◈ Episode 163. Another Natural Enemy (1)

I walked with Matisse to the leaning tower.

Even though it was only a few stairs.

Right now, there was no time to sit and talk.

“I have something to tell Chief Lee Ho-Yeol.”

The topic of conversation was, naturally, elves. Mathis seemed to know as much about the elves as Yugweed or Marcelo. There was a reason for that.

“I was wandering the continent, trying to establish black magic.”

Apparently, Matisse traveled more often than other mages.

Now that I was in charge of the tower, as long as the reasons were plausible, traveling wasn’t impossible, unless you were writing down bullshit like Bensch William.

‘But in the past, it wasn’t a common occurrence.’

This must be proof that the expectations that Magic Tower placed on Matisse were high.

Before Marcelo.

Matisse was considered a strong candidate to be the next Chief Mage.

“I’ve often read about elves in ancient texts.”

“Do you remember what they say?”

“Yes.”

What Matisse went on to say was simple.

……Elves, no kidding, right?

In a nutshell, in the Arcana universe, elves were the chosen and unique race. Along with dragons, the most powerful creatures in Arcana!

Dragons are born with a flawless appearance.

They are born as adults in the World Tree.

Their physical and mental abilities are unparalleled by humans.

In short, the elves were a race that took all the good things and put them together.

That was enough for them.

They don’t say they add to it for nothing, do they?

“Like the dragons, they were said to live for eons. Of course, that’s just a legend. Though no one knows the truth.”

The words made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

So elves with powers like that aren’t exactly a cheap thing to come by, are they? They’ve been hiding out in Sisley, and suddenly they’re out in the real world, on the continent of Arcana.

My head was spinning, but I couldn’t show it.

I chattered on nonchalantly.

Then I stepped through the portal that Matisse had manifested.

“Then this is a good chance to find out the truth.”

Cheap…….

No, there was no point in wasting energy when I was going to be facing an elf. Suddenly, my vision flickered, and I marveled at my judgment.

The smell of blood assaulted my senses.

The scarred giant, Rockid.

And finally, the players.

Good thing I’d saved my magic.

“Stop.”

First of all, this guy’s snout jumped out.

…… As usual, it spat out and I thought to myself.

I think we’re in trouble.

Since [Natural Enemy] isn’t triggering, the demon must be dead.

The question is, how many demons?

Who took them down in this short amount of time?

I can guess from the atmosphere.

First of all, the players couldn’t do anything about it, because I’m the only one who can take on a level 900 demonic monster at this point.

And it wouldn’t be Rockid.

Unless you can predict the future.

Which is impossible given the time frame.

Then there’s only one possibility.

The elf has single-handedly defeated all the demons.

And if that wasn’t enough, he made Rockid look like that.

Why?

I don’t know. But the pride of Grandfell couldn’t stand by and let that happen, so he’s going to say something.

‘……and I’m the one who’s going to take the fall.’

Let’s think about it.

Do you think I can stand up to that elf?

Even Rockid of the Shadow Mercenaries looks like that.

I don’t think that’s possible.

Maybe if [Natural Enemy] is activated.

You’re a master at identifying issues.

I know I can’t win.

What about Matisse, my trusted corner?

A surging, strange magic.

The strong recognize the strong.

Matisse seemed to be going all out from the start.

A dragon battle flashed through his mind.

The dragon that had brought defeat to the Mighty Magic Tower.

Elves were treated similarly to those dragons.

I finally realize what I’ve done.

Anyway, I’m a verbal hawk……!

But there is no more self-pity.

The elf in front of me was too much of a burden for me to blame Grandfell. First, let’s load up on magic. Even if you’re a sword master, you don’t have to give your opponent the close combat they want…….

It was a moment of desperate thinking.

[Elf, ‘Hierarchy of Blessings’ occurs to Elsidor].

A message flashed before my eyes.

……Ugh!

“!”

The elf froze in place.

He was the one who was surprised, not me or Matisse.

Elf, you must be Elsidor, according to the information in the message.

Elsidor spoke, his voice trembling.

“……What are you?”

Lee Hoyeol.

It shouldn’t be too hard to give me a name.

But it’s not ‘you’, it’s ‘you’.

There was no way I would answer such an informal question.

But apparently, my name wasn’t what he wanted to know.

