◈ Episode 163. Another Natural Enemy Relationship (1)
I walked through the Magic Tower with Matisse.
Though “walked” only meant a few flights of stairs at most.
There was no time to sit leisurely and talk right now.
“I have something to tell Chief Lee Hoyeol.”
The topic of conversation was, naturally, the elves. Matisse, too, seemed to know as much about elves as Yugweed or Marcelo. There was a reason for that.
“It was during the period when I wandered the continent to establish the study of black magic.”
It seemed Matisse had left the tower more often than other mages.
Now that I had been entrusted with full authority over departures from the tower, as long as the reason was plausible. In other words, as long as one didn’t write nonsense like Bench William, leaving the tower was not impossible. ‘But in the Magic Tower of the past, leaving the tower wasn’t a common occurrence.’ That must have been proof of the great expectations the Magic Tower had placed on Matisse.
Before Marcelo appeared.
Matisse had been considered a strong candidate for the next Chief Mage.
“In ancient texts, I often came across passages about elves.”
“Do you remember their contents?”
“I do.”
Matisse’s following words were simple when summarized.……
Elves were no joke, were they?
In a word, within the Arcana worldview, elves were one of only two chosen races. Alongside dragons, the undisputed strongest living beings in Arcana!
Flawless appearances were only the basics.
They were born from the World Tree in the form of adults.
Their physical and mental abilities were on a level humans could not approach.
To put it simply, elves were a race onto which every good trait had been attached.
That alone would have been enough.
But there was a reason people said those who had more always wanted more, wasn’t there?
“Like dragons, they are said to be beings who enjoy eons of time. Of course, it is nothing more than legend. No one knows the truth.”
The moment I heard those words, the nape of my neck went cold.……
So elves with abilities like that had no manners? They had quietly stayed in a place called Sisley, then suddenly popped out onto the Arcana Continent—and as if that weren’t enough, into reality too.
My head throbbed, but I could not let it show.
I spoke calmly.
Then I stepped into the portal Matisse manifested.
“Then this will be a good opportunity to confirm the truth.”
Manners……
No, when I was about to face an elf, wasting mana for no reason would do me no good. Soon, my vision changed in an instant. And then, I could not help but admire my own judgment.
The bloody stench digging into my nose.
A massive body covered in wounds, Rockkid.
And finally, even the players.
As expected, saving my mana was the right call.
“Stop.”
Before anything else, this damned mouth of mine jumped out.……
As always, I spoke first and thought later.
This seemed like a big problem. Since [Natural Enemy Relationship] wasn’t activating, the demons must have been dealt with.
The problem was all those demons.
Who had defeated them in such a brief instant?
I could guess just from the atmosphere.
For starters, the players couldn’t have done anything. At this point, there was probably no player besides me who could face a level 900 demon-type monster.
And it probably wasn’t Rockkid either.
Unless he had predicted the future and moved accordingly.
It would have been impossible in terms of time.
Then there was only one possibility.
That elf had slain all the demons alone.
And as if that weren’t enough, had left Rockkid in that state.
The reason?
I had no idea about that. But it was only natural that Grandfell’s pride could not silently watch something like that. That must be why I blurted words out without warning. ‘……And I’m the one who’ll have to deal with the aftermath.’
Let’s think calmly.
Could I fight that elf?
Even Rockkid of the Shadow Mercenary Corps had ended up like that.
There was no way that was possible. If [Natural Enemy Relationship] were activated, it might be a different story.
Since knowing my own place was my specialty.
I knew very well that I absolutely could not win.
Then what about Matisse, my one hope?
An alien mana surged up.
Was this what it meant for the strong to recognize the strong?
From the start, Matisse seemed intent on going all out.
In that instant, the Dragon-Magic War surfaced in my mind.
Dragons had handed defeat to the almighty Magic Tower.
And elves were beings treated similarly to those dragons.
Only then did I realize what I had just done.
