Game of the World Tree

He outwardly appears to had his eyes closed and resting like a statue, but contrary to his relaxed appearance, his back stood straight just like a soldier on a battlefield, ready to take action at the first sign of trouble.

And if one observed him closely, they would also perceive his pointed ears mildly swaying as if discerning every noise outside.

This was his instinctual alertness in an unknown environment.

As time passed, the shaking of the wagon became stronger.

Despite his eyes being closed and his powers being constrained by those strange ropes tied to his arms and legs, Boxlunch could still discern the situation outside through analyzing the vibration of the wagon due to the bumps of the road…

They were now probably traveling on a mountain path judging by the much silent and bumpier movements of the wagon.

The sky had already darkened quite a bit, indicating that it was almost evening, but the speed of the caravan had not slowed down, but rather increased instead.

This probably meant that their surroundings were not safe, especially at night.

Of course, there was also the possibility that they were nearing their destination and had increased their speed but Boxlunch didn’t really believe this was the case since the humans outside had not been talking much for quite awhile now unlike their relaxed behavior earlier on that day.

He even heard the sound of them drawing out their weapons, as well as the faint sound of their labored breathing.

They are being cautious.

This implies that they are on guard against some possible enemies.

His judgment of the surroundings being unsafe is most likely correct.

Maybe they’re wary of some bandit attack, but it could also be due to monsters as well—

No… monsters are more likely.

They wouldn’t have strayed too far from the elven forest in such a short amount of time, if that were the case.

From what he heard, apart from the orcs, there are no other sentient races active in this area.

Orcs are destitute in nature, but they are also strong in combat, so they are unlikely to enslave bandits or robbers nearby.

It’s gradually getting cooler around them… and it’s not just because of the weather, but the terrain could also affecting the temperature as well.

There’s also bird calls that echoing in the distance as if they’re flying in a ravine…or perhaps a canyon or valley that has a deep gorge with steep sides.

In summary, it’s possible that they have entered an area with narrow land formation within the Dark Mountains…

Boxlunch analyzed these factors within his mind.

As a player who has spent most of their time in-game fighting in the wilderness, Boxlunch has gathered a vast amount of information about the areas surrounding the Elven Forest.

He even made a special effort to understand the ecology of the Dark Mountains by asking some people from the Rageblaze clan and learned that monster activity in this area are most active during the night.

And just as Boxlunch continued to listen, suddenly, his ears twitched slightly after discovering a distinct noise.

He tried to focus on the sound and heard a rustling sound coming from somewhere inside the carriage.

That direction… is where the female elf NPC who was captured like him was located.

Boxlunch didn’t act recklessly.

His instinct told him that this NPC is not an ordinary one since she can sleep soundly despite being captured by humans.

Either she’s a fool with an extremely carefree attitude,

Or…it could be something interesting else instead.

Soon, Boxlunch heard a yawn, accompanied by a lazy groan, as if someone had just stretched their body after waking up.

Boxlunch “……”

He instantly raised his vigilance.

Because if he remembered it correctly, the other elven girl should’ve been also gagged and tied up just like him.

Boxlunch instinctively opened his eyes and looked warily in the direction of the sound, just in time to meet a pair of glowing eyes.

It belonged to an elven girl who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old in appearance.

Of course…if converted into the lifespan of an elf, her age would probably be ten times older than him. She had a dark ashen hair similar to him and greyish eyes that are still particularly bright despite the dimness inside the wagon. The ropes on her body and the cloth on her mouth were gone as well.

Like many elves, she also had an outstanding appearance, but unlike the elves that Boxlunch had seen in the Elven Forest, this elven girl’s eyes are faintly glowing, as if she’s using some sort of ocular-based skills, making her look a bit cunning in his opinion.

This kind of gaze…

Boxlunch was rather familiar with it. Police stations back on the real world detain a bunch of guys with similar sets of eyes everyday.

Was she really an elf?

She didn’t look like the typical peace-loving elven native that he had grown accustomed to.

Boxlunch instinctively frowned as he looked at those pair of big eyes. He then hesitated for a moment before carefully examining the other person’s appearance.

Outstanding appearance with a tall figure.

Ears that are pointed and long…

It appear to be someone that looks just exactly like an elf, or perhaps another sentient race that’s disguising herself as an elf, but most likely…it’s a real elf going by his instincts.

Then, he saw this strange girl turn back her gaze at him once more before smiling at him.

“Yo! Finally awake eh? I haven’t seen a member of the Darkshade in such a long time, hallo~”

Darkshade Clan?

Box was intrigued at this new and unfamiliar term.

