She had leveled up to 45 and gotten new armor and weapons. She glanced at a level 50 armor, whose quality far superior to anything the elf had worn before, and which she might soon be able to wear. The archer had gotten it on a long mission with her companions. A chuckle escaped her lips when she remembered the photo shoots of the three.

The most curious thing was that she remembered their faces and expressions, although in the game that didn’t exist. The embarrassed one of Eldi. Gjaki’s mockery. The laughs that were only in the group chat then, but that now her memory reproduced as real.

“Is something wrong?” Maldoa asked. She was surprised by the elf’s expression.

“Nothing, nothing… I was just remembering…” she replied, wistfully.

At level 42, she had unlocked Wind Blade, with which swords or daggers can be created. Those blades appear to be the container for small tornadoes, which are unleashed when they pierce their victim. They barely last a minute at their maximum affinity, and are useful as an emergency or to combine them, for example, with Fleeting Dagger. Its invocation time is very fast, and their mana cost not excessive. She had it at affinity 7, since she had used it moderately in the game.

Light Blade, at level 43, is equivalent to the previous one, but with purifying power. It can last up to ten times longer, although it is unable to pierce by itself. She had it at 10, as Goldmi had used it on occasions as she had done with the three Light Arrows, in emergencies, so blinding nearby enemies. She had also used it often as a lamp, that she could give to her companions. Not that they needed it, but it was cool to carry glowing swords.

It was at level 44 when one of her specialties surfaced. Detect Mana allowed her to find magic traps, which was very useful in certain dungeons. She had raised its affinity to 10, since its use in these was continuous.

At level 45, there was the complementary spell to the previous one, Decompose Mana, with which spells can be undone. It is too slow to be used against a magical attack, but ideal for disarming traps. However, the elf had found other uses for it, such as attacking beings in the dungeons.

Some of those beings made of mana are especially resistant to other weapons. Once immobilized, they can be dissolved little by little by using this spell, although it takes time, and it is more difficult the higher the difference in level. It was at affinity 10.

In terms of skills, wind and darkness resistances were unlocked at levels 42 and 43. Like all resistances, they had almost unintentionally leveled up to 10. The latter made the continuous nasty corrosion of the miasma much easier to cope.

At levels 44 and 45, they were Detect Energy and Decompose Energy. They were equivalent to the mana spells, so they allow detecting and defusing physical traps, even if it is a hole in the ground, or a log caught by ropes. They were also at 10

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“There’s no bad guys,” said the fairy suddenly. “They’re gone, there’s no trace of them.”

They had been walking near the border with the corrupted zone, vigilant, while she was hovering around, sometimes out of sight. Suddenly, she had sat on the elf’s shoulder and spoken those words.

“Could you feel them before?” asked Goldmi, intrigued.

“No, but I could feel their trace, that they’d passed by there. It’s now disappearing. They’ve left. They’re afraid of Aunt Omi.”

There was no special joy in the fairy’s words. While she wished those ancient now corrupted spirits would stop doing harm, their leaving only meant that they had temporarily retreated. None of them doubted they would return.

Another fact that they had noticed, and they hadn’t been the only ones, was the absence of corrupted winged ones. Apparently, those losts had taken refuge inside the Lost Forest with the generals. Since they were more mobile and indispensable for quick attacks, it was easy for the generals to take them with them.

They only found a corrupted being on the way, because they didn’t usually approach the forest, as if they feared the explosion of life that was there. Without a doubt, it had been lost. Perhaps, it was chasing someone, and now it stayed in no-man’s-land.

Goldmi didn’t hesitate to attack it from a distance, from the safety of the forest. That darkened five-horned rhino, level 46, lunged toward her, but stopped midway, fearful of getting any closer to the forest.

It tried to turn, but not only were the wounds accumulating by Rough Arrows, which are very efficient when piercing armor is difficult, but the feline had come out to meet it.

Its instinct made it turn to the new attacker. It wanted to attack her, but its legs were too badly injured, so they ended up giving way, and was an easy prey for the lynx.

“One less. There are only millions left,” sighed the archer.

She had discovered that the horde they had encountered, which were attacking the Guardians of the North, was only a small part of the enemy army. It had somewhat depressed her.

“Someday we’ll make it,” the drelf encouraged her. She felt a bit guilty for having overwhelmed her by telling it.

Goldmi nodded. It was too gigantic a target, but they weren’t alone either. There were many others fighting, many allies. She wondered if Gjaki and Eldi were also among them. Or if they had come If they had returned to that world.

She had gathered some information lately, partly thanks to Maldoa. So, she knew some other visitors had returned, but there was no trace of any of her former companions.

She also knew that there was still time, that they could still return, but that it was unlikely. Apparently, only a handful had returned, and not many more were expected to do so. It was believed that one per race or class. As there were millions of players, the possibility was remote.

“At least Elendnas is there, but…” she told herself.

The drelf glanced at her without saying a word, but knowing who she was thinking in, for she knew that expression. This time, she decided not to tease her.

She often tried to cheer her up, but she knew how insecure her friend felt. She couldn’t know if that elf remembered her, if he would have feelings for her.

“I’ll have to go to investigate,” Maldoa muttered.

“Did you say something?” asked the elf, while she was looked around to find the ideal place to stop to eat.

“No, no. Nothing,” she denied.

The drelf knew that, if her friend found out what she was planning, it wouldn’t be easy for her to get away with it.