Ethan stopped in front of the massive jungle. Looking up the trunks of the trees he could barely see the top of them, even when craning his neck. Vines as thick as his arms stretched between the trees and formed a complex net of vegetation high up in the air.

Before even considering his approach going forward he took a deep breath and rammed his staff into the ground. He stretched his sore body, a smile tugged on the corner of his mouth, while walking through the desert for weeks he complained the whole time how boring it was to just sit there and wait for something to happen.

The death of his allies was like a fresh wound that covered his entire body, even if his physical form was slowly getting back into shape his mental wounds would need more time to properly heal. The jungle gave him the perfect opportunity for that because now he could finally do something productive again that would distract himself from his thoughts.

He was certain that there was a better way to let your emotions out than killing things. Right now he could really use some actual fighting to throw his magic and emotions against something that wanted to kill him anyway.

His hand wandered down to the tooth necklace that rested on his chest. He held it gently for a moment before nodding to himself. Ethan took his staff and looked at Nora. "Are you ready to deep freeze some monsters?" Nora wrapped tightly around the staff and nodded.

Of course I'm ready, you do remember that I needed to wait for you, right?

"I know, I know. At least we're here now. The rest is in the past and now we're in the present so let's get this show started." A grin crept on his face as he stepped into the jungle. While he still hated the system for what it did to his memories, what it forced him to do to his soldiers and the whole stupid tutorial in itself. He still enjoyed a world full of magic and monsters, there was no doubt about it that this life is the one he was supposed to live from the start. He would fight, if not for himself than for his sister Amelia and Nora. He owed it to them. Filled with confidence he set out to conquer the forest.

"SHIT! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! AHH! ANOTHER ONE! WHY CAN'T I KEEP MY STUPID MOUTH SHUT FOR ONCE!"

Ethan's conquest was rather short lived, it lasted roughly two and a half minutes before the first arrow pierced his shoulder and nearly pinned him to a tree. He couldn't see the attacker, his eyes and aura scanning the jungle but there were just green leaves, green vines, green bushes, everything was green on a stupid green background. Even the tree trunks were mostly covered in moss and lichen so that he stared at a solid wall of vegetation.

In the end he just brute forced it, spamming [Identify] everywhere he looked while freezing the area around him with his aura. The headache that accompanied it was like a hot nail being driven right between his eyes. The lesson he learned was that by spamming an ability like Identify he could hurt himself and even worse, give an attacker the window to attack him. He should already know from previous experiences to never do such stupid stuff again, still he got his answer and with that the warning from Jarl Thoran was surfacing in his mind.

"When you reach the fourth circle, burn it down and if you can't do that, be ready to fight your own kind…just a more savage variant."

For once he wished he was a fire mage, because ice that burst into flames wasn't something Ethan encountered so far and he honestly just forgot the warning after all the fighting and the death he witnessed. Still, his [Identify] gave him some clarity, even if he couldn't even guess where he found the target.

[Tharn'ari Archer - Level 35] [The Tharn'ari or Wildwood Elves are a fierce and untamed race that dwells deep within ancient, shadowed forests. Known for their primal instincts and savage resilience, they live in harmony with the wild, often resisting civilization's influence. Their lithe, muscular frames are adorned with tribal markings and natural armor, reflecting their fierce spirit and deep connection to nature. Skilled hunters and formidable fighters, the Tharn'ari embody the raw, untamed power of the wilderness, living by their own fierce code of survival and freedom.]

Ethan thought the system gave a bit too much information about the enemies he encountered but maybe that was to balance out all the bullshit the system normally offered, paired with this being a tutorial? While he now knew what they were, it didn't really help him fight because he couldn't fight an enemy he couldn't even see.

In the end he didn't care because the first thing he needed to do was to get the fuck out of here. After the first arrow struck him the elves attacked him constantly like the arrow piercing his shoulder was tracking him, a literal rain of arrows came down on him and he couldn't do much more than evade them or block with crude ice shields he created on his arms and over his head, his body still too damaged for any kind of big flashy attack or defense.

More out of reflex than actually thinking he made a sudden left turn and hid behind one of the large trees. Ethan tried to control his breathing, if he was too loud they would certainly hear him. Slowly he moved around the moss covered tree trunk, his eyes switching between the net of vines and the ground, the elves could be anywhere so he needed to be cautious, they certainly knew where he was so he had to act fast but also careful.

