The Elf's Forest (1)
"It's certainly shaped like a weapon, but what in the world is this thing supposed to be?"
Taliesin asked, staring at the crooked drawing I'd scribbled out for him.
I spoke up as if I'd been waiting for exactly that question.
"This is called a scatter gun."
A shotgun, in other words.
A lethal weapon whose round of packed pellets explodes and sprays in every direction the moment it fires.
This is the only weapon I can actually use.
The world is a cold, unforgiving place.
Someone like me, who had done nothing but play games until a few days ago, was never going to have a talent for the sword or the bow.
So all things considered, the weapon best suited to me at this point in time was a gun.
It also happened to be the one weapon I could handle with real proficiency, being a former sergeant in the ROK Army and all.
All it took was the strength to pull a trigger—no raw muscle or stamina required.
And it'll be handy for making use of my ability, too.
On top of that, the closer the range, the deadlier a shotgun becomes.
For a guy whose entire kit was defense, no weapon could have suited me better.
"A *Satan* gun... now there's a devilish name if I ever heard one."
Taliesin said this, his eyes gleaming.
I corrected him with a look of utter disbelief.
"It's not a *Satan* gun, it's a *scatter* gun."
"Same difference, if you ask me. Anyway, judging by the drawing, it's no close-combat weapon to be swung like a sword. If I had to classify it, I'd say it feels more like a magic weapon. The operating mechanism would be this button here, then."
So saying, he leaned in and studied my drawing with the gravity of a scholar deciphering ancient script.
I found myself genuinely impressed all over again.
This was, without question, a weapon he was seeing for the very first time in his life.
And yet, from one lousy doodle of mine, he'd deduced this much.
I couldn't speak to anything else about the man, but his skill was the real deal.
"Sharp instincts. The idea is that when you pull the trigger in the drawing, the mana condenses in one place and erupts out through the hole."
"...Remarkable. Truly remarkable. It won't bear comparison to crossbows or bows at all. And that exterior—it's the most practical, human-suited design imaginable. However did you conceive of such a thing? I've spent my whole life forging weapons, and it never once occurred to me."
Taliesin's eyes shone with open admiration.
That gaze was getting a little uncomfortable.
"...Let's call it a trade secret."
I certainly couldn't bring myself to admit I'd copied it from somewhere, so I deflected with a suitable non-answer.
"...A pity, though. If it could be made, it would be nothing short of a revolutionary weapon."
"Does that mean you lack the confidence?"
Taliesin shook his head.
"Regrettably, I am a blacksmith, not an alchemist. I have no way to make mana burst forth."
"No need to worry about that. I already have someone in mind. All you need to do is build it sturdy enough to withstand the mana."
At that instant, color bloomed in Taliesin's face.
Then, just as quickly, it hardened again.
"...You won't find just any random person to do it, though. The only one who might manage it would be the Grand Alchemist Floren."
"My thoughts exactly. Floren is precisely who I had in mind."
The Grand Alchemist Floren.
She was an elf so accomplished that she could turn copper into gold—could, it was said, turn a man into a woman.
With her help, even someone like me, who carried no mana of his own, could surely manage to fire mana-infused shots.
"...Then I'm afraid this weapon simply cannot be made."
Taliesin spoke up carefully after hearing me out.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I hate to throw cold water on this, but Floren's whereabouts have been unknown for about two months now."
"...!"
I stared at Taliesin, dumbfounded.
"I can see by your face you had no idea. The news has already spread across the whole continent. So much so that those proud, haughty elves swallowed their pride and begged the Tower of Magic for help."
...What on earth happened?
I bit down hard on my lip.
This was a variable I had never anticipated.
In the game's lore, Floren was a character who stayed holed up in her forest, doing nothing but research.
I had naturally assumed that if I just went to Solia Forest, meeting her was a given.
And now she'd up and vanished? What a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.
"Do you know anything else?"
Taliesin shook his head.
"Can't be helped, then. I'll handle the search myself—you focus on making the scatter gun."
Whatever the reason, if I wanted a powerful weapon built, I needed her, without question.
"Hmph. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have believed that. Leave this place to me—but you had better find Floren. We have history, her and I, on a personal level."
I nodded as if to tell him not to worry, then continued.
"I'll have both the workspace and the materials ready for the build. How long will it take?"
"I'd say about a week. Can you be back before then?"
"I'll do my best."
Just as I was about to rise from my seat—
"One question, if you will."
