CH 416

In this world, I was Anemos, one of the most influential nobles, and Yeon-Hee was my wife. This world was created based on Aslan’s memories, and Anemos was the freest among all the aristocrats in his memory.

Anemos was the perfect candidate for me to focus on Mana research. No one bothered him even though he didn’t visit the palace frequently, nor did he host parties at his mansion like the other elven nobles. Therefore, the only moment he could be interrupted was now.

It’s about time.

I heard footsteps climbing the stairs.

“I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”

This female elf’s name was Elena, a commoner who had come in as a maid.

***

Mainland.

The reason why parents in Daechi-dong[1] was obsessed with their kids’ education were because they weren’t in top positions in society. They hoped that their children would enter prestigious universities and establish a respectable social status based on their academic background, just as they had done.

However, parents in Apgujeong and Cheongdam-dong were different. They had always been confident that they could pass their positions on to their kids, regardless of whether their children were good or bad at studying. They were in a position to inherit their status easily as they were forming an inner circle with the Jeonil Group in the center.

However, in the elven society..? The structure was primarily like Apgujeong and Cheongdam-dong, but there was no Daechi-dong. The social structure was divided only between the extremely small upper class and the majority of commoners like Elena, with no middle class.

The extraordinary aspect of the elven society compared to the Greenwood Continent or our medieval mainland was that their social structure had naturally emerged. They did not define class by law.

Similar to the United States, which did not need to enact financial real name laws, their social classes were naturally created by social agreement. The palace and its surroundings were the residential areas of the upper class, and those who lived here did not hesitate to call themselves nobles.

I thought it was because of the lifestyle that the elves enjoyed. They lived for hundreds of years once they were born, and the succession that worked in countless families from ancient times had created the current elven society. In this way, Elsland was a world ruled by customs, and there was no separate law.

The power struggles of the elven upper class were fierce and cunning, perhaps because they were trapped in their own world. Therefore, it would have been reasonable for Yeon-Hee to appear like that.

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When she returned after attending the palace party that day, I could smell the strong scent of blood. Her fur dress was soaked in blood and it dripped everywhere. It wasn’t her first time, so she was annoyed, wriggling her pointed ears.

“I will reset.”

Then, the door opened cautiously with a knock.

“I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”

Elena’s eyes widened when she saw the blood-soaked lady in front of her.

***

Which one would you choose between a happy fake world and an unhappy real world? People usually choose the former since the difference between fake and real is only a matter of perception.

However, I would choose the latter. A stable environment where I could devote myself to exploration without any other stress. A beautiful snowfield was visible through the window. A warm fireplace that made me forget the cold climate, Various delicacies and alcohol without hangovers. Incense that abundantly evoked happy emotions.

Even if such things were infinitely provided, I could answer without hesitation as there was a world outside that I needed to protect.

However, I was concerned about Yeon-Hee. With the invasion of Elsland in mind, I frequently visited the palace to uncover a part of Elsland’s situation that Aslan might have carelessly missed. When that was over, Yeon-Hee would melt into this fake world.

It was different from extracting only important memories from the subject. We were living on a new stage as new characters, living in that world again.

Half a year had already passed. We had reset the world several times, but that was how long we had spent in Aslan’s memories.

Meanwhile, I came out of focus because it was time for the disturbance to arrive. The unwelcome guest Elena, who inevitably visited at this time whenever the stage was reset.

“I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”

Ignoring her was useless as I had tried that before. The guest the queen sent was Aslan, the owner of this memory, and he never returned until he personally delivered the message sent by the queen.

At that time, Aslan must have peeped at the message, and that was why the contents of the message would be clearly remembered, not in black and white.

「Dear Anemos,

Since the arrival of Demon King Doom Man as prophesied, the Greenwood Continent has been burning rapidly. It was unbearable for the weak inhabitants of the continent. Greenwood’s Holy Knights are also inevitably showing the limits of their kind.

However, my concerns do not cease as there are weak and vulgar things like the inhabitants of Greenwood even in our Lord Lacryma’s sanctuary, outside of the court. Wouldn’t it be good to form a corps of the sanctuary and prepare for the night? However, the atmosphere in the court is chaotic as Anikas has openly criticized Ruthra’s son, Kanonas, recently.

If you accept the plan of mediation…」

The message hasn’t changed this time either. I pushed it aside and resumed focusing on my studies. Every time I concentrated, I realized that the Old One had designed the Awakened properly. In particular, the mechanism of the skill area, which had its own rotation power and worked like a self-generator, was beyond words.

