I cried out in agony, my senses overwhelmed by the searing flames, leaving me momentarily blinded. Without hesitation, I instinctively unleashed the life-drain spell upon her. Though I couldn't see her, I sensed her presence through my mana. The spell was more a reflex than a conscious decision. The truth was that I did not know the name of the spell, and therefore, I did not cast it like I would cast Cala's spells because it was not a spell like those I learned with Cala as a player but rather similar to White Flower's style of spells.

It was a simple life-drain mana-link guided by my subconscious, without me being fully aware of how and why it worked, but it worked, and that very probably saved my life.

In the blink of an eye, another spell assailed me, hurling me through the air as though I were a mere insect struck by a swatter. I soared like a projectile launched from a catapult, hurtling through a library brimming with valuable books before crashing into the wall. Thankfully, the books absorbed much of the impact; otherwise, I am not sure how much gray matter I would have left in my shocked brain.

With a pained groan, I collapsed to the ground, a section of the wall crumbling beside me as I scrambled on all fours to seek refuge behind a nearby desk.

"How could she cast such devastating spells so quickly?" I muttered to myself, bewildered by the speed and power of her magic.

However, before she could unleash another spell, something flew through the window with a deafening bang, shattering the glass and exploding, striking her hand. The window must have been made of special glass, as it shattered into numerous small pieces that scattered like a wave of water.

I caught only a fleeting glimpse of the chaos as I scrambled for cover.

"How is she still standing after that explosion?" I wondered.

She cried out in pain as she turned towards the window, the glass shards swirling around her like water around a transparent, giant plexiglass egg shielding her. She began to cast something, but I couldn't see what, as another firewall enveloped me. Where did that come from? Luckily, it first struck the desk under which I was hiding, and only the lingering flames reached me.

Not even five seconds had passed, and I was already running on fumes. I turned to flee and was horrified to see two armored suits advancing toward me. Had they conjured the second fireball? Armor suits hurling fireballs? Golems? I tried to identify one, but all I saw were question marks. This shit show was way out of my league.

The room descended into chaos as spells flew in every direction, accompanied by the boys' shouts and frantic attempts to seek cover. Amidst the chaos, I heard the sounds of roaring monsters, as if all hell had broken loose. It seemed even the armored suits had shifted their attention elsewhere, leaving me forgotten in the fray.

Scrambling on all fours, I sought refuge behind a bookshelf, only for the shelves to topple over, burying me under debris and falling books. Yelling in panic, I wriggled away on all four like an alligator in a marsh. I desperately tried to slide under another nearby, but much too low, table as I saw pieces of an armored suit rolling toward me. At first, I thought it was a clever way to roll toward me faster, but then I realized the armor was simply broken. Someone had dismantled those armored suits like crash test dummies, the armor looking like a tin can that got processed through a harvester.

I heard frantic shouts and then curses in a foreign tongue, a language that rang vaguely familiar in my ears. Where had I heard it before?

Suddenly, my gaze fell upon a finger lying on the carpet ten centimeters in front of me, adorned with an intricate ring. There were several fingers strewn about, surrounded by blood and gore, but it was that ring that captured my attention. Its filigree design was exquisite, and having a good eye for enchanted jewelry, I knew it was something in the legendary class. Crafted from what appeared to be silver, it boasted a single black diamond adorned with intricate runic fractals. You could almost see the runes dancing inside it! Even in the midst of that chaos, my instinct triggered instantly, and I grabbed the ring.

However, at that moment, another blast enveloped me, completely blinding and deafening me.

Panic gripped my mind. I jumped and started to run blindly with all I still had. I felt that I was dying, that death was just a step away. Another blast, another hit, would have finished me. Maybe just a push with a finger would have been enough to topple me. It was a wonder that I was still able to move, my life draining bringing me just enough life to compensate for what I was losing through the fire that still engulfed me.

I must have passed through the broken window as I felt grass hitting my burned legs, and the noise of the fight grew more distant.

