I walked with Matis through the Mage Tower.
We only took a few steps.
Nowadays there was no time to sit down and talk.
I have something to say to Chief Lee Hoyeol.
The topic of conversation was, of course, the elves. Matis seemed to know about the elves as much as Yugwid and Marcelo. There was a reason for that.
There was a time when I traveled around the continent to establish black magic.
Matis must have exited the tower more often than other mages.
Now that I had full authority over the towers exit, as long as the reason was justifiable. And as long as they didnt write down nonsense like Bensch William, exiting the tower was not impossible.
But in the past, exiting the tower was a common occurrence.
It was proof that Mage Tower had high expectations for Matis.
Before Marcelo appeared.
Matis was considered a strong candidate for the next chief mage.
I often came across passages about elves in ancient books.
Do you remember the passages?
Yes.
To summarize what Matis said next, it was simple:
The elves were no joke.
In short, in the Arcana worldview, elves were a chosen and unique race. Along with the dragon, the most powerful creature in Arcana!
Their flawless appearance was only the basic.
They were born as an adult in the World Tree.
Their physical and mental abilities were beyond human reach.
To put it simply, the elves were a race that took all the good things for themselves.
That alone would have been enough.
The saying that people who have a lot are greedier didnt exist for no reason.
Like dragons, they are said to be beings that live for eternity. Of course, its just a legend. No one can know the truth.
The moment I heard those words, the back of my neck became cold.
So he was saying that the elves with that kind of ability were not nasty people, right? They had been quietly staying in a place called Sisley, but suddenly they popped out into the Arcana Continent, and then the reality.
My head was pounding, but I couldnt show it.
I spoke nonchalantly.
Then I entered the portal that Matis manifested.
Then it would be a good opportunity to find out the truth.
Stingy
No, there would be no benefit in unnecessarily consuming mana when facing an elf. My vision changed in an instant. Soon, I admired my judgment.
The smell of blood penetrated my nose.
Lakid, the huge man, was covered in wounds.
Lastly, the players.
As expected, it was a good thing that I saved my mana.
Stop.
This guys mouth acted out.
As always, I spoke before thinking.
This seemed like a big problem.
[Natural Enemy Relationship] was not activated, so the demons must have been defeated.
The problem was, those demons were numerous.
Who defeated them in such a split second?
I could guess from the atmosphere.
First of all, the players wouldnt be able to do anything. There was no player other than me who could deal with level-900 demon-type monsters.
And it wouldnt be Lakid either.
Unless he could predict the future and act on that.
It would be impossible due to the time constraint.
Then there was only one possibility.
That elf alone killed all the demons.
Not only that, he made Lakid look like that.
His reason?
I didnt know anything like that. However, Grandfels pride naturally couldnt just sit back and watch. Thats why I just said that out of the blue.
I end up taking care of everything.
Lets take it easy.
Can I fight that elf?
Even Lakid of the Shadow Mercenary Corps ended up like that.
How could something like that be possible?
It might be different if [Natural Enemy Relationship] was activated.
My specialty was knowing my place.
I knew very well that I could never win.
So what about Matis, my trusted corner?
There was a surge of miscellaneous mana.
Did this mean that the strong recognize the strong?
Matis seemed to go all out from the start.
For a moment, I recalled the Great Dragon-Demon War.
A dragon had defeated the Mage Tower.
Elves were beings that were treated similarly to dragons.
I finally realized what I had done.
I doomed myself by speaking up!nÊw st𝒐ries at n𝒐/vel/b/i/n(.)co𝒎
But no more self-blame.
Even though the elf in front of me was burdensome, I couldnt blame Grandfel. First, lets load up the mana. Even if I had reached the level of the sword force, there was no need to engage in close combat that the opponent wanted
The moment I desperately thought like that.
[A Hierarchy of Blessing occurs in the elf, Elsidore.]
I had a message in front of me.
Flinch!
!
The elf just stopped.
The person who was more surprised than anyone else was not me or Matis, but the elf himself.
According to the information in the message, the elf was Elsidore.
Elsidore said in a trembling voice.
