Elves were a rare sight in Aeria. The human-populated small town was featureless and insignificant enough for no tourists to take interest in visiting here (unless you really like magistone mines for some reason). Elves could be seen more often in either elf-populated cities or big cities where mostly all races of people lived in harmony. But time to time hunters or merchants of the elf blood visited Aeria for trading goods.

Maybe this girl was just that weird to ask a random passer-by in a forest to help her out, or maybe it was her way to bypass the awkwardness between the two. If it was the latter, her plan worked perfectly and she proved she was very cunning in social situations, which was perfect for her because she was a wandering trader by profession. From appearance she seemed slightly older than Eon. He wondered how she got permission for roaming around the continent in such an young age.

"Arachnid magic: Sticky Web!" Eon shot white strings from his palm which connected to multiple walnuts on the tree. He withdrew his arm towards his body as the fruits got yanked out of the branches and fell on the ground.

"Ah thanks! Those are some fine spells you've got under your possession. Farely exotic if I must say." The girl picked up the walnuts to stuff in the giant bag she carried.

"A compliment coming from a member of the race that specializes in the arcane arts? I'm flattered." Eon replied half mockingly.

"Well.." the elf girl sighed, "You can say I'm a disgrace. I don't have any magical affinity at all. But I still can marvel at the skill of others who do have the gift!" She smiled.

Eon kept quiet as he helped her pick the walnuts up. He figured the smart move would be to not ask her about the details.

"You're a fairly interesting guy. What's your name?"

"Isn't it rude to ask someone their name before introducing yourself?" Eon shot another group of strings to fetch some more walnuts.

"Ah where are my manners! I'm Myera, Myera Goldleaf from Grandor. Nice to meet you!"

"Oh you're from the capital?" Eon looked at the young elf girl, slightly surprised. "I'm Actaeon Bells, by the way. Call me Eon. Nice to meet you as well."

Myera was describing city life to the curious boy as she noticed some orange flowers peeking out of a nearby bush. "Are those.. orange sunblooms? Aren't they like super rare or something?"

She rushed towards the flower as the earth beneath her feet crushed down. She fell down with a screech. Eon hurried carefully to check if the elf girl was alright. "A pitfall trap in middle of the forest?" He thought to himself.

Before he could ask if she was okay inside that pitch black hole, a giant shadow leaped out of the hole, making Eon flinch and lose his balance. Eon looked behind him to find a King Scorpion holding Myera with its giant tail.

King Scorpions were around ten feet long, including the very long tail with a hook attached to it. The scars around its chitinous exoskeleton suggested it was no stranger to lethal battles. It seemed like it could easily carry the weight of a human or two and still perform the aerobatics it was famous for. The scorpion glared at Eon, trying to intimidate him away. Myera struggling hard to get out of the grip of its tail. "I'll get you out of there, don't worry!" Eon assured Myera.

"Eh no.. I'm no damsel in distress!" Myera replied, somewhat infuriated. "I can hold myself just fine. I'll show you!"

She reached a pocket in her bag and took out some glass tubes containing some sort of green liquid in them. She threw them on the Scorpion's cephalothorax as the liquid spilled on its head and smoke raised from the drenched parts.

The giant arachnid hissed in pain. It slammed the elf girl against a tree and tied her up with Sticky Web. The liquid appeared to be some sort of acid, which did little to the tough exoskeleton of the Scorpion. But it was startled enough to get furious and see her as a potential threat.

That created a perfect opening for Eon as he jumped out of a tree branch from high above and hit the scorpion with a Claws of Fury. The Scorpion deflected his assault with its tail. Eon didn't flinch, his other hand summoned a magic circle directed at the scorpion's head.

"Slime Magic: Ember!" Eon wished he had access to better fire spells. The embers of flame startled the Scorpion for long enough to let Eon get himself to a safer distance. He used Sticky Web to glue the scorpion to its position. He literally had no offensive spells that could penetrate the tough exoskeleton of the giant monster, unless of course if he could somehow cast that magic spell from earlier, which he still didn't figure how to cast.

"Eon! Grab my bag! It contains weapons!" Myera's voice reached Eon as he noticed the large bag on the ground. He used 'Whirlwind' spell to lift himself out of the Scorpion's reach and tried to land safely near the bag.

But he was so wrong..

The Scorpion pointed the tail at him, and the hook on the tip of the tail ejected like a projectile, reaching the afloat Eon in a blinding speed. Eon casted a Quick Shield spell to deflect the hook, but the shield failed him and the hook penetrated through. The shield successfully reduced the momentum of the projectile hook considerably enough to be able to hold the hook by simply casting a Claws of Fury. He was figuring out the usage of this spell wasn't entirely dedicated to offense.

