Eldi watched the dwarfs leave, in what he hoped was a “see you next time.” He had promised to return, a promise he intended to keep unless something serious happened. He trusted those rough, loud, stubborn and loyal dwarfs. In fact, he couldn’t imagine how loyal they were. Before even meeting, they had received the promise of rewards, beer of extreme quality included, if they got information about a certain visitor. They hadn’t even considered it.

Nor did he have any doubt that they would get his weapons delivered to their destination, to the young people with whom he had shared a few hours in a dungeon, the same ones of whom his daughter had become fond. He would have liked to see their faces when they received them. Maybe, he could also visit them one day.

And, thinking about it, he realized that those he would like to see again had increased as he had walked the way. Somehow, that world was becoming less strange and alien, and he even had a family.

Eldi didn’t know how many more he would find, but he did know who he wanted to find, since Melia’s image had never disappeared from his heart. He only wondered to what extent she would be real, or if she would still remember him, or if she would feel or could eventually feel anything for him. With hope and fear in the depths of his soul, he moved on.

He was wearing the half-elf disguise again. He didn’t move like an elf, but Lidia had said there wouldn’t be many problems if he was only a half-one. In fact, the elves he meet in the forest didn’t seem to feel anything strange. They were just on guard in front of a stranger, but since he didn’t wield his weapons, they didn’t get nervous. They didn’t know that he could take them out immediately, and that the ones he was showing weren’t the real ones.

Gradually, the encounters were decreasing as he entered the forest. There should be no danger to him, since it was only level 41, but the memory of the ebony panther hadn’t been erased from his memory. He knew he couldn’t be over-confident. Especially when the sounds had quieted, and a tense silence was enveloping him.

Bat’s Hearing was warning him that there was danger approaching everywhere, although the warning was weak. He climbed a tree, both to observe from a height and to avoid a surprise attack.

He soon saw them. Dozens of velociraptors surrounded him. He was sure that they couldn’t be the same ones as the other time, he was too far from that place. And, from what they had told him, they usually stay in their territory. That meant that there was another group that had grown, something that would have attributed to chance if it weren’t for his visit to Khaladok.

The dwarfs had spoken about that supposed enemy whose nature was unknown. An enemy who like to tempt everyone, and make those enticed to face against those who didn’t succumb to temptation. An enemy who didn’t hesitate to play with the forces of nature to weaken those who opposed him. A patient enemy, who had been acting for hundreds of years, gradually reinforcing his position in the kingdom. And, apparently, also in others.

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Therefore, it wasn’t unreasonable to think that the growth of those fierce predators could also have something to do with that enemy. In fact, who had broken the balance by killing the earth dragons, the missing visitor, was rumored to have someone behind, but it was unknown who. Everything seemed to add up, although, as Eldi knew, that didn’t necessarily mean it was true.

In their job, on not few occasions they had found that theories that seemed to fit perfectly ended up being false or incomplete. Anyway, it didn’t matter much at that time. He didn’t even have a clue about who or what that supposed hidden power was. For now, he should focus on his most immediate problems. Like, for example, a pack of velociraptors that was surrounding him.

They approached the base of the tree while the high human was watching them carefully. He was curious about the behavior of those beings, similar to those who had once lived in his former home. He wondered if those feathers were the same as those they had had.

A couple of them began to climb the tree trunk, being their curved nails a big help to do it. Eldi undid the costume, because he couldn’t use all his power while wearing it. He wielded the spear and waited for the first one to reach his location. Immediately, he deactivated Disguise and used Perforating Impact against the dinosaur, piercing its throat and nailing it in the tree.

He didn’t die immediately, so he killed it off with the axe. Then, he attacked the other, who had stood still, unsure of whether to continue or flee. Upon discovering that its prey was much more powerful than itself, its instincts were telling it to run away, but they contradicted themselves with those of the hunter. Its indecision cost it its life.

The rest of the pack moved away instinctively, looking from afar to the prey whose strength had suddenly increased. Although they outnumbered him, they understood that so much difference in power made him an enemy, not a prey. And, in addition, his location prevented them from attacking all at once.

So, they stepped back little by little, still looking at Eldi. Finally, they turned around and ran away from there, leaving behind the corpses of their comrades. They couldn’t waste more time, they needed to find other more affordable preys.

Eldi stayed for a while in the tree, waiting and watching, while his assistant picked up the skin and bones, leaving very few remains for the scavengers. In fact, he didn’t need much of what he had collected, because he only had recipes for weapons and armor level 40 to make use of it.

Despite this, he kept it, since he had more than enough space and could always sell it. Or manage to create objects that weren’t weapons. However, in spite of having learned some recipes with the dwarfs and the mole-people, there were none that could apply to his recent acquisitions of material, especially those of the mole-people. The ingredients they handle are those that can be found in the depths, and although it would be possible to adapt some recipes to use other materials, or create a new one, he didn’t possess that ability.

“I don't have it yet,” he told himself, convinced he could develop it.

Finally, he left the tree and got on his way, especially looking for where to rest. It was getting dark, and he would soon use Sleepyhead’s Shield, so he had to find the best possible place and the most sheltered. It was annoying with animals colliding or stepping on his hiding place.