Power Leveling (2)
Power Leveling (2)
The moment they entered the Dungeon, Dojin immediately teleported straight to the 25th Floor. The two male Elves confirmed Dojin's ability to leap over the Dungeon's floors in an instant and burst into exclamations of admiration.
"That was really true......"
"Amazing. Gukseo-nim."
"Gukseo? What the hell is......"
Dojin clicked his tongue as he looked at the two Elves being strangely polite toward him. It felt like they were gradually binding him in this way, bit by bit.
Whether Dojin liked it or not, the two Elves kept bowing their heads toward him and maintaining their courtesies.
"And why are they all guys?"
"It's the Queen's opinion. She said we can't add any more women......"
"I don't have a hobby for that stuff, but if Gukseo-nim desires it, anytime......"
"Are you insane?"
The male Elves blushed as if they were ready at any moment. Their appearances weren't much different from female Elves, so there might be people who thought even they would be fine......
'Insane to go for guys......'
He wasn't gay or bi, so what reason would he have to go for men? Dojin was straight, and thanks to his ability, he could enjoy guilt-free pleasure.
There was zero reason to enjoy homosexuality while fearing STD risks and social stigma.
"Anyway, you two are enough?"
"The two of us are sufficient."
"It seems Gukseo-nim doesn't know the power of Elvengard."
"......Elvengard?"
What the fuck is that, you otaku Elves— Dojin was about to snap back like that, but he stared intently into the Elves' eyes. Elvengard, just from the name, it sounded like elite Elf knights trained for total war.
But looking at their outfits, they seemed too scrawny to be called knights. Exaggerating a bit, their arms were even thinner than Deokgu's, so could they even properly swing a weapon with those spindly limbs?
Especially in a Dungeon, where even their fancy spirits couldn't be used?
"Even if it's dangerous, I won't help?"
As if to say Dojin's worries were unfounded, the two pulled weapons from thin air. It was a rare Spatial Magic Tool.
But Dojin just nodded nonchalantly while watching. Well, there weren't any special conditions needed to learn magic anyway.
It would be more ridiculous if Elves, who had nothing but time on their hands, couldn't use magic.
The two, having drawn their magic weapons, thrust them toward the approaching monsters.
"Sorry, but."
"We are Elvengard."
Jeobeok jeobeok.
With footsteps so light they made no sound, the two advanced, and before them appeared a massive monster that looked utterly impossible to beat on the surface.
Sure, fights aren't just about size, but even that has its limits.
Could a martial arts master beat a rhino just because the rhino doesn't know the first thing about martial arts?
No, he couldn't.
That was the gap between the monster and the two Elves.
"We never lose in total war."
"The strongest knights of the Elves."
Level 1 punks talking like they're Level 10— as that thought crossed his mind for a moment, the two male Elves' mouths moved.
The incantation that burst from their mouths transformed their bodies to properly contend with the monster before them, and for that instant, the two warriors gained the power to fight the monster head-on as they swung their weapons at it.
"Grroooaaar!"
The opponent was a 3-meter giant with skin impervious to blades, a Troll, but...... the two Elves sliced into the Troll's body with breaths as synchronized as if they were one body.
Slicing the Achilles tendon, stabbing the thigh— then simultaneously splitting and tearing the collarbone and nape in half.
Having dispatched one monster in the blink of an eye, Dojin watched them hunt, thinking it wasn't half bad.
As expected of the self-proclaimed strongest Elf warriors.
There were various reasons why high-level Elves were so rare.
The biggest was that the Beastkin Alliance didn't possess any Dungeons.
The next was that prideful Elves refused to bow their heads to humans.
The nations that owned Dungeons were reluctant to make already strong non-humans even stronger, so unless they paid exorbitant fees, they weren't even allowed near the Dungeons.
Elves and beastkin, rather than shelling out that insane money to enter Dungeons, focused on honing their innate powers.
And just refining those natural gifts made them stronger than average Level 2s or 3s anyway. In a way, it was only natural that there were few leveled-up talents among them.
"This is leveling up......"
"To get this strong in such a short time......"
Thus, the Elves experiencing leveling up for the first time were thrilled by the unknown energy surging through their bodies.
Dojin tilted his head as he watched them level up in just a week.
'Isn't there some condition for leveling up......?'
It wasn't his place to say, since he leveled up just by killing monsters, but watching the Elves level up so casually sometimes left him feeling empty.
'I at least busted my ass to level up.'
