Chapter 5

I made my way through the forest again, this time with Rogue by my side.

It was getting late and while we were walking, I decided to check my new Skills and discovered something strange. I had new Skills… lots of them!

When I questioned these new Skills, the Librarian told me that my evolution to Wraith had affected not only my Ghost form, but my other forms as well.

My Hellmoth Caterpillar form evolved into an adult Hellmoth, gaining the Skill "Paralyzing Breath". This Skill allows me to expel a cloud of paralyzing gas which should come in handy when possessing other creatures.

My Steel Beetle form evolved into Black Steel Beetle, and his "Body Armor" Skill evolved into "Decaying Body Armor". While "Body Armor" allowed me to cover my body with a strong exoskeleton that protected me from physical attacks, "Decaying Body Armor" not only protected me, but also dealt corrosive damage to those who came into contact with the armor.

My Medium Fire Spirit Salamander form evolved into Greater Fire Spirit Ifrit, and its "Ranged Barrier" Skill evolved into "Multilayer Barrier". This Skill allowed me to create multiple barriers around me, each tied to one of my resistances.

Even my new Direwolf form evolved into a Nightmare Wolf like Rogue and I got all the Skills he got: "Shadow Step" "Shadow Motioning" "Ghost Flame" and "Nightmare Eruption"

This evolution thing was a really powerful thing.

Even my original Ghost form had changed! Back when I was a Ghost my body was basically a small semi-transparent sphere of magicules with eyes and a mouth, but no limbs. But my new Wraith form was much more humanoid, even though I still didn't have a face with specific features, my new form had arms and legs, although my body was still semi-transparent.

As I analyzed my new Skills and forms, my "Magic Sense" detected something again. This time it wasn't a monster, but a group that looked… human? No, their ears were pointed, so they must be elves, right?

So, what looked like a group of elves was rapidly approaching us through the thick forest.

Both Rogue and I felt them coming and decided to stop moving forward to see what they wanted. I was sure that if we were attacked, we could defend ourselves.

We only had to wait a few seconds for the elves to arrive. They were a group of eight, all of them men. Their armor seemed to be made of tough leather, but already beginning to show wear, and their swords, though sharp, were somewhat crude compared to the one I had gotten from Huges, which was polished and stylized. Their skin was tanned and their hair was a pure white that seemed to gleam when touched by the little sunlight that managed to penetrate the thick foliage of the forest. Their faces were beautiful and ethereal.

Their swords were out and they were staring at me and Rogue with utter fear. However, like before with the Direwolf, I felt no fear. None at all. Although they seemed strong, a deep-rooted instinct inside me told me that I could defeat them, if they chose to attack.

As I was thinking this, the one who seemed to be the leader of the group stepped forward and spoke. "Who are you, human? Why have you invaded our forest?"

"My name is Rogan, and this is my partner Rogue. We're just passing through the forest. We have no intention of hurting anyone." – I said, and thank the gods, Rogue stood still and let me control the situation.

The leader seemed to relax a little at the sincerity in my tone and sheathed his sword. "I see. I'm sorry to greet you like this, but our village is a few kilometers away and we felt two strong monsters approaching. We had to be cautious."

Seeing that their leader had sheathed his sword, the rest of the elves followed his example. The group of elves turned out to be scouts from a nearby village who were doing a patrol around the village due to the increase in monster sightings in recent years. The leader and I talked for a while and he even offered me to spend the night in his village, as long as I could vouch for Rogue's behavior. I decided to accept. I didn't have to sleep thanks to being an undead creature, but it would be good for me to talk to other people and learn more about this world.

As we walked towards the elf village I continued my conversation with the leader, whose name I learned was Browen. I had my doubts about why some creatures had names and others didn't, but the Librarian quickly resolved these doubts. As he explained to me, at first only humans named their children from birth, and when they procreated with certain spiritual creatures, mostly fairies, their descendants, who would be elves and dwarves, also adopted this custom. But the names of humans, elves, and dwarves don't function in the same way as those of monsters and spiritual beings, as being named after their parents and not significantly more powerful beings, their power base is similarly maintained throughout the generations. Another interesting fact that the Librarian explained to me was that humans, elves and dwarves cannot evolve to new species as their current status is considered their last evolutionary stage. The only evolution that they are gifted with, is that of sainthood.

