I was tossed to the ground along with my sword. I rolled on the dirt and through the grass.

My world was a blur and it took an eternity to focus once more. I stood back up once I could, and my arms hung limp and broken.

My regen heart was still pumping rapidly from the energy of the prior fight, and it was already working on mending my many wounds. I decided to leave the organ to its work and take in my surroundings once more.

The eagle was lying on the ground, spent and resting, but less injured than before. Luine was attacking the elven(?) lady, and my friend was losing.

I blinked.

Luine's every attack was blocked with a casual smile, the weight of her two long daggers were nothing compared to the single knife of the elf. My friend's form shimmered, and I just noticed that she had seamlessly switched one of her daggers for a wand, but her opponent unerringly countered her weapons, seemingly seeing through the illusions at all times.

Luine completely disappeared, and the elf struck at the air, producing a metallic clang. Even invisible to all of my senses, Luine was still a screaming elephant to this enemy that had suddenly appeared.

No. Wait.

The elf paused for a moment. The wind blew tensely as nothing happened. She had lost track of Luine!

And then a glaring tempest rose with the elf as the center. My friend and benefactor was tossed out, crashing hard against a tree.

Luine did not get up.

Awww. She still lost.

But she made a statement, and that’s what matters!

Well, getting out of here alive mattered too, but that’s beside the point.

Luine tried to heave herself up, but winced at the pain that followed. She settled for glaring at our enemy instead, bracing herself to fight, even as she remained kneeling on the ground, as if she was supremely confident in her ability to pull off a win even from that position.

The elf opened her mouth, and the voice that spilled out was like the chimes of divine and sacred bells, regardless of the actual content. “There, have you calmed down human? I keep telling you! I come in the name of peace and all that is fun and cool. I mean no one any harm!”

I glanced down at myself, and at my broken and battered body. Luine finally managed to stand back up, but the woman who was far stronger than me was still left reeling.

“I believe you,” I said. The sarcasm was unclear enough to give pause.

The elf woman laughed. It was an elegant sound, coming from an unrestrained cackle.

I didn’t know how it was possible to cackle elegantly. She was slapping her thigh but the movement still came off as graceful.

I took the moment to get a good look at this new arrival. She wore an unassuming green cloak, and underneath it was an ornately beautiful dress armor. She had many weapons strapped to her body, from a longbow and a heavy staff hanging from her back, to a shortsword and a dagger tied to her legs. I was sure there were even more hidden away, as the knife she held dangerously close to her face had been pulled out from the frills of her dress.

Now is the perfect time for an ambush! I buried the stupid impulse away, along with the mountains of other intrusive thoughts. I was not winning this fight at my best, and I was currently at my worst.

Luine visibly made the same considerations, of whether she should attack right now and how to best go about that, but it was telling that she did not.

The elf finally calmed down after a few long minutes of laughing. She turned to stare at me with such an intensity that I felt like I may just be washed away in my already weakened state. But the stranger contained herself, and walked over to the fallen eagle instead.

I could finally breathe again.

“You took a right beating, Astan!” She bellowed with the elegance of a queen at a chapel. “All that coming from a level 10… whatever she is.” I could sense the sheer excitement and joy from her elegant voice, upon referring to myself. Usually I’d be flattered, but I was actually scared. “I told you coming to the west was a grand idea!”

Her hands suddenly moved in one swift and fluid motion. From taking out an ornate wand hidden within her cloak, to swinging it with such grace it was almost like she was dancing.

The very forest we stood on responded to her desire, and nigh instantly, a field of radiant flowers sprouted around the eagle, Astan.

Just like that, all the wounds I managed to inflict were healed and gone.

Astan stood to his full height, and his entire wingspan flared outwards. He folded them back a moment after, before leveling a solid glare upon myself.

I gulped.

I would fight if it came down to it, I’d already won once and we both knew it. But with the both of us armed with information about the other, I was unlikely to win a second time even if my wounds too were healed.

