Mathyx bounced the rock in his palm as he kept a close watch on the rabbit with . Other than birds on the wing, it was the first creature they’d encountered. At least he assumed so. Marithra had vanished into and he lacked the tracking skills to find her. She wasn’t armed though, as far as he was aware, so she couldn’t have been cleaning up monsters on the way to the castle. Not to mention the complete lack of corpses.

Shrugging, he tossed the rock up once more before snatching it out of the air. Focusing on the rabbit, he let fly with the rock. There was a squeak of surprise from the poor thing before it keeled over, one leg twitching for a moment before going still.

Mathyx blinked at the notifications. No way it was that easy. Frowning, a thought occurred to him. Glancing around for a moment before spotting a likely stone. Picking it up, he made his way to the corpse. Using the stone as a rough knife, he tried to gut the rabbit.

The corpse seemed to disintegrate in his hands, fading into motes of light that lingered for a moment before extinguishing.

Glaring at the lack of corpse in his hands, he then focused his on the stone in his hands.

A rough stone that can be used as a makeshift knife for skinning or combat, though it has severe penalties to both.

Huh. Was that why his skill failed? That or that he had just gained the skill. Mathyx wondered what the skill grind would be like in this world. Would he be making the same things over and over again?

Fantasy Question Online had a pretty comprehensive crafting and harvesting system, with the most experience gained by doing new things. Hopefully it worked that way here as well. He was also happy to note that he wasn’t limited to a certain number of skills, though he imagined it would take far too much effort to level up multiple crafting and harvesting skills.

Shaking away the distraction, he searched for the stone he’d nailed the rabbit with. At least he was somewhat armed now. It wasn’t a bow, but it was better than his bare hands. Glancing at those hands, he pursed his lips in thought. Hmm…

***

A rustle in the bushes had Mathyx pause and back behind a tree. While mostly he’d just seen wildlife, a few of which he’d been able to dispatch with well placed stones to the head, or a followup stab with his . That didn’t mean there wasn’t something bigger and nastier out there just waiting for him to let his guard down.

Peeking around the trunk, he grinned as a boar burst free of the bushes, snorting in apparent anger. So the beasty had detected him after all. While it did appear to be a slightly larger version than he remembered from back home, a quick told him it was only a level 12 Boar.

Stepping into the open, he snapped off a quick throw to get the beast’s attention. It charged him. At the last moment he sidestepped the attack and sent a quick fist into the side of its head. A squeal was his reward as he knocked the beast on its side. He followed up with a quick stab through the eye with his stone.

Mentally waving away the notifications, he pulled his stone free of the corpse and pondered how to properly butcher the boar. He was starting to get hungry and pork sounded amazing at the moment.

“Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone bash a boar like that!”

Mathyx spun at the sound of the strange voice, stone held like a dagger and prepared to throw. What he found was a young looking elf in plain garb with a bow in hand, an arrow knocked, but aimed at the ground.

The elf slowly relaxed the bow, withdrawing the arrow and replacing it in the quiver at his belt.

Mathyx waited a moment before relaxing. “Who are you?”

“Oh my goodness. Forgive me. How discourteous. My name is Elphan.”

Focusing on the young elf, Mathyx tried .

“Hmph. Names Mathyx. That your boar I just killed?”

Elphan slung his bow over a shoulder and extended a hand. “That it was. Thank you for your help, Mathyx.”

Mathyx looked at the hand for a moment before reaching out and clasping forearms with the elf. “You from the castle? And is that boar dinner by chance?”

The elf blinked for a moment, then slowly nodded. “That it is… though… aren’t you from the castle? I thought all of us elves had been brought in after we captured it.”

Filing that little piece of information away for later, Mathyx shook his head. “I’m not from around here.”

Elphan chuckled. “None of us are, brother. The Godly Trio brought us here to be their champions.” Shaking his head in apparent amusement, the elf made his way over to the boar, hefting it onto his shoulders. Beckoning to Mathyx with a tilt of his head, he said, “Come. I’ll introduce you and you can get some food and supplies. I’m sure the Elders will be happy to have another fighter.”

Mathyx watched the slight form of the elf disappear into the bushes, then followed behind. Considering that the boar easily outmassed the elf, he had to have at least some bonuses put into strength. Something to figure out later. Maybe the System could tell him more about the Scout class, since it wasn’t one he had learned about during his time playing Fantasy Quest Online.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

***

Elphan maintained a constant chatter on the way back to the castle, telling Mathyx about his time in the new world. He confirmed a lot of what the dragon had already explained, which did much to ease Mathyx’s mind.

Seems that the elves had been brought here by their Gods and all placed in the same area. They hadn’t been in the world for more than a day before they found the castle. With their numbers and skills, the elves had taken the castle, clearing it of monsters and capturing the and the castle’s < Altar of Rebirth>, which gave them control of the structure.

