--- Before the battle ---
Alex POV
[What's that red light?] While following whatever was moving through the fog, I noticed a bright red light forming behind it. It took me a few seconds to guess what it was, a fireball.
I saw that it was a human casting the fireball; the heat radiating from it began to disperse the fog around them. I also noticed more figures moving in the mist just behind the caster.
The person finished casting the fireball and launched it forward. I watched it fly past some trees, lighting a path as it traveled. As it soared toward the things I've been following, I heard someone shout, "FIREBALL INCOMING!"
The human guy launched the fireball forward, which was the size of a soccer ball, and I could only see it move forward and get rid of the fog. Two people, a boy and a girl, dodged the fireball just in time. It zoomed past them and struck the person ahead. The explosion knocked the boy and girl off balance, sending them tumbling backward.
With the fireball exploding, a large amount of fog was blown away, allowing me to get a clearer look at the people ahead. To my surprise, they weren't humans, they were elves.
I was kinda caught off guard. Aren't elves usually supposed to live in areas rich with nature, forests filled with trees and plants? But here they were, in the foggy wilderness. I could only assume the humans were hunting them.
I didn't know why they were being hunted, but the thought… didn't really make me feel anything? I was only curious as to why anyone would do that. But it hit me soon after… I probably just asked a naive question.
[Different world, different rules. People probably die for the simplest reason, and I'm guessing they're trying to enslave some elves. But man, what kind of world was I sent to?] That thought came to me as I examined the humans more closely. Their clothes were filthy, tattered, and looked completely unkempt, your typical bandit or criminal look in a world like this. But honestly, this kinda excited me as I wonder what else I'll experience in this new world.
As I continued watching from above, I realized that the elves below were only women and children. Still, I wasn't sure if I should intervene. I had no idea what kind of magic the humans were capable of, and the last thing I wanted was to get shot out of the sky and die after only a day in this world.
But something else puzzled me, none of the elves were using magic. Not a single spell had been cast by them. Meanwhile, the humans were unleashing blades of wind and more fireballs, setting the forest ablaze as the flames rapidly spread. And still, the elves did nothing but run. I couldn't help but wonder why.
So I just kept watching, as the people I once was, mercilessly mowed down the fleeing elves. I guess my idea about them wanting to capture the elves for slavery was wrong, because as soon as one human reached a young teenage elf… boy? Girl? I honestly couldn't tell… he lunged forward and drew a bronze dagger across their throat, killing them without hesitation.
I kinda do want to help, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to be seen. Especially since I had no idea what kind of magical world this was. The last thing I needed was to get fucking struck down by lightning from the sky or blindsided by some magical flying beast that could one-shot me out of existence.
So, I started to consider if I should just keep moving forward at full speed… and ignore this whole damn thing. But, honestly, my mind was keeping me here, locking me in place so I could help the elves.
[AH, FUCK IT. Let's start, Alex. No hesitation. They'll try to kill you… You can feel bad later, but not now. I need to get used to killing people now that the rules have changed.] Hyping myself up, I dropped a little lower, just enough to get more accurate shots. I fired a warning shot first, just to see how they'd react. I might've been too late to save most of the elves, but I'd do my best to protect whoever was still alive.
My warning shot hit squarely… right through the head of some random guy with a grey beard. The humans, whom I started to call bandits, as that's what they are, froze in place, stunned. For a moment, everything was quiet. Then one of them snapped out of it and started barking orders. The rest of the bandits quickly regrouped, forming a defensive circle.
The guy shouting commands stood at the center, gripping a cute elf girl, someone he was probably seconds away from killing, and using her as a shield.
Judging by how the others listened to him, I figured he was their leader. I could barely make out his voice over the crackle of fire and some distant groans of pain. But I caught bits of what he was yelling. He thought there were rangers hiding in the trees.
He was very wrong. I was right above them, partly hidden by the thick smoke from the forest fire, and they had no idea what was coming next.
I flew lower, weaving through the sky as I tried to find the perfect angle to take out the leader. But just as I was lining up the shot, I noticed him growing impatient. Slowly, he began pulling his sword across the elf girl's neck, the blade starting to bite into her skin.
So I didn't wait. I fired a single bullet, clean through the back of his head. It grazed the girl's ear, but I didn't notice at the time. All that mattered was that she was out of immediate danger.
Without wasting a second, I unleashed a barrage of bullets into the remaining bandits. Since they were already somewhat grouped up, it made it all the easier. They dropped like flies, their 'armor' doing absolutely nothing against the force of my .30 rounds. And with each kill I got, a ding would go off in my head with a blue notification appearing in the corner of my eye.
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I had killed exactly fifteen people, and yet, I didn't feel sick. Instead, a strange excitement stirred inside me as I saw the number rack up in my mind. It was almost too easy. All I had to do was hover above and rain down bullets, turning those men into bullet-riddled corpses.