A sudden flare of pain helpfully informed me that such were most certainly not the case.

My former enemy gave me a respectful nod, and then took a step back. I nearly sagged in relief at that simple gesture, but I was not yet allowed my slumber as the elf caught me as I fell.

“Oh my dragons!” She gushed, and her voice remained beautiful despite the excitement. “What are you? Humans, centaurs, fountans, ogres, and more! I knew of all the races here and beyond, but I have never once heard of a being like you! WHAT ARE YOU!!!???? Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!”

The shorter woman skipped towards me and yanked off my helmet. She squealed as her gem-like eyes bore into my own equally unique pair. A hand grabbed my chin and tilted me around, making me dizzy from how fast she was inspecting every corner of my face. She then went on to grab my horns, and I did not like that.

She pulled, and I screamed. Her grip was surprisingly gentle and painless for how fast and strong she was, but I did not like it!

In the absence of hands with which to push her away, I headbutted the woman instead.

“What the fuck!? Get off me you fuck!!”

I panted and growled as the two of us just stared at each other. The elf was bewildered and confused, yet she still stood with the poise of a noble at a ball.

The rage ebbed and faded away until I finally realized what I’d just done. I had snapped at the person that trivialized the strongest attack I’d ever made, and soloed my friend Luine.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I did not regret a single damn thing.

“I’m sorry. I got excited! Those are just so unique! But you’re right, I should have asked first! So, can I touch your horns?”

I blinked. I couldn’t help but howl at the audacity of this bitch, though I had no idea if in a positive or negative way.

I sighed and faced her. My goat-like eyes bored into her own.

Luine was tensed like a coiled snake in the background, but she understood and was ready to fight to the death with me if need be.

“No.”

A pause.

“Oh well! That’s unfortunate. I tried.”

Astan then flew up next to her.

“Oww! What the fuck Astan? What gives!?”

He squawked and gestured with his wings toward me.

“So? I already apologized!”

More chirps and gestures.

“Eh? Really? Oh… right, shit I messed up.”

She turned to face me and smiled even brighter. “We got off on the wrong foot. I’m really sorry for just dragging you around like that. I was just watching your fight with my friend here earlier,” she gestured toward Astan, “and the moves you pulled! Below level 20! They were downright impossible! Absurd! And to win against Astan at level 30! An evolution above! Of a very individually strong species! Holy shit! And now that I'm near I can feel it! You’re not just using curse energies, it’s coming from within, and you’re producing it!! Can I–”

Astan slapped her behind the head, but I already could not hold back the silly smile from all those amazing compliments I received, made even more amusing by her constant and perfect pitch.

Of course, I was still a bit miffed about her earlier behavior, but this elf woman was really showing that she had proper taste.

It was hard to keep holding it against her, faced with such sincerity.

“Ah. Right, right. I was apologizing. Just got lost in explaining things there. But it’s definitely my fault, and I’m really fucking sorry. Please forgive me and let's start over… very cool and red not-human! With horns!” She bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle.

My emotions were a mess, it was a total rollercoaster dropped into the cauldron of a crazy insane witch. I collapsed before I could give my answer, but I managed to choke out the words before the depths of slumber claimed my soul.

