Gacha Kingdom Building

-This chapter is written using Ellie's POV-

Unlike the elves around me who enjoyed what nature gave them, and saw themselves as simply flowing with the world's motions, I grew up curious about my surroundings.

I wanted to see and taste new things, and I often ventured to the border of the woods to collect items that people left behind or that the other elves threw out of the forest.

Hoarding these items was fun for me as I tried to understand and think about what stories could be behind them... But suffice to say, this never satisfied my curiosity... if anything, it only ended up growing stronger.

I wanted to see more.

But our way of life didn't allow for something like that... we were stagnant. We would hunt the same animals, and plant the same crops. The quantity would hardly vary too.

For two babies to be born in the same decade would be a miracle, so I already knew everyone's faces and personalities, as well as their ever-repeating routines.

I would never be able to be satisfied while in there. I knew that my heart was calling for something different.

It wasn't anyone's fault. I wouldn't like to change their way of life to fit mine either... it's just... home felt... somewhere else.

So... even though I knew I'd probably never be able to come back after I left... even while knowing full well that it would be dangerous...

I went out.

And I saw the world.

For two decades I traveled far and wide. I visited a bunch of countries, learned about their history and their culture, and met so many different people that I cannot even remember everyone's faces and names.

Along the way, I would often meet people looking to hurt or exploit me, but I'd also find kind people who helped even when there was nothing I could offer in return.

In my voyages, I also got to taste a bunch of different cuisines, which, truth be told, was probably the best part of it all.

As I had already visited most of the countries in the continent, in my last years, I was starting to settle down with a party of adventurers.

We didn't travel as much as I'd like, but since we had some notoriety, sometimes we would receive special requests.

One such was the last fight I participated in before my death.

Thanks to everyone's help, we managed to slay a dragon.

That, of course, called for a celebration. By selling its scales, heart, and horns, every single one of us had become rich enough to buy a small county or two.

With that amount of money and what I had saved up, I could buy the counties where the forest I grew up in resided.

That place had been attacked a few years after I left due to some incidents regarding claims of the land.

Since my people didn't really consider themselves owners of the forest, some greedy men started questioning if the territory wasn't simply up for grabs.

Due to that, the forest ended up way smaller than before, and the population probably decreased as well... but maybe I could have them under my protection.

I could even bring them my favorite things from the outside.

Who knows? Maybe they could change their minds a little bit if they came to know and like them...

Maybe they would understand me a bit better.

Maybe they'd let me in again...

I had traveled way more than most people. I got to know so much about the world. But... I never found my home.

The forest and the party I was in... they were the closest to it... and the consequence of leaving the forest... started becoming too heavy for me.

There were so many people that I loved that still lived there... I wanted to see my family and friends again...

In my ideal world, I'd have both a home to return to and the opportunity to explore new things every day.

Perhaps I was asking for too much...

But I could certainly hope and dream... a dream where I could continue experiencing the world, meeting new people... and when I became tired or had enough... I could go back home, to the people who I loved.

It was while dreaming about this that my life came to an end.

The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a room, facing an unknown man. Surrounded by a bunch of naked women.

One look at myself and my status made me realize that something was wrong.

And after his explanation, I understood that I had died in my sleep.

It's hard to say what exactly happened but... it's more of a matter of me trying to deny reality.

Miwen and the others don't say it out loud, but I know what they think.

After all, I also think the same.

I wasn't ill or injured. We hadn't picked a fight, and I would certainly notice an assailant during the night.

Thus, the possibility left was that... during our celebration... someone poisoned me.

And there was a good chance that it was someone in our party. Perhaps they needed just a little bit more money...

Or perhaps they wanted all of it for themselves. After all, there's no guarantee I was the only victim.

Well... it's no use crying over that...

Even more so considering that I got something better in return.

It was not the way I envisioned it but... by being optimistic and perservering a little bit more...

I had finally found the place that felt like my own home. More than any before.

The feelings I have right now... especially towards Miwen... I don't yet understand them... I don't know where they come from, or why I feel so at peace when I'm with him.

But it says a lot that I'm not interested in discovering either. For the first time... I just want to enjoy what I have.

I want to be closer, closer, and closer to him. When we are together my anxiety and my regrets disappear alongside the doubts in my heart.

The special man who is so gentle and kind, and yet downplays himself at every opportunity...

With his family of odd girls...

He founded a place that I can call home.

And now that he needs me.

There was no way for me to deny his call.

No matter the opponent, I was prepared to give it my all so that I could return to them victorious. So that we could celebrate in our home.

AOTG Member: "Can't hide forever, cutie."

Ellie: "..maybe but I'll still try."

Finishing this without being seen became a matter of pride to me.

The way this guy looked at my legs... I was sure that if he caught me, fighting wouldn't be his top priority.

Even before our fight started, I could tell that he was checking every girl in our group, and he took a liking to Mia and me, probably due to our races being a novelty in this world.

But he quickly gave up on her and chose me instead.

I swear when this is finished I'll start doing some push-ups with Mia and Anna. If I had half their muscles I think this would happen way less to me.

But It would also help a lot if the people from this world didn't have this weird fetish with elves either.

