[A/N: Thank you for completing the 2nd mission on the Mission Board. Here is the promised Bonus Chapter!]
A second flare of dazzling light flooded the proximity when the protection barrier of his territory entered his sight.
He channeled enough untamed energy in the vial to release the most dazzling light before he threw it high in the air.
Michael heard the groans of a few Elves, which was all the more reason to use the last bits of strength within his body to run even faster.
The Elves couldn't be far from him if he was already able to hear their groans. Fortunately, the flare of dazzling light gave him some leeway.
It allowed him to inch closer to the protection barrier without getting caught.
However, Michael could only feel safe when he dived through the protection barrier.
The moment he landed inside the protection barrier, several thuds and smacks rang out behind and above him. Three of the five Elves pursuing him hadn't perceived the protection barrier. They charged into it at full speed and bumped into it.
"Urgh…I feel like I ran a marathon after feasting at an all-you-can-eat buffet…" Michael mumbled quietly.
He retched and gagged a few times, but he never vomited. It was just the untamed energy inside him that ravaged his body, causing mayhem.
Since Michael forcefully controlled the untamed energy to channel it inside his Artifacts, and the vials to create a dazzling flare of light, his entire body was slowly being wreaked.
The rapid refinement of his War Rune and his strong willpower were the only reasons why he had not yet fainted.
However, now that he had returned to his territory, the adrenaline coursing through him had finally ebbed. The tension all over his body had been dispelled the moment he knew that he was safe, and he felt like sleeping for an entire week.
Unfortunately, the Elves had yet to leave. They stared at him while three of them rubbed their noses.
'What am I supposed to do now?' Michael wondered. He tilted his head while looking at the Elves.
They didn't attack him when they could have, and it didn't look like they were angry either. On the contrary, they were simply staring at him with curiosity and confusion.
Michael was thankful for not being stuck with an arrow in his back, but he wouldn't let the Elves fool him. It might be great to befriend the group of Elves, but it was always tricky to get closer to Lords and Adventurers of other races. Nobody could tell if both sides were sincere, or if one side was slowly leeching off the other until it was sucked dry.
Even befriending other Lords of the same race was quite difficult since greed and selfishness often led to betrayal.
But then again, Elves were known to be loyal once you earned their trust – even if that was said to be quite hard.
"Do you want to take revenge on me for killing the Gogi Lord?" Michael asked in the origin language.
One of the biggest reasons for him to attend one of the most prestigious high schools in the Golden Sun province was to join the Origin Language class. His brother was unable to join a prestigious school in the past. Thus, he had to spend most of his savings to attend a night class to learn the Origin language.
Not only was that extremely expensive, but the quality of the lesson was on a different level. Michael could speak the Origin language as fluently as the human language while his brother had attained the same skill level after spending several years inside the Origin Expanse, learning it the hard way.
The Elves looked at each other when they heard Michael and had a quick discussion in the Elven tongue before one of them stepped forward.
"We don't really care who eliminated the Gogi Lord if we get the Lord's corpse. Hand it over, and we'll leave silently," One of the Elves said. She was standing right in front of the protection barrier, unprotected and easy to target.
Michael could materialize Tigerfang and thrust out to kill the elven woman, however, that would only cause more problems. He didn't want to invite more trouble and he wouldn't be able to endure the energy influx from killing the elven woman, either way.
Michael had enough trouble with the energy influx of the lizard, the Gogi Lord, and dozens of Gogis. It was not necessary to worsen his condition any further.
"You want his corpse? Why? Did someone order you to kill the Gogi Lord?" He asked in return.
Now that he was inside his territory, Michael felt much more secure. He was not even nervous anymore.
'They're either Adventurers or Mercenaries.'
The elven woman looked at Michael intently. She pressed her palm against the protection barrier with some force and nodded her head.
"To think that another Lord appeared in the Untamable Jungle. But it's even more surprising to think that a Lord, whose grace period has yet to conclude, was able to take down the Gogi Lord," She mumbled quietly to herself before her focus returned to Michael.
"How did you do it? You're merely a Tierless Lord so you couldn't have done it alone. Most Gogi corpses on the battlefield were mauled and disfigured by something big."
The elven woman seemed intrigued, but Michael didn't answer even after the graceful elven woman stared at him with gleaming eyes.
'Is that how they interrogate people? By bewitching them with their beauty? Well…it doesn't seem like a bad plan to make use of their beauty that way…' Michael thought while keeping his mouth shut.
"We received the extermination mission from the Guild in Xiltra," The female Elf answered at last.
She didn't know the human Lord, but it was not difficult to tell that he was a tough nut to crack.
"Xiltra? Is that a city in the Untamed Jungle?" Michael asked curiously.
He didn't have much information about the region around him. Michael just found out that the rainforest region was called the 'Untamed Jungle'. Meanwhile, Xiltra sounded like the name of a city, which was why Michael made a guess.
This time it was the female Elf who remained quiet. Her lip curled up while Michael's face darkened.
'You're not going to tell me anything if I don't tell you anything?' Michael asked inwardly before letting out a sigh.
"Xiltra is one of the border cities of the Zentika Empire. It's the first line of defense against the monsters of the Untamed Jungle that often wreak havoc and lay waste in the empire. We're a E-Rank Adventurer team and accepted the mission to kill the Gogi Lord after the Gogi Lord kidnapped the Bilrox horde of a wealthy merchant. The merchant offered us a small fortune, so…" The female Elf trailed off, but it was enough for Michael to get the gist of it.
No matter how she looked at the situation, the human Lord was at an advantage. He could use the protection barrier to hunt them down or leave the Origin Expanse with the corpse of the Gogi Lord inside his War Rune's storage space if hunting down didn't work.
They were in dire need of money, and the human Lord was the only obstacle factor separating them from their fortune. If a few answers were enough to get on his good side, why wouldn't she reveal some commonly known facts?
'Zentika Empire? Xiltra is a border city…and the first line of defense against the Untamed Jungle…' Michael thought, slowly trying to comprehend the bits of information he received. '...and my territory is in the Untamed Jungle that even an Empire doesn't seem to be able to conquer…great…'
Once again, Michael realized that he had no idea where he was and how dangerous the Untamed Jungle truly was. He sighed deeply and looked at the Elven Adventurer team.
"Let's make a deal."