Chapter 112: Possible Immortal?

POV Eliza

“Five hundred to a thousand years?” <Eliza>

“Yes, that's right. Elves are among the longest-lived races on Narran, depending on the species. Humans also live longer here than on Earth. Thanks to the possibilities of healing magic and alchemy, many people live to be over 100 and even 120 is not uncommon. The highest age is around 150. Members of the beastfolk can live between 200 and 300 years, depending on the species, while dwarves can live to be 600 years old. Demons also have a very long life expectancy and in rare cases can exceed 1000 years. The longest-lived race themselves are the true dragons. Some of them are tens of thousands of years old.

With elves, however, it's a bit more complicated. I know it from the stories of Ayla and from the old days. I don't know the actual maximum life expectancy of elves, because it's different for every elf. You could even go so far as to say that no elf has ever reached their maximum life expectancy.” <Luna>

“What do you mean by that? Don't elves die of old age?” <Eliza>

“That's not what I meant. As far as I know, elves die either from external causes such as a fight or similar, or from poison or other events. Diseases, on the other hand, hardly play a role for elves. It's just that the time of old age is different for every elf. It has something to do with the so called life task that an elf follows. Every elf has a long-term task that he tries to achieve and as soon as he has fulfilled it, he has two options. Either he looks for a new task that he wants to achieve, or he decides that he has lived long enough. Then it won't be long before he dies. From this point onwards, the first signs of ageing appear.” <Luna>

“Are you saying that as long as an elf has a task he wants to fulfill, he lives on? So theoretically infinitely?” <Eliza>

“I don't think it works that easily. I know from the past that the will to live also plays a big role. As soon as the elf loses his zest for life and his courage, it doesn't take long for him to die. This usually happens when the task has been completed. Therefore, it is also possible that in individual cases an elf could die after 200 years if he has nothing left to live for.” <Luna>

“That doesn't sound so nice then. But it all affects me too, doesn't it?” <Eliza>

“Yes, since you are an elf. Do you remember how I asked you several times if you really wanted to act as my champion? You've found your life's task, but that doesn't mean you'll die afterwards. There are certainly elves who have several tasks that they dedicate themselves to. So you are free to look for other things you want to achieve.” <Luna>

“But if I live so much longer than humans, don't I also live much longer than the four idiots, I mean the heroes of Lumos? Can't I just hide and wait out the problem?” <Eliza>

“You could in theory, but I wouldn't do that. Lumos, and therefore the heroes, know that I have four champions and that all four are not human. So they also know that they won't find you in the Empire and will go looking for you sooner or later. The dwarves live closest to you in the eastern mountains and most of the elves live in the forest behind them. So far, they have always been able to fend off the human raids, or expeditions as they call them, with relatively few losses, but with the four heroes, the Empire now has a force at its disposal that is not so easy to defeat. As soon as the heroes are strong enough, they will actively hunt down all non-humans and also attack the dwarves and elves. The number of casualties will be immense on both sides, but it won't matter to the humans.” <Luna>

“Why? They'll lose their people just as much.” <Eliza>

“That's true, but this is where the disadvantage of longevity comes into its own. The fertility of humans is much higher than that of the other races and therefore there are many more humans than others. Even if humans are weaker individually, they make up for it with superior mass.” <Luna>

“So quantity over quality?” <Eliza>

“Yes. A loss on the human side is insignificant, but any loss on the other side is all the more serious. That's how humans have managed to take possession of almost everything west of the great mountain range. Originally this was the home of the beastfolk, but now only slaves or refugees live on this side. Except in the most remote areas, where even humans don't want to live, there is no one else here. A large part of my followers also used to live here on this side of the mountains, but only ruins remain. You're in one of them right now.” <Luna>

“Then someone has to stop the humans.” <Eliza>

“That would be better for anyone who isn't human. Now that they have the four heroes, they also have strong leaders and symbolic figures. I firmly believe that preparations for the first campaigns have already begun in the empire. It won't be long now. My tip would be that they either head north to the tundra regions or south to the Great Plain and the desert. There are various dungeons and labyrinths in all these areas, making them ideal training grounds. In addition, they will certainly go hunting for the last beastfolk still living in the area.” <Luna>

“Does that mean the Beastfolk will be caught completely unprepared? That's terrible. What can you do?” <Eliza>

“There is one way, Eliza. You're the best chance they have. Keep doing what you're doing and get stronger. Your idea of infiltrating the group of heroes and observing them was brilliant and still is. You were also able to benefit from them in terms of training and equipment, including access to the Darkness Dungeon. You should continue on this path. Your strongest weapons are your concealment, your transformation and your regeneration. The darkness dungeon also offers the best opportunities to improve your dark magic. I'll see if I can make contact with Ayla. She would be the ideal teacher for you. Unfortunately, she is very particular and only contacts me very irregularly. She hasn't contacted me since you were summoned. It's about time again.” <Luna>

“You just mentioned labyrinths. What's that all about?” <Eliza>

“Labyrinths are, to put it simply, smaller dungeons. Labyrinths have up to 30 floors and everything above that is a dungeon. Only the dungeons count for our competition. You can also tell the difference between the two by the fact that there are no steles in labyrinths. Instead, you receive a special bonus when you defeat the final boss. But there's also an extra bonus if you beat the labyrinth solo.” <Luna>

“So there are a lot more destinations I can visit. What other skills do I need that I'd better have?” <Eliza>

“I can unlock a few more of yours that are based on your vampire nature. So far, they've been sealed, just like the vampire status in your race. When I unseal them, they'll all appear in your status and you'll be able to use them. But then you'll have to be even more careful that the wrong person doesn't look at you with appraisal and expose you. But the new skills give you a lot more options, as well as security in some places - you'll like them.” <Luna>

“What are they?” <Eliza>

“You get Mana Steal and Life Steal. You can use them to drain MP and HP from others. Both are also useful for your transformation, because then you no longer have to drink blood. However, as I told you before, there are different types of vampires. Your type, which is closely related to the moon, can hardly drain life. However, they are the best when it comes to draining mana. With your regeneration, you usually don't need a life drain either.” <Luna>

“Sounds good, I'll take it!” <Eliza>

“I knew you'd like these two. The last skill is Sense Life, a skill you've already used unnoticed. It allows you to detect living creatures. Now you'll be wondering what it's good for and what the skill can do that the others can't. For one thing, you can estimate how much life the other has. This could be important in battle if the other person is already injured and has already lost HP. Then you can use it to sense blood, which could be important in a pursuit. But the real big advantage lies elsewhere. Imagine you're standing in front of a wizard. You sense his presence, you sense his mana, you sense the magic of his enchantments, you sense the danger he poses. There are two of them and you have to fight them both. But what if your Sense Life skill only detects one? Then the other one is an illusion. With this skill, you can recognize almost all illusions as such if they are supposed to represent living beings. Of course, your skill level competes with that of the Illusion Wizard, but Sense Life is the skill that you can increase most easily. All you have to do is concentrate on a living creature that is within range. Later it happens automatically.” <Luna>

“That sounds very useful if the situation ever arises.” <Eliza>

“Now you only need the Sense Hidden skill and you can also recognize non-living illusions as such. You should know that illusions only cause damage if they are not recognized as such. If they are not recognized, they drain SP. Illusion is therefore a very useful magic, but almost useless against the wrong opponent.” <Luna>

“I'll make good use of it and keep training. I'll make sure the heroes don't do any unnecessary damage and stop them first.” <Eliza>

I talked to Luna for a while about the possibilities of the new skills and worked out a plan on how to proceed. My next major goal was set: the darkness dungeon.