After meeting the elf and separating her from her storage ring, the quest [Retrieve and destroy Grandmaster Lothrein's prized Journal] was all but completed.

The only thing left was to destroy the journal and that [500XP] prize would be mine.

Unfortunately, not long after, Sylrin succumbed to the feverish side effect of Sensei's Brew. We now rested on top of a hidden alcove in the valley overlooking the deep chasm, with a very sick Sylrin at my side.

Initially I wanted to return to the shadow lair as it was more hidden, but the trip was too far for Sylrin to make it.

When Sylrin rolled over to rest his head on my curls, I scowled.

Didn't he realise I was a coldblooded creature? There was no warmth here!

I sighed. I should have been celebrating…why was I stuck caring for this sick lizard?

And a heavy one at that.

As Sylrin pitifully groaned, I tried to resist feeling like I was about to get squished, and I patted the large head of the trembling lizard who seemed to be suffering even worse than I did. I suppose feeling cold must be very strange for a fire based creature.

I really shouldn't be upset with him when his condition now was my fault.

But sometimes, this lizard was really too much!

I finally had the elf in my grasp, and I wasn't even able to talk to her without him hovering above us like an angry boyfriend – and this was after I said I wasn't going to eat her.

I was forced to let her go in the end because Sylrin got too agitated. So, seeing him sucking up to me now, made me more irritated.

«Can you blame him? You're the last person I'd trust with food.» Sensei added dryly.

"You don't even eat!" I shot back.

"And aren't you being too rude?" I scoffed, before prodding the lizard using me as a cushion.

|[Why do you like her, anyway?]| I questioned him.

But Sylrin only turned his head to hide his face.

No response huh. This lizard was surprisingly shy.

But eventually, I heard him speak.

|[Bored. Like watching her. She sad. Want to take her away.]|

Er…

Kidnapping wasn't going to fix her problems, you know?

And wait…wasn't this exactly how stalkers were born?

|[She afraid...]| Sylrin commented. |[She very lonely with others.]|

I was amazed.

This bratty lizard was surprisingly empathetic.

I glanced over at the far away cave, zooming in with [Mind's Eye] to see the dishevelled figure of a silver haired elf as she climbed out of the cave's roof, looking this way and that, before promptly running away.

How perceptive Sylrin was.

To me she only seemed like a tyrant, ordering her team to traverse impossible terrains.

|[Maybe she's the one isolating herself, have you thought about that?]| I asked him.

I was trying to reason with him, yet Sylrin only scowled at me.

I guess he didn't agree.

But when I thought of it further…was this observation part of the reason he followed me?

I glanced at Sylrin in suspicion, before changing my mind.

Nah, there was no way, at the time he was little more than a tiny brat, perhaps he was even smaller than a baby drake.

Yet, it did make me ponder what Sylrin thought about me.

At the end of his description of the elf girl, Sylrin lowered his head, sulking.

He really acted like a puppy when he was sick, it was oddly cute, considering he had quite a fearsome appearance. But if I explained the concept of 'cuteness' to him, I'm was sure he wouldn't be happy to hear it.

Still, as much as he liked the elf, it was dangerous for him to associate with her.

|[Come back to my cave, I'll introduce you to much nicer girls...snakes.]|

Sylrin gives me a wry look, and I looked away, smiling nervously.

|[Girl snakes?]| Sylrin suspiciously asked.

|[Yes!]|

But instead of agreeing to come, he scoffed at me before turning away.

|[Hey!]| I scowled at him. What was he trying to say about my snakes?

They were nice, affectionate, adorable, and pretty – every single one of them!

A mere elf couldn't compare – he really was getting a better deal.

Yet, Sylrin refused to look at me and he looked to have fallen asleep – It seemed he didn't believe me, or care.

Hmph! Ophelia was the most beautiful serpent I'd ever seen – I was sure he would agree the moment he saw her evolved form.

I left Sylrin to rest and accessed the [Labyrinth's Atlas] which I hadn't used in forever.

The near holographic map appeared before me, with large portions of the Upper Stratum and some of the Middle Stratum now illuminated. Much of it had changed. I could now see several concentrated red dots, spanning from over in the Nymph's forest, to the cave and now to the valley.

All [6527] members of my pit were now represented. But I focused on a nearby figure moving on the map.

Unlike the red dots, this one was shown as a black [X] mark and it was moving over the chasm's rocks at a steady pace.

«Did you really have to tag her like livestock?» Sensei asked.

