Still inside the now-illuminated cave, Yi Qiang looked out into the verdant lands, with vibrant foliage and the shining sun overhead. Exposed to this mystical sight, even Yi Qiang's scarred and calloused heart was moved.

For a modern urban dweller, the sight of nature in such a pure, inadulterated state was beautiful - these were people who had seen only the natural earth after it was polluted, contaminated, and warped by humans who saw fit to change and defile the land as they saw fit.

Yi Qiang felt a yearning for this open space, almost as if something within him was attuned to it. He felt as if there was something there that called to him, and this belief was only further supported by the joy and anticipation that the archer felt when his eyes roamed the wide spaces, the beautiful greenery, the sunlit, pure natural world.

It's beautiful.

Yi Qiang couldn't help but sit down, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new sensory information that struck his eyes like a bolt of lightning. His finely honed instincts failed him, and as Yi Qiang collapsed to the ground, not of shock, but of venom, he still didn't realize what exactly had happened to him.

Yi Qiang woke up to the realization that he couldn't move.

From there, experience and a crippling fear on inability led him to flex as hard as he could, since his eyelids seem unresponsive.

The material binding me seems to be some sort of rope. But far stronger than normal rope.

No matter how much strength Yi Qiang used, he couldn't manage to break the bonds. They were around his waist, shoulders, thighs, and shins, restraining him to a pole. That could also be, however, due to whatever poison they must have used.

The residual effects are restricting my strength by about 60 to 70%. Just how powerful was that poison?

Suddenly, a voice emerged while YI Qiang's eyes were still shrouded in blackness.

"Who are you, elf, and why have you entered our lands?"

The voice was raspy, with a distinct accent, but seemed otherwise normal.

Yi Qiang inwardly smiled. They haven't killed me despite how easy it is, and instead choose to talk with me, so they should be amenable to talking. Or maybe they just want to gather information before killing me. I'll try anyways.

"I had no intention of intruding, but was exploring a cave and defeated a large monster that threatened me, which dropped a core that allowed me to come here." Yi Qiang didn't mention his group, since he figured it could alienate him even more or make him seen even more of a threat.

"Hmm... adventurer, why shouldn't we kill you?"

Honest, aren't they?

"Well, two things. One, I mean you no harm, and there's no reason for me to spread information about your location when I'm out, nor do I have any intention of doing so. Two, I'm Chosen - should you kill me, and I don't mean this as a threat, I'll simply revive somewhere else. There's little point."

A moment of silence ensued.

Yi Qiang, in this blanket, could barely hear whispering between what seemed like two people with the same raspy voices.

"Should we kill him?"

"No, you heard what he said. I don't think he's bluffing. Just send for the Grand Elder to come here."

Seeming to match up with what those voices said, the stifling silence remained until slow footsteps sounded in the distance, then an aged, similarly raspy voice sounded out.

"Hlil, Tsek, why have you sent for me. Could you have found something out in the Wilds agai- oh dear Amorah, what have you done?"

Yi Qiang distinctly heard the sound of a wooden cane clattering to the ground before feeling his bonds come undone. The darkness covering his eyes, too, fell away as Yi Qiang instantly felt better.

Who he was conversing with the whole time revealed themselves under Yi Qiang's shocked eyes.

Are those... lizards?

The "Grand Elder" turned to the other two lizards. She was easily identifiable because of her hunched posture, a universal indication of age, and her weathered scales.

"You two buffoons, can't you recognize a relative! He's no ordinary elf. This man is Dragonblooded!"

Instantly, shock(Yi Qiang figured it was, for all he knew, lizards had the exact opposite emotional tells than humans) appeared on the younger two's faces. They stood there for a moment, muted, before starting to clamor over each other to apologize.

With the combination of their accent and their frenetic diction, Yi Qiang could make very little out, but he got the point.

When you get over the fact that they were probably going to kill me, they seem rather personable.

"You're Chosen, are you?" The elder asked rhetorically. "Then you don't know much. Follow me, we have much to discuss. Let those two buffoons stay there all night."

With the briskness of an elder aware of how much time they have left in this world, the "Grand Elder" turned tail(literally; they had tails!) and walked out of the hut.

While following her, Yi Qiang took one last look around before passing through the animal hide door. The hut was decorated simply, almost fully practically, and with all naturally-obtainable materials.

Both admirable and telling.

But as Yi Qiang walked through the hide door, he was greeted to the sight of dozens of similar huts and a few mud buildings here and there, their size and stature showing their importance in the... tribe?

Other lizards clamored about, chatting and laughing, while other, smaller lizards played games in the vaguely defined 'streets'.

They all fell silent and stood in surprise when they saw the foreign elf(they must not have gotten a lot of those around the area) led by the "Grand Elder", who seemed to occupy quite the important position in the village.

She(the lizard seemed to be female, but Yi Qiang had no way to learn for sure, and he didn't feel like further cementing his status as a strange, rude outsider by asking her what gender she was) seemed to be content walking with a silent, brisk purpose, ignoring everyone elses's strange gazes, so Yi Qiang was happy to do the same. It let him puzzle out what was going on, anyways.

From what Yi Qiang had guessed so far, it seemed to be related to his race - Dragonblooded Elf; the elderly lizard had said he was Dragonblooded, which evoked a huge reaction from the "two buffoons". Not a negative one, though, so it seemed, at least initially, that they were an exception to the widespread pursuit and slaughter of the Dragonblooded Elves.

He was interested in learning how the "Grand Elder" managed to find out that he was Dragonblooded, since no one else had been able to do so up till then, but he was sure that answer would also come in time.

Perhaps their lizard-ness made them feel a particular affinity with the Dragonblooded Elves? This would make a good amount of sense, especially considering that the Grand Elder had said he was "a relative".

It was at this moment that Yi Qiang wished for his bow. He hadn't been playing for too long, but Yi Qiang had already begun to develop a relationship with the weapon, and the now-evident lack of the ranged weapon holstered to his shoulder felt strange and added to his worries.

Thankfully, Yi Qiang didn't have much time to dwell on it, since they quickly reached what the Grand Elder had determined their destination to be.

Instead of the smaller hut where Yi Qiang was held captive, where they were now entering was a larger, actually-built structure, signifying to Yi Qiang that his new status was apparently quite high up - buildings were rare here.

Suddenly, he forgot that he had yet to Analyze the lizard he followed. I still have yet to get used to the mechanisms of this world, clearly.

Lizardman Elder

Level 45

Elite

HP 20,000/30,000

Lizardmen, then, not 'lizards'. I suppose calling them lizards would be seen as rude, wouldn't it, like humans being called apes? Best not to risk it.

I wonder why she's at two-thirds of her maximum Health capacity. She doesn't seem to be wounded...

While he was busy reading the information presented by his use of Analyze, he had already walked into the building by automatically following the Grand Elder.

She led him through a few rooms, all decorated exactly like the initial hut Yi Qiang was in, before sitting down in a roughly-made table, Yi Qiang electing to sit across her.

She spoke first.

"We have much to discuss, Chosen."