Accidental Elf: My Passive Allure is Ruining My Plans

Between the streets of Sibar, Alaster rode comfortably nestled in the back of the moving carriage.

The canvas tarp was rolled back, giving him an unobstructed view of the city landscape. The lingering chill of the early morning still nipped slightly at his skin. The sun’s rays were just peeking over the horizon, illuminating only the upper floors of the low stone-and-wood buildings.

The morning silence was broken only by the rhythmic clattering of horse hooves and the creaking wood of other carts and carriages. In the distance, the echo of an older man’s hacking cough resonated between the cobblestone streets. Alaster watched as a woman on a balcony with an iron railing shook out a bedsheet directly over the public thoroughfare.

The city of Sibar was waking up at 7:27 AM.

«I seriously need a pair of headphones in this world,» Joseph thought as he took in the scene. «Some music by Imagine Dragons... God, it would be perfect for an adventure!»

His train of thought was abruptly shattered.

"Alright!" Remis said firmly, before lowering her voice to address the thief. "Take the reins for a second, please."

Remis flashed a small smile at Berona and continued, standing up in the middle of the spacious wagon bed, "Alright! Attention, everyone!"

The party leader had climbed down from the driver's box, balancing herself with slight movements of her hips to counter the rattling of the carriage.

"I know you've all already met our newest member, but a formal introduction is always necessary. So I'll do the usual roll call; this shouldn't catch anyone off guard."

She squared her posture and began reading down the list. "First, Berona."

"Yeah... yeah..." the thief's bored voice droned from the front of the cart.

Remis let out a long sigh. "I've told you before, you have to say 'here' with some energy!" The warrior pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Deskort, grant me patience... because if you grant me strength, I'm going to kill them," she muttered under her breath.

Alaster smirked. «The leader is very patient,» he thought ironically.

"Here!" Syrus responded, raising his heavy plated gauntlet. The blonde man managed to blend into the background most of the time, despite his massive frame and heavy armor.

"Y... yes, here!" Elase said from her corner.

The blonde archer was exceedingly delicate. She sat in a very feminine posture, her legs pressed tightly together, while obsessively inspecting her bow. The wind whipped at her ponytail, letting a few stray strands frame her face.

"Tagard..." Remis called out, her tone dropping into a distinctly menacing register.

No answer. The redhead simply glanced at her sideways and smirked arrogantly.

"Tagard..." the leader repeated, dragging out the syllables.

The greatsword warrior arched an eyebrow. "I'm literally two meters away. It's impossible for you not to know I'm here."

Remis took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to keep from losing her temper.

Alaster watched the interaction intently. He knew perfectly well that this roll call was far more important than it appeared. It reminded him of personality tests masked as group dynamics that corporations used back on Earth. Joseph limited himself to analyzing his new companions.

«That warrior, Tagard,» Alaster thought. «He's hemorrhaging teamwork points. I'm surprised they haven't kicked him out of the clan yet.»

"Fine," Remis continued. "We're all accounted for. Now, introductions. First, Excellency Alaster. Obviously you know him, but I want a formal welcome. Welcome!"

"Welcome!" Elase and Syrus repeated immediately.

Berona merely let out an evasive "Hmph" accompanied by a faint smile, while Tagard pretended the conversation had absolutely nothing to do with him.

"There will be plenty of time for you to get to know Lord Alaster," Remis said, turning toward the elf. "The journey should take a day, but we'll set up camp at nightfall."

The leader's attitude struck him as excellent. Internally, Alaster resolved to help out as much as he could during the contract. «She really has her work cut out for her with this group,» he thought sympathetically.

The carriage finally reached the city's imposing outer walls.

Alaster felt a knot tighten in his stomach. He was thrilled by the prospect of heading out and putting his new spells to the test; he almost wished they would encounter another wyvern. Almost.

