"What the hell is this?!"

The two luminescent Fungi that acted as his eyes grew in radiance as he took in the truly mind boggling information. Even he, who tended to have a more reserved way of speaking, could only resort to that shout of surprise upon seeing such an absurd thing

"Eeh!"

Iyrin – who had been labeled as his ward of sorts – reflexively flinched at the sudden exclamation. Standing next to a creature that could crush a human into paste must have been quick taxing on the mind, even if said creature had saved him. However, he paid him no mind. He was the least of his worries in this moment.

his stupefaction from the current events was twofold.

The first and most shocking of the two, this wasn't YGGDRASIL.

This revelation came when the map he had been given, had no recognizable names. He had his suspicions when his inquiry about the nine worlds names had been met with utter bewilderment, yet he had still held onto that belief considering everything he had seen and done until now had left him with no other options. Not to mention, most of the information he had on the world was from YGGDRASIL, so he was practically required to assume such.

How the hell is that even possible?! Everything I've seen of this world so far matches it to a T! How can there be a completely separate world with ideas and creatures from a fictional game!

While some might argue that A video game world becoming real was equally unbelievable, there was the possibility the VR set had malfunctioned, and left his brain in a coma like state, with the data of the game, horrifying as the possibility was. A parallel world however, was right out.

No, let's look at the positives. Even if this isn't YGGDRASIL, it seems all of my abilities from it are still here. Not to mention, that person who attacked me earlier clearly used [Fireball]. I can at least assume from that, there are elements from the game in this world.

The fact that he was his avatar from YGGDRASIL help a lot with this assumption. From what he could tell, all of his skills, spells, and other abilities within his repertoire had made the jump with him. It wouldn't do for him to be the only being in existence that could use magic and techniques the likes of which the world had never seen. Those scenario's were reserved for light novels. The idea of being some sort of "Chosen one" was not realistic, and certainly not something he would be viewing himself as. That was the correct mindset he needed to adopt.

If he can use these abilities, so can others.

What's more, the way he was transferred to this world was by selecting YGGDRASIL's icon from his VR set. That would at least imply this new world he found himself in was at least in-part related to the game.

But couldn't that also mean other YGGDRASIL players are also here?

Before he could fall into a spiral of rationales, he quickly shook his head. It was a bad habit of his to try and solve everything at once.

A thought for another time. Just focus on what in front of you for now.

Now that he was back to his usual, composed self, he was able to more accurately take in the information before him. And as a direct consequence, led him to his next roadblock.

The map itself.

If this is really the intelligence they're working with, then its a wonder they've managed to last this long.

Even though he had been the one to say it, the lack of info on the map he'd been giving was so despairingly small, he honestly thought there was some kind of plot going on to deceive him when he had first received it.

I've seen more detailed maps on a children's place mat...

All of the countries were crudely drawn, with no structure at all. Borders seemed to be drawn with a mixture of memory and guesswork, while things like city names, were practically non existent, with few exceptions.

Topography of an area was extremely important during war times. It could mean life or death in certain situations, especially during wartime. Being able to plan routes, scout enemy positions, and knowing the locations of allies, were only a small fraction of their uses. None of these could apply to this example that would surely make any geographer cry.

Considering there is practically no information for me to work with here, there shouldn't be any problem with me asking for some more details. Unless... this actually was all planned, and they wanted me to ask them?

He tossed the idea almost as soon as it formed. This was, quite literally, their only map. Unless there was some major conspiracy in the works beyond his imagination, they just really were that lacking in supplies.

Damn it, I guess I do need there intel right now. I wanted to avoid relying on them too much. But seeing as this truly is an unknown world, then maybe all the knowledge I thought I had from YGGDRASIL is trash now. Even if spells and skills remain the same, who's to say everything else hasn't changed?

For example, creatures from YGGDRASIL had very defined weaknesses and positives. the undeads weakness to holy and fire being a notable example. But what if those things simply didn't exist in this world? While a bear might be weak to piercing damage in a game, it isn't as if a real life bear would be hurt more by a spear than a sword.

Though there was no proof for that claim, he couldn't simply write it off either. If he tried to use his prior tactics, only to find out he had been poisoned with untrue knowledge, he could very easily be killed by a powerful enemy.

Another thing of note was the fact he had not played the game seriously in quite some time. He could not confidently state he still knew everything he once had.

