Princess & Cyberserk

The Elves' Unexpected Proposal

At the table sat the vampiress and the young man in silence. The girl was waiting for her lover's reaction. The young man wanted to get up and go up to his room. He wanted to give his girlfriend the ring he had received after the vampire had escaped from the dueling field. Also, Dan was angry that he couldn't answer until he consulted Tom. But summoning his loyal friend and helper now didn't seem right to him. The young man smiled and offered a simple solution.

"Let's go up to my room and I'll give you the ring you must return to your ancestor. We'll talk about everything else later. I need to think about your kind's offerings. The vampires have opened my eyes to many things. I need to consult with my advisor. You know very well that a clone has a particular point of view on the world," Dan wanted to calm down and have time for a quiet meeting with his friend.

Suddenly, a quiet, melodious voice came from near the table.

"You'd better call on your advisor now, human. The young Daughter of the Night has failed to persuade you."

Koreima jumped up and her trusty companion to her monster battles appeared in her hand. The bone dagger successfully acted as a weapon and a powerful artifact to enhance sorcery.

The elf figure paid no attention to the threat. The ancient messenger of the nation of the Children of Nature looked at the young man with eyes full of calm and indifference. The ancient creature's voice was tired and indifferent to words. It seemed as if the elf were talking to himself about an unimportant subject.

"Vampires like to do cruel and impertinent things. Sending your beloved to you with such important messages is cruel. Relying on your prudence is impertinent. Summon your extraordinary advisor," the elf sat down at the table.

Dan regarded the elf with interest. It was obvious that this representative of ancient tribes was very wise and strong. It was the first time Dan saw an elf who looked like a very old creature. There were a lot of wrinkles on the elf's face. His hair no longer shone with light and looked like a strange breed of cobwebs. There was no bright color in his eyes and they looked dull and indifferent at the world.

Dan didn't think about decency or disguise. His strong skill was not something he wanted to hide in this place. That was something they had long ago agreed upon with the clone.

Tom appeared in the establishment and froze for a second. Then a nasty smile appeared on the clone's lips of a creature who is ready to insult anyone with his wicked joke.

"Why am I so unlucky? What have I done wrong to Mother Nature? I am a good and faithful worker. I spare no effort to fulfill my purposes. Why is your girl standing there looking so gorgeous? Koreima, calm down. You look too tempting when you're angry. Why did the elves send this ancient old man instead of my beloved Algrin? It's a very cruel world. Elves are too cruel creatures," the phantom muttered and nodded toward the elf.

"Unpalatable. Nasty. Insolent," the vampiress hissed and took a seat at the table as well. She took Dan's glass and wanted to take a sip, but she sniffed the wine and an unpleasant grimace appeared on her face.

Raven quickly raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A mousy servant approached the table. The young man asked for a drink for the girl. The mouse looked at the elf, waiting for the order. The elf shook his head negatively. The clone also expressed no desire to mess around with the food and drink.

The elf paid no attention to the strange creature's words. He regarded the phantom as an interesting substance for his craft.

Soon the vampiress got her drink and began to comfort herself with a special potion of the master cook of the mouse tribe. The clone was silent and scrutinized the elf representative.

"Am I getting this right?" Dan asked a question that suddenly seemed important to him. "The representative of the mountain tribe is not needed? I have not had an easy relationship with the gnomes. I am threatened in this world by one particularly powerful gnome of the Grab clan."

"This is not a problem and there is no need for the gnomes to get involved. They don't decide," the elf said softly. "And your old rival is no threat to you. If this little guy wants to spend time with you in silly duels it's not a problem for the two of you."

The clone realized that it was necessary to show a little humiliation and express his interest.

"We are willing to listen carefully to the high-born elf's offer," smiled the clone.

"The vampiress said one important truth. There is no reason to aspire to another world. There you will be forced to improve all your skills again or offer new nasties," the elf closed his eyes and a peaceful expression appeared on his face. He looked like an inanimate but very natural sculpture. "I can hardly remember how I felt centuries ago. I had just entered this world. And this was the first time I felt this kind of anger. I was dissatisfied even with my goddess. Every elf lives a very long time in the former world and gains the respect and power to pass a difficult test. And suddenly he loses almost everything. I was angry. It took me a long time to settle down and that's the only reason I didn't leave this world as soon as the opportunity arose. Unlike you, I came to this world in the full flower of my powers and mastery. I found nothing of interest here."

