Peace Talks
“So Ringring really orchestrated all of this?”
“People trusted you... How could you deceive us?”
The station guards were the most shocked of all.
But their shock did not last long, and soon outrage rushed in to take its place.
“Pests? Bugs?! You insane elf bitch. What the hell are you plotting?!”
“Where did you take the children? Speak!”
“What do you think you’re doing, kidnapping innocent children?!”
The elf looked over their faces and curled one corner of her mouth.
“Deceive? How unpleasant. When flies swarm a banquet table, one hardly says the cook deceived the flies.”
“What did you say?”
“You set up this vile scheme and call us the banquet?! We’re the flies? The villagers too?!”
Soldiers are agitated. If they rush in to attack the hostile NPC, they will suffer severe damage.
While the elf’s attention was fixed on the soldiers, Ho-yeong quietly picked up the short spear lying on the ground and signaled Rio to shoot.
“Fire. Take the officers beside her as well.”
“Yes, sir!”
Rio and the veteran guards wasted no time drawing the longbows slung across their backs. Ho-yeong applied Blooming to their archery stats.
“W-what?”
But before the arrows could even reach the elf, black mist surged up and wound itself around the shafts. The arrows crumbled away like spent matchsticks, turning to ash.
“Damn it.”
As everyone stared in shock, Ho-yeong gave the marquis’s sons a look. The dazed young men finally raised their staves.
“[Ice Bolt]!”
The ice bolt fired by the eldest son, Kristian, turned to steam before it could land.
“[Lightning]!”
The lightning bolt launched by the second son, Keiji, fared no better.
It’s not a barrier made from holy power or magic. She’s wrapped herself in the ominous energy and black mist pouring out of the wormholes, using them like a shield. She fused five wormholes together, so the effect must be that much stronger.
The black haze shimmered, then revealed the elf’s form once more.
“You’re all rather impatient. We haven’t even finished exchanging greetings yet.”
She smiled faintly at Rio and the mages.
“Greetings? Go screw yourself! Here’s my greeting!”
Ho-yeong gripped the spear in his hand and hurled it with all his might.
“Oh? So it was your order? How foolish. Didn’t you just see? Attacks like that won’t work...”
The elf scoffed at the incoming spearhead and waved her hand as if brushing away an insect, whipping up a whirlwind of black mist.
“Ghk?!”
Her beautiful face twisted violently. Blood dripped from her pale palm.
The spear had pierced straight through the black mist and into her hand.
“If an attack doesn’t work, maybe it’s because the firepower is lacking.”
Ho-yeong looked at the elf and spoke quietly, almost kindly.
If aura isn’t working, maybe it’s because the will behind it is lacking.
He had already learned, from experience, that aura empowered by force of will could disperse black mist.
“You said minor attacks won’t work. Then that means bigger attacks will.”
That was what he had been waiting for all along: to find out what kind of attack would get through. And to gather enough aura to wrap it around the spear.
“Holy Knights, witness this! If your resolve is firm and unshaken, even vile sorcery can be shattered! Take hope into your hands and draw forth your courage!”
Seeing this, Demis Ezef also began drawing in aura.
“Heave!”
And at just that moment, the Holy Knights who had pacified the three southern villages arrived.
“Reporting to Your Excellency the Border Count. In accordance with your orders, we exterminated all trolls and returned. There were no casualties on our side!”
“Well done. What about the damage to the homes?”
“None! We struck the trolls down in a single blow when they approached the village entrance.”
The squad leaders knelt to report. They had been half skeptical of the warning about the troll raid, but now, seeing that not a single detail had been wrong and that troll corpses lay scattered everywhere here, they were filled with awe.
“Then who is that?”
“The one behind all this.”
Ho-yeong gave the Holy Knights a simple explanation as they stared in confusion at the elf hovering suspiciously in midair.
“So just beat her to death.”
At Ho-yeong’s words, Demis shouted, “All units, prepare to throw your spears!”
“By your command!”
The Holy Knights raised their spears in unison.
The elf’s face drained of color. These were not the small spears she had been struck with earlier. They were cavalry lances, the kind used for charging.
They’re going to throw something that big and heavy from this distance?
“Let this evil being, who wields the art of despair, be made to taste despair through the spear of hope!”
