Wolfsrein Seoul Headquarters
Wolfsrein Seoul Headquarters. Explosions rocked the building from all sides, screams echoing through the halls.
"Kyaaak! S-save me! Aaaah!"
"Ugh…!"
The headquarters turned into a hellscape in an instant, overrun by intruders who had appeared out of nowhere. With no preparations in place and all the key forces absent, they had no choice but to crumble helplessly.
The director of the command center, who had been in the middle of eating, was killed on the spot. The HR manager, Sin Dong-hyun, who grasped the situation late, rallied the hunters to fight back, but it wasn't enough against their systematically trained foes.
"Have you contacted the Captain?"
"We've been trying since earlier, but no response."
"Damn it! What the hell is this... What was the command center doing?!"
"N-now's not the time to worry about that. At this rate, we're all dead. We should escape through the portal..."
"Don't be ridiculous. It's covered in a disturbance field—won't even open."
"Th-then what?"
"If it's spread this wide, there must be at least an S-rank sorcerer on their side."
"So what do we do?"
"All we can do is hold out. Grab only the top-priority documents and seal all gates below the sixth floor."
"What about the teams that went out to block them?"
"They probably won't survive anyway. Didn't you see the remaining A-rank hunters from the strategy support team get taken out in seconds? We have to abandon anyone who doesn't respond to calls... Move now."
"Yes, sir."
"And keep trying to reach the hunters outside, Deputy Kim Yoon-jin."
"Yes, Manager."
"Ah, if only Manager Park were here right now."
At the same time.
At the entrance to the Elf Forest dungeon portal, the escort team and guards who had been standing watch while waiting for Taemin had grown friendly and were deep in chatter.
Though the escorts outranked them in level and position, it didn't matter much among fellow guildmates.
The topic of conversation was Taemin. His unprecedented rapid promotions, level-ups, and unique abilities made for perfect gossip fodder.
The stories from the plateau were especially inspiring, reigniting their admiration for him.
"Was there really something like that? We hadn't heard that one."
"Yeah, he's incredible. He charged in without a second thought, even when his life was on the line. That was probably around... level 40? Totally insane."
"Well, level 40 is just when you'd come up from the Desert Zone anyway. No doubt about it—he's the real deal. Honestly, we didn't fully appreciate his skills until we saw them ourselves. When we heard a level 60 hunter was joining management as manager, most of us thought it was a parachute drop. As you all know, management manager spots are low-barrier enough to snag with connections. But after hunting with him, we got it. One time in the Sea of Chaos..."
They were sharing episodes with Taemin, creating a warm atmosphere, when their phones buzzed almost simultaneously.
Beep-beep! Beep-beep!
"Hm?"
The hunters exchanged glances, pulling out their phones to check.
[Emergency situation. Contact immediately upon reading this message.]
"What's this?"
The group checked their messages, faces puzzled. Then Lee Sung-ho's phone rang.
"Hello? Yes. What? Invasion? Yes. The manager's still... Yes. Got it."
Finishing the call with a grave expression, he addressed the others.
"Headquarters is under attack."
"What?"
"How...?"
"I don't have details, but we need to head back. Min-ah, you stay and escort the manager. Everyone else, return to HQ. The portal..."
Lee Sung-ho trailed off as he stood to issue orders. Mysterious hunters were emerging from the trees, encircling the portal and slowly closing in.
The other hunters finally noticed, jumping to their feet.
"What? Who are these guys?"
Ignoring the confused stares, Lee Sung-ho stepped forward and called out to the approaching man.
"Who are you?"
The man halted at the question, smirking.
"Why do the dead need to know?"
"What?"
Lee Sung-ho couldn't understand the language. It wasn't Korean. But he recognized it.
"Weapons out, everyone. Looks like Chinese hunters—bad vibes."
The hunters gripped their weapons. As they took combat stances, he faced the man again.
"I don't know who you are, but this is Wolfsrein territory. Leave."
The lead hunter sneered at his serious tone, glancing at his comrades.
"This idiot thinks he can fight us. Fine. Let's see what the Korean trash can do. Charge!"
At his shout, they activated skills and rushed forward.
Lee Sung-ho powered up his own skills and warned his team.
"Be careful, everyone."
* * *
Taemin, following Mirak toward the shrine, arrived under the shade of the World Tree.
"Here it is. See that tree? That's the World Tree. The shrine is beneath it, and the High Elf is right there."
"Got it. Thanks."
"Where to after you meet her?"
"Not sure."
"If it's okay, why not stay the night in our village? We'd like to repay you properly for your help..."
"Appreciate it, but people are waiting. And this was just a quick visit today—next time I get the chance."
"I see. Understood. Shame, but please visit again. I'll head out then."
"Sure. Take care."
After sending Mirak off, Taemin headed to the shrine. The World Tree, said to hold up the sky, was as majestic and grand as described.
So this is the World Tree. Incredible size.
After admiring it for a while, Taemin turned to the shrine. Up close, it was just a stone tower. Barely three stories high, less than three meters wide.
Just a tower? No door... Wrong place?
Taemin scanned around for other buildings but found nothing but the tower.
"What the...?"
As he tilted his head in confusion, a glow formed in front of the tower, shaping into a woman.
She wore pristine white robes like a nun's, her beauty so unearthly it could suck the soul right out.
Taemin stared blankly before snapping out of it.
"You're the High Elf?"
She nodded slightly.
"Yes. I am the High Elf. Park Taemin."
Shockingly, she knew his name.
"Huh? How do you know my name?"
"The human who undid Legernik's seal."
"What? How do you even...?"
Taemin blinked in astonishment. How did she know something only he knew?
"Do you know something? That woman who came to me that day..."
"Iron Blood Empress Seria. One of the rulers of Pandora, the beginning of this world."
"What does that..."
"This world you see is called Pandora. It's governed by five races from other realms, and one of them is the woman you saw."
"But why me?"
"Not long ago, a great war broke out in their world. In defeat, Seria took Legernik's essence—something she should never touch—and fled the dimension. That's when she met you."
"Is that stone important?"
"Legernik's essence is the seed of disaster left by the absolute being of the Legernik dimension. It's poison to humans, them, and us."
"What do you mean? Tell me more."
"That's all I can say."
"Wait... That's it?"
"You're not ready to accept it all. You're still too frail. Come back when the time is right."
"When's that?"
"You'll know yourself. Or I might come to you first."
Her cryptic words left Taemin's head spinning, especially without clear answers.
The High Elf spoke again.
"One piece of advice: You'll meet many allies ahead, Park Taemin. Don't foolishly make enemies of them."
"Who..."
"Time's up. Return to your world."
Before he could ask more, she vanished after her final words.
Notifications chimed.
Fate's Wheel (3/3)
Class upgrade temporarily sealed due to level restriction. (Required Level: 100)
Taemin opened his inventory to check the item.
The item had jaw-dropping options, but Taemin's face didn't brighten. His mind was a mess from all the unsettling info.
What the hell? What are they trying to tell me to do?
Standing rigidly where the High Elf had vanished, Taemin eventually shook his head vigorously.
"No point overthinking. Time to head back."
His figure began moving away from the shrine.