"What do you mean?" I pouted.

In the brief time I was with the elf, I managed to leave a trace of darkness on her. Too small to be found on her body, but enough for me to trace her whereabouts, no matter where she fled. Wasn't that better than inflicting her with poison?

"It's not like I'm picking on her alone." I proclaimed proudly. "I tagged all of them."

There were nine [X] marks in total, all of which were still in the valley. I saw them all moving on the atlas, the mark belonging to the elf girl was about to collide with another elf that had been separated.

Naturally, since I got what I wanted from her, the other party members were unimportant.

As long as they didn't behave too outlandishly and knew how to hide, they just might escape with their lives…if the Abyssal monsters didn't devour them first that is.

But instead of admiring my quick thinking, Sensei sighed.

"You clearly want to say something else. What is it?" I impatiently asked.

«Just stay away from them. It's of no use to cross paths with them again.»

That was true.

I did note that they were all fairly strong and I had shown some interest in a few. The pretty archer in particular, who was about as slippery as an eel. I had tried to capture him, but somehow he wriggled free of the Abyssal monster I sent.

"Have elves ever been known to live with monsters?" I asked Sensei.

«What did I just say?» Sensei sighed in exasperation. «Unless you mean dead elves who serve as their food, then I'll ignore what you just asked.»

I pouted. Why did he have to be so strict?

"Alright, I'll stay away. I was only thinking of learning some archery."

When I could finally shapeshift, after harvesting enough shapeshifting creatures to gain the attribute - so maybe in a few weeks.

«If that's the case, it's not unheard of for monsters to capture elves for certain reasons. You should ask your Nymph friend for advice on this topic, she's something of an expert.»

Was he serious?

He was basically telling me to go and learn from the best. And so sarcastically too!

Sensei sure had an odd sense of humour - didn't he just accuse me of tagging them like livestock?

However, he did have a point.

The Nymph lured them with her beauty, maybe if I looked less scary, they would oblige if I invited them over for snacks. Of course, all my nestlings and serpent summons would have to be hidden away.

I also had a potion that could do the trick, the [Tonic of Disillusion] could temporarily change my appearance, but [1000XP] was asking too much for a mere 2 hours. I swiftly changed my mind and peered over at the figures in the valley.

Meeting them again depended on if they survived long enough.

As some of the Abyssal monsters were killed during the attack, it was only right that the elf's party paid the price by becoming their food.

However, I wasn't expecting my thoughts to become a prediction.

Soon, one [X] on the atlas faded in colour, while another completely vanished.

Wrong timing perhaps?

To distract myself, I brought out the elf's storage ring, my thoughts salivating at what the contents might be.

Some candied fruits, maybe freshly baked bread, or even the fabled honey. I was also curious about this journal Sensei wanted me to destroy.

Yet, when I retrieved the silver ring marked with intricate runes, it refused to open. There was a magic circuit that activated around it, and when it failed to recognise me as its owner – It promptly went dead, sealing off any chance of retrieving its contents.

Shoot. Of course it would have some protections!

I scanned it with [Mind's Eye] which revealed that each carved rune served a different function. They lined the ring, connected to a series of cyan crystals embedded into the silver.

My first thought was to drain each crystal with [Dark Magic], but Sensei stopped me.

«If you drain them, what power will it use to open?»

It sounded logical, but when I created a needle shaped tendril of darkness to probe each crystal, Sensei said nothing – which made me more suspicious.

If I carelessly used force, it was possible some parts of the ring would be destroyed, making it impossible to open. This would be the same as destroying the journal inside, which the quest specified.

Sensei really thought he could fool me!

Instead of continuing, I placed the ring back in [Dimensional Box].

«To finish the quest, you need to destroy it.» Sensei said after a while. «You gain nothing by being mischievous.»

The words remained unspoken, but it was clear he meant, I was risking another penalty.

"Why does it have to be destroyed? Why can't I read it before destroying it?" I asked.

«Some things are better left unknown, especially those that once belonged to a Grandmaster.» Sensei somberly replied. «If you want to know anything about this world, you can simply ask me.»

That was a given, but I still wanted to know for myself. I had a feeling it would reveal something important that Sensei could be sheltering me from.

Eventually, I looked back to the atlas to see the elf's party's progress.

Surprisingly they were also moving, but they were no longer heading deep into the valley, but outside, towards the forest.

How strange.

Perhaps they had gotten too scared?

I made note to give the Abyssal monsters a good reward for their flawless efforts.