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"Where is he?

" Kydone mumbled as she jumped from branch to branch. She was technically looking for Eldrian, though her lack of will to go down on the ground made it far less an effective search. She was hoping her feline eyes would enable her to spot him. And this was indeed what happened.

nJumping down she landed gracefully at the edge of the light, only to jump back in haste as a massive bird pecked at her.

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"Hey! Don't be mean!

" Kydone shouted as the bird readied itself to attack again. Her shout caused it to pause as it tried to make sense of the words.

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"Kydone?

" Eldrian asked and rushed between the two to show Mneme that the person was not a threat. Only after making sure that the roc would not attack again did Eldrian turn around to face his savior.

nThough he could not recall that fact, so instead of thanking her he asked what she was doing here.

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"Wha-? I came to help you!

"

nEldrian faltered as he suddenly felt quite stupid, though he still had to ask if she didn't mean to help the kingdom.

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"Of course not. I only care about Evale, her brother, and...

" Kydone paused but the meaning was clear.

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"Thanks... And I also care about you,

" Eldrian said, not knowing what to do. He felt like giving her a hug yet he did not think they were close enough. Instead, the two stood in awkward silence until the roc nudged Eldrian forward. Causing him to fall into an embrace.

nThe two quickly split apart, but the awkward mood grew and causing Mneme to look at the two as if they were idiots. Shaking its head it felt it would never understand humans, elves made far more sense.

nAfter a few minutes, Eldrian overcame the awkwardness he was feeling to ask how she managed to find him.

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"I was actually just running around in the trees...

" Kydone replied, feeling ashamed that she tried to claim she had come to help him yet she had not even truly gone out searching for him. Quickly countering mentally that it actually worked out better, 'So it must have been the better approach!'

nSilence ruled again for a moment. Until Itireae arrived with a dwarf. She was not happy at all, the devil prince Volrak had managed to escape from the battlefield with ease. While she could certainly overwhelm him with her sword techniques and barrage of spells, she never managed to land a decisive blow.

nThe difference in Tier 9 and 10 was just too much to overcome with just technique and mastery. Especially when she also did not have the advantage in gear.

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"Haru?

" Itireae paused for a moment until she recalled that she had asked Mneme to go save him. The feeling she had felt finally making sense. The second one which resulted in a dwarf was still confusing her and she was planning to ask Amnur what was up with it.

nThe dwarf instead froze upon seeing Eldrian. Cursing himself for deciding to go with Itireae. Yet he had not had much of an option. He was badly injured and needed her magic, yet she would not stay still to treat him. So he had to follow her until he was mostly healed at the very least.

n'Her again...' Eldrian froze too as he recalled how he had gone off on her the last time had seen her. 'Is she holding a grudge? Surely not... She wouldn't have sent Mneme to protect me then, right?'

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"I see, so you were also here,

" Itireae mumbled and allowed Eldrian to recall how their first meeting had actually ended.

n'Right. We ended up actually parting on decent grounds.' Eldrian recalled and instead asked,

"Have you managed to learn what loss is?

"

nFreezing, Itireae turned to him with a strange look.

"I have learned what it is yes.

"

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"But have you felt it?

"

nItireae paused and sighed,

"No, I have not succeeded. And part of me hopes I never will.

" With that, she jumped with elegance onto Mneme's back and spoke no more of the topic.

nNodding Eldrian did not know what else to say, luckily he did not need to.

"Climb on,

" Itireae said, patting Mneme's back while looking at both Eldrian and Hrothgar. The dwarf did so with little hesitation, he did not wish to ruin his mission by talking with Eldrian.

nHe smiled inwardly when Eldrian did not climb onto the roc. Itireae looked at him for a moment and asked,

"Why not come with me? Away from all this?

