We entered the town, and surprised inhabitants surrounded us. There were small flying fairies, figures made from earth, figures covered in fire, samanders, who crawled on house walls, and even some human like figures, who looked like someone made from whirling wind.

  - What is the name of your town? - I asked with dry mouth.

  - Elemental town, - answered our guard.

  I helplessly nodded and looked at my friends. But they were just as shocked as me, if not more. Earth elementals escorted us to a pace, located roughly in the middle of the town.

  Our guard talked to other earth elementals, who were guarding the door, and they nodded. They opened the door, and we were taken to the queen of elementals.

  Queen was sitting on her throne, surrounded by baby sized fairies, who flew all around the throne room. I imagined some female dragon or something simir, but she looked like a teenage girl, with butterfly wings behind her.

  - Welcome to the Elemental town mortals, - she greeted us. Her voice was pleasant and musical: - I am Williana, Fairy Queen, and queen of Elemental town.

  - Thank you for seeing us, - we all kneeled, and Williana ughed.

  - You can get up mortals. Speak now, but know that I will know if you are speaking truth or lying. But first, tell me how do you know about my town, and how did you find it?

  - We did not know about your town. We were looking for the Town of the Dead, but got lost and ended up here.

  - Town of the Dead? It is east, south-east from here. But why were you looking for that cursed pce?

  - It is a long story, queen.

  - I have time, so speak.

  I took a deep breath, and decided to tell her the truth. I told her that we went to Dark dungeon to free kitsune's family. How we freed them, but got lost on our way back.

  - I see. And what about a god, who was imprisoned in there?

  - We kind of freed him as well.

  - I see. It is unfortunate. But you should know that existence of our town must stay a secret. No human who comes here is allowed to leave. You will not be harmed or imprisoned, but neither you will be allowed to leave.

  - What if we promise to keep your secret? - I asked hopefully.

  - We learned long ago that humans cannot be trusted. Even if among you is an elf and beast-girl, you are not humans, but share too much in common with them.

  I did not liked where it was going.

  - That is a problem. I do have important duties, and my friends are part of my adventurer party.

  - What important duties could you have mortal?

  Crap. I had none, but I needed to come up with something. Oh, there was something.

  - I am a guardian. Like King of Iron Mountains thousand years before me, I was tasked to protect Iron Mountains by the god, who's divine birds live there, - my friends looked at me surprised, but luckily they did not talk.

  - As surprising as it is, you do speak the truth, - fairy queen considered my words: - You do have important role. And keeping you here would go against divine will. But... There is one more crime, that you committed and need to atone for.

  - What crime is that?

  - Just like you are guardian of the dungeon, god, who was imprisoned in Darkness dungeon, kept monster popution in check there. But his absence caused monster stampede. Now, thousands of monsters are moving towards my town. And this is your fault.

  - May I ask you something, queen Williana?

  - Yes, you may.

  - When we were in the dungeon, I did noticed that there are many monsters there. Prometheus could have slowed down monster number increase, but not to make monster stampede impossible. Or is that not truth?

  - Yes, it is, - answered fairy queen, and I got a feeling that she looked uncomfortable.

  - So, that would mean that monster stamped would happen, even if would have left god in his prison. If monster stampede would have happen ter, would it change something for you?

  - Well, no, - she looked away and fidgeted on the throne.

  - So. Actually we did not committed any crime then.

  - Still you are here now, and, and...

  - You wish to hire us, to help you stop monsters? I do not mind helping you, if that is your intension.

  - Yes. That's right, - she answered happily: - But what reward would you want? I am afraid that we do not have any gold or silver.

  There was something that I would want from her. But how could I tell her, that I wanted her blood, to level up. She definitely was divine being. But, if I tell her that I want her blood, her little fairy friends could overreact. This would have been easier, if we were alone.

  - Do you have, what we call a leveling crystal?

  - Yes. The man that you call King of Iron Mountains gifted one to us, many generations ago. So you are obsessed with your levels and want to increase them. We could help you with that. You and your friends. But in exchange, you will help us destroy the monster horde.

