Two days had passed since Max, and the company started searching for Rima. However, they didn't find any trace of her.
"Max..." Leticia and Belen had worried expressions as they looked at Max, whose face was now pale and eyes red.
Max noticed their expressions and took a deep breath, "Don't worry. I'm fine." He said,
For the past two days, they had searched all the possible routes leading to Cloud academy without result, and when Max thought of the possibility that some beast might have already killed her, he was frightened.
One of the most important reasons he wanted to become strong was that he didn't want anything to happen to those close to him and ensure their safety at all times. However, he had already lost someone close to him. This almost caused him to have a mental breakdown.
'No, she might still be alive, but it's just that we haven't found her yet.' He thought and then said to Belen and Leticia, "Let's go and check the area around the place where she was supposed to go to complete her mission."
Belen and Leticia looked at each other but didn't say anything. They have already checked that area but didn't find any clue. So, in their opinion, going there again would be fruitless.
However, they knew how Max was feeling right now since they were feeling the same. After all the time they spent together, they had become like sisters. So, they were hoping that she was alive and they could find her.
Rustle! Crack! Bang!
Suddenly, they heard someone running through the bushes, and before they could react, a figure had crashed into Belen. Max was surprised that he didn't notice this and immediately got ready to attack, but after looking at what it was, he stopped.
Belen was caught off guard and fell to the ground. Just as she was about to attack whatever it was, they heard a stuttering voice.
"H... help. Hu...man... Please."
"Hm?" They looked at the figure lying by Belen's feet with stunned expressions.
It was a little girl, barely seven or eight years old. She looked very adorable, like a beautiful flower. Everyone who saw her would have the instinct to protect her. But right now, her green clothes were torn from many places, and she had many small bloody wounds across her body.
However, the reason Belen and others were surprised wasn't because of all this but because her ears were long and pointy different from normal human ears.
"Is she an elf?" Max blurted out in utter astonishment. He was the most surprised among them. This girl was just like an elf in the legends.
After Max had assimilated 'Maxwell's' memories, he knew that there were some other races in this world, and Elves were one among them, boasting superior beauty and natural Mana affinity.
"Yes. She is." Belen replied, stunned.
"Please, he... help me hu.....man." The little elf girl spoke in a begging tone. Although her voice was low and she spoke weirdly as though unfamiliar with the language, they understood what she was saying.
"Don't speak. Drink this first." Belen hurriedly took out a bottle of her life elixir and extended it toward her mouth. The little elf's nose twitched slightly before she opened her mouth and let Belen feed her.
As she drank it, a green glow surrounded her body, and her wounds healed at speed visible to the naked eye. All the injuries had disappeared in just a few seconds, which astounded Belen.
"Belen, was that a high-quality elixir?" Leticia asked. She was also stunned to see all the injuries heal in a short while. While they were in the cloud mountains for the outing, she had used it and knew that although this life elixir was several times more effective than healing pills, its effects were this astonishing.
"No. It's the same as what I had before. It's just that these elves have a high innate affinity with natural Mana giving them fast recovering speed." Belen shook her head. Although she knew this before from the records she had read in the past, witnessing it with her own eyes, she was still left surprised and couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
She was a plant elemental mage who strived to increase their affinity with natural Mana as it would make them stronger. However, doing that was a challenging task. But these elves also had almost a perfect affinity. So, it was natural that she would feel this way.
"He...help. Help! Help!" The little girl suddenly looked behind toward the woods, and her face turned pale.
Max looked toward the little girl, puzzled by her sudden outburst. However, a moment later, he noticed the disturbance in the woods; his brows creased as he became alert, and Mana burst out of his body, circulating around him.
At the same time, he darted a surprised glance at the little elf girl. Although she seemed to be just a child, her senses were sharper than him.
Belen and Leticia noticed this and became alert. They knew that Max's senses were very sharp, and now that he was preparing himself to fight meant that some threat was approaching, so they also became alert.
Belen cast her spell and made a vine shield around them, and took the girl in. Leticia also circulated her Mana and conjured several wind blades around her.
Rustle! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The next moment three black hounds jumped out of the woods and eyed the human group warily.
"Dark bloodthirsty hounds?" Belen recognized the beasts and became wary. However, she soon noticed that they were only one-star beasts.
The little elf girl curled behind Belen, shivering in terror. Seeing her becoming so terrified, Belen was overcome with pity and suddenly waved her hand.
Whoosh-!
Three sharp pointy vines sprouted from the ground and penetrated the hounds' skulls before they could even react.
Thud!
Their dead bodies fell to the ground, and the vines and the vine shield retracted underground.
Leticia and Max also stopped circulating their Mana, seeing that the problem had been solved.
"Little girl. Where are you from? How come you are wandering these woods alone?" Belen asked.
As everyone knew, this world was too big, and human settlements covered only a small percentage of these lands. More than 80% part was covered by enormous uncharted forests, mountains, and the ocean.
Elves generally resided deep into the forests, and because they were a peaceful race, they preferred to remain hidden from the public eye and would rarely come out and interact with humans.
Moreover, according to what Belen knew, there wasn't any elven settlement in the vicinity of the Green leaf kingdom. So, it was surprising to encounter an elf here.
"Please... Help! There... bad people..." The little elf was stunned to see the beast chasing her die in a second. However, after hearing Belen's question, she quickly came to her senses and pointed in the direction from where the beast came and started begging for help, her eyes teary.
"Let's calm down first. Tell me slowly." Belen patted her back, trying to calm her down.
The little girl calmed down, seeing that she wasn't making much sense to these humans, and started speaking in stutters, "There... bad people... captured us, and other good humans. They want... kill us. Help! Please!"
Hearing this, Max and company suddenly thought of something. What if these people also kidnapped Rima? Thinking this, their eyes twinkled, and the hope that had almost vanished reignited.
"Let's go. Show us the way." Max hurriedly said. Now that they had some clue, he didn't want to delay any longer.
Belen nodded and asked the elf girl to show the way.
Whoosh!
The little girl nodded. A green glow surrounded her as she dashed in the direction where she was pointing.
Max and company were surprised by her speed which was compared to an average two-star mage. After that, they followed her and whooshed through the woods.
They would encounter some beasts occasionally, but they would be easily killed by Leticia and Belen. Max noticed that they were stronger than the time when they were in the mountains.
After running for half a day, Max suddenly noticed that the tracking badge was faintly flashing.
Seeing this, Max became happy and nervous. It seemed Rima was indeed in this direction, but he didn't know whether she was safe or not.
