The Elf's Reply
Junil mostly stuck to the Awakened community forums. He rarely bothered with the rest of the internet discourse.
After all, he had little interest in how the world at large was faring.
The only reason he might check the news was for housing prices, but with the market already in ruins, even that felt pointless.
Right now, his only concerns were staying relevant in the mainstream and figuring out how to survive as an Awakened.
Kang Hae-il, on the other hand, was different.
Still no countermeasures today, either.
He kept a constant eye on the Society section of the portal news sites.
Every headline carried an ominous weight. Too much damage had already piled up across the country—across the entire world.
People were living in fear, and the news comment sections were filled with endless demands for someone to take responsibility.
The government, the military, the police—everyone who was supposed to prepare for disasters like this. The public was demanding they take accountability.
But Hae-il knew better. They needed time to regroup too.
They’ve taken heavy losses themselves.
The goblins hadn’t spared high-ranking officials or anyone carrying out state duties. If anything, Gates had appeared with suspicious frequency around key national institutions, almost as if the system wanted to cripple them on purpose.
Being a public servant doesn’t make you immune.
Hae-il’s gaze drifted to a photograph in the corner of the room. It showed someone whose funeral he had attended not long ago. A man in uniform, wearing a dignified expression.
“Sigh…”
Hae-il let out a long breath, then grabbed his coat and headed out.
It’s a Free Chapter, after all.
That was the conclusion he had reached after scouring the news.
It’s better than before.
The world was still chaotic, but it was calmer than when monsters had first poured out in droves. The term “Free Chapter” really did seem to mean a period of reprieve.
The random goblin ambushes had stopped. Cities had stabilized to some degree.
Now’s the time to go.
Whenever a gap like this appeared, Hae-il made a point of visiting the mountains. He climbed into his car and entered an address into the navigation.
Pocheon City…
He was headed for Pocheon.
In the monitoring room of Fairy Corporation, Sam spoke with confidence.
“During this Free Chapter, Hae-il will draw far more attention.”
“You think?”
Ram sounded skeptical. After all, almost none of Sam’s previous predictions had come true.
“Yes. For starters, with the monsters no longer spawning wildly, national agencies will come looking for him. He’s still the only S-rank we have.”
“Mm. True.”
Ram nodded. It made sense. Kang Hae-il possessed both overwhelming power and strong convictions. He was exactly the kind of talent the country wanted.
“National agencies want talent! Kang Hae-il! National power level! The Constellations will love those keywords.”
“That’s it?”
That much could have happened even without a Free Chapter.
“Ah, no. The real part is what you planned, Ram.”
Sam pointed at a small pouch.
“Sub Quests.”
“…Oh.”
It was the pouch containing all the sub-quest storyboards.
“You told me to structure the Free Chapter with no main quest but tons of sub-quests, remember?”
“I did.”
“I created an efficient flow for them. They’re all tied to Hae-il’s personal history…”
Ram listened to the explanation, then clapped.
“Kiriri! It’s actually good this time?”
“Thank you!”
Sam saluted, eyes glistening. It was the first real praise he had received since this series began.
“Sub-quests that unfold alongside Hae-il’s personal story. Nice. Must have taken real work to weave them together. So what’s the first sub-quest?”
“It begins with an elf that appears at the site of Hae-il’s father’s grave…”
At a bus terminal in Seoul, a quote suddenly floated into Junil’s mind.
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
It was one of his favorite sayings. It applied far too often—sometimes even to himself.
“…What? The bus isn’t running?”
“Aigoo. The whole country’s a mess right now. So many express buses got destroyed… and a lot of drivers died, too.”
The app had clearly said the bus was operating, yet here he was.
“Ugh…”
Of course. Ram had focused the goblins on public transportation, thinking it would create the most shocking scenes. As a result, travel had become extremely difficult.
Junil’s plummeting Luck stat probably played a part too. After all, buses to other regions were still running.
Damn it…
He seriously considered his options. Should he take a detour and look for another bus?
But then the Constellations began leaving one by one.
Impatient bastards. Who would want to watch someone just traveling for long?
The number of Constellations, which had exceeded eight hundred, slowly dropped back into the seven-hundred range.