What are you?
I am Lee Hoyeol.
Just answering with the name wouldnt be difficult.
But I am not you either.
I couldnt answer an informal question.
But, I guess it wasnt my name that he was curious about.
How can you, a human being, receive Mothers blessing!!
At that moment, words passed through my head.
[Blessing of the first World Tree].
[Hierarchy of blessings].
[Elf].
I finally realized.
Was the blessing of the first World Tree related to elves?
I became certain of that speculation due to the effect of blessing.
Even if we assumed that the effects of vitality and magic regeneration made sense. The effect of rejection, a concept higher than affinity, was beyond comprehension.
[The blessing of the first World Tee rejects aging.]
There was no other reason for elves to live forever.
Elsidore spewed murderous intent at me.
I cant accept it. I cant admit it.
?
I will take Mothers blessing from you.
Matis, who was quietly listening next to me, looked puzzled.
That was understandable.
He had raised his miscellaneous mana to the fullest.
Not only Elsidore had hardened.
He was just talking about a blessing or something.
I shifted my gaze away from Elsidore.
I looked around.
Then I said to Elsidore.
Your only purpose was the blessing.
What?
Did you commit this atrocity because of the blessing?
Everywhere was drenched in Lakids blood.
Even the faces of the players had turned white with fear.
But Elsidore didnt seem to realize it at all.
Youre saying things I dont understand.
You dont understand?
I only trampled on them because they were in the way. Either demons or humans.
It was a remark that ILee Hoyeolcould put up with.
But that wasnt the case for Grandfel.
I spoke to Matis.
Matis, may I ask you to treat Lakid?
I will follow your words.
Thank you.
There was a procedure for everything.
Dealing with Elsidore was good, but healing the fatally injured Lakid was the priority. Even if we only had an employment relationship, he was also a valuable force who participated in the Holy War.
I continued to Elsidore.
Regardless of your reason, I will hold you strictly accountable for this action.
Youre arrogant. Enough to make me want to stop you breathing right now.
You will also reflect on that thoroughly informal attitude.
Informal?
You will also reflect on what you have taken on my afternoon.
?
Elsidores brow furrowed.
You might be thinking, What kind of bullshit am I talking about?
Yes, even if everything else was the same.
You would never guess that I was upset because of tea time.
However, try changing your position.
Is this a blessing that you covet so much?
Youve been saying all kinds of bullshit, so youre the same as me.
They didnt know anything about blessings.
Swinging the sword on them was an indulgence that crossed the line.
Elsidores face was even more distorted by my question.
I dont know how you stole our blessing, but dont be so proud and pretend it was yours all along. you dont even know. What Mothers blessing meant.
He spoke straight.
Yes, I knew the effect of the World Trees blessing, but I didnt know its meaning.
But no matter how outstanding the effect of the World Tree was. I wouldnt stab someone who had nothing to do with the blessing like him.
As long as pride existed in this heart.
I dont need a blessing.
Furthermore, Grandfel, who had great self-esteem, was fine with receiving the blessing. But he was also okay without it. Elsidores voice began to tremble wildly.
He began to emit uncontrollable murderous intent.
Thats nonsense.
Hierarchy of Blessing.
Even if I didnt know its exact effect, lets be thankful for it.
I was able to babble so shamelessly thanks to completely controlling Elsidores movements. Of course, my inner feelings of relief werent expressed on the outside.
I recited as calmly as always.
But I understand.
?
Elsidore, an elf, was robbed of his blessing.
There is no blessing for those who have lost their pride
!
Fanning him wasnt enough.
Its natural for you to be abandoned by the World Tree.
!!!
I poured out oil.
.
.
.
Tragedy.
The sight of Lakid being hacked to pieces by the elf was extremely cruel.
To the point that it couldnt be aired on regular broadcasts. On behalf of Kitch, who was drunk and had fallen on the table, Wolf opened his mouth.
Get everyone ready. I will be indebted to you again this time, old man.
I thought my life had been quiet, but then something happened.
I told him not to show up like that!
Ah, its annoying.
They had a relationship established through a contract or money.
