“It took some time but we managed to narrow it down to where it could be.”

I inspected the wall of thorns in front of me as I listened to Elandris. Despite the size and sharpness of the thorns, several flowers grow out between them.

“I don’t understand how Mother Tree can’t tell where Nidhogg is eating her. Shouldn’t it be very, very painful?”

Lily asked a question I wondered about before. Since I thought about it before, I could at least take a guess.

“It is not rare for parasites to suppress the immune system of their host. Also, I don’t think Mother Tree has pain receptors.”

I looked at Methild, who should have a better understanding of the situation.

“Nidhogg has the ability to hide itself. That coupled with how many creatures Mother interacts with on a daily basis allowed it to avoid detection. But it cannot keep up. As it grows, it needs more.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the thorny barrier before us as she considered our next course of action.

"Fortunately," she continued, her tone growing more determined, "we have the advantage of knowing its general location now. We will find it and we will kill it before it could cause more harm to Mother.”

I nodded though the general location meant that we had to search for it first. I turned around to see Elder and several more elves coming in our direction. They were holding potions and what I think were magical items.

“We hope that these items can be of use to you. We have healing potions, antidotes, stamina potions, and buffing-related ones. But I should inform you that antidotes will only help you to slow down the poison until your body manages to expel it. Elandris, Methild I am speaking to you specifically.”

Elandris dutifully noted while Methild kept looking at the items.

“Have you brought what I asked you to?”

She asked while putting things in her pouch. I assumed that it was a bag of holding. Unlike the time she teleported in front of us, she was equipped for the battle. Her chest piece was similar to what Elandris wore with the rune of Guardian of Forest. She wore leather gloves dyed in earthy tones. Several runes were painted on them with green dye. Her boots were similar and I guessed that they were a set. She also wore a silk cloak to cover her exposed shoulders and arms. She was even more lightly armored than Elandris. But seeing the staff she held and the circlet adorning her forehead marked her as a mage so it wasn’t that surprising. Plus, I planned on doing the tanking.

“There it is! Here, Poyraz. Take a look.”

The elves surrounding her had panic overwhelm their faces as she raised what she found. They opened their hands, waiting to catch it if Methild dropped it. I stepped closer and saw that it was a bow inside a glass cube. It was fairly long, longer than the bow Elandris was using. That wasn’t the only difference it had, however. It was polished and sleek, giving a black luster. Its bowstring looked like it could sever your fingers from your body as if it were a black laser. Several gemstones gave a shimmer similar to moonlight.

“What is that?”

Lily jumped on my back to look at it.

“Shadowchaser's Eclipsebow. Shadowchaser was a unique elf with darkness affinity, unseen except her for our kind. This is her bow.”

I shook Lily so he would fall but he clung more to me. Elder didn’t seem to mind his antics.

“Was she evil?”

I covered my face as Lily asked a dumb question.

“No. She was loyal to Mother.”

Elder patiently explained.

“I feel that there is a “but”.”

I spoke up this time. Methild jumped into conversation before Elder could explain.

“One needs to have darkness affinity to use this bow. If you don’t, the string will sever your fingers.”

Despite the topic of losing fingers, she spoke up so casually.

“That’s why it was locked away so that some young elf wouldn’t lose their fingers while trying to impress their peers. But now we have a potential candidate!”

She held the cube with one hand while pointing to me, nearly dropping the cube to the ground and giving a heart attack to the Elder and other elves.

“If you don’t want to risk it you don’t have to try it. I only brought it because Methild insisted that you could use it. Since I also sensed you being darkness affinity, I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Elder explained as he snatched it away from Methild’s hands. Hm. Even if it severed my fingers, I was sure I could reattach them.

“I can try but is it really okay? This bow looks important.”

He waved his hand.

“You are chosen by the Mother. If it wasn’t for the situation we would had a celebration and showered you with gifts. It is also better if it is used. It is a shame for a bow this fine to go unused.”

