Elves (1)
New regions are coming to you.
New Region Added:'Battlefield: Pain-Eating Mountain Beasts vs Elves'
Join a faction to start quests. However, your choice may worsen relations with certain factions.
New Named Monsters Added:
'Pain-Eating Mountain Beast Leader': Lv.900
'Pain-Eating Mountain Beast Adult': Lv.700
'Pain-Eating Mountain Beast Youngling': Lv.500
The reactions weren't all that divided.
"It's been a while since we got a region update... What?"
"A battlefield?"
"Is this the battlefield I know?!"
[Labyrinths], [Dungeons], and now even [Battlefields] manifesting in reality?
Back when Arcana was just a game.
Battlefields had been a goldmine for players.
"You just had to gauge the situation and side with the faction that looked like it would win."
"Even if quest rewards depended on your battle contributions, just participating boosted your fame. That's why there were players who only hopped from battlefield to battlefield, right?"
"Yeah, especially the mercenaries!"
A battlefield, in other words, a place overflowing with spoils of war.
And as expected, no one was more familiar with battlefields than mercenaries.
So it was only natural that attention focused on the Shadow Mercenary Corps, one of the top mercenary groups.
Yusra Kingdom.
Golden Calf Pub.
BAM!
The source of the loud crash was, once again, Rackid.
"A battlefield, they say—a battlefield! Weren't we all getting itchy for a fight anyway?"
His voice boomed like he was shouting into a megaphone.
Naturally, quite a few eyes turned toward the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
From the alliance explorers who'd been glued to their tables digging for info, to informants from famous guilds, and even netuber players.
"Rackid never disappoints."
"My eardrums are killing me. But thanks to him..."
"Shh! Everyone, quiet! They're about to get to the main point."
Ignoring the stares from those around them.
Gulp—
Captain Kichi emptied her glass.
Then she glared at Rackid.
"Hey, you at the bottom."
"...Huh?"
"Bot-tom-bot-tom. You thick-headed idiot!!"
"!!!"
In the end, Kichi exploded.
It was a rare occurrence, but everyone in the Shadow Mercenary Corps knew how fierce the aftermath would be.
They slunk away.
Alkari and a few others had already vacated their seats early.
Kichi's eyes, now sharp as daggers, fixed on Rackid.
"Do my words not sound like words to you?"
Her usual drunken ramblings felt like mere smoke in comparison.
Killing intent poured plainly from that gaze.
Sharp enough to slice just by meeting it.
... Gulp.
Rackid swallowed dryly without realizing it.
Indeed, she was the one who'd bound even the mighty Rackid to a mercenary group.
A true child of murder.
Her aura was worthy of the title "Heaven's Dagger."
'It's been a while since I felt this sensation.'
There wasn't a single weapon in Kichi's hand.
Yet it felt like a blade was pressed to his throat.
Killing intent he'd never felt even in the life-or-death Colosseum.
But Rackid forced the corners of his mouth up.
"Good. Now that's the captain I know."
"Bullshit."
...She'd lost her cool.
Kichi regained her senses at Rackid's nonchalance.
Damn it, now that she'd snapped out of it, there were way too many eyes on them.
Kichi dispersed her killing intent.
"Sorry. Too much on my mind, couldn't hold back like usual."
Truly, annoyingly too much on her mind.
Thinking about it again made her head throb.
Of all the massive incidents to get tangled in!
'This isn't just a battlefield level—it's a holy war.'
That's right.
The Shadow Mercenary Corps had gotten roped into the Holy War too.
Anyone who knew them well would say something like:
The Shadow Mercenary Corps still clinging to some sense of pride? Yeah right.
It was true.
Kichi hadn't joined the Holy War out of some vague pride she didn't even understand.
'...This damn mouth of mine!'
Her mouth was always the problem.
Kichi had received a formal invitation from Yusra's king, Hakuna.
Asking if the mercenary corps intended to join the Holy War.
To the king's question, Kichi had cheekily replied:
—"The whole corps, if the pay's right."
The Shadow Mercenary Corps' going rate?
For your average group, you'd regret it big time.
Hell, even with ten thousand gold, they could only afford two or three members at most.
So it was a polite refusal.
—'A holy war against demons? No way in hell, not even for a million gold. For real.'
But Kichi had overlooked one thing.
Yusra.
Why this ancient kingdom was called a treasure island.
"Fuuuuck."
It was an amount she couldn't refuse.
If ten thousand gold wasn't enough, a hundred thousand. If that fell short, a million.
Yusra Kingdom's wealth far exceeded Kichi's expectations.
By a ridiculous margin!
Kichi smacked her own jaw.
"If I'd known, I'd have demanded a billion gold...!"
Her emotional swings were worrisome.
"...Kichi, you drunk?"
"Forget what I just said. Must've been the booze talking."
"Drinking since midday, and you're already blacked out?"
Everyone watching could only chalk it up to drunken nonsense.
But Rackid knew.
That the captain's killing intent just now had been dead serious.
Still, he couldn't back down.
"I figure we need a warm-up before the Holy War."
"...Warm-up?"
"We'll just watch, Captain. But how about we all admit it? We're dying to know, right?"
"?"
"What elves even look like."
"...!"
Kichi met Rackid's eyes.
They sparkled—he had zero intention of giving up.
And Rackid wasn't entirely wrong.
'...Elves, huh.'
If dwarves were a rare race, elves were beings of legend.
Even among the flood of commissions the Shadow Mercenary Corps received, not a single one had ever involved elves.
Not even in the inherited commission logs passed down through generations.
