Chapter 51: Chapter 47 — Measuring Strength

John returned before sunset.

The forest below his cliff was quiet, moving slowly in the warm evening wind. Leaves shifted in long soft waves, and distant animal calls echoed through the trees. Nothing had changed in his territory while he was gone.

That was good.

He landed on the familiar stone ledge outside his cave and folded his wings slowly against his back. His claws clicked lightly against the rock as he walked toward the entrance.

But his thoughts were still somewhere else.

South.

With the elves.

He settled near the cave mouth where he could see the forest stretching endlessly beyond the cliffs. The orange light of sunset painted everything in long shadows.

“Interesting neighbors,” he muttered quietly.

He hadn’t expected to find a full settlement.

Not families.

Not children.

Not a functioning community hidden that deep in the forest.

But more than that, something else had caught his attention.

Their strength.

John had spent months surviving against monsters. He had fought creatures ranging from weak scavengers to beasts strong enough to reshape parts of the forest.

Through experience he had gradually formed a simple way of measuring strength in his mind.

A scale.

Tier one through tier ten.

Not perfect, but useful.

Tier one monsters were barely threats—small creatures that relied on numbers rather than power.

Tier two were slightly stronger predators. Dangerous to ordinary animals but nothing more.

Tier three and four were the kinds of monsters that began to control small territories.

Tier five was where things became serious.

That level required real strength.

Real skill.

Tier six and above… those were creatures that could dominate entire regions.

John shifted slightly, watching the fading light outside.

The elves fit somewhere inside that scale.

But he needed more time to be sure.

—

The next morning he returned south.

This time he traveled more carefully.

Instead of flying directly over the forest, he circled wide and approached from a different direction before descending through the canopy.

The village appeared slowly beneath the leaves once again.

Nothing seemed different.

The same clearing.

The same buildings wrapped around massive tree trunks.

The same quiet rhythm of daily life.

John settled into a thick section of branches even farther from the village than yesterday. From here the view was slightly worse, but the cover was better.

If that silver-haired mage had any real sensing ability, distance mattered.

He crouched low and began watching again.

Morning in the settlement was busy.

Elves moved between buildings carrying tools, baskets, and bundles of firewood. A group of children ran across the clearing while an older elf followed behind them, clearly trying to keep them from causing trouble.

Normal life.

But John wasn’t watching for normal things.

He was measuring.

Comparing.

The children were easy.

Even from a distance he could feel their mana was extremely faint.

Weak.

Not dangerous.

Tier one, maybe tier two at most.

“Same as small monsters,” John murmured quietly.

Which made sense.

They were young.

Not trained.

Not warriors.

Just children.

Two very small elves—probably toddlers—wandered clumsily near one of the houses while an older woman watched them carefully.

Babies.

Even weaker.

Tier one.

The realization felt strange.

In a world where everything seemed built around survival and strength, these small lives still existed quietly inside the village.

Protected.

John shifted his gaze toward the adults.

Now things became more interesting.

Most of the elves moving around the clearing carried tools rather than weapons. Farmers, builders, gatherers.

Their mana presence was noticeably stronger than the children.

Not impressive.

But steady.

Tier three.

Maybe tier four for the stronger ones.

Roughly equal to the mid-level monsters he had hunted months ago.

That alone explained how the settlement survived.

A group of tier three and four individuals working together could easily defend themselves against weaker predators.

But they weren’t the village’s real defense.

Those appeared a little later.

Three elves stepped into the clearing wearing light armor made from leather reinforced with small plates of dark metal.

Warriors.

Their bows were longer than the ones he saw earlier. Each carried a quiver full of arrows with carefully shaped tips.

Their movements were different from the villagers.

Balanced.

Disciplined.

John focused on them carefully.

The mana around them was stronger.

Much stronger.

Tier five.

“Hmm.”

That placed them close to the stronger monsters he had fought in the forest.

Not quite at the level of the dangerous beasts he encountered in deeper territories, but still respectable.

One of the warriors lifted his bow and tested the string with a quiet pull. The sound was soft but precise.