From my conversation with Browen I was able to learn that they weren't, in fact, Elves, but Dark Elves, a distinction that Browen greatly emphasized, as if he had some resentment towards his cousins the Elves. He also told me that they were so alert and aggressive towards strangers because of the fact that several strong monsters, including dragons, had attacked their small village lately. Though they had managed to repel them so far thanks to the village leader's powers and Browen's prowess as a swordsman, some casualties were unavoidable.

After some more talking, we finally arrived at the Dark Elves' village. The town was quite simple, just a few wooden houses and dirt roads, and it was located in a clearing in the middle of the forest. The houses were quite simple, but seemed clean and organized.

Browen led us through the village, and as he passed the Dark Elves came out of their houses to greet him. They were a bit shocked at Rogue's size, but they seemed to think we weren't a threat if we were with Browen. Our journey finally ended in front of a house slightly larger than the others. It seemed to be located in the center of the village, and two Dark Elves dressed just like Browen stood guard at the entrance. As we approached, the two guards saluted Brown with their arms raised to their chests in respect.

It was quite obvious that Browen was loved and respected by the other Dark Elves.

Browen knocked twice on the house door and waited. A few minutes later a beautiful female Dark Elf opened the door. Her skin was olive like Brown's, her long white hair fell past her waist, revealing her pointed ears, and her dress couldn't hide that she was well endowed in the area of breasts. She was dressed in a knee length dress, but open on one side, leaving her thighs visible. Her face had that ethereal beauty that seemed to accompany all Dark Elves. She was accompanied by another Dark Elf, dressed in some sort of white toga that tied at the shoulder, though his beauty was somewhat marred by a large patch covering his left eye, and a scowl of disapproval covered his face when he noticed us.

"Hello, sister. I would like to introduce you to some people." - Browen said, pointing at us. "These are my new friends, Rogan and his partner Rogue. Guys, this is my sister Tuatha, the leader of this village."

"A pleasure. Any friend of Browen is a friend of mine" – Tuatha said gently.

"Browen, do you think it's safe to bring strangers into the village at a time like this?" – Asked the Dark Elf who accompanied Tuatha.

"And this is Katar, my sister's adviser." - Browen said reluctantly. Dislike was clear between them.

"Calm down, Katar. We may not be at our best, but that's no excuse to be rude." – calmly sentenced Tuatha.

"If you require nothing else, Lady Tuatha, I will return to my other duties." – Katar said and left, following one of the dirt roads of the village. He didn't seem amused by Tuatha contradicting him.

"I'd tell you to come in, but I'm afraid the Direwolf won't fit inside the house." – Tuatha said while she looked at Rogue.

"Master, if you like, I could use my "Shadow Step" Skill to hide within your shadow. That way I won't take up space." – Rogue told me through "Thought Communication".

"Yes, do it, please." – I told him and Rogue entered my shadow, in front of the surprised looks of Browen and Tuatha.

"Wow, where did he go?" Browen asked.

"Don't worry, Rogue used a Skill that allows him to hide in my shadow, so he doesn't take up space"

"Then please come in." -Said Tuatha and guided us into her house.

The interior of the house was modest, but organized. The three of us sat in a small room, and Browen poured us tea.

"So, Rogan, I know you're not human. What are you?" – Tuatha asked me, surprising me. She still seemed friendly, but her eyes had taken on a deadly gleam.

"What do you mean, sister? Of course, he's human." - Browen said, surprised.

"Your sister is right. I am not fully human." – I told Browen, but kept my eyes focused on Tuatha. I had underestimated her because of her beautiful appearance and her affable nature, but she was clearly very smart. Until now no one except her had been able to discover that I wasn't human.

"You're not?" Browen asked, surprised.