“How can you, a mere mortal, have my mother’s blessing……!!!”

For a moment, the words flashed through my mind.

[Blessing of the First World Tree].

[Hierarchy of Blessings].

[Elves].

Finally, I realized.

‘The First World Tree Blessing had something to do with elves?’

My suspicions were confirmed by the blessing’s effects.

The health and magic regeneration effects made sense, but the effect of “rejection,” a concept higher than “affinity,” didn’t make sense.

[Blessing of the First World Tree rejects aging].

No wonder elves live forever.

Elsidor glared at me, his flesh burning.

“I cannot tolerate it. I do not approve.”

“……?”

“I will take my mother’s blessing from you.”

Matisse, listening silently beside me, looked dumbfounded.

He had every reason to be.

He’d drawn upon an strange magic power.

It’s bad enough that Elsidor has hardened.

It’s a blessing or a curse, because I feel like I’m just blabbering on.

I shifted my gaze away from Elsidor.

I looked around.

Then I turned to Elsidor.

“The purpose was only a blessing.”

“What?”

“Did you commit this atrocity for the sake of a blessing?”

Rockid’s blood was everywhere.

Even the players’ faces were white with terror.

But Elsidor didn’t seem the least bit aware.

“You’re talking something I don’t understand.”

You don’t understand?

“You trampled on it because it stood in your way. Demon or human.”

I, Lee Ho-yeol, could stand it.

But not Grandfell.

I turned to Matisse.

“Matisse, may I ask you to heal Rockid?”

“I’ll do as you say.”

“Thank you.”

There is a procedure to everything.

Dealing with Elsidor is one thing, but treating the mortally wounded Rockid’s injuries comes first. Even if he was an employee, he was still a valuable member of the Holy War.

I turned to Elsidor.

“Regardless of the reason, I will hold you strictly accountable for this behavior.”

“You’re so arrogant, I’d cut your throat right now.”

“I will also hold you accountable for your lack of formality.”

“……formality?”

“I will also reflect that you stole my afternoon.”

“……?”

Elsidor’s brow furrowed.

What the hell are you talking about, he thought.

Okay, maybe not everything else.

You’d never guess I was upset about teatime.

But put it this way.

“Is this a blessing that you covet so much?”

Well, it’s just as likely that you’re the one who said all that bullshit.

I don’t know about the blessing.

This means that swinging the sword was an indulgence that crossed the line.

Elsidor’s face contorted further at my question.

“We don’t know how you stole our blessing, but don’t act like it was always yours. You don’t know. what my mother’s blessing meant.”

He’s got a point.

Yes, I know the effect of the World Tree Blessing, but I don’t know its meaning.

But no matter how powerful the World Tree Blessing is, I’m not going to stab an unrelated person like you for a blessing.

As long as I have pride in my heart.

“I don’t need a blessing.”

Furthermore, it is okay for Granfell, who has high self-esteem, to receive blessings. Because it was okay without it. Elsidor’s voice began to tremble harshly.

An uncontrollable stream of flesh began to leak out.

“I don’t understand …….”

The hierarchy of blessings.

Even if we don’t know the exact effect, let’s be grateful.

I was able to blurt this out so brazenly because I had completely subdued Elsidor’s movements. Of course, I didn’t let my relief show on the outside.

I remained as nonchalant as ever.

“But I understand.”

“……?”

Elsidor, the elf who was robbed of his blessing and left with a only cloth.

“There will be blessings for those who have lost their pride, but they will only be a blessing.”

“……!”

There’s not enough to go around.

“It means that it was natural for you to be abandoned by the World Tree.”

“!!!”

I poured oil.

.

.

.

Tragedy

The sight of Rockid being beaten to a pulp by the elf was brutal.

So much so that it could not possibly be broadcast on regular broadcasts. Wolf spoke on behalf of Kichi, who was drunk and fell on the table.

“Get everyone ready. I will be indebted to you again this time, old man.”

“Just when you thought you were going to get a break, shit happened, yeah.”

“……I told you to stay out of it!”

“Oh, you’re a pain in the ass.”

A relationship based on a contract or money.

There was no such thing as friendship among the members of the Shadow Mercenaries.

However, the death of a member would bring dishonor to the Shadow Mercenaries.