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I nodded and Elder put the cube on the ground. He pressed his hand to it and several runes shone before they faded away. The lid slid open and Elder took several steps back. I reached for it and noticed that everyone held their breaths in anticipation. I grabbed it, feeling the weight of it without touching the string.

I took a deep breath as I manifested an arrow. The bowstring wasn’t like the shadows I entered or melted but I still focused the same way. With a single, quick motion I notched the arrow and pulled it back. Pulling it back fully required lots of strength but what I focused on wasn’t that. I felt nothing in my hand. I couldn’t feel the string itself despite seeing the black laser and the tension of the bow. As my muscles strained to their limits, the limbs of the bow split into two. A black empty circle formed in front of me like some kind of aim assist.

I let it go and the arrow flew without making a single noise before piercing the thorn wall. I heard gasps of excitement.

“Well, this is something.”

I looked at the bow in my hand. It returned back to its original shape after I shot the arrow.

(Shadowchaser's Eclipsebow)

(Power:25)

(Durability: 500\500, regenerates slowly in full darkness)

(This legendary bow, wielded by the esteemed elf known as Shadowchaser, is a marvel of elven craftsmanship and magic. Due to her unique existence, Shadowchaser was never satisfied with the bows her brethren used. To satisfy her needs, she crafted this bow using the rarest materials during an eclipse.)

(Soulreaver Strike: By channeling the umbral energies within this bow, the User’s arrows will be infused with the power to damage souls. Every arrow will ignore 20 percent of the target’s Defense and Darkness Resistance.)

(Hunter’s Mark: By infusing your mana into this bow you can place a mark on a living being. For the next 24 hours, you will be able to track their movements even through obstacles and illusions regardless of the distance. Attacks made to the marked target will deal Darkness damage based on the User’s Agility stat.)

(Umbral Snare: Every successful hit has a 10 percent chance to animate the target’s shadow. This shadow will try to cling to whoever it originated from, reducing their Agility by up to 25 percent.)

Holy shit. This bow is amazing. Lily looking over my shoulder looked at me with jealousy. I extended him the bow.

“What, you wanna give it a try?”

He looked at the shadow bowstring and then back at me.

“Thanks, but I need these fingers in the bedroom.”

I snorted and shook his smug face off me. He still clung to me until Methild gave him some items too. He proudly showed off the ring that increased his Agility and Wind-based attacks. The pendant he received increased his stamina which was needed for him. It also formed a shield in danger so I was a little bit more comfortable with him coming with me.

“These are the last help we could give to you.”

Elder said as he opened the last chest. Inside were a dozen or so arrows, each nearly as long as me. They were also thicker than regular arrows.

(Dragon Slayer Arrows)

(These specialized arrows are crafted for one purpose: to pierce the scales of mighty dragons and bring them to their knees. Each one of these arrows acts as a poison to dragonkin, ignoring 50 percent of their Defense and Resistances.)

“Can’t we mass produce these?”

Lily asked as he spun one of the arrows.

“Some of the materials required to produce them went extinct a long time ago so did everyone who knew how to produce them.”

Elder explained.

“Of course.”

Lily scoffed.

“The fact that we are using these arrows itself is a danger. If a true dragon knew that a weapon capable of slaying them existed, they would burn the Mother to get rid of them. But I trust you to never speak about them outside.”

Oh. I understand why materials and producers went extinct. I guess I also wouldn’t like something like “Human Destroyer 9000” flying around. Well, I needed just 1 really. I could absorb and then reproduce it.

“You take the 9 of them, Elandris. 3 is enough for me. You know why.”

Elandris originally put half of them to his quiver and stepped to the side to let me have the rest but I didn’t need all. Plus, he was a better archer and I didn’t plan on focusing on long-range attacks.

After receiving all we needed, we were ready to move. I pulled my massive shield from my back and took my spear in my remaining hand.

“Good luck. May fate allow you to return unharmed.”

Elder bowed his head and the other elves followed his example. I marched forward, ready to face the parasite and protect this place.