Argh! Problem after problem keeps piling up, and I haven't even done anything yet!. I need to get my hands on some relevant info and fast. And I guess this map is to first step towards that goal.

The map only had 5 major countries on it . There were minor settlements and small nations scribbled in brackets, but considering the lack of borders, they were likely something akin to sovereign states or vassals and the like. That, or they were just small settlements calling themselves nations. However, they were of little use for now. What he really wanted was knowledge on the larger states.

The Re-Estize Kingdom to the north

The Holy Kingdom to the west

The Baharuth Empire to the east

The neighboring Slane Theocracy.

And lastly, the Elven country itself.

There were other sections of the map as well, but they seemed to be rough guesses, with some sections merely being scribbled out, and being labeled things like "City State?" and the like. While he would have liked to get some more concrete info on them, that could wait for another day. It was not a pressing issue at the moment.

However, that was enough guesswork. It was time to look for his answers.

Only so much could be gleaned from what were effectively blobs on a piece of paper after all. It would only add to their suspicion if he was staring at it for too long.

"Excuse me."

"Yes! What do you need!?"

The clearly high strung elf snapped to attention in an instant, stumbling on his words from the pressure of being the new object of interest. He had been watching every subtle movement he made while scouring the map, as if at any moment he would turn feral and attack, something Punitto understood quite well. It was wise to be nervous of an unknown variable that was stronger then oneself. Of course, If their situations were reversed, he would try to play the person so that they would act with his interest in mind.

But right now, having himself be feared was not good when he needed to play on his goodwill so he could extract information. He needed to act more casual. Perhaps his attitude earlier had turned them away.

"I was looking over this map, but it doesn't really seem like it has what I was looking for. Do you think you could help me by giving me some quick pointers about the countries? I'm practically dealing with a whole new ball game here y'know?"

He tilted his head at the strange euphemism, but seemed to understand his meaning either way. "You want to know more about the countries? He asked, with a mixture of confusion and doubt in his voice. "I guess it wouldn't be a problem, but I don't really know all that much about them. The others will probably tell you something similar I'm sure."

"It's fine, I just want something to work with. Honestly anything you can give we is greatly appreciated." He had attempted to give a warm smile, but without the physiology to do so, he just ended up tilting his head to the side, as if imitating a begging puppy.

There was another few moments of silence, before he gave a long exhale through his nose, and closed his eyes, as if trying to physically expel the doubts and worries plaguing him. After a few more seconds of silence, he finally relented. "Very well. What do you want to know about them exactly?"

"Well, then seeing as we are here, what can you tell me about this country?"

He had chosen this nation for the simple fact that it was the one he currently resided in, and therefore the one he needed to known the most about. not to mention, it was the nation with the largest surface area, encompassing the entire crudely drawn forest, which dominated the map like a sea of green. It also seemed to be very far removed from the others, with only the Slane theocracy directly neighboring it. Strangely, there didn't seem to be a name for their nation.

If this elf had any common sense, he would hide truly important information in his summary, but none the less he began the lesson of the finer points of life in the forest. and Punitto was all ears for his elvish culture 101 elective.

"For starters, we currently stand within the great forest of Evasha. Though we elves have taken it as our nation, Evasha is not the name of country itself, but rather the forest that surrounds us. Settlements like this one are few and far between, with the capital being the only point of interest, as well as the only True settlement. That being the case, the king never gave the nation a name, and the elves who live in the elf villages never needed to use one."

"True settlement? Wouldn't this place be large enough to be considered a proper residence with its size?" he had asked, to which Iyrin had responded in the negative. Though he did not know the exact population here, it seemed like it was at least over 1000. that should easily have it classified as a large village if you went by the traditional meaning.

"Rather then a village, these are just outpost that are only used for war. Most elves live in elf trees, and only really stay with each other. A good portion of them don't tend to go over a population of 100, but the capital is the exception to the rule. There are some that are larger than others, but they are ultimately just individual groups we have no contact with."

In other words, the villages that did exist here were not big enough to be called a village in the true sense of the word. It was more a tight knit group of people who gather together for safety. A hamlet was probably a more fitting name. If that was the case, then even when considering the nations large size, if only a small amount was inhabited by elves, it would be the smallest by far.

Though besides that, something else peaked his interest in that explanation.

"Are elf trees different somehow from normal trees?"

"Yes, elf trees are able to be affected with druid magic used by the elves. Namely using them to create housing, like that one over there." He said, pointing a finger at the commanders residence he was in prior.

