Warm blood flew down his arm as the man gasped for air. He struggled to stay alive for a few more seconds before he succumbed to his wounds, leaving Elijah staring in shock at his arm burrowed inside the enemy.

A third stream of essence flowed into him as Elijah gagged and his arm shrank back to its normal size, covered in blood and guts.

He had won.

Chapter Begin

Looking at the dead enemies, Elijah felt his strength leave him. He was no stranger to fights and violence and had seen his fair share of dead people killed either by other members of their gang or even him. But something like that wasn’t easily forgotten and should only be done in defense.

The current scene reminded Elijah of those days as his eyes rested on the unmoving bodies. They wanted to kill me.

Shaking his head, Elijah moved toward his minion and ordered it to stop attacking. He knelt next to it and checked the pulse of its opponent. He’s alive. Elijah glanced at his arm covered in blood before he gazed at his minion and then at the man lying in front of him. He needed information.

After putting the unconscious man on his shoulder, Elijah stepped in front of a tree. Climb under me and make sure that he doesn’t fall off. Elijah ordered his minion and began climbing the tree after his minion was in position.

Forty feet above the ground was around the height Elijah had been before. The height offered a good view he had made good use of until now. This time, he wanted to climb even higher.

The higher he climbed the more exciting it felt. He was delighted by the ease with which climbing came to him. His speed wasn’t comparable to before and he was surprised how fast he climbed up to a hundred feet above ground.

Yet he continued upwards. The man on his shoulder was only a minor hindrance and Elijah reached a thick branch that was more than 160 feet high. He was slightly out of breath when he placed the man against the trunk and his minion reached the same height a few moments later, placing itself a few feet above Elijah.

Next, Elijah manipulated wood to bind the man’s arms and legs to the tree, leaving him incapable of moving around.

***

Drake woke up with a groan as he felt a hand repeatedly clapping against his cheek several times. He remembered what had happened and immediately tried to jump up to his feet only to find his arms and legs restricted by wood.

His gaze landed on the man in front of him who had stopped clapping his cheek and took several steps back. “All this wasn’t necessary. Why did you attack me?”

“Who the fuck are you? Release me!” Drake shouted as he began struggling against his wooden restraints only to stop the moment a sharp pain went through his left leg.

“Careful. Your leg is broken. I won’t try to put any strain on it if I were you.” The man said as he approached Drake. “Your friends are dead.” He paused for a moment to let the information sink in. “If you provide me some answers, I won’t kill you.”

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“I won’t tell you anything.” Drake spat as he gritted his teeth. “Set me free now!”

“Look, I don’t really want to kill you. I don’t mind leaving you up here, though.” The man gestured around him. “And we both know that you won’t survive here for long, restricted like this.” He nodded at Drake’s arms and legs. “And even if you weren’t constrained, your leg is broken. How would you get down?”

“Down?” Drake asked as he looked down, only to whirl his head around again and lock his eyes. Oh. My. God. Now he was thankful for being bound to the tree.

“What’s wrong? Afraid of heights?” The man asked.

“Kill me already,” Drake said with his eyes still closed.

“I won’t kill you. Just answer some of-” Drake interrupted him. “What do you fucking want to know?”

“Tell me your name first. I’m Elijah.” Elijah said.

“Drake,” Drake said. “Alright, Drake. Where are we?” Drake opened one eye as he heard the question. Is he kidding me?

“Answer the question,” Elijah said after Drake did not answer for a few seconds. Drake hesitated before he answered. “Cloudrest?”

“I mean a more general answer, where exactly? Cloudrest is probably this island. Where is it located for example?” Elijah asked before Drake answered. “It's part of the Skylands.”

“Skylands?” Drake could see the man glancing upwards for a moment as he answered. “A series of floating islands above Eldrid.”

“Do you have a trait?” Elijah’s next question was outright ridiculous and completely unrelated to the previous questions, leaving Drake surprised. He snorted.

“What’s wrong?” The masked man was surprised by his reaction.

“What? Do you expect me to tell you anything about my trait? Even if you pushed me down here I won’t tell you shit.”

“What about your perks?” Elijah tried but Drake shook his head. “Never seen anyone as rude as you. Did you grow up on a tree or something? Is that why your skin is like that?” He laughed before he let out a panicked cry as Elijah threatened to push him off.

“You don’t seem to understand the gravity of your situation. If you don’t answer my questions, I will push you down.” Elijah pointed at the ground. “Next question. What do the different attributes refer to?”

“The fuck do I know? Strength makes you stronger and faster, constitution makes you harder and heavier. They are all self-explanatory.” Drake held back asking Elijah if he was stupid. What’s wrong with him?

“What about willpower, intelligence, charisma, and luck?”

“I ain’t no mage but charisma increases your likeability and your ability to persuade others. How much is your charisma? One?” The comment earned him a light slap against the head as he continued, “Luck increases all kinds of odds in your favor and things like the chance of finding treasures or special opportunities.”

“Your luck seems to be pretty low.” Elijah countered. “Last question. How can I get off the island?”

“There’s a spatial formation inside our camp that teleports you to its counterpart of the island. You have to pour some essence into it to activate the formation.” I hope he dies using it. I can’t believe this idiot managed to kill our entire party.

“Take me down now,” Drake demanded as he checked his mana. I’m full.

“I won’t let an enemy walk around freely,” Elijah said as he took a step forward. He wants to tie my mouth. “You can try to get down after I’m off the-”

Without any warning, a vast amount of wind shot out of Drake's mouth, blasting his captor several trees away before he crashed into a trunk.

Keeping his eyes on Elijah, Drake tore his limbs from the wood. His left leg had healed a few minutes after he gained consciousness and the wooden constraints weren’t at a level he couldn’t deal with.

Would it have been someone else they would have died here. This bastard is too dangerous. Drake took a deep breath as he looked down for a moment. But why did he have to bring me up so far? He gulped as he readied himself to jump down before a wooden fist slammed into his face, smashing Drake into the trunk. Huh? A second and third blow followed from above before Drake could react.

He caught a glimpse of the wooden monster he fought before as another of its wooden fists slammed into him, this time covered in spikes, causing him to lose consciousness.