SAVIOUR

Nid's mind felt hazy, clouded by thick fog of confusion. Unable to grasp any sense in the cold, dark void he's subjected in. This blackened environment looked foreign, yet had a familiar feel. His consciousness drifted in this cloud of confusion, with hardly any recollection of the events that transpired.

"Where. . . am I?"

"Master, Progress Report." A feminine voice told him.

"Who. .

. Ah. . The assistant? Mmm. . . This must be . . meditation mode. . . Sigh. . . Again. . . What happened? . . Very well, proceed." looking around in the dark, trying to make out his surroundings. Waves of tiredness trying to lure him to slumber.

"Affirm..tive.

..ew Spells unlock..d

Affin..ty: Fire

..pell Na..e: Fire..all and ..ire Clo..k

New Abil..ty: F..ame Resist..ce

Gain Add… Mana.. Vital.., Ov..r..l Stat..tics imp..ved.

"

Nid, drifted to inattention and nodded to sleep. "hmm. . .yup. . .Eh? .Huh??! Uh.. Ww..what was that?"

". . ." Silence permeated the air.

"Uhh. . He . . Hello? Anybody Yawn... home?" Trying to keep himself awake and find an answer from his assistant.

The quiet persisted, further compounding the fact that no answer would come.

"Ugh, typical… what's next?"

Faint light pierced through the cloud, like a torch in a foggy night. His consciousness gravitated to the light, like a moth to a flame. He reached into it, as if trying to obtain the light and all its radiance.

Once he touched it, something took shape. Nid focused, trying to prevent his stuporous self from losing awareness. He squinted his minds eyes, peering into the shaped that formed.

"Looks like . . . writings?" He asked himself, trying to make out what has appeared.

The symbols eventually took shape, as the fog lifted bit by bit.

Nid read the writings. "

New Spells unlocked

Affinity: Fire

Spell Name: Fireballl and Fire Cloak

New Ability; Flame Resistance

Gain Additional Magic Capacity, Vitality, Overall Statistics improved." Not fully comprehending what he read, the elf took another look at the message.

"Why am I so. . ." he took a deep breath, forcing himself to refocus. " so tired and sleepy."

Giving the information another read Nid finally understood it, "Fire magic? Ssss..since when? When did I . . . fire spells? Really?" Nid stuttered, not fully understanding what's really happening.

"How the heck was I able to unlock this. I don't remember studying fire magic. Maybe the assistant knows something?" Nid asked the assistant, and was met with another bout of silence.

"Still no answer, tsk. What's wrong with me… Maybe it's from watching Santelmo cast his spells." Something clicked in Nid's mind. "Spells, Santelmo . . . I feel like I'm forgetting something."

Nid racked his mind, making his head throb. As he tried to remember something he felt is urgent.Just then he heard sounds, listening closely, it sounded like muffled voices. It was followed by cold sharp sensations and a reddish hue behind the the continuously receding fog. The voices lingered, becoming stronger as time passes though he can't make out what they are saying.

"Mmm..t..r.. w..e ..p. Mmm..t..r.. w..e ..p. w..e ..p. Mmm..t..r.." the muffled voices boomed.

Around Nid, everything was starting to disintegrate. The fog dissipated, the light from the point he selected went dark. His surroundings little by little was cracking and falling until there was none.

Nid slowly opened his eyes, blinking several times as he tried to picture out what was happening.

"Master wake up! Master wake up! Wake up master!" A familiar voice thundered in his ears.

He saw Santelmo, floating on top of him in a state of panic.

"Shut up will you. . Your noise is making my ears ring. . " Nid croaked in a low voice, his throat dry and parched. He pushed himself up, struggling as his body was unbelievably heavy.

"Master!!" Santelmo jumped in joy rushing closer to his the dark elf.

"I told you. . keep your voice down.. " Nid pinched his temple, trying to ease his headache.

"I'm sorry master! I'm just really glad that we're alive!" Sob! Sniff! Sob! Sob!

"Are you crying?" Nid asked genuinely, while he rubbed his eyes trying to clear his eyesight.

"You're so cruel master! Is it wrong to cry out of happiness for I still have a chance to serve you?" Sob! Sniff! Sob! Sob!

