Luca DR
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29 – Ghost of old age (1/2)
🕑 Added 2023-05-18 19:31:36 +0000 UTCRight before Albert teleported back to the Elven village, he felt a rush of energy suddenly leave the body of the golem and enter his sensory range. He turned around to see it, but only managed to catch a glimpse of something shiny before the stream of energy entered his body. He knew what it was of course, so he was not too surprised to see it beyond the fact that he thought the golem wouldn’t have any ‘soul’ or similar feature that made it count like an actual kill. He used to be a nonbeliever of souls and other paraphernalia in the past, go figure how much he changed.
He knew that the system only increased his maximum mana when he killed living beings possessing of magic, but for some reason the golem counted as one of them. Either it was due to the difficulty of the kill, or perhaps the golem was not really just a construct?
He genuinely had no idea, but it made no difference in the grand scheme of things. The golem was trying to kill him, and before that not only had it been a threat to the village, but also a quest target highlighted by none other than the system itself as something that needed killing.
[Mana: 21FU + 23/hour] -> [Mana: 29FU + 25/hour]
A nice improvement.
***
The elves all knew of the defeat of the golem before Albert even arrived at the village. When he appeared in the central square, the best target for long-distance teleportation (one that no longer depleted his whole mana pool, he noticed with great delight) the elves were all there to wait for him. Perhaps the system had arranged this, or perhaps it was a sign that this was all just a simulation, and the elves were not really alive? This would explain how they knew, but it would also ignore other possibilities and it would also plunge Albert into a rabbit hole of doubts and theories worthy of Marc and of his 4chan dives.
“Thank you, traveler. You saved us all.” Eurus said, on the verge of tears.
The intensity of the scene was not something an artificial setting could ever hope to transmit. All around, the villagers watched with interest while keeping a respectful distance. In the crowd Albert spotted Elle and gave her a little wave, to which the child giggled and hid her face behind her mother’s legs. Seeing the cute scene filled Albert with joy, and dispelled his dark thoughts that were making him want to see these people as not real.
“It was… hard, but not impossible.” Albert replied. “I learned a lot.”
Eurus nodded. “You single-handedly defeated a golem that claimed the lives of our best fighters! And you call the fight ‘hard but not impossible’? You must be truly powerful!” The elf said.
Albert almost blushed. “Thank you. You are very kind.” On the inside, he was about to burst. Having a honest-to-goodness elf spewing praise and admiration onto him like this made him feel all giddy and warm inside. Having all these people’s eyes on him would have normally made him feel shy and nervous, but it was different now. He knew that he was their savior and that all of them were looking at him in awe and admiration, dispelling any sign of stage-fright. He could see it in their eyes, and the feeling of power was intoxicating. He wished he could feel like this, or at least that he could feel normal even when the crowd was not in total admiration of him. He wished he could feel at ease among people. Perhaps this was the first step?
“A token of thanks, and of friendship.” Eurus said. “And I speak for all of us when I say that you will always be welcome to come back to Elvenhome whenever you wish. You will find a warm place to rest, to find shelter, and to be at peace during hard times.”
Eurus held out something in his hands, which Albert took gingerly. “What is it?” He asked, feeling the heft of the brown item in his hands, it was big enough that he needed both hands to carry it.
“It is a seed of the Iperborea. The ancient elven tree of legend.” As they heard the words, the crowd collectively gasped, and some even took a step forward to steal a glance at the seed. There were mumbles, that Albert could hear were secret hopes spoken softly, silent prayers. The atmosphere was almost solemn, magical. A few fireflies rose from the crowd.
He didn’t know how to react. This seed was clearly something extremely precious to the elves. “I… I can’t possibly accept this.”
“Nonsense.” Eurus said. “This seed has been inert for centuries, from before the time of the Great wars. In our hands it is nothing more than a relic of the past, slowly losing its magic as time turns its life essence into stone. With you, it might be something else, something great. I can feel it. Know that it is thanks to you that us Elves still live to see the sunrise, and Elvenhome will once again prosper, and life spread from this valley onto the barren lands beyond. Go, and know that you are a hero.”
Albert nodded, taking in the words of praise. “Well, you said that I will always be welcome here, right? I will see you again, then.”
Eurus smiled. “We will be waiting.”
[Transporting.]
The crowd dispersed. Only the tall and thin figure of the village elder, and the short silhouette of a little child remained behind.
“Will the ugly human return?” Elle asked, trying not to stumble over her words.
Eurus sighed. “It would be a great honor if he did, little one. But just like those before him, I fear that he too has left us behind.”
But this time, he thought to himself, the human did not leave death and destruction in his wake. He said nothing, for there was nothing he could say to a little girl, and ruffled her hair and sent her back to her mother. This human felt different, or so he hoped. The other elves did not know, of course, all of them too young to remember what it was like before the world was shrunk to the size of a single valley. It was odd, to lead a village of elves all younger than a century, and it was going to be his responsibility to see them all grow and prosper. Their path had only just begun.