Training.

Skill.

John watched the way they moved through the clearing.

They weren’t just guards.

They were hunters.

Their bodies carried the relaxed tension of creatures used to killing.

That matched what he had seen yesterday when the hunting party returned with the boar monster.

Tier five hunters could easily bring down creatures in the tier three or four range.

Which meant their food supply was stable.

It also meant they could defend the settlement against most forest predators.

John studied them carefully.

If five or six of those warriors attacked him together…

He exhaled softly through his nostrils.

“It wouldn’t matter.”

Their arrows might hurt.

But they wouldn’t kill him.

Not anymore.

Still, underestimating intelligent enemies was dangerous.

He kept watching.

More warriors appeared gradually as the morning continued.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Roughly ten in total.

Some practiced archery near the edge of the clearing, firing arrows into targets made from thick logs.

The arrows struck with surprising force.

Several sank deep into the wood.

John’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Not bad.”

Those arrows could easily kill tier three monsters.

Maybe even tier four if the shot was clean.

Then something else happened.

The clearing quieted slightly as a new figure stepped out from one of the larger tree-built structures.

John recognized him immediately.

The bulky elf.

He had seen him briefly yesterday but hadn’t paid enough attention at the time.

Now he did.

This elf was different from the others.

Broader shoulders.

Thicker arms.

His body looked more like a warrior than the slender archers around him.

Heavy armor covered his chest and shoulders.

Not decorative armor.

Real protection.

John focused carefully.

Mana flowed through the elf’s body in strong steady currents.

Not explosive like a monster’s rage.

Controlled.

Disciplined.

Tier six.

John’s tail shifted slowly along the branch.

“That’s the leader.”

He didn’t need confirmation.

The way the other elves reacted made it obvious.

Several warriors straightened when he appeared. A few approached him immediately, speaking with respectful tones.

Authority.

Experience.

The bulky elf listened quietly before giving a short reply.

Even from this distance John could tell the leader was used to command.

Calm.

Confident.

Dangerous.

Compared to monsters John had fought…

The closest comparison was a tier six beast he killed several weeks ago—a massive stone-backed lizard that controlled a section of rocky hills north of the forest.

That fight had taken real effort.

If the elf leader was close to that level…

Then this village wasn’t weak at all.

John continued watching.

The leader walked toward the archery training area and picked up a bow from one of the warriors.

The weapon looked slightly smaller in his large hands.

He pulled the string once.

Testing.

Then he drew the arrow back fully.

The bow bent into a deep curve.

And he released.

The arrow flew across the clearing and slammed into the wooden target.

The impact split the log nearly in half.

Several younger elves gasped in surprise.

John raised his head slightly.

“Strong.”

That shot carried real power.

Enough to injure a tier five monster.

Maybe even threaten a tier six if it struck something vital.

The leader handed the bow back to the warrior and said something that made the group laugh.

Relaxed.

But disciplined.

John spent the rest of the morning observing quietly.

The more he watched, the clearer the structure of the village became.

Children and babies.

Tier one to two.

Villagers.

Tier three to four.

Warriors and hunters.

Tier five.

Leader.

Tier six.

And somewhere among them…

The mage.

John hadn’t seen the silver-haired elf yet today.

But he could still remember the faint movement of mana when she had nearly sensed him yesterday.

That one might also be tier six.

Maybe higher.

He shifted slightly in the branches.

The forest wind moved through the leaves above him.

Down in the clearing, life continued normally.

Children playing.

Hunters preparing to leave.

Villagers repairing buildings.

None of them knew a dragon was watching them.

John rested his chin lightly against the branch.

“So that’s your strength.”

Not weak.

But not overwhelming either.

Still…

He wasn’t ready to reveal himself yet.

Observation came first.

Understanding came second.

Only after that would he decide what kind of relationship he wanted with the elves living in the southern forest.

For now, he remained hidden in the trees.

Watching.

Measuring.

And learning.

—

Give me some Powerstones

100 ps = 1 extra Chapter

300 ps = 2 Extra Chapter

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep