Chapter 364

Chapter 364

A realization soon becomes a Skill.

But just because one had gained a Skill did not mean one could perform it perfectly right away.

One had to go through the process of fully embodying the Skill as one’s own.

Likewise, thanks to Floa, Briel had succeeded in gaining Wind Walk, but that did not mean she could perform it perfectly right away.

In the process of embodying the Skill, she had to fall countless times and swallow sand.

She fell dozens of times, and just as much sand went into her nose and mouth.

At this point, she could have given up, but Briel did not say a single word about how hard it was.

Whenever she fell, she dusted herself off, stood up, and used Wind Walk again.

As she fell and got back up countless times, Briel’s Wind Walk gradually grew more complete.

Even the Dark Elves, who rarely showed emotion, could not hide their admiration at Briel’s persistence and how quickly she embodied the Skill.

Even in the Dark Elf village, only a handful of people had ever mastered Wind Walk at such speed.

Once Briel grew somewhat used to Wind Walk, she let go of Floa’s hand.

“I don’t think you need to hold me anymore.”

“It seems you really don’t.”

Floa nodded.

Now, even without Floa’s help, Briel could maintain Wind Walk.

From this point on, it depended entirely on Briel’s own effort.

Judging from Briel’s persistence and talent, Floa thought she would be able to perform Wind Walk perfectly before long.

Just as Floa predicted, Briel made Wind Walk completely her own before a full day had passed.

Now Briel neither fell nor planted her face in the sand.

Watching Briel perform Wind Walk at a speed similar to the Dark Elves, Levin chuckled.

“She’s having the time of her life.”

“She is.”

Zeon smiled as well.

Even from the back of her head, he could tell just how excited Briel was.

Originally, she should have learned a Skill similar to this from the High Elf clan. But because she had been captured by humans at too young an age, she had missed out on something she should naturally have learned.

Outwardly, she pretended she was fine, but deep inside Briel’s heart, it had always remained a lingering regret.

One of those regrets had been resolved today, so of course Briel could not help being excited.

Briel performed Wind Walk, forgetting even her fatigue.

The price was very steep.

“Haaah! Haaah!”

In the end, all her mana was exhausted, and she sprawled on the ground in the shape of a starfish.

Briel gasped for breath and stared blankly at the sky. But a smile still hung on her lips.

Looking down at her, Levin said,

“You know you look like a crazy bitch right now, right?”

“Shut up!”

“Are you enjoying the pain?”

“I told you to shut up, ghost! You don’t know how I feel.”

“Ghost? That’s a little harsh.”

“A human like you, who floats around in the air without using any strength, can’t understand the heart of an elf like me. Do you know how miserable I’ve felt all this time? It felt like I was the only dead weight.”

“Aww! Is that so? Anyway, congratulations. You’ve finally escaped being dead weight and can now pull your own weight.”

“I’ve been doing more than my share for a long time. Who made the subspace backpack you’re carrying? If you keep this up, I won’t make you a small subspace item.”

“Gasp! No, you can’t do that. I was wrong. I’ll kneel and beg like this.”

Levin immediately dropped to his knees and begged with exaggerated motions.

His overblown behavior made Briel laugh.

The Dark Elves looked confused as they watched the two of them.

In their common sense, they could not understand a High Elf joking and chatting so freely with mere humans.

The High Elves they knew were more aloof than anyone else and looked down even on other elves.

Naturally, inferior humans were not even worth their attention.

Even after crossing over to Earth, that temperament of the High Elves had not changed. Yet Briel seemed to have thrown away the identity and nature of a High Elf somewhere, mingling freely with humans.

Zeon, Levin, and Briel.

This combination, which should not have suited one another at all, looked far too perfect.

‘Can elves and humans really live together like that? Then why are we isolated in this desert, living so lonely a life?’

Floa’s clan lived an isolated life, almost without any exchange with the outside world.

Occasionally they encountered humans or other races, but in most cases, they avoided them first.

They cut off contact with the outside as much as possible, blocking any possible source of trouble at the root.

After living in isolation like that for more than a hundred years, their very disposition had become closed-off.

Floa had never thought there was anything strange about that atmosphere in the village. She had believed that was simply how the world was.

The other Dark Elves were the same.

They could not even dare imagine living mixed with other races.

After falling for the orcs’ scheme, losing control, and being reduced to something like slaves, that thought had only grown stronger. But seeing Briel and the humans getting along like family, she began to wonder if perhaps they were the ones who had been wrong.

“Phew!”

Floa sighed, her heart in turmoil.

At that moment, Zeon approached her.

“Is the village still far?”

“We’re almost there. If we cross that big sand mountain, the village is right there.”

“Then we should start preparing soon.”

“Mm!”

On the way here, Floa had told Zeon about the village.

She had told him everything he absolutely needed to know: the village’s size, structure, number of people, and so on.

Floa said,

“The important thing is to rescue the children safely. Next is killing Chuangka, that old orc. If we let Chuangka escape, this will happen again. We must kill him this time.”

“The orcs will think all of you are dead. While we create chaos, rescue the children.”

“Don’t worry. Now that the brands are gone, the orcs are no match for us.”

Until now, they had been unable to use their strength against the orcs because of those damned brands. But now the brands were gone, and the Dark Elf warriors could use one hundred percent of their power.

It was the perfect chance to repay the humiliation they had suffered all this time.

After resting briefly, the group climbed the high sand mountain.

When they climbed the sand mountain, the Dark Elves’ village came into view.

The Dark Elves’ village was unusual.

Other elves lived in dugouts or houses built from bricks made of sand.