  - You can help us to increase our levels?

  - Yes. Sometimes dungeons appear nearby our nds. If it happens, my armies always destroy them, by removing their cores. Six of dungeon hearts are kept in my treasury. I will gift them to you, if you agree to help us.

  Six dungeon cores. This queen was rich. That could solve our decreased level problem, at least partially.

  - We agree, - I bowed: - Can we use leveling crystal now? Depending on our skills, we will need to adjust our strategies.

  Especially if I get back my level four Light magic spells. And Nelly, her Wisdom skill.

  - Fine, - she sighed: - Take them to crystal room and bring dungeon hearts to them.

  Our guard nodded and beckoned us to follow him.

  Guard took us to a closed room and nodded towards it.

  - You my enter, one by one.

  - Nelly, first. As for the dungeon cores, - I considered how we should divide them. There was no guarantee that Nelly will get master level Wisdom skill, with only six tries. That was a shame: - Fine, Nelly and me get two, while you get one.

  Nelly went inside and soon returned.

  - I got basic Sage's wisdom, - she smiled.

  - Great!

  Earth elementals brought six dungeon cores, and pced them in front of us.

  - Good. Nelly break one and use leveling crystal again. Then one more.

  She nodded and used her staff to smash one of the cores. Light sparks flew inside her, and she went back to increase her level once more. She got lucky and got her Sage's wisdom to advanced level and Spellweaver to basic. That was best outcome in her case. Now, she could use level four elemental spells, and her spell casting speed increased as well.

  I went inside next. Room turned out to be empty with a single pedestal and leveling crystal on it. It reminded me a leveling room in Adventurer guilds.

  After using the crystal, I skipped the stats and checked my skill choice.

  Possible skill acquirement:

  - All seeing eye (Basic);

  - Sage's wisdom (Basic);

  Please choose one skill!

  I got Sage's wisdom on my first try. That was lucky. Usually my skill choice was way worse. I broke one dungeon core and tried again.

  Possible skill acquirement:

  - Supreme demon-god mana control (Basic);

  - Apex hunter (Basic);

  Please choose one skill!

  That was worse, but not so bad. I chose Supreme demon-god mana control and attempted my st try. But after breaking dungeon core my body glowed, and I felt little different. My friends also stared at me.

  - Did you just evolved? - asked Nelly.

  - Let me find out.

  I went back an used leveling crystal. Yap, there it was:

  Elder high elf, LV 1

  Name - Avone;

  Job: Ranger;

  Status:

  Health: 918;

  Mana: 820 - 920 (-100=820);

  Strength: 0;

  Defense: 0 (+2=2);

  Spell power: 22;

  Luck: 1 (+1=2);

  Speed: 7 (+3=10);

  Morale: Neutral

  Skills:Archery (Advanced);

  All seeing eye (Basic);

  Mana rapid recovery (Advanced);

  Magic resistance (Advanced);

  Sage's wisdom (Basic);

  Earth magic (Advanced);

  Arcane butchery (Advanced);

  Water magic (Advanced);

  Air magic (Advanced);

  Supreme demon-god mana control (Basic);

  Fire magic (Advanced);

  Life magic (Advanced);

  Master swordsman (Advanced);

  God's speed (Basic);

  Throwing (Advanced);

  Apex hunter (Basic);

  Weapons master (Advanced);

  Primordial magic (Advanced);

  Spellsword Twin Bdes (Basic);

  Demon style martial arts (Advanced);

  Double skill slots;

  Rainbow deity (Basic)

  Possible skill acquirement:

  - Spellsword Twin Bdes (Advanced);

  - All seeing eye (Advanced);

  Please choose one skill!

