The Author's Viewpoint-Chapter 120 - Forest Elf Upgrade Pack

There were three tunnels branching off from the massive chamber where the team had set up camp. Now, Tave and Panpan stood at the mouth of all three, eyeing the shadowed paths beyond. Each one led into the unknown.

Tave stared for a moment, then, without a word, turned and stepped into the tunnel farthest to the left.

No specific reason. Just instinct.

Panpan didn’t question it. She simply followed behind him.

Tave reached into his pack and pulled out a crystal lamp. With a smooth pulse of Gaia Force, it flared softly to life, casting a warm, steady glow that pushed back the cave’s shadows.

"You really bringing out the lamp?" Panpan said behind him. "What, scared of the dark?"

"Please," Tave snorted, not even glancing back. "I could walk this tunnel blindfolded."

"Then why the lamp, oh fearless one?"

He shrugged. "Because you can’t. And I’d rather not drag you out of a pit when you trip on a rock."

"Remind me to fall just for the dramatic rescue."

Tave chuckled. "Make it a little less dramatic and I might consider catching you."

"Still... thanks. My eyes aren’t exactly designed for cave-crawling."

"Well, good thing one of us evolved properly," he said with a smug tilt to his voice.

"Oh, sure. Evolution. That’s what we’re calling demon blood now?"

"Hey," Tave grinned, "I don’t make the rules. I just glow in the dark better than you."

"Ugh, unfair. I want the demon wings."

"What if you end up developing lizard scales and a tail? Still sounds like a good idea?"

Panpan paused for a moment, then laughed softly. "As long as I get wings too, it would be absolutely worth it."

"You do realize," Tave said with a smirk, "that everyone eventually gets wings once they reach Gaia Archon, right?"

Panpan sighed dramatically. "Well, not like everyone can actually reach that level, Tave. Waiting for it sounds... boring."

Tave chuckled at her reply. "Hearing you say that is kind of ironic, don’t you think? Coming from a forest elf with a long lifespan. You guys are practically built for patience. Time flows differently for you. Mentally, you’re supposed to be used to waiting."

She grinned. "Doesn’t mean I enjoy it."

Tave laughed again, shaking his head. "Fair enough. Guess some things are universal, impatience included."

The tunnel twisted and dipped, part of it damp with water dripping from the ceiling, part of it dry and cracked. They moved slowly, the only sounds the faint echo of their boots and the occasional drip of moisture.

Tave remained alert, senses sharpened. Even if he believed this place was safe, he wasn’t about to risk their lives on assumptions.

Eventually, the tunnel widened, and opened into another chamber. A second hidden sanctuary.

Just like before, the floor bloomed with purple flowers, soft glowing petals casting gentle light across the space like starlight caught under stone.

"I wonder..." Panpan whispered. "Could we use these flowers for something other than absorbing them?"

"Yes, we can," Tave replied without pause. "I’ll explain it to the others later."

Then, as his mind wandered back to that lingering question. He suddenly remembered what he’d meant to check in the first place.

His sigil.

With little warning, Tave grabbed the hem of his shirt and swiftly pulled it up, starting to peel it off.

"Tave!" Panpan gasped, stumbling to a stop.

He paused mid-movement, shirt halfway over his head, glancing sideways.

Panpan stood frozen, eyes fixed on him, clearly flustered.

"Tave? What are you doing?"

Tave blinked, deadpan. "Looking for my sigil."

"Sigil?"

Ah. Shit.

Tave froze. Only now did he realize he’d never properly explained any of this to her. Not the second sigil, not what it meant, not why he was suddenly yanking his shirt off in a glowing flower cave.

"No, Pan! I mean... sorry," he stammered, pulling the shirt halfway back down. "I’m just curious, that’s all." freewebnøvel.com

Then, instead of trying to cover further, he spun around and pointed toward his back. "Can you... check for me? I think it might be on my back somewhere."

There was a pause.

