Elandris looked at me with his mouth open. He hadn’t blinked since I exited the mind place and his stillness was starting to creep me out. The wind elemental also looked as surprised as him. Hah, suits her well after insulting me.
“Wow, I can’t believe Mother Tree gave one of her roots to a human! I never heard something like this before!”
The water spirit on the other hand, excitedly circled me, poking me from time to time. She suddenly gasped.
“This means that this will be remembered for eternity! And I was there when it happened! Those whales back home won’t be able to bully me anymore!”
Ignoring her, I snapped my fingers to awaken Elandris from his trance.
“Elandris. I know it is probably hard to accept I received one of Mother Tree’s roots but with every second we waste, Mother Tree gets eaten more and more. We should check the rewards and move.”
Elandris blinked rapidly, snapping out of his astonishment. He nodded, regaining his composure.
“I must congratulate you as a fellow Guardian of Forest. Normally one receiving Mother’s gift would prompt a large celebration but I think we have to delay it until we kill Nidhogg.”
He stepped closer and hugged me despite my trying to avoid it. Not that I was disturbed by close contact, it was just that I was still covered with hydra’s parts. Elandris didn’t seem to mind as he hugged tightly. Seeing his affection, the only thing I could do was to answer it by hugging him back. He was even thinner than what I thought except his very developed back. His back structure felt different than humans and beastkin, which would explain why he was so good with archery as it required powerful pulling muscles.
Elandris released the hug, and we both took a step back. The water spirit continued her excited chatter, seemingly unfazed by the weight of the situation. I didn’t focus on her as she talked about how the fishes would be jealous of her since she met with a mhytical beast and various other things.
“I can’t believe Mother Tree picked a human like you. What do you even have?”
The wind elemental, still disgruntled, ruined the peaceful mood.
“I think he is handsome!”
The water spirit defended me but the wind spirit snorted.
“Of course, you would think like that, you fish brain.”
Water elemental threw her hands in the air like a child.
“Only my tail is of a fish, not my head, you meanie!”
Water elemental hid behind me and pointed her finger at to wind elemental.
“Elandris, Cyclara is being mean again!”
Cyclara just waved her hand.
“He is a human. He carries the mark of not only those pricks but also that beast’s. I am warning you Elandris. He will only bring chaos and destruction upon this plane.”
Elandris, having regained his composure, intervened to diffuse the tension among the elemental spirits. He glanced at Cyclara, the wind elemental, with a stern expression.
"Cyclara, enough. Mother made her choice and we must trust in her wisdom.”
Cyclara huffed but didn''t press the matter further. The water elemental, still hiding behind me, stuck her tongue out at the wind spirit. I looked at Cyclara.
“Those beasts, you say. Are you talking about G?kb?rü?”
She snorted once again and looked at me with disgust in her eyes.
“Of course not, you fool. I am talking about Reclaimer of Silence.”
I didn’t recognize that moniker. I had three guesses about who it could be. Two now since she said it wasn’t G?kb?rü. One of them was it was a demon. However, it was unlikely as I was the Champion of Aliera. She wouldn’t allow a demon to leave its smell on me, whatever that meant. The only remaining candidate was the Calamity Larve originally one with.
“Can you give me tell me what you know about this Reclaimer of Silence?”
I knew that she would reject it but it didn’t hurt to try. To my surprise, her eyes lit up with expectation.
“For a price, yes.”
Her tone and facial expression told me that it was something unreasonable. Yet, I asked.
“What is it you want?”
She grinned ear to ear.
“Slit your throat and let all the blood out of your body. Then I will tell you everything I know.”
Elandris who had been watching our exchange silently stepped forward.
“This is enough Cyclara. I am grateful to you as you blessed me with your presence and help but I will not stay silent as you antagonize someone carrying Mother’s gift. Please return back to the elemental plane.”
His voice was still respectful to her. Hearing his words Cyclara’s grin disappeared and was replaced by an expression of discontent.
"Fine, I''ll go back to the elemental plane. But don''t think this changes anything. I still believe he''ll bring chaos and destruction."
With a huff, Cyclara dissipated into a gust of wind, leaving the immediate area. Elandris sighed as if relieved that the tension had passed. The water elemental stopped hiding behind me.
“I don’t believe that you will bring chaos and destruction. I think you are cool!”
I smiled a little to water elemental’s childish behaviour.
“Nereida, it is time you return back as well. I won’t be able to anchor your presence to this plane any longer.”
I expected Nereida to throw a tantrum when Elandris tried to send her away but she behaved quite well.
“Okay. But we will speak longer when you summon me next time. I have no one else to talk to you. I have fishes but they bully me every time I talk to them.”
Elandris nodded with a soft smile.
"I promise we''ll have more time to chat, Nereida. Thank you for your companionship."
As Nereida dissipated, Elandris turned to me.