"No it's not, it's just that, you know. You don't have tears, so I thought maybe you were just being sarcastic or something? Ha-ha?" Nid awkwardly laughed, feeling like he just trampled over his summons feelings.

"I was never good at reading emotions even in my previous world. Sigh!" He murmured to himself.

The fire elemental picked himself up and collected his composure. "Sniff! It's alright master, seeing as you still don't know a lot about a fire elemental."

"Thanks!" accompanied by Nid's awkward smile. His gaze shifted a bit to the side noticing another figure behind the fire elemental. The person behind her radiated with fairness and beauty. She sat with regality, wearing a smile she emitted confidence and kindness.

Remembering where he felt a presence like this. he thought, "Andra…No. No. Andrasyl can't come out of Gar'osi Forest."Nid took another peek at the smiling woman. "She's beautiful..." Nid was mesmerized, his eyes had stopped blinking carefully observing the woman in front of her.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" the woman said with a smile.

"Ah! No! No! You're perfect! I mean, nothing's wrong with your face. . . I'm sorry." Nid shifted his gaze downward, his face red with shame. "I didn't mean to stare. I was just. . um. I thought you were. ." shifting his gaze to the sky, while having shaky voice and fidgety hands.

"Are you okay? You look a bit red? A fever maybe?" the beautiful female stood up and walked towards Nid. She looked at him and used her hand to feel his temperature. "You're a bit hot, I guess you pushed yourself really hard last night."

Nid became even redder, scrambling to move away from the woman. Falling over the rock where he was laying on, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Scratching his head which slammed on the stony floor.

'Hehe' the woman let out a chuckle and said, "You're one funny elf. It is what you are right?"

Hearing the woman chuckle, Nid stopped his commotion and looked at the beauty in front of her. She seemed young, "probably as young as I am." he thought.

"Ah, yeah. I'm an elf, a dark elf to be exact." Nid answered.

"I see." She reached out once more, and touched his ears. "Pretty soft, like a bunny."

"Hah-a. ." Nid laughed awkwardly, with his face all red yet again. "If you don't mind me asking, how did we end up here?"

"Can't you remember last night?"

Nid's imagination turned wild and naughty, "A guy and a girl? Last night?! Did we do something?! Did I do something to you?!" his mind wandered to the edges of his universe.

"You are a funny guy! Hehehe. You had a battle last night remember? Congratulations on taking down a Wakwak." the woman said, with a smile still lingering in her face.

"Last night? Battle?" Upon hearing the word battle, a spark hit his brain. His mind flooded with the memories of the battle, as well as glimpses of their the one's saving them.

"Don't you remember master?"

"No, I remember now." Nid prostrated himself, Santelmo upon seeing his master also bowed beside him. "Thank you for saving us! Uh. . "

"Alper Hasn Reidnos, that is my name. Please stand, no need for such an action." still smiling at the dark elf, radiating warmth and gentleness.

"Then thank you mistress Alper Hasn Rei..." Nid's voice trailed away, his face flushed with shame having forgotten the name of their saviour.

'Chuckle' "Alper Hasn Reidnos, just call me Alper, my whole name can be a mouthful."

"Ah, yes forgive me mistress Alper. Thank you for saving me and my summon here. He is. . "

"Santelmo, right?" She cut in with a smile. "Don't worry about such a small matter. Have a seat Niadra Veste. I've already talked with your summon and have heard a great deal about you."

Nid seemed stunned at the mention of his name, but eased up upon being told that his summon was the reason. "So. . that's how she knows my name. Wait! Wait a minute! What did you tell her?!" He said to himself as he turned his gaze towards his fire elemental, which was wagging his tail-like flame.

"I have lots of questions, for you Niadra Veste."

"Please just call me Nid."

"Alright, Nid I've already asked your summon but I wish to ask you myself. Where did you come from?" The aura of kindness and grace that surrounded Alper seemed to have shifted a bit. Now mixed with hints of danger, as if hinting that a mistake could turn things sour in an instant.

"I guess the safest route is to not lie at all. It's not like I have a reason to lie anyway." Nid thought to himself. "I don't know what my fire elemental has told you but, I'm from Gar'osi forest. I've lived there my whole life, well my life in this world at least."

Alper seemed interested as she asked, "So why have you come here?"

