Elandris moved fluidly through the fifth floor despite the unpleasant feeling in his chest. He knew that the root his Mother had in this dungeon was damaged, he could feel it as the gift of her inside him convulsed in pain as it felt the damage to its counterpart. Not only that but the fact that his Mother’s vitality not being in the air weighed heavily on his chest. It felt similar to the time he had to climb Mountian of Black Ash. Just like that time, he had trouble breathing. He knew that as a mature elf, he could survive without her. She has done her part to raise him to adulthood, just like every mother must do.


    She gave him food, shelter, and a shoulder to cry. She even honored him with one of her gifts, a part of her. However, just like every child the thought of losing her mother or something bad happening to her felt him with dread. His body no longer needed her protection and care but his mind was another matter. For a second he smiled to himself. He knew that his younger kin still needed Mother’s protection to survive yet he thought of his emotional status. How childish.


    His companion, a human would probably have seen being childish as something to be embarrassed about. However, elves thought differently than humans. Childhood didn’t represent naivety, it represented innocence and dreams.


    “Something matter?”


    His companion, Poyraz asked. He must noticed his smile.


    “I was thinking to myself. I am sorry if I worried you.”


    Poyraz shrugged.


    “It is nice to think nice things. It keeps you sane.”


    Elandris found what Poyraz said weird. Sanity wasn’t really a big topic in elven society. What beastkin and humans called insanity didn’t come to an elf except in very heavy conditions. It probably has to do with the elven life span. Living several times longer than what those two races could, their mind was structured better to weather the things happening in life.


    Seeing that his companion was fine, Poyraz returned back to moving. Elandris took that chance to observe his companion from head to toe. He was covered with a grey armor. That armor covered his entire body, save for the times his helmet turned into shadows to reveal his face. Despite that, Elandris didn’t find his armor cumbersome. He heard many stories about human knights and their heavy armor yet Poyraz’s armor was reasonably lithe. He still had to agree that his armor would feel more at home on a battlefield or in single combat and not in dungeon exploration. The only things Elandris found weird were his helmet having horns and the cloak he wore all the time. He somewhat could understand his cloak as the weather in the dungeons could be extreme but the horns? He only could think that they served some kind of magical purpose. Elandris has seen the armor repair itself so it wasn’t that far-fetched.


    Elandris already witnessed Poyraz use a variety of magical items and someone as strong as him probably conquered many dungeons before. Elandris wouldn’t be surprised with the equipment he carried, especially with how greedy humans were. However, one item he carried made Elandris furrow.


    That sword he used to defeat the fourth floor’s boss. Elves didn’t have gods. The only divine figure they needed was their Mother Trees. When their flesh and blood died, if they had any regrets they would reincarnate without their memories, or if they didn’t have regrets they would shed their flesh and blood to ascend to become an elemetal. They didn’t have any higher powers or entities. In that regard, they were even far removed from religion than beastkin who saw gods as their ancestors and not some divine creator.


    Despite all this, he could recognize the divine force radiating from the sword itself. Aelith and Fealin could have thought that it was just a powerful artifact but he was sure. That sword, with its divine aura, spoke of a connection to a higher power—an entity or force foreign to elves yet powerful. When he tried to talk about the sword Poyraz only responded with a short sentence and quickly hid away it, absorbing it back. If that wasn’t interesting enough he was blessed with that same power when his partner, G?kb?rü howled.


    Was he a paladin? But that wouldn’t make sense. Paladins were quite enthusiastic to talk about their gods as Elandris had heard. He smiled to himself. It was something new to be wondered about. When he left the elven settlement in search of the nidhogg he didn’t expect to find a new curiosity. It was pleasant. When he first met the man, he was sure he found the enemy as Nidhogg’s presence could be felt from him. Finding him was hard. Despite him lacking the gracefulness and lightness unique to elves, Poyraz still moved with a certain discipline that made his movements hard to track down. He also was sure that he had skills that concealed him in a way as he could feel an affinity with the darkness element, commonly used in stealth. If it wasn’t for him fighting against monsters, it would be hard to detect him in range even with his senses and years of experience.


    To find him was hard but fighting him? Even though they ambushed him and outnumbered him, Elandris wasn’t sure if they could survive the encounter if Poyraz wanted to kill them. For a fact, he knew that Aelith and Fealin would have died if they pushed him to a corner. Even though his Foresight wasn’t high ranked and he wasn’t a Seer, every outcome where they pushed Poyraz ended up with his younger comrades dying and him ending up in an unknown situation. He knew that there were more future possibilities than there were stars in the sky but he saw the same thing in every single one of them.


