#52. History of the Elves
The high elf prince who'd suddenly attacked me turned out to be the fiancé of the dark elf princess standing right in front of me.
How the hell was I supposed to take this? Was she demanding payment for beating up her fiancé or something? Nah, that didn't fit—her attitude toward me was way too friendly. Hell, hadn't she seemed happy that I'd kicked his ass?
So there was no need to worry. I just had to stay calm and respond.
"That's—"
But after a solid ten seconds of agonizing, that was all that came out of my mouth.
"Surprised you, huh? Don't worry, I'm not here to scold you. I told you from the start—I like you."
Elenoir waved it off with a casual flick of her hand. Then what the fuck had all this buildup been for?
"It wasn't a love match or anything, and that spineless prick isn't my type anyway. I prefer a man who's—"
Tap.
"—trained to the wild core, reeking of blood and sweat."
Her voice a little flushed, Elenoir flashed a bright smile and poked my chest with her finger.
What the fuck? Where do you think you're touching?
Living my shut-in loser life holed up in my room, I didn't have much experience with this shit, but even I could tell.
"Hehe."
There was definitely something not ordinary in that gesture!
Whether she was teasing or whatever, there was intent behind it! Was this what they called flirting? Was I getting flirted with by a dark elf princess who already had a fiancé?
With a body like hers—killer curves, sexy as hell—it should've felt great, but something was off.
"You're shyer than you look, aren't you?"
Only after hearing Elenoir's satisfied chuckle did I realize my arms were wrapped protectively around myself.
Oh shit, when the hell did I start striking such a dainty pose?
"Fuck, shit!"
I practically flailed out of the bath. This wasn't flirting—this was molestation! Teasing! I was getting groped by a fucking dark elf!
"Come on, it was just a joke. No need to freak out like that."
"What the—fuck, why make a joke like that?"
"Get back in. Your body's gonna cool off."
In the end, I slunk back into the bath, keeping some distance from Elenoir.
"I'm not gonna eat you—sit closer. I can't hear you from way over there!"
But Elenoir scooted right up like she was proving a point, and we spent the next few minutes playing this game of inching away and closing in again.
"So, where should I start... Our history with those tree-huggers seems like a good place."
It took a while to actually get the story going.
When I played RPGs, I'd skip the long, rambling lore and backstory. With my shit attention span, I couldn't even comprehend that crap, let alone sit through it.
But Elenoir's tale? Maybe it was that clear, melodic voice, but the long-winded history stuck in my ears like glue.
Of course, it didn't help that I kept having to bat away those creeping black hands mid-story.
Anyway, the first half was stuff I already vaguely knew.
Forest elves born from the branches of the World Tree. Night elves born in the shadows of its trunk.
The two elf races, born from the same tree, split duties: guarding the World Tree and pioneering the forests.
Over time, those roles expanded. Forest elves handled forest management, tradition preservation, and World Tree rituals.
Night elves moved beyond pioneering into combat against external threats.
But after thousands of years, that division got corrupted. Forest elves dubbed themselves the superior high elves, living like nobility.
Night elves got branded dark elves and shoved to the bottom rung.
Eventually, dark elves rebelled against the fucked-up hierarchy, sparking war.
No clear winner. Just deep scars that linger to this day.
Thousands of years of bad blood, until human kingdoms eyed the Great Forest and turned it into a three-way shitshow.
That's the backdrop for the faction quests starting on Tower of Trials Floor 7.
"You knew the basics, huh? Even humans have heard of it?"
I nodded vaguely. I'd picked it up from community forums, but yeah, it was known.
"Anyway, those pricks felt the human threat and belatedly proposed peace. The old-fashioned way."
"So the engagement..."
"Political marriage. Our queen's obsessed with the World Tree—didn't hesitate to offer up her daughter."
She didn't say it outright, but if the story was true, Elenoir was the queen's daughter. A princess.
"But I'm livid about this engagement. Even beyond him not being my type."
Elenoir continued in a low voice.
"For one, I don't hate humans. And the World Tree? No attachment—it's been powerless for ages."
Made sense. Dark elves didn't just tolerate humans—they seemed to like them a lot.
"No desire to return to the Great Forest I left millennia ago. This place is my home."
Made sense. She'd smiled happily when I admired the scenery here.
"And those sleazy, stuck-up tree-huggers begging for reconciliation? Pisses me off. I wish they'd just drop dead."
Made sense. History was on their side—high elves fucked up from start to finish.
"It's not just me. Even the elders who've lived as long as the queen have forgotten the old name: Night Elves."
Elenoir paused to catch her breath.
Dark Elf's Book - Invitation
A quest completion alert popped up in my vision. Mission accomplished: Elenoir had invited me.
As a linked quest, the reward was just a bit of EXP. More to come, no doubt.
"I'd rather mingle with humans, see the wider world, than reconcile and crawl back to the forest."
Elenoir's eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky as she spoke. A light so far from my world.
That was the glow of someone chasing dreams.
"I was looking for any excuse to ditch that prince. Anything to break the engagement."
She laid a hand on my shoulder. When did she get this close again?
"And then you showed up."
Her face inches from mine, breath hot, Elenoir whispered softly.
"Listen well. From this moment, I'm smitten with you at first sight."
"What?"
"You match my ideal type pretty damn close. Everyone will buy it."
The words hit so suddenly my brain froze. What the fuck was this crazy elf babbling about?
Elenoir's follow-up snapped my brain back online.
"And you're smitten with me too. Easy sell—I'm hot."
Ah, now I got it. It lined up with the overall faction quest flow.
She needed a pretext. Something to shatter the engagement and scrap the high elf truce.
"You catch on quick. Help me break it off. The reward will be worth it—what do you say?"
Now I understood why Dark Elf's Book was an epic quest. Rewards and goals shift with progress. Epic-grade for sure.
A princess's promised payout? Had to be massive.
Dark Elf's Book - Plan
The quest window appeared. My answer would accept or decline it.
Ridiculous situation, but no reason to say no. Pretend to be lovers with this badass beauty?
The ghosts haunting the open community forums would pay top coin for that shot.
"Yeah, got it."
"You'll do it?"
I nodded quietly. Quest accepted. Elenoir beamed.
"Thanks! I knew I liked you!"
But then she stood up abruptly—whoa, fuck, the water.
Anyway, dark elves are the superior race.