Well, I suppose even in other worlds situations like this happen due to our race's inclination to stay within small communities.

Back then the only reason this wasn't the case for me was thanks to my epithet that preceded me everywhere I went.

People were genuinely scared of me most of the time, and if someone mistakingly judged me by my looks, they would instantly get corrected by others.

The collection of effects I lovingly named the [Plague Series]... thanks to this power, even the person who managed to kill me in my past time didn't dare to do it in a fight.

As the name suggests, using my Gift, I can even apply certain diseases that went down in history as plagues.

Not only that... even if it was a plague that killed, let's say... dragons. And didn't affect humans at all... Well, I can still forcefully apply it to a human.

Doing something like this is enough to destroy an entire country, so I didn't rely on it all the time. But it was still enough to get a message across, and no one dared to mess with me when they knew of the consequences.

Things are a bit different in this life, however.

I... Well... I obviously couldn't tell Miwen back when he just summoned me about this.

There was no way for me to trust a man I had just met with power like this.

As time passed though and I began to understand him better, another feeling replaced this one.

I didn't want to put his world and the people he loves in danger by using this.

If I brought plagues that they have no resistance against from other worlds or other races... with their levels and their magic knowledge... it's quite possible that I could bring this world to ruin.

Not to mention... I can't control the infection once it starts, so if I used this, then he and the girls would also risk being infected.

This ended up preventing me from telling him... I became afraid of what he'd think about my power if he knew...

I know he wouldn't treat me badly or anything...

But the thought that he might find me scary... well, ironically, it scares me.

I feel so ashamed about this childish feeling...

But it's not like I haven't been doing anything either.

I've been trying to find a good opportunity to ease him into the subject so that I can explain it to him without complicating things too much... it's just hard to concentrate on doing it because I keep getting distracted when we are alone.

Still, I'll properly tell him one day.

Since it's his world that will be in danger... I want him to be able to choose where and when I use this power.

Thus, tonight, I'll fight without it.

There's still plenty I can do after all.

Just because my normal strategy of paralyzing and poisoning my opponent didn't work out, it wasn't like I had to resort to something so extreme out of the blue.

There were plenty of ways for me to win.

The biggest problem I was facing with this guy was due to his high defense and the power of his Gift.

They were both complete counters to me.

His high defense meant the effects I gave him barely lasted, or, in case their duration wasn't affected like it was with the poison, their power was simply reduced too much, rendering them unreliable.

Not to mention the worst part... his Gift.

After hitting him twice, I felt my body way more sluggish, and when he started chasing after me, I couldn't muster all my speed.

Thankfully the room we were in had a bunch of pillars and desks for me to hide and take a look at my status.

It did confirm my fears though... my status was 80% of what it should be.

If I was at a long distance and only providing support, this wouldn't have mattered too much, but... this gave him a way better chance of approaching and defeating me.

For my Gift to activate, I need high [Dexterity] or [Luck], so now there was a risk that I would attack him and my Gift wouldn't even trigger.

Not to mention... this basically meant that I had to defeat him within 8 shots.

It was possible that he couldn't lower my status beneath a certain percentage but... I decided to assume the worst as being optimistic wouldn't bring me any advantage this time.

Since I'm not physically strong like the other girls, nor am I that good with magic... the only thing I could do in this situation was rely on my Gift...

This bad luck is not a good signal... I hope the others didn't get such a poor mashup...

AOTG Member: "Found you~"

And this bad luck is even worse.

I only made half the preparations for my last Hail Mary...

And it wouldn't do me any good to use it now either.

Even with the skills Miwen shared with me I wouldn't have been able to avoid him forever.

More importantly... I wouldn't be able to win even if I did.

So even if I'd like to remain hidden through the night... I would have to get my face out to fight properly.

I just didn't want it to be this way.

His hands were too big, and with my status decreased, I had no way of fighting back when he grabbed me by the neck, lifted my body in the air, and started to strangle me.

I knew I couldn't hit him back without a plan either... I had to consider each and every effect I would give him.

It was hard to think in this situation, but before my consciousness faded, I decided on my course of action.

Thankfully even though this idiot had stared so much at my legs he never took away the daggers I kept there, so I started reaching for them.

But I ended up underestimating him too much, and while he strangled me with one hand, he tried to grab my arm with the other.

It was then that...

AOTG Member: "Khh... a wind blade? Who's there?"

A small sparrow intervened. One invisible to this man.

It was Apollo, Miwen's bird spirit.

He is very weak, but he has certainly gained a few levels since he fell to the ground after a single attack, I understood that he had put all his strength and power into that single stance of [Wind Magic].

I didn't even see him following me... perhaps this was on Miwen's orders...

That guy... even in this situation he is still looking out for me...

I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to be by his side.

But before anything else, I used the chance Apollo gave me and decided to go all out.

My usual strategy of spamming effects to hold in place and slowly defeat my enemy wasn't going to work, so...

I started using combos that I knew were going to be effective against this guy.

With the daggers I reached, I stabbed his arms by applying a lot of my remaining mana into [Wing Magic] that would strengthen the perforating ability of the daggers.