Honestly, my words really did earn me a beating……!
But there was no more self-reproach.
Because even if I wanted to blame Grandfell, the elf before me was burdensome—extremely burdensome. First, let’s load up mana. Even if I had reached the realm of Sword Aura, there was no need to engage in the close combat my opponent wanted……
It was the moment I was desperately racking my brain.
[A “Blessing Hierarchy” occurs against the elf, Elsidore.]
A message appeared before my eyes.……
Flinch!
“!”
The elf froze just like that.
The one most surprised was neither I nor Matisse, but the person in question.
The elf—according to the information that appeared in the message, he must be Elsidore.
Elsidore spoke in a trembling voice.
“……What in the world are you?”
I am Lee Hoyeol.
Answering with my name shouldn’t have been difficult.
But not “you” in a respectful sense—just “you”?
There was no way I would answer such an informal question.
But somehow, it seemed he hadn’t been asking for my name.
“How can a mere human like you have Mother’s blessing……!!”
In that instant, words flashed through my mind.
[First World Tree’s Blessing].
[Blessing Hierarchy].
[Elf].
Only then did I realize it. ‘Was the First World Tree’s Blessing related to elves?’
My guess turned into certainty because of the blessing’s effects.
I could accept the vitality and mana regeneration effects well enough. But the effect of “Rejection,” a concept higher than “Affinity,” had been incomprehensible.
[The First World Tree’s Blessing rejects aging.]
So there had been a reason elves lived eternal lives.
Elsidore radiated killing intent toward me.
“I cannot permit it. I cannot acknowledge it.”
“……?”
“I will take Mother’s blessing back from you.”
Matisse, who had been quietly listening beside me, seemed bewildered.
Understandably so.
He had drawn up a great deal of alien mana.
Yet not only had Elsidore frozen in place.
He was also only babbling about some blessing or other.
I shifted my gaze away from Elsidore.
I looked around.
Then I spoke to Elsidore.
“Was your purpose solely the blessing?”
“What?”
“Did you commit this atrocity because of the blessing?”
Everywhere was drenched with Rockkid’s blood.
Even the players’ faces were pale with fear.
And yet Elsidore seemed not to be aware of it in the slightest.
“You are spouting nonsense I cannot understand.”
You cannot understand?
“They got in my way, so I trampled them. Demon or human.”
Those were words I, Lee Hoyeol, could endure.
But Grandfell could not.
I spoke to Matisse.
“Matisse, may I ask you to treat Rockkid?”
“I shall follow your command.”
“Thank you.”
There was a procedure to everything.
Facing Elsidore was one thing, but treating Rockkid’s fatal injuries came first. Even if our relationship was based on employment, he too was a valuable force who had participated in the Holy War.
I continued speaking to Elsidore.
“Regardless of your reason, I will hold you strictly accountable for this act.”
“How arrogant. So arrogant that I want to stop your breath this instant.”
“I will also take into account your attitude, in which no formality can be found.”
“……Formality?”
“I will also take into account the fact that you stole my afternoon time.”
“……?”
Elsidore’s brow twisted.
He must have been wondering what kind of nonsense I was spouting.
Yes, putting the others aside.
He could never have guessed that I was angry because of teatime.
But think about it from my perspective.
“Did you covet this mere blessing that much?”
You were the one who spouted nonsense without warning too.
You did not know about the blessing.
That meant swinging your sword was indulgence that had crossed the line.
At my question, Elsidore’s face twisted even further.
“I do not know how you stole our blessing, but do not act so proud as if it belonged to you from the beginning. You do not know. You do not know what meaning Mother’s blessing holds.”
He was speaking correctly.
Yes, I knew the effects of the World Tree’s Blessing, but I did not know its meaning.
However, no matter how outstanding the World Tree’s Blessing’s effects might be, I had no intention of stabbing people unrelated to it because of a blessing, unlike you.
As long as pride existed in this chest.