“I am sorry about her behavior. She had unfortunate encounters with other races before so her impression of you is not really good. I hope it didn’t disturb you too much. Elementals sometimes love to sprout weird things.”
I silently nodded. I knew that I would have to worry about her words but not now. Now I could check the new titles and items I acquired.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.(Dragonic Slayer: You have proven yourself against the mighty kin of dragons, demonstrating strength and valor. Though the title does not claim the slaying of a true dragon, it recognizes your prowess against their formidable subspecies.)
(10 percent damage increase against dragonics)
(10 percent decrease in damage taken against dragonics)
(+5 Strength)
(+5 Vitality)
Okay, that’s cool. And convenient when I am about to face off Nidhogg. But I am not the one to look a gifted horse in the mouth.
(Guardian of the Forest: By accepting the sacred root from the benevolent Mother Tree, you have become a Guardian of the Forest. Your connection with the life force of the ancient being has marked you as a defender of nature, and the roots within you embody the essence of protection and vitality.)
(+10 Vitality)
(+10 Mana)
(80 percent increase in mana, stamina, and health recovery)
Well, that explained why I felt less tired and in agony.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Strength</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">47(53,2)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Agility</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">38(43,4)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Vitality</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">57(63,2)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Mana</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">40(44)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Charisma</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">40(45,3)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Defense</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">36(56)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Spark: Fallen Knight’s Armor( Intermediate Grade, growing)</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">*Can generate armor around the body.
*Increase all stats by 20 percent.
*Increases defense further by 15.
*Will form armor automatically in danger.
*Gives resistances:
-Darkness 30 %
-Fire 20%
-Curse 20 %
-Instant death 68 %
-Poison 25%
-Ice 18%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Spark Skills</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Night Vision B(Passive)
Shadow Melt A (Passive&Active)
Shadow Walk D (Active)
Armory of the Fallen E (Active)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Personal Skills</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Full Combat Mastery D (Passive)
Combat Sense B(Passive)
Iron Will A(Passive)
Monstrous Strength C(Active)
Rapid Healing C (Passive)
Indomitable Marksmanship C (Passive)
Armor Collapsing Claw C (Active)
Mana Erupt D (Active)
Synchronization ?(Passive & Active)
Mana Manipulation C (Active)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">Titles</td>
<td style="width: 48.7568%">The One Who Have Seen The End
Mythical Beast’s Partner
Divine Touched
Aliera’s Champion
Dragonic Slayer
Guardian of the Forest</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
With more stat-raising titles, I could accurately say that the stat increase of my Spark came even before the title bonuses. It would been better if it was the opposite but I guess that would make things too easy. There was some growth in both my stats and resistances that weren’t related to them but they were probably the results of my difficult fights. I was kind of frustrated with my skill ranks but it made sense that their growth slowing down as they were higher ranked now.
I shook my head and my status window disappeared. It was not time to check out the treasure chest and holy shit, it was large. Honestly calling it a container would be more accurate. Chest dropped after defeating bosses usually was bigger inside so I wasn’t sure how many things were inside of it.
“A large bounty for a hard-fought battle.”
I had to get on the balls of my feet to open it.
“The last floor of this dungeon probably hasn’t been cleared for a long time. That, coupled with the Nidhogg’s presence caused immense amounts of records and mana to be gathered here. It resulted in immensely strong boss and even better rewards.”
Elandris explained.
“Good for us.”
I dangled to grab the things inside.
“Yes, it is good for us. Though I think you are probably the only person who would think that way.”
I fell out of it while holding several shiny stones. They felt like stat increase stones Blanche gave me. They were useless for me right now as my stats were way above what they could raise but it still could benefit others.
“Why? I mean yeah, fighting that hydra was hard but there is a lot of stuff in that chest. Look at these!”
I raised the stones in my hand. I was somewhat excited. I wasn’t really greedy but I was sure that the things inside the chest were enough to make both of us rich.
“One would have to come here with a fully equipped, elite squad consisting of 10 to 15 people at least. They need to defeat all the bosses without destroying or exhausting their supplies, weapons, and armor. Even then several people probably would lose their lives and more would be injured and utterly exhausted.”
“Oh.”
I wordlessly nodded. Well, no point trying to lie low.
“This kind of boss would seen as a threat and not a conquest. Of course, the ones who see like that don’t carry the blessings of a God.”
He grinned a little. It wasn’t a malicous smile though it felt a little bit mischievous. I knew that he had suspicions and Mother Tree must confirmed them when he spoke to her. I scratched my neck and looked away.
“I will be removing the precious parts from the hydra before they are reabsorbed into the dungeon. You can list out the contents of the chest.”
He leaped to the hydra before I could say anything else. Even then, I wasn’t worried. His behavior was more like “Heheh, I know your secret!” and not “You will die for your lies!”
I reached back into the large container and retrieved various items, each gleaming with magical energy. I left the gold and gems that weren’t giving out mana since they were less important now.