I only managed to sleep for a few hours before there was a knock on my door. An elf, one I haven't seen before, enters my room without me saying anything.

"Oh, sorry. Were you still meditating? I could come back in an hour. It is morning twilight, so I imagine you would be awake."

I nearly forgot that elves don't sleep like humans do instead. They spend a few hours in a pseudo-sleep state, similar to meditation. That also explains why my bed is so uncomfortable and small. There is some spiritual significance to their sleep habit, but nothing I would know about precisely.

"My species goes unconscious for 6 to eight hours, sometimes more, instead of meditating."

"Oh, why?"

"That's just how our bodies work."

"That sounds like a monumental waste of time."

"For some, it's the only thing they look forward to. Personally, I don't sleep much. Why are you here?"

"The elder is busy and cannot continue your conversation. Instead, they want me to show you some pertinent buildings. You can refer to me as Melody. I am the chief healer of the Atunum people."

"Can you tell me the situation? Cloverheart seemed happy to break his moral compass and bring me here only because I am a healer."

"Harvesting poison is very dangerous, and since you can detoxify poisons, we can gather more of it since we have a safety net. I've been told you can do that. Is that the truth?"

I take the time to finally examine the elf that broke into my abode. It's female. It still freaks me out based on some base-level instincts... But she is objectively less good-looking than the elder. Their clothes are slightly different, and she seems to have more of a ceremonial thing going on.

"Yeah, I can detox."

"Splendid."

My clothes are a bit tight and a bit too long for my body. Melody then proceeds to take me on a miniature tour of their settlement.

There's not much in the room of luxury, and every building has a practical purpose. Anyone strong enough to hunt is a part of the hunting party Cloverheart oversees. And everyone else has a profession that would better the tribe.

Melody tells me the base structure of their society. There are multiple leaders, and each leader helms their own group of tribesmen for the different jobs. A hunting party, a gathering party, artisans, the healers, and the lorekeeper.

I asked what happens if someone can't fill one of the roles. Melody said they'll starve, but no one in their tribe has been deemed 'dead-weight,' and new blood is rare to come by. In the centuries they've been isolated on the island, they've only had half a dozen children born in the village.

The yearning to go back to their homeland isn't some ancestral right. They literally wanna go back home to the place they've been kicked out of.

I asked a few questions. All of them were met with dismissal or an expression of pain. How many people are in the village? Is the birthday low? If it is, why is it that way? Why is lorekeeper singular rather than plural? Is it just one lorekeeper?

Anyway, at that time, she showed me where the hunters do training exercises, where I can grab a meal, and where the sick and injured stay.

Eventually, a different elf relieved Melody of her duties and led me back to the room with the elder. Then we continued our conversation. I talked about what my species has uncovered, either from trading information with other races or just by the merits of our own scientists.

"It is debated if your planet broke apart before or during the Collision with our planet. It doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but recovered testimonials of dimensional refugees before the Collision stated that a 'disaster was imminent.' Regardless, we understand that the gods isolated the fragmented parts of the planet to protect them, and the rest were just integrated into my home planet."

I basically talked for an entire day while the elder wrote everything down. After our session, I asked if she needed anything else from me because I wanted to ask for something in return.

She learned from the session that residents of fractures don't live long outside of the fracture unless they are a tamed beast or willing to subject themselves to great weakness until they regain their strength.

There are a few conjectures on why that happens. Spiritual energy, mana signatures. But the important thing is whether or not they are considered residents of this fracture, even though they weren't born here technically. And for the elves born here, are they different.

The elder has been contemplating my words. Beyond the situation we find ourselves in. I feel happy that I'm able to talk about my thoughts. Although I am regurgitating information from my [Lexicon], I am also adding my thoughts and perspectives regardless of my qualifications.

Most of it can be considered philosophy. Since I like asking questions.

The elder looks at me in the eyes. and activates a skill. I know she did that because I feel a sudden sense of vulnerability and a bit of mana.

"Human with the name Ellis Vincere. Can I trust you?"

"Depends. I don't even know your name. Most of the information I know about you guys has been secondhand. I was hunted through jungles for quite a while before coming here. I don't have ill intentions against your people. I'm not here as a spy. So far, I've just been giving without receiving. That should change soon."

"You've been talking a lot but have not been lying. That seems unusual for any race, including the elves. I assume this is an individual thing rather than a racial thing."

"Deliberately lying is annoying. I don't even know the truths about the world. Why should I spin untruths? It is inconvenient to remember and keep up charades, plots, or false scenarios I have built around the others I keep around myself. I'd prefer not to have people surround me, whom I would need to lie to."

"You're strange. one of the reasons why our people didn't slay you on the jungle floor. Initially, we didn't even know that you were a person. Before one of our scouts laid eyes, we assumed some beast wandered into our territory."

"I get that a lot."

"I asked Thodeth why he humored a conversation with an unknown, and his answer surprised me. The person in front of me was an amalgamation of life and death. Not only so, but they have an overwhelming affinity to nature. From my elven eyes, it was as if I was looking onto one of Gaia's creations. A really ugly one. Way weaker than anything else in this jungle."

"Huh."

"The affinity of nature flows through you, but it does not embody your body, nor is it in your grasp to control outwards. Instead, conflicting energies course through you. Our people are sensitive to such attunements."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"So, a mixture of not thinking I was a threat, curiosity, and more curiosity was why there wasn't a fight."

