Chapter 205: In the Elf Forest (1)
"Professor Pandel, can wind-based magic block arrows?"
"No. You can't block an Elf Ranger's arrows. Strictly speaking, they're not actually shooting arrows."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you've ever used a bow, you'd know that it relies on brute force, pulling with back muscles to fire accurately. Elves, with their delicate physique, lack the strength to properly use a bow."
"Now's not the time for an academic explanation! Just get to the point!"
Whoosh!
I burned away another arrow with my mana saber. Mollang had climbed onto me, positioning herself near my chest to protect my heart. Shuru hid beneath me, waiting for the right moment to act, while Bella, being a natural herbivore, trembled behind me in fear.
"Damn it, I've been lecturing too much—it's a habit. The short version: Elven bows don't work through physical mechanics. The bowstring is just a conceptual decoration; the real force comes from wind spirits propelling the arrows! If I try to deflect them with wind, they'll pierce through. If I block with force, the spirit energy clashes with mana, weakening the barrier and letting follow-up arrows break through!"
"Then how many shots can you block?"
"If I keep refreshing the barrier, maybe three at most."
"That's enough. The moment I charge forward, protect the others."
I tried to set Mollang down, but she clung tightly to my chest, refusing to let go. Meanwhile, Shuru climbed onto my back, wrapping her arms around me.
'Are they coming with me?'
Ideally, I'd leave them behind for safety, but if they were this determined...
"If you get hurt, I'll scold you later."
Nod.
"Meow!"
Receiving their confident responses, I deflected another arrow with my dagger and sprinted forward.
"O earth, stand firm and protect us."
Rumble!
A solid earthen wall rose, shielding Pandel and Bella. Seeing them secure, I turned my full attention forward.
'Judging by the arrows' trajectory, the shooter must be between the trees…'
Whoosh!
Thankfully, the arrows now targeted me instead of Pandel. I deliberately moved sluggishly at first, then accelerated the moment an arrow flew, disrupting their aim.
Thunk!
A purely wooden arrow buried itself into the ground. Following its trajectory, I estimated the shooter's position—about 500 meters ahead, directly at 12 o'clock.
'500 meters… I'll be there in no time!'
Boom!
Kicking off the ground, I charged forward, dirt scattering beneath my feet. But at around 300 meters, the arrows stopped.
'Huh? Where did they go? Oh, wait—'
A fired arrow soared high into the sky before suddenly plummeting straight down, aiming right for me.
"What the fuck?!"
Watching its unnatural flight pattern, I realized my earlier estimate was off. The shooter wasn't 500 meters away—neither the distance nor direction was fixed.
Clang!
I knocked away the descending arrow with my dagger and spread my mana to detect any invisibility or magical concealment. But I sensed no such spells.
'Is this spirit magic?'
Unlike mana-based magic, spirit magic draws power from nature itself. Simply spreading mana wouldn't help pinpoint their location.
"Professor Pandel!"
I called for help, but his barrier spell blocked out external noise. That left me fully exposed in enemy sights.
Whoosh!
An arrow curved unnaturally in midair, twisting toward me. It wasn't particularly fast, but the erratic trajectory made it impossible to predict.
'Is there any way to counter this?'
For now, the arrows weren't overwhelming, but if this continued, I'd be in serious danger.
"Sniff sniff… Meow!"
At that moment, Shuru picked up the scent.
Cats might not be as keen as dogs, but beastkin felines still had a sharp sense of smell. Shuru, narrowing her eyes, locked onto a specific spot from my shoulder, her ears twitching in focus. Trusting her instincts, I charged toward the tree on my left.
Whoosh!
An arrow grazed my cheek—it was a direct shot.
"Shuru!"
Shuru swiftly leaped from my shoulder and lunged forward, snapping at the empty air. A second later, a distinct crack rang out, like a branch breaking in an unseen space.
Whoosh!
I immediately swung my mana saber, intending to strike down the invisible Elf Ranger hiding there. But just as I was about to land the blow, I hesitated—if we killed the forest's guardians while acting as envoys, the elves wouldn't let us walk away unscathed.
"Watch out, little brother!"
Bella, somehow having escaped the barrier, dashed past me and delivered a double-kick with her powerful rabbit legs to the invisible figure Shuru had latched onto. With a thud, the target was sent flying backward.
