The forest

"Fuck, my head hurts," muttered Gray as he opened his eyes.

Every fiber of his being hurt, it was as if someone had stuck a needle through every inch of his skin.

'Ahh, I remember now. Those specters took over,' recalled Gray as he stood up, dusting the sand off his suit.

'But still, it looks like I had some fun.'

Nearly a hundred dead elves lay sprawled across the ground, their skin pale and dry due to loss of blood.

"Wake up," said Gray, kicking at the unconscious Tesse's body.

"M-Master," she replied, her voice weak as she opened her eyes.

After confirming that it was indeed her master she shot up, hugging Gray with all her strength.

"Your excitement is quite troublesome," commented Gray coldly, before pushing her back.

"F-Forgive me, master," she said, kneeling down.

"And I'm guessing you were too busy stuffing your face to care about us, weren't you," commented Gray, turning his attention to the black cub that ate away at one of the elven corpse's flesh.

"Anyway, let's get going before they come back. I'm not certain I can fight against that girl if she shows up again," said Gray, the last part more to himself than anyone else.

"I-I see," replied Tesse. It was kind of odd hearing her master admit such a thing.

"Master, what about the loot?" asked Tesse, as she plucked the cub off the elven corpse.

"Leave it. There's no time," replied Gray, before turning towards the woods.

The three of them began their march through the forest. Geographically speaking, this forest shouldn't have been here, so it was unfamiliar territory to both Gray and Tesse.

"Perhaps this way," murmured Gray under his breath.

Without a map, the only thing guiding him were signs of disturbance in the forest. Surely a large company of elves moving through the forest was bound to leave behind some evidence of their trail.

'There are no broken branches this way, so we should be safe,' thought Gray as he decided on which path to follow.

The two of them walked for hours on end, their sides aching from going so long without resting.

"Master, aren't you hungry?" asked Tesse, her breathing labored as sweat dripped down her face.

"There's no time to stop and worry about that right now. Who knows what kind of beasts roam these woods at night," he replied.

Artemis had taught Gray something important during their fight, that sometimes fighting wasn't fun. He had grown more cautious from their encounter, promising himself to always think first before jumping into fights.

After walking for a few more hours in silence, night came, and with it, strange howling sounds in the distance.

"Look," whispered Tesse, trails of smoke visible under the moonlight just a few miles from where they were.

"We'll approach it silently. Hold on to this and walk a few meters behind me, make sure you're not seen," ordered Gray as he created a crimson red『Barret M82』sniper rifle before handing it to Tesse.

Tesse nodded in affirmation before taking a few steps back, blending into the darkness.

The two snuck their way through the forest until eventually, a small town came into view.

"What the?" whispered Gray, the scene in front of him was truly shocking.

Although it was big enough to be recognized as a small town, it seemed to have been transported right out of a medieval film.

Instead of roads, the pathways were made of cobblestone and the houses had a peculiar design, similar to cottages.

But what was most shocking about it, were the people that roamed the streets.

It was a mixture of elves, beastmen, and humans. However, humans seemed to be the minority at quick glance.

"I'll head in, stay hidden in the trees," whispered Gray before walking towards the street.

Although it was nighttime, a lot of people were still wandering about, most of them drunk.

"Hey darling, do you want'a good time?" asked a fox girl in a coquettish manner.

'I guess even other worlds have prostitutes,' thought Gray to himself as he continued looking around.

'That bitch, what did she just say to the master?' struggled Tesse, holding back the urge to kill the fox girl where she stood.

'No, the master isn't mine. I shouldn't be so selfish,' she thought, calming herself down.

Gray made sure to only explore within Tesse's field of vision. Opting not to feel too secure until he was certain that his being here wasn't weird.

"Oi look. A vampire," said a drunk elf as she stumbled her way towards Gray.

"What's a cutie like you doing in Glistern?" she asked, hiccuping as she leaned against Gray's shoulder.

She had ginger red hair, with high cheekbones, and long pointy ears common amongst elves. However, what was uncommon about her was her build.

Where elves were usually slender and slim, she had quite a bit of meat on her body. Particularly in her bust area- which she was now pressing against Gray- and her ass.

Although she wasn't a dark elf, her skin was slightly tanned- perhaps a sign that one of her parents was indeed a dark elf.

'Another one. It's like everyone in this fucking town is in heat,' thought Tesse, her breathing labored as she tried her best to not pull the trigger.

However, with such a girl pressing her bust against Gray, she was very close to losing it.

"Is it strange for a vampire to be here?" asked Gray, ignoring the sexual hints that the elven woman was throwing at him.

"No, it's just that this is such a backwater town that I never expected someone from such a proud race to be here," she replied, hiccuping in between words.

"Is that so," replied Gray in a thoughtful tone.

"So how about it big boy. Don't you wanna have fun?" she asked, her posture all over the place.

'She's clearly drunk,'

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[System Information]

Town of Glistern

A small town to the southeast of the city of elves.

Although small, it is still one of the major towns within the southern elven district, having an adventurers guild of its own.

The new elven queen deemed it as one of the towns allowed to have multiple races as its citizens.

For more information read the Elven Kingdom Atlas.

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