"

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"I have someone I need to find,

" Eldrian replied, turning around and heading towards the fence. The mist was finally fully lifting. Vivian, half asleep, jumped up from her slumped position against the fence when she saw the light approaching her

nYet, without any energy she quickly started falling, Eldrian catching her as she did. 'The battlefield is really not large.' He thought as he considered the 250 odd meters from the fence to the forest. Granted the battle had not just happened in this space, but it was where most of it had taken place.

nHe had found his way with ease not because he was able to see, but rather because the map started working again. As such Eldrian believed it must have been a game-like function of the map system.

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"Easy there,

" Eldrian whispered as he let Vivian down and cast Anthise on her. The spell actually doing wondered since there was no one available to care for those not at the edge of death.

nKydone looked at the two a few meters back and wondered who this person was. Instead of asking, she decided to disappear and go off on her own again.

n...

n'The quest is still not completed...' Eldrian sighed as he looked at it again just to double confirm. Not even one of the goals was accomplished at the moment. A fact that was quite demoralizing.

nIt was not four days after the battle, two more legions have arrived and the situation was quite under control now. One legion would be stationed on the other side of Pyknos forest, ensuring that not more reinforcements could make it to the forest. The other would stay around the forest, the two often swapping to keep both of them fresh.

nIn the forest the undead would all receive a significant boost, while in the open fields the centaurs could slaughter the undead with ease. The Thunder legion was at the moment set as the guards of the outposts created in the forest. With the more seriously wounded stationed at the fort to rest.

nThis also held for the rest of the people who were still alive. Only around half of those from Phallos who had been stationed at Pyknos forest. A fact that weighed heavy on most of them, especially Vivian.

nShe was quickly recovering. The difference between players and natives was clear in this area though. It had taken Eldrian just one log out to basically recover to full. Only the emotional toll of the battle stayed with him. Vivian instead had both the emotional toll and the physical one still on her everyday.

nSighing, Eldrian decided to go visit Elizabeth and the others. That quest had at least been completed. And along with it the guild Phoenix Division had reached level 3.

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"Eldrian!

" A group shouted out at his arrival, causing Eldrian to wave at them embarrassed as he entered the guild's tent. Their status having massively risen after the battle.

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"You're here, are you interested in a B-ranked quest?

" Elizabeth asked as soon as Eldrian entered the tent. Not even needing to turn around to see who it was thanks to the shout from the players.

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"No thanks,

" Eldrian said, wondering if he should ask everyone to stop using his real name. 'It doesn't change much.' He thought, knowing he was far more used to 'Eldrian' than he was to being called 'Haru'.

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"Really, are you sure?

" Elizabeth asked, sighing upon his confirmation.

"I guess we won't take it then.

"

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"Are these the options?

" Eldrian asked, taking up a few of the papers. His eyes flying open in surprise.

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"The rewards are really good.

"

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"They are, but the difficulty is not ensured. I mean, it worked out last time but all of us died in the end.

"

nEldrian nodded, having already learned of this over the past few days. He was the only player who ended up not dying. Though it was not important as the only variable was the position being held, and the players certainly had made a massive difference.

nHeck, Elizabeth had even gained 20 gold from their bounties alone. Though like half of that was from Eldrian's contribution, he did not ask to be compensated. He was more than happy with the Tier 2 weapon he had gotten.

nWhile Aoidos is a great weapon, its inability to be repaired and size made it less than ideal. Eldrian had no idea what all he did in the fight, even after watching the video Miracle had shown him. Somehow he had managed to knock a solid 3k off the 18k it had had in the one fight.

nYet, even so, he could not find even a single chip on the blades, nor one on the shaft. As such he assumed durability was more a magic value indicating before the weapon would start being truly damaged or something similar.

nWhether this was due to how it was made, or just how higher magic tier items worked, Eldrian was unsure. He recalled clearly that Grace had taken damage while still having durability, though it was a failed magic weapon.

nThe Tier 2 weapon he had gotten was a shortsword. Not much longer than his forearm the blade had just one ability: In one go.

nIt was a simple ability, but quite a rare one for weapons below Tier 5. It was actually a blade from someone who had died. There were designated people who cleaned the battlefield. With rewards being handed out according to contribution.

nEldrian was still waiting for his individual reward.

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