That was where I had been constantly investing my efforts. I wanted to imitate the rotation power, deciphering the Old One’s blueprint. That was my first goal to achieve. If I could master Mana manipulation to the point where I could imitate it, then I was convinced that a new field would be revealed.

And one day, it happened. One day…

***

We repeated the stage countlessly. The starting point was when Kanonas entered the queen’s life as her lover, and the end point was when Aslan was equipped with the Soul Ring and sent to the expedition. Each stage took about three months.

“I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”

Looking back, I had heard this voice more than ten times. I thought it was time to change the stage for Yeon-Hee’s sake. She needed to get out of the palace.

“You want to change the stage?”

I was the one who chose this stage as the starting point, but since confirming the identity of Elsland’s Queen, Yeon-Hee insisted on this stage. She thought that it would be more efficient to proceed with the work in the stage where information that would help in the future was abundant.

She figured out everything, including the geography of the palace, the magical system protecting the court, and the faces of each noble, through Aslan’s subconsciousness. However, she even learned the presumed location where one of the three primordial temples existed.

“I am sick of it.”

When I replied, Yeon-Hee narrowed her eyes. She stared at my face for a while, probably because she was still blocking her Empathy. Then, her face regained a smile at once.

“Seon-Hu!”

She threw herself at me, still in her Anemos’s wife character. She pulled my face into her ample bosom and didn’t let me go. She seemed happy to joke around after a long time. It wasn’t because the moment to change the stage had come, but because she had noticed something.

When I took my face out of her bosom, I saw her sparkling eyes. Although she had the face of Anemos’s wife, those eyes were unmistakably Yeon-Hee’s.

Really? Did you really figure it out? Finally?

Yeon-Hee looked at me as if she was asking those questions.

“Yes, there is something I want to try.”

“Okay, okay.”

Yeon-Hee’s voice became faint at once.

Swoosh-!

When I returned to reality, I vividly remembered the scene in this room. I had forgotten about this room for years.

Doom Arukuda’s stuff was still on the floor, and the curtain of the Absolute Warzone hung on the inner walls. Aslan, who occasionally appeared as a nuisance, stood in the form of Daniel. He wasn’t wearing the palace formal attire but instead a mainland suit.

[Remaining time (Odin’s Absolute Warzone): 23 hours 53 minutes 31 seconds]

It had been one second since I last checked before entering the mental world. I sat down comfortably, and Yeon-Hee’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Although the face of Anemos’s wife overlapped with her real face, seeing her true face in reality brought joy.

Yeon-Hee told Aslan to go away, and her use of the unique pronunciation of elves was natural. I couldn’t do it like she did. As Aslan stepped aside with a surprised look, I began to focus on the internal movement.

I concentrated on the area in charge of the A-class Teleportation insignia and felt a sensation of being enveloped in a speed that seemed to suck my entire body in.

Swaaaak-

This feeling was a clear sign that I had completed a high level of concentration. I manipulated the area gently, as if caressing it with an intangible hand. The design containing rotational force was engraved in my mind, so I didn’t need to use the skill area as a reference.

Nonetheless, there was no way to replenish the insignia once it was destroyed, as I couldn’t go out of the Absolute Warzone. Therefore, I had to be extremely careful. The tension as if I was handling an explosive had to be guarded against. Reaching the state of self-annihilation was a prerequisite.

I opened my eyes.

[The insignia ‘Teleportation’ has been removed.]

The message was disappearing, and a new message appeared over it.

[You have acquired the skill ‘Hermes’s Teleportation.’]

However, the main purpose of coming back to reality wasn’t this. I had expected that I would be able to combine rotational force into the insignia and copy the teleportation skill through other types of insignias rather than just Teleportation!

What I wanted to check was the next step. When I was able to see through the design of the skill, I noticed what more was possible. Therefore, the task I wanted to try was clear.

First, I needed to dismantle the teleportation skill I just created in the Mana area. Then, I had to direct the dismantled Mana to the shell surrounding the entire area, including skills, traits, and insignias, and try to increase the size of the shell.

Whoosh-!

A feeling of mingled drowsiness, not knowing how much time had passed, and the sensation that came from the last moment of self-annihilation were intertwined. My back was soaked with sweat, and a new message was waiting for me.

[Skill ‘Hermes’s Teleportation’ has been removed.]

Another message overlaid on top of it.

[You have gained XP.]

Yes, this was it!

1. A neighborhood located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is known for its high-end residential areas, commercial buildings, and cram school districts. ☜