Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: People Living in the Apocalypse - 4
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The elves of Belond Forest had a custom of providing simple refreshments to visitors.
Refreshing herbal tea with a pleasant aroma and pies made generously with fruits from the forest were served to the veterans' group.
However, though they looked quite appetizing on the outside, they didn't taste good at all.
The herbal tea had a toothpaste-like scent, and the pie was so bland it had no flavor whatsoever.
Nevertheless, out of consideration for Amelia's sake, Da-jeong and Geom-in said it was delicious, but Seok-hyeon was different.
"Tastes bad."
"Does it not taste good? It might be too mild for you all."
Amelia looked at Seok-hyeon with curious eyes.
Even after the introductions, the mystery remained as to why the human before her was dressed like that.
From the reports she'd heard, he had carried a Jectri on his back and killed it.
It was tremendous strength, enough to make one think he might be a half-ogre.
But half-ogres didn't exist.
And the others were just as peculiar.
From their builds, clothing, and weapons, it was clear they weren't like the people of the Luat Kingdom they had seen before.
Amelia had lived a long time in the world before the end times, but she had never encountered humans like these.
She set down her teacup and gazed at the stag beetle and dung beetle sipping sap.
"I've heard your story. So, you're looking for the path to the Luat Kingdom's capital."
"If possible, the shortest route."
Amelia shook her head at Da-jeong's words.
"Impossible. Between Belond Forest and the Luat Kingdom's capital lies a vast flood plain. I know you all possess considerable skill, but..."
"We won't fight. We have a griffon, so we can just fly over, right?"
Amelia's eyes widened in surprise.
"A griffon...? You don't mean you've tamed one, do you?"
"Well, in conclusion, yes, we have. I can prove it right now."
As Da-jeong moved to whistle, Amelia hurriedly waved her hands.
Calling a monster here would cause an uproar.
The conversation continued, and Amelia sensed that they possessed unusual powers.
The ether she had felt at first was no illusion after all.
'And Elderwood is acting strange too...'
Not a whisper of wind, yet it swayed slowly.
It was an unprecedented phenomenon.
These were no ordinary humans.
Amelia reached that conclusion and decided to ask directly.
"You're not from this world, are you?"
"..."
Seok-hyeon seemed about to speak but got pinched on the thigh by Da-jeong and held back.
Geom-in cleared his throat.
"Uh, by 'this world,' you mean Rotos, right?"
"Rotos... the name humans gave it. But since you appear human, it doesn't matter. In any case, you all are vastly different from Rotos's humans."
How to handle this...
Da-jeong fell into thought.
They hadn't discussed with Sung-ho how much to reveal upon meeting Rotos natives.
As long as no major issues arose, sharing appropriately would be fine.
At that moment, Seok-hyeon took the initiative.
"We're from Earth."
"Earth...?"
"It's the name of a planet with several massive continents. There were over 200 countries, but they're gone now."
Amelia's eyes widened at that part.
"I don't know the details, but it sounds like those other dimensions I've only heard tales of..."
"You've heard of it?"
"A bit. Humans mentioned it when fighting Judecca. Unsure if it was influenced by his cursed magic."
"Who's Judecca? You mean that monster stuck in the great labyrinth?"
"Since you don't know Judecca, that confirms it. You're not humans from here."
Da-jeong decided to divulge most of the information now that it had come to this.
She judged that continued secrecy would prevent Amelia from sharing proper intel.
"Here's how it happened... The story's a bit long, but is that okay?"
A smile curved Amelia's lips.
A long time later, she finally grasped the full situation.
Both Rotos and Earth had perished.
"The near-identical paths to destruction are intriguing. Monster outbreaks could be countered as rampages in Rotos."
"Meteors fell there too? We believe zombie spores from those meteors spread."
"Not sure about that. We're forest folk, after all."
It also meant they were ignorant of worldly affairs.
Ultimately, the war with Judecca had been led by humans, and only they knew the process and outcome.
Rotos's many minority races had been mere bystanders.
The war had been so fierce that even now, long after, many areas remained inaccessible.
