Liam nodded, tucking the crystal safely into his own spatial artifact. Despite the news he just received, he tried to remain calm and collected. He even regulated his heart rate so that nothing about him had changed at all.
He had no doubt that the elf next to him was several hundred above him in level, and any fluctuations in his demeanor might immediately alert the elf. However, despite his best efforts it seemed that the elf still sniffed out something.
"You don't have to be so nervous. I am really not a psychopath and you and I have no enmity." The elf reassured Liam. "By the way, my name is Eldrin. What are you called?"
Liam nodded and tersely replied. "John McClane."
"Is that spelled L-I-A-M?" The elf chuckled.
Liam's expression immediately stiffened up. "Like I said. You are way too insignificant for me to care. You don't have to be so nervous. But I am interested in your story. How did you end up here of all the places?"
Liam shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea."
The chubby elf laughed again. Without saying anything else, he took out a pill from his possession and tossed it to Liam. "Eat this. Your life force will recover to a certain extent."
Liam nodded and immediately ate the pill without questioning anything or even hesitating.
The pill felt cool as it slipped down his throat, and almost instantly, a pleasant chill spread throughout his body.
He could feel the life force within him stirring, as though awakened by a sudden rush of energy. He watched his gnarled hands regain some of their former vitality, the veins receding and the skin tightening to a more youthful state.
Liam looked up at Eldrin with a touch of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected the elf to hand him something so potent. In his experience, beings as powerful as Eldrin seldom did anything without expecting something in return.
"Thank you," he said, sincerity coloring his words.
Eldrin simply waved his hand dismissively, a smirk playing on his lips. "You don't need to thank me. Just do your job and don't drag me down."
Liam nodded with a respectful expression as if he was following a teacher. So far everything was going according to his plan. He wanted to cultivate an image of weakness with the elf and he tried to use his actions to best depict that.
The pill had been a gamble but if the elf wanted to hurt him, he would have already done so.
Now, all Liam had to do was gather more information about this S-Ranked herb without arousing any suspicions from the elf. He also needed to find out more information about these so-called blood essence and sword essence.
And this was easier to do if the elf considered Liam to be harmless.
As such, Liam decided to maintain the persona of a weak, uninformed human, keen on survival but seemingly lacking the knowledge or the means to improve his situation.
A weakling, a non-threat, a pawn - that's what he needed to be. At least, for the time being. The elf was a cunning one. Underestimating him was not going to end well.
Stepping out of the mountain, the two of them continued to journey. Liam's stats had somewhat recovered after the pill, but he was still a lot slower than the elf who did not seem to be minding this.
As such they were not really racing in these mountains. They were searching for valuable items.
Liam used this opportunity to subtly probe Eldrin for information. "Are there many more of these soul blood beasts in this realm?"
"Most likely," Eldrin replied without even looking at him. "This place is teeming with all sorts of nasty creatures. But the soul blood beasts are by far the most dangerous. One wrong step and it's game over."
"And these creatures... they all have some kind of essence?"
"All living beings possess essence, human," Eldrin explained, his tone indicating that he found the question rather obvious. "It's the very life force that defines them. But not all essence is created equal. Some are far more potent, far more valuable than others."
"I see," Liam said, pretending to absorb the information. "And the sword essence... what exactly is that?"
Eldrin glanced at him for a moment before responding.
"It's a form of essence, but rather than being inherent to a creature, it is bound to an object. In this case, the sword. It's the very essence that gives the sword its power, its uniqueness. But not just any sword can obtain its own essence."
"And the blood essence?" Liam continued, not daring to linger too long on a topic, lest the elf grew suspicious of his line of questioning.
"Arghhh. You are boring me. Didn't I already explain it to you? This world was destroyed in a powerful battle that took place between behemoths that you cannot begin to comprehend."
"The blood essence, the sword essence, or any other essence we could potentially come across is their lingering remnants. That's what makes this mystic realm so special."
Eldrin glanced at Liam, seemingly amused by his apparent ignorance. "Over the course of time, these essences have weakened, to the point where they can be utilized by us - provided you have the knowledge and the skill."
"And the soul blood beasts?" Liam further probed.
"Yup. These beasts are beings born from this lingering essence." The elf chuckled. Liam once again opened his mouth but before that the elf interrupted him.
"I think it's my turn now to ask the questions, human."
Appearing somewhat nervous, Liam responded, "Of course. What would you like to know?"
Eldrin paused for a moment, scrutinizing Liam. "Tell me. What's your story?"
Liam knew this was going to come, but it would not bode well for him to lie. He needed to reveal the truth partially. Otherwise, he might end up dead sooner or later.
"Like I said. I am absolutely clueless. My world is undergoing its evolution and I suddenly found myself here."
"Hmmm?" The elf's gaze turned cold. "You don't respect my goodwill? That is a blatant disrespect in our culture."
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