"Hoh, that sounds like quite the useful ability. I've never heard of a druid spell like that. " He was genuinely interested in the subject, as this was the proof he needed that things weren't the same as they were in YGGDRASIL. While the item [Green Secret House] acted similar, there was no spell he knew of that could create such a place.

"Yes, when it comes to making quick and reliable housing, it definitely comes in handy. But the reason that aren't used here is due to to the drawbacks."

The reason why they did not do so here was simply because elf trees were plentiful the further in one went into the forest. They were a tad sparse on the outskirts, where these war camps had been placed, so finding enough to make a base of operations would be quite the task. That was the reasoning Iyrin had given him.

There were also practicality reasons he had not disclosed, but in the end, elf trees were not meant to be used for war. Though the benefits were easy to see, the reverse was also true.

In the first place, the villages made up of these trees suffer casualties from monsters quite often. And when they were trying to keep there forces as polished as they could be against the enemy forces, having to keep watch of both monsters and humans would put even more undue stress on soldiers.

Not to mention, they were really only useful for camouflage. When put in a defensive position, a couple trees were as weak as paper for those who possessed fire based magics.

Taking all that into account, these encampments were the best place to settle when taking arms against the theocracy. Even if a dangerous monster were to wander to close, they had suitable defenses to ward them off, save for a lord.

He gave a few more details, like the estimated population, local wildlife, and so on, but that was all he had to give in regards to his nation. There was certainly other things he had not bothered to mention, but giving away all ones secrets was the most foolish thing one could do.

"I see. That certainly was helpful, and I think I have a clearer picture of what I need to do." That last bit seemed to have some sort of effect on him, as his facial expression changed for a mere moment, but before he could know what it meant, he had gone back to his usual neutral style. "What about the other nations? Could you tell me a bit more about them?"

"Yes, Right... just know that my knowledge on the other nations is a bit spotty, since we don't have much contact with other nations."

After saying so, he went into the next nation, known as the Baharuth Empire.

A largely human nation, it resided on the west side of the Katze planes, an area that undead tended to spawn. It was ruled by a man named Emperor Jirniv, and it was known to be quite the prosperous nation. While non-humans did reside there, it was still very rare to see one, with there population being to small to put the difference in numbers.

Unfortunately, the country did not discourage the use of non-human slaves, which meant that some elves that were captured by the theocracy were sold to buyers in the state. The fact that they did such a thing put a damper on any potential alliance or friendliness between the nations however.

Evidently, they had once send some reinforcements to help with the war effort, but that was the most they had ever done in terms of interaction. The countries were too far apart to really see any notable communication in the first place.

Yet despite that, something seemed off about that supposed act of kindness.

Why would a country aid another nation that its had no contact with up until now? The only reason he could think of was due to some sort of political scheme, but what the goals and motivation were remained a mystery to him. Other questions remained as well, such as how they managed to get here when they needed to go through two separate nation to reach this place.

A high level magic caster could certainly do that. with a spell like gate, you could transfer any number of troops to whatever location you needed!

Despite being obvious when thinking about it, that simple idea was like a revelation to him. Even if he knew about certain spells from YGGDRASIL, there applications had increased in so many ways that facing an opponent could now go any number of ways. A single enemy could turn into an army with a spell like that.

That implication worried him greatly.

"I-is something the matter?"

"No, I was just lost in thought. Please continue as you were."

As he nodded to go back to his explanation, Punitto made it a priority to remember every spell he knew and write them down for future reference.

Next up was the Kingdom of Re-estize.

Apparently, it was a completely human centric nation, and since it was in an area relatively free of monsters, it was able to expand and become the largest of the surrounding states. Though the population were entirely human, they did not hold the belief that humanity was the chosen race, as the theocracy did. Rather it was because humans were weak that they choose to be very xenophobic. Frankly speaking, they did not like them very much. Being a consumer of the slave market did not help much in that regard either.

Apparently there were rumors circling about a new nation being formed somewhere around it, but there was no concrete information on the truthfulness of it.

I'll need to learn if that's true as soon as possible. An unknown nation was a total wildcard in a world like this. For all he knew, it was full of nothing but extremely strong beings, such as dragons and the like.

With yet another top priority matter filed away, he was beginning to wonder just how many things would need to be learned before he felt safe.

The next nation on the list was the holy kingdom.

Truthfully, the elves only really knew three things about it. The name, it being comprised of solely humans, and it was close to a settlement of demi-humans.