  I was elder high elf. It sounded like I was some old man. I did not like it. Oh, I noticed that some of my other skills got higher as well. I did read about it. Since this was my second evolution it allowed some of my skills to evolve as well. Some arcane text even said that it was possible to increase all skill levels by evolving higher and higher. Those were good news. I even increase my Rainbow deity skill, but just to basic level. That was not as good as it could be. Only level two Light magic spells were avaible to me, which will be only partially useful. Especially against monster horde. I considered, which of my skill to increase to Advanced level, and decided to go with All seeing eye. My night vision was worse, with low level skill, and I was too used to it.

  I went outside and nodded to my friends.

  - I am an elder high elf now. No need for comments. Trevor, Luara your turn.

  They also increased their levels, and Trevor even got master level Light magic. That was good for him, but there was no time for him to learn high ranking Light magic spells. So, he will be as useless as he would be without that skill. At least he had a chance to improve in the future.

  Guards took us to a room, where we could rest. They even brought us food. There was no meat of bread, but plenty of fruits.

  I chose an apple and bite it. It tasted not so bad, but hardly felt like a filling meal.

  - What did you mean when you called yourself guardian? - asked Nelly.

  - Just an old tale. And I did got Master swordsman skill from him, - that was not an expnation at all, but they did not ask more. We did have more important duties.

  - What are we going to do now? - asked Luara.

  - You heard that fairy queen. We are fighting monsters. Too bad that Nelly cannot use her elemental spells at their full potential. We will have to use our previous strategies. Nelly you will need to refresh your Slow spell and also your protection and enhancement spells. And me too.

  I sighed and opened my grimoire. I did went through them regurly, but tely I relied too much on my Light magic spells and needed to refresh my memory. I also wanted to learn Primordial magic spells, but had no time for it. Also, while looking through the book, I discovered that second half of it was actually a dictionary of dragon, or primordial nguage. But I did not have time to learn it. At least not yet.

  * * *

  We all spend a day refreshing our spell circles, before we were informed that army is leaving Elemental town. Queen's pn was to stop monsters before they reached the town. Armies leader was rge, three meter high earths elemental, armed with two meter tall obsidian sword.

  Rest of the army was made from all king elemental creatures and several hundred flying fairies. It looked impressive, but I had my doubts about their fighting abilities.

  Part of the army already arrived before main force and was preparing the battlefield. They were digging trenches and wolf pits. They were cking in weapons, but I hoped that they had at least magic abilities. I looked around and chose one of the hills. It was not steep, but provided some view of the future battlefield. It was close to front line, but not too close. Perfect for us.

  - We will occupied that hill, - I informed army general.

  He looked at me and nodded: - Do not get in my way.

  - We will do our best. How long do we have before monsters arrive?

  - A day or so, - he answered me and left to give orders to his men. Apparently he did not think that we were needed.

  - So. Gather some trees and sharpen them. We will pce them around the hill, to slow down monsters. Anyone else got any ideas?

  No one had. We spend a lot of time in dungeons, but dealing with monsters outside them was actually harder for us.

  We prepared as good as we could, fortifying our hill. Around us elementals and fairies also finished their preparations te st night, and now we were waiting for the enemy. Fairies acted as spies and flew back and forth, informing the elementals about monster movements.

  One of them flew to us:

  - First ones will be here soon, - she informed us: - It will be weakest ones. Try to keep them away from wolf pits.

  I nodded, and fairy flew away.

  - You heard her. Try to kill all of them before they get too close.

  I prepared my arrows and pced quivers in front of me. I had several hundred arrows. Even, almost a hundred, with adamantium heads among them. Trevor and Luara could use spells, which were useful in middle distance, but Nelly and me were only ones who could kill enemies at long distances. I took out dozen mana potions and gave them to Nelly.

  - You will need them more than me.

  She nodded and pced potions in front of her.

  First monsters were rge rats and all kind of mutated wolves. I did not even need to aim and simply released my arrow. One of the wolves got shot and others ripped apart dead body.

  I was the only archer here and with a longest reach. I continued releasing one arrow after another, when others joined me. First was Nelly's Lightning. It blew apart half a dozen monsters. When monsters got a little closer, fire covered figures threw fire balls in the air, that fell on the monsters like a fire rain. Small tornados picked monsters in the air and then dropped them on the ground, breaking their bones.