But these people might...
The stag beetle sipping sap nearby lifted its head.
She was conveying with her eyes.
These humans were trustworthy.
Amelia made her decision.
"I think we should join forces with you all."
Things had turned out like this?
They had just wanted the route to Luat, but the conversation's direction was shifting.
Seok-hyeon started to raise his thumb, but Da-jeong blocked him.
"Hold on. What exactly does 'joining forces' mean?"
"Helping each other. We can provide the information you need. And vice versa."
Geom-in lightly tapped his palm with his fist.
"So the elf chieftain is issuing a quest?"
Amelia smiled faintly.
"I'm neither the chieftain nor someone qualified to commission you. It's simply people struggling to survive helping one another."
"I'm in favor."
Seok-hyeon voiced his approval first, and Da-jeong nodded as well.
She felt that cooperating here would yield much gain.
Even Sung-ho wouldn't object.
Geom-in, however, seemed utterly smitten with Amelia.
His mouth hanging open...
"What do you think?"
"Me too?"
"Obviously? We three need to agree. One objection, and it's off."
Amelia didn't know what "off" meant but let it slide.
In any case, Geom-in indicated his agreement.
To Da-jeong, he looked completely lovestruck and out of it.
"Snap out of it, okay? She might be 200 years old."
"Who said 200?"
"No, nothing. Anyway... Normally, we'd shake on it here, but we can't anymore."
"Why not?"
"Brainwashing ability users appeared. Grab a hand, and you're a puppet. Handshakes vanished as a custom."
The smile faded from Amelia's lips.
"Similar to black magic. Cursed magic... Its users all met miserable ends."
"People using that here too?"
"Unclear now. But circumstantial evidence suggests involvement in the world's end."
"Yaaawn."
Bored, Seok-hyeon yawned hugely.
Amelia slowly surveyed the three.
"Much I'd like to say and hear, but you're busy. I'll share the path to the Luat Kingdom. Over a month on foot normally, but with a griffon..."
Da-jeong received an old map.
A gift from a merchant who had visited Belond Forest in the past.
And then Amelia said something unexpected.
"This might be unnecessary, but... do you have any connection to Elderwood?"
Da-jeong and Geom-in glanced at Seok-hyeon.
If they revealed what this lunatic had done, even the gentle Amelia might get angry.
Da-jeong added a slight embellishment, and Amelia let out an "Ah."
"You felt it... asking for help?"
"Dunno why, but it seemed injured too. Right?"
"...Yeah."
Even the oblivious Seok-hyeon couldn't blurt something out here.
Amelia grew serious and let out a soft whistle.
A blue parrot appeared at the window, perched on her shoulder, and whispered lowly.
"I see... Got it. Return now."
After the parrot flew off, Amelia retrieved something from a box.
"A rope made from Elderwood fibers. Absolutely unbreakable."
"Absolutely won't break? I'll test it."
"Hey, filter that kind of talk."
"No, it won't break."
Seok-hyeon and Da-jeong bickered as Amelia handed over the rope.
"Check it yourselves. Absolutely unbreakable."
The real deal.
But such an option only ignited Seok-hyeon's competitive spirit.
The freak with ogre-like strength gripped the rope and pulled with all his might.
"Hup! Hup! Hraaah!"
"Gonna shit yourself."
"Really tough."
In the end, the rope showed no damage whatsoever.
Amelia, who had watched anxiously, inwardly sighed in relief.
Da-jeong gleefully stowed the rope.
"Let's give this to Sung-ho."
"Who's Sung-ho?"
"Uh... my husband. Since his name came up, here's some serious advice: remember that first elf we met?"
"Griondel. Patrol captain."
"If you meet again, tell him not to act aggressively toward the tall guy in black clothes. Pure advice. We can't rein him in either."
Seok-hyeon nodded silently, confirming he was indeed a brute.
No need for needless clashes... Amelia thought, then addressed the three.
"Can't ignore Elderwood being injured. Use this rope to enter the forest with its main body."
"Which forest?"
