“Wait.”

I raised my hands slowly to my head level. It was enough to imply I was open to negotiating and I could block if he were to attack.

“Is there a reason why you are attacking me?”

Caught in a tense standoff with the elven archer, I felt the weight of the situation intensify. The forest guardian's aura exuded strength, and the markings on his bow hinted at the potency of his weaponry. However, I could have just avoided fighting altogether if I could convince them. I haven’t broken any rules. I wasn’t in their forest and I was a guest. If they attacked me because they saw me as a human invader I could salvage the situation.

“Humans are always the same. You know your own wrongdoings yet you behave as if you are sinless. Begone.”

His tone was cold and judgmental. I noticed the mana gather around his arrows as a sharp yet warm wind blew. It reminded me of Lily’s abilities. He released his bow’s string. I had nearly no time to dodge yet I managed to sidestep it. Or at least I thought I did. The arrow strengthened by wind and mana curved and struck me in the stomach. This time it pierced my stomach. I let out a pained gasp. Okay, you know what? I am going to fuck this bitch up. Then I can clear this misunderstanding.

Without losing a second, he was ready to release his arrow. He dodged Gökbörü’s ice spears and fired the second arrow.

(You are fighting together with your partner. Your stats increases by 10 percent.)

(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increase by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)

(Ferocity of Wolf King is activated. Your speed and reflexes increase by 20 percent for 3 minutes.)

I caught it before it could pierce my eye. I was pushed back with the force and winds the arrow carried yet I managed to stop it. He looked shocked, his calm expression clearly disturbed. Since I couldn’t absorb it, I snapped it into two. It was tougher than I expected.

Since he was walking on the water, it was hard for me to reach him. I manifested a spear and threw it with my right arm as Gökbörü jumped and clung to the left one. Elven archer dodged it effortlessly just like I thought. Using the momentum of motion I sent Gökbörü flying into the air. He looked confused as he saw Gökbörü disappear high into the air. I charged, borrowing Ice Wolf’s Breath to freeze the water to create footholds. His stone-cold composure began to crack as I swung my hammer, causing waves to erupt under our feet. Even with my enhanced speed and reflexes and the uneasy terrain, he was hard to catch as he gracefully retreated while firing rapid yet weak arrows.

The thing was his retreat route was already predicted by me. No doubt he had good senses. However, his focus diverted towards several different things, dodging my attack, firing arrows, and keeping that water walking ability active it was too late when he noticed Gökbörü falling down to his head with a block of ice. The elven archer's eyes widened in realization. Caught off guard by the unexpected assault, he attempted to evade, but the ice block collided with him, sending both of them crashing into the water below. I seized the opportunity, sprinting across the frozen footholds I had created. The Ferocity of Wolf King surged through my veins, enhancing my speed and reflexes. I grabbed Gökbörü out of water who despite the impact was swimming well. But the elven archer was nowhere to be seen.

I narrowed my eyes as I traced the water for a sign of him or the other two elves that had attacked me. Yet they were nowhere. Wait. What if that strike knocked him out? What if he is drowning now? Shit, I had to-

I was proven wrong as massive branches existed out of the water, destroying my fragile foothold. As I jumped between the branches, I saw him stand out of the water on top of the branches, blood pouring out of his forehead. He looked like a cat that was just forced to bathe. Two more arrows hit my back, probably courtesy of the other elves. They weren’t strong enough to cause real damage but it still hurt.

“Enough of this. I could have killed you if my partner made his ice sharper or heavier. That’s not what I want. I am a guest of Morrigan Blackclaw and a force working to unite humans and beastkin. I was given the right to conquer this dungeon as a sign of friendship from Captain Börü and Morrigan.”

I waited for a response. Elven archer looked at me and slowly rose to his feet. From the branches, a sap-like substance and a big drop fell on him. I saw the wound on his head close. I let it happen.

“My name is Poyraz Karabulut. If you have any doubts, I am willing to return back to Whifur and prove my identity and goals. I was about to return before you attacked me. This dungeon has something wrong going on.”

I exclaimed. He shook his head.

“You still talk as if you are innocent! I can sense Nidhogg’s cursed energy from you!”

He shouted while pointing his finger at me.

“You are talking about this?”

I pulled the Nidhogg's Reckoning Blade. His immediate reaction was disgust. He turned his head away from it.

“I found this on the first floor. It was one of the wrong things I mentioned.”

I felt the branches move toward the dry land. I didn’t move and let it take me there. I jumped off. I demanifested my arm guards and showed the bracelet Morrigan gave to me in case of an emergency.

“I have this too.”

Archer also jumped off the branches. We looked at each other.

“My name is Elandris Stormwind. I am a Forest Guardian chosen by Mother Tree.”