As the prayer ended, aura surged violently upward, gathering at the tips of the lances all at once.
“W-wait just a second!”
Panicking, the elf frantically waved her hand. Blood sprayed from her pierced palm, soaking the silver robe, but she did not care.
The aura radiated by these human war-machines, all of them acting as one, was overwhelming.
“If you attack me any further, the children will be in danger! Don’t make the foolish mistake of ruining everything in haste.”
At the mention of the children, Ho-yeong raised a hand to halt the attack.
“Heh. Hah... So you do possess at least the minimum level of judgment, Joren Tamer.”
The elf smiled in relief, and Ho-yeong snorted.
“Looks like you can’t afford to keep one corner of your mouth curled up anymore. You’re actually smiling brightly now.”
“...You are quite bold, aren’t you? But don’t misunderstand. This is only because—”
“You’d have had time to run just now, too. The fact that you’re not sprinting back through the wormhole means there must be a reason.”
“...!”
Ho-yeong did not miss the elf’s flinch.
“So it’s not that you won’t run. It’s that you can’t. There’s a cooldown before you can go back, isn’t there?”
The elf glared at Ho-yeong in silence.
Dialogue Event with Hostile NPC
📍 Location: Border region
🎁 Reward: Vital information
Reign of Dice never allowed players to skip story-critical scenes.
So “recommended not to skip” means it’s possible to skip after all. It’s not like the game forces both sides to just stand here and babble at each other.
Ho-yeong caught the important part of Daliha’s message.
If I want, I can probably create a variable by attacking like I just did. If I kill this elf right now, would the dialogue event simply be treated as skipped automatically? Besides, she said the children would be in danger if we attacked her. If that’s not a bluff, this gets troublesome...
He hid his hesitation and tossed out an indifferent question.
“Why did you appear here?”
“Who knows? I have no desire to explain myself to those who don’t know manners.”
The elf smiled coldly.
Hostile NPC may launch a preemptive strike in preparation for being attacked again. For the dialogue event to proceed, both sides must withdraw their intention to attack. It is recommended that you make use of the newly learned skill tree Negotiation.
Following Daliha’s guidance, Ho-yeong decided to try the new ability: Negotiation, the skill tree of his passive skill Communion.
“I have plenty I want to ask you, and it sounds like you have plenty to say to me as well. Then how about we begin with a peaceful conference?”
“A peaceful conference? You mean you won’t attack?”
“Right. I won’t attack your side, so your side doesn’t attack ours.”
The elf narrowed her eyes and studied Ho-yeong.
The dialogue event can run for up to 30 minutes from the moment it begins. The longer the conversation continues, the more information can be obtained.
“...Let’s just say twenty minutes, then.”
In truth, that was exactly what she wanted. To make use of the dimensional rift again, she needed preparation time, just as Ho-yeong had guessed. At least thirty minutes.
“How about it? If you agree, I’ll guarantee your safety absolutely.”
“How amusing. You expect me to trust a human who lies as naturally as he breathes?”
The elf let out a derisive laugh.
“How shameless!”
“Those words from the mouth of the one who deceived us?”
As the furious guards erupted, Ho-yeong held them back.
“Fine. You may not trust me. Then let me show you proof. This is called the Ring of Truth.”
He lifted the ring on the ring finger of his right hand so they could see it clearly.
Ring of Truth
- Grade: Unique Item
- Type: Passive / Equipment / Variable cooldown
- Effect: A ring that changes color when it hears a lie.
- Description: A ring set with an exceptionally clear gemstone. When the wearer or someone nearby tells a lie, the gem changes color. Lies born of good intentions turn the stone white; lies born of malice turn it black.
Once the color changes, the ring’s effect cannot activate again until it becomes completely transparent. The cooldown varies depending on the intention and intensity behind the lie.
For example, if some cute little child denies sneaking a snack before dinner, the cooldown might be less than three seconds. But if a murderer denies a crime, it could last three days.
- Background -
Nothing is known about who made this ring or why. The best guess is that some priest grew tired of sorting out petty disputes in court and came up with it on a whim.
“That... is really the Ring of Truth?! Where did the Border Count obtain such a thing?”
“I can’t believe you have an artifact like that.”
Both the Holy Knights and the elf seemed to know what the Ring of Truth was.
Was it that famous an item? Well, if everyone knows it, that works out nicely. No need for me to explain it at length.
