Chapter Thirty-Eight

Before he could do something drastic, movement caught his eye in a bush near the tree line. Unlike before, he spotted the culprit instantly. Either because of his ascension to grade one or his race upgrade, he pinpointed a familiar aura.

Sensing she was spotted, she didn’t bother to hide. She casually slithered into the clearing and lifted herself off the ground, tilting her head up to make eye contact with Arden before speaking in his mind. “Don’t bother trying to get their attention. I tried for months before you came along. They ignore your existence unless they find you interesting.”

Arden nodded his head, but still, he approached the fairies coming within a meter of their formation before an invisible wall blocked further progress. He glared at the fairies as he tapped it with his staff, or at least tried. The staff went through as if the wall didn’t exist.

He could feel the pout from the snake without even looking as he pushed his way through the wall, led by the staff.

However, his victory was short-lived. The moment he stepped inside, a force launched him upward.

Better prepared this time, he transformed into his bird form just as he reached the treetops, stalling upward momentum instantly.

Annoyance brewed as he circled the clearing, glaring down at the fairies who continued to circle their crystal as if he didn’t exist.

Not to be beaten so easily, he descended in a circular motion, slowing near the fairy formation. He slowed as he expected the wall, but no wall came. He slid right through whatever wall existed.

In a panic, he extended his feet and braced himself for a harsh landing on the crystal, but a force cushioned his fall.

Instead of blasting him upward again, the force corrected his trajectory, allowing him to land on the ground next to the crystal near where he stood before his previous attempt.

This time, the same leader fairies buzzed out of the formation and hovered in front of him. The snake joined him, cringing where the barrier should be, but she passed through.

“Fae?”

“Aspects?”

“Worthy?”

“Already Tested?”

“Why here?”

The fairy fell silent and stared at the bird and snake duo as if waiting for an answer. Not wanting to lose the opportunity, Arden shifted back to his humanoid form and broke the silence immediately. “I have some questions.”

“Ask.”

Arden gestured at the snake, then at himself. “What do you mean by Fae and Aspects?”

“What you are.”

“The form you take.”

Arden tried to keep the frustration off his face at the answers. He should have expected an answer like that. It was a miracle he got more than a few words out of a single fairy.

The snake beside fidgeted as if she wanted to ask something but couldn’t. After a few seconds, she slumped, then also shifted to her humanoid form.

Standing next to her, Arden realized how small she was. Her tiny snake form fit her. He wasn’t tall himself, especially for an elf unless the Fae were shorter, but she only reached his shoulder. Like him, her eyes were deep green. It must be a trait of those attuned to life mana.

He wasn’t sure what the difference was between elves and Fae, but if the girl or snake was a Fae, he couldn’t tell the difference. She looked like a short high elf to him.

Maybe these Fae lived among the elven population with no one knowing.

The animal form didn’t stick out either. If she didn’t transform in front of him, he would think she was two different beings.

Sure, the snake showed great intelligence, but it wasn’t too rare for an intelligent creature to appear. Usually, the humanoid races hunted them down soon after. It wasn’t worth risking a monster wave by letting them live.

A soft flat voice, barely audible but also holding a steel, broke the silence. If he wasn’t standing right next to her, he wasn’t sure he would have heard her. “How do I leave?”

“Up with bird.”

Arden looked upward, and so did the girl. As far as he could tell, there was nothing but green crystals, at least until he spotted a hole. The same hole his parents sent him through.

Was that the exit all along? It made sense the tunnel existed already. His parents were powerful, but tunneling that far would be difficult. They didn’t have time to prepare a tunnel like that ahead of time either, unless they knew Ortus would grant him his affinity.

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Yet again, back to that question. Unfortunately, it was a question he doubted he would get an answer from anyone but his parents.

Another question, however, had a chance now that he knew how to leave. If he didn’t have a bird transformation or aspect, he wasn’t sure he could escape. Maybe with the right card combo and some planning, but it would be much more difficult to pull off.

He turned his attention away from the hole, back to the fairies. “How long do I have until I have to leave?”

The fairy looked at one another as if deciding something before the center one, a purple winged fairy answered. “One Day.”

The other fairies joined in with explanations.

“Must rest.”

“Sleep Soon.”

Now, with a timetable, Arden’s mind whirled with how he could maximize it. Since he could fly, travel time would lessen. He could hit a bunch of clearings targeting creatures he knew he had a chance to take down without too much trouble, then move on to the next target.

Done with the conversation, the fairies buzzed back to their brethren. Arden had a feeling that would be the last questions he could get out of them. It was a miracle he got their attention at all.

Now that he looked closer at the buzzing fairies, he noticed they didn’t seem as energetic as they were before he received his class. The crystal was dimmer as well. Maybe the crystal was the power source of the fairies, or possibly the entire dungeon.