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He introduced himself but we had still some distance between us, implying he still had doubts. I put the blade back into my bag of holding, as its presence only increased the tension between us. I gazed around, hoping the detect the remaining two but they didn’t show themselves. If I had to guess they were ready to fire if they deemed me as a danger to their companion.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

I half sarcastically said.

“I don’t know much about Nidhogg beyond it being a dragonic species. Can you explain why it is dangerous?”

He inspected me for a while before opening his mouth:

“Nidhogg is a vile creature that feeds on the Mother Tree. We heard Mother Tree’s cries as her roots were chewed and torn off by it. The life that was nurtured by Mother started to fade away as she got weaker too. We have been looking for what could have hurt her and we detected Nidhogg’s poisonous mana from here.”

I tilted my head. If what he said was true that was a big problem. I remembered my talks with farmers. They said that the crops weren’t what they used to be. It was caused by Mother Tree weakening?

“Wouldn’t something like a dragonic species be easy to spot? The wurm I met before was really really hard to miss. Morrigan or Amaterasu would have noticed it if it was close, I think.”

Elandris Stormwind, the elven archer, listened to my words with a hint of skepticism still lingering in his gaze. As he pondered my question about the detectability of a dragonic species, I couldn't help but to be concerned about the potential threat to Mother Tree. Any damage to her would damage Whifur.

“Our records show that Nidhogg starts its life as a larva like an insect. As it absorbs the life force of the Mother it, grows and matures until it can pose a physical threat to the Mother. In its immature form, it has the ability to conceal itself and move stealthily. It can be a master of disguise, blending into its surroundings and tricking the mana.”

That makes sense.

“I am afraid it already grew out of its larva form. The weapon I showed you was made out of one of its fangs.”

Elandris crossed his arms, contemplating the information.

“That may be true. However, it is not mature yet. If it was it would have come for the Mother openly. It is still an adolescent and we should kill it before it matures fully. If it matures all the forest and Whifur will turn into a poisoned death zone.”

I rubbed my chin and thought for a minute.

“I would certainly want to stop that. How can I help?”

Elandris looked at me for a minute.

“We detected one of the roots in this dungeon being damaged. There is a chance that Nidhogg is on the last floor.”

I tilted my head to the other side.

“There is a root of the Mother Tree in this dungeon?”

He shot me a gaze of ridicule.

“Every dungeon around here has a root of Mother Tree reaching to it. The reason why there are so many dungeons in this area is thanks to Mother Tree.”

Ohhh. That explains it.

"I see," I responded, absorbing the newfound knowledge. "So, the root in this dungeon has been damaged, and Nidhogg might be responsible. If that's the case, then I'm more than willing to assist in eliminating this threat as it affects my friends too.”

Elandris nodded, his initial skepticism gradually giving way to a cautious acknowledgment. The urgency of the matter was evident, and it seemed like I was able to at least convince him that I was helpful. I guess elves weren’t as prideful as the tales of the Earth.

“Esteemed Scout, please wait! Are you really trusting this human?”

A high-pitched voice rang in my ear as the other two elves came towards us. The one screaming was the shorter of the two. I guessed that she was female. Her brown hair was bob cut, a hairstyle I didn’t expect from elves. Her green eyes looked at me with a mix of disgust and hate. She wore clothing nearly identical to Elandris except they weren’t as enchanted as him. Hmm. Maybe the body figure didn’t change between male and female elves? Though I wasn’t even sure if I guessed their genders right.

“He is a human! He even has that parasite’s fang with him! We should get rid of him at once!”

Sigh, why this has to happen all the time? I swear.

“Calm down, Fealin. You have a fiery heart. But if you want to become a Guardian you need to acquire a calm mind too. I sense no falsehood in his words. If he wanted to he could have hurt me much worse if he wanted to yet he chose to talk.”

She glared at me.

“I actually have more reasons to not trust you since you attacked me. Look, even the arrows are still stuck in my armor.”

I pointed to arrows sticking out of my armor. All three’s eyes widened.

“You know our language?”

Elandris asked. Oh. So they were gossiping about me in their language. Damn, automatic translater at least give me the ability to differentiate between languages!

“I am originally from a faraway place. I know several languages.”

Technically, it was not a lie. The other elf, who had been silent until now, observed the interaction with a more neutral expression.

"I am Aelith Windwhisper, the third among us," the elf introduced herself, his voice calm and measured.

"If what you say is true, human, and you seek to aid us in dealing with Nidhogg, then we should work together."

I nodded, appreciating Aelith's more diplomatic approach. It seemed he was willing to give me a chance, unlike Fealin, who continued to regard me with suspicion. I lifted Gökbörü higher.

“This is Gökbörü.”

“Bark!”

Fealin snorted despite the Gökbörü’s cute face and wagging tail but didn't object further. It seemed like my understanding of their language made me more trustful in their eyes.

“If you pull something suspicious, my arrow will find you, human.”

I smiled.

“Dully noted.”