Chapter 5 – Back to Square One

SEVEN YEARS HAD PASSED, and Daisuke had already taken the Seeker Trials.

He already failed twice in a row.

The Seeker Trials was an annual event where the elves face certain trials to test whether they could survive outside Maria Island. It was a requirement for any elves that would want to leave the island legally. And the trials involved three parts:

A written trial regarding their general knowledge outside their island; A puzzle trial about the practical applications of foreign objects and technologies; and A combat trial, where elves will fight each other to see how strong and creative they were with their abilities, be it Karma or Magic.

Thanks to the things Daisuke learned at the Yora Academy and to the book that Cobalt gave him seven years ago, he was able to pass the first two trials with flying colors. Easy-peasy.

But when it came to the combat matches, that's where he failed.

According to the law that the councils penned, an elf may only take part in Seeker Trials thrice in a row. Failing it for the third time will ban an elf from taking the trials for the next year and may only take the trials every other year thereafter. That was to avoid the elves from trying over and over again. For the elves, luck has no room for survival.

* * * * *

Daisuke was standing at the observation deck just outside of the Shrine of Maria, his back slouched front with his arms on top of the railing, his chin resting on those arms. He had a panoramic view of the village, but his sight was actually a bit farther.

He was actually looking at the South Harbor.

Daisuke could see several ships filled with new and veteran Seekers that were preparing for departure. If only he had cleared his second attempt on the trials last year, he would have been there as well. Heck, he might have left the island immediately after receiving the result.

Clearing the Seeker Trials was like a matter of life and death for him. He had to pass the trials no matter what.

Daisuke doesn’t want to be part of the Elven Corps for the rest of his life. He definitely does not want to wait every other year just to take the trials. After all, the law was outdated. Sure, in the olden days, the elves had the leisure to wait every other year because of their lifespan. However, the newer generations of Yoran elves do not have that long lifespan. And he felt it was unfair that he failed only because of the combat trial.

The laws of the Yoran elves were strict. Way too strict.

But his solitude was cut short when a female elf found him.

“There you are, Daisuke!” greeted an energetic female elf. Just hearing her voice made Daisuke feel already tired for the day.

Daisuke looked to his right. “Oh, Riku. What are you doing here?” he asked monotonically.

Riku dismissed Daisuke's unlively response. “I was looking for you, duh,” she answered like it should have been obvious. She then looked around, “You really do like this place, don’t you?”

Riku befriended Daisuke during their first attempt at Seeker Trials. They also knew each other at the Yora Academy, even saved him once from Capsian the red-haired bully, but they never really talked to each other or became friends then.

Like Daisuke, Riku was also a bullied elf since she, like many other newer-generation elves, was born without Karma, which has been pretty common for the past fifty years or so. Instead, she studied Magic Spells in order to use Arcane Magic.

With her mana being more compatible with plant-based magic, she was able to use Rose Magic.

Arcane Magic is difficult to use, but Riku’s father, Blaize, gave her a Rose Pendant that served as some kind of catalyst which made it easier for her to use Rose Magic.

Riku was also being teased as a tomboy due to her short hair. Her friends would just fix it with a short braid on the right side of her head so she could look more feminine. She has kept that hairstyle of hers ever since.

Like every elf, she has a lighter complexion and unique root-like patterns on it. But whenever she uses her rose magic, the pattern on her skin glowed pinkish-red instead of bright green.

Unlike Daisuke though, she has already cleared the Seeker Trials on her first take but has been working as part of Elven Corps with him instead.

“Come on. Sir Rango's waiting for us,” Riku persuaded Daisuke to come along. “You don’t want to be late. Again.”

Daisuke sighed. He was not in the mood for some reason. Still, he and Riku rushed towards the Council House where they met their colleague Jack and their senior Rango.

“Whaaaat? Even you Riku barely made it on time?” Jack purposely exclaimed as loudly as possible with a wide grin on his face.

“Shut up,” Riku said coldly.

Jack was another friend of Daisuke. They met during Daisuke's second attempt in Seeker Trials. He was the youngest child of Durant and has already cleared the trials just like Riku.

“You just got here early!” said Daisuke.