I rolled through the grass in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames. Slowly, my eyes began to regain focus. The grass towered high around me, unlike any I had seen near the house before. As I surveyed my surroundings with growing bewilderment, I realized I was in a glade. Unfortunately, I had lost my connection to my life drain target; I must have been too far from her. Feeling utterly disoriented, I glanced back and saw nothing but a portal in the center of the glade. Suddenly, an elf girl leaped through the portal, her gaze locking onto me as she began to cast a spell. With nowhere to hide and no way to evade the incoming magic, I knew I was as good as dead.

"Nooooo! Please, no!" I cried out, and to my surprise, she abruptly halted her incantation.

It felt as though she had been stunned by a mind blast. "Yeah, I should have tried Cala's mind blast. Remind me next time I'm attacked", I thought to myself. In a game, I would have executed it flawlessly, so why did I lose my mojo here in real life?

After a moment of hesitation, she began running toward me. I attempted Cala's mind blast, but it was as effective as blowing air - in other words, completely useless. I collapsed to my knees, devoid of the strength to flee any longer, feeling like the crumbling corpse I actually was.

"Stop! Please, stop!" I pleaded.

Once again, I anticipated my demise, yet nothing happened. Slowly, I raised my head to glance at her. She was breathing heavily, as if struggling with herself, every movement requiring immense effort. Did I cause that? I knew I could command lesser humans, but even those without any magical abilities didn't react so strongly to my orders.

"Don't move!" I commanded, and she froze completely.

Moreover, I hadn't infused my voice with any mana; I had merely spoken the words.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Behind her, I saw Lynx emerge through the portal, followed by Alice and Tina. My life drain was now functioning, and I managed to stand up again, my mind racing to make sense of the situation. What were the three of them doing here? Who was this elf? She was clearly the cause of my distress, but something was holding her back from acting now. But what?

In an instant, Lynx was beside the elf, but he paused, glancing first at her, then at me. Our eyes met, and I saw the same perplexed expression reflected back at me as if looking into a mirror.

"Dance!" I commanded the elf, and to my astonishment, she began to dance - a slow, graceful elf solo. I didn't know why I had ordered her to do that. Perhaps it was to say something absurd, something to test the limits of what she would obey. But now she was dancing.

I glanced at Lynx and Alice, then back at the elf. It was surreal to see her dancing in the grass as if nothing else mattered, only her eyes throwing thunderbolts when she turned to look at me. What was happening?

"What's going on?" Alice asked, her bow tense in her hand. She slowly released the tension.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Alice, but it was the elf who answered.

"I'm dancing!"

Her flat statement made us look at each other again, puzzled.

My health was slowly recovering, but the life drain effect wasn't yet evident on the elf.

She must have an abundance of life energy!

I glanced at her hands. The sleeve of her left hand was shredded as if from an explosion, yet her hand appeared unharmed. Perhaps she had healed herself. Was she a healer, or did she possess powerful healing artifacts? Or could she be one of the rare mage healers like White Flower? A high-level mage healer? But why was she obeying my commands? After the intense fight, she suddenly seemed quite docile.

Alice approached, her bow at the ready. "What's happening?" she asked again.

"She's controlling her somehow," the Lynx concluded, positioning himself between us and the elf, clearly prepared to protect us if necessary.

I examined the ring in my hand. "Stop dancing," I commanded the elf. "Stay there and don't do anything."

As I spoke, the ring emitted a soft glow. I could only see it with my mana sight, but it was unmistakable. So the ring was the key! How could anyone carry such a ring that could control them? It made no sense, and yet it was right there!

I removed it from the severed finger and slipped it onto my own hand. I felt a strong pull of mana, and when I looked at the elf, she suddenly grew calm. Only submission remained in her eyes; all the hate, anger, and fear had vanished. She let out a deep sigh and smiled at me as if relieved of a heavy burden. Behind her, I saw the boys emerging through the portal, one by one. Thank goodness they appeared mostly unharmed!

I turned to Alice once more and asked, "What were you doing here?"

Alice let out a sigh. "We were following you and saw that she was going to kill you. We couldn't let that happen!"

Ah, things started to make more sense now. "So that was you?" I mused. "You fought those monsters?"

"Depending on who or what you're calling monsters, those were just dumb golems, and she's only a healer with some artifacts," Lynx remarked dismissively, examining his claws like a girl checking her nails.