"Not completely. I'm a Wraith. One of my Skills allows me to possess the body of other creatures." – I explained. I had nothing to lose by telling the truth.

"So, you attacked this human and stole his body?" – Tuatha asks me directly.

"No. This body belonged to a good friend of mine. He was dying and I offered to occupy his body and fulfill his last wish." - I said and told them my story and Huges's, without mentioning that I was from another world and that I had reincarnated.

After hearing my story Tuatha's eyes lost their steel and she returned to being as jovial as when we had met her. We talked some more, until we got to the subject of the recent dragon attacks.

"If this place is so dangerous, why not just find another place?" - I asked them.

"We have no other place to go." – says Tuatha, sadly. "You see, this Dark Elf village used to be part of what is now known as the Puppet Nation of Jistav, west of the Great Forest of Jura. Until a few years ago, our nation was ruled by the Demon King Kazalim, and when he died at the hands of the now Demon King Leon Cromewell, the kingdom was left in the hands of the Demon King Clayman, one of the Demon King Kazalim's disciples. At first everything was fine. The Demon King Clayman was manipulative and a bit eccentric, but we knew how to handle the situation. But everything changed a few years ago. Demon King Clayman became obsessed with gaining power and began using curses and dark magic to defeat and control all who opposed him. Foreseeing that Clayman's madness would lead us to a war against the other Demon Kings sooner or later, I gathered all those who wanted to flee from his reign and we set out on a journey through the Forest of Jura. But Clayman found out about our escape and has been hunting us ever since." – Tuatha told me her story. "We tried to ask for help from our cousins the Elves of the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion, but Empress Elmesia El-Ru Sarion refused to help us, not wanting to be drawn into a war with the demon kings. No other country will accept us for the same reason."

I guess that's the reason behind Browen's grudge against the Elves. It was truly a terrible situation. I didn't know exactly what a Demon King was, but in all the books I read during my employment at a book store, Demon Kings were never good news.

Just then we heard a great roar from outside and one of the Dark Elf guards opened the door.

"Lady Tuatha! It's an emergency! Three Wind Dragons are coming!" The guard yelled.

"For the gods." – Tuatha said while she paled. "We barely managed to defeat one the first time, against three we're finished!"

The situation was rapidly escalating outside, so we all left the house. Outside everything was chaos. The Night Elf villagers who couldn't fight ran for cover, while the gales caused by the Wind Dragons that flew over the village, destroyed everything they touched.

"Master, should I go out and help?" – Rogue asked me with "Thought Communication" from where he was hiding in my shadow.

"Nope. Stay where you are. With flying enemies, this is not a battle you can win right now" – I replied.

I immediately cast the Librarian's "Thought Acceleration", and time seemed to slow down around me almost to a standstill. It didn't, of course. It was my mind what worked much faster. This allowed me to assess a situation before taking action. Now that I had time, I activated "Analytical Appraisal" on the Wind Dragons. This told me everything I needed to know about the dragons, but in doing so it also told me something else.

Warning.

Mind Magic detected.

That meant the Dragons were being controlled by someone, right?

But it didn't matter. Even if they were being controlled by someone, I had no way of finding the controller, nor of undoing the mind magic, so the only option was to eliminate the Dragons.

I could just walk away and let the Dark Elves deal with the problem, but it would leave a bad taste in my mouth to abandon them in this situation. So I made up my mind. I will defeat the dragons and save the Dark Elves.

Once decided, I started planning.

The dragons seemed to have no intention of landing, they were simply attacking from the sky with gale force winds, so I would have to take the battle to the sky. I was sure that with "Gravity Manipulation" and my mimicry skills, I could manage to stay airborne even against such a wind, but if I tried to fly in close, it was possible that they would scatter in different directions which would make it harder for me to defeat them.

