Chapter 65: The Elf Village

“We’re almost at the village! Everyone, prepare!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, sir!”

Ion and the knight company arrived at the village faster than expected, entirely thanks to Ion.

Whenever monsters appeared, Ion unleashed magic with glee. On Earth, he conserved mana using plant-based spells, but in Idea, with mana abundant, he could use ambient mana freely.

He crafted mana bombs to obliterate monsters, formed mana boulders to crush them, wove mana nets to gather dozens before wiping them out with a mana storm. Initially awestruck, the soldiers grew weary of his relentless, brutal magic.

Ion knew he should stay low-key but couldn’t stop. Using magic so freely, without fear, was exhilarating.

Even with abundant mana, wielding it wasn’t simple. Mana use split into two methods: 1. Using ambient mana, requiring intense focus. 2. Absorbing and digesting mana, which took time.

But Ion, raised in mana-scarce environments, instinctively absorbed and processed nearby mana like breathing. Neither focus nor time hindered him.

“Master-level? That’s gotta be Lord-level…”

“He said Master, but why hide being a Lord?”

“His familiar talks better than him.”

“Seen him use aura?”

“Nope. But with magic that strong, why bother?”

“Hope he sticks with us…”

Thanks to Ion’s swift, brutal battles, the company wished he’d stay, despite his ferocity.

Soon, they reached the village entrance, part of a count’s estate. With communication to the count severed the previous day, they braced for devastation.

But the village, though battered, wasn’t as ruined as feared. No monsters were in sight; exhausted villagers cleared charred, broken buildings.

A villager spotted the knights.

“The knights…!”

“The royal knights! The rescue team’s here!”

“Wooo!”

Survivors cheered.

The knights tethered their horses and entered. A young man, his clothes and face battle-worn, rushed forward.

Minwi asked, “Heard a field’s seal broke nearby… Did you defeat the monsters yourselves?”

“Come on, how could we handle those beasts?”

“Then what’s this situation? It doesn’t look overrun.”

“Well…”

When the field’s seal broke, the count promised royal knights were coming and sent support. Villagers armed themselves with tools, but the monsters were too strong, breaching the village walls. Then…

“They appeared and saved us!”

“They…?”

“Uh, Uncle, look!” Zieg, yawning and distracted, suddenly pointed, wide-eyed.

Everyone turned.

Two figures emerged from the least damaged building—snow-white skin, expressionless faces. One had ruby-red hair, the other emerald-green, both waist-length, with jade gems embedded in their foreheads, not a strand of bangs out of place.

“Elves…!”

Elves had saved the human village in crisis.

Indeed, a few days’ ride away was an elf village.

As Minwi began to thank them, an elf spoke first.

“We’ve been waiting. Somind Royal Knights, we request your aid.”

“…Pardon?”

While soldiers and villagers cleaned up the battle’s aftermath, Ion, Minwi, and the knight command heard the elves’ story.

Their names were Ellen and Elrin, en route to Somind’s capital with critical information.

“Since Iliand’s stronghold recapture, field appearances and seal breaks have surged. Our village elders discovered ‘black powder’ flowing from a nearby Giant stronghold.”

“Black powder…?”

“More precisely, mana turned black reacting to a substance from the stronghold.”

“I’m no mage, but isn’t mana colorless and odorless?”

“The human optic nerve can’t discern mana’s color. Certain spells reveal it,” said Semir Zion, the mages’ commander.

Semir, an exceptional mage pre-awakening, was now a top aura mage. She showed interest in Ion, clearly a great mage, but he hadn’t spoken to her during the journey—she was fated to die soon. Best not to get attached.

Semir chanted a spell, and the surrounding mana glowed vibrantly—yellow, pink, white—like a watercolor painting dusted with black ash, dulling its beauty.

“It’s true. Mana’s usually bright and radiant, but this village’s is dark and murky.”

“The black powder adheres to mana,” an elf explained.

“What is this powder that dulls mana’s light?”

“We don’t know exactly. But it spreads rapidly, gathers at a point, and a field forms instantly.”

“That’s…! Is this confirmed?”

“It is. Because…”

The elves’ stoic faces cracked slightly.

“The Giants attacked our village, killed two elders who uncovered this, and abducted three.”

Elf ‘elders’ were both ruling and reproductive classes, birthing elf eggs. A village of about a hundred had one to five elders, deeply revered.

Elders could telepathically communicate with their village’s elves. When Giants appeared, they used this to relay the black powder’s truth.

“The Giants spared three elders to lure and slaughter elves coming to rescue them.”

“Correct.”

To elves, elders were like queen bees to a hive—top priority. Humans would prioritize spreading the black powder’s secret, but elves focused on rescuing elders.

The Giants didn’t know this village had two human-elf hybrids.

Elf eggs required a year of nurturing to hatch. A human, gifted two eggs, hatched Ellen and Elrin, who lacked the purebred elves’ irrational loyalty to elders.

“We convinced the village to wait three days instead of rushing to the stronghold. En route to the capital, we found this village under monster attack. There weren’t many, so we handled them. Hearing royal knights were coming, we waited.”

“You two handled the monsters… Truly elves…” Zieg muttered, half-exasperated, half-awed.

Elves naturally outmatched humans physically. Their delicate hands could crush skulls.

“And you’re aura users?” Minwi asked.

“Yes.”

With aura awakening, no wonder the Giants only managed to kill two elders.

“Today’s the third day. If we don’t return, the village won’t wait—they’ll go for the elders. We must act now.”

“Understood. I’ll contact the crown.”

Minwi pulled out a crystal-ball communicator. Lord Kuka’s face appeared.

Informed, Kuka relayed the news to central command. Already planning stronghold raids, they now knew to target the black powder’s source first.

-We want to focus on strongholds, but too many fields are unsealed. We can’t abandon suffering people to attack. Clear the monsters first.

“Lord, if we don’t destroy the source, fields will keep spawning. These elves suppressed their instincts to bring us this. We can’t send them back alone. We’ll proceed.”

-Madness! Even with two awakened elves, it’s suicide, Minwi!

Kuka’s anger stemmed from concern, not defiance.

“Don’t worry. We have an Aura Master too.”

-That great mage you met? Even a Master can’t authorize a stronghold raid. Wait for reinforcements.

“The elves won’t wait—”

“I’m not a Master,” Ion interjected, cutting the debate short.

“I’m a Lord.”

A blatant lie for a non-awakened, but his skills surpassed an Aura Lord’s.

Aura Lord—Earth’s S-rank equivalent.

Sarah Harundas, an Aura Lord, slew twelve Giants. A stronghold typically held about twenty.

With an Aura Lord and awakened elves, recapture was feasible.

With Kuka’s approval, they headed for the elf village.

The elves’ cave hideout was far, but acceleration magic got them there before sunset.

“Ellen, Elrin! You’re back! Let’s go to the elders!”

“We must beg the Giants. No more waiting!”

The elves in the hideout looked haggard—disheveled hair, faces smeared with blood and sweat, clothes torn—not the noble race expected.

“How long since the Giant attack, and they haven’t bathed…?” Zieg muttered.

Losing elders drove elves to this state. It was natural.