He held the hook in one hand and slowly continued to float towards the bag, expecting no further interruptions from the giant Scorpion.

It just wasn't his day..

He felt a tug around the hook. He realized a little too late what he was dealing with. The hook was attached to the tail with an attraction force, acting like a magical string. He tried to let go of the hook before realizing the Scorpion had covered the hook with some Sticky Web. The next moment he was being pulled towards the Scorpion in high speed and the giant claws of the Scorpion started to glow, preparing the finishing blow.

Eon really didn't want to find out the scorpion's finishing move. He bombarded the hook with a couple of Claws of Fury and shattered it into pieces, landing on his feet at a considerable distance. The Scorpion panicked at the sight of its hook getting destroyed. It thrust its glowing claws on the ground instead to create a giant crater and free itself from the Sticky Web. The Scorpion decided the bag was of great importance, and realizing it had no hope of winning the battle, hurriedly grabbed the bag and tried to flee into deeper woods.

"Monsters are well aware of their own spells and abilities and mostly are resistant to it. But when these spells are used by a different species than their own, that acts as an element of surprise against them and can be used against them if timed right."

"You aren't getting anywhere!" Eon held his right arm forward while left arm holding it as an extra support. "Arachnid magic: Grappling Hook!" His hand detached from his wrists and shot forward like a projectile, grabbing the scorpion by its tail, giving it a taste of its own medicine. He normally wouldn't be able to hold the tail for too long, let alone keeping the Scorpion in its place. But apparently the spell granted his hand the strength of a King Scorpion as well. He increased the attraction force to make himself launch towards the Scorpion as his arm started to retract, closing the gap between the two very fast. It gave the Scorpion enough time to charge its glowing claws and strike at the incoming Eon in a full force.

Eon's reflexes allowed it to cast a Quick Shield to lessen the impact. But he still was hit heavily enough to fly out in an incredible speed and collide with the ground. Just then he saw a blinding fast Myera hop on the Scorpion, throw a smoke ball on it, blinding it in the process. He saw Myera gracefully snag the bag from the giant arachnid, take out a sword and effortlessly cut the said Scorpion in half.

"What.. the hell.."

"Told you I'm no damsel in distress." She smiled smugly at Eon as he laid on the ground.

After a couple of hour of tearing the corpse of the King Scorpion apart, the two started to split the loot. "The hook was the most valuable part. Its a shame it got destroyed so bad." Myera looked slightly disappointed.

"You can keep the entire body! I don't even want a share of this!" Eon protested.

"But you saved my life!" Myera sounded grateful. "You deserve a share!"

Apparently the shattered pieces of the hook scattered everywhere, one of the sharp pieces coming to Myera's reach. She freed herself from the Sticky Web with that and thus considers that as Eon saving her life.

"But still it would be fairly odd for me to show up with a giant monster's body parts out of nowhere." Eon explained. "I might be able to manage selling it but it would bring a lot of attention on myself."

"Even if you tell them a random wandering trader helped you kill it?"

"You do have a point.. it was actually you who killed it.. but I still have a bad feeling about this. You can keep the entire thing."

Myera didn't ask him anything after that and focused on extracting the loot, probably realizing there was other reasons Eon didn't want a share. Eon on the other hand was relieved that he wouldn't have to answer to his parents about his deeds in the forest. Plus, another reason for getting useless attention on him from his classmates was the last thing he wanted right now.

"You never questioned me how I could roam anywhere I wanted without anyone stopping me despite of me only being sixteen." Myera asked curiously.

"The question did come to my mind but a lady got her ways around I guess?"

"That's true but the lady is willing to share her secrets with you." The elf girl laughed. She reached her bag and took out a shiny looking card. "This is a Travel Card issued by the merchant guild specifically for young merchants so they can roam the lands without constantly being stopped and questioned." Her bright green elven eyes gleamed with excitement. "I like you kid. I'm sure you can make good use of this card, so I want you to hold onto it."

Eon gasped. He was not expecting a gift like this. "I.. don't think I deserve anything like that.." he replied as he thoroughly examined the card.

"Consider it as our parting gift as well as a gift for saving my life." Myera glanced at her pocket watch. "It's time. I hope we'll meet again in future!" She waved as she hurried off.

Eon stared at the horizon as the dark haired elf girl soon disappeared into the sunset in her own adventure.