“Sorry madam you surprised me with this being my first time meeting a dark elf,” James said noticing he was staring too much.

“It is fine human boy, most who see me run off scared instead of holding a conversation. Is there anything I could help you with?” the dark elf responded glaring at James.

“I have some goblin monster cores and was wondering if I could either trade or sell them,” he responded as he pulled out the three smaller monster cores.

“Haha…. this must be a joke human boy. Dark elves either do business when it is profitable or if debts are owed. These little cores are not worth my time, and I have no knowledge of any debts one so young such as yourself may be owed so be on your way,” the dark elf laughed but her tone turned serious towards the end.

It was the dark elf’s talk of debts that sparked a memory for James from his past life. Reminiscing about his battles he came across a gory fight which tried to piece together then he cleared his throat before reciting in his best elvish he possible, “Alth’culez Zarishtu.”

The room was silent for a second before darkness poured out from the elf as it blackened out the room completely causing James’s heartbeat to quicken. Looking around he finally noticed those white eyes glowing as the only source of light before he heard, “Ezusha Mahina.”

The white paired eyes suddenly doubled next to each other and both approached James quickly. Before he could even move, he was pinned down by what appeared to be two dark elves. James could not see anything so he could only make that assumption based off the four hands holding him on the ground of the alchemy shop and the four white eyes staring at him.

“I demand you tell me now where you heard that name human!” the two sets of dark elves demanded while yelling at James at the exact same time.

Taking a moment to process his thoughts James replied as soon as he felt the four hands dig their nails into his chest and arms, “It was a long time ago that a hero mage candidate who used the lightning element was meant to attack a group of demons. The hero mage was told by his superiors that the demons were led by a vampire mazhin (demon tongue for hero). The battlefield was supposed to be located at an abandoned village, but the hero mage noticed while scouting that the vampire mazhin and his minions were killing off dark elf residents instead of looking for his party. It was well known that the dark elves were oppressed in the demon empire and revolted only to lose and be hunted down. The hero mage could not stand watching innocents being killed even if they were dark elves. He managed to save six dark elf families and gave up on his mission instead bringing the families into hiding in the elven kingdom of the holy empire. When they were safe one older dark elf told the hero mage to recite that name if he ever needed the debt paid off from a dark elf. All the dark elves of that village had eyes like yours.”

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The alchemy shop was met with silence for almost a full five minutes before the dark elf finally sighed. The light from the shop and windows finally came back to the elf giving James the site of two identical white eyed dark elves. He felt with his mana sense to recognize the real one and noticed an element which induced fear bringing back memories of his death before the fake was finally recalled into the dark elf. As her clone disappeared, she walked back behind the counter and resumed standing while staring at James.

Another five minutes went by making James wonder what is with this dark elf and waiting but could only be patient. He was worried she would kick him out or question him about how might know of the debt. It obviously struck a chord for her but something caught her attention because he was not dead.

“Then let the debt be paid. What would you like for the cores human?” She finally asked.

James felt relieved as he thought it over before his curiosity got the best of him, “What was the element of that darkness? Also how did you create two of you?”

“It is known as shadow element which is a subclass of the dark element. It is not popular in your holy empire, but it is rare almost everywhere in the world. Some races like dark elves have a higher affinity for shadow element from birth. As for the spell it is in human language known as shadow clone. Creates a double that is identical to the caster with about half the amount of power,” the dark elf patiently replied.

“Hmm I would really like that spell construct for the cores considering I would have trouble learning the dark elvish language for the incantation. However, as you said dark elves would only do business when it is profitable, and I would imagine three goblin cores are not worth it. I will take whatever gold you can offer for them to settle the debt,” he finally stated after some thought.

“Again, you would need the shadow element to use the spell. I could imagine any child who was tested with shadow as an affinity would be quickly killed off by even their parents in this corrupt empire,” the dark elf scoffed as she replied.

“You are right they would be killed which is wrong of the holy empire to do. However, I have been tested, received my first class, and am heading to school soon in the city of Anephis. Believe me when I say I could use the shadow element, still though the trade is not equal so do no mind my words. I will take any gold you may offer and some way to contact you if possible. That way when I have something worthy of trade, I could get the spell from you later.”

The dark elf raised her brow and for a moment stared at James yet again making him uncomfortable, but he just smiled back. Eventually she took the three small goblin cores and walked through a door leaving him alone. James could only wait for her to come back and complete the transaction.

It wasn’t long before the dark elf came back handing James a bag. She shooed him off with her hand and said, “As the darkness watches over may our debt be settled.”