NOVEL NEXT Chapter 185: Elven Battle
Dolk watched as one of the elves on the griffins lunged at him, wielding an elven-style sword with a branch design engraved on the blade. Just before he was hit, the dark elf zipped to the side while brandishing his two daggers, prepared for a fight.
Just as the elf landed on the floor, slamming her sword down, Dolk used that chance to try and appraise her.
[Tine Havard, Class: Battle Mage, Level 33]
After reading her status window, his eyes widened in shock. He knew who this person was just as well as she knew who he was.
Tine Havard was one of the personal guards who protected the future Chief of the Mapleash tribe. He believed that her name was Hlif Hávarðr. He knew about her not just because she was well known within the Great Forest of Meir, but also because she was one of the biggest obstacles to Kollr's and the High Elves' plan to take over the entire forest.
However, this only confused Dolk. Why was one of the future chief's guards here and not back at the Mapleash tribe? Did something happen to the Hlif Hávarðr?
A sense of dread and anxiety washed over him. If the future chief was gone, then that meant the Kollr and the High Elves had a much better chance of accomplishing their goal. And while Dolk was not in the Great Forest of Meir, a part of him was terrified of them taking over the forest.
Because if they do...their influence wouldn't stop there. Once the forest was under their control, they would most likely expand. That would be the natural thing to do. Especially to those arrogant psychopaths.
His train of thought was interrupted by Tine expelling a battle cry while charging at him. Dolk raised his blades to block her strikes, watching their weapons clash against one another and making a metallic clang with each hit. She swung down on his head, forcing Dolk to shift to the side, letting the blade narrowly miss him. He then thrust his blade at her torso, only for his blade to get knocked out of his hand by a spell attack. And it didn't come from Tine.
Dolk then spun his head in the direction of the spell, spotting the other elf who finally got down on her griffin. When he saw her, he noticed that there was some kind of green orb floating around her. It emitted a powerful energy, not that of a mage but something else.
Before he could appraise either, Tine swept her foot against his leg, causing him to trip. When he looked up at her, the elf guard raised her sword over his skull, preparing to plunge it down. Before that could happen, Dolk rolled away just in time as the tip of her sword struck the floor he was just lying on.
He got to his feet and turned to face his two opponents. Over to his left, he watched as the other elf ordered her floating orb to fire a bolt of green energy at him. Dolk blitzed out of the attack's range, letting it zip past him and into the city.
A moment later, Tine rushed toward Dolk. She raised her sword, which pulsed a pale blue light. Just as she raised her weapon in the air, the dark elf noticed that she wasn't wielding it with both hands. His eyes trailed down to her free hand, and he noticed that a spell was being cast. Instead of a pale blue energy, she seemed to be casting a fireball spell from her palm.
Noticing this, his eyes widened as he dove to the side, just as the elf guard hurled the spell at him. He rolled to his feet once again before raising his hands, as if requesting a ceasefire.
"H-hold on a second!" He shouted, grabbing the attention of both elves.
Seeing this, Tine and the other elf momentarily halted their assault. They tilted their head and stared at Dolk with a suspicious gaze.
"What is it?" Tine questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.
"You said before that I'm under arrest for destroying the peace of the Great Forest of Meir, right?"
"As a co-conspirator, yes," She corrected with a venomous tone. "By working under the High Elves, who are trying to take over the forest."
Dolk carefully listened to her words, trying to feel out his current situation. From what she just said, that meant that the High Elves were still planning to take over the Great Forest of Meir. Which meant they survived the thirty days of Hell in their Tutorial Dungeon. Just as he suspected they would.
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The fact that the High Elves were still present didn't bode well for Dolk. Not with his current circumstances.
"I didn't work under the High Elves," Dolk stated calmly, though his voice was a bit shaky. "I was following the command of Kollr Skogr."
Hearing that name, Tine faltered for a moment before speaking. "You mean the one currently having the entire Greyvolk tribe and several other dark elf tribes under his command?"
Dolk's heart sank upon Tine mentioning this. So, Kollr had already seized control of the Greyvolk tribe. Not only that, but his influence had already spread to the others as well. That wasn't good. It hadn't even been a month since they returned to their tutorial dungeons, and Kollr was already in possession of so much power.
