Chapter 250
Chapter 250
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 250
Chapter Title: Kanghwan Realm (2)
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Elven Kingdom's capital, Drasha.
"Sigh—."
A deep sigh escaped Cecily Greenwood's lips as she stepped out of the royal castle at the city's heart.
'Where the hell did he run off to all of a sudden...?'
It was all because of the abrupt behavior from Harris, who could be considered her peer, just a few hours earlier. He'd been dutifully guarding the World Tree in case of emergencies, yet out of nowhere, he'd requested a sudden leave of absence.
In truth, that wasn't so unusual by itself.
No matter one's position, everyone needed rest and personal time. The other high elves had nodded along without complaint, even telling him to take his time and recharge.
The problem was that he wasn't just leaving Drasha—he was venturing beyond the Elven Kingdom's borders entirely, to some unknown destination.
'...He didn't say where, but it doesn't feel like the Enameled Continent either.'
Naturally, Cecily and the other high elves had tried to dissuade him.
How could they let a symbolic figure—one of the few high elves left, and a key powerhouse who'd risen to the top—not to mention a vital asset, head off alone into potential danger?
But unlike his usual laid-back self, he'd been unusually firm, and in the end, they'd had to yield to his stubbornness.
'We've eliminated threats like the lycanthropes now, and we've got plenty of defenses in place, so it'll be fine if he steps away for a bit.'
They'd agreed on exactly ten days.
Harris had promised to return within that time, and just moments ago, he'd hopped through the Forest Path to who-knows-where.
"Nothing better go wrong."
She didn't think a powerhouse like him would run into trouble easily anywhere, but with the world being so chaotic these days, worry was inevitable.
If only he'd just lounge around photosynthesizing like usual—how nice that would be.
With those thoughts, as she walked the path, she spotted someone peeking around near the tree-covered hill where Harris usually slacked off, a short distance away.
'Huh? Shaphiron...?'
It was an elf girl clutching a snack basket, her neatly styled blue hair swaying as she scanned the surroundings nonstop.
Shaphiron Silvasti, daughter of Rapori. They'd grown close naturally, since she'd joined the delegation and they were around the same age.
'Ah! No way.'
Cecily had often seen Harris hanging around with her on his way back.
Mostly just munching snacks together or bickering by his side while he sprawled out.
So she'd assumed he'd at least given Shaphiron a heads-up...
But from the looks of it, he'd ditched without a word to her too.
'Seriously, what was so urgent!'
Cecily froze for a moment, then locked eyes directly with the pair of blue eyes that had been darting around.
Shaphiron blinked wide-eyed and bowed her head deeply.
Seeing that innocent gesture only made Cecily's heart feel heavier.
"Haa— That guy's in for it when he gets back..."
Cecily let out another sigh and slowly walked over to her, vowing to give Harris an earful upon his return.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Danger level: extremely high. Prioritize survival.
He couldn't just recklessly send any old avatar into such a perilous world.
Sure, unsummoning existed, so death wasn't permanent, but trial-and-error like that was a waste of time, wasn't it?
'Gathering precise local intel and securing safety requires force. No need to start from scratch when I've got overwhelming power!'
Hans was holed up in the Immortal Fortress recovering and buried in research, while Heinz the Second was swamped tending to both worlds.
Heinrich was under continent-wide scrutiny, and Harley still had unfinished business down south.
'Which leaves only Harris with any free time.'
Of course, even Harris couldn't be away forever from his important post, so once he'd established a foothold, he'd have to head back to the Elven Kingdom.
He had just over ten days for now.
Plenty of time to hit his primary goal.
Somewhere in the Kanghwan Realm.
In the midst of an uninhabited mountain range.
Suuup— Haa—
"So this is the Kanghwan Realm... Not bad at all."
Harris took a deep breath upon setting foot in the new world for the first time, nodding in approval.
It wasn't on par with Outerica's World Tree-laden air, but compared to Earth's polluted smog, this place was pristine paradise.
'Part environmental pollution, but the real difference is the energy permeating the world.'
Unlike Earth—a mystical energy wasteland devoid of even a speck of qi—the air here circulated with this world's unique energy, constantly purifying worldly impurities.
'This must be qi. Feels subtle.'
As a high elf attuned to nature and a transcendent powerhouse, he could sense it clearly.
Not just the energy difference—the atmospheric composition itself diverged sharply from Outerica or Earth.
'Experiencing it firsthand makes it all the more fascinating. How do Awakeners stay unaffected by such wildly different environments?'
Independence from dimensional laws. Homeostasis preserving their unique traits amid alien surroundings.
It didn't seem like something that just happened by chance.
"Hmm."
The golden-haired, green-eyed elf-eared youth tilted his head, stroking his chin before shaking it off.
Now wasn't the time to ponder the world's secrets.
'What matters is the experiment succeeded.'
Thanks to that, after mastering 'self-powered Earth return,' he'd achieved his second feat: strengthening Otherworld Teleportation Circle Summon.
The once-every-ten-days summon interval for otherworld time was now slashed to five days.