The other problem would be how to attack them. The Wind Dragons seemed to be moving quickly in the sky, so a frontal assault would be quickly evaded. Using fire or "Corrosive Breath" would affect the Dark Elves who were seeking shelter. My thread would be useless in this wind. That only left me with Earth Magic and other non-lethal Skills like "Multi-Layered Barrier", "Shadow Step" and "Shadow Motioning" … Wait, maybe it could work… with the position of the sun…

After thinking about it for a bit, I used the Earth Magic spell "Stone Shot" and sent several rocks flying towards the dragons. Just as I thought, they dodged them with their great speed, but before the rocks fell again, and using the Librarian's analytical Skill to predict the path of the rocks and the position of the afternoon sun, I waited for the perfect moment, while using Earth Magic combined with "Sticky Thread" to make three giant anchored nets. And then, when the exact moment came, when the shadow of one of the rocks I threw graced one of the dragons, I used Shadow Step and Shadow Motioning to disappear into my own shadow and reappear in the shadow of the rock, just above the surprised dragon.

I quickly threw the three nets at the Dragons, and used "Gravity Manipulation" to stay in the air as the three Dragons, now trapped by my improvised nets, fell to the ground with a crash.

To make sure the dragons couldn't move, I used earth magic to trap the dragons with the earth so they wouldn't escape. Once I was sure that they would not escape, I lowered myself gently to the ground.

Just like the Direwolf from a few hours ago the dragons were completely stuck in the ground, I've immobilized them with my nets. And just like with the Direwolf, it would be a shame to waste a good source of Skills, so without further ado I went to the nearest Dragon and used Selfish One.

Do you want to activate the Forced Possession sub-skill of Unique Skill "Selfish One"?

Yes

No

Yes!

Again, Huges' human body disappeared, and my Wraith form took possession of the Wind Dragon.

Analysis completed. Skills gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Mimicry: Wind Dragon, Extra Skill "Wind Manipulation", Extra Skill "All-Seeing Eye", Extra Skill "Sense Heat Source".

With the possession and analysis of my new Skills finished, I returned to my human form. The dragons, thanks to the Librarian's wonderful analytical skills, had landed not far from the village. By the time Browen and Tuatha arrived, I had already dealt with the other two dragons with Corrosive Breath. The rest of the Dark Elf village arrived soon after and stared at me, amazed that I had defeated the dragons on my own.

Tuatha looked at me, then at the remains of the dragons, then back at me. Her eyes took on a thoughtful tinge, before looking at me in a way that gave me the creeps. It was a victorious look, as if she had found an answer to a question, she had asked herself a long time ago. She then turned around and addressed her people. I had a feeling that her next words were going to get me into trouble…

"People of the Dark Elves, this is Rogan, our guest and savior. Thanks to his actions we have been saved." – Tuatha shouted, her vibrating voice could be heard throughout the clearing. "We all owe our lives to him." - she said and looked at me sideways with a triumphant smile. "A Life Debt. To honor this debt, I propose to name Rogan as our new leader. From this day on, it will be our eternal duty to serve him in the best way we can." – Tuatha finished.

And as she, Browen, and the other Dark Elves knelt before me as one, the only thought in my head was "How did I fell for this again?!"

As I try to imagine some way to escape from the new job Tuatha was trying to drop into my lap, a single Dark Elf caught my eye. This one was looking at me with hatred, and unlike the others, was not kneeling. Katar, Tuatha's councilor.

"No! I refuse to let this happen!" - He shouted, while everyone else looked at him in surprise, "It wasn't supposed to end like this! Tuatha was supposed to die for me to be the next leader, not that human!" – He seemed crazy and didn't seem to care who heard him.

"What?!" – Even Tuatha seemed surprised by Katar's outburst.

"Oh, so it was you." – I, on the other hand, was not so surprised. I knew someone was controlling the dragons, I just didn't know who. Now I knew.

"But it does not matter. I'll just have to remove them myself." – He resolved, and an evil smile crossed his face. "Demon Summoning Magic! Come, creatures of the underworld! I summon you! Accept the corpses of those dragons as a sacrifice!" Katar yelled, and the corpses of the dragons disappeared.