“Fine. Let us start over.”

~~~

I woke up to a beautiful sunset. My wounds were healed, and the wind was peaceful and serene.

“Can we start over yet!?” I heard the sacred chime of a woman’s voice, and I turned my head to find the elf right above me, perched on a branch that should be way too fucking thin to hold her weight. Her bare feet were weird, like that of a bird’s crossed with a human’s, only far more dextrous than both combined.

I rolled out of the way.

“What?” I asked.

“You know, start over! You promised!”

“Ah… right, yeah. I did say that. Just don’t grab my horn again.”

“Without permission!”

“I’m not giving it to you.”

“Then I won’t grab it!”

“Good.”

“Tell me about what it does then! I know it’s nothing like anything I’ve ever seen yet!”

I narrowed my eyes. Her face was the epitome of sincerity.

“No. I won’t just share my Mutations. What the fuck.”

The elf seemed to mull this over. “I’ll also share my Mutations!”

Huh. That’s… actually a fair trade. But no.

“There are many elves. I’m sure that knowledge exists somewhere already.”

“Oh. So you’re the only one of your species then! How exciting!!”

…

“...No.” Crap! I took too long to respond. “Anyway! Weren’t we going to start over?”

“Yes! Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

I shook my head, and took notice of the other people around us. Astan was perched regally on a tree. And Luine was sitting on a rock, attempting to look calm and relaxed.

She must be really wound up if I could actually get such an accurate read on her.

“Let’s do it then!” The elven stranger jumped from branch to branch. “But if this isn't starting over, then what is? Do you want to like have our memories erased? Mind magic is very complicated, especially for such an application, but I do know a guy back home…”

She knows someone who can do something so terrible…

I blinked away the side-tangent. “Get down here and we’ll start over!”

“Okay!”

She jumped down and landed with nary a disturbance to the ground. It was like she weighed nothing, as if the elven woman didn’t even exist.

But she did. She was here, and she could kill me at any moment. Not that I’d allow that to rob me of my dignity, as both Haell Zharignan and a motherfucking demon. Perhaps the one and only demon, if my Status Screen were to be believed.

“I am Haell Zharignan. Nice to meet you.” I extended a hand out to shake.

She shook my hand and gasped. The sound was like a clear and idyllic meadow taking a breath. “Shit, I completely forgot to even introduce myself. I really messed up the first contact with a new species… good thing we’re starting over! I am known as Elfrafim. I’m an elf! You can call me Elfra in a hurry!”

The eagle that I fought flew down to the ground after, and gestured towards Elfra. “Oh! This is Astan. My friend and stalwart companion!”

“Kkiii!” he chirped, pecking at me. It was a playful gesture, and I felt no danger.

“Yes, yes. I am very cool,” I joked.

There was one last person who was yet to introduce themself.

Our collective attention fell on her.

"Ugh, fuck." She got up from her rock. It was a very comfortable rock. "I'm Luine. Nice... Well met? Hard to call it nice."

"It is nice! I've been nice since we started over! Also, you attacked me first. I was already being very kind by not killing you! I could have murdered you like..." she began counting on her hands “many many many times. It’s a lot.”

Luine frowned. She was offended. But she wasn’t delusional. "...Yeah. You're right. And that's the common way these things end." The dragons knew she would’ve absolutely gone for the kill. I'm liking this elven way to curse already. "So thanks. And yeah, nice to meet you."

Luine extended her hand to shake, but Elfra went in for the hug instead.

"Gah! What are you doing! I'm married!"

"What? Oh, sorry! I thought that's what you meant. A hug. Those were the vibes. Also, congratulations on your marriage!"

"That was like… years ago. But thanks. Do mind your personal space." She flicked a look at me, and I nodded sagely.

"I'm sorry." Elfrafim sagged. She looked so sad as she fidgeted and shrunk. "I was briefed before coming here, but I knew that people were a lot less friendly here. It just… hasn't sunk in yet."

Ugh. Now I feel bad. Despite how we got off on the wrong foot, so vile no one would’ve wanted to ever kiss it, I found myself actually liking Elfra. She was nice enough, just… extremely weird. And that’s just my kind of person... for some reason. It would forever remain a mystery why.

I approached the elven woman, and extended my arms for a hug. She hesitated, after the conversation we just had.

“Hug?” I asked directly. She immediately lit up and captured me in her own arms.

Ow.

It was a nice embrace, but holy shit my back was about to break. Her build seemed to be built for agility, not strength. It didn’t matter, my defenses were still overwhelmed.

The tyranny of levels, at its finest.

“Ow.”

Oh well. Elfra needs this, and I could always just heal up after.