Having that little information definitely seemed suspicious to him, but he couldn't pry anything out of him without force. While he may have skills to loosen ones lips, he did not have the memory magic to wipe the experience. So doing so would be throwing away the one connection he had. He simply needed to take that info in stride.

"I guess human nations are in the majority here." Not much different from YGGDRASIL he thought to himself. "Do the demi-humans get along well with the neighboring humans?

He shook his head. "As far as I'm aware, they get into disputes almost daily. It's not very common for different races to cooperate."

"Are there any countries where humans and non-humans get along?"

A quiet "ah" was the response to that question, as if audibly understanding his intentions. He must have felt that he was looking for a place to relocate to, and wanted a nation that would tolerate him. Yet, even if it was wrong, he had no intention of correcting him.

"If that's what you're looking for, then I think the council state is like that. but from what I've heard, its very far to the north, so if you were going to head their, you may want to leave soon."

Please just go already He all but said.

While the prospect of going to a nation he had no knowledge on was not a pleasant one, he did keep it in the back of his mind that nations the co-existing species did exist. Providing it was safe, it could be a good place to lay low if the situation called for it.

With that said, only left one nation left unaccounted for. He had left this one for last on purpose.

"So then, about the theocra–"

"They're the scum of the earth."

Spoken with such scorn that the contempt was almost visible, Punitto recoiled slightly at the sudden mood shift from the elf. It would seem that the elves, or rather this village, got very emotional whenever a target of their vitriol was brought up. The elf king from earlier brought about a similar response.

is it just me, or is everyone here a bit to forward with their thoughts?

Perhaps it was because they resigned themselves to death, or maybe they were just rude. Either way, having them be this forthright with there thoughts gave him some clarity on how things were viewed by them at the very least.

If the only country neighboring them is currently engaged in a war, then is this over territory? Or maybe its some more deeply rooted political issue. Uwah, I really don't want to engage with them if that's the case.

Getting mixed up in this worlds politics was not a good idea.

If helping the elves was going to get him dragged into the mires of political turmoil, it would be one of the worst things he could possibly do.

It might be best to abandon them if that's the case...

As he was thinking of such things, the boy continued to air his grievances about the country.

"They're a country that believes humanity to be the chosen race, and anything else is either second-class, or just deserve to die. They kill any non-human settlement they come across simply because they claim humans are the weakest race, so they need to suppress other strong races from taking over. Tch! What makes them so special? The fact that they have the longest history? Or because they claim the gods are watching over them. Its just nonsense they use to justify there actions. Even this war, which has been going on for who knows how long, is probably just a way for them to pick up new slaves. We never did anything to them as far as I'm aware! And even if out king did, that not our fault, right?! On top of the fact that–"

"Okay! Okay, I get the picture.

While he most of the information was trivial, and he was even starting to try and tune him out, There was something in that spiel that he could not ignore

The oldest history, is it...

Being the oldest country naturally came with the advantage of having access to technology and knowledge that may have been lost to other countries. If that was the case, then he was certain a lot of the answers he was seeking could be found there. But with the context clues he was given, it also seemed to be a fairly powerful country, considering the supposed elf king of unfathomable power acted against it and they were still around to not only tell the tale, but retaliate.

That country to him was best labeled as high-risk, high-reward.

Which automatically ruled that nation out. He would not be going there any time soon.

Until I get more of a foot hold in this world, I should hold of on doing anything to bold.

It was best to stay out of sight when this world was still very much an unknown to him. Blending in and not drawing attention to himself was the best thing he could do right now.

"That's about all I really know about the surrounding countries. The commander may know more, but its not like we have time to learn about the others. We have our hands full as it is."

Having learned his fill of the world he now occupied, he could start to formulate the beginnings of a plan. The first step of which involved what nation he should be heading towards. Now that he nknew the general outline of the nations, it was an easy choice for him to make.

None of them seemed particularly appealing, save for one. That would be the country he currently resided in.

While the country itself held no charm for him, there was one aspect about it he felt was perfect for his needs.

Rather then stay in the elves territory that had already been established, he would begin setting up within the great forest of Evasha.

Being hidden away in this maze of a forest was perfect for preserving his existence from being known. While he likely wouldn't stay with these elves for too long, he could definitely find his own place in the forest to form a quick base, and do recon from there.