Instantly, a magic circle appeared on the ground at Katar's feet. Five grotesque creatures emerged from the circle. They were vaguely humanoid in shape, but their goat-like head and wings revealed their demonic nature.

It was the first time I had seen or faced a demon, but instead of being afraid, my mind was already calculating the chances of victory. Perhaps the part of my brain that processed fear was destroyed during my reincarnation? Something to think about later.

As the demons arose, the Dark Elves ran for cover. The only one's left were Browen and his unit, Tuatha and myself.

"Rogue!" - I called.

"You call, master?" Rogue answered, stepping out of my shadow.

"Help them! Make sure they're safe!" I ordered.

"Yes, master!" – He said and ran with the Dark Elves to face the Demons.

I also started to run. My prey was not the demons, but the one who summoned them. As I approached Katar I spoke. "Your plan to take control of the village was good, but you made three fundamental mistakes" – I told him.

"Your first mistake was sending your creatures to do your dirty work." – I told him while dodging a Demon who was guarding Katar. I then used "Paralyzing Breath" and "Sticky Thread" to subdue him. Having dealt with the demon, I continued my approach to the Dark Elf. "However, I have a question. Why? What was the plan?

"I don't have to tell you anything, but since you're going to die, I'll tell you." – He said while throwing a ball of fire in my direction. I dodged it and kept walking towards him. "Once Tuatha was dealt with, I would've become the head of the village and then force them back to the Demon King Clayman, the most powerful of all the demon kings! And with my newly awakened Unique Skill, Mr. Clayman would've surely made me one of his Fingers, the generals closest to him! It should have worked if it wasn't for your meddling!" – He said as he gathered his magic power and threw a gigantic ball of fire at me.

"I see. Well, your second mistake was thinking that you could defeat me." - I said calmly when I got to a few meters from where he was, after going through his attack without being damaged. Fire immunity was very useful in situations like this.

"How? It's not possible! I hit you with my strongest fire spell!" – He asked, surprised to see that I emerged from the fire without any damage.

"Pretty simple. I'm immune to fire."

Now that I was close, I decided to analyze him with the Librarian, looking for any tricks he had up his sleeve. The results were a bit disappointing indeed. Even though he mastered various types of magic, his magicule level was extremely low compared to mine, and since he liked to send minions to do his work, he was most likely weak in close combat.

"No! Stay away! Nuclear Magic: Nuclear Cannon!" - he yelled as he cast a new spell on me.

Warning.

Danger detected.

Nuclear Magic interferes with spiritual particles. It is especially effective against spiritual and semi-spiritual creatures.

Evasive measures, recommended.

I quickly listen to the Librarian and use "Shadow Step" and "Shadow Motioning" to dive into my own shadow and appear in the shadow of a nearby tree, successfully avoiding the nuclear spell.

I prepare to attack once and for all, but it seems I no longer needed to. Apparently controlling three dragons, then summoning five demons, and that last nuclear spell completely drained Katar's magic.

Now I can win this battle without any effort!

I quickly approach the Dark Elf, who can barely stand up due to the depletion of his magic, and kick towards his trunk. Katar was thrown in the air by my kick and hit a nearby tree. Despite the exhaustion, he still tried to stand up.

"No! It can't end like this! I was going to be one of Mr. Clayman's great generals!"

I walk over to the fallen Dark Elf and with one hand hold his head against the tree. Normally I would never be this tough against someone who is weak, but this Dark Elf deserves it. His stupidity and ambition cost innocent lives. I will always show mercy to those who deserve it, but never to an abuser. "And your third mistake, was assuming I was human." – I say softly, and activate my Selfish One, for the third time that day.

Do you want to activate the Forced Possession sub-skill of Unique Skill "Selfish One"?

Yes

No

Yes!

My human body disappears and I can see the true fear in Katar's gaze, even as my body possesses his.

Analysis completed. Skills gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Mimicry: Dark Elf, Unique Skill "Grave Robber", Magic Resistance. Magic gained through Unique Skill "Selfish One": Nuclear Magic, Mind Magic, Barrier Magic, Demon Summoning Magic.