“I have no need for any blessing.”
Furthermore, to Grandfell, who possessed lofty self-esteem, something like a blessing was fine whether it existed or not. Elsidore’s voice began to tremble violently.
An uncontrollable killing intent began to seep out.
“……Impossible.”
Blessing Hierarchy.
I couldn’t know its exact effect, but for now, I would be grateful.
Because thanks to it completely suppressing Elsidore’s movements, I could spout off so shamelessly. Of course, none of my relieved inner thoughts showed on the outside.
As always, I muttered calmly.
“But I understand.”
“……?”
Elsidore, the elf who was enraged over having his blessing taken.
“To those of you who have lost your pride, a blessing must be meaningless whether you have it or not.”
“……!”
And as if fanning the flames inside him weren’t enough.
“In other words, it was only natural procedure that the World Tree abandoned you.”
“!!!”
I poured oil over them....
A tragedy.
The sight of Rockkid being cut to pieces by the elf was brutal beyond words.
So much so that it could not possibly be broadcast on regular television. In place of Kichi, who had passed out drunk over the table, Wolf opened his mouth.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves. We’ll be in your debt again this time, old man.”
“Things had been quiet for a while, and now this happens.”
“……I told him so many times not to get carried away!”
“Ah, what a pain.”
A relationship bound by contract or money.
There was no such thing as friendship between the members of the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
However, the death of a member meant a loss of honor for the Shadow Mercenary Corps.
Which meant they could not simply watch Rockkid suffer like that.
Gulp—Alkari downed a potion and raised his mana.
Even then, footage continued playing on the screen.
It was likewise a broadcast from a Nettuber player on the battlefield. Third Seat Henderson assessed the battle coldly.
“No chance of winning!”
Henderson.
If Rockkid wielded an axe, Henderson was a martial type who swung a giant hammer.
That was why Henderson knew Rockkid’s brute strength better than anyone.
“It might be more than even we can handle!”
To think he had blocked Rockkid’s blow with a single unimpressive sword.
That alone was astonishing.
But unlike Rockkid, who had resolved himself to die, the elf was not even exerting his full strength.
Clack—Wolf loaded his crossbow and said,
“You never know until you try.”
“Hah-hah! That’s true!”
“By the way, old man, I don’t mean to rush you, but……”
High-level magic, Portal.
He knew it wasn’t easy to manifest.
Even so, if they delayed any longer, Rockkid would be in danger.
Alkari exhaled raggedly.
“You’re asking too much of an old man who isn’t even a mage. It must be because you’ve grown used to the mages of the Magic Tower and Sir Hoyeol. Manifesting a portal is magic that demands tremendous concentration starting from the search process. Do you all understand?”
A flood of nagging.
In any case, it meant he was doing his best.
Wolf was shaking his leg as he endured when it happened.
“H-Huh?!”
The Golden Calf Tavern fell silent.
Voices of disbelief came from here and there.
The movement of mana rippling on the screen.
Because of the portal.
“……Old man?”
You could do it after all, and you were just exaggerating for nothing, old man?
Wolf looked toward Alkari and flinched.
“I’m only at the interference process now. There’s still a long way to go. Wait.”
That was not Alkari’s portal.
Within the clusters of mana light.
The ones who recognized the identity first were the players.
“I-It’s Lee Hoyeol!!”……
Sir Hoyeol?
It was not strange for Hoyeol to appear where demons appeared.
From great evils to demon kings.
Wherever demons appeared, he had been there.
However, the strange thing began now.
“Wolf, are you seeing this?! That monster has stopped in place!”
Just as he had done to Rockkid, without question or answer.
The elf who had been charging toward Hoyeol had frozen in place.
Wondering if it was magic, they looked at Sixth Seat Isabelma.
Shake, shake—she shook her head.
It meant she could not feel any mana.
Complaints erupted from all around.
“What are they saying? I can’t hear a thing!”
“It must be because