~WHUUUSH!~
As the trio descended from the sky, the rush of wind roared in their ears, gradually tapering off as they neared the sandy shores of the Eastern Continent.
With a gentle flap of wind, guided by his Magic, Rey touched down upon the soft, golden sands, his movements fluid and precise. Judging by his movements alone, it seemed almost as if he had been here before. However, if that was the case, teleportation would have sufficed.
"Huu…" Heaving a silent sigh, he turned to offer a reassuring smile to Esme and Kara, his eyes calm and composed despite the high-speed journey they had all just experienced.
"We made it. Are you guys okay?"
One look at the two behind him told Rey that the question was unnecessary. There was no way either of the girls was okay.
Esme stumbled slightly as she nearly tumbled over Rey. Despite being accustomed to flying—even at such high speeds—it seemed the rate at which Rey traveled was too much for her.
Fortunately, she was able to acclimate relatively quickly… unlike her counterpart.
"U-uwaahh…." Kara had staggered the moment she landed, her legs trembling beneath her as she fought to regain her balance.
Even now, her head spun with the remnants of their breakneck flight, leaving her feeling dizzy and weak. She clutched her stomach, willing the queasiness to subside as she took in their surroundings with bleary eyes.
She was the weakest among everyone, so it only made sense that she was the most affected. She tried her best to put up a brave front, but there was only so much one could do when their insides felt like a mess.
"I went considerably slow, you know?" Rey mumbled as he looked at both girls.
They both shot him disbelieving looks, with Kara incapable of speaking, and Esme shaking her head and sighing.
"How considerate of you…"
Thankfully, they didn't have to dwell on the intensity of their journey now that they had arrived at the beach of the Continent they were journeying to.
The Eastern Continent stretched out before them in all its lush, tropical splendor, the dense canopy of trees beckoning invitingly from just beyond the shoreline.
"It's beautiful," Rey heard one of the girls breathe, her voice barely above a whisper.
The absence of guards and the tranquil serenity of the scene before them offered a welcome respite from the chaos they had left behind.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Kyaa!" Kara yelped as she fell as soon as she tried to walk forward.
Both Rey and Esme instantly stared at her, even trying to assist her in standing, but she sheepishly rejected their offer and rose to her feet herself.
"I-I'm okay," she managed to stammer, her voice wavering slightly.
Rey stepped forward, placing a hand on Kara's shoulder as he offered her his best version of a pep talk. "Kara, Relax…"
He spoke softly, his tone both gentle and reassuring. "... Enjoy the weather."
All of this had to be a lot to take in, especially for a human who was pretty much normal for the most part.
"T-thank you, Sir Rey."
"It's no problem." He smiled at her, though it didn't last once he began to hear a certain voice inside his head.
~You didn't even ask how I'm doing! Master, you're so mean!~
Emil was as strong as Rey—at least when it came to Stats—so he really didn't see any reason to ask her. Besides, they were pretty much bonded, so if she was experiencing any discomfort, Rey suspected he would have known at some point.
Still, he wasn't willing to go down that road with anyone.
Besides, it didn't cost him anything to indulge the Symbiote Slime every once in a while.
'I recognize how powerful and reliable you are, Emil. You're not as weak as them, so I assumed you could handle it. Was I… wrong?'
~N-no! Not at all, Master! You are absolutely correct! I am so amazing, aren't I?~
'Indeed. You're so very amazing.'
~Kyaaaahh! I'm so glad you finally recognize that, Master!~
Rey almost rolled his eyes, but he just put up with Emil and told her what she wanted to hear, while also looking around him with curious eyes.
"What are you looking for?" Esme asked Rey with curiosity as she drew nearer to him. Her nausea seemed to have been completely exhausted, meanwhile Kara was still recovering.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Just taking in the details. It's just as Ater described it."
"Well, yeah…"
"How about you? Are you fine? Do you feel any kind of connection since we got here? The kind that Ater said Elves feel…"
Esme shook her head slowly.
"Nothing, huh? Maybe it's the human side of you that's blocking it. It could also be that the Oracle has ostracized you."
Once again, this was a pretty obvious sign of the differences between Elves and Half Elves.
"Well, there's no use thinking about any of that now. It's already late evening already…" Rey could see the sky glowing orange already, which meant they spent hours upon hours on the trip.
What mattered most at the current moment was rest.
'They're trying to hide it from me, but I can tell that both of them are very tired…' His thoughts trailed as he alternated glances between the two ladies.
"We'll set up camp here and rest. I need us to be fresh when we meet with the Elves tomorrow, which means we should all rest up for now."
It had been a long journey, after all.
He stepped forward and looked at a bare space in front of him, his eye glowing brightly as he whispered to himself.
"[Perfect Domain Of The Divine]."
~VWUUUM!~
Instantly, rubble began to rise from the sandy earth, and bricks were made from the grains that occupied the floor. Like a sandcastle, but denser than rock, the entire structure was reminiscent of a fortress—with an air of pristineness.
This bastion of safety was made by Rey within a single second, and he didn't seem at all to be trying.
'I can use [Perfect Domain Of The Divine] to perfectly rearrange anything or manipulate things in a space. Making the sands denser, and subjecting them to my pre-existing knowledge of this world's architecture, allowed me to build this stable facility.'
All of this… within a moment.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"What are you girls waiting for?" He turned to them as they remained static in their positions.
His smile was confident, even as the winds caused his dark hair to constantly flap in the direction of their choosing.
"Let's go in."
************
"S-something… something powerful is coming!"
"Big Sis Gratiana! Please help us out!"
"It's too big and strong!"
"Big Sis!"
The clamors of several Elves echoed within the base of the Forest Elves; guardian of the shore.
They were all speaking to a lady who was clad in mostly greenery.
Her fierce eyes and slim physique—flat in all areas, but perfectly slender and streamlined for optimal movements—made her seem more like an acrobat than anything else. As she patiently listened to the words of her Junior Sisters, she nodded slowly with her arms folded.
All she heard amounted only to one thing.
"An enemy has come. And now… it is my duty to subdue it."
Her long ears perked up and her green eyes glowed with purpose, even as she stood.
"Lead the way."
*
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