After speaking, the elven girl skillfully reached into one of the cargo boxes and pulled out two fresh-looking fruits. She took a bite of one herself and then handed the other one over to him in a friendly manner.

“Here, would you like to try? It’s super sweet! These are rare fruits from the southern human region.”

Boxlunch just gave her a deadpanned look.

The elven girl tilted her head in confusion when she saw him give her a look as if she had forgotten something. She stood silently for a second before her eyes shifted downwards towards his body.

“Oh right, you’re still tied up.”

She then quickly approached him, wafting along a refreshing scent and deftly rolled her nimble little hands over the ropes tied on Boxlunch’s body.

Before Box could even get a closer look, the ropes on him were already untied in a matter of seconds.

That was quite fast.

He looked pleasantly surprised, but also a bit puzzled as well since Boxlunch could feel that this girl’s strength was somewhat weaker than his own.

Although a stronger being can roughly perceive the approximate strength of a weaker opponent, it is not always an accurate evaluation.

Furthermore, Boxlunch could not rule out the possibility that this elven girl was pretending to be weaker than she actually is.

At this point, the girl finally removed the cloth from his mouth and instantly stuffed a fruit right into it while saying,

“Why do you keep staring at me like that? Here, eat the fruit quietly. Also, keep your voice down or the humans outside might hear us.”

Boxlunch “…….”

He instinctively took a bite.

Sweet.

It was a flavor he had never tasted before.

Then he heard the ashen-haired girl’s voice whisper close to his ears with disdain in her tone.

“How come you’re so dirt poor. Why don’t you have anything else on you besides your clothes? Did those humans search and confiscated all your belongings? But…I guess you do have a sturdy figure.”

Boxlunch “…….”

His gaze towards this girl became even more peculiar.

Her next actions completely broadened his horizon and overturned his preconceptions towards the native elves of Saigües.

She already finished eating her fruit in just a few bites, and now started rummaging through one of the wooden boxes, searching through the many human goods inside with the expertise of a seasoned burglar.

Boxlunch then noticed that this girl picked almost all the magical items that looked valuable, in addition to some gold and silver coinage.

Whenever she found something, her hand would emit a faint light, and then the item would suddenly disappear completely.

Boxlunch raised an eyebrow at this rather peculiar skill of hers, feeling very curious about it.

Soon, the entire boxes of cargoes was overturned by this grey-eyed girl. She let out a sigh of relief, before continuing to nibble on a new fruit and sat down, seemingly quite satisfied.

“Are you… a thief?”

Boxlunch finally couldn’t help but speak up after silently watching the whole ordeal.

Upon hearing his words, the girl’s shoulders slightly shook, as if the term was sensitive to her.

She remained silent for a few seconds, then looked at Boxlunch with a puffed up cheeks and retorted,

“So what if I am? Is that not allowed?”

Boxlunch: ‘…..’

Noticing Boxlunch’s strange gaze, the elven girl sighed,

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. Or are you also going to lecture me like those stubborn old fools from my clan?”

She sneered.

“Stupid kindness and inflexible stubbornness without any kind of adaptability…these are the root causes of elvenkind’s demise! We can’t even protect ourselves, so why do we need to stick to so many outdated rules?”

“Hmph! Rules are meant to be broken! So what if I’m a thief huh? These humans are our enemies, they are the real robbers! It’s only natural that I take their things as compensation for all the evils that they’d done! Besides, I’m not taking these things for myself…”

The girl spoke angrily.

Boxlunch didn’t say anything, but instead just listened quietly to her sudden outbursts.

The girl continued to lash out for a minute, but her expression eventually became somewhat dejected.

She grumbled for another while and eventually ran out of steam, finally falling into silence as tiredness overtook her face.

After a moment of awkward silence, she just sighed and pried open a large hole in the bottom of the wagon with ease.

Under Boxlunch’s surprised gaze, the girl handed him a sack filled with fruits and pointed to the hole in the floor while saying,

“Hey… you look like a naive and honest person who has never experienced a fight. You’re probably a poor little rookie that accidentally got separated from your clan…here, take some dry foods and escape through this hole.”

“We’re in the last wagon and it’s getting dark outside. This is the perfect time to escape. I’ll cast a disguise spell on you but you still need to be careful so those humans outside won’t be able to find you.”

Boxlunch …

“What about you?”

“…Me?”

The girl was taken aback.

After a moment of silence, she firmly said in a tone filled with determination.

“I’m not leaving. I’m sneaking inside the humans’ underground base where they are holding my siblings captive! I’m going to rescue them!”