Syl

Chapter 48: An Elf

"Holy shit, is that an elf?" He asked and almost immediately dropped his guard.

"How the hell did goblins capture an elf?" She questioned and lowered her arm but still kept the weapon ready.

"That hobgoblin, most likely. That thing was unnaturally strong."

I made a muffled noise and wriggled in my bonds.

"Easy now..." The woman responded and gave me an investigative look, "Her name's Syl... No class... Odd? Race, Elf, Level... 27!?"

"Fuck... That's almost three ascensions!" The man cursed, "Is that how elves raise themselves? All trait points? I can't even imagine surviving without my class levels. Maybe that's why she got captured?"

'What the hell is an ascension?' I wondered to myself.

"Maybe... I'm going to get Roderick. Don't untie her till we get back." The girl continued and reached into her pouch and pulled out a blanket, which she draped over me to cover up the almost-nudity, "And you better not touch her either... I can see you drooling."

"Hey! I'm an asshole, not a rapist!"

She gave him a slap over the head before exiting. He shook his head, sighing, and sheathed his blades before sitting on the ground.

"Sorry about that. Hopefully, we can untie you soon, maybe even get you a heal spell or potion."

'Ugh! Potions! I had a healing potion! Why didn't I drink it? Instead of sitting here with my seared core.'

"I'm Kurt. She said your name was Syl, right?"

I nodded.

"You really have no class?"

Nod.

"Man, that must suck."

Nod.

"Was it by choice?"

Shake.

"That's fucked up. Maybe you could join one of the guilds and get one."

My eyes widened in shock, and he seemed to notice my interest.

"Oh yeah, the Adventurer's Guild is pretty great," Kurt said with a big grin, "If you do join, make sure you get Tabitha to register you. She's great, and I owe her one."

"I'm hoping to make it big and leave this town one day. Soon, everyone will know the name Dual Blade Kurt!"

'Oh Gods.'

"Although I said Tabby's great, don't bet with her. She's a nasty gambler."

'Right...'

"So I was on a goblin hunt weeks ago, and I was exploring the forest the other day and found..."

'This guy doesn't stop talking.' I thought to myself as his voice started to turn into white noise.

In an effort to keep my sanity, I looked over my new skill.

Negative status effects are easier to apply, have a longer duration, and are harder to cleanse, scaling with skill level.>

'Wow, now that is a massive upgrade. I did gain this mid-battle. I wonder if it applied retroactively, and that was why those adventurers fell.'

"So I grew up here, a real gutter rat, earned my first sword doing the old mana farm..."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Kurt, are you telling her your entire life story?" The girl suddenly interjected and grabbed my rapidly fading focus.

"Whitney, don't be a bitch. Syl here is a great listener. I think she wants to be an adventurer."

"An elf adventurer, now that's a rarity." Another voice suddenly interrupted. I looked to the entrance to see a burly man with a massive shield that my profile collection coveted. "They rarely leave their glades. Hell, some of the rural backwaters think they're a myth, no offense, missy."

Another smaller man pushed through with a frown, "Are you seriously talking around a bound and injured person?" He forced his way to my side and knelt with an apologetic and reassuring smile. A golden aura appeared around his person that I could recognize as healing magic.

"Gods... What did they do to you? How are you even alive? Your life force is so low you're on the verge of death." He muttered in horror and enshrouded me in the mana, and I felt my core rapidly healing.

That gave me a scare, he could apparently sense my life, but it only told him my condition and still hid my true form. I mentally praised my evolution trait for such a thorough disguise. Also he confirmed my condition was really bad, I did trigger [Defy Death] after all, but apparently I had barely recovered at all since that fiasco.

'Wait. Shit! [Shapeshifting Mimicry] heal my fake wounds! Slowly!' I panicked mentally. I'd likely need to dedicate a [Sub-Core] to handling fake injuries in the future, so I don't forget.