I chuckled at his boasting. That calmed my mind.

As my heartbeat gradually returned to a more normal rhythm, I surveyed our surroundings once more. How had we ended up here? The boys were whispering among themselves, but I couldn't focus on their conversation. My mind was consumed with trying to make sense of the situation. I turned to the elf.

"Who are you, and what have you done to Mrs. Thorwal?" I demanded.

With a small bow, she replied, "My name is Julietta Thorwal. I married Wolfgang Thorwal fifty years ago."

I observed the elf closely. She had a slender figure, reminiscent of an ascetic nun, and her eyes were captivating, with long eyelashes and deep green irises flecked with other colors, evoking a lush jungle filled with exotic flowers. Two stupidly elongated ears protruded from her yellow-green hair, which cascaded around her like a shimmering veil. Her skin was nearly white, with subtle hints of brown undertones. With a petite, upturned nose and full lower lip, she possessed an ethereal beauty that seemed otherworldly. Despite her youthful appearance, one might have guessed her to be younger than twenty, yet she just said she was at least seventy, if she married with twenty. But then again, with elves, according to the legend, they should reach a millennium and still retain their youth; this must be true, isn't it?

"That's not your name!" I remarked, noticing the hint of panic in her eyes.

"It has been my name for fifty years!" she insisted, her voice trembling slightly.

It was clear that she was trying to withhold something, even while under my command.

"Wait, Mrs. Thorwal is an elf?" Mike exclaimed, clearly taken aback.

"I... I think I broke a finger," Hew interjected, holding his left hand gingerly in front of his face, his focus more on his injury than the elf's presence.

Tina approached him to inspect his hand.

"I don't think it's broken," she reassured him.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked skeptically.

"My mana sight allows me to see," she explained.

I was taken aback by this revelation. Had Tina mastered mana manipulation to such a degree?

"Can you heal him?" I asked the elf, not wanting to take any chances, even if his finger wasn't broken.

"Of course, master!" she replied.

Her use of the term "master" didn't sit right with me. "Call me Lores," I corrected her. "Who are you really?"

This time, her response was more complete. "On Earth, I am known as Julietta Thorwal, but my true name is Juliletta Trachenorma."

Tom interjected randomly, "My mobile has no connection..."

"Mine neither," Mike exclaimed as he checked his phone.

"Please heal everyone," I instructed Julietta.

Noticing the panic in her eyes, I asked.

"What's wrong?"

"My healing doesn't seem to work on you, but you can continue draining life from me until you're healed. Is this good enough?" she offered.

I nodded. "Okay, check the others in the meantime and heal yourself."

She nodded and began attending to the others.

I examined myself. My once-blue dress was now mostly burned away, leaving only a few crispy frills. My new shoes were nowhere to be found, but I was not that sorry about them. My skin stung from the burns, revealing the intricate patterns of the dress's fabric that had been seared into it, but as I continued to drain life, I felt slowly restored.

"Where are we?" Hew asked.

With no one offering an answer, I turned to Julietta. "Where are we, Julietta?" I inquired as I hastily dressed in a blouse and shorts.

"Somewhere in Guarava, probably North of Uldaman," she replied. Sensing my dissatisfaction, she added, "These portal scrolls seem to slowly drift with time."

I stood frozen, my jaw hanging open. It wasn't the information about the portal's drift that shocked me, but rather learning where we were. I had thought we were still on Earth.

"No!" I stated firmly.

"But... but... this must be Guarava!" she replied, clearly confused and astonished that I would contradict her on this subject.

"How did we end up here!?" I exclaimed.

"You stumbled into my escape portal," she explained.

"Where are we?" Michael asked, looking bewildered.

My legs suddenly refused to bear my weight and crumbled under me, letting my ass hit the hard ground with a thud.

"Is something wrong?" Tom asked, concern evident in his voice at my display.

I took a deep breath before replying. "We're in Adwana, on Aldea," I whispered.

"We're in Europe?" Mike wondered.

I chuckled. "No, Aldea is a planet, Adwana is a continent, and Guarava is a vast country. This is Mephisto's world," I said, gesturing to the glade.

"How... how is that possible?" Tom wondered.

"Guarava?" Alice questioned.