"Well, I don't know if Santelmo already told you but I am not originally from this world." Nid explained everything from the voice that showed him this world, to his family and childhood on the forest and his wish to explore this world.

"I see." Alper looked like she was in deep thought, with furrowed brows.

"Man, she's really beautiful. Even when she's just doing nothing but thinking." Nid thought as his eyes studied Alpers face, as if to memorize all the details. He felt a deep appreciation of her beauty, "she looks like a maiden from heaven." as Nid put it.

Alper's face eased up and turned towards the elf and the fire elemental with a smile. "I guess you're telling the truth. Let me accompany you in this jungle, I can help keep you safe."

"I would never lie to you lady Alper." Nid exclaimed his conviction drawn on his face.

'Chuckle' "Thank you Nid!" the dark elf's eyes widened at the beauty of Alper's smile.

"I'm in heaven!" he thanked the heavens silently, almost tearing up at the gift of her presence.

"Be warned though, the path that you want to take is very dangerous and might only lead you to death. You might find that this world is not as fun as you thought." Alper warned Nid. "But before anything else, please stand up. I can't speak with you properly if you're kneeling to me like that."

"Thanks mistress." Nid stood up after thanking the woman, only to lose his balance and land on his knee. "Huh? Something's wrong with my body today? I think I'm light headed." he sat down, pondering what was wrong with him.

Alper had an insight as to what was causing this, "It might be because I used [Healing Chamber] on you, it has a sedative effect to help the body rest. Sorry, I did not confer with you in the matter."

"Ah! No! It's fine mistress, I wasn't really in the decision making state anyways. In fact, I'm really grateful to you for even sparing us your effort." Nid frantically justified.

"That may also be the reason why my meditation was a bit weird. Gotta remember this." he told himself.

Without warning, Santelmo swiftly activated [Fire Cloak] and shielded his master. Upon seeing this, Nid focused his senses. Determined to find the any enemies that might jump on them.

"At ease you two." Alper said, as the bushes near them rustled. A furry tail came out, fluffy and white, not to mention large. What followed was a large body of a wolf-like creature, dragging a wild boar the size of a small car. Soon two more wolf-like creature popped out of the bush, biting the other end of their catch. The three furry creatures carried their prey and dropped it near Alper, wagging their tail.

"Good job girls!" Alper complemented the three Kimats.

"Are they your pets?" Nid asked, ready to launch a spell if any need arises.

"Pets? Hmm. More like my babies." Scratching the fur of the three. Sensing the tense air around her two visitors she smiled and said, "They're the first ones to come to your rescue."

"I see, so that's why they seem familiar. Haha. Are they wolves?" Asked the dark elf.

"Wolves? I don't know about wolves but these ladies are called Kimats, noble hounds of gods."

"Do wolves not exist in this world? I remember asking Andrasyl about wolves when I first came and she seemed as confused as Alper." Nid thought to himself, then shifted to a detail that he found interesting "hounds of gods huh? gods... The people who raised me did tell me that gods exist in this world, and that they live among the mortals. Does that mean you're a god mistress?"

A faint yet noticeable change in her composure cropped up. The smile she constantly wore, was still there but now felt a bit menacing. "No, I am not a god nor would I want to be one." she said calmly, yet felt cold as if he was held at knife-point by an enemy. "I know you're not from this world and you might want to meet one of these beings, but I advise you not to for your own sake." she added.

The place went silent, neither Nid nor Santelmo wanted to speak. They did not want to cause any trouble to their savior. Alper, who was now done petting Kimats, went and grabbed a dagger performed a short chant and proceeded to dissect their catch. Separating the meat and other parts of the animal, and placing them in large leaves which served as their container.

Turning her back on the duo, Alper broke the silence. "I'm going to go for a walk." She stepped towards the bush leading to the dense jungle followed by her Kimats, disappearing as they melded with the greenery.

"Maybe I wash too harsh?" she thought, taking a glance at the two then continued her walk ignoring her sentiment.

Nid and Santelmo were left on their own again, both looking down, brooding and gloomy. "Man I must have touched on a topic I shouldn't have." the elf said to his summon, feeling guilty for upsetting their host and saviour. Santelmo looked at his slumped over master, feeling the guilt and sadness was eating away at him.

Deciding to do something about the dark elf's self pity, he answered "Yeah, that was your bad master. You should be mindful of your words."