However, catching sight of the guards at the gate, he swallowed hard. He was supposedly no longer actively hunted, but he knew damn well that that boneheaded Grolen wouldn't give up so easily if their paths crossed.

They approached the gate at a slow crawl. The entrance was heavily secured by at least fifteen soldiers, along with several archers keeping watch from atop the battlements.

As they came to a halt under the gatehouse tower, a guard without a helmet was busy returning papers and identification cards to the occupants of the carriage ahead. Quickly, it was their turn for inspection.

Remis took charge of the situation, sitting back down on the driver's box next to Berona. "Good morning..." the leader greeted.

"Morning," the officer replied—an older man with graying hair and a sour expression. "Where are you headed?"

"To Toel, on Adventurers' Guild business."

"Are you adventurers? Let me see your cards and the carriage registry. Do not step down from the wagon."

Alaster handed his guild card to Syrus, who passed it along to Elase with his own. The archer finally handed the entire party’s stack of cards to Remis to present to the officer.

The guard inspected them with obvious annoyance and let out a sigh. "Are you carrying cargo?"

"No," Remis answered calmly.

"Fine..."

The officer handed the documents back to Remis, who quickly counted them to ensure none were missing. Meanwhile, another guard approached from behind the wagon, checked the wooden floorboards, and peeked underneath the chassis before looking up at the gray-haired officer and shaking his head, indicating everything was clear.

"Move along," the officer barked gruffly.

Berona whipped the horses, and the carriage resumed its progress with a steady rattle. Alaster retrieved his card from Syrus.

"Those damn guards..." Tagard grumbled under his breath. "It really makes you want to drive a sword straight through their..." He cut himself off, looking back as the city wall receded into the distance.

"H... Have you ever been to Toel, Excellency Alaster?" Elase asked, leaning in slightly toward him from her seat.

"Let’s skip the formalities. You can just call me Alaster, or Al... if that's easier for you."

Elase and the rest blinked in surprise at the suggestion, taken aback by his refreshing disregard for protocol. The elf ignored the reaction and continued, "No, I haven't been anywhere else in this territory, only Sibar."

Remis felt a spark of curiosity, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He truly struck her as an imposing and exceptionally attractive individual. Noting that Elase was turning bright red, the leader thought, «I hope this doesn't become a distraction, but Lord Alaster seems much more approachable than other elves.»

"Excellency..." Remis started, but stopped when the elf smiled at her.

"Al," he corrected. "Just Al or Alaster, if you're comfortable with it. You really make me feel like a stiff calling me that."

«Respect feels good,» Joseph thought, «but it's better when it's for something you actually did, not for being a fake elf.»

"Alaster," Remis corrected with a smile. "So... are you really a level fifteen rookie?"

"Yes. Is it that hard to believe?" he asked.

Tagard answered in the leader's place with a mocking sneer, "Yeah, is it that hard?"

Remis stared at the redhead for a second and ignored him with a slight tilt of her head, which proved highly insulting to the warrior. "Let's talk about our abilities..."

"Shouldn't we check our gear first?" Elase interrupted, clearing her throat to shift the subject.

Remis nodded and pointed a finger at her. "You're right, Elase. I want everyone to check their gear. I don't want to hear excuses that you already did it earlier; I don't care. You too, Alaster, make sure everything is in order."

Alaster looked down at his hand; the magic ring was securely in place. His backpack was stowed alongside the rest of the luggage beneath the wagon boards. He took the opportunity to mentally review his status screen, verifying his stats were correct. He smiled, remembering his two new spells and the fireball, which would be his trump card and his most destructive magic for this mission.

"Um, Mr. Alaster," Elase called out, holding a hand toward him. "Do you know a lot of spells?"

Before Alaster could reply, Tagard scoffed disdainfully, "Can't you see he's just a level fifteen mage? He'll barely know a couple of tricks."

