Chapter 20: Kraft
As Rhodes looked at the green-haired, pointy-eared elf who had suddenly appeared before them, the more he looked, the more familiar the man seemed.
He snapped his fingers.
Isn't that the warrior-monk, Kraft? So he's also from the Age of Myth? The man's waist-length green hair had thrown him off at first. But now, of course, he had to pretend he didn't recognize him.
"Serie. I never thought I'd see you here."
After finishing off the Scale-Fiend, Kraft turned and greeted Serie. Apparently, they knew each other.
"You certainly showed up at the right time. To steal my prey," Serie said, her eyes narrowed in displeasure. That kill should have been hers, but it had been poached.
"You two know each other?"
Rhodes walked over, surprised. He hadn't expected them to know each other; the original story never mentioned it. He could understand if they knew each other in the future; after all, they were both elves who had lived from the Age of Myth to the present day. They must have crossed paths at some point. Perhaps Serie had even heard stories about Kraft when he was saving the world. But now, their acquaintance was thousands of years premature.
"Yes. He's also from the Great Elven Forest, but he left to go adventuring two hundred years ago."
Serie was a few hundred years younger than Kraft. When she had been learning magic, he was already a fully qualified elven warrior. Unlike Serie, who was blessed with extraordinary magical talent, Kraft's aptitude for magic was lacking, so he leaned more towards being a warrior.
"Hello. I am Kraft. You must be a human? And this... a dwarf?"
Kraft took the initiative and greeted Rhodes. From his words, it was clear that he had also encountered humans before.
"Hello. My name is Rhodes."
Somme also stepped forward to introduce himself. "My name is Somme."
"A fine constitution. You will surely become a powerful warrior one day," Kraft said, first praising Somme before turning his attention to Rhodes. "I sense the aura of mana from you. Can you, by any chance, use magic?"
Because he had trained as a martial artist since birth, he was extremely sensitive to the aura of mana. This was the first time Kraft had ever met a human who possessed it. He had seen several human settlements before, and his assessment was the same as Frieren's: a weak and fleeting race. While there were some powerful warriors among them, that was the extent of it. Without a long and storied heritage, or their own unique magical knowledge, it was difficult for them to even gain a foothold in this world.
But now, the appearance of Rhodes had changed his perception.
"Yes, I can use magic," Rhodes admitted with a nod.
Kraft seemed impressed. "What type of magic is it?" he asked casually. "Could it be lost magical knowledge from some ancient ruins?"
At this stage in his life, although his own magical talent was average, Kraft was still intensely curious about magic. It would likely take hundreds or even thousands of years of experience before he would dedicate all his energy to refining his martial arts.
"Light magic," Serie answered for him. She had to be the one to say it. Even though Kraft was known to be a kind soul among the emotionally distant elves, Serie couldn't be sure he wouldn't make trouble for Rhodes. Every race in this world guarded their magic with extreme jealousy. The elves were no exception.
"What?" Kraft was shocked. "Serie, did you teach him?" he asked urgently. There were only the three of them here. Dwarves couldn't learn magic, which left only Serie with the ability to teach him.
Serie nodded, confirming his suspicion.
"Is there a punishment for learning elven magic?" Rhodes whispered to Serie.
"Yes. The lightest punishment is to have your memory erased. More serious offenses can lead to life imprisonment."
Serie's nonchalant tone made Rhodes's face fall. This was awkward. They had been caught by another elf.
"Truly, you are one of a kind, Serie," Kraft said, shaking his head with a helpless smile. Though he hadn't interacted with her much, he had heard her name mentioned back in the Great Elven Forest. Astounding magical talent and a view of the world that was different from other elves. To learn every spell for the purpose of killing... she was truly an anomaly among the elves.
Fortunately, elves were an emotionally reserved race. Even with Serie's unconventional behavior, she didn't attract too much attention from the others. Now, hearing that Serie had taught elven magic to an outsider, Kraft was shocked, but also found it strangely... reasonable. It was something she would do.
"So what do you intend to do? Report me to the elders?" Serie had no intention of returning to the Great Elven Forest. It wouldn't matter to her if the elders banished her; she would just find another place to live.
"Forget it. I'll just pretend I didn't see or hear anything." Kraft clearly had no intention of doing so. He couldn't be bothered with such a thankless task. Besides, he was quite curious about this human who could learn elven magic.
"You still haven't told me why you're here." Seeing that Kraft wasn't going to press the issue, Serie changed the subject.
"A coincidence, I suppose. Have you seen a Sky-Winged woman? She should have been coming from the direction you two came from."
"We have." Rhodes and Serie both remembered the woman named Leah vividly. If not for the information she had provided, they wouldn't have risked crossing the swamp to get to Glimmerwood.
"Then you know what she's doing?"
"We do," Rhodes answered this time.
"Good, then it's easier to explain. I'm a messenger for the ground forces. I'm responsible for scouting the information in this swamp."
A good distance away, in the new Dwarven Kingdom, the leaders of the three most powerful nations in the world were already meeting.
The new Dwarven Kingdom of Svartalfar.
The Elven Kingdom of Hithlum.
The Sky-Winged Kingdom of Dol-Anor.
The armies of the three races were already gathering. Kraft's mission was to scout the number and movement of the magical beasts in this area, so that when the armies arrived, they could begin their sweep.
Hearing Kraft's explanation, Rhodes fell into thought. He couldn't quite make sense of this new development. The original story had so little information about the Age of Myth that he had no idea if this was following the established plot.
"Do you want to join us, Serie? The war is about to begin," Kraft proposed to Serie. He knew she loved this kind of thing.
His proposal clearly tempted her. An indecisive look crossed her face. Rhodes didn't know if he should interject. Whether Serie went or not, he didn't seem to have a reason to stop her.