"Whitney, untie her and get her some clothes... I understand caution, but this is beyond cruelty. She could have very well died while you all casually talked."

I felt a bit shell-shocked by the current situation, as I didn't expect this level of treatment. While in my goblin form, I met immediate hatred. But now they were even healing me, and thanks to [Mana Sight], I could tell this Evan person was literally using the last dregs of his mana.

"Right... Sorry, Evan." Whitney said and walked over to remove my bonds.

I made no movement at all, still very cautious that I'd end up skewered by one of these adventurers. When Evan's healing ended, he pulled out an old robe from a pouch and handed it to Whitney. "It won't fit nicely, but it's better than the alternatives." He said and then ushered everyone else out of the room.

The giant man laughed as he left, "Kurt when you join a permanent group, remember not to anger the healer."

"Sorry... I didn't know." Whitney said while undoing my bindings and helping me put on the robe, "On the outside, it didn't look so bad at the time... Sorry."

"...thank you..." I responded, hoping it was the best meek and fearful impression I could do. The robe was ill-fitting, too large, and yet too short, leaving a large portion of my legs bare. Which made me realize how much taller elves were than the other races I'd encountered so far.

Whitney handed me a canteen, "Water... I have some jerky too if you'd like." she pulled out another small wrapping of cured meat.

I chugged the water greedily, hopefully giving a good act, "...thank you... Food too, please..."

She handed me the package with a soft and sad smile. I ate the meat and was pleased with the small amount of slime mass it generated. I was glad I practiced fake eating with the goblins. Eventually, the rest of the group reentered, and another new face was in the group, although I recognized him as one of the fire mages. My core felt uncomfortably warm.

"Holy shit, it really is an elf." He said, looking up at me, "Wow, you're tall."

"Dewi, keep it in your pants." The large man interrupted.

"Sorry, Roderick. I'm just fascinated. This is one of the legacy races." Dewi said apologetically before his jaw hit the floor, and he started babbling incoherently while covering his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" Kurt said, slapping him on the back.

"Mana..." Dewi spluttered out.

"I don't have a potion if you're dry," Kurt responded.

"No! Her mana is off the charts!" Dewi corrected, "I know history says elves are masters of the arcane, but this is ridiculous."

I instinctively backed away a little, which caused Dewi to eat a backhand from Whitney.

Roderick cleared his throat, which caused the others to hush up, "So Syl, I'd rather not leave an unarmed lass out here. Would you be willing to come back to town with us?"

"...yes... I don't want to stay here."

"And unless Kurt was talking crap, he said you expressed interest in joining the guild?"

I nodded, maybe a little too excitedly. Would I finally be getting a class? Was it that simple? The previous wounds of betrayal were still fresh, and I almost didn't want to hope.

"See, I told you. Tabby is gonna be so excited." Kurt chuckled.

Roderick cleared his throat again, trying to remain professional, "Well, if Dewi wasn't overreacting, I'm sure the guild would be happy to have a promising recruit such as yourself. Now, let's get out of this dreaded cave."

I nodded and followed the group. Evan checked up on me again and seemed relieved I was no longer at death's door. I thanked him profusely, but he acted like it was nothing. If only he knew how much slime mass he had saved me, I could easily buy two [Sub-Cores] with the savings.

They formed an almost protective perimeter around me as they escorted me out of the cave. I gave a last glance at the destroyed remains of the tribe, I hoped the rest were safe in the deeper caves. There were a lot of curious whispers and chatter amongst the other adventurers, and the exoticness of an elf was the undeniable cause. There were even some suggestive comments and leers from some of them until Whitney flourished a knife.

'Maybe I shouldn't have picked [Elven Glamour]...' I thought bitterly, but the damage was already done.

"We'll assemble camp nearby, spend the night here, then head home in the morning." Roderick declared, and the rest of the group nodded, "Missy, I hope you don't mind if I ask you some questions?"

'Oh no, get ready for round three [Acting]!'