Since my status was going to be lower anyway, it was better to use my mana like this than let his Gift take it away without putting it to use.

As for the results... my opponent was injured, and I managed to inflict both [Defense Down] and [Luck Down] on him.

He also screamed too much and closed his eyes in pain, which allowed me to hide again.

It was only thanks to Miwen sending Apollo after me that I managed to escape...

I really don't think I'll ever be able to repay his kindness...

But at least I won't fail him.

This, I swear.

Even if I'm operating at only 60% of the capacity I should have... the effects I applied to him ought to have leveled the playing field.

I wasn't going to be able to take all of his status like he was doing to me, but by focusing on his most important ones my chances should have risen considerably.

With these effects applied to my opponent, my Gift should trigger reliably even if my status decreased even further.

But just to be sure, I decided to use some of the stronger effects I had.

They are not something I use willy-nilly either, but... it's worth it.

I don't mind becoming feared or losing my place again if it means I'll do it for him.

After all, I know he'll love me no matter what.

So, with the distance I had created between me and my opponent, and the preparations I had laid basically all done, I started firing again.

Two arrows flew aimed at his head as I was going for a combo I hadn't yet used in this world.

But... my opponent wasn't a monster, and he was capable of determining the effects of my Gift too.

Thankfully in this dark place, while he could defend himself, it was really hard for him to avoid the arrows, and had no choice but to block them with his arms.

This made me change the effects before they applied though, and I chose [Strength Down] and [Weight Up]. Together, they made him fall to the ground, making for easy prey.

The moment he raised his arms I already knew I was going to have to shoot again, and I didn't want to risk doing it with my status even further decreased, so I shot them in quick succession before the others had hit.

Sadly, one of their effects didn't apply, but both arrows grazed his forehead, causing [Disruption]. Together with [Confusion], both effects affecting the mind, I had hoped that his brain was going to shut off, but...

This only led him into a berserker state, and even though he was still suffering from [Strength Down] and [Weight Up], he came rushing at me.

With my status now only 20% of what it used to be, the only way I could escape was by using wind magic to jump above him and get behind his back as he was too fast for me to dodge normally.

Since I couldn't count on speed, surprising him was the only way I could think of avoiding his last attack.

As for what I would do after... my options were running out, and soon the effects were going to disappear too so...

Ellie: "I'm really sorry about this..."

He once again charged in his frenzied state.

But the arrow I shot at his head this time had the [Dissolve] effect.

While I knew the danger of aiming this at someone's head... it was my last chance.

In case this failed, I was pretty much done for and would have no choice but to go for a draw.

I didn't want to kill anyone, so I hoped this was only going to put him down for the night.

But once the arrow hit, it was all up to him.

It should be okay if he develops a few after-effects... a good healer can probably help him out...

I'm like... 30% sure!

Ellie: "Um... You're not pretending to attack me, right? J-just so you know I have another thing prepared and you'll really suffer if you attack me, yeah?"

I thought it was safe to approach him as I had regained my status after he fell face-first on the ground.

This guy was heavy as hell though... I thought it was because of his size, but then I remembered that it was also my fault.

Either way, I had to use both arms to move one of his, but when I did, I saw his fingers moving too, so this should mean that he's fine...

Bea: "Ellie! Big Sis is here to help!"

Ellie: "Wait, wait! Bea... careful where you're stepping."

Mia: "Hm? What is this...? Are you changing jobs to an artist?"

The floor was filled with arrows I had fired and held on using wind magic and some elastics that I found in the desks.

In case I had been defeated, my wind mana would dry up, and... this was going to trigger.

All of them had even worse effects than the last one I used on him, but...

I had to guarantee my victory one way or another.

Bea: "...Ellie, Angelica is going to do something a bit nasty now... let's wait outside alright?"

Ellie: "Hm? What do you mean-"

Angelica: "No need to worry. It's not going to trigger. I need to be the one to kill, remember ?"

...?

I was very confused about what was happening.

Anna: "Are you saying that...?"

Angelica: "Well, I get that you might not believe me but... yeah, this one is already done for."

The moment she said that... everyone turned their faces around and looked at me with surprise.

Ellie: "U-um... W-well... you know? Must've been when he fell... he hit his head pretty hard..."

Sure... dissolving his brain obviously didn't have anything to do with that.

Damn... I'm sure they will look at me with different eyes from now on-

Mia: "Damn. Didn't know you had it in you."

Claire: "And here I was worried... sorry about that Ellie! You've got guts!"

Eh?

You guys do realize I just killed a man right?

Why do you look so fine with it?

Actually, why are you cheering me on over that?

Bea: "I guess it was our mistake for underestimating the quiet one... then, should we go for Licia now?"

Claire: "Sure!"

I suppose most of them were soldiers... and the other is a self-proclaimed evil witch... they probably did the same to their opponents too, so to them, it's not a big deal.

Miwen and Licia might think otherwise though... but I'll accept responsibility for my actions when the time comes.

It's strange to feel so accepted, but... it also feels good.

But also, I really need to search for non-lethal effects...

I'll ask Miwen if he can help me out later.