As the first light trickled in from the east, a young man dressed in pelts and a small cub ran along the river winding through the dense forest.
Thud—Crunch!
Alex and Hati were on their stamina-training run.
They ran until the sun rose high in the sky. When they finally returned to their little tree house, they found Naeriel waiting at the door.
Naeriel glared at Alex and said coldly, "I'm here to inform you—we'll be going on a mission tomorrow morning. And if you come in our way, I won't hesitate. I'll kill you."
She turned and left before Alex could respond.
Alex looked at Hati and nodded. "Let's go."
Behind the house, Alex cooked a simple meal using the meat he had stored in his spatial ring.
The Next Day
In the early morning mist, a group of Elves gathered near Alex's house—three male Elves with pointed ears and long, silver-golden hair, along with Princess Aersith and Naeriel.
Alex stepped out, nodding to the Princess. Hati, perched on his shoulder, also nodded with a serious expression.
"Let's go," the Princess commanded.
They all moved toward the giant tree deep within the forest. The Elves ran across the trees like spirits of the woods, leaping from branch to branch with barely a sound, only the rustle of leaves marking their passage.
Alex did his best to keep up, but none of them looked back to check on him. The cold disregard stung, but Alex stayed silent. He knew he wasn't in a position to complain.
Eventually, they arrived at the barrier surrounding the area around the Mother Tree. Alex knelt on the ground, panting heavily, while the Elves stood unaffected, not even slightly out of breath.
They cast condescending glances his way.
Princess Aersith addressed them calmly, "Our mission is to assess how much corruption has spread across the Mother Tree."
She looked at Alex. "Mr. Alexander, you'll stay here. We can't risk taking you in."
Alex simply nodded without protest.
The Elves crossed the barrier one by one, vanishing into the corrupted forest on the other side. Princess Aersith moved like a breeze, her feet barely touching the ground, until she reached a small, blackened tree near the Mother Tree and hid behind it.
What she saw made her heart drop.
The once-magnificent Mother Tree was now almost entirely blackened—corruption had consumed nearly 70% of it, creeping dangerously close to the crown. The spread had increased by 30% in just four days.
In her shock, she made a fatal mistake.
Crunch!
She stepped on a dry branch.
A guttural growl followed as corrupted Elves with glowing red eyes snapped their heads toward her.
Grrrrr!
They swarmed her in an instant.
Snapping out of her daze, the Princess jumped into the air, using her Air element to dash toward the barrier. She landed just outside, but six corrupted Elves pursued her, surrounding her moments later.
Naeriel and the other Elves regrouped quickly and engaged one corrupted Elf each.
Alex rushed into battle as well, facing off against a corrupted Elf. He grinned and muttered, "I haven't fought in a while, and I'm really tired of Elves with their noses in the air."
He spun his spear and pointed it toward the corrupted Elf.
Shingggg!
On Princess Aersith's side—
A corrupted Elf lunged at her with crazed frenzy, jaws open to bite. She dodged quickly and pressed her palm to the earth.
Vines burst forth, snaking from the ground and climbing the corrupted Elf's legs.
The Elf growled, straining its arms as it tore the vines apart.
Creak!
The Elf leaped into the air, then slashed downward.
Air Slash!
The blade of wind howled toward the Princess. She sidestepped, but her right shoulder was cut.
Screech!
Blood soaked through her green robes, the cloth turning crimson.
Wincing, the Princess gritted her teeth. I don't want to hurt him, but capturing him seems impossible.
She spread her elemental aura—golden-green light flickering around her. Sharp wooden spikes sprouted from the surrounding trees, forming a semicircle.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The spikes rained down on the corrupted Elf, who evaded with unnatural agility, his body glowing faintly with green energy.
But the barrage intensified.
A sickening thuck echoed as a spike impaled the Elf's leg. He howled.
His movements grew sluggish—clouded by pain.
Thuck! Thuck! Thuck!
Three more wooden spikes pierced his arms and remaining leg.
He collapsed but kept growling, thick black drool dripping from his mouth.
The Princess exhaled, sweat on her brow. "Let's help the others."
The other Elves were still hesitating, trying not to seriously harm their corrupted kin.
Meanwhile, Alex lunged at his opponent, spear aimed for the neck. The Elf dodged, gliding backward like a leaf in the wind.
Alex pressed forward, jabbing at his stomach and legs. The Elf parried one strike with an Air Slash, twisting midair with unnatural grace.
He's fast, Alex thought. Smells like rotting grass.
The Elf's claw shot toward Alex's face—
Alex raised his spear to block.
Slash!
Blood splattered.
Tap. Tap.
A long vertical gash now ran down Alex's arm.
He backed off, pain flaring. How did he do that? I couldn't even see it.
Let's restrict his movement first.
He pressed his hand to the ground. Vines erupted, trying to bind the Elf's feet, but the corrupted creature hovered above the ground, and the vines barely slowed him down.
Still, the distraction was enough.
Alex thrust his spear—
Thuck!
It pierced the Elf's thigh.
Grrrrr!
A muffled growl escaped the Elf's throat.
Alex grinned. "Oh, that's how you do it. Let's keep going."
Before he could relish the moment, the retreat order was shouted.
Alex impaled the other leg and then both arms. The corrupted Elf screamed like a wild beast.
He slung the limp creature over his shoulder. "Let's go, Hati."
The cub emerged from the nearby shrubs.
As the Princess gave the retreat order, the other Elves vanished—without a single thought for Alex.
He went westward alone. Outside the barrier, Princess Aersith stood waiting, a deep frown etched on her face.
As Alex approached, she shouted, "Stop!"
Alex halted, confused.
"You are no longer allowed to enter the barrier!" she snapped. "You touched the corrupted Elf! You disobeyed orders."
Alex turned away and walked toward a thick tree. He dropped the Elf like a sack of grain.
Thud.
"Let's see," he muttered, placing a hand on his chin.
The Mother Tree said I could learn something about my red snake poison if I understood this power. Let's try devouring it with my dark element.
Alex infused his hand with dark energy and pressed it against the Elf's wound. Focusing hard, he imagined devouring the corruption.
He felt something shifting—the corruption being consumed by his dark element.
Unbeknownst to him, the corrupted Elf had stopped growling. Its red eyes widened in shock. The red faded. Veins returned to normal. Its eyes became clear.
Princess Aersith, watching from afar, fell backward in shock.
Thud.
When Alex finished, a strange energy formed in his body—a green, poisonous shadow with multiple snake heads, writhing through his vessels.
It attacked his dark element, wreaking havoc in his body.
Then, something stirred deep within him.
From the depths of his dark element rings, a long, dragon-like shadow with feathered wings and glowing purple eyes roared to life.
It devoured the green snake-headed corruption in an instant before retreating into the elemental rings in Alex's heart.
The corruption was gone.
The Elf lay unconscious—but free.
The Princess watched, paralyzed by what she had witnessed. Tears streamed down her face.
Alex moved to a meditative pose, focusing on handling the new power inside him.