A voice boomed in the crowded hall of the guild.

“Someone is preying on us adventurers, and on all magic users.” The guild master announced. He was a tall, proud man with white hair and beard, and he carried himself tall despite his age. “We cannot tolerate this. We need to fight back. And we will! Believe me, we will! But for now, I ask you.” He paused, looking at the rapt faces staring back at him. “No, it is with a heavy heart that I need to order you. You are not to go out alone until the situation is resolved. Yes, you heard it right. No more solo missions for the time being.”

“We cannot afford to lose more men. Good men. All adventurers are to go out as a team or, if you don’t have one, to find a team. I ask all of you who already have a team to be true brothers in these trying times, and to welcome new friends to join you if they need to.”

“That is all. Thank you.”

Albert hovered around the guild for a while, asking questions. He decided not to register as an adventurer in order not to suffer the limits imposed by the guild master, but in turn it meant that most people were wary of him. No adventurer was willing to give out information to a nobody, especially to someone they had never seen before who had arrived suspiciously close to the murder of four of their own.

Albert, in turn, couldn’t muster the courage to pretend any longer, the sole thought causing his throat to clamp shut and his mouth to become dry as a desert. He felt the weight of his actions and fixations, and couldn’t wait to remove himself from the guild. Remaining there reminded him of what he did, of the life he took, and he didn’t want to think about it. Even if only for a little while.

Eventually he decided to scout the area around town to get a good feel of the land, searching for any clues that he might notice with magic vision. As soon as he stepped out of the city and into the forest, the familiar connection with nature was restored and helped to calm his mind, for a time, with its soothing presence.

Albert walked, keeping a keen eye out for anything out of the ordinary. He climbed trees to see further away when he could, and got a good feel of how the land was shaped in the area. He was in a plain surrounded by far away mountains, their white tips barely visible through the many kilometers of atmosphere that separated them from the forest.

If he strained hard, and used [Perception] to its maximum power, he could see shapes in those mountains. Dark, large. For a moment he mistook them for trees or structures, until he saw that they were moving.

The thought of giant creatures unsettled him for a moment. He was in a land of magic, after all, but with all that happened perhaps his mind had not yet fully absorbed the notion. The novelty. The strangeness.

The trees too, upon closer inspection, were strange. Tall, imposing and with thick trunks and thin leaves, somewhere in the middle between a conifer and a large oak. Scant light filtered through, but the plants on the forest floor didn’t seem to mind, instead growing tall and green. The terrain sometimes sloped up, at other times down, leading to small creeks and rivers that filled the air with the sound of rushing water.

Albert’s Forest Mimetics skill came in very handy. There were a few predators, or monsters, roaming around. Most of them, thanks to the skill, didn’t even notice his presence. He left them well alone, not really in the mood to add any more senseless killing to his permanence in the area. He might not have cared much about disrupting the peace of an environment so far away from his home, although he actually did despite his self-talk, but the consequences of him killing the huntress still haunted him.

He was not in a video game, no matter how much the system made his life look and feel like one. Actions had consequences. And people suffered real pain, both physical and emotional. People had lives even when Albert did not look at them, and now because of him, there was more suffering in the world.

He would do better next time.

Then his thoughts were cut short.

The rustling of leaves. Hearing the sudden sound, Albert pressed himself against a thick bush, letting his skill do the work to make him invisible to most senses.

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It didn’t work. Two elven hunters, they too possessing what was equivalent to the same skill as him but at a higher level, dragged him out of the foliage and threw him on the ground. They were strong, stronger than he was with his skills. He should not have slacked off with his physical training, he thought while in mid-air, since the skill he had only enhanced what was already there.

Albert activated Bullet Time on reflex, opting not to switch to the 100-fold version just yet. He took stock of the situation. The hunters were both elves, it was evident by their ears and their clothing. They wore leather armor. One of them had a staff and long robes, silken and smooth. The other had a crossbow and a dagger, wearing a circlet to tame his long, white hair.

