The Night 20 Years Ago
There were all sorts of reasons why I'd chosen the dark elf faction, but looking back, none of them were all that important. In the end, it was something I couldn't easily let go of despite wanting to—a base desire that dragged me along. Was I paying the price for my selfish cravings now?
"Come to think of it, you've always been oblivious to the state of the world, haven't you? The village must feel totally different."
Elenoir, who had linked her arm with mine, said with a slight smile. Just as she said, the dark elf village had a completely different vibe from Floor 7. New facilities that looked military in purpose had sprung up here and there, and a strange tension hung in the air.
Elenoir began explaining the reason, but I already knew it. The backdrop of Floor 8 was the future of Floor 7—about twenty years after the end of the first chapter of the faction quest. It was also the point after the three major powers, locked in constant conflict, had finally clashed with open force.
The cause of the armed conflict varied depending on the challenger's actions during the faction quest on Floor 7. Help the high elves, and it'd be phrased one way; aid the kingdom's army, another; even siding with the dark elves led to the same. The NPCs would mention how the challenger's aid to their faction had sparked the clash.
Of course, it was just conditional scripting, like in a game. The content changed based on whether you did the faction quest or not, but the basic setup of Floor 8 never shifted, no matter what. Even if the challenger did nothing and just climbed up, the three powers would clash anyway.
"—And that's how it went down. Those tree-hugging bastards finally lost it. Not that I minded."
Elenoir wrapped up the past twenty years' tale with a final jab at the high elves. It was so short and simple, it was hard to believe it covered two decades. Was it oversensitive of me to blame the system for that?
"Yeah...?"
I mumbled a vague reply and kept walking. As we went, other dark elves started peeking out curiously.
"Honey, isn't that... that human?"
"Oh my, he looks just like him. Maybe his kid or something?"
"Hasn't enough time passed for a kid to grow up? It's only been twenty years."
"I heard humans are full-grown by twenty."
Their outfits were a bit different, but they were people I'd seen a few times on Floor 7. Even these minor NPCs recognized me. Twenty years might not feel that long to long-lived elves. Plus, humans left a strong impression, and I'd pulled off some pretty outrageous shit.
"You! You!"
In the middle of the path, a familiar voice rang out.
"If it isn't the punk human! What, you came back?"
There stood Rizmel, dressed nothing like on Floor 7. Her hairstyle had changed a lot too—she was in a casual dress with piercings in her ears. And she wasn't alone. A male dark elf with matching piercings stood beside her.
"Yeah, introduce yourself. This is my husband."
Rizmel's total transformation in that short time stirred up all kinds of thoughts.
Rizmel's husband was someone I recognized from Floor 7. But he hadn't stood out, and there'd been no sign he was anything special to her. Something must've happened in those twenty years I couldn't comprehend. Whether it was real or not was beside the point.
"You look shocked. You and Rizmel were pretty close, after all."
"Yeah, something like that."
"Hmm, her marriage was a surprise to us too."
We'd only bumped into each other on the street, so we exchanged light greetings and parted. Elenoir, noticing my surprise at Rizmel's marriage, gave a brief rundown of their romance. I also learned a bit about dark elf marriage customs.
"In the old days, elves believed the World Tree's blessings flowed in through their ears."
She explained the meaning of the matching piercings and what ears signified to elves.
"Wearing the same jewelry there means sharing the same blessings and walking through life side by side."
An elf's ear was like a human's left ring finger. The matching piercings were basically wedding rings.
"They didn't always wear jewelry at first. Couples used to carve matching scars on each other's ears."
Hearing that, I finally understood why high elf knight Mercedes had been so furious. If carving matching scars was their marriage vow, what did it mean to have your ear sliced off by someone else? Mercedes's ear had no piercing hole, let alone a piercing. I remembered Elenoir laughing, saying she'd never heard such a vicious curse before. I'd done something pretty extreme, huh. Not that I felt even a fingernail's worth of regret.
Thud.
Before long, we reached the inn I'd used on Floor 7. Elenoir led me straight to a room, clearly eager to hear my story ASAP. But I'd only left the village a couple hours ago at most—nothing to spill.
"Come on, out with it."
But ignoring Elenoir's dreamy eyes was damn tough.
I recalled the community "storytime" posts I'd read while holed up on Floor 1. And recited them like they were my own experiences. Elenoir listened with sparkling eyes.
"Hehe, it's been ages since I heard your tales like this."
But that was a mistake.
"Still, it doesn't feel like you're talking about what you went through."
Thinking about it, Elenoir had seen right through me from the moment we met.
"Your face has been off since earlier. What happened while you were gone?"
Elenoir wasn't someone my clumsy lies would fool from the start.
It wasn't something I could explain with words, or that she'd even understand if I did. My lie got busted quick, but I couldn't spill the truth either. Elenoir's face turned bitter.
"If it's too hard to say, you could show me. You know how, right?"
Elenoir tapped her forehead lightly. She meant the night elf secret art for sharing thoughts and memories.
"Sorry, can't do it."
I shook my head. She nodded back.
"Fine, I won't push. There's gotta be a good reason you're making that pained face."
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but my patience runs deeper than that."
"I'll wait calmly until you tell me yourself. We've got centuries, after all."
Knowing how intense Elenoir's curiosity was, her consideration was hard to accept easily. But she looked more relieved than calm as she spoke. It wasn't the first time I'd seen that expression. It was from her "twenty years ago" night—my previous night—when she'd regretted my leaving, even briefly, and been content just noticing that.
"I'm always on your side."
Elenoir said no more and quietly left the room.
Hoo.
I let out a small sigh, pondered briefly, then sat cross-legged. Times like this called for doubling down on training. Ignore what I can't control. Focus on what I can.
Dozens of floors stretched ahead—over ninety. I couldn't let something like this shake me already.
I closed my eyes, meditated to shake off stray thoughts, and focused on my mana flow.
Thump, thump, thump.
But a tiny heartbeat echoed like a drum in my ears, disrupting me. Mana reacts directly to its master's will and heart. With my mind in chaos, focus slipped away, and the mana wouldn't obey.
"Fuck... this fucking sucks, for real."
After several failed tries, I gave up on meditation and stood. I couldn't sense my own mana flow—only an intense presence I'd never missed before. Its owner was, naturally, Elenoir.
Oddly, I felt her vividly despite the distance. Maybe because her mana was exceptionally strong, or from sharing senses via night elf arts before. Either way, it was good news. My mana detection still had a long way to go.
"Hm...?"
Wait—there was one time I couldn't sense Elenoir's presence. Just a few hours ago. Right after finishing the first chapter of the dark elves' story, before leaving the village. That Elenoir, who seemed to be half-assedly mimicking a person, had no presence at all.
Even if the Tower system turned her into a plain-vanilla tin-can NPC, her mana shouldn't vanish. So what the hell was this presence I was feeling from her now?