...Huh. I was skeptical of them at first, but now things made more sense. Just as beastfolk were recognized as having the best senses, elves were known for being masters of essence, completely attuned to the energy even without any training. I had heard rumors that they could change affinities at will, but that wasn't exactly a reliable source of news. For an elf to sense my fledgling spatial affinity wasn't the most outlandish thing in the world. Then again, they could just be some kind of swindlers or con men. Elves were just as prone to crime as any other race. Might as well show some caution.

"I can guarantee that you're lying, seeing as I don't have a spatial affinity. Now take down this barrier or get ready to die," I said, as I formed a blood needle in each hand and took a defensive stance, acting more cautiously than I usually would. If I just straight-up accepted their deal, no questions asked, that would probably raise some questions in their mind. Questions that I could do without. The better option by far was for me to act reluctant and make them work to convince me. That way, any suspicions they had about me would be misconstrued as hesitation about the overall situation, rather than anything specific that stood out.

"Wait! We mean you no harm!" The elf seated on my bed hastily got up and tried to assuage me, even as the one who stood behind her remained fixed in place. "You may not believe me, but it's true that you have a space affinity! I only thought, seeing as you're clearly -"

"Clearly what?"

"N-nothing! Malin?" She turned to her companion, who simply shook his head and remained where he was. She was obviously distressed, but his refusal made her even more nervous. "I, um, well, d-don't you want the opportunity to make a difference in the world? T-to win honor and glory for yourself and your family? To do your part to end the threat that has been plaguing the world for generations? You only need to come with us and you can fulfill the dreams of our ancestors, that the world might one day know peace."

I sneered at her propagandized speech, something I regretted immediately but committed to for the sake of the role I was playing, spitting on the floor. "No offense lady elf, but ambushing someone in their room, trapping them in a barrier, and then preaching about honor and glory isn't exactly the most honorable or glorious thing, now is it?"

The male elf, Malin, smirked at my words while the female elf blushed slightly and was on the verge of floundering even more, at which point he took over the conversation. "That's enough, boy. You can drop the act. Just come with us and we can deal with everything else later."

I fought the urge to tense up as a sliver of panic found me. I wasn't about to play along with him, even if he had found me out somehow. "I don't know you. I don't trust you. Why the hell should I go with you?"

He sighed and walked up to me, gently pushing the younger elf girl out of the way. "Boy, don't make this harder than it has to be. You're right that you can't trust us yet. But...I don't mind pulling out your secrets right here and now, but it's better for everyone that you come with us." I went on edge when he said that, but, again, it could have been some kind of ploy to make me assume he knew more than he did in order to get me to lower my guard.

Then I heard his voice in my head and I knew that he at least wasn't bluffing about one thing. "Or do you want to stay here forever and get picked off by some overeager dragonkin?"

...Dammit.

If he knew how to communicate the draconic mind-speech way, something I still didn't totally understand, and he knew that i was capable of doing so as well, then he could piece together enough about me to make things difficult. I was hoping that my little act would last longer, but if I was still being offered a ride away from here despite that, I would take it.

Sighing dramatically, I relaxed my stance even while I still held onto the blood needles as the male elf patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. It's not like we're dropping you off at the Wall tomorrow. You still need training, knowledge, and most importantly, time."

"Wait, what's going on? Malin, what did you do?" The elf girl was visibly confused about what just happened, and for good reason. As far as I knew, the mind-to-mind communication that dragons employed utilized essence, yet the elf girl showed no reaction to it, hinting that there was more to it under the surface. But all that could wait for later. Right now, my priority was getting out of this continent as soon as possible.

"It's fine, young miss. I just used a little technique to convince the lad that we're trustworthy. Isn't that right?" he asked me, that amused smirk still on his face.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I rolled my eyes, not seeing the need for propriety in the oddly casual atmosphere. "Yeah sure. So, now that you convinced me to come with you-"

"You're coming with us?!" The elf girl shrieked in surprise.

"- do you mind explaining the need for the barrier?" I finished, ignoring her little outburst, directing my question at Malin, who seemed like he had more information.

"Let's just say your spatial affinity is valuable, and leave it at that."

I nodded, even if it wasn't the answer I wanted. "So when do we leave?" I was fully expecting them to leave today, or tomorrow at the latest by how straightforward they were in their approach -

"Next week."

I had to hold back from cursing until the older elf Malin patted my shoulder, laughing the whole time. "It's not that bad, kid. One week won't kill you."

"No, one week won't kill you. Let's just say that the sooner I get out of here, the better."