"North of the Luat Kingdom... a vast forest forbidden even to us. Go check Elderwood's main body there."
"How to report back?"
As the Elderwood rope suggested, elves seemed unable to use the system.
No communication via auction house.
"This..."
Amelia pulled two etherstones of matching size from the box.
"Whisper gems, as you see, etherstones. Merchants who visited this forest said the Ezekiel Empire uses such processed stones widely."
"Walkie-talkies."
"Yeah."
"To use: hold the gem and think your message—it transmits to the other. But since you must hold it, best to set a time."
Geom-in accepted the whisper gems, and Amelia clasped her hands at her chest.
"There must be a reason you came here. A reason for our meeting too. From this encounter, I hope for small changes. Ones that will transform us."
What those changes were, she didn't know precisely.
But it was clear they each possessed what the others needed.
The group declined Amelia's offer to rest a day.
Though Geom-in seemed keen to stay.
"We have a long way to go."
"Yeah..."
"These elves seem friendly, so maybe woo Amelia later."
"It's not like that."
"Honey was dripping from your eyes."
Da-jeong laughed and summoned the griffon.
Moments later, Elderwood's branches parted, and the griffon descended.
The group departed amid the elves' farewells.
"Looks like things went well."
I purchased an Elderwood twig from the auction house.
Meeting the elves must have paid off.
From Geom-in's summary, they'd even revealed we were otherworlders.
"Was that necessary..."
Well, they made the call.
I could trust Da-jeong and Geom-in, if no one else.
Seok-hyeon was a bit iffy—that guy sometimes lets his fists fly before his brain.
He beat up the first elves we met, yet somehow smoothed it over.
"Elderwood main body investigation... not even a proper quest."
Da-jeong said Geom-in was thrilled.
For a game enthusiast like him, it felt like being a hero quested by an otherworld elf chieftain.
Practically the same thing.
In any case, the three were now en route to the Luat Kingdom's capital.
There, they needed to find an item to block Judecca's mental attacks.
Investigating Elderwood was a side task.
"Was on my mind anyway..."
Handling two things at once wasn't bad.
I fiddled with the Elderwood twig.
Even Seok-hyeon's brute strength couldn't snap it, so it had to be useful.
"Where to use this..."
Suddenly, drake habits came to mind.
The beast had a habit of actively descending to the ground to hunt.
One cow should suffice to lure it.
"Then slip a noose on it in that gap to halt movement..."
A drake that size thrashing on the ground was terror incarnate.
Plus, it was incredibly agile, making attacks tricky to land.
Tethered with this rope, it'd be much easier to handle.
"Tie it down, load a bomb onto a balista bolt, and fire..."
Even a ballista bolt would struggle to pierce drake scales, but an explosion should help.
Anti-tank rockets were limited in quantity, so I wanted to conserve them.
Over-relying on such weapons was risky anyway.
"Bomb bolt or anti-tank missile—six of one, half dozen of the other..."
Still, the difference was me delivering the killing blow.
I replayed drake hunt footage while mentally simulating.
Fortunate that the drake's frequent haunt had finished its battle royale.
Auction house showed initial chaos, but someone had cleaned it up.
The leader of the Houston Braves clan.
"Said he admires me..."
Lip service, perhaps, but he'd definitely watched Survival Life streams.
He'd even lamented it not launching in the US.
"They love survival, hunting, exploration."
No wonder preppers preparing for doomsday abound.
In any case, Korea's image among auction opinion leaders wasn't bad.
Just massive backlash against the federal government's botched response.
Korean friend catches it—we witness spectacle. Fails—we gain know-how.
Houston folks were starting to argue.
Time for me to step in.
―Doesn't catching an ogre count as proof?
My comment drew dozens of replies in seconds.
Sorry, but it's true.
Heavy weapons were used, and there were casualties, but my ogre kill is unshakeable fact.
Mentioning the ogre glove suddenly excited some.
That settled it.
I rode my bike with Sangsin straight to central Houston.
End of <People Living in the Apocalypse - 4>