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    That’s why he was willing to listen to Poyraz when he tried to negotiate with him. Even then he was ready to retreat or sacrifice himself so that his comrades could escape. However, his worries were eased when Poyraz understood and spoke elvish to them. Elvish was notoriously difficult to learn. Even Kai and Ember, two beastkin sages proficient in lore and mystic arts could speak in short, simple sentences before their untimely demises. While how Poyraz formed sentences was weird, no doubt the result of his human upbringing, he spoke fluently. That meant that he had a very patient and involved teacher. He knew that other pockets of elves existed in faraway places with their own Mother Trees and one must taken Poyraz under their wings.


    Of course, who taught Poyraz elvish could be a Fatlfilus and he could be a spy sent to damage Mother Tree. But that possibility slowly faded as Elandris interacted with Poyraz. Not only Fatlfilus were unstable and distrustful of other races even more than the elves, but Poyraz was also a calm and helpful person. He showed patience towards Fealin’s aggressive words and held back when he could kill them.


    There was one more thing that was interesting about Poyraz, his partner G?kb?rü. At first, Elandris thought that G?kb?rü was a tamed monster but he quickly understood that he was a mythical beast. Even to an elf who lived for centuries like Elandris, Poyraz was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.


    “Something coming.”


    Even in deep thought, Elandris’s elven ears twitched as he sensed something in the air. Poyraz quickly pulled his giant shield from his back and several sharp things bounced off it. Elandris pulled three arrows from his quiver and shot them to their attacker.


    “Roar!”


    The creature roared in pain as his arrows struck deep in its flesh. Despite the anguish in its roar, the creature stayed in the air.


    “Technically, that’s a manticore.”


    Poyraz sarcastically remarked before gigantifying his shield, allowing Elandris to take cover as he ran towards the closest tree. Manticore quickly turned its humanoid face adorned with jagged teeth to him. Its scorpion-like tail sprouted several spikes and tensed, no doubt ready to shoot down whatever Poyraz was about to do. Elandris quickly imbued his arrow with wind and shot it. His arrow met with the spikes before they could reach Poyraz. Elandris released the wind he stored in his arrow, repelling the projectiles.


    Poyraz didn’t waste that opportunity. He climbed the tree in the blink of an eye and jumped in the air. He clashed with the manticore in the air and smashed his hammer against its wings. Elandris’s ears twitched as he heard the delicate bones that made the creature’s wings break. The creature’s feline body came crashing down to the ground. Poyraz also landed on the ground, just in front of the creature. Seeing the being that caused him pain, the manticore lashed out with its sharp claws. Elandris fired arrows getting the creature in various places but it wasn’t enough to stop it. Its fury must be bigger than the pain it felt. Elandris got ready to charge forward to protect his companion but the creature’s claws passed through Poyraz’s torso as if it were made out of shadows. After that Poyraz swung his hammer with immense force, smashing the manticore’s head in.


    Elandris’s eyes widened with surprise. Elemental Transfiguration? No, Poyraz wasn’t an elemetalist. He must have a skill related to it.


    “I guess it is made out of different parts but shouldn’t manticores and chimeras be different?”


    Poyraz tilted his head at the same time as G?kb?rü and looked at the manticore he killed. Head tilting was something he did very often most of the time synchronously with his partner. Elanris observed that kind of behavior commonly in canines when they were curious or interested in something. He wondered if humans also had that behavior or was his companion adopted that after bonding with his partner.


    “It doesn’t seem to be mutated by Nidhogg’s presence.”


    Poyraz remarked. Elandris stepped forward to inspect the creature.


    “It is smarter so the effects are minimal but not nonexistent. Look at its spikes.”


    With a stick he found on the ground, Elandris put pressure on the creature’s spikes. A purple liquid slowly oozed off it.


    “I see.”


    Poyraz tilted his head once again.


    “I am glad I didn’t get hit by it. That venom hurts.”


    Elandris looked at Poyraz with a bewildered expression. He never failed to surprise him.


    “You were exposed to Nidhogg’s poison?”


    He asked. To elves, contracting it was a death sentence even if it was just a strain born out of one of the creatures its mana affected. Their toxin resistance which was gained through many years of life and affinity with nature did nothing as nidhogg was their antithesis. Even without it, a single drop of that toxin was strong enough to kill several gigant creatures as it bypassed their poison resistance.


    “You remember the sword I showed you? The one with Nidhogg’s fang in it? I was stabbed with that. It was painful, even for me.”


    Poyraz grabbed his shield which returned back to its normal size and strapped it to his back. He walked several steps back before returning to Elandris who stood frozen.


    “You are not coming?”


    Elandris realized that he stumbled into a legend in the making.