Since sand was the only material they could obtain, it was a choice they had no choice but to make.

Because of that, most villages had a yellowish color indistinguishable from the desert. In contrast, the Dark Elves’ village possessed far more varied colors.

Even the surfaces of the houses were clearly different from houses made of sand. They had a glossy sheen, like tanned animal hides stretched out to dry.

Zeon asked,

“Don’t tell me you built the houses with monster corpses?”

“Mm! We made pillars from the bones of the monsters we hunted, and made the roofs and walls from their hides.”

Floa answered with a proud expression.

Dark Elves were born warriors.

They hunted the large monsters that threatened their village and used their hides to make houses.

With the hide of a single large monster, they could build a house wide enough for an entire family to live in.

Because of that, the Dark Elves risked their lives to hunt large monsters.

After hunting monsters and building houses that way for a hundred years, the village had become lined only with houses made from the hides of large monsters.

Some houses even had the heads of large monsters mounted on top, preserved exactly as they had been. Because of that, at a glance, it looked as though large monsters were huddled together, creating a grotesque impression.

Zeon wore a slightly dumbfounded expression.

“I didn’t expect this at all. To think you’d make houses from monster hide.”

“For us, it was the only choice. Aside from monster hide, we couldn’t find any material to keep out wind and rain. Still, thanks to that, our clan has been able to continue until now.”

No matter what anyone said, Floa and the Dark Elves had nothing to be ashamed of.

They had accepted reality and adapted in order to survive.

To survive, one had to struggle and evolve endlessly.

The moment one stopped evolving, one was left behind, and the future of the clan disappeared.

Thanks to that, Floa’s clan had been able to survive until now.

Even if their future was now being threatened by the orcs’ scheme.

Floa pointed to the largest house and said,

“The children are imprisoned in that house made from Mammoth hide. As promised, if you create a disturbance, we’ll approach secretly and rescue the children.”

“There’s no need to wait any longer. Let’s begin.”

When Zeon raised his control, sand throughout the area rode the wind and soared into the sky.

An enormous amount of sand clouded the view, and Floa and the Dark Elves were startled.

‘Just what Grade is he, to be able to move this much sand?’

‘He’s nothing short of a monster.’

They already knew Zeon was a Sandmancer. But they had not known he was at a level where he could freely command such an enormous amount of sand.

The sand Zeon raised surged toward the Dark Elves’ village like a tidal wave.

The orcs guarding the village panicked at the sandstorm that suddenly swept in.

“Chwit! What is this?”

“Why is there a sand-laden wind......?”

It was then.

Flash!

In the thick sand-laden wind, so dense that they could not see an inch ahead, a purple flash flickered.

It was Purple Lightning, which had now become Levin’s symbol.

The purple current struck the orcs standing guard.

“Kgyagagak!”

“Kueeek!”

The orcs hit by Purple Lightning while completely defenseless collapsed with loud screams.

The orcs fell, charred black, their entire bodies trembling.

Fortunately, the orcs who avoided Purple Lightning shouted loudly.

“Chwit! It’s an attack.”

“Enemies!”

At the orcs’ shouts, orcs and Dark Elves poured out of the houses.

At that moment, Levin, transformed into a ghost, unleashed Purple Lightning once again.

Flash!

A purple flash stabbed down to the ground.

This time, the orcs did not simply let themselves be struck.

They raised their shields and blocked the purple lightning.

The shields made of monster hide protected them from the lightning for a short while.

At times, electric currents flowing along the shields dug into the orcs’ bodies, but they simply gritted their teeth and endured.

Their bodies were tough to an almost stupid degree.

“Chwit! Come here.”

“Stand in front of me and don’t move a step.”

The orcs who survived Purple Lightning pushed the Dark Elves in front of them.

They were using the Dark Elves as meat shields.

Levin, floating in midair in Ghost Transformation, clicked his tongue.

“Tsk! Those pig bastards are clever.”

Electric current had the property of flowing through its targets.

Even if he accurately hit the orcs while avoiding the Dark Elves, the Dark Elves nearby would also be electrocuted.

The branded Dark Elves could not withstand Levin’s Purple Lightning.

When Levin’s attack faltered, the orcs shouted,

“The human stopped. Attack!”

Swish-swish-swish!

The orcs threw spears made of bone, and the Dark Elves fired arrows.

Levin, still in Ghost Transformation, swam through the air and avoided the attacks from the orcs and Dark Elves.

At that moment, Chuangka came outside.

“Chwik! What is this commotion?”

“It’s an attack. Chwit!”

“An attack?”

Chuangka lifted his head and looked into the air.

He saw Levin swimming through the air in a translucent state, almost like a Specter.

“Krrgh! That human is clearly the one I saw at the Ironclad Ant burrow......”

Chuangka’s eyes gleamed craftily.

He spoke urgently.

“Chwit! He wouldn’t have come alone.”

“You mean there are more humans?”

“Use the black elves. Make them find the humans.”

“Understood. Sniff!”

At Chuangka’s urging, the orcs moved busily.

It was then.

Ruuumble!

Suddenly, an ominous noise came from the huge sand mountain in front of the village.

“What is that?”

“The m-mountain is crying.”

The orcs’ bodies stiffened at the ominous premonition.

Rooooaaar!

At that moment, the sand mountain collapsed, and an enormous amount of sand surged forward like a tidal wave.

“Kueek!”

“Run!”

The enormous mass of sand swallowed the orcs on the outskirts, then surged into the village.

The orcs and Dark Elves were swept away by the sand and screamed.

Just like that, the Dark Elves’ village became a scene of pandemonium.