The elf fell silent and smiled a sad smile of peace and humility.

"The folk of Nature is ready to allow you to leave this world. No one wants to change. Daughter of the Night is right that you can regain your skills in the new world.  It makes no difference to you. Your Legacy is too formidable and will help you anywhere. And the knowledge of the new world far exceeds the capabilities of this world. I hope you won't waste your time and energy on this quiet corner."

The vampiress snorted with indignation.

"I wouldn't call this place a quiet corner. The enmity between vampires and elves makes it seem like a wild and uncivilized foolish pastime."

The elf watched the young man's face carefully. Then the wise creature's eyes noticed the calm expression on the clone's face.

"Our amazing interlocutors do not agree with you. They are children of a young tribe. They have recently come from a world in which the enmity of nations does not seem anything uncivilized."

"War is normal. And in our world it has taken on a rather civilized character," Dan remarked. "But I'm for world peace and prosperity for all. Being military is not my vocation."

"No one knows what the distant future holds. This is where we met a sudden mortal danger. Den Raven had no point of rebirth when he came into this world. That's the only thing I care about," the clone admitted. "Other than that, I agree that there's no point in limiting ourselves to level thirty-nine. There's a fiftieth level ahead and a high chance of encountering some very interesting possibilities. Before the possibilities of the new world, One Hero's Legacy will seem a pitiful and short-lived advantage," the clone said honestly. "I hate to seem insolent and indecent. I don't understand what makes you live in this world."

The elf smiled and shook his head.

"I once lived a life full of excitement and pleasure. I have reached the peaks of my development. I am not interested in serving as a toy in the hands of the gods. Many wise ones agree with me. We like to live in this world where we don't allow anything unexpected to degrade our dignity. Our enmity is not rudeness or stupidity. It is simply an opportunity to have a pleasant time in mortal combat with a worthy opponent."

The elf looked intently at the young man. A note of displeasure appeared in his voice.

"Don't do that in the future. No one from the city of Deepwood wishes to be humiliated by you. You do not wage a duel. You destroy your opponents. You have the Legacy for an assassin. Your skill is of no interest to anyone in this world."

The clone grinned and wagged his finger in Dan's direction.

"I begged you! I pleaded with you. We can confine ourselves to educating one rude Rudolph. He deserves demonstrative punishment. Don't touch elves and vampires! No! You're like a monkey with a machine gun. Decided to show your cruelty to everyone at once. That's not the way of the warrior," Tom sighed.

Koreima frowned and glared angrily at the clone. She thought only she had the right to humiliate her delicious human. The elf shook her head and waited for a clearer response to his suggestions.

Suddenly Tom set up a new topic of conversation.

"We are interested in the question of founding a kingdom. We see no benefit to ourselves. But Princess Elina strangely belongs to our people. Can we find out why everyone is so unhappy with her assignment from the goddess?" Tom asked the elf. The clone was sure the young vampiress had no authority to know the answer to that question.

"You have found the important definition yourself. This princess is strange and her assignment is weird. No one refuses to respect the gods and their assignments. But no one would allow one person to interfere in the affairs of several great nations," the elf allowed himself a sincere smile for the first time. "There are several important and worthy observers beside us now. Her plans will not remain secret for long. She will not get subjects for her game. How long before your familiar weak humans arrive in this world?"

Dan Raven closed his eyes and thought. He had given the people in Grossroads excellent opportunities to quickly increase their power and influence. But how soon would the people be able to overcome the obstacles of the Tower of Destiny?

"And how many subjects will it take to make the kingdom of men possible? How many people have the right to consider themselves worthy inhabitants of your world?" Tom at once tried to ask a precise and stern question. 

The elf laughed. Koreima smiled as well. She had met these indecent goldies several times in the city. The humans made no impression on her.

"It's not a question of quantity. It's a question of quality," the elf replied. "Are you willing to wait in this world? There is no value to you in the kingdom. You are not ready to be king."

Dan Raven realized again how unpleasant it was to feel like a traitor. He thought the game was beginning to look like a ridiculous pursuit of levels. But on the other hand, he knew for a fact that at level 50, people players gain powerful skills. These skills completely change the quality of the game. And that's the kind of skills all nations should get! Elina's quest now looked like an uninteresting challenge for novice players.