  When monsters got closer, earth elementals put their hands on the ground and earth spikes skewered monsters, who got past our attacks.

  First monsters were killed before they got a chance to get close to us, with no casualties on our side. Then the rest of them came.

  Monsters covered whole horizon. There were thousands of them. All sizes and all kinds, from animal and insect types, to undead. Dinosaur like creatures, reptiles and several hundred flying types, covered the earth and air in front of us. They run, walk, jumped, crawled and flew. As soon as they saw us, monster released happy or threatening growls and moved towards us. This time elementals did not hold back. Air was filled with fire balls, tornados, lightning and some other spells, that killed monsters by the hundreds.

  I put aside my bow. My arrows were thrown aside by strong winds, and I concentrated on using magic. Just like Nelly I used Lightning spell, aiming at monsters who walked close together.

  Any human army would have run away by now, but monsters got past our attacks, disregarding their dead. All their wanted was our flesh and blood. Or just to kill elementals, who did not have flesh.

  First of them fell in wolf pits, which had stone spikes in them. Those who survived screamed in pain, but no one helped them. Other monsters tried to avoid wolf pits, but not all succeeded. Some of them, who walked in packs, were pushed inside wolf pits, by monsters from behind.

  I picked up my bow. Magic was more destructive, but arrows were faster. Nelly used third potion and continued casting. As soon as monster got close enough, she switched to Slow spell. Luara used Magic arrow, while Trevor casted on us Armor of Light, Light speed, Divine strength and then used Sun ray, to kill closest monsters.

  Battle continued for several hours, and my hands were getting tired from using the bow. I had to switch my bow with magic and use stamina potions. We still had enough potions, but battle did not approached the end. Unlike humans, monsters did not retreated. They also did not try to maneuver around us, which was the only blessing. They charged ahead, towards closest enemy that they saw.

  Nelly casted Inferno and wave of fire burned down dozens of monsters in front of our hill. Even without fifth level spells, she was impressive.

  Unlike us, elementals run out of mana after half an hour, and now engaged monster directly. Thanks to our spells, elemental warriors around us held their positions. But all around us, others were pushed back and suffered heavy casualties. Their stone and obsidian weapons broke after first blows, and they had to use their fists to fight monsters. At least all elementals were strong enough to fight monsters as equals. Bone dragon appeared in the air and aimed at us. I licked my lips. He was flying right at us.

  - Nelly, prepare lightning and aim for magic gem, as soon as he falls down!

  I waited till bone dragon got closer and casted freeze on his wing. It did not damaged monster, but froze his wing and monster fell on earth. He got up and roared in anger, but lightning hit his magic gem and blew it apart. Monster bones fell on the ground, and elementals cheered around us.

  Nelly fell on the ground, and Luara helped her to drink mana potion. Girl vomited, but was able to hold in some of the potion and got back on her feat.

  Soon other floor guardians appeared. Learning from our first success, I casted Remove resistance on them, and then Nelly used her spells to finish them off. Her high Spell power stats increased her spell power, and she put as much mana as she could into her Lightning or Chain lightning spell, blowing even floor guardians into pieces.

  My biggest fear was appearance of middle ranking or even, catastrophe like, high ranking floor guardians. Single high ranking floor guarding could have enough strength to wipe out all our army, including my adventurer party.

  We got lucky. Few middle ranking guardians were weakened by my and Nelly's spells, and then dozens of elementals attacked them, to deliver final blow. Each time they suffered heavy casualties, but did kill the monsters.

  Sun reached midday, when st monsters of weaker kind scattered and run away. I expected cheers of victory, but instead everyone fell on earth, were they were standing. We were among them, too tired to even stand. Nelly vomited again. Too many mana potions had that effect on all of us.

  I went to her, but Nelly already fell asleep. I put my cloak on her and sat near our sage. Field in front of us was burned, frozen and covered by bodies of fallen monsters and our allies.

  I wiped my nose. Well we did it, survived our first monster stampede.