"You want to know who I really am?"
Taliesin shook his head.
"You lost the bet, so I've no intention of prying into your identity. What I want to know is this: who do you intend to point that scatter gun at?"
He fixed me with a grave, searching look.
Taliesin was no fool.
He'd seen me traveling with the demonkin earlier, and he would have gathered that we were on fairly intimate terms.
So what he was really asking was this: was I going to turn that muzzle on humans?
I answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Demons."
And with that, I sprang up from my seat.
In that same instant, Taliesin's expression brightened.
"Whoa... it's huge."
Only a full day after escaping the La-Vanaut Mine did Seina and I finally reach Solia Forest.
Knowing the Wishes I knew of, and thinking of the war that would break out in three months, I couldn't afford to waste a single moment.
"Gerard, why did we suddenly change destinations, anyway?"
"We need to find a clue."
"A clue?"
"A very important elf has gone missing."
So saying, I sank into thought.
Why on earth would Floren disappear?
It wasn't as though there were no suspects.
The most likely possibility was...
Something those Lord bastards did.
They were creatures who found every single day of eternity tedious.
So the moment the faintest spark of interest caught them, they had a strong tendency to chase it down by any means necessary.
Please, let it have nothing to do with the Lords, I prayed. I had no desire to get tangled up with them.
So thinking, I kept walking through the vast forest.
...Seriously, why can't I find it?
It felt like we'd been walking for nearly two hours.
In the game, it had definitely been somewhere around here, yet for whatever reason, nothing was showing up.
"If we're looking for elves, why not just ask some elves?"
"The elves are who we're looking for, Seina."
"Then why are we walking this way? The elves are over there."
Seina pointed at the cliff far off in the distance.
"...You mean that cliff over there?"
"Yeah, over there."
I looked at her, puzzled.
She talked nonsense plenty in her own way, but she wasn't the type to babble pure nonsense.
"Lead the way, then."
"Got it. Follow me."
Seina thumped her chest confidently, as if to say trust her, and strode out ahead.
I smirked and followed after her.
...The terrain's getting rougher.
The closer we drew to the cliff, the more the brambles on the ground snagged at my feet, as if warning us to come no further.
A little further on, sharp thorns began stabbing at my body from all sides.
Not that it felt like anything more than a light tickle to me.
And then, at last, we arrived at the edge of the cliff.
Seina said, her expression perfectly casual:
"Here it is. Just take one more step."
I looked down.
It was clearly a sheer drop—I could see all the way to the bottom.
"Scared?"
"Not even a little."
I took a step forward, ostentatiously.
And then—
"!"
It felt as though something was swallowing my whole body, and a new space materialized around us.
So it was magic.
Only now did I understand what was happening.
Elves were a race that deeply resented outsiders setting foot in their forest.
They must have set up this barrier to keep intruders out, no doubt about it.
"Seina. How did you know?"
"I smelled it."
"Smelled it?"
"Elves smell like babies."
What the heck is a baby smell?
Just as I was mulling over that question while pressing forward—
"Halt, human!"
"Move and you die!"
"Do you even know where you are, coming here?"
Voices rained down from above our heads.
I looked up to see dozens of elves glaring down at Seina and me, bows drawn taut.
...Fast, aren't they.
I raised my hands high.
Seina was standing beside me, spacing out without a thought in her head, so I nudged her with my elbow.
Her hands shot up too.
"Elves, I apologize for intruding uninvited upon the sacred Solia Forest."
"We have no desire to hear the apology of a mere human! Leave the forest at once, or we will kill you where you stand!"
"I've come to help you. I'd like you to grant me an audience with your chief."
But the elves had no intention of listening to a word I said.
Thwip!
A single arrow planted itself in the ground at my feet.
A warning: turn back, now.
I let out a sigh, sank my hands deep into my pockets, and spoke to Seina.
"Seina. Wait here a moment."
"Okay."
And then, as if to put on a show, I began walking forward, silent and unhurried.
"So your life means nothing to you!"
"Stop, human! You've been warned!"
"Loose your arrows, everyone!"
The elves released their drawn bowstrings.
Dozens of arrows came hurtling at me.
"Pathetic."
They didn't so much as scratch me.
The moment they struck my body, they rang like iron slamming against steel and ricocheted away, whole and intact.
"—!"
The elves stared at me, faces frozen in shock.
"Is that all you've got?"
Disrespectful little brats.
Looked like it was high time somebody taught them some manners.