Tour

Helteiel came back from this hunting trip a changed man. He had not been granted any type of crest. Yet, he had submitted his body and spirit to Anoteros. Nonetheless, the human had not taken advantage of the chief’s infatuation to renegotiate the terms of the agreements they had made previously, either. This only further increased the respect and reverence the high-ranking elf had for the noble.

Helteiel felt as though he had not known that he had been missing something in life, but had been fortunate enough to discover it by chance.

To Edrick, though, he was fairly certain that the chief–And seemingly Underwood Elves in general–Weren’t attracted to him because of who he was... But simply because he was a physically dominant male figure in the same way the Red Guardian was.

In fact, although the scion still believed himself less powerful in the realm of raw power, he looked more imposing. He was wide, and his limbs were visibly long whilst still remaining impressively thick. The Blutgar, on the other hand–While very muscular–Was much more compact and had more typical bodily proportions for a humanoid of his height.

Speaking of height, Anoteros was about ten centimeters taller. So in terms of pure visuals, he was even more impressive than the protector the elves admired and had seemingly come to unconsciously adore in a way that wasn’t quite platonic.

If he had to guess, Edrick would say that the reason the elves showed such obvious interest was because he had these qualities, but was not the Red Guardian. He wasn’t considered sacred, so subconsciously, they allowed themselves to lust after him in a way that they suppressed when it came to the orcish defender.

It was just a theory, but it made more sense than Anoteros just being so attractive that an entire village–Including both men and women–Would just start dreaming of being pinned under him.

Sure, he was handsome, attractive, and had received upgrades to his charm and charisma, but there was no way that it was so high as to have such a distinct and swift effect on so many different people who had different preferences and personalities.

In any case, the way back was rhythmed with several more ‘encounters’ between the human and elf. Anoteros tried to see if Ansbach would be willing to join in dominating the chief, but it seemed that the Terror-Hound had only just begun taking on his master’s personality. He was not yet willing to get his business done with anything that wasn’t similar to him.

Surprisingly, he showed no interest in Oswulf at all. He already considered her as property of his master alone, and didn’t even entertain any thought of playing with her. Though even if he had had such thoughts, actually convincing Oswulf would have been impossible anyway.

Great Jevodian Bear-Hounds were powerful killing machines, but Ansbach was definitely weaker than the Greater Vulpine Hound at the moment. He was just a young male without much experience right now, whilst she was an adult female with rich combat experience, and who had greatly benefited from her life on the Ancestral Peak of the Chen clan.

It wasn’t yet a contest who was stronger between the two.

In any case, he did not remain much longer at this Underwood after coming back. He still had plans here, but Helteiel had already taken care of sending messengers to the other villages. He was going to be paying a visit to all of them, establishing unique deals with each under the same circumstances as before.

Well, not quite. The first time, the Red Guardian had shown up with him, which had definitely fast-forwarded the negotiations. However, the knowledge of this had already travelled, and it would be good to demonstrate his negotiation skills a little bit…

…His next village visit went rather well. Compared to the previous one, this village had been more geared toward using invisibility cultivation in spell form–Using them to hunt with relatively low effort, as they would utilise their spells to render select areas and items invisible to all.

It was easy to imagine how freaked out a wild beast would be if–From its perspective–The ground disappeared completely. Even if its feet remained firmly planted upon the ground, the beast’s brain would think it was falling, causing the poor thing to just flail around in utter confusion before being slain with a precise strike.

Alternatively, they would place traps or nets before rendering them invisible to catch unsuspecting beasts. Though it was apparently something that worked best with refined items rather than spells.... Or so he had been told by the chief…

Edrick had taught this chief the pleasures of submission as well. He was a widower, and in dire lack of affection since he had refused to take another wife. The moment he fell victim to his desires was the same moment he granted the human free passage to claim his elven body.

The third village also went well in terms of negotiations. They were the village with the best history in terms of alchemy. Although invisibility potions weren’t of high value at all here, they were quite imaginative in their alchemy and had invited many good things.

Still, their creations were of dubious utility in Eltysia, but Edrick, being a most kind and honest merchant–When it was to his advantage–Did not take advantage of that, and made sure to tell them that their ideas were actually very beneficial for the world outside the realm.

The chief there was very pleased, but unfortunately, he was too proud and strong-willed to allow himself to be seduced.