Rango smacked their heads. “That’s enough you three. Now come on, we’ve got a new mission.”

“Yes, sir!” Riku, Daisuke, and Jack shouted in unison.

* * * * *

After graduating from the Yora Academy, an elf can be part of the Elven Corps immediately. They may join one of many divisions available; the main forces that will protect the island from outsiders, healers that may work at the infirmary or support the elven warriors, or the logistics and intelligence division that focuses on relaying important information.

Elven Corps also served as the training phase for the future Seekers. Learning how to fight or support, or gather intelligence was what makes a good Seeker after all.

Rango Manfera, the trio's direct superior, was a Seeker that has cleared the trials twenty years ago and left the island for various missions. He returned to Yora Village seven years ago after spending a lot of his years traveling the lands and seas of Aria. There, he learned many things about humans and other races’ cultures and technology.

On his return, decided to stay for good and become part of the Elven Corps as an elven warrior that would protect Maria Island from outsiders. He also formally introduced the use of short and long-distance communications that could help the Elven Corps tremendously, like the radio wave technology used by many nations in Aria, the communication orbs mostly used by nations that are magic-oriented, and the far advanced and superior telesponder that enables the use of moving visuals called videos.

The Elven Council and most of the elves never really thought that they needed long-distance communication. However, with all things considered, maybe it was time for them to adopt certain norms outside their normal ones.

The communication orb gained the most favorite as it was the most convenient to use and to avoid building structures that were necessary for technology-oriented communication as well as to avoid the dependency on electricity.

As Rango and his team entered the Council House, they saw a lot of elves taking their assignments. Some of them have just graduated from Yora Academy, while others were already Seekers that decided not to leave the island yet.

As they were walking towards Ananais’ office, Daisuke could hear the girls murmuring excitedly to the sight of Jack Thornwood. Being tall, pale, and handsome, any female elves would definitely want to be his mate. Jack was even nicknamed, ‘The Prince of the Elves’. Cringe was what Daisuke’s face was saying.

Riku also grew up just fine and had many suitors. Her beauty was unconventional, yet captivating, especially when the reddish pink color of her markings started to glow when she uses her magic. She was used to be made fun of when she was younger for looking tomboyish, but now she looked prim and proper, even with her short hair, and was dubbed ‘The Rose Among Thorns’ for being the only female in Rango's party. Again, cringe, was what Daisuke’s face say.

And then Daisuke heard the elves who were talking about him.

Isn’t that the freak who already failed twice?

Why does short-ears/bark-skins/withered/***insert creative insult*** have to be with the two most famous elves?

It's him, the monster.

Daisuke simply ignored them as he had already grown accustomed to them and simply followed Rango.

Soon, Rango’s team reached the office of Ananais.

Ananais was an expert in stealth missions that involved espionage and infiltration. During her days as a Seeker, she would always receive those kinds of missions to gather intel about human settlements. Today, thanks to her experience and expertise, she has been assigned to be the leader of the Border Control Division in Maria Island aside from her council tasks. Aside from that, she began enjoying blasting intruders with her pineapple cannon, something she never did before during official missions.

“Rango! Thank you so much for coming,” Ananais said smilingly.

“We’re only doing our part, Lady Ananais,” Rango replied respectfully.

Ananais’s gaze went towards the three young elves. “I see these young ones are assigned under your wing.”

“They’re quite a handful bunch, but they do manage to accomplish their mission,” Rango said, praising his team.

His team blushed from the compliment.

Ananais managed a chortle. “Anyway, for your mission, I would like you to investigate the delta of the North River,” she handed over the mission report.

* * * * *

According to the report, a boat was spotted at the delta of the North River. That meant that they could have been infiltrated by human treasure hunters again. Being infiltrated was not something new. What they were worried about was that they were unable to detect the boat or any infiltrators.

Simply by entering the waters of the island, Ananais’s team of several elves will be able to detect any intruders. It was thanks to their specially trained use of mana to heighten their senses. But for some reason, they were unable to detect that a small boat entered the island. And even failed to detect where the infiltrators were.

There were no signs of camps or traces of any humans, but checking the area was a must. Rango briefed his team regarding the information and devised a strategy for sweeping the North River.