Thwack! Crash!
The sound of a tree crashing echoed as the figure, once cloaked in invisibility, became fully visible.
'Huh?'
It wasn't an Elf Ranger.
What Shuru had bitten onto wasn't a person—it was a long, branch-like mass of leaves that resembled hair. And what Bella had kicked and broken wasn't a body, but a tree trunk.
A human-sized tree had been ripped from the ground, its roots severed. The moment it fell, the spirit magic hiding its form dissipated.
'A dryad?'
If a tree were to take the shape of a girl, it would look exactly like this.
Apart from having roots instead of feet and hair made of leaves, she resembled a naked woman. In her hand, she held a small crossbow-like weapon, which had a natural airflow swirling at its tip, adjusting its trajectory.
"Grrr!"
Shuru was still gnawing at the dryad's head, but her small jaw lacked the strength to pierce its bark. If Silvia had been here, she would've torn it clean off, but there was a fundamental difference in attack styles—dogs relied on their jaws, while felines favored their claws. It was a matter of natural instinct.
Swish!
Finally, Mollang dashed forward, aiming to disable the crossbow on the dryad's left wrist. The dryad attempted to fire, but the bolt was swallowed by Mollang's gelatinous body, losing all momentum and failing to pierce through.
Creak…
She tried to extend her roots to escape, but being disconnected from the earth's energy, her movements were sluggish. I took advantage of this and jammed my dagger into the crossbow's vine-string mechanism, severing it and rendering the weapon useless.
"Is it over?"
"Yes. Though it looks like Professor Pandel didn't—"
"I was brought to protect, remember?"
While the rest of us had fought to subdue the dryad, Pandel had done nothing but keep himself safe. Though it wasn't a good look, his words weren't entirely wrong, so I let it slide.
"A dryad… a spirit of the forest. It must've attacked because it saw our movements as a threat."
"What's this weapon?"
"Likely provided by the elves. It's probably rechargeable—after firing a few shots, an elf must restore the wind spirit's power."
The dryad sluggishly tried to escape, but being a plant-based creature, her movements were painfully slow. She had barely moved a centimeter by the time I lifted her up and set her back on her feet.
Thunk.
Creak…
She attempted to raise her arms in defense, but she was so slow that even Shuru, still perched on her head, could swat at her without resistance.
"She's too slow. Can she even serve as a guard?"
"For a plant, she's incredibly fast. Without a spirit user assisting, their reaction time is naturally sluggish."
So, she was just a stray dryad, unable to function effectively on her own…
Rustle—
Thwip!
A soft, almost animal-like noise sounded from the treetops, and as my instincts screamed danger, an arrow flew straight toward my face.
Bang!
"Guh!"
Thud thud thud!
I barely deflected the shot with my dagger, but the arrow had a special enchantment—it detonated like a blast of compressed air, throwing me backward. As I stumbled, a barrage of arrows landed precisely at the feet of each of my companions.
I tried to locate the attacker, but the thick foliage obscured them. Only the tips of their black arrows and the faint glint of their bow were visible among the branches.
'Ten meters up… not unreachable, but I'd have to climb three separate branches to get there…'
"Alright, first things first… Intruders, step back three paces immediately. If you do not comply, we cannot guarantee your safety. And what was the rest?"
Creak…
"Ah, right. This is the Elf Forest. Unauthorized entry is strictly prohibited. As per the treaty between the kingdom and the elves, Elf Rangers hold the right to execute trespassers on sight."
A female elf's voice rang out from above, and at her words, Pandel calmly raised both hands.
"Hold on. We are an official envoy sent from the kingdom. We have come to establish relations with the elf village. I am Pandel Isaac, professor of ecology and medicine at the Kingdom's Magic Knights Order."
"Oh? Pandel?"
Rustle—
The elf effortlessly descended through the canopy, landing on a thick branch where we could see her clearly.
She swung her legs casually, looking down at us with a playful smirk, waving as though greeting an old friend.
"Welcome back, Pandel. Been a while, huh?"
"A 'while' is an understatement—it's been a hundred years. But you haven't changed a bit, Pai."
With the rising sun at her back, a golden-haired elf greeted us with a warm smile.