That alone hinted at how mysterious they were.
'Well, since they popped up out of nowhere, there must be a reason.'
Hmm, info was always crucial for mercenaries.
Kichi nodded at Rackid's words.
Fine, sure.
"But absolutely no fighting."
"...What?! No fighting in a battlefield? What kinda nonsense is that, Captain? Wait, are you worried about me? That's kinda touching!"
"Touching my ass. We've already taken the advance! You think your body's still yours? If you get hurt and sit out the Holy War, you gonna cough up the commission fee instead?!"
*
Mage Tower.
The sole elder mage, Yugweed, spoke up.
"Elves, huh. If it weren't for our Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol's words, I'd scarcely believe such news. So the question is, how do we approach those insolent bastards..."
...Insolent?
The elder starting with profanity?
I kept my inner thoughts hidden and looked at Yugweed.
'Realizing it again now.'
Yugweed had a gentle appearance, but her tongue was sharp as a blade.
At this point, I was certain.
Like Senior, mages were never to be judged by appearances.
'Never trust first impressions.'
Marcelo was the exception, though.
His gaunt frame was still there.
But he no longer lacked vitality like before.
Worth the hell he went through to lift that terminal curse.
"Elves are a major variable at present."
Reliable as ever, Marcelo.
Well said, Marcelo.
Truly befitting the Mage Tower's chief—knowledge and experience unlike this parachuted-in me.
Marcelo laid out his opinion.
"Especially now, with the Holy War underway. For them to emerge from their homeland Sisli onto the Arcana Continent—there must be a reason. But we can't predict what impact that reason will have on us."
...Hold on.
High-level info was flying by in the blink of an eye?
Elves.
The moment I saw those two words in the update, I knew I'd messed up.
Damn that decade-plus gap grabbing my ankle again.
But thanks to modern conveniences.
I'd searched the internet for elves.
And found that even after a decade-plus, nothing was known about them.
Players hadn't even figured out if they were myth or real.
Yet.
'Not only insolent bastards, but their homeland is Sisli?'
Out poured info from Marcelo and Yugweed's mouths.
Info no player had uncovered!
I diligently etched the real-time info into my mind.
Of course, without showing surprise.
"What are your thoughts, sir?"
To Marcelo's question, I brazenly replied.
"Indeed, their intentions remain unclear."
Why elves clashed with demons.
No way for me to know the story.
Even with the Demon Eye Telescope, considering time flow and cooldowns...
Hoping they'd blunder into view would be conscienceless.
But one thing was clear.
"However, we can discern the demons' intentions."
Yes.
To Grandfell's noble pride, the demons mattered more than elves.
Those levels were brutal, though.
Lv.900?
On par with the giant demon monsters I'd seen on the Arcana Continent?
Of course, level wasn't everything.
A Lv.950 monster was just a named, a true demon.
Far below boss-tier like demon kings or archfiends in weight class.
'Even conservatively...'
A new realm: sword aura.
Plus the ongoing First World Tree's Blessing.
'Could I take it solo?'
Not that I needed to.
"Then, we proceed as pre-agreed?"
Yugweed asked, and Marcelo answered.
"Yes. From the Mage Tower, Senior Matis will step up."
Everything by procedure.
The Mage Tower, Yusra Kingdom, Frost, Muon, Shadow Mercenary Corps.
Entry order into the rift was already set by prior agreement.
Yugweed looked at me.
"Our Chief Mage here never gets a day off, does he?"
No days off.
If my boss said that at work.
Was he mocking me, or picking a fight?
But this was my own doing...
In short, I was the wildcard.
I had "authority" to enter rifts regardless of procedure or order.
Demons? Couldn't ignore them. Pride was such a pain.
But I couldn't show my misery.
"We'll discuss details at the roundtable after return."
Yeah, no use regretting now—what's done is done.
Accept your wildcard fate, Hoyeol.
But before entering the rift, I needed to clarify one thing.
'Why the war between those two factions?'
Elves emerging from Sisli to Arcana Continent was recent.
Demons wouldn't pick a fight first.
They were busy with the Demon King Struggle.
Fighting among themselves—no reason to poke elves.
'So the elves started it?'
Beginning, middle, end, conclusion.
Like Grandfell said.
Elves moving because Arcana was overrun by demons? Timing was way too late.
There had to be another reason...
'...Insolent bastards, right?'
Yugweed's words felt so meaningful now.
In that sense, good that our companion was Matis.
If it were another senior—like Bensy.
'He'd nag till the rift clear was done.'
I headed to my office.
Brewed some tea right away.
Not for leisure tea time—herb doping.
With the elf variable.
Prep could never be too thorough.
Clink—
But soon, I set the teacup down.
A message on my smartphone.
Breaking news.
Players hadn't even jumped into the battlefield, and the fight was over.
Simple implication.
Elves vs demons.
The battle between the two factions had ended faster than expected.
"Not even time for a cup of tea. Impatient fools."
Whoever the victor, it meant one side—elves or demons—would appear in reality.
.
.
.
Rackid gazed at the battlefield.
And locked eyes.
Long, pointed ears.
Features like sculpted art.
An extraordinary aura.
That was an elf.
Sensing his presence, perhaps.
The elf looked at Rackid.
Spoke in a cold voice.
"Do you know where our blessing is?"
"...Blessing? What bullshit is this outta nowhere."
"Foolishly, you don't even know what a blessing is."
Then raised her sword.
"As expected, demons or humans."
"...?"
"Not worth the effort."
"...!"
BOOM!!