After three weeks, everything was going smoothly. The espionage unit managed to gather maps and other intel. They've managed to get into the capital city and are conducting more research, specifically on the politics of the Empire. I had to retrieve them after they needed a recharge, but they were sent back out within two days as soon as they were full.

Whilst back at base, we now have seeds for all sorts of crops. But until they grow, we are currently relying on the espionage unit who are buying bulks of vegetables by trading small bits of gold I gave to them or the money made selling some of our bounties from the forest. We also started to stockpile other processed materials that we could not make ourselves.

The hunting has also been going smoothly; the hunters are teaching us knowledge of the forest. We produced bows and crossbows for them to use during hunting which are then returned afterwards.

The people who had abnormalities in their DNA were also part of the hunting group. They showed excellent skills with the bow and had an abundance of knowledge about the wild plants in the forest.

I decided it was finally time to chat with them, so I called them to the meeting room, which had been cleaned and redecorated. I realised that they were a group of nine people who all looked remarkably beautiful, and there was the girl who still gave me a death stare.

"Excuse me, thank you, everyone, for coming here. I would like to have a chat with all of you." I said as I showed them the several sofas that had been put out. I wonder where they came from?

Ayumi pours each of them a cup of tea made from the leaves brought in by the hunting group.

"Now, you must be wondering why I summoned you all here, and I think you might already have a rough idea."

"Indeed, what gave us away?" the oldest man in the group spoke up if I recalled correctly; his name was Elrand.

"When we took your blood samples, we found a difference in the nine of you."

They looked at each other in disbelief as I showed them an image of one of their samples and another human.

"We found the same extra element inside the several monster parts, like the minotaur's horns, but we have no idea what it is. Mind telling us?"

Each of their faces looked a bit tense except for Elrand, who remained calm.

"That's mana; I'm surprised you have never heard of it before," Elrand says as he suddenly stands up, which makes Ayumi draw her pistol, and everyone else stands up, all alarmed.

"Stop! Ayumi, put it back!" I immediately shouted. I could tell that he wasn't going to do anything bad, and I am pretty sure I didn't stop Ayumi; she would have fired. "Everyone, calm down. Now, what were you going to show me?"

"My apologies for my sudden movements. What I wanted to demonstrate was this,"

Elrand's hand began to glow a light green colour, and I felt a gentle breeze brush past my face.

"Magic?" I blurted out.

"That's right, that thing you showed us in our blood is called mana, which is what allows us elves to use magic."

"Magic, wait, elves?!"

I was surprised, and also not. I expected there to be elves in this world. But to meet one so soon- wait, I looked at their ears, but they were shaped like humans.

They noticed my stares, and all began to laugh, except the girl who was still giving me the death stares. To be honest, she looked rather cute, but that wasn't the point.

One by one, their ears began to glow and morph into, as I know it, the pointy elf ears. It was no wonder that they were good with the bow and knowledgeable about the forest. I felt the excitement swell up inside me, but I had to remain calm on the outside.

"Ahem, so why have you just revealed yourselves?" I asked, still trying to keep in the excitement inside.

"Humans hunt elves for slaves, so we hid our identities. But the spirits have congregated all around you. Normally they would be with people with strong magic, like elves. But they are also attracted to people with good nature."

"But what if I was someone evil, with strong magic?" I returned; if I think about it, what exactly are my powers? Magic was the only answer I could think of, but Elrand shook his head.

"I sense no magic power coming from you at all, and even most humans I've met so far have at least a tiny amount of magic flowing."

"Wait, does that mean I can't use magic?!"

"No, you can't." was the reply.

I was slightly disappointed, but then again, I have guns and overpowered soldiers.

"Well, thanks for letting me know. You are free t-" my words were cut off by a sudden report from Ayumi.

"Supreme Commander, our spies, has alerted us that the Empire is assembling their army; we are unsure exactly what they are preparing for, but our location has not been revealed yet."

The elves, sensing the message's urgency, quietly excused themselves and left.

"We need more information, have them focus on finding the reason for the mobilisation of their army."

"Understood,"

"We might need to prepare for a fight; how much supplies do we have?"

"Our armoury needs some extra ammunition and some weapons in for reserve. In terms of food, we might have slightly underestimated the capabilities of our hunting group since our large freezers are completely full, and we have enough MREs for months."

"Oh really? I think we might be overhunting, we will temporarily suspend all hunting activities, so it's the perfect time for the forest wildlife to regrow."

"Should we alert the people?"

"Not yet; once we know more details, we'll let them know."

"Understood, please excuse me. I will pass on the orders."