"Alright, fair enough." Malin said, taking my assertion in stride. "If the situation actually needs it, we can hide you, but for now, just keep doing what you've done so far. Sometimes it's better to hide in plain sight than to scramble around for something better, eh? Right! Now that we've gotten all that out of the way, maybe now is the right time for introductions? You already know my name is Malin, thanks to the young miss over there. Young miss, you should be..." he trailed off while looking at her, slightly tilting his head to me until her eyes widened and her mouth made an actual 'O' shape before she formally curtsied towards me.

"Yes! Ahem, it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Elovere, twelfth daughter of Quillith Aschel, lord of the Spectral Isles."

Jesus, twelve daughters? Does this guy have a harem or something?!

"Would you give me the honor of knowing your name?"

I was getting mentally drained from this whole encounter, so I simply performed a shallow bow with my right hand on my heart, dispelling my blood needles. "Rhaaj of Khobadaar City. Commoner." Debating the pros and cons of keeping up a fake persona was too much for me at the moment, so I just decided to be myself and let the chips fall where they may.

"Oh! Apologies! I assumed you were a noble since you're alone, and the costs for sea travel are not insignificant. Oh, I didn't mean to offend you! There's nothing wrong with being a commoner! If anything, you've proven that hard work and determination can overcome birthrights and, and..." She flailed around, trying to appease my imaginary wrath, when Malin patted her on the head.

"It's all right, young miss, he's not offended, are you boy?" He nodded as I shook my head. "Though it seems you need another lesson from your tutors if one introduction from a commoner is enough to unnerve you," he teased.

She blushed before he revealed that he was joking, and then we got to the details of their unorthodox recruitment. Apparently, the war was getting worse as the voranders acted unusual, displaying better strategy and tactics overall, something I attributed to the alien parasites but which they made no mention of. The royals and nobles were now looking for those with high talent to join in the war in some capacity. It was still early, so nothing had been finalized, but ideally those with better talents would be recruited to make more of an impact. After an unspecified period of training, recruits would be integrated into the army, during which time contributions could be traded in for perks. I wasn't interested in the minutiae of it all just yet, but there was one point I refused to budge on.

No vow, oath, or pledge would bind me or prevent me from leaving. I didn't care what rewards were offered, or what promises were made. My freedom was paramount. Having experienced soul pains more frequently than I would like, I could say with confidence that I wanted no part of it.

While their word wasn't the most credible thing, they made assurances that they would mention it to their superiors, who would in turn discuss it with me when the time came. Besides that, everything had been worked out. When they left for their home, I would be going with them, and once we arrived, I would stay with Elovere's family for now, seeing as, technically, she was the one who recruited me.

"So, with that out of the way, can you take down the barrier now?"

"Can do," Malin said airily, and the barrier disappeared in a heartbeat, a testament to his skill. He adopted a more somber tone as he spoke. "What we talked about stays secret, alright? For both our sakes."

I nodded. "Yes, I understand."

He smiled. "Good. Then we should be on our way, right young miss?"

"Yes, you're right, I think it's time we took our leave. We will see you in a week's time then." She curtsied and left my room, waiting at the doorway for Malin to follow, who was still telling me goodbye.

"Here, take this," he said, handing me a small wooden bracelet. "There's a small tracking enchantment on it. If we don't see you in a week's time, we're going to assume something went wrong and come running to it. So keep it safe and close by, yeah?"

"Sure." He smiled and patted my arm, and then they were both gone.

I locked the door before collapsing on the bed, overwhelmed from the lucky encounter. Before I could even eat breakfast, the solution to my problems fell into my lap. Now what was I supposed to do? I tightened the bracelet to my left wrist, and a small shing sound came out of it, barely perceptible, but enough to let me know it was active. Now I had some insurance in case things went wrong. Given all the secrecy surrounding our little meeting, it was safe to assume that they knew about the parasites. But their behavior also suggested that said parasites had not only moved from infecting voranders to people, but also that they were so widespread that they warranted such security measures.

It was worrying if that truly were the case. It meant that the dragons' paranoia was justified, that the elves somehow had a intelligence gathering network that spanned continents, and that the rate these parasites reproduced was astronomical. If they outnumbered the sapient races of this planet, there could very well be a day when they took over the world entirely. If or when that time came, I wanted to be as far away as possible.

Which was why I needed to learn how to 'unlock' and properly utilize my spatial affinity. If I could teleport...well, I would teleport to some other world, one that wasn't as infected as this one could be.

But before that, I needed to complete my morning routine. Breakfast awaited.