Unlike Seoyun or Han-young with their combat-useful cheat abilities, he had walked on thin ice every day, risking his life in fights to grind experience......
Seeing them level up as easily as eating cake and flaunt their increased power, he could roughly understand why the Kingdom and Elves were so obsessed with Dungeons.
Trained or naturally strong races had no trouble reaching a certain level.
Unlike other adventurers who climbed step by step, knight cadets or World Tree Rangers trained for over a decade and then rocketed up levels in an instant on that foundation.
'And the moment they level up... their combat power visibly changes.'
It took five Level 1 knights to barely match one Level 2 knight.
Of course, there were huge gaps even within the same level, so it wasn't absolute, but still.
Leveling up was the fastest, most reliable, and efficient way to grow stronger.
'Of course, most cap at Level 2, and the numbers thin out higher up, but......'
Dojin chewed his lips, lost in thought. Was it really right to unilaterally boost one side's forces like this?
Was it okay for him, an otherworlder who crash-landed in this Otherworld, to shatter the fragile ecosystem between humans and non-humans?
'Something feels ominous.'
Dojin's brain, neither particularly sharp nor expert, couldn't even imagine what might happen or what the aftermath would bring, but......
His near-beastly instincts sensed that this choice was extremely dangerous.
'I should ask Deokgu later.'
Stuffing that anxiety into a corner of his mind for now, Dojin took the Elf warriors looking at him back into the Dungeon.
In just a few days of back-and-forth like this, over dozens of Elf warriors succeeded in leveling up.
In the Safe House set up in Dungeon territory, Celestia received her vassal's report.
"......Hasn't it been just a week yet?"
"It took a bit longer than that."
"And already this much progress?"
Celestia scanned the report with a serious expression upon hearing that over dozens of Elves had leveled up in just over a week.
Traditionally, for dozens of Elves to enter a Dungeon and level up, you'd need dozens more servants to accompany them, dozens more guards to protect the porters, and so on—the tail chasing tail, just entering the Dungeon cost a fortune.
But now?
'Since my husband is the Dungeon's master... no fees from the Lord.'
Of course, if dozens of Elves openly formed a party to enter the Dungeon, the Lord couldn't ignore it......
But now, they could sneak in disguised in hoods, two or three at a time.
Plus, no escorts were needed for the combatants. They could just go in, fight until exhausted, and exit right away.
"......Palmer."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"If they keep growing like this... what happens?"
"They're already showing over 50% growth compared to last year, and without expending any extra resources—."
Three months.
If they could strengthen the Elves like this for just three months.
The Elves could seize hegemony over the world.
"Your Majesty, we must treat Gukseo-nim truly well."
"Hmm— whose husband is he?"
"You've only done it from the front so far? Maybe prepare the back soon......"
"Th-the back?"
Chatting idly like that with her vassal... Celestia prepared for any possible contingencies.
There are no eternal secrets.
The rumor that Dojin was taking Elves in and out of the Dungeon spread quickly.
The origin was the knight cadets who had come to the city for training.
—Elves are entering and exiting the Dungeon.
But the cadets hunting on the 1st floor have never seen Elves.
For these contradictory conditions to both be true, some unrealistic ability was needed.
Dojin was exactly that.
"Could you perhaps help us a little too?"
"Help how?"
"If you provide the same convenience to our knight candidates as you did for the Elves......"
"So, exactly what do you want me to do?"
But while the Lord and knights knew Dojin could control the Dungeon, they didn't know precisely what abilities he had.
All he'd shown was closing the Dungeon entrance and resetting it to its old state.
It was ironic to ask for help without knowing what the other could do.
Thus, the Lord attempted the most difficult request he could.
"......Could you raise our knights?"
"Of course not."
"But......"
"You're misunderstanding something... How the hell am I supposed to raise knights?"
"Like... killing monsters for them instead?"
"That way, they'll never level up in their lives."
Leveling up is close to the embodiment of the karma gained from mutual life-and-death struggles with monsters.
Like how solving math problems through someone else is pointless no matter how much you study, getting help from others means little.
Of course, the knight cadets had basic skills, so they'd level up quickly, but Dojin couldn't raise their levels for them.
"......Then what did you do for those Elves?"
"Secret."
And unfortunately for the Lord, Dojin had no intention of telling him what the Elves were doing.
It looked pretty dangerous for the Elves to charge up alone, but he didn't want to tell the humans and stir up unnecessary strife.
Who knows? Dojin's words might spark a massive war in this world like the Sarajevo incident.