Remis shot him a venomous glare from the driver's box. She wasn't doing it to defend the elf, but rather because she didn't want him mistreating their ticket to ten silver coins—someone who also happened to be an acquaintance of Instructor Liena and their potential key to entering the Fire Blade clan.

«This idiot is going to ruin my opportunity,» Remis thought, furious.

Berona, who was still driving, looked at her sideways and whispered, "That moron is going to get us failed by Lady Liena."

They had been traveling along the dirt road for over five hours, and Alaster was beginning to feel the fatigue from the constant jarring of the potholes on the trail.

"Is it much further?" Tagard asked testily.

Elase, who was originally from Toel, replied, "We're not even halfway. You've been to Toel before, right, Syrus?"

"Yeah," the tank nodded. "Two years ago, with my wife and daughter. That was before the goblin plague; traveling now is far too hazardous."

Alaster was about to ask what kind of activities one could do in Toel when he caught an unusual scent in the air.

"Smells like metal," he commented. "Like... iron."

From the driver's box, Remis immediately became alarmed. "What? No, that's not the smell of metal."

The leader turned to Berona, who was already activating a class ability.

"Tracking..." the thief muttered, pulling back her hood. "It's definitely blood. Looks like trouble up ahead."

"Speed up," Remis ordered.

The carriage quickened its pace, jostling violently over the stones. Alaster and the others braced themselves in their seats, gripping the wooden edges.

In less than three minutes, they spotted a convoy of ten wagons, several of them overturned on the sides of the road. As they drew closer, the scenario became crystal clear: at least ten goblins were viciously attacking them. Hemmed in amid the chaos, two men with swords were attempting to repel the creatures, but they were completely overwhelmed by numbers.

Remis spoke rapidly as the horses slammed to a halt, "Listen up, we're going into a triple-line formation. Up front: Syrus, Tagard, and me. From the back: Elase, cover us with your arrows. Alaster, if you see an opening, attack, and keep an eye out for more enemies closing in from the woods."

"Got it!" Alaster answered firmly.

"Alright, let's go!" the leader commanded.

However, before they could dismount in a coordinated fashion, Tagard had already charged into the fray alone, sprinting toward the goblins over ten meters away.

Noticing the arrival of the carriage, three of the creatures abandoned their siege of the convoy and bolted directly toward them.

"Shit," Syrus spat.

The tank leaped down from the side of the wagon with his large metal shield raised high, his heavy armor clanking loudly against the earth.

Alaster, conversely, dismounted with an agile leap. The moment his feet touched the ground, he spun to face the attackers bearing down on them. One of the goblins dropped instantly with an arrow buried in its chest, courtesy of Elase’s marksmanship. The remaining two skidded to a halt and spun around to run back, heading straight for the blind spot of Tagard, who was fighting off three enemies while wildly swinging his greatsword.

The men holding out beside the overturned wagon renewed their efforts upon seeing the reinforcements. The ring of steel clashing against crude axes and the din of battle echoed through the trees.

One of the goblins about to ambush Tagard from behind stumbled as an arrow grazed its shoulder before embedding itself in the woodwork of a cart. The monster paused to wheel around, but was met with a direct slash from Remis. The female warrior and Syrus pressed forward right behind the last of the three stragglers, leaving Elase without a clean angle to fire.

Alaster had already charged his ring. He pushed ahead to the front of the carriage with a short burst of speed. A bit further up, Elase was drawing her bow string, now shooting at another cluster of goblins near the defenders who were resisting desperately.

«I can't use anything too powerful with so many people clustered around the targets,» the elf analyzed. «It'll have to be Ice Spears.»

At ten meters out, at least six goblins remained; one of them held a shortbow and loosed a shot toward their position, but missed Elase by a wide margin.

Alaster channeled his mana. A frozen crackle snapped through the air and the spear materialized, venting a light shroud of frost as it hovered beside him. Elase, dialed into her own shots, didn't notice the elf's movements.

«I see three near the civilians. First, that goblin archer; it's the only direct threat to me.»

