Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
I was dying.
Besides a small clear stream, traces of blood diffused along the river. Soran cleaned his wounds grimly, clenched his teeth, and sewed up his injuries with a needle and thread. It was impossible for the hunters to catch up with him after he had escaped for so long. The Sneak ability was also not a joke. If the hunters wanted to track a Roguelike him in the wilderness, they would need at least a legendary profession with tracking abilities. By the time they managed to get down the cliff, Soran had already gotten away for more than a dozen kilometers away and disappeared from their tracking range.
He also made sure that he was at a safe distance first before stopping to mend his wounds.
The stench of blood on him was so heavy that he could to attract other beasts. The most abundant thing in the wilderness were creatures that were very sensitive to the smell of blood.
“Puh!”
Soran cut the thread with his teeth and looked at the injury on his arm. He grimaced. For the first time in a long time, he was pushed so hard that he almost died.
The wounds in other places were better, but the wounds on his back were more difficult to handle; he could not sew the wounds there. He could only apply small traces of ointment and wait for the regenerative effects brought by his remarkable 20 Constitution. Although the river was extremely cold in late autumn, he still went in and cleaned his body because he was covered with too much blood.
Soran, who had come out from the river, was a little pale.
He took out some dried meat and began to chew on it. At the same time, he dried his wet body with a level 0 spell.
The Elemental stone in his hand had faded slightly because its spells had been exhausted. He would have to wait seven days before it could fully recover. This legendary equipment had saved his life; summoning an Earth Elemental to hinder many enemies while also using Stone Skin to protect him from at least six slashes!
Since he had thrown his curved sword at an enemy, he was now only left with two almost blunt daggers.
He didn’t go after the Hunters for revenge but moved farther away. First, he had to wait for a night’s rest to recover. He would be able to heal his wounds and recovered his energy.
Spell-like abilities were linked to one’s blood, so as long as he slept well and regained his energy, he would be able to reuse Shadow Jump and Evade Sight again tomorrow.
Equipment was also another important factor.
Soran had to find a primary weapon, then recharge the weapons he had used.
His Energy Ring for example, if he had sufficient skill in Alchemy, he could recharge the ring’s powers.
Soran was not worried about the safety of Gloria and Vivian. With the wisdom of the high-grade northern Witch, he was certain that she would not have teleported over a short distance. Low-level Blink was useless and could only temporarily avoid attacks. Any portal that was too short was also useless, as the enemy would be on your tail once you were out. Naturally, Gloria opened a very long distance Teleportation door, which led her and Vivian to the safest place, her Wizard Tower. Vivian was safer there for the time being so Soran could go to see her after she had recovered from his wounds.
The northern lands and the Frost Kingdom were separated by a mountain range of about hundreds of miles long. It was difficult for a normal person to cross it, but it was easier for Soran to go through it alone.
With the capability to learn spells, Soran could now learn Fly, a level 3 spell. Although his spellcasting score was only 1, and his flight would last only a minute, it was enough to fly a long distance. He didn’t need to fly very high. Usually, Teleportation was used for long distance travel. Apart from some advanced alchemy devices in the period of the Arcane Empire, the fastest flying creature was still the Dragon. Since the birth of the spell Teleportation, too many casters had concentrated on the study of spatial dimensions.
It was dangerous to fly in some supernatural environments.
After a short rest, Soran began to walk along the river because civilizations usually gathered around rivers. He wanted to find an Elven village first because the injuries on his back were getting worse. It would be best if he could be treated by a Priest. If not, it would take at least three or four days for the wounds to recover.
Perhaps because he was injured too frequently, Soran’s Heal ability had increased rapidly and there was now 27 points in Heal. The next step up would be the level of professional healers in small towns responsible for cut injuries.
Along the way, Soran did not stop much to rest. When he encountered a dirt path, he knew he was getting closer to an Elven village.
As expected, big plots of farmland appeared as he walked on.
Farming required land that was fertile and had a rich supply of water. So, most intelligent creatures would pick the best land to farm.
Before arriving in the village, Soran encountered an Elven patrol, all of whom were uniformed archers, wearing exquisite leather armor and equipped with weapons such as the long sword, short sword, and bayonets. The Elves seldom used heavy weapons.
The captain stopped him and questioned him. He examined Soran carefully, warned him not to cause trouble, and then let him go.
Humans were not harassed as much when compared to the Orcs, Gnolls or other creatures. The Elves usually restraint them first before asking any question.