'Sigh!' Nid let out a heavy sigh upon hearing what Santelmo said. "How was I supposed to know which subject was a taboo? It's not like I knew her before, she didn't tell me. If it wasn't clear enough we just met." Santelmo just looked at his master, smiling.

"She's still pissed though?" The summon rubbed in even further.

Nid grabbed the sides of his head,"I know! WAAAAAAAH!!!" the loud shout made some birds hidden in the trees fly away.

"Wufufufufu! Fufufufufu!" Santelmo bursted out laughing. Nid saw this and started laughing himself. "How are you feeling now master?" the elemental asked.

"A bit better but I'm tired, I think I'm gonna lay out for a while." Nid sprawled his body on the rocky floor and started sky gazing. He raised one of his hand, the one with Santelmo's heart and studied it. "You really gave me your heart huh? This ring is quite marvelous."

"Thanks master, we almost died didn't we?" Santelmo floated close to Nid.

"I guess we did. Haha. Hey did you know I've already learned a few fire magic and new ability?" He excitedly shared with the fire elemental. "I guess all the time that you used your fire magic, I sort of figured out how to cast it. Haha."

All excited, Santelmo sprang in front of his master with his tail-like flame flickering from side to side. "I've been trying to tell you about it master! My heart will give you access to whatever spell I've learned."

"Really? So that means if you master more spells, i can learn them too? That's incredible Santelmo! You should've told me sooner. Hahaha." he looked closer at the ring, eyes filled with excitement.

"I've been trying to tell you but a lot has been happening so fast that I wasn't able to." The fire elementals excitement suddenly died down, his flame-tail now down. "Also, if you remove my ring you'll lose the ability to cast fire magic unless mastered. It will take time for the magic to be mastered by the wearer." After saying that Santelmo was flying so low, he seemed slump down on the ground. "Lastly, remember that most fire elementals are born with fire mastery? Well, like I said, I was the exception, being born with two meager spells and my racial ability [Flame Immunity]. It's all I have, I don't even know if I can get stronger because no one has been born like me." 'Sigh' "I'm sorry master, I'm being so useless."

Nid sat down, and looked at his summon with a smile. "You're being so dramatic again. Don't worry you'll get stronger, besides being able to use fire magic on the fly on itself is already super awesome! In time I get to master it too, you're totally not being useless at all. Hahaha. Cheer up." The dark elf looked closer on the fire elemental, squinting his eyes. "Hey, I've been wondering how come you're not hot. I mean, we've walked all over trees and stuff and yet you don't seem to burn anything."

Hearing his master's words made him feel better, "Oh, that! It's because I can cancel the flame in the fire cloak spell, by consuming the flames itself. The outer layer of the spell fiery right? The reason you don't get burned is because the inner layer is a barrier of sorts. This consumes a lot of mana but at least it keeps me from burning everything."

"I see. That's really considerate of you not to mention smart. You know what? We can ask Alper if she can mentor us, I mean she's really strong."

"Is getting stronger really the only thing that you want from her?" Santelmo said looking at Nid with squinty eyes and wearing a mischievous smile.

"Hey! What do you mean by that?" discomfort written across his face.

"Oh, come one master. It 's not like I wasn't around when you two talked. The moment you saw her your eyes glistened and you ignored my existence. Fufufu."

"No, I did not!"

"By the way my heart can read your mind too. So I know what you feel about her." This time winking playfully at his master.

Nid removed the ring, "Oh yeah? Read me now."

"Maybe I should tell her? 'Oh! You're so beautiful, we should kiss! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!' " Santelmo mockingly imitated Nid's voice, pouting as if kissing the air while circling his dark elf master.

Nid's face was flushed, his grey skin tinted with a red hue. Irritatingly glaring at the fire elemental. " So what if I like her?" [Earth Bind]

Earth rose and tried to clamp on the summon, but was evaded quite easily. "Alright! Alright! I'll stop master. Fufufu. You're quite the open book, you can wear my heart too. Don't worry It can't be used to read minds. Fufufufu" the fire elemental kept laughing and soon both of them were laughing. Their laughter echoed through the woods, lifting the heavy atmosphere from earlier.

"Thank Santelmo, I feel a lot better now."

"You're welcome master!" he said with a bright smile, glad that he useful to the dark elf.