Chapter 50: Getting ambushed in the last circle

Ethan stopped in front of the massive jungle. Looking up the trunks of the trees he could barely see the top of them. Vines as thick as his wrist stretched between the trees and formed a complex net high up in the air.

Taking a deep breath he rammed his staff into the ground and stretched his sore body, a smile tugged on the corner of his mouth, he did complain the whole time when he was in the desert how boring it was, the death of his allies still bothered him but now he could finally do something productive again. Was there a better way to let your emotions out than killing things? He was no psychopath but this was exactly the valve he needed to release some of his pent up emotions.

He grabbed the tooth necklace for a moment before nodding to himself, taking the staff he looked at Nora. “Are you ready to deep freeze some monsters?” Nora wrapped tightly around the staff and nodded.

Of course I’m ready, you do remember that I needed to wait for you, right?

“That’s in the past and now we’re in the present so let’s get this show started.” A grin on his face he stepped into the jungle. While he still hated the system for what it did to his memories, what it forced him to do to his soldiers. He still enjoyed a world full of magic and monsters more than his old one. He would fight, if not for himself than for Amelia and Nora. He owed it to them. Filled with confidence he set out to conquer the forest.

“SHIT! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! AHH! ANOTHER ONE! WHY CAN’T I KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT!”

Ethan’s conquest was rather short lived, it lasted roughly two and a half minutes before the first arrow pierced his shoulder and nearly pinned him to a tree. He couldn’t see the attacker, his eyes scanning the jungle but there were green leaves, green vines, green bushes, everything was green. Even the tree trunks were mostly covered in moss and lichen.

In the end he just brute forced it, spamming [Identify] everywhere he looked, the headache that accompanied it was like a hot nail being driven right between his eyes. But now he knew to never do such stupid stuff again, still he got his answer and he remembered the warning of Jarl Thoran.

“When you reach the fourth circle, burn it down and if you can’t do that, be ready to fight your own kind…just a more savage variant.”

Too bad he wasn’t a fire mage, because burning ice wasn’t something Ethan encountered so far and he honestly just forgot the warning after all the fighting and the death he witnessed. Still, his [Identify] gave him some clarity.

[Tharn’ari Archer - Level 35]
[The Tharn'ari or Wildwood Elves are a fierce and untamed race that dwells deep within ancient, shadowed forests. Known for their primal instincts and savage resilience, they live in harmony with the wild, often resisting civilization’s influence. Their lithe, muscular frames are adorned with tribal markings and natural armor, reflecting their fierce spirit and deep connection to nature. Skilled hunters and formidable fighters, the Tharn'ari embody the raw, untamed power of the wilderness, living by their own fierce code of survival and freedom.]

Ethan thought the system gave a bit too much information about the enemies he encountered but maybe that was to balance all the bullshit out the system normally offered? While he now knew what they were, it didn't really help him fight.

In the end he didn’t care because the first thing he needed was to get the fuck out of here. After the first arrow struck him the elves attacked him constantly, a literal rain of arrows came down on him and he couldn’t do much more than evade them or block with crude ice shields he created on his arms and over his head.

Making a sudden left turn he hid behind a tree and tried to control his breathing, if he was too loud they would certainly hear him. Slowly he moved around the moss covered tree trunk, his eyes switching between the net of vines and the ground, the elves could be anywhere so he needed to be cautious.

Slowly sinking to the ground he knelt down and moved his head further around the trunk. The rustling of leaves behind him made him turn around as fast as possible, something that looked like a muscular panther crossed with a sabre tooth jumped him from the bushes, the beast's approach was totally silent until the last second.

Ethan, still on his knees, rolled to the side away from the trunk. The moment his feet touched the ground again he jumped up, towards the panther, his free hand moving down to the things neck, while he made a stabbing motion he summoned an icicle into his hand and stabbed the beast with it, blood gushed from the panther’s neck, he managed to hit an artery by pure luck. He stirred the icicle inside the panther’s neck to open the wound up even more. The panther hissed at him and tried to bite his arm.

Jumping back as quickly as he could while summoning a thick mantle around his forearm and letting the panther bite into it. The icicle was still stuck in the beast’s neck, he couldn’t use his staff so he simply covered his free hand in ice and slammed it on the icicle, driving it deeper into its flesh. He saw the tip pierce the throat and the panther started to choke on its own blood.

It started to sway on his feet and the ironclad grip it had on his arm slowly loosened, the moment it let go of his arm he bolted away, straight through the undergrowth and out of the jungle. That was only positive that he was still at the edge of the forest.

Nora slithered from his staff and approached the jungle. Ethan looked at her but her thoughts were quicker than his complaints.

You stick out like a sore thumb, nobody would expect a snake to be a spy for you. What you need to do right now is get those two arrows out and relax for a while.

She vanished without another word and Ethan walked back to the rock he camped on the last few days. Getting the arrow out was easy, those stupid elves didn’t use metal, the arrows just sharpened sticks. Grabbing it he froze the entire thing so no splinters could break off and remain in the wound.

With a soundless scream he pulled the two arrows out, quick and without hesitation, while he wasn’t a masochist the pain started to bother him less, maybe he got used to it, that was in itself a scary thought, becoming unbothered by pain.

A shiver ran down his back and he quickly switched to scribbling runes into the rock, using a small round stone to carve them. The next half hour he heard nothing from Nora. Ethan started to pace back and forth already and nearly fell from the rock when his companion spoke to him.

So Ethan…you want the good or the bad news first?

While looking into her direction he answered. Give me the good news first, I could use some.

Sure, so I found their village or one of their villages. It looks thrown together, some outpost or frontier thing.

Rubbing his eyes he sighed and waited patiently for the bad news.

And the bad news is that this village has around fifty elves and at least the same number of tamed beasts. Oh and I saw a really angry elf woman holding a freshly skinned panther fur…so yeah.

Huh, they didn’t waste much time and skinned it right away?

I would guess they live in a “One with nature, nothing goes to waste” society.

While they were talking, Ethan made his way back to the edge of the forest, spotting Nora easily with her white scales on the red sand. Nora climbed up his leg and wrapped around his arm and shoulder, now reunited they looked both at the forest.

I believe Nora, we should introduce some jungle plagues to this place. I feel like testing my new subclass is in order.

Don’t overdo it Ethan, you know what happened literally a few days ago right? I won’t guard your broken body another week.

He grinned and stepped back into the jungle, this time he knew what awaited him.

I promise you to keep it mild for now, we’re just testing their reaction after all. When I think about it, this feels a lot like the goblin camp.