Chapter 337: The Faery Race

"Venerable Human Champion," she began. "We, the humble Champions of the Faery race, come in peace. We are not here to wage war, nor do we seek to strip you of your Race Shard."

She paused briefly, her translucent wings fluttering with a soft, steady hum as she kept her hands visibly open at her sides.

"I speak on behalf of all ten Champions of our species. The stance of the Faery race in this trial is simple: we hold no ambition to hunt down other islands or butcher our fellow Champions for their shards. We desire only to guard our own native shards and survive until the final fifty."

She straightened her slender shoulders, her bright eyes locking onto Uhtred’s with a mixture of caution and quiet resolve.

"However, we are also not ignorant of the violent nature of this trial. We are not ignorant enough to trust that we will simply be left alone either... You are a newly declared Champion, an unknown variable in this competition. I have been sent to learn your stance. Do you intend to fly your island against us as an enemy, or can we establish a mutual agreement to leave one another unmolested?"

She stared at Uhtred, who had a brow raised, a mix of amusement and intrigue in his eyes.

These guys... isn’t this too idealistic? Their plan is sound, but will they just trust my word and expect me not to attack them if I think it’s possible to win?

Of course, if Uhtred found other Champions to loot of their Race Shards, he wouldn’t bother with the Faeries. From this brief encounter, they gave him the impression of a race that didn’t seem to like violence.

They were the second to last among the ten races present in this competition, based on the race rankings — which meant they weren’t very strong. Uhtred had even seen that himself from a quick activation of his Gnostic Eye when he first approached the Faery.

She was only at Level 33.

One had to remember that she was a messenger too — a representative sent out by the rest of her race to lay out their terms. If she wasn’t the strongest among them, then she had to be among the top five, at least. A representative had to be able to defend themself if things went haywire, after all.

Looking at it from that lens, the Faeries kind of had no choice but to be non-violent. Joining their islands together was the only option to ensure their survival.

However, they were still too idealistic if they thought an imposing island and a promise of non-violence from other races was enough to ensure their safety. The Faery girl had said her race weren’t ignorant enough to think people wouldn’t attack them if they chose to be on their own, hence their approach to gain his and Zara’s stance.

"...But what if I promise you one thing and change my mind later?" Uhtred voiced his thoughts out loud, staring at the Faery.

"Then not only will we have no choice but to attack, but us Faeries will also mark you humans as an untrustworthy race... a race that doesn’t keep to their words," the Faery said.

Uhtred watched her expression carefully, his amusement fading. The innocence and directness with which she said those words made him realize again, just how different all races were.

He’d met the Elves, who were proud to the point of being delusional, believing the world revolved around them and that anything they wanted would simply be satisfied without question — even at the detriment of others.

And now, these Faeries were like the exact opposite: pure and innocent to a fault. They only wanted his word because they expected his word was more than enough assurance.

Humans were once like that — at least to an extent. In the days where chivalry and honor were still a thing.

"I cannot promise I will never attack your islands," Uhtred said in a serious tone. "I can only say I will try. So long as it does not affect my survival, and so long as you also do not attack me, or any of my friends that haven’t attacked you... then you have my word."

The Faery stared into Uhtred’s eyes deeply and searchingly, then with a bright, beautiful smile, finally replied:

"Then, as a representative of the Faeries, I say that is good enough!"

Her wings began to beat happily — somehow Uhtred could sense that. Her remaining caution vanished as though she now saw him as a friend. She even began flying around, looking at his island behind him with curiosity.

"My name is Fae Edna! What is yours, Human Champion?"

"Uhtred," Uhtred replied, amused by Fae Edna’s sudden excitement.

"Human Uhtred..." she played with his name in her mouth. "What a weird name!"

"Just Uhtred is fine," Uhtred corrected.

"Oh. Just Uhtred it is, then," Fae Edna repeated, eliciting a chuckle from Uhtred.

"Well, Fae Edna will now be leaving! You have become a friend of us Faeries now, Just Uhtred! I hope to see you at the end of the competition safe and sound!"

She waved and did a playful twirl around Uhtred, preparing to leave, but Uhtred quickly called out:

"Hold on, before you leave—"

Fae Edna paused, looking at Uhtred expectantly.

"—Like you said, my friend and I just joined the competition fully. We don’t know the situation yet. Do you have any information or tips? People to avoid and people we can go after? That kind of thing..."

"Uhmm..." Fae Edna rubbed her chin in thought, thinking carefully. "Fae Edna will naturally advise that you should be like us Faeries and wait it out. But if you want to go after other Champions, I will say... go after the Goblins, they are very mean, violent, and untrustworthy. They do not keep to their words."

A bitter frown colored Fae Edna’s face as she spoke of the Goblins.

"Not to mention, they are the weakest," she added, then continued. "The Beastkin are the next. I will advise that you go after them only if you are assured of your strength. They attack in groups, like they are a pack. Very dangerous to deal with. They are a mixed bag in trustworthiness. Some of them keep to their words, some don’t."

"For the Half-Troll Half-Humans, well, they are the worst of both you guys. They have the wily smarts of you Humans and the strong-headed, violent nature of the Trolls," Fae Edna said. "They are mostly trustworthy. We are yet to see them renege on their words, but we are also watchful of them."

As she spoke of these Half-Troll Half-Humans, Uhtred’s mind wandered a bit, wondering how such a race came to be. The Trolls were from his universe — the universe Earth resided. Yet, how human DNA had mixed up with a Troll’s remained a mystery, considering humans had never made contact with any alien species — at least not to the general public’s knowledge.

Ah, who am I kidding, Uhtred nearly scoffed. I literally have Eternal bloodline running in my veins. I know a second person with the same bloodline too... Who’s to say there aren’t other mixed races among us Earthlings...