Sinking to the ground he knelt down and moved his head further around the trunk, his goal was to maybe spot the attackers moving towards him. The rustling of leaves behind him made him turn around as fast as possible, something that looked like a very muscular panther crossed with a sabre tooth jumped at him from the undergrowth. The beast's approach was totally silent until it jumped through the thick leaves of the shrubs it hid in.

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Ethan,while still on his knees, pushed himself to the side and rolled away from the tree as quickly as possible. The moment he had both feet on the ground again he jumped up and instead of running away he sprinted towards the panther. His free hand moving down to the beast's neck, his hand moved down like he was ready to stab someone, his magic working as a moment later he summoned an icicle into his hand and stabbed the beast with it. Blood gushed from the panther's neck, the icicle was thick and somehow he managed to hit an artery by pure luck. He stirred the icicle inside the panther's neck to open the wound up even more to make sure this thing died. The panther hissed at him and tried to bite his arm, its eyes filled with hate and pain. Ethan could feel the warm blood of the creature run over his hand.

He jumped back as quickly as he could while summoning a thick mantle around his forearm. Even wounded the panther was fast and so he let it bite into the ice shield. While attacking Ethan the icicle was still stuck in the beast's neck, frozen in place by Ethan's magic. He couldn't use his staff which was in the hand that got bitten so he simply covered his free hand in ice to form a primitive hammer and slammed it on the icicle, driving it deeper into its flesh. He saw the tip pierce the throat and the panther started to choke on its own blood.

It started to sway on its feet and the ironclad grip it had on his arm slowly loosened, the moment it let go of his arm Ethan bolted away, straight through the undergrowth and out of the jungle. That was only possible because he was still at the edge of the forest.

Nora slithered from his staff and approached the jungle. Ethan looked at her but her thoughts were quicker than the warning he had on his lips.

You stick out like a sore thumb, even if they saw me around the staff nobody would question the existence of a snake inside a jungle. What you need to do right now is some projectile removal so the wounds can heal.

She vanished without another word and Ethan walked back to the rock he camped on the last few days. Getting the arrow out was easy, those stupid elves didn't use metal, the arrows just sharpened sticks. Grabbing it he froze the entire thing so no splinters could break off inside his flesh so nothing remained in the wound.

With a soundless scream he pulled the arrow out, he did it quick and without hesitation, while he certainly wasn't a masochist the pain started to bother him less since the beginning of the tutorial. Maybe he got used to it, if so that was in itself a scary thought, becoming unbothered by pain seems like a surefire way to die early.

A shiver ran down his back from his train of thought and he quickly switched to scribbling runes into the rock, using a small round stone to carve them into the surface of the boulder he sat on. The next half hour he heard nothing from Nora and he didn't dare to connect with her thoughts as long as the abilities of the elves were unknown. At some point he stopped drawing runes and started to pace back and forth. He stumbled and nearly fell from the rock when his companion spoke to him.

So Ethan…you want the good or the bad news first?

While looking into her direction he answered. Give me the good news first, I could use some.

Sure, so I found their village or one of their villages. It looks thrown together, some outpost or frontier thing if you ask me to protect the jungle border.

Rubbing his eyes he sighed and waited patiently for the bad news.

And the bad news is that this village has around fifty elves and at least the same number of tamed beasts. Oh and I saw a really angry elf woman holding a freshly skinned panther fur…so yeah. We fucked up a bit there.

Huh, they didn't waste much time and skinned it right away? That seems a bit cruel if you ask me

I would guess they live in a "One with nature, nothing goes to waste" kind of society.

While they were talking, Ethan made his way back to the edge of the forest, spotting Nora easily with her white scales on the red sand. Nora climbed up his leg and wrapped around his arm and shoulder, now reunited they looked both at the forest.

Maybe I should throw some plague magic into the mix and introduce them to my new subclass.

Nora looked at him, her eyes unblinking and cold as always. You could, yes but I don't think that is the right approach…for now.

Ethan rubbed his chin and slowly nodded, especially since his mana channels were already burning again from the fight. It wasn't too bad but still enough to cause him discomfort. You're right, it's just my battle lust speaking if you ask me. Also getting shot with arrows hurts like hell. Well nevermind, let's discuss our next step.

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