Was it the dungeon core? If it was, he could get a fortune for it if he took it, but just thinking about that sent off warning flares from his equilibrium sense. If he took the crystal, there would be big consequences either for him or for nature itself.

Even he knew taking the dungeon core would destroy the dungeon. That would mean a bastion of nature would vanish. Not worth the riches the core may bring him.

He couldn’t say the same for others, though. It might be a good idea to block access to the dungeon after he left, not that he thought anyone could get past the fairies if they didn’t allow it.

Even if someone got past the barrier, they could launch them. If the projectile couldn’t fly, it would be a death sentence.

A shiver ran through him, thinking back on his first forced flight. Did they know he had a bird aspect, or did they just want to get rid of him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that question.

Suddenly, he wanted to leave the clearing as fast as possible, in case they decided to splat him into a tree on a whim. The fairies were scary. Don’t trust their cute exteriors.

When he was distracted, the girl was once more a snake, but this time she didn’t slither away. In fact, she watched his every move with a predatory gleam in her reptilian eyes.

He had a feeling even if he flew away, she would hunt him down and he didn’t have the heart to leave her stranded in the dungeon.

Still, if she wanted to hitch a ride, she would have to wait. He wouldn’t throw away the opportunity to strip this dungeon clean before he left.

On that thought, he transformed into his bird form and flapped his wings, trying to take off.

Two things became apparent. First, he didn’t know how to take off. Each time the fairy gave him an involuntary lift off.

The second was a bit more urgent. Before he knew what happened, the snake was on him. Fast as lightning, she struck his left wing, numbing it in an instant. Without the resistance card providing defense and being much smaller, the poison spread fast.

He didn’t even have time to fight it off. It spread so fast all he could do was send a pulse of mana down his soul tether to turn back into his humanoid form.

The moment he did, the numbness in his right arm vanished. Like the momentum stalling transformation, the poison simply ceased to exist.

His mind flashed back to his robe’s state after he transformed back for the first time, sending a pulse of worry through him. Did she just incapacitate his bird form? She might have trapped them both in the dungeon.

Anger flared. His hand flashed out and grabbed the snake before she could react. She bit down with her fangs pumping poison, but his resistance crushed it before it could gain a foothold.

Arden stared into her eyes, finally in an advantageous position with the snake. “Why did you poison my bird aspect? I wasn’t going to ditch you, but maybe now I will.”

Fear flashed through her eyes, but it vanished just as quick as it came. “Your aspect will heal. If it doesn’t, I can remove the poison. I couldn’t risk you leaving me here.”

Unmoved, Arden stared into the struggling snake’s eyes. “Well, now what? You destroyed any goodwill you built. Why should I help you?”

The murder noodle stilled, desperation in her eyes. “I can show you the best hunting spots in the dungeon. Together we could gather a hoard of cards.”

Still unmoved, his glare sharpened. “Why do you think I transformed into my bird form? I planned to scout the dungeon to pick the best targets.”

This time she looked apologetic with a tinge of panic, though it was hard to tell since she was a snake. “I can remove the poison if you take me along on your scouting.”

She paused for a long moment, then spoke again, almost like she was forcing the words through gritted teeth. “I’m sorry for attacking you. My parents dumped me here and locked me in my aspect form months ago. Even now, it’s hard to maintain my Fae form.”

Arden remained silent for almost a minute as he stared down at the now unmoving snake grasped in his left hand. “Fine, but if you try something like that again, I won’t hesitate to leave you behind. No more biting me even to get my attention. Use your words.”

The snake nodded her head, trying to hide her relief, but even in her snake form, he caught how she went limp as if her shoulders slumped.

To show a bit of trust, Arden bent down and released her on the ground. She stiffened as if she wanted to bolt, but remained where she was.

Before transforming, Arden glanced at the fairies circling their crystal, now extra worried about them knowing how vulnerable his bird form was. He could take a hit in his Fae form, but based on how fast the poison spread he doubted his bird form could. Still, if he wanted to fly, he needed the biggest clearing he could find, and this was it.

Braced for the numbness, he transformed, then instantly collapsed as the poison paralyzed his bird body. Fortunately, it was only temporary as the snake sunk her fangs into his wing near where she struck.

This time, she didn’t strike fast. In fact, she almost seemed gentle. As gentle as snake fangs could be, at least.

Feeling returned to his body as the snake suck away her poison. Still even the poison gone, and the snake disconnected, a throbbing pain radiated through his wing.

The snake watched him coiled up, ready to strike if he tried something as he focused inward. With control over his own mana, it only took a moment to flood the stab wound with mana, washing away the pain.

He stretched his wing, finding it sore but usable, then turned his attention to the snake. Only for another problem to present itself.

How did he communicate with her in his bird form?