The ice spear whistled through the air, leaving a trail of cold vapor. It impacted right where the archer had been standing, but the creature had managed to fling itself sideways with agile quickness.

The monster’s effort was futile. The elf smirked as a second spear condensed at his side, followed swiftly by a third and a fourth, emerging like condensed water out of thin air before freezing solid.

«I can sustain three active spears as long as I maintain focus,» Alaster realized, absorbing the mental pressure of holding the three basic spells simultaneously, even if he could only project one at a time.

He launched the next projectile just as the goblin attempted to scramble up. The impact caught it squarely in the pelvis, dropping it with a gaping wound. The creature shrieked in agony as it hit the dirt.

"They have a mage!" one of the convoy fighters yelled. "We're saved!"

On the ground lay several wounded men alongside the bodies of fallen goblins. The sound of wailing made Alaster’s hair stand on end. Well, if he actually had body hair in his new elven form.

Elase stared at him perplexed for a split second, awestruck by the casting speed of his magic, but quickly went back to drawing her bow.

Alaster scanned for another target near the defenders, but the angle was poor; a miss risked striking them. He checked the rest of the field, but Remis and Syrus were in the thick of the scrum, as was Tagard, who was hacking a goblin clean in half, swinging his greatsword like a maniac.

The redhead drew perilously close to the defenders, forcing them to give ground as he lunged at the creatures hounding them from behind. With a powerful descending cleave, Tagard severed an enemy's head.

The final goblin tried to react; one of the defenders swung at it but had to scramble to abort his follow-through as Tagard brought his massive sword around in a sweeping backhand. The monster threw up its weapon to parry, but the heavy impact of the greatsword shattered the notched blade completely, leaving it defenseless.

Alaster observed the scene. It was the end of the skirmish. The remaining two goblins spun on their heels and fled, vanishing into the thick undergrowth of the forest.

The party quickly regrouped around the defenders, maintaining a vigilant posture. Alaster peered beneath the wagons and spotted several injured people. In total, six civilian survivors remained: two unarmed and very young men, and three haggard-looking women.

«If I keep inspecting them like this, it's just going to make them more nervous,» he thought, deciding to approach the main group where Remis was initiating the conversation.

"How many were there? What's the situation?" the leader inquired, while Elase and Berona tended to the wounded, carefully dragging them along the ground if they couldn't stand on their own.

"They came out of nowhere... They blocked the path with logs," explained one of the defenders, a short-statured man.

The other combatient, an older but burly man, added, "They took most of them. Dragged them off into the forest. There were too many goblins."

Tagard looked at them with blatant disdain. "They're just goblins."

The man ignored the redhead's comment and turned to Remis in desperation, "You have to help us. There were many women and even children heading back to Toel."

Remis let out a heavy sigh. «This isn't part of our quest,» she thought, weighing the risks.

Alaster observed the old man, whose gaze remained pleading and filled with terror.

"Children, you say?" the elf asked.

The man turned to see who was speaking, and upon locked eyes with Alaster, tears welled up and spilled over. "E... Excellency... They took my daughter! She's only seventeen..."

"Gods!" Elase gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth in horror. "What those monsters will do to them..."

The old man begged on his knees upon the dirt, "Help us, there are more than twenty of them. They'll violate the girls... and eat the children."

Alaster looked at Remis. The female warrior took in the gravity of the situation.

"Which direction did they take them, and how long ago?" the leader finally asked.

"Less than ten minutes ago, heading west," the short man replied, gesturing toward the trampled brush.

Remis raised her voice to issue directives, "You lot stay here and treat the wounded with your potions."

The old man tried to object, but Remis cut him off firmly, "You can't leave all these people stranded out here alone! Besides, there are five of us adventurers and we have..."

Berona abruptly cut her short, alerting the party, "Remis, I don't see Tagard anywhere. He ran off on his own."