"Perhaps. You have to ask Thedeth for more information."

"I feel we should lay out exactly what we want from this. I'm gonna call this a relationship or partnership. So, what binds our relationship?"

"I'm assuming from our previous conversations that we both share an interest in leaving this land. The situation regarding the fractures you've talked of is filled with irony. Heading to the coast, crafting a boat, and sailing the seas back to the elven continent would be significantly more difficult than finding a dimensional rift."

"So you're okay with having your tribe focus on finding this exit?"

"I have a means of determining if someone speaks falsehoods. You don't seem incompetent, nor have you lied. It may take months for us to find this so-called exit. Whether it is hidden in the far reaches of this island or if it will be summoned by slaying the most dangerous beasts, ample preparation is required."

So it was.

Can this be considered the first alliance I've made?

The elder immediately told her people about a possible means of leaving this island, thanks to me. From then on, I was forced to meet each and every elf.

There are roughly 50 elves in this village, excluding a child. Less than half are part of the hunting party, capable of killing the creatures in this fracture.

The plan is to send the scouts to scour the island, moving the settlement to make the journey to and fro easier. If I want meals, I'll need to pull my weight.

And practice martial arts. I need to predominantly focus on my training.

I spent the first two days healing elves, learning some of their cultures from my patients or fellow healers. I worked for food, so once I earned enough for the remaining week, I set my sights on training.

And my attunements made it exponentially easier.

I felt less tired with the same effort, allowing me to go longer than I'm used to. Parts of the training required me to break down my body in specific ways, which were done more easily thanks to my embodied death energy.

It's not precise enough to do specific injuries but enough to speed up breaking down my body and rebuilding it. Also, wounds that would force me to use my skill to heal would slowly mend themselves, allowing me to be more sparing with my mana.

It hasn't borne fruit, but I try my court skill, mansion skill, and summon skill every day, sometimes more than once. I will continue to try until I'm out or it works.

I leveled my martial skill by the end of the week, with it being on the verge of leveling again. Since I don't know if I will have to face a strong opponent - or a tribe of elves if things go wrong - I can't be stingy about my training.

[Path of the Broken Body B Lv1 -> Lv2

Unarmed Damage: +60% -> +65% ⬆

Maximum Health: +60% -> 65% ⬆]

I also want to see what my unique Title [Resilience Incarnate] brings me. It might be the difference between life and death for any foreseeable boss fights within the fracture. I should reach two out of three requirements from ranking my martial skill to A.

[Resilience Incarnate U 0/3

To get to a point where even trolls envy your engorged vitality, you must become [Resilience Incarnate]. This Title will be taken away if there is someone better suited for this Title.

Regeneration🔒(Recover from 0% to 100% in less than a minute using nothing but your regeneration)

Health🔒(Have a health bonus of +300%)

Resistance🔒(Unlock every resistance type)]

The format implies that each might provide something since each requirement follows a different attribute of resiliency. I don't know. It's a gamble either way.

My attributes have been assigned without any discomfort.

Name / Nickname

Ellis Vincere / The Last Winner

Race

Human

Class

Monarch Master (Rank A)

Level

300 (0/15b)

Titles

Proud Owner of a Rock, Fell the Mighty, Heptad Attuner, Indulger, Resilience Incarnate… ▽

~

~

Health Points

21,849/21,849 (+285% bonus)

Mana Points

3525/3525

Armor Points

0

Might

727 (500 > 661 + 10%)

Agility

727 (545 > 661 +10% + 10)

Vigor (P)

1135* (886 > 1000 + 10% + 35)

Mind

766 (495 > 661 + 75 + 30)

Spirit

760 (625 + 20% + 10)

Perception

150

Charisma

100 (45 + 15 + 40)

Attunement

100

Luck

2

Unused

500 > 0

The elves scoured their entire territory and the surrounding jungle and found nothing. Their movement speed and efficiency are something else while on their home turf. Unfortunately, scouting the coast, mountains, and desert will be a hassle.

The elves plan to leave the desert for last and won't consider checking oceans for any signs of an exit. They will move their tribe's location in a few 'weeks,' once they finish scouting this half of the island. Most of the hunting party will be gone, so they will tighten their defenses.

Before moving, I won't be needed in any search efforts since they are more familiar with this side, and I'll slow everyone down or get lost when left alone in the woods.

I also learned something strange from one of the healers. It's the reason why they had difficulties healing everybody. They had to use healing slavs for the bulk of their healing. Something about this fracture causes problems with them regaining mana. I knew elves regenerated mana differently than humans, but that was surprising.

Traditionally, when elves' meditate, their mana pool gets replenished by a mysterious source. The source isn't 'mysterious' to elves. I don't know what it is. No human does. Regardless, these elves can only regenerate their mana once a month rather than once a day.

This problem started roughly around the same amount that this place would have become a fracture. Humans regenerate their mana passively, but most come back while we sleep. Scientists fight each other regarding mana, so rather than adopting their theories, I'd prefer to create my own... eventually.

The reason I haven't spotted any magic casters is probably a different thing. No druids. No shamans. No sorcerers. Nothing. Their healers are elves with medical knowledge, healing skills, or apothecaries.

I speak to the elves as I earn my food for the next week.