The next day…
A heavy downpour was bathing the elven village, causing thatched roofs to rattle as heavy winds threatened to pull the huts out from their foundation.
The village was deserted, the roads bare, every elf locked up in their huts to hide from the rain.
Eliron was in one of these huts, sitting legs crossed on the straw carpet. But the roof was leaking…
Drip
Drip
Toin!
A water drop fell from the ceiling, splashing on his head.
Eliron's face hardened, his jaws clenched as he stared at the room.
"Why the hell is this house so archaic?!"
The technology of this world had far surpassed this, and yet they were living like early men.
Artie smiled. "Our houses are often more destroyed than not, we have adapted over the years to live in houses that are easy to build."
She was sitting at the corner of the room, inspecting her arrows.
"This is actually the best hut in the village, my lord," Ash chipped in.
Eliron glared at him. "I told you not to call me that, no one in this room should call me that."
Just yesterday he was an engineer in Korea. Hearing people calling him my lord would take some getting used to.
Ash nodded vehemently. "Yes, my lord!"
Eliron sighed.
"Oh, I think it's done! Artie, come take a look!" Yennefer said gleefully as she stared at the bubbling pot at the fireplace.
Artie laughed. "Give it a few minutes, nothing cooks that fast…"
"Awww!" Yennefer angrily huffed as she watched the fire.
Eliron watched her from the corner of his eye. 'Such a gluttonous angel…'
Toin!
"Eeek!"
A drop of water splashed on her hair, and Yennefer waved her hand frantically, thinking it might have been a bug.
Eliron smiled.
"I shouldn't waste time…" He muttered as he stood up.
Until the rain stopped, Eliron could not move on with his plans for the day, so he decided to do something else.
'Let's do a little workout.'
100 push ups, 100 sit ups and fifty Russian twists were his go-to workout in his last life.
He stared at his flabby arms. 'That is too much for this body…'
'I'll start with twenty.'
Eliron got to the push up position, making sure he was perfectly aligned, then took a deep breath while everyone watched him.
"One—?!"
He went down successfully, but getting back up was the problem.
'What the hell?'
His arms were trembling like twigs, sweat pouring from his face like rain.
Everyone was watching…
'Don't you dare disgrace me, you this body—'
Plop!
He fell flat on his face.
'Shit.'
Silence…
Eliron dusted his body and then glanced at them, but they all averted their gaze. Artie was watching her bow more closely, while Ash was searching for an invisible object.
Only Yennefer kept staring.
Eliron could see a ghost of a smile appearing on her face.
'Don't you dare—'
"You can't even do a single push up?! Hahahaha!" Yennefer exploded in laughter, kicking her feet. "Even I can do that much!"
Artie smiled, her focus still on the bow.
Eliron's gaze darkened.
A few seconds later…
"I'm sorry! I'll never make fun of you again!"
Yennefer was in the push up position, but unlike Eliron, she could not even go halfway, she just remained in that position, hanging like a cat.
Her legs were quaking, bumping into each other, and her arms were seconds away from collapsing.
Eliron scratched his pointed ears. "Why are you begging? It was you who said you could do it…"
"Please….!"
…
The rain lasted for quite some time before dropping down to a drizzle.
Seeing his opportunity, Eliron stepped out of the cabin alone and walked into the forest.
He found a nice spot to sit before opening his system.
'System, give me the body tampering potion.'
A small hexagonal bottle suddenly appeared, floating right in front of him before falling into his arms.
Despite the misty weather, it was warm, radiating heat that seemed to come from inside it.
Before Eliron could uncork it, he heard footsteps, moist, light, crunching leaves as someone approached him.
He quickly stuffed the potion into his pocket as the person appeared.
Eliron sighed. "Yennefer? What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that. What are you looking for in the forest?"
Eliron brought out the bottle and showed her.
"Oh, is that a body refinement ichor? That means you got a quest?"
Eliron nodded. "I was just about to drink it before you came."
"I see…" Yennefer paused and looked at the bottle.
"This ichor doesn't work like others."
"What do you mean?"
Yennefer sat in front of him. "Unlike other ichors that will affect your body once, the ichor's effects last for one week," she said proudly.
"Does that mean it will keep building my body during that time? Or is there something else I should know?"
"Hmm…" Yennefer leaned on her arms. "The first time, you will get an overall body boost, after that it will greatly increase the effects of your exercise."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Basically, as long as you keep working out, you will improve at a far faster rate."
Eliron gave her a blank stare.
Yennefer frowned. "What?"
"That was actually useful, I'm shocked…"
"What is that supposed to mean?" She huffed, staring daggers in his direction.
Eliron shrugged. "Nothing…"
With her lazy attitude, it was easy to forget that Yennefer was an angel trainee and had this type of knowledge handy.
'That reminds me…'
"By the way, do you still have your angel powers?" Eliron asked.
It was something he had wanted to ask for some time, but he could not ask her in the presence of the others.
Knowing her capabilities was essential for his plans, that way, he would know what roles to assign to her.
"Not exactly…" Yennefer sighed.
"When crossing to the mortal realm, especially when not on official duty, we are stripped of most of our powers."
"The only power I have left is healing, all angels have it ingrained in them. Although, that doesn't mean I can't learn magic, but in that regard I'm just as good as any other person."
Eliron was disappointed, but it was expected. There was no way they would allow an angel to do as they pleased in the mortal realm.
Still, her healing alone and knowledge were already a big plus.
"Alright… here I go." He uncorked the bottle and drank the entire thing in one gulp.
Immediately, Eliron felt a light warmth spreading through him from his chest.
[You have consumed 'body refinement ichor']
[All stats have been boosted]
Almost instantly, Eliron could feel the change in his body. Although he was not physically muscular, he could tell that his muscles could bear more weight.
His mana capacity had also increased, and his senses had sharpened as well.
'System, show me the stat screen.'
Eliron smiled as he stared at the screen. Then mentally, he split his ten stat points into two parts, five into mana capacity, and five into agility.
He needed mana capacity to use his skills, and he needed better agility to use his SSS swordsmanship skill.
At the end, these were his stats:
===
|[Status Window]|
Name: Eliron Traquil
Affinity: Auro, Tiris
Favourite skills: [Not Yet Selected]
Skills: SYNTAX ERROR (Skills are too many to display. Please open the primordial collection to view)
Revelation: Undiscovered
Attributes:
Vitality: 17
Strength: 23
Agility: 30
Mana Capacity: 25
Potency (Build/Def): 30
Inventory:
<
Region: Sentric Forest
Percentage of land under control: 15%
City advancement: 10% ~> Poor
Treasury: Empty
Reputation: "Starving Village"
Army strength: 5% ~> Poor
Human Development Index: 11% ~> Poor
[Levels are arranged thus:
Poor - Fair - Good - Very Good - Excellent - Extraordinary - Conqueror]
Quests:
=======
Satisfied with his stats, Eliron got up and offered Yennefer his hand, pulling her to her feet.
She dusted the leaves off her butt and began walking alongside him.
"So, what are you going to do now?"
Eliron glanced at her. "What else? I'm going to build a house."
Ding!
— — - 「Word Quest」 - — —
[Title: Innovator]
~> Objective: Showcase the brilliance of the wood elves by building a standard home in Atrais that will serve as a hallmark for future construction.
「Rewards」
◆ + 12 Stat Points