Just to be safe, I fired a few extra rounds into the bodies. You know, just in case, I wouldn't want any of them coming back as zombies and conquering the world or some bullshit like that.
Satisfied that I'd left no bandits alive, I slowly descended, hovering closer to the ground to inspect my work, and to see if any elves had survived. As I got lower, I spotted the girl I had saved earlier going through the corpses. She wasn't scavenging for gold or gear. No, she was pulling the robes off the corpses.
That's when I noticed her clothes, tattered, filthy, barely clinging to her… DAMN, her thick and juicy body. She kept adjusting what was left of her dress, holding it up as it threatened to slip off. It was clear she wasn't looting for goods. She was just trying to cover herself, so she could hide her own goods.
[Thank you, ROB, for sending me a beautiful and thick elf girl. If only you didn't give me the damn body of a FUCKING rock.] I thought to myself, half-grateful, half-annoyed. I also thank the MQ-27 Dragonfire, as its eye was a high-quality camera, which can also zoom in a bit.
Still, I chose to stay hidden, curious about what she'd do next. It's not like I could just float out of the smoke and say "hello" while looking like a flying death machine. But she wouldn't probably think of me being that, I think?. So I watched as she stumbled around, grabbing a dagger and tearing strips of cloth to wrap around her bleeding neck and ear.
I debated whether to say something or just fly off and avoid the entire interaction. But hey, who wouldn't want to talk to a cute elf girl? Right?
So, slowly, I hovered into her line of sight, making sure she'd spot me. Naturally, the second she saw me, she raised her dagger and aimed it right at my face.
Her stance was unsteady, as she was visibly shaking, but I couldn't tell if it was from fear or sheer exhaustion.
I drifted closer, stopping within five yards to activate [Telepathy]. It wasn't the most efficient way of talking as I could only send a single word every twenty seconds, which made actual conversation painfully slow.
I started simple. "Hello." She just stared at me, confused and clearly on edge, but she didn't move…yet. I kept at it, word by word. "Friend.", "Help."
Trying to string together even the simplest sentences felt like trying to communicate through my friends shitting mcdonalds wifi. Still, after a few minutes of awkward mental pings and floating in silence, something in her shifted. The tension in her shoulders eased slightly. Her grip on the dagger loosened.
Finally, she lowered her weapon, just a little, as I bobbed up and down in the air like a chad. A certified pro gamer moved to show I was friendly.
As I kept floating in place, doing my best impression of "harmless and friendly," something started to feel… off.
I noticed her hands. They were drying up, almost looking shriveled, and her veins had started turning pitch black. Whatever was happening, it was spreading, creeping up her arms like a slow-moving infection. The girl finally noticed, too. Her eyes widened in horror.
Then, without warning, she dropped to her knees and vomited a thick stream of black goo.
Panic hit me instantly. [What the hell?! What the actual fuck is happening to her?!] I dropped lower, hovering close, trying to make sense of what was going on with her body. That's when I heard it.
(
[How is that supposed to help?! She looks like she's dying! Ah, fuck it. The system probably knows more than I do.] I didn't waste another second. I rushed to her, hovering just beside her hand, ready to place the so-called [Emblem Marker] Only one small problem: I had no idea how to actually use the damn thing.
(
The system came in clutch with the instructions. Without hesitation, I followed what it said. I focused on her hand and instantly felt a large chunk of something drain out of me. Mana, probably.
Right in front of me, a blob of pitch-black ink the size of a baseball formed mid-air. It pulsed, then shot forward like a bullet, slamming into the girl's hand. It dug into her skin, swirling and twisting as it began to brand a symbol into her flesh.
But just as I was watching the mark take shape, something fast slammed into me.
I nearly flipped over mid-air, but thank god the drone had some sort of internal systems that were some kind of auto-balance feature. I righted myself and instinctively bolted, flying away as fast as I could.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the glint of a silver arrowhead embedded in a burnt tree trunk. It must've ricocheted off me as I could feel something missing near one of my propellers.
[Fuck.] More arrows whizzed by, barely missing. I didn't stick around. I hit full speed in a random direction, zipping through the fog in erratic patterns. Another arrow clipped me, right in the ass. Not lethal, but it still pissed me off. I thought about firing back, but when I turned around, I saw nothing but fog, so I got the fuck out of there.
I dropped lower into the dense fog, using it as cover. Being small had its advantages. After ten tense minutes of erratic flying, I finally looked back again, scanning the area. No arrows. No movement. To be safe, I activated [Thermal Vision], something I forgot I had, sweeping the area for heat signatures, but nothing. Just a dull sea of cold blue filled my eye.
[Thank god!]
—
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