'A perk letting me return to places I've been in other worlds.'
And that was the key enabling Harris's trip to the Kanghwan Realm.
Hans's research, infused with memories extracted from the transcendent expert Salma's vivid thought fragments.
'So this is the place Salma passed through?'
At last, he'd fooled not just himself but the world itself—
Successfully twisting causality to make it seem like he'd personally visited a location etched in Salma's memories.
"Alright then, time to start some proper local scouting..."
Harris glanced around at the surrounding forests and trees, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Exotic plants and unfamiliar flora everywhere, but the refreshing energy they exuded satisfied him, with his Nature Assimilation.
This would do nicely...
"Come out, Pascal."
Whiiiiiing—
His spirits could have a decent time playing around here too.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Yanghyeong Mountain, near Jangsa City in Honam Province.
"Ptooey, damn. Another bust for business today."
"Can't be helped. Look at the state of things. With the country falling apart, how many fools are still wandering around without a care?"
"You say that so casually? We're all gonna starve at this rate! Shouldn't we move somewhere else?"
"The boss is already mulling over relocating too. Word is even Soho Branch couldn't hold out and upped sticks recently."
A group of five or six men huddled at the mountain pass entrance, muttering among themselves—they had to pass through here to cross the ridge.
Self-proclaimed mountain lords of Yanghyeong, heroic outlaws decrying a corrupt world—or so they claimed.
Plain and simple, they were bandits.
"Argh, still no signal from the entrance? Boss is gonna flip if we strike out again today."
"Nada. Looks like another dry day."
"Sigh, no caravans lately. Could use some rich sucker dropping from the sky."
"Kekekeke— If you're dreaming, go dig a ditch or something! Under this clear sky, what're the chan— Huh?"
Right then, an unexpected situation crashed into the group, who up to that point had been peacefully guarding the mountain in their usual harmony.
"Eek?! W-What's that? It's coming this way...!"
It started with one man's startled shout as he absentmindedly glanced skyward and spotted something. The others followed his gaze, lifting their heads one by one—
Whooooosh—!
A fierce gale suddenly whipped up.
"Oh, people spotted."
And from the heavens, a man dropped right down.
Accompanied by a voice so nonchalantly drowsy it lulled the ears just hearing it.
The moment they locked eyes with him, the same thought flashed through every bandit's mind.
'...Is that really a person?'
They had no choice but to wonder.
Golden hair and green eyes? Manageable, barely.
Fair-featured folk weren't common on these lands, but they weren't nonexistent.
'Those ears human...? And the eyes...!'
'A... yokai?!!'
But everything else shattered their grasp on reality.
A flawlessly sculpted, handsome face; pointed ears sticking up on either side; star-shaped pupils gleaming in verdant irises.
Hell, he'd descended from the sky wrapped in tangible winds!
No matter how open-minded they fancied themselves—free of prejudice, embracing the world—this defied acceptance.
"......"
"......"
The bandits subtly exchanged glances.
Seeking each other's take on this sudden mess, but really, their course was already set.
"Aigoo~! What brings such a noble guest to our humble hole?"
The bandit with the big mole on his nose—who'd just wished for a heavenly sucker—prostrated first, wailing pitifully.
"For one such as you to grace worthless scum like us..."
"If there's anything you desire, anything at all..."
"My poor old mother waits only for me, day in, day out..."
The rest hurriedly slammed their foreheads to the dirt in tow.
True to their bottom-feeder survival instincts honed over years, their situational awareness was lightning-quick.
Who in their right mind would mouth off to someone performing aerial miracles with wind mastery?
"Hm, you guys catch on quick."
The newcomer from the sky—Harris—nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased by their display.
Relieved he wouldn't need to get rough right out of the gate in his first encounter here.
'And I never expected Xenoglossy to shine here. Thought it was a dud, but jackpot.'
Chatting with the locals made it obvious.
Every word he understood and spoke involved Xenoglossy.
The system's auto-translation apparently applied only to officially entered dimensions—unauthorized ones got no such service.
'Without this, I'd have dragged Hans over again, learned the language from scratch... Massive time sink.'
This turn of events reignited interest in that Random Miscellaneous Skill Acquisition from before.
Sure, it cost a whopping 500,000 points, but...
'No, later. Focus now.'
Temptation to roll crept up, but the situation at hand demanded priority.
"Well then, mind guiding me to your hideout?"
He'd long since spotted their nearby mountain stronghold after noticing them from afar.
They were just closest, so he'd landed here first.
Pure formality, really.
"M-May I ask what business brings you to such a wretched lair...?"
"Hey! Watch it! ...Heh heh, of course! Right this way! We'll get you there swift and comfy!"
Sensing the sharp glint in his eye at the tactless question, Big-Mole Bandit swiftly salvaged the mood and led the way.
A close call on souring things—lucky break for them.
And as expected,
Once guided to the stronghold, he swiftly subdued every last bandit in a blink.
From there, interrogation flowed into full-blown intel gathering.
All within a mere hour of the mysterious expert 'Harris' making his debut in this world.