After the briefing, Rango and his team left the village straight to the northern part of Maria Island, to the delta of the North River.

* * * * *

Their plan was to sweep the area up to the river’s delta while staying hidden. Since there were no signs of humans, the humans could be hiding in the woods. And as Rango instructed his team, if they ever see anything suspicious, they must not act on their own.

“We’re already near the delta, yet there is still no sign of any humans,” Daisuke complained over his communication orb.

“Just continue walking,” Rango ordered. “And keep it down. And stay hidden.”

It's not like Daisuke had other better things to do, so he continued as ordered. But as he did, he heard a crackling sound of a tree branch followed by the rattling of smaller branches and leaves. He stopped to focus on any unusual sound. And then an arrow flew over him.

Daisuke narrowly dodged the arrow. He looked to his left and saw a man with a bow and arrow, ready to fire again. As he studied the archer, two men fell from the trees right above him. They had a net that was meant to catch him, but he was able to dodge them.

“So there’s three of you, huh,” said Daisuke.

Daisuke’s teammates heard it on their radio orbs and quickly went to his location.

“Is that really him? The dark-skinned elf?” asked one of the humans.

“That’s him alright! Catch him!” said another.

Daisuke got irritated when he was called a dark-skinned elf. “Hey! I’m not that dark, you know!”

While distracted by the two, the archer shot Daisuke with several arrows. Daisuke stomped his feet and a mature tree suddenly grew, shielding him from the arrows. The other humans tried to use the net again to catch him, but he was able to escape by creating a tree directly under his feet. From the top of the tree, Daisuke jumped down and landed near the archer.

The archer tried to nock another arrow, but Daisuke got to him first and punched him in the face so hard that it sent him flying back. The strength of Daisuke was so unreal that the two other humans were not sure what just happened.

Daisuke used his power again, covering his arms with branches until they became a pair of huge wooden arms. He already used too much mana earlier when he created two trees for cover and to dodge, so he thought that he must finish the fight before he runs out of mana.

The two other humans did the only logical thing to do: Run.

With those arms and abnormal strength, they thought that they will not be able to catch Daisuke anyway. They also thought that Daisuke will not be able to catch up to them since those wooden arms will only slow him down.

Boy, were they wrong.

Daisuke was now running side by side with the two men. He jumped and used his momentum to punch the guy on his left using his wooden arm. The human was sent flying back until the unlucky target hits a tree. The other one continued to run away, but Riku caught up to them.

The escaping human was mesmerized by the unique skin pattern of Riku, a fatal mistake from any newbie elf hunter. Riku used her rose magic, wrapping the hunter with a rose plant filled with thorns. The human writhed in pain as he was prickled with thorns all over his body.

Meanwhile, the archer got up and tried to run away, but Jack blocked his way. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Yaaaaaaah!!” The archer took a dagger from his side and tried to stab Jack, but Jack used his power to block the dagger by covering his left arm with a tree branch that served as his shield.

Jack covered his right fist with a tree branch and punched the archer’s face, rendering the archer unconscious.

As Rango reached his team, he ensured that the other human that Daisuke sent flying was tied up using his mango tree power.

Rango used his mana to heighten his senses. Even at a close proximity, he could not feel the presence of the human. Instead of disclosing it to the team, he simply congratulated them for completing the mission safe and sound.

* * * * *

They reached the village soon and handed over the three humans to the elven guards, and were sent to the jail for the time being. Ananais congratulated Rango’s team and gave them a bonus reward.

“You three really worked hard. Let’s call it a day. You all better rest now.” Rango said as he gave his team their reward.

After the three elves left the Council House, Ananais and Rango had a talk.

“So, how did it go?” Ananais asked.

“They were really after Daisuke,” Rango responded. “How did they even enter the island without being noticed?”

“I am curious about that as well. If not for Durant and his trainees near my scouting team, we will not know about it.”

“And they even knew about Daisuke. The only elf on the island with brown skin.”

“Probably after the attack seven years ago. We handed over some prisoners to the United Alliance. They could have told them about Daisuke”

Rango sighed. “United Alliance can never be trusted. They must be after him and his...”

“Rango, I want you to do me a favor.”