Speaking of, he personally felt that these elves had not done enough to gain knowledge. While it was not like he really cared whether they lived or died, seeing them bumble about with no real knowledge about potential threats roused a pet peeve of his. Besides, there was no harm in learning a bit more about the nations methods of info collection, or rather lack there of. The more he knew, the better after all.

"Then isn't that even more of a reason to send a few people out to learn about the surrounding countries? A lack of information is the same as lacking a sword in a fight when it comes to war you know?"

Personally, he would have allocated a small subsection of the forces for information gathering, since learning of new developments was vital. What if the opposing nation was receiving aid from another nation?

There would also need to be division for scouting as well, since the forest is so difficult to navigate. There also may be other areas that need to be filled depending on the circumstances.

"That's not a possibility. There are to many people who see elves as a mere commodity on the outside. Those who aren't exactly on the right side of society only see our kind as a way to make some quick gold. And we are to inconspicuous when we enter human cities. Avoiding attention is all to hard to escape.

Even he could understand that. If he did not have access to his skills, then going incognito in this body would be quite difficult, to say the least.

"Besides, we need every spare hand we can get! Even one less of us is a massive blow when when our forces are already so–!

He had stopped mid-sentence. Perhaps he felt talking too openly about their dire straights in front of an unknown wasn't a good idea.

"–Anyways, its not feasible for us right now. Even if we did manage to learn a few new things, its not as if we'd have any use for it. Until this war is over, we are stuck fighting with the one enemy we already have. Besides..." His expression turned bitter, as if he had seen a grim future coming to pass. "If another country really did ally with them, we wouldn't be able to last anyway."

He probably only said that because he felt it was obvious. While it was good to tell untruths when concerning the manpower of a nation, they needed to be believable. If they really could hold out against two nations at once, then many of his previous statements would have become suspect.

"I see. I guess that's understandable." His actual thoughts betrayed this, but he choose to hold his tongue.

"Well, then wou...Hm?" Before he could finish his though, a large amount of movement was caught in his peripheral. It appeared that the camps population was converging to a single point. More then likely they were gathering to discuss the matter of the theocracy, but it also seemed like they were grabbing weapons, and suiting up, which was not exactly typical procedure for these sorts of things.

That sort or behavior could only mean one thing.

"Are they preparing for something?"

" –For the oncoming forces, Naturally."

A familiar voice interjected itself into there conversation. Seeing as he had just met the elf, he knew who the presence was even before turning to look.

"Folia-sama!"

Now that the elf was in the light of day, it was plain to see the toll this war had put on her. Though it was not as apparent in the darkened room earlier, her hair was frayed in various places, and her eyes looked to be a tad lifeless. It honestly reminded him a bit of workers back on earth.

Even if that wasn't exclusive to her, being the head of the unit certainly placed increased stress upon her. While he could not claim to have ever been in a life or death situation, it was clearly taxing to ones mental state. And since her position required her to be in a similar position quite often, it was no surprise she was in such a state disarray.

"The reason they are starting to gear up is because we are immediately going to attack After we go over the game plan for the theocracy. We need to head out right away, or else we will lose the element of surprise. I want to strike while we still have that advantage, since they most likely won't be expecting a counter attack this soon."

"Isn't that to dangerous? Wouldn't it be better to learn a bit more about there exact whereabouts before you attack?" This strategy puzzled him quite a bit. Even if they had the element of surprise like they claimed, going into a battle blind was almost as bad as having no plan at all.

"With the holocaust scripture so close to us, we need to start making preparations to counter them before the reach us. Unlike you, we can't simply stand around and do nothing. If the holocaust scripture is that close to us, we need to meet them when the terrain is still favorable to us. If they manage to make it here and engage us head to head, this place would simply turn into a killing floor."

Scratch his previous statement, resolve or not, they really were just rude.

Why are that acting so hostile toward me anyway? Its not like I've done anything to them right. In fact, saving one of there own is the only thing I've done so far. Being suspicious is one thing, but there practically a step away from being outright hostile.

While he didn't get the need to act this sour, he could ignore it. He had some (Quite literal) thick skin, and there were things more important then his pride.

For starters, now seemed like the perfect time to learn the identity of this mysterious foe that he kept hearing about.

"The Holocaust scripture?"

"One of the theocracies six divisions that are made up of there most powerful members. Each one has a specified purpose, with the holocaust being used for counter terrorism and assassination. Because of that, they known how to counter our usual tactics. Its not an exaggeration to say the scriptures are the most integral part of the theocracy, which means they're are to strongest opponents to fight. So naturally, a meeting with them requires a large amount of strategy beforehand."