After entering the village, Soran immediately went to the Elven Temple, a temple of the Goddess of Life. She was the queen among the Elven deities and the second wife of the Elven Guardian. She was responsible for spring, fertility, birth, planting and so on. The oldest goddess of life had disappeared for a long time, and no one knew if she had fallen. Many deities were born after the original Goddess of Life had fallen. Her divine powers splitting among the different Goddesses of Life among the different races. Thus there various Goddess’s of Life for the Elves, Dwarves, and so on.
Unless… someone stole all the divine powers and became the one true Goddess of Life.
There was nothing really special about the Elven Goddess of Life.
One thing worth mentioning was that the former Elven Goddess of Life was now the legendary Queen of Spiders, and was the first wife of the Elven Guardian. Her main worshipers were Drows from the Underdark. She was the most powerful, evil and cunning deity in the Abyss. No one had expected her to be the first wife of the Elven Guardian. Becoming one of the most powerful deities in the Chaotic Evil alliance!
Maybe it was because of her that people had a deep impression of the fallen deities.
In fact, Soran admired the Queen of Spiders because she was very powerful. Many deities fell during the Time of Troubles or lost a large portion of their divine powers. Only the Queen of Spiders, however, was closest to claiming dominion in the Abyss. In just five years, she rose from low rank to a higher rank and became more powerful than ever.
If not for the many enemies she had, she might have become a deity with great powers!
That was to say that she had the ability to create worlds!
The criteria for measuring great divine powers was vague, but the easiest way to understand their power was with one phrase, “Let there be light; and there was light.”
That was the criteria for measuring great divine powers.
Up to now, there has hadn’t been any deity with great divine powers. Some ancient deities possessed such divine powers but they had already fallen.
The deities now were mostly born in a particular Plane.
A temple was smaller than a shrine.
There were few Priests here with a Profession Level of more than 10. The Priest who received Soran was a middle-aged male Elf. He looked more elegant and probably was a Priest of about level 8.
A Priest’s main way of earning money was to treat the wounded and to sell all kinds of healing potions.
Shrines needed money to maintain themselves. They also needed money to expand their faith and strengthen their believers. The Priests of the Goddess of Wealth would even become a professional businessman. Most shrines sold healing potions to the public, with prices that were fixed and non-negotiable.
Soran purchased a potion for moderate healing at an astonishing price of 200 Derahls. Because it was expensive, ordinary people relied mainly on drugs and healers for treatment.
The effects of divine spells were truly amazing!
Soran recovered quickly after the Priest had performed the divine spell. The wounds on his back were gradually healed, leaving only a shallow red mark.
Soran left the Elven Temple after buying two more healing potions.
After he came out, he saw a group of well-equipped Elven guards escorting a handsome Elf nobleman riding on a white horse.
Naturally, the Elves also had a hierarchy system. Ordinary Elves were basically similar to human civilians.
It was a male Elf with emerald green long hair. His blood was unquestionably that of a noble because the nearby Elves bowed slightly as he passed by. Soran had a strange smile on the corner of his lips after he saw the nobleman.
It appears that the Elven nobility was the heir of the Elven Goddess of Life.
Of course, he was not the first generation, but a bloodline that had been passed down for many years. His innate talents were definitely better than the ordinary Elf, but it was not at the level of the Son of Fear.
The Elven guards escorted him to the Temple of Life, and Soran quickly let them pass. The noble even gave him a rather unexpected look, for there were not many Human adventurers in the forest and even fewer Rogues that traveled alone.
It was difficult to comment on the King of the Elven deities.
As the Elven Guardian, after his first wife degenerated into the Queen of Spiders in the abyss, he was basically free to do whatever he wanted. The Queen of Spider’s character was well known to many people. They just had to look at the level of debauchery of the Drows. There were secretive rumors running about his second wife as well. They say that she had children with a mortal while being the Goddess of Life. Of course, the official saying was that the mortal was actually the incarnation of the Elven Guardian himself, and the two deities were just having some fun.
But no one knows for sure what happened!
However, there were also legends that the Elven Guardian was a hermaphrodite, and he would sometimes incarnate into a female. Legend has it that the Elven Guardian even had some fun with some mortal males.
The Elven noble in front of Soran was probably a descendent of the Goddess of Life.
Although it was not clear who the Queen of the Elven Deities had a child with, Soran figured he must have not been a child of the Elven Guardian, because a child that had blood from two deities would not be able to remain in the mortal realm.
Such a child would be a deity, but the chances of that happening were too slim.