Ho-yeong moved straight into demonstration. Since he had already tested the ring a few times for fun after obtaining it, the act came naturally.
“I have four fingers on my hand.”
The gemstone on the ring tinted a faint gray, then quickly returned to transparency.
“The name of this guard captain standing beside me is Fish.”
“...Pardon?”
The ring pointed at the bewildered Rio and once again turned gray.
“Now let’s speak the truth. Sir Demis Ezef’s hair is blond. I ate bread pudding made by Peach for breakfast this morning.”
“Let’s try a subjective opinion instead of an objective fact. An opinion you believe to be true, regardless of whether it can be proven. That should allow us to properly verify the artifact’s power.”
Ringring spoke up with sharp eyes.
“Hmm? Fine. Ringring is rude. She acts elegant and refined, but inside she must be rotting from the core. Her face is pretty, but Peach is prettier. In fact, if Ringring frowns, she’s uglier than a goblin. There’s no way the male elves like Ringring—”
“Enough!”
“My Ring color is a bright transparent Ming Ming shade, but Ring Ring’s face color is blue Ding Ding and all blotchy. Just looking at that death face makes me want to punch it. Wow, that rhyme was killer. I should go on Show Me the More.”
“I said enough!”
Ho-yeong toyed with the ring for a moment as if teasing her, then let his smile fade.
“All right, enough joking. I swear this: during this conference, if Ringring does not attack us, then I will not attack Ringring either. If I break that oath, let me bear whatever heavenly punishment comes for it.”
The light in the Ring of Truth’s gemstone remained crystal clear.
“...Very well. I’ll accept your proposal. You said the time limit was thirty minutes?”
“No, I said twenty. Look at the ring. It isn’t lying.”
As the flustered Ringring began to protest, the Marquis Iolid raised his staff.
“[Coagulate], [Separate].”
Clods of earth and gravel rose in a rustle. They fused and split apart repeatedly, and then the gravel became a stone bowl with a hole in its bottom while the finely ground earth turned to sand, filling the bowl.
“It’s a hasty job, so it hardly counts as elegant... but this hourglass will break exactly twenty minutes from now. Young Master Tamer, would you confirm for the elf whether there’s anything wrong with my statement? With that ring of yours, I mean.”
Ho-yeong was impressed. Not only had the old man improvised an hourglass from dirt and stone lying around nearby, he had chosen the perfect moment to use magic. That effectively prevented Ringring from objecting to the time limit.
This old man’s magical skill is impressive, but his instincts are no joke either. He really earns his reputation as both the lord of the tower and an elder of the noble council.
“Of course. Fair is fair. That’s a very good idea, Marquis.”
The Ring of Truth still shone with transparent clarity. Seeing that clean light, the elf’s pupils trembled darkly.
Watching the fine sand trickle down, she shuddered.
She needed more time. It would take at least twenty-five more minutes to activate the dimensional rift, so twenty was far too short. She had to stall, somehow...
“Hmm? You don’t look well. Is something bothering you? If it’s hard to bear, why don’t you come down here? There are plenty of priests here. I’ll have them examine you.”
Ho-yeong did not miss the tremor at the corners of her eyes and prodded her. Of course, he was not mocking her for no reason; he was testing whether she had any opening to exploit.
“Cut out the childish provocation. Isn’t it your loss if you waste time with useless talk? You must have plenty of things you want to ask me.”
Behind the smile she was straining to maintain, Ringring ground her teeth.
For me to be so toyed with by that worthless human...
Still, she had to endure it and buy time. Only then could she give those insects her “gift” and leave safely.
“That’s true enough. Then shall we begin the conference? As I said before, I will certainly keep my promise. I swear it on the honor of my sword.”
“Fine. I don’t care about the honor of some pitiful blade, but I’ll trust the Ring of Truth.”
Rustle... rustle.... The sound of sand falling into the hourglass grew louder and louder in Ringring’s ears. Each grain felt as though it were dropping straight down her throat.
The dialogue event with the hostile NPC has been activated. Detailed information about the elf known as Ringring has been unlocked.
Important character encountered! You have met Lucy Perhela, a priest of the secret society Cliad Sect. She is a key figure within the hostile NPC faction, and cannot be turned into an ally through Edification alone.