"Oh!?" He could not help his excitement from leaking into his voice.

While he had label the theocracy as to risky to make any moves against yet, that didn't apply if they were coming to him directly. The moment he was transferred here, Ownership of the forest had been effectively turned over to him. Seeing such juicy prey made him feel like a spider with a newly trapped victim. If he could get a hold of one, then things would certainly be on the up and up.

Though his body didn't allow it, a smile crept up on his face. The gears in his head were already turning.

Not knowing how to handle the sudden outburst, rather then address it, Folia seemed to ignore it entirely and continue on with her explanation.

"Erm, As I was saying, with the theocracy on our doorstep, we need to immediately send out a retaliation force before they find this place. Once they do, it will only be a matter of time before they bring reinforcements and level it to the ground. After were done discussing, we will need to leave right away. Mirn will be the acting commander once I'm gone, so just ask him if you have anymore questions."

The commander will be leaving as well?

Having the leader of an army leading the charge could certainly boost morale, but in the event of their death, the organization would take a massive dive. The process of selecting a new commander, creating a new strategy, and reorganizing was quite tedious, and when you still had to deal with an enemy, there wasn't much time for doing it in the first place.

While he was going to say something, he stopped himself before he did something foolish. In addition, there was a certain look within her eyes, one that held in emotion he could not quite place, but besides that, there was a fierce determination, which told him no matter what he said, she would not listen.

He remembered his old friend Takemikazuchi talking about such things. Saying how "The gleam in ones eye is all it takes to differentiate a mere fighter from a warrior." While he understood the concept, he was not nearly as much of a battle fanatic as him, so the meaning was lost on him.

Though the notion of fighting an unwinnable battle was outright foolish to him, he could at least respect the sentiment.

Well, it's none of my concern. She must have her own reasons. Plus, its beneficial to me anyhow.

"With all that said, I've come here to retrieve Iyrin so he can be present for the summary and lead us to their last known location. After that... you can do what you want.

After saying her piece, she quickly departed with her subordinate in tow. If he left them to their own devices, then once this meeting was over, there was a good chance he would never see them again. Morale seemed to be quite low at the moment, and if they were truly so outclassed, then even a win would entail heavy losses.

Luckily for them, this battle would be quite different then they had imagined.

"Hold on a minute."

Though she did stop, her body was still facing the other direction, clearly implying that she had no time for any inane speak. If he did not catch her attention, she may very well leave on the spot.

"Before you leave, there is something I want to say. But before that, can I have some privacy to collect my thoughts?"

Though he had succeeded, it was not in a positive way. Seemingly forgetting her manners with everything being piled on her, she quickly flung herself around and shouted her true feelings out. "What in the hell could you possibly have to discuss? The theocracy. Is. Here. We don't have time to banter back in forth about what you need."

He bowed his head slightly to show his sincerity on the matter. "I get that. Really, I do. But what I'm about to say will only take a minute of your time and will certainly be worth hearing, I just don't know the best way to go about it. I'll only need a minute or two, so I won't prolong you strategy meeting any further. I can't stop you if you truly need to leave, but what I am about to say is something I'm sure you'll want to hear."

Though clearly unhappy, she eventually gave into the demand. Though only under the pretext that he was back within 5 minutes. He was certain if he left even a second after the fact, she would already be gone.

After nodding to signal he understood, he moved himself over to the elf tree he had visited prior. It happened to be built quite close to the outer wall, and because of this, he was able to go to the trees back, giving him effective privacy from the others gazes. He had noticed this spot during his initial survey of the area, and made sure to keep note of it.

After making sure no one was looking, he could finally begin.

It was time to put his plan into action.

" [Summon low tier Plant: Midnight Myconid] "

As the spell was cast, small mushroom like creatures began to sprout from the ground. Each was the size of a fist, and they numbered twenty in all. They're caps were a dark green – almost black – and six small tendrils sprouted from there bottom, acting as their legs.

As each ones mana-born life came to be, he could feel a mental link connecting him to the summons. The sensation was strange, as if his presence was scattered, and he was now standing in 21 different places, light a light pulling on his mind. Coming with that feeling was the sense of satisfaction knowing he had all of these creatures under his complete command, and it truly made him feel like the powerful commander he rp'd as. The weakness of the summons did nothing to take away from that.