A deep pit formed in Dolk's gut, leaving him feeling hollow and grim. They were making too much progress in such a short amount of time. Just how much did those people prepare before the system finally arrived?
His thoughts were interrupted by Tine slowly approaching him, training her sword on her opponent.
"You will be coming with us," She declared with a glare. "If you resist, then you'll be losing a couple of your limbs as a result."
"How scary~" He mocked, though he did believe her words deep down. "But before we continue our little tussle, I'd like to ask one last thing."
Tine narrowed her gaze. "And what is that?"
"What is the current situation in Meir? Have the High Elves completely taken over the forest and were currently dealing with rebels like yourself, or was the great forest of Meir suffering from an active civil war?"
The reason Dolk asked such a question was that he needed to know how much time he had left. Since it was confirmed that the High Elves were alive and still proceeding with their plan to take over the Great Forest of Meir, he needed to know the current state and whether those arrogant, gaudy bastards were successful with their plan. Or if they were still struggling to seize control.
Tine leaned her head to the side, looking taken aback by his question. Her expression shifted to a hostile look as she glared at Dolk once again.
"Are you really asking that?" She snarled as if offended by his question. "You're working with Kollr Skogr, aren't you? So, shouldn't you already know the answer?"
Dolk sighed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "I told you that I 'was' working under Kollr. I'm not anymore since I managed to get away from him after getting teleported to a Tutorial Dungeon."
Dolk believed that he would be stuck working under Kollr, along with the High Elves, until his death. He only agreed to work with them because he had no other option. If he didn't, then the fate of the dark elves would be ruined. Of course, what he was doing now seemed rather hypocritical.
He joined Kollr and the high elves to protect his people. But once he was free from their restraints, what was the first thing he did? He ran away, leaving his people behind. He did feel shame for abandoning his people, but much like when he joined Kollr...he wasn't given much of an option. Not after everything he witnessed in his tutorial dungeon.
He knew that Kollr and the high elves were aware of the System and the great universe's existence. That was the entire reason why they were trying to take over the Great Forest of Meir. It was because of the power they knew they would possess and use to achieve their wildest dreams.
Dolk didn't know how they found out about the system before it appeared, but he did know this: he couldn't get involved with them anymore. After everything he endured in his tutorial dungeon, he knew that staying with them any longer would only make his life worse than it already was.
"Do you really think I'm buying that?" Tine scoffed. "Just because you aren't working with them now doesn't mean it erases what you've done for them, do you?"
Of course, he knew. But he didn't care about his past crimes. All that mattered to Dolk...was surviving this hellish and merged world for as long as he could. Which was why he needed power and authority. With those two in his possession, he should have enough to keep Kollr and the High Elves away from him. Or at least he hoped for that to happen.
"This is your final chance to surrender, understand?" Tine declared, getting even closer to Kollr.
Realizing that he wasn't going to escape without a fight, Dolk immediately raised his daggers in front of him in retaliation. The elf noticed his defiance and clicked her tongue irritably.
"Resistant to the very end, I see."
Dolk shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I'm quite the rebel."
Tine said nothing else and simply nodded at her elf partner, telling her that they were about to proceed with another fight. Just as all three players were prepared to duke it out again, they suddenly stopped when they felt a sudden, oppressive force begin to weigh down on them.
It was so overwhelming that they slowly fell to their knees, unable to endure the pressure currently pressing down against them. It was like they were being crushed by a building, and they were unable to move at all.
However, using up all of his strength, Dolk forced his head to move. He then struggled to raise it to find the source of the pressure weighing on him. However, just as he managed to look up at the night sky, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest after what he saw.
Floating several meters in the air above them, a lone figure could be seen. They wore an elegant purple and black dress and a transparent veil over their head. As soon as Dolk saw the attire the figure was wearing, he knew exactly who this person was.
It was a player that his spies told him about. The so-called Veiled Witch. The very person that he was trying to avoid this entire time.
As he continued to gaze up at the veiled witch, she suddenly turned and looked at Dolk. The dark elf was then filled with fear and dread when he noticed her piercing purple eyes piercing through the veil as if they were glowing.
Despite the fear overwhelming him, he managed to let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, this isn't good."