Amongst the remaining villages, there were a few that were considered the best in a certain area... Most were just regular and average. They did not have any particular history of excellence in certain domains, or they had more mundane things they were proud of–Such as having the best hunters or the best farmers overall.

In total, there were twenty Underwoods to be found. They were all scattered throughout the deep woods, but all were in proximity to at least two other villages. None was truly apart. Trade amongst them was alive and well... Though rather small, as they were all self-sufficient.

All chiefs were males, and more than half of them ended up resisting their urges and did not sleep with the human. Though amongst those who resisted their lust, there were a few who still engaged in saliva-mixing. One of them had not had his secret cavern explored, but he had given Edrick a good stroke using his hands.

Anoteros did not care too much about the results on that front. He would get them all eventually. It wasn’t like any of them hadn’t been attracted at all. Once they got over their natural enmity for humans, curiosity and desire quickly took over.

The main point was that trade deals were secured. Each agreement looked to be in favour of the elves, but considering that this whole operation cost literally nothing to the scion, and that he had a full monopoly over the realm… These were still a set of very good deals for him.

It was also an investment for the future. Keeping the Underwood Elves happy was of great importance. It had been important before, but with the new quest the system gave him... It now mattered even more.

The noble did not want to look like he was encroaching and vying for control, though, so he wasn’t going to focus on the quest at all for now. He would simply build up amicable relationships with all of the villages and just do his own thing.

Besides, he quite liked the elves of this realm now that he knew them well. They were jolly fellows–A species that reproduced at a fairly slow rate and was content with what they had. They maintained Eltysia a bastion of nature.

This was a plus in Edrick’s book. The landscape was gorgeous, and he intended to keep it that way.

Following his successful visits, he planned on traversing the mountains and going back to his small camp in the Great Plains to resume his training.

First, however, he established a small camp in the forest away from any Underwood, cooking freshly hunted meat over the campfire with Oswulf lying by his side.

She moved her head as both ears perked up.

Edrick petted her head.

“Don’t worry. I noticed too… Once again, you can just walk up instead of standing there awkwardly”

The Blutgar stepped out of the darkness.

“You have been having quite a lot of fun with the chiefs, I noticed”

His speech was more understandable, not because he had learned the human's language, but because he had switched to the Underwood tongue after realising that Edrick was fairly proficient with it.

“Quite the nice guys”

“Your actions are still not against the realm… In fact, it seems quite pleased with your presence. It has been deemed that you are integrating into the environment very well. Still… I remain confused by your ways, Human”

The Red Guardian crossed his arms, his gaze falling upon the scene not far away from where Anoteros was cooking meat.

Ansbach was mounting a female Nature-Blessed Wolf vigorously and had been going at it for thirty minutes by now. This was not the first one either. He had already taken care of all the other females of the pack he and his master had encountered.

Ansbach was still not too keen on sharing with Edrick, but the scion felt that it would come with time. For now, he allowed his bestial follower to have fun on his own.

“Is there something weird about this? He’s just answering nature’s call”

“I do not quite comprehend why such beings would engage in such acts when there is no chance of conceiving an offspring. Such actions are normally reserved for those of higher intellect capable of engaging in bonding behaviour”

“Aren’t you quite the savant? Things are a bit different outside the realm. This place has a limited number of species and environments, so it isn’t strange that the things you know are likewise more limited as well”

“This is indeed logical… I have met and observed many humans over the course of countless cycles, but never have I encountered one like you. Are you certain that you aren’t the strange one amongst your kind?”

“I am perfectly normal, I can assure you... Anyway, any idea why some Flame-Maw Bears are growing Blood-Gorged Moss or Blood-Drunk Grass?”

The guardian thought for a few seconds as he guessed what the plant names referred to. He didn’t use the same words to describe them, after all.

“Ah… That’s a recent idea a Laughing Fox got. It is quite the recognisable one as it is an albino. It's not an evolved member of its kind, but it is a fair bit craftier than other Laughing Foxes. It figured out how to cause the two things you mentioned to latch onto a living being by using its ability to keep them still”

“It stays in an area to the east. After getting into the mountains, there is a large swath of dense forest filled with caverns that Flame-Maw Bears love. I wouldn’t recommend messing with it unprepared, though”

“It doesn’t sound like you would care if I went after it”

“This one has been causing trouble for everything. It is to be expected that something will happen back to it in return”

Anoteros nodded his head with a smile, retrieving a cooked piece of Nature-Blessed Wolf meat.

“Oh, and also… Are giant Flame-Maw Bears common?”