What came out of the bush was just a rabbit.
Darui, relieved it wasn't anything dangerous, stopped paying attention and focused on testing his new abilities.
Without realizing it, someone much bigger than him was already behind his back.
"Hello~," whispered a soft voice in his ear, making his skin crawl.
He turned around instantly, locking eyes with two spiraling pink pairs and instinctively jumped back.
What the hell is that?
Unable to make out the details at first, it took him a moment to recognize who was in front of him.
It was Iris. Or rather, the Iris without the filter of how Khan saw her—no longer a short, cute elf, but a figure that inspired fear.
The Iris before him now stood nearly two meters tall, while Darui barely reached one seventy-five.
What the hell... I thought she would show up later.
Darui stepped back out of instinct and asked, "Who are you?"
"Hmm~, do I really need to say?" she replied, tilting her head.
Seeing she wasn't going to answer, he followed up, "Then... what do you want?"
"To be honest, I just came to check on the newcomers. My creator didn't really say what to do after that."
I was already sweating cold without noticing. Should I try asking for a meeting with Khan? Maybe I could get away with that. For now, he seems like the easiest to deal with, since he's still adjusting to the new world.
Iris broke the silence.
"But, you know, little creature, I feel something familiar about you. Who are you?"
Huh? What does that mean?
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm Darui, third son of Tarkus."
"Hmm~, alright. Since you answered honestly, I'm Iris. Nice to meet you~." She finished her words with a smile, reaching out her hand.
Looking at that smile, I thought, Yeah, I'm not shaking that hand...
Turning his head slightly to the side, she said, "Is... shaking hands not a tradition around here?"
"Haha... I guess not." I agreed quickly. No way I'd say I just didn't want to touch her.
A bit awkwardly, she pulled her hand back and continued, "I'll get straight to the point. Let's fight?"
Wait... that was way too straight to the point. If this keeps going, I'm definitely gonna die.
[The system recommends the host leave the area immediately.]
While I was paying attention to the system, I didn't notice Iris move. She grabbed me by the throat and lifted me off the ground.
With her eyes spinning even faster, she said, "I knew it. This feeling was familiar. You've got something from the island, don't you?"
She brought her face closer to mine, almost touching.
Trying to break free, I could only murmur, "Damn it, let me go... I didn't even do anything."
"This fear..." She smiled, but then suddenly stopped. "No. I can't. I'm only here to make contact. Calm down, Iris." she said to herself, trying to stay in control.
She let go, and I dropped to the ground, coughing and holding my neck.
Then she demanded, "Hmm~, I want you to come with me. If possible, bring everyone to the island. I won't take any prisoners just because my creator is curious about you all and doesn't want to be enemies."
"Ack... and why should I trust you now?" I said, still on the ground.
She turned serious. The spirals in her eyes stopped. With a cold gaze and superior tone, she said, "Do you have a choice?"
"Tsk... fine. I'll do as you say." I agreed, forcing myself up.
What choice do I have? I'll die if I don't obey. The worst part is that even Tarkus wouldn't stand a chance against her, and he has double my stats.
She seemed cheerful again. The spirals in her eyes started spinning once more.
"Yay, good~. I'll be waiting near the island, but I'll still be watching you~." she said brightly before disappearing into the forest with a wave.
Haah... on the bright side, I might've avoided Khan's wrath. In the original, Iris pretended to be kidnapped and Khan left the island furious, crashing into the city like a comet and destroying everything on impact. Now, this meeting... I just have to not screw everything up.
"Young master!?" A knight's voice called out nearby, seemingly looking for me.
"Here!" I shouted back.
A message popped up on the system.
[Congratulations! You survived an almost unavoidable death. You received 5 status points.]
!? I get points for surviving death? That's great, but I still need to understand how this thing works.
"Young master, the patriarch is looking for you." the knight said once he found me.
"Alright, I'll be there... in a bit. I need to relieve myself first."
Not a lie. After that whole situation, I was so relieved I survived that it literally gave me a stomachache.
"A-ah, understood. I'll let the patriarch know."
After I finished, I headed back to the camp.
As soon as Tarkus laid eyes on me, he called, "Darui, come here."
