Chapter 338: Unlikely Alliance?

Looking at it from that angle, it wasn’t far-fetched to envision the human DNA making its way to some far, distant planet with Trolls, creating a new species strain somehow. The same could be said about the other half races — the Half-Dragonkin Half-Elves and the Half-Elf Half-Humans.

Fae Edna continued her explanation, drawing Uhtred’s attention once more:

"Then we have you humans. You obviously cannot attack members of your own race," she said. "But I will say, you guys are very wily. One of you even fleeced us of a Plasma-Ice cannon! That painfully beautiful man! Stealing the heart of our Fae Mira so quickly!"

Uhtred frowned in surprise. A human Champion stole the heart of one of the Faeries?

There was only one person that fit the bill based on Fae Edna’s words.

Perfection...? He swept a Faery off her feet and got a Plasma-Ice cannon as a result?

The expression on Uhtred’s face turned weird. Without even mentioning the matter of falling in love and how out-of-place that was in a competition like this, Uhtred was more interested in the fact that the Faeries had likely seen Perfection’s face.

Of course, Perfection, the ever-mysterious man, had a natural layer of "elegance" about him — some sort of passive effect tied to his class — but Fae Edna had used the words "painfully beautiful" like she had seen the face beneath that mask.

Now, while Uhtred was curious, it wasn’t about just wanting to see Perfection’s face. Rather, he could tell that Perfection always hid his face and appearance because it was likely tied to his ability.

Hmph! I’ll naturally see everything the next time I meet the guy, anyway, Uhtred thought.

He looked forward to using his Gnostic Eye on not just Perfection, but also the other three — King Alexei, Black Sun Mateo, and Antoine Blanc — who had remained in the Tower during the two-week break when his Gnostic Eye had gotten an upgrade.

Of course, he’d seen some of their abilities for himself, like Black Sun for example. But seeing the details of their class exactly was way better.

Fae Edna continued, moving on from her comment about humans. She became more concise in her explanation, detailing the behavior of the rest of the races succinctly:

"The Trolls are fairly trustworthy, but they are very violent and seek battles. The Half-Elf Half-Humans are proud. They are more like Elves than you humans. Untrustworthy too. They do not see us Faeries as their equals," Fae Edna said, her tone hurt, like she had a bad personal experience with them.

"Then the Elves," she said with a shake of her head. "Somehow they are even more proud. The Half-Elf Half-Humans are consciously proud, but the true Elves on the other hand... it is ingrained in their very being. Naturally, they do not see us as equals either!"

"We also have the Half-Dragonkin Half-Elves... those guys are also more like Elves than Dragonkin. They look barely different from normal Elves too, save for their slightly superior physiques..."

Fae Edna’s voice trailed off, then she looked at Uhtred, her wings beating quietly and her voice turning solemn.

"And finally... we have the Dragonkin," she whispered. "If you ever come across them, Just Uhtred... run. For they will slaughter you brutally and without remorse. They hate weakness like a sin, deeming those weaker than them unfit to live. They are extremely powerful. Rumor has it that nearly all of them are at the peak of the Nascent Realm already. Their bodies are strong, their magic mighty and effortless. They are the true definition of a ’Superior Race...’"

She said everything in one breath, whispering as though she were speaking of devils.

"...Their one weakness, if it can even be called a weakness, is that they never work together. That scorn for weakness carries across even to their own race. Strength — individual strength — is might to them. They would rather die than receive help from their fellow Dragonkin," Fae Edna said.

"Again, if you see them, Just Uhtred, run away. That’s what we always do. After seeing how brutally one of them killed a team of Half-Human Half-Trolls, we have never bothered to make contact with them. We simply steer clear anytime we spot an island belonging to a member of their race."

Uhtred listened with rapt attention.For some reason, instead of trepidation for the Dragonkin, he was filled with a sense of excitement — a borderline throbbing urge to do battle with one of these Dragonkin.

That’s your Eternal bloodline speaking again, Uhtred growled internally, reining in his unnecessary excitement. He really needed to figure out a way to control his bone-deep urge to prove himself superior whenever another race was spoken of so highly.

He cleared his throat, releasing a controlled breath.

"Fae Edna, I cannot express how helpful your explanation has been," he said, his tone sincere. "Our agreement still stands. You have my word that I will not attack your islands so long as you keep to our terms. But on top of that, you also have my goodwill now."

Uhtred stretched his hand forward for a handshake.

"If we both survive this trial — which I expect we both will — and after the five year buffer period is over, you are welcome to visit my territory on planet Earth, where we can further forge alliances."

Fae Edna smiled brightly, pleased that Uhtred saw her race as one worthy to forge an alliance with.

"Fae Edna accepts your offer, Just Uhtred!" she grinned, her wings fluttering rapidly in excitement.

Uhtred pushed his hand forward again, expecting her to shake his hand. But then he realized she didn’t know what he expected her to do.

"Sorry." He chuckled. "On Earth, we shake each other’s hands to finalize a deal. It is a custom of ours—"

Fae Edna didn’t let him finish. With bright exuberance, she clasped his hand with both her tiny hands and shook hard.

"We have an agreement, Just Uhtred!"

Uhtred laughed, about to correct her about his name again, but then he waved it off. "Ah, forget it. ’Just Uhtred’ is not so bad, anyway..."

***

Following their agreement, Uhtred watched Fae Edna leave. She retreated to her Floating Island and returned to the main body of the congregated Faery islands. All the way, she waved at Uhtred with a bright smile.

Uhtred waved back, a wistful smile on his face. At the end of the day, not all races were out for blood. A race like the Faeries were rare, far and few between in this new brutal reality. That had been one of the reasons he had asked that they be allies...

...But that wasn’t the main reason.

"Wind Potion Alchemist..." Uhtred muttered, remembering the class title he’d seen when he checked Fae Edna’s status. "An alchemy class..."

It made sense that a non-violent race like the Faery race would’ve been integrated with mostly support and utility classes. Uhtred could use some of those.

Not to mention, he didn’t see this competition as just a place to slaughter other races. This was basically also an opportunity to get ahead of everyone else back on Earth by forging alliances with other races before the five year buffer period was over.

"Well, I hope they also survive till the end," Uhtred muttered, watching Fae Edna’s Island slot into the empty spot where she’d broken off from.

The second island also did the same, retreating from Zara’s island. The gargantuan Floating Island then changed its course, slowly heading into the distance in a different direction.

"Alright," Uhtred muttered after they left. "Now that I’m armed with knowledge... it’s time to hunt."