"...thank you"

after thanking Mars she quickly turned away and ran into the log cabin, shutting the door after her with a slam leaving Mars and the other elvers slightly stunned, the first to recover was Isabel that had a warm expression on her face as she turned to Mars and gave a bow

"thank you for healing Chloe"

this became a signal to the other 2 elvers that also quickly gave a bow to Mars and also gave their thanks in a loud voice

""thank you for healing Chloe!""

Mars woke up from his daze and shook his head clearing it of the soft body and nice smell that lingered in his senses before he replied still somewhat in a daze

"...please don't mind it, it was the least i could do"

after hearing Mars the elvers showed happy smiles as Mars finally managed to pull himself together and quickly remembered something

"Isabel would you mind checking on her, while my skill have healed her she is likely still a little low on blood"

"okay"

Isabel became a little concerned and quickly followed after Chloe into the cabin while Rex walked up to Mars and slapped Mars on the back while he laughed loudly while he praised him

"HAHA! in all my years this is the first time i have seen such a healing spell well done Mars!"

Alvin also gave a approving nod from the sideline as he clearly agreed on what Rex was saying, but Mars quickly purred cold water on their excitement as he asked Alvin

"what happened in the forest?"

Rex sensed Mars's mode and stopped slapping his back and also put on a serious face as he also looked at Alvin

"it was a group of stealth acid spiders... if not for Victoria spotting them and warning us we would have all likely have turned into spider food"

Mars gave a nod and stroked Victoria that still lay beside him purring slightly, before he asked Alvin

"how many of them were there?"

Alvin gave a sigh and sat down on a stump before he continued talking with a clearly exhausted tone

"...i don't know, we just followed Victoria's instruction and ran when she told us, that's when Chloe got hit... if not for her fast reaction burning the wound she might have lost her entire leg or even her life..."

Mars saw how exhausted Alvin was and didn't press him further instead he asked Victoria while he stroked her smooth fur

"Victoria how many spiders did you kill?"

Victoria still laid curled up in a ball lightly purring with her eyes closed seeming like she was asleep but her horns still flashed as she answered Mars

"i don't... know... about... 8?"

Mars gave a nod and thought for a moment before he looked over at Rex and asked him

"Rex do you know where the spider nest is?"

Rex gave a quick nod

"sure i do, it's about 8 kilometers from here"

Mars's eyes sharpened as he while he Victoria's head he asked Rex

"then do you mind taking a quick walk with me?"

Rex's eye sharpened and looked at Mars before he gave a wide slightly ferocious smile as he stood up

"sure, i could use a little walk anyways"

Alvin saw what they where doing and suddenly got a headache, at one hand he wanted to kill those anointing spiders too, and at the other the elders had forbidden clearing this nest in the name of strengthening the barrier forest against outsiders, Mars having heard the story about the nest once before knew what Alvin was thinking and spoke up as he made eye contact with Rex

"it's just a walk, but if we get attacked by something then..."

Rex's smile widen even more as he also gave a feigned sigh before he spoke again with in a very sarcastic tone

"yeah as Mars says, then we won't have a choice in the matter if we are attacked first"

Mars's smile also widened as he covered half his face with his hand and spoke loudly in a sad voice

"yeah i would rather not hurt any wildlife in this forest, but if it's self defense..."

Alvin speechlessly looked at the two of them and wondered when they had gotten so close as he gave a sigh

"...fine, go on your 'walk' i won't say anything to the elders"

only when Alvin turned and walked towards the cabin did Mars remove the hand from his face, and gave Rex a wide smile as both of them quickly prepared for the 'walk', then Mars remembered that there might be more spider groups out there and called out to Victoria that was still curled up

"Victoria do you mind looking after the other while me and Rex go out to play for a bit?"

Victoria raised her head and gave Mars a cold look before she stood up and stretched as her horns flashed

"you... better be.... back soon"

then she turned around and also walked towards the cabin leaving Mars and Rex alone

"...then let's go"

Mars was a little sad seeing Victoria sulking but he put it in the back of his mind, as this was not the first time they had been attacked by the stealth acid spiders and he was getting rather annoyed by them he had now decided to end them once for all, Rex had quickly prepared and gave Mars a pat on the shoulder

"if we are fast we might make it there just before sunset, then we might be able to make it back just before midnight"

Mars gave a nod and secured his leather belt on his new shorts and sheathed his bone sword before he followed Rex into the forest, as he decided to cheek his status before the upcoming fight

"status"

Name: Mars

Age: 0 (vessel 5220)

Race: Half-dragon human

t.i.tles: [Living G.o.d of energy] [Conquer of Salen] [Tyrant King] [5000 year prisoner] [Man that fell from the sky] [Contracted]

Cla.s.s: [Energy]

Cla.s.s level: 19 (up)

Status points:

Strength [41/1000] (up) Const.i.tution [44/2000] Dexterity [38/1500] (up)

Intelligence [39/600] (up) Wisdom [37/900] Charisma [28/50]

Active skills: [Dragon-flame magic lv 5] [Swordsmans.h.i.+p lv 4] [Shadow magic lv 2]

Cla.s.s skills: [Energy: absorption] [Energy storage: 856/1900] [Energy: discharge]

[Energy: upgrade shop] [Energy: information] [Energy: restoration] [Energy: healing] [Energy: absorb s.h.i.+eld] [Energy: reactive s.h.i.+eld] [Energy: basic reinforced storage]

Pa.s.sive skills: [Fire resist lv 15] [Commanding lv 3] [Mental reinforcement lv 5] [Pain resist lv 5]

Mars confirmed his level witch he had raised by hunting magic beast and sitting on a fire over the last 2 mouths and gave a nod as he cheeked his stored energy

"...this should do for a spider hunt"

Mars followed after Rex that was leading the way through the forest in silence for a few kilometers until he broke the silence as he asked him a question

"how long have you known Chloe?"

Rex didn't answer him right away as he kept walking and cheeking the surroundings

"ever since she was born... 121 years ago"

Mars gave a nod as the 2 of them kept walking in silence for a little more time before he asked another question

"her standing is higher than the rest of you right?"

Rex remand silent as he walked through the forest as Mars continued talking

"i mean you told her to run away when we first met"

Rex gave a sigh but still kept his mouth shut while Mars talked on

"she also don't seem used to sleeping outside, and her combat experience seems like it's lacking in comparison to the rest of you"

Rex finally decided to spill the beans and after a sigh he started talking

"she's the Village chiefs only daughter"

Mars stopped walking when he heard what Rex said as his head went to work

'the Mother town ma.s.sacre was tricked by the murder of the village chief's wife 80 years ago... that would have made Chloe 41 years old at the time, while i don't know how elvers mature judging by her current temperament, she might just have become of age...no wonder she hates humans so much'

Mars decided to remain silent as the two of them walked on through the forest until Rex raised his hand giving Mars a signal to be silent and come closer, Mars followed Rex's lead and walked up to him and looked in front

'...this is?'

first Mars didn't know what he was looking at, through the trees he saw a clearing with a lake in the middle, the lake was silent with some old trees that was uprooted laying in the water covered in moss, but then he spotted movement in the water as something invisible seemed to emerged from the lake and his ears picked up some familiar sounding 6 legged footsteps