I obeyed and walked over. As I got close, he spoke quietly:
"Did you feel the energy of a Great Elf?"
Huh? Great Elf? I don't remember reading anything about that in the webnovel...
"What's a Great Elf?"
"Hmm..." Tarkus took a moment to explain.
"They're big and have an elven appearance. Like ancestors of the elves. It's said that when they show up, the forest goes completely silent."
I don't know if everything went silent... I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings.
He continued, "More importantly, don't confuse them with elves. Great Elves are considered demons due to their supremacist mindset. They're rare these days, but there are still reports. They're very powerful."
Could Iris be one of them? I remember her race being something like 'Equi'-something... Maybe it's just a trait, like the others having unique features despite being the same race.
"So, did you see or hear anything strange?" Tarkus asked.
"No, I didn't see or hear anything." I lied straight, unsure what to say.
"Right..."
If I told him a Great Elf showed up and ordered me to head to the island, what would he think? And I'm not even sure if she is one.
Leaving that issue for later, I stayed quiet.
We had some skewers by the fire, wrapped up the break, and went back to riding toward the island.
After three more hours of travel, we could see a line on the horizon.
"So it was true, what was reported... Then maybe the dragons weren't a lie either." Tarkus muttered to himself.
Then, louder: "Everyone, stay alert. Guides, move to the center. Spear carriers to the front. Shields, form a perimeter."
With those orders, everyone took their positions and stayed sharp, watching the sky and surroundings.
Three more hours passed. The island was now fully visible, lined by the setting sun.
What a sight... That thing is massive.
"We'll stop here for today and find a place to set camp," Tarkus said firmly.
Once we found a good spot and set up tents, I got a small one next to the patriarch's main tent.
Before entering, I sat on a round stone. The night breeze felt good. Feeling comfortable, I muttered, "Status."
Name: Darui Lantches
Race: Human?
Strength: 15 [+]
Agility: 12 [+]
Dexterity: 13 [+]
Intelligence: 10 [+]
Points: 5
So I've got a point tracker now? Where should I put these points?
Opening the stat descriptions:
Strength – Increases upper body physical strength.
Agility – Increases lower body physical strength.
Dexterity – Increases ease in learning or handling something.
Intelligence – Enhances thought process and reduces mental effort to manifest Qi, Mana, or Traits. Warning: the higher the intelligence, the more energy your body consumes to maintain brain activity.
Man... this is totally different from any system I've seen, but there are some similarities. Alright, I'll put 3 points into Agility and 2 into Dexterity. That'll even things out. Intelligence can stay behind for now.
Now my stats looked like this:
Name: Darui Lantches
Race: Human?
Strength: 15
Agility: 15
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 10
Points: 0
Not feeling any changes in my body, I just went inside the tent and fell asleep.
The next morning, I heard the noise outside. Everyone was already up.
Still sitting on the bed, half-asleep, I stretched and went to wash my face with a bucket someone had prepared early.
After washing up, I got dressed and stepped outside.
Seeing the sun rising and everyone full of energy, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
As I enjoyed the moment, I caught a delicious smell. I approached and saw a well-made stew.
I grabbed some and started eating.
While I ate, Tarkus appeared and shouted, "Attention, everyone!"
Once he saw everyone was listening, he continued, "We leave in twenty minutes. Be ready by then. No more breaks until we reach the island."
With that, he returned to his tent and the whispers began.
"You serious? How long are we gonna walk before we get there?"
"Don't complain, man. We already had too many breaks yesterday."
"Haah... what if it really is full of dragons?"
"Then we fight, obviously."
With all that going on, Darui slipped away to continue the tests he didn't get to do before.
"This should be a safe spot."
Drawing his sword, he tried to imbue it with Qi. He managed, though with difficulty. Then he tried lightning magic.
When he forced it, the hilt exploded, launching the sword away.
Damn. This is tough. Hey, system, is this even possible?
[Yes. It is possible. You just need practice.]
Picking the sword up and trying again, another explosion. After the second attempt, he was already tired. For now, he gave up and returned to the group.
As he walked back, a small rabbit watched him from the shadows. On the other side, the elf kept her promise to keep an eye on him.
"Eh~... so he has something like magic too."