[Appraisal] confirmed that they were elven hunters. Since now the skill also displayed what their level would be if they had a similar system to Albert, he could also see that they were level 8 and 7 respectively. It didn’t help much, though, because he had no idea what leveling up meant in terms of bonuses.

Albert completed his fall and rolled on the ground, ending in an upright position. He deactivated Bullet Time to try and reason with them.

“Please, wait.” He said, throwing his hands up. The situation reminded him of the last time he was attacked, and how it didn’t work. This time it was different: he spoke the language. “Wait. Why are you attacking me?”

The crossbow elf scoffed. “Groveling like a true weakling. Weak elven blood, tainted by human genes. You are an abomination.”

Albert cocked his head. “Is this a racial thing?” Already he was feeling less guilty for having to fight the elves. He didn’t like racist people.

The time for talks was over, it seemed. A bolt was shot from the crossbow, but Albert blocked it easily with Telekinesis. He made sure not to aim his power in the direction of the elves, and he was right to do so, because a tree exploded right behind the bolt, following the line he traced with his hand in the air.

The elves did not stop to watch it happen. They recoiled, wary of this power, but when Albert did not use it on them they immediately acted. As a shower of wooden splinters obscured the sky from the still disintegrating tree, one dashed while the other prepared to cast. A magic circle appeared on top of his staff while Albert backhanded the elf who was charging at him with his full [Strengthening] and using the martial techniques from [Mixed Style Fighting].

The strength of the blow was enough to send the crossbow elf flying, and Albert could defend from the green bolt of energy coming out of the other one’s staff. It was wind magic, dense and deadly. Albert had his shield, but chose not to get hit by someone of such high level, instead teleporting behind him.

Before the elf could react, Albert punched him. The idea was that since this one was a mage, he could not tank a hit at full strength, so Albert held back. The hit was still enough to make the mage lose his balance for a moment, during which Albert teleported again and fired a fireball to the now recovering crossbow elf. He had arrested his fall without apparent damage, demonstrating how he had a tougher body than Albert thought.

The fireball was shot, then he dipped again, picking up one of the fallen bolts and throwing it like a javelin, aided by [True Shot]. The mage defended himself, but barely.

Then Albert appeared before the both of them, holding a fireball in his hand ready to be unleashed.

“Stop right there.” He said. He did not use his psionic skill. He couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t end up like last time.

The two elves, still on the ground, froze and looked at him. Their faces were tense with rage and hatred, sharp teeth exposed as they hissed and snarled at him.

“Why are you attacking me?” Albert asked, shaking his head. He was utterly dumbfounded. “I don’t want to kill you, can you just go away or something?”

Besides, these two looked rather weak for being mage hunters. Sturdy, but not particularly deadly.

The crossbow elf tensed.

“Ah!” Albert snapped at him, holding a hand up and pretending to throw the fireball. “These hurt. And I kinda don’t want to hurt you. Just don’t move!”

It would be much easier if he could use Suggestion on them. But he needed to be very careful with it.

In the end, he chose to make them walk, carefully and slowly, towards a tree.

“Put your hands behind your backs.” He said. “Kneel.”

They complied.

“Now speak.” He ordered.

The mage, who had not spoken until now, finally opened his mouth. His voice was venom.

“A half-elf. Wielding human magic. Tainted, dirty. You are like them, aren’t you?” He asked. His silken voice did not match his tone. “A danger, roaming these lands. Possessing power you can’t control.”

Albert inhaled. The adrenaline was wearing off, and what the elf said hit him where it hurt.

“You know nothing about me. I’m not like anybody, I’m not even from around here!”

The elf pointed at him. “But the magic you use.” He looked at the stump of the tree. “You deny your nature, destroying what the forest created without a care. Just to save your puny life. You will get what you deserve.”

Albert paced around. He inhaled. “Listen—”

But they were not listening.

One moment they were there, the next they were gone. When they showed up again, this time Albert witnessed their full power. It was as if they had not only been holding back, but they were fighting with their hands tied the whole time.