Indigo Elf

Ch. 7

Ch. 7

Arlen

I leaned against Casper's warm body as I flipped through the pages of my newly acquired spellbook. After killing the maggrits in the pit, the three of us found a meadow full of flowers that was just perfect for relaxing.

Just as I'd hoped, my spell book had gained new spells as I'd leveled up. Thanks to that quest, I was now level thirty. Helen had also gone up a level. Although Casper was a warrior, he was incredibly smart and shared with me what he knew about the Caster class. According to him, Casters are known for creating their very own spells given a certain situation. If they are in desperate need, sometimes they push past their limits and perform spells that would usually be well beyond their level. As cool as it sounded, Casper had warned me that such a feat was incredibly dangerous, but smaller spells were created every day. Apparently, Casters created spells that were unique to them all the time and usually, it was one that could not be cast by any other caster. Learning this had me eager to create something that only I could use.

"We should get back," Helen said as she stood up. She dusted off her skirt turned towards me, her hands on her hips, "We don't want to be caught out during the demon hour."

I pursed my lips at the familiar phrase. I had heard Helen mention the demon hour before, but I had never cared to ask, but by the way she went out of her way to avoid this demon hour, it was something that I needed to learn about.

With a grunt, I stood up and followed close beside Casper as we made our way back to the portal that we used to get here. I turned my eyes towards the horizon, frowning at the setting sun.

"Hey Casper," I hummed.

The dark skin centaur turned towards me, his bright green eyes questioning.

"What's the demon hour?"

His friendly expression suddenly darkened and he turned his gaze towards the ground. I suddenly felt frightened. Was the demon hour really that terrifying?

"The demon hour is a period of time when the portal to Hell opens. Evil spirits pour out into the living realm in search of someone they can possess. Anyone caught outside during the hour is almost certain to have their bodies stolen and their souls destroyed. If a living body is stolen by an evil spirit, they will transform into evil beasts, monsters that are hell-bent on killing any living being they come across. Evil beasts are easily killed by a party of well-trained fighters. Hell Beasts, on the other hand, are monsters so powerful they can destroy entire countries, but there hasn't been a Hell Beast in over a thousand years. For a possessed person to become a Hell Beast is extremely rare, so rare that most don't believe in them."

With a sigh, he pulled out a bottle and took a swig of water before turning to face me again.

"Arlen, whatever you do, do not ever step outside after the sun sets. When the sun sets, this world is taken over by beings of the underworld for an entire hour, sometimes longer, but usually, it's about an hour. Most people stay inside until the sun rises, not wanting to take any chances, but after the hour passes, it is safe to go outside."

My face was one of horror. This world was extremely beautiful and filled with wonderful beings that I thought didn't exist. It was frightening to know that such a thing plagued this land.

I turned to Casper again, "But what's stopping someone from going outside during the demon hour on purpose? Anyone with ill intent could just give themselves up to the demons."

This time, it was Helen who answered.

"The demons will not possess someone who wants to be possessed, anyone who goes out there with that intent will only succeed in getting themselves dragged into the portal and taken to Hell. Demons are drawn to fear and people with the will to live. They love to chase their prey; they don't want anyone who is willing to be killed."

The atmosphere around us was filled with tense silence as we reached the portal. Minutes later, we were back in the city and making out way back to Helen's apartment. Seeing as the sun was setting, the streets were completely deserted and outside every door was a candle holder that burned with a blue flame. It had been decided that Casper would stay with us for the night since sending him home would practically be sentencing him to death.

Thankfully, the three of us made it inside and Helen lit the Sacred Fire, something I hadn't bother to question until today. I assumed it was some sort of spell that kept the demons from entering homes. Hearing the details regarding the demon hour had me scared to go to sleep in fear that I'd wake up to an evil spirit standing over me. I suddenly wished that I hadn't asked, but I was glad that I had learned of this. If I had gone outside during such an hour, I would definitely be dead.

"Both of you, go take a bath, you both smell terrible. I'll have something for you guys to eat when you guys get out."

With a blush, I scurried off to the bath followed closely by Casper. Once we reached the bathroom, I suddenly turned to Casper in horror.

"Are we supposed to bathe together?!" I squealed as I covered myself with my arms. Casper laughed and snapped his fingers, instantly removing his clothes. With a screech of horror, I turned around and shielded my eyes.

"What are you so afraid of, little elf, we're both guys."

I shyly kept my eyes covered until I heard Casper lower himself into the water. With a sigh, I demanded Casper to cover his eyes while I undressed. It wasn't long until I was resting in the stone tub with warm water soothing my muscles. When we were both clean, we cleaned up after ourselves and met a freshly bathed Helen in the living room.

"You guys smell a hundred times better," she joked as she handed me a plate of steaming food. One of the first things that I learned when I reincarnated here was that the food was nothing like the food on earth. Some of the tastes were similar, some were something I'd never tasted before, and that wasn't all. The appearance of some of the food here always had me second guessing whether the food was actually safe to eat or not.

"Tomorrow, we'll take you into the forest so you can practice some spells. It's good to do quests, but training is also important," Helen said as she sat on a couch opposite of me. Casper rested comfortably beside me, his large body taking up most of the space.

With a nod, I turned my attention to the delicious food and stuffed myself until my stomach was as hard as a rock.

"For someone so small, you sure can eat," Casper laughed. With a huff, I stuck my tongue out at him and washed my plate in the sink.

I could only hope that tomorrow didn't consist of any smelly worm-like creatures, but I guess I would just have to wait and find out.

_Gieo_

Finally, after such a long delay I am able to get a chapter out. I promise that I will try and update more regularly. I hope you enjoy the chapter, despite the fact that it did not turn out the way I wanted it to.