Then, without a word, Tave felt something. A light touch, just at the base of his neck. Delicate, but steady.

He tensed slightly, instinctively.

"Is it there?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Panpan’s voice came softly behind him. "It’s there."

She leaned a bit closer, her fingers lightly tracing over the skin. "It’s a small dark circle in the center, and there’s another circle around it, like fire wrapping around both. The flames are part of the sigil itself."

Tave exhaled, nodding slowly. "So... the back of the neck."

He quickly pulled his shirt back down and turned toward her with a grin, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Not bad. The neck’s visible, yeah, but easy to cover. A scarf, high collar, or body armor. No one would even notice."

Panpan smiled faintly, folding her arms. "You’re really being careful not to let anyone see your sigil, huh?"

Tave shrugged. "Wouldn’t you be? A second sigil kind of screams something’s different about me. I’m not ready for that kind of attention. Not yet."

Tave started walking again, slipping his arms back through his shirt sleeves and tugging it down properly as they moved.

"Well," he muttered, "at least it’s not on my forehead or something. Imagine trying to explain that over breakfast."

Panpan laughed softly, falling into step beside him. "Yeah, ’Good morning everyone, don’t mind the glowing fire-circle on my face. It’s just demonic power, no big deal.’"

They both chuckled as the glow from the deeper chamber faded behind them. It felt good, in a strange way, to be able to laugh, even if it was wrapped around the edges of exhaustion and chaos.

"Think the others will notice we vanished?" Tave asked.

"Probably. But they’re too tired to care."

"Great. Then let’s keep pretending we were doing something important."

"We were, Tave. You were half-naked and lost."

Tave smirked. "You say that like it doesn’t happen daily."

Panpan laughed again. "That thing about you... I swear, you’re the cleanest person in the group. You wash your hands more than the others. Super hygienic."

Tave sighed dramatically. "Hearing that makes me want to do a Bloodline Override with a forest elf. So I can permanently smell like a mountain breeze and look fresh and composed everytime."

Panpan snorted. "Wait. You’re not planning to do that now by dragging me into this place, are you?"

Tave stopped walking.

Panpan blinked and halted, suddenly cautious. "...Wait. Tave?"

He turned slowly. "So... you’ve noticed."

Her eyes widened. "Don’t you dare."

Tave took one step toward her. "The ritual begins with proximity, you know."

"No! I’m out!"

Panpan spun around and bolted back toward the main chamber. "Everyone! Tave’s trying to turn me into a forest elf upgrade pack!"

Tave chased after her. "Come back! Panpan! You’re my best shot at being naturally fragrant!"

Their laughter echoed through the tunnel. Eventually, they slowed, breathless and smiling, the pressure of the day lifted. If only for a moment.

Then, without needing to say much more, they kept walking. Back to the team. Back to the firelight. Back to reality. Together.

This was... probably the first time Tave had laughed like that since arriving in this world.

It hit him in the quiet that followed. The way his chest still shook slightly from the afterglow of laughter, the way his face felt strange from smiling so much.

He hadn’t realized how tightly he’d been wound.

Always serious. Always focused. Too focused.

He tried forcing another smile, just to see if he could still do it on command. It came out shaky, awkward, but real.

I seriously need to balance things more.

He knew it now. He couldn’t live every moment like a battlefield. There had to be space. For calm, for humor, for connection. For laughter, even in a world this harsh.

There had to be room to breathe.

He’d been dragging the weight of his old life with him for too long. That version of himself. Silent, isolated, surviving on the bare minimum of human contact.

This was a new world. A world where he wasn’t alone.

If it weren’t for Elowen holding the team’s heart together, things might’ve crumbled by now. If not for Darian and Finn, with their relentless banter, maybe the silence would’ve swallowed them all. Velion was the quiet anchor, always trying to keep things steady when everything threatened to tilt off-balance.

And then there was Panpan.

The one person he found himself standing beside more than anyone else.

He can do better. He should do better.