Since then they’d been using it as a base, searching for other elves that the Gods had sent to the world. Up until they’d met in the forest, Elphan thought they’d succeeded in that aspect of their goals, at least. He was excited to meet another elf, though he was confused at how Mathyx didn’t know any of this already. His Gods should have told him.

Mathyx let Elphan ramble on for the most part, reflecting most of the questions back to the young elf as he dug for more information. Apparently there were almost a hundred elves in the castle, although only a few dozen were higher level warriors. Most of the rest were like him, only in the teens when it came to levels.

By that point they had reached a cleared area around the castle, the forest having been cut back to create a dead zone. Mathyx frown as he spotted the people working the axes, under the watchful eye of several elven archers.

That couldn’t be right. Slave wasn’t a class, was it? Just what was going on? He caught sight of the out buildings he’d noticed from a distance, appearing to be poorly constructed pens with leather covers and bars, with more humans sitting despondent within.

Before he could ask about it, the archers were greeting the returning elf, who immediately introduced Mathyx to the group. A quick set of Identifies showed the archers to be in the mid to upper 20s. Their equipment seemed rougher than he expected for a group of that level. Maybe they’d just been made here and they hadn’t had a chance to setup more complicated carpentry systems?

Mentally shaking away that line of thought, he continued to follow along, through the gates of the castle, past more heavily armored guards, various warrior types, with a couple in their 30s.

After a quick stop in the kitchens for Elphan to drop off the boar, they continued deeper into the castle. Mathyx tried to memorize the layout but other than a basic route he wasn’t sure where anything else was in the castle.

Eventually they arrived at a set of doors flanked by the highest level elves that he’d witnessed on their trip. One was a and the other was a . Their weapons still held that same oddly low level look compared to their levels. Just how long had they been here and where had they gotten their gear? Did they make it or find it?

Dismissing that thought, he focused on the conversation between Elphan and the guards. After introducing himself to the guards, Mathyx finally received a reluctant nod. The Dragoon peeked his head into the room, saying something Mathyx couldn’t quite make out.

Withdrawing his head from the door, the Dragoon nodded to himself and pulled the door open wider. “The Elders will see you, Mathyx. Know that should you make a false move, we will cut you down where you stand.”

Mathyx nodded. “But of course.” Then stepped into the room.

Sitting behind a massive stone table covered in papers were three elves that didn’t look nearly old enough to be called Elders. Not that Mathyx was sure how the elves of this world aged. Back in Fantasy Quest Online an elf could reportedly live to be nearly a thousand if they lived well. It wasn’t until the later half of those lives that they began to show signs of aging.

A quick identify revealed more information.

Council Member? That was definitely a new class. Didn’t seem like a combat class so that was a ridiculous level for these elves to have. Especially if they hadn’t been here long. Or did they come here with their higher levels in take, like Mathyx and Marithra had?

“Greetings Mathyx, we are the Council, representing The Great Conclave. Welcome to our castle. Are your people members of the Conclave?”

Mathyx pursed his lips for a moment, before shaking his head. “My people had not yet left our world until this one. It looks like I am the first of my people to be selected for this world.”

Alturas glanced at his companions before focusing on Mathyx. “Then it is all the more important that we welcome you. All elves are welcome to The Great Conclave. Only together can we show the other races their proper places, as well as prevent another tragedy like that which had befallen our ancestors among the first worlds.”

Mathyx offered the Council Members a slow nod. “Of course. We need to keep each other safe.” He tilted his head slightly as if looking through the walls to the outside of the castle. “Are we going to have to worry about more humans or did you manage to get them all in the area?”

Harthan chuckled. “The humans were a trifling matter, as they are on all worlds. Some were trying to assail this castle when we came upon them. They were swiftly subdued and we continued on to conquer the castle. Now it serves as a beacon to gather our brothers and sisters who had been set adrift in this world. The Godly Trio always send as many of us as they can to these worlds.”

Both grinned and added, “Though it would have been nice to have been among the Warriors rather than a Council Member. However, who are we to question the wisdom of the Gods?”

Mathyx allowed a smile he didn’t feel to grace his lips. “But of course. I’m glad I was able to make my way here with the assistance of young Elphan. How many Scouts do we have out looking for wayward siblings?”

The Council Members shared a look before Alturas nodded. “We have over half a dozen Scouts searching their area for food and companions, with another pair venturing further out in search of threats.”

Mathyx allowed a more natural smile to shine through. “That’s good to know. Hopefully more of people were sent nearby and we can be reunited. In the meantime, is there somewhere I can wash up and rest?” He held up his hands, which were slightly stained from his attempts at butchering.

Alturas held up a hand against his lips. “Oh my goodness. How discourteous. Yes, of course. Just ask the Scout to show you to lodgings. Rest and recuperate, warrior. We’ll discuss how you can aid the efforts on the morrow.”