This meant that they could not stand by and let Rockid get away with it.

Glup.

Alkari gulped down the potion, boosting his power.

Meanwhile, a video was appearing on the screen.

Again, it was a broadcast from a nettuber player on the battlefield.

Henderson, in the third seat, calmly assessed the battle.

“No chance of winning, yeah!”

Henderson.

If Rockid was an axe, Henderson was a martial arts wielding a giant hammer.

As such, he knew Rockid’s full strength better than anyone.

“Maybe we’re not enough!”

Blocking Rockid’s blows with a simple sword.

That alone is remarkable.

Unlike Rockid, who was bent on death, the elf wasn’t even trying.

Click.

Wolf said, loading his crossbow.

“Well, you never know until you try.”

“Ha-ha-ha, although that’s true!”

“By the way, old man, I don’t mean to rush you, but…….”

High level magic, portals.

I know it’s not easy to manifest.

Still, if they delayed any longer, Rockid was in danger.

Alkari let out a sharp breath.

“You’re expecting too much from an old man who isn’t even a mage. You’ve seen the mages of the Tower, and you’ve seen Lord Hoyeol. Portal manifestation is a spell that requires a great deal of concentration from the start. Do you realize that?”

More nagging.

At least he was doing his best.

Wolf’s legs shook as he persevered.

“Uh, huh?!”

The Golden Crown Tavern fell into silence.

Unsure voices echoed around the room.

Magic flickered across the screens.

A portal.

“……old man?”

Even though you could have done it, did you have no reason to punish me?

Wolf glanced in Alkari’s direction, then frowned.

“It’s just the interference process. It’s still a long way off. Wait.”

That was not Alkari’s portal.

It was a glow of magic.

The players were the first to recognize it.

“Lee, it’s Lee Hoyeol!”

……Lord Hoyeol?

It wasn’t strange that Hoyeol appeared where demons appeared.

From great evil to the demon king.

Where there were demons, there he was.

But the strange things were just beginning.

“Wolf, are you watching? That monster has stopped!”

Just as he had done with Rockid, there was no question and answer.

The elf that had been charging at Hoyeol had stopped.

He looked at Seat 6, Isabella, wondering if it was magic.

Dori-dori–

She shook her head.

No magic, she said.

An outcry erupted from all around.

“What are they saying? I can’t hear a thing!”

“Maybe it’s because it’s from a distance.”

” …… It’s too much to ask for a closer shot of this, isn’t it?”

Hoyeol and the elf.

They must have been talking about something, because I couldn’t hear them, but the Shadow Mercenaries had an excellent informant who could guess what they were talking about based on the shape of their mouths.

Seat 9, DeSheve spoke up.

“He asked the mage who accompanied him to heal Rockid.”

“!”

“And……. I hear he’s going to be held severely responsible.”

Even the screen was uneven, so I couldn’t understand all the dialogue.

It was enough for me.

Wolf let out a small laugh in spite of himself.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a contractor who cared about a mercenary.”

At that moment, Alkari called out.

“That’s it, everyone, hurry up!”

The portal manifested.

There was no more patience.

The eyes of all the Shadow Mercenaries, including Wolf, turned.

‘No matter how Lord Hoyeol is.’

Wolf was aware of Hoyeol’s physical abilities. His ability to learn things, including marksmanship, was unrivaled, but if we were to compare mere physical abilities at this point…….

‘It was clearly below that of a Rockid.’

To face an elf who could overpower such a Rockid?

Even if it was Lord Hoyeol, he would definitely not be a match for him.

Wolf made a judgment in his head.

He had as much battle experience as anyone.

The other members didn’t think much differently.

“We’d better defeat him in quick succession!”

Full force from the start.

The Shadow Mercenaries raised their weapons.

The battlefield came into view.

to be exact.

” …… Lord Hoyeol?”

The same Hoyeol who had brought the elf to his knees.

.

.

. .

I realized.

[Hierarchy of Blessings].

Isn’t this a skill exclusive to natural enemies, even worse than [Natural Enemy]?

–

–

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note : “……What are you(너)?” Grandfell did not answer elf’s question because it lacked in formality.  But it’s not ‘당신:you’, it’s ‘너:you’.

너 : very casual ‘you’

당신 : formal version of ‘you’