Darius was currently observing the latest batch of new products with Gunner beside him. Foldo and a few aides silently following behind to assist Darius in whatever needs he might have.
Undecided, Darius turned to his trusty Branded Servant for his sharp insight. "Well, Gunner, what do you think?"
Gunner pondered silently for a while before answering. "Right now, our party composition is lacking a capable healer. I can handle all forms of defense and frontal fighting while you, master, are the best at ranged damage dealing with your spells. However, because you have to split focus to heal me or anyone else we are with, it forms a limitation."
Darius nodded in agreement. "Precisely what I thought as well. Foldo, do you have any exotic slaves that have some skill in healing, or with a heritage leaning towards such a field?"
Foldo snapped his fingers. "I have everything, Master Darius. Let me take you to the candidate I have been saving for the past few weeks because I didn't know where I could even begin to sell her."
"Oh?" Intrigued, Darius and Gunner both followed behind Foldo as he led them towards a special side route that led them to a smaller room that was likely meant for a single person to stay.
Foldo knocked on the door, waiting until a lovely voice responded. "Come in."
With a strange smile, Foldo pushed the door open, leading Darius and Gunner within. The room itself was decorated more lavishly than the cubicles outside, and it was no less than even the rooms in the manor above.
Just what kind of 'guest' could elicit Foldo to treat them so well?
Darius got his answer once his and Gunner's eyes fell on the young lass seated at the table.
Surprisingly, it was an Elf!
This supposedly long-lived, magically-attuned, and extremely attractive fantasy race existed in Faust and on Fallon, that Darius had known, but due to his seclusion, he had not had a chance to meet one yet.
Now that he saw one, he nodded in agreement with all the fantasy media on Earth.
Elves were everything they were described as and more. With lovely short white hair, silver-blue eyes, and pointy ears, this female elf was quite a sight. Even more so with her soft and round face, her small nose, almond-shaped eyes, and supple lips that further accentuated her physical beauty.
She might be seated, but Darius could see that this elf was quite short in terms of stature, at around 5 foot 4. Her body was feminine enough, with a moderate bust and elastic hips.
She wore a light green robe that was tailored to fit her. While it wasn't tight enough to display her body fully, it wasn't loose enough to be baggy in any way like typical robes.
Darius immediately Analyzed her.
[Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso
Race: Elf (Royal Blood)
Class: Cleric
Subclass: Divine Maiden
HP: 260/260
MP: 338/338
STA: 260/260
Level: 13
Strength: 13
Agility: 17
Endurance: 20
Intellect: 26
Charisma: 25
Luck: 18
Affection: Neutral lvl 3]
Darius couldn't help but whistle. He had always suspected and theorized this, but the fact couldn't slap him in the face any harder that non-human species, specifically those known to be superior to humans, had much better stats at the same stage!
This lass was only level 13 yet she already had better stats than some early-stage human Journeymen. If she was like this now, then what about the others of her race? What about the Demons and Demigods?
What about Dragons, Phoenixes, Kirin, and so on? What about the Orcs, Lizardmen, and co? Were they also superior to humans in terms of stats? If so, that would truly be sad.
Another thing that intrigued Darius was that the Supreme System revealed the elf to also have Royal Blood! Darius forwarded this to Gunner who also had a strange expression on his face.
The duo shared a look and chuckled. To meet two specimens of different races with this kind of heritages in the same place, either Darius had great Luck or Foldo was really a top-tier smuggler and slaver.
Darius guessed it was a mix of both. Perhaps, there was even a bit of Luck involved from the slaves themselves.
Whatever the case, he locked eyes with this elven princess who also raised her head to observe him. Once she did, her expression greatly changed from a neutral welcome to shock.
She rose from her seat and walked over to Darius, circling him once, twice, and three times before coming to a stop. With a tone that sounded like it was synthesized from the most beautiful tones, she queried:
"You… why are you so… different?"
Darius raised an eyebrow. It seemed that this princess had sensed the change of natural laws caused by the system.
This posed an interesting question. Was it something that was unique to this little miss, showing her great talent and potential, or was it something all elves could do, as they were rumored to be attuned to natural laws?
Whatever the case, Darius humored her. "I am the future Supreme. If I cannot do this much, then how could I ever hope to reach that level."
Darius only said this playfully to strike a conversation and change this lass' neutrality into favorability, but she exclaimed while jumping into the air like a cat that saw a snake.
"Y-You know about that?! How?!"
Darius' eyes narrowed. She had to be the first mortal he had met in Faust who knew about the elusive Supreme stage. Did that mean that his former conclusion had been erroneous?
That only the top echelon like Thanatos and co knew about this stage? Could it be that it was, once again, just poor little Andrato that was out of the loop, or perhaps the entire human race as a whole?
It didn't matter, Darius' interest in this elven princess had increased significantly, if not as a healer for his party, but as a source of hidden knowledge. As such, he stepped before the princess and spoke in a very straightforward manner.
"From now on, you will follow me, and assist me in achieving my goals, even when I become the Supreme of Faust. Do you understand?"
To Darius' surprise, the princess nodded. "If I can help you become the Supreme, it will be my pleasure to follow you."