He had chosen these summons simply because there outer appearance would perfectly blend in with the surroundings in conjunction with they high stealth abilities. Though they're overall level was low, and a designated seeker could find them from as low a level as 20, however his opponents did not seem to have such methods. Since he had fought one of them earlier today, he could at least say that a few were weak. Even if he was wrong, these summons were expendable.

He had also glimpsed myconids scurrying throughout the underbrush during his escort here, confirming they're natural presence in the forest. This gave yet another layer of ambiguity.

Simply put, they were the best summon for this operation.

"Sweep the area around this base in a 3 mile radius. Give me the exact positions of any elf trees in the area, as well as locating any humanoid that is not an elf. Do not engage with them, merely scout the area, and return within two hours."

While he would have like more time to scout the area, summoned creatures from YGGDRASIL would only persist for 100 minutes. His commander classes doubled that amount with a passive ability leaving a solid three hours for reconnaissance. Though he could extend the time even further with a skill, he did not want to waste valuable abilities so quickly. He would simply summon more if more he needed more data.

"Go"

With that simple command, the sounds of scuttling roots filled the air, and there presence vanished from his line of sight. Even so, he could still feel there presence with his mental link, so as not to lose the location of the creatures. They were covering a surprising about of distance for their size, which was an added bonus to him.

And with this, phase one of the plan is complete.

Ever since he had heard about the holocaust scripture, he could not help but feel ecstatic over the luck that he kept seeming to run into. An extremely valuable source of information was basically falling into his lap. Sure he had to do some legwork to get them in a position to do so, but that would be the case no matter what he did.

If I can manage to grab a high ranking officer from the Slane theocracy, I can then interrogate them for a large amount of info. Once I manage to learn what I need, I can base my next move from it. Its a win win! And it would help be gain some more gratitude that I can use with these elves.

Obviously he would not be telling them about his plan to kidnap a member of the scripture, but adding a summon or two to their ranks ought to help curry some favor.

Though this plan had many obvious downsides, even to one not in the know, none of them applied to him.

For starters, If a important figure from a nation was taken hostage or killed during wartime, there would no doubt be repercussions in the form of reinforcements to rescue or avenge them. This was doubly so if an entire section of the states affairs we're to go missing.

But if when this did inevitably come to pass, he would be safe from any and all repercussions.

The only people who were aware of his existence were these elves. And he had no intention of heading onto the open battlefield himself. That way, even if someone rivaling him in strength was sent there way, it would be them he was searching for, and not him.

And if it looked like the elves were going to be interrogated... well, there were ways to deal with things like that.

In other words, no matter what happened, he could shift the blame onto the elves and leave if the situation was to dangerous to get involved with. If they wanted to voice complaints, he had leverage in the form of his assistance. Therefore, he could simply shrug off whatever they had to say.

"All I wanted was to help you since you looked like you needed it! I had no idea something like this could happen!" or something to that effect. He was certain that no matter what opinions they held of him in their minds, him being a master strategist was not one of them. So they would be much more likely to believe that excuse.

Its perfect.

Now that the groundwork had been placed, all that was left was to start cultivating.

When he got back, the two elves seemed to be discussing something rather urgently, but once they noticed he was coming back into view, the chitchat quickly ended, and they placed they're full attention on him once more.

He was not stupid. It was plain to see none of them trusted him, or else they wouldn't have been so on guard. But he did not resent them for it. Rather, if that had been openly accepting of him, he may have had more of an issue.

Even he would be incredibly suspicious of an unknown player wandering around his base. The fact that they were trying to placate him – which made him feel like a wild animal – so he would leave actually increased his opinion of them.

Yet, at the end of the day, they were merely a group of people he barely knew. If they ended up dying as a result of there decision to work with him, they would only have themselves to blame.

"You're back. That was faster then I thought. So tell me, what is so important that we need to put our planning on hold. We don't have much time to waste!"

As always, she choose to not beat around the bush, and cut straight to the heart of the matter. While she was correct in getting upset since every wasted moment was a moment the enemy was able to get closer, what was said in response finally seemed to shut her up.

"I'd like to make a deal with you."

A/N it was pretty hard trying to increase the length of this chapter. Just an FYI, the chapters in this "arc" so to speak will take longer than they will in the future simply due to the current plot. Once I get further in, I will up the rate they come out. But as for right now, they are pretty random. "marathon in the middle" I believe its called. Well, the next one will be faster at least.