skies was no ordinary bird. It was enormous, with wings that blotted out the sky as it swooped down.
"A Thunder Roc," Eldrin muttered, barely loud enough for Elira and Lunaria to hear. "It's a magical beast. They are attracted to high concentrations of mana, like the residual energy from the mana storm."
"And there are so many of them… we are utterly and completely screwed."
Eldrin gave a fleeting glance to the two women. Level 300 something and level 100 something. Completely useless.
Seeing as how they were currently being encircled by the thunder rocs from all directions, he would have preferred to use these two as bait and meat shield to save his skin and get the fuck out of here but…
Fuck! There was no way he could do that!
Otherwise, that monster would probably hunt him to the end of the world!
"Get behind me." He muttered in disgruntment as he single-handedly prepared for the onslaught of an entire army of thunder rocs.
The two women did not look confident at all. Elira took out her sword and Lunaria prepared to cast many spells. This only made Eldrin roll his eyes.
"These are level 500 thunder rocs. The two of you don't stand a chance. You will only end up irritating me if you stand in my way. Just get behind me and sit tight."
When the two still did not look convinced, Eldrin sneered. Did they think that he was a weakling? Just because he did not want to get his hands dirty did not mean that he was not capable of dealing with these few birds.
In the next instant, four elemental swirls materialized around him. As he moved forward to slash down at the first couple of thunder rocs that had reached them, the four swirls started shooting out big blazing balls at the birds.
Watch me and learn, bitches! Eldrin did not like to fight but he also did not mind putting these two in their places so that the rest of their journey would be smooth.
But then he suddenly realized something and the smugness on his face disappeared. This was because… while he was harassed by these ugly birds here, he was pretty sure that his counterpart was having the time of his life right about now.
'I even gave him the route!' Eldrin cursed inwardly. 'That lucky bastard must be strolling through the forests right about now without any worry or danger. I know it. I just know it. There is no one with better luck than him!'
Thinking about this, Eldrin furiously started attacking the birds and taking out his anger on them.
He moved with lethal grace, his sword a shining arc that sliced through the air, severing talons and wings. With each slash, a Thunder Roc fell, screeching its last. His elemental swirls worked in tandem, providing both offense and defense, a harmonious dance of destruction that kept the onslaught at bay.
Meanwhile… at the depth of the forbidden forests… the so-called lucky bastard was...