There was no such thing as friendship between the members of the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
However, the death of a member would tarnish the reputation of the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
In other words, they couldnt just watch Lakid suffer.
Gulp
Alkali increased his mana by taking in the potion.
In the meantime, the video appeared on the screen.
Likewise, it was a broadcast of a Nettuber player on the battlefield.
The third seat, Henderson, coolly evaluated the battle.
You dont stand a chance!
Henderson.
If Lakid used an axe, Henderson was a martial arts fighter wielding a giant hammer.
Therefore, it was Henderson who knew Lakids strength better than anyone else.
Maybe even all of us wont be enough to defeat him!
The elf could block Lakids blow with just a measly sword.
That alone was shocking.
Unlike Lakid, who was prepared to die, the elf didnt even try.
Clink
Wolf said, loading his crossbow.
Youll never know until you try.
Haha! Thats true!
By the way, old man, Im not trying to rush you but
High magic, portal.
He knew it was not easy to manifest.
Still, if they dragged on any longer, Lakid would be in danger.
Alkali let out a sharp breath.
You expect a lot from an old man who is not even a mage. Its probably because your eyes have elevated after seeing the mages of the Mage Tower and Sir Hoyeol. Portal manifestation is a magic that requires tremendous concentration from the exploration process, you know?
He nagged endlessly.
Anyway, it meant that he was doing his best.
The moment Wolf held back with his legs shaking.
H-Huuuh?
In the Golden Calf Tavern, which had been in silence.
Voices of astonishment came from everywhere.
Because a movement of mana was flickering on the screen.
A portal.
Old man?
If he could do it, did he have to be so harsh for no reason?
Wolf looked towards Alkali and was shocked.
Now its the interference process. Theres still a long way to go. Wait.
That wasnt Alkalis portal.
The glow of mana.
It was the players who recognized it first.
I-Its Lee Hoyeol!
Sir Hoyeol?
It was not strange for Hoyeol to appear where the demons appeared.
From the great evil to the demon king.
Wherever the demons appeared, he was there.
But something strange was happening now.
Wolf, are you watching!? The monster has stopped!
There was no question-and-answer session like the elf had done with Lakid.
The elf, who was rushing to Hoyeol, stopped.
Wolf thought it was magic, so he looked at Isabel Marl.
Shake
She shook her head.
That meant she didnt feel any mana.
Shouts erupted from everywhere.
What is he saying now? I cant hear a thing!
I guess its because they record it from afar.
Well, asking for a close-up video would be too much.
Hoyeol and elf.
It seemed the two of them were talking about something, but they couldnt hear a thing. However, the Shadow Mercenary Corps had an excellent informant who could guess the content of the conversation just by looking at their mouth.
Ninth seat, Deschev opened his mouth.
He asked the accompanying mage to treat Lakid.
!
And He said he will hold him accountable.
The screen was uneven, so he couldnt understand all the dialogue.
But that was enough.
Wolf unintentionally let out a small smile.
Its been a while since Ive had a foreign client worry about a mercenary.
At that moment, Alkali shouted.
Thats it, everybody, hurry up!
A portal manifestation.
They didnt hold back anymore.
The eyes of Wolf and the other shadow mercenaries suddenly changed.
No matter how great Sir Hoteol is.
Wolf was aware of Hoyeols physical ability. His ability to learn things, including shooting, was unrivaled, but if he were to compare only the physical abilities at this point
His ability was clearly lower than Lakids.
Dealing with an elf who overwhelmed that Lakid?
Even if this was Sir Hoyeol, it couldnt be easy.
Wolf made a judgment in his head.
Having a practical experience as much as Wolf.
The other members thoughts were not much different.
Wed better subdue him quickly!
They would go all out from the start.
The moment the shadow mercenaries raised their weapons.
They saw the battlefield.
To be exact.
Sir Hoyeol?
They saw Hoyeol bring the elf to his knees.
.
.
.
I realized it.
[Hierarchy of Blessing].
Wasnt this a skill exclusive to natural enemies, even worse than [Natural Enemy Relationship]?