Luke was astonished by the growth of the Mana Seed in a single night. He didn’t know how tall it could go, but he was determined to find out. At this moment, he set as a goal to mature this magical tree as much as he could (though he really hoped that there were no giant at the top like with beanstalk). After the surprise passed, he inspected the plant from every angle without noticing anything missing or added. It was a normal tree in every way.

No matter how much he wanted to stay and either transfer more Mana or study this small miracle in more depth, the sudden departure of the Dark Elves was more pressing.

“The Dark Elves left the place where we saw them yesterday. It may be a trap, but I have to investigate.” He told Dahani. She had woke up due to all the noise he made while studying the tree.

“How come they left? That’s weird... Hey, there wasn’t a tree there yesterday, what did you do?” Although Dahani preferred to sleep under the stars, she has seen how comfortable the house could be. So she had found curious that Luke didn’t use the facilities. Now, her curiosity was picked again by the appearance of a tree out of nowhere. Looking closely, she noted that the tree was absorbing and radiating great amounts of Mana every second. This discovery alarmed her as only a few ancient trees could do something like that.

“Ehh, I just meditated about life and this tree appeared overnight. Come, I want to check the valley” Luke’s ridiculous excuse didn’t fool her, but there was nothing she could do if he didn’t want to explain. Besides, she also wished to know why they left.

Luke didn’t run toward the valley, but he didn’t take his time either. The time it took him to travel the five kilometers to the location would put a marathonist to shame. It was an unfair comparison though, because he had quite high stats and Agility was one of his top three attribute. The forest was mostly quiet at this hour, but some creatures could be seen from time to time. It was the part of the day where nightcrawlers had already hidden themselves and daylight lovers were just waking up. They arrived at the end of the forest and met with Steve. If he didn’t know better, Luke would suspect that his wolfin companion was the spawn of a mythical creature like Fenrir. Steve’s fur was now darker than black. It was so much so, that any shadow could help him to vanish instantly (Luke didn’t know if it was a consequence of natural camouflage or a skill). The eyes were now bright with a green flame, probably due to Luke’s race change while they maintained their bond. His body was bigger than the alpha, but with a more slender figure. There was not an ounce of extra muscle or fat in his body (seeing how slender Steve had become, Luke had a bad premonition, so she checked to be sure of his genre. He felt quite stupid for not having done that before. Fortunately, the modification on the wolf shape wasn’t because it was female, but to better hunt).

The last of them just left the valley. There has not been any other irregular thing besides the elves departure. Who is the female brother? Steve.

She is Dahani, a friendly guest until proved otherwise. She is a nature elf. The other elves tribes are hostile with her people, so she had no love for the dark ones. Do you have their scent?” Luke send. Steve’s oratory skills had been improving quickly each passing day, probably a consequence of Luke’s high Intelligence. They could now have normal conversations without the wolf having to stop to search the word he wanted to use.

No, they never came close to this side of the valley and even if I go to their settlement, the scent would be too faint to be trusted. But they seem to be prioritizing speed over stealth so I believe I am able to track them anyway. Steve answered brimming with confidence.

Good, Do you want to follow them? You would have to leave the forest for a few days and be alone. You know I can’t leave the forest unprotected. Luke told his companion. He had mixed feeling about his friend following the Nuaga. On one side, he felt a strong need to know why they left and where they were going, but on the other side, he didn’t want to expose Steve to danger. Especially so, if he wouldn’t be able to come to his help.

Steve nodded and left at a run. He had to reduce the distance between them before the tracks were erased by the passage of time. Luke saw him go, worried about the safety of his friend. He trusted Steve’s abilities, but this was a world with unknown dangers. Abandoning the forest at this point equaled to having Damocles’ sword above our head.

“Do you have any idea why would they go away so suddenly? I don’t believe my appearance yesterday could have scared them away.” Luke asked Dahani.

“No, but I can guess it has something to do with how dense the Mana is around here. Last time, I felt the lack of Mana down there, but today I feel the forest is starting to remedy that circumstances. If that’s the case, it’s logical for them to leave. After all, Dark Elves are known to become sick if the Mana density increase a little from average. The less Mana there is in their environment, the more they thrive.” She told Luke. And she was right. He hadn’t paid attention to that detail because he had became used to it, but it seemed that the damage done to the valley by the goblin magic through the Mana Seed had been healing slowly. He had seen the telltale signs like when grass started to grow, but now it was evident that Mana was returning to this place and in great quantities.

“Then, an awakened forest is one of the worst places to live for them? Good to know. Let’s go, I want to see the things the left behind.” Luke told Dahani. The objects they didn’t take would say a lot about the situation. For example, if there is food on the table they probably left in a hurry or if they took everything, it was a planned departure. They easily descended the cliff and went toward the buildings in the center. There was nothing out of place, however. It looked like it was a calm and well-planned exodus. As they didn’t found anything noteworthy, they went back to the forest (Luke treewalked to the treeline, and then threw some vines to facilitate Dahani ascense).

Luke was still distracted by Steve’s departure so he didn’t notice the sylph at first. It wasn’t until Dahani arrived next to him that he reacted to the spirit presence. There had been Goblins spotted close to the border.

“Fancy taking care of some gre runts? Luke asked the nature elfess with a smirk.

“Sure, I was feeling my muscles becoming weaker by the lack of exercise. I think that is just what I need” Dahani said, obviously realizing that his true objective was to stop thinking of his friend.