Current Viewers: 735
The Constellations who had joined out of momentary curiosity were merciless.
Damn it… I can’t afford to waste too much time traveling.
Junil shed bitter tears and made a painful decision.
“Taxi!”
He would take a taxi all the way to Pocheon.
I’ll squeeze every last Heart out of those elves if I have to.
A dangerous glint burned in his eyes.
Junil had been staring intently at the rapidly passing scenery when he shook his head.
No, not now.
He decided to use the time to gather more information instead. He opened the community forums.
More posts about the elf had appeared.
Some people who lived nearby had apparently gotten close enough to speak to it.
Apparently the elf would disappear the moment anyone tried to speak to it.
Why?
Even Junil found that part hard to guess. Elves weren’t usually shy. Having lived for eternity, they were endlessly curious about new things. They should have been interested in everything here.
Yet they refused conversation.
“We’re here.”
The taxi arrived while he was still gathering information. The fare was staggering.
Haa. Damn it.
Junil’s insides boiled with rage, but he told himself that selling items to the elf would solve everything.
Anyway, let’s find that elf first.
The public cemetery built into the mountainside. Using the Constellations’ information as a guide, Junil reached his destination in one go.
Junil strode confidently into the cemetery and continued deeper into the forest. Just as he reached the far edge of the grounds—
Oh.
There she was. A woman walking barefoot as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Bright golden hair, emerald-green clothes, snow-white skin, and long, pointed ears.
Junil approached her slowly, glancing at the Constellations’ reactions.
So the part about her running away if you talk to her is completely true…
That much seemed confirmed. Then more messages appeared.
Wait… seriously?
Junil instinctively took out his phone to check his reflection.
Hmm…
He tilted his head left and right, even ran a hand through his hair. Then he saw one particular message.
Even Kang Hae-il had failed.
That meant…
Hae-il came here too?
It seemed Kang Hae-il had been in the area. But why? Junil had come because he knew the elf could create magic stones. What did Hae-il know?
As soon as Hae-il’s name appeared, the Constellations started arguing again.
Huh?
Junil felt a spark of defiance flare up inside him.
These bastards keep talking about faces…
Ever since viewers from Hae-il’s channel crossed over, a faction had formed that constantly compared Junil’s looks to Hae-il’s. Even though he was a veteran of the seventh round, Moon Junil was still human. Being constantly called average or worse was starting to piss him off.
Fine. If I succeed where even Kang Hae-il failed… the Constellations will react. Even if I fail, it’s no loss.
Gathering his courage, Junil walked up behind her and spoke.
“Excuse me.”
At the same time, he braced himself to sprint a hundred meters at full speed if necessary.
If she runs, I’ll chase her down and catch her.
A few minutes earlier, inside Fairy Corporation.
Ram had grabbed Sam by the collar.
“You said something was going to start here!”
Hae-il had found the elf and tried speaking to her, but the elf had vanished.
[Huh?]
On the monitor, Hae-il looked around in confusion.
The Constellations were getting impatient. The rumor that the elf was carrying something valuable had already spread among them. After all, there was no way such a character would appear for no reason. She obviously looked important, so watching Hae-il lose her so stupidly was frustrating.
But that wasn’t all.
“Hey.”
To make matters worse—
“Yes?”
“…Why is he there?”
Ram pointed at another monitor. On it, Junil stood face-to-face with the elf.
“Uh…”
Sam panicked. There was no reason for him to be here. He shouldn’t have had any information.
“What is this? Did he see the community posts? Or is he just obsessed with the elf girl… Anyway, don’t worry. She’ll run again.”
“You think?”
“She’s done it every time so far, right? That crazy elf.”
But the prediction missed spectacularly.
[Um… why?]
She looked slightly annoyed, but she actually answered!
“…!?”
“What?!”
Why? That was what they wanted to ask.
The elf had run from everyone, including Hae-il. So why was she answering only Julian?
The Constellations shared the same question.
None of them had expected her to answer. They had already seen what happened with Hae-il and knew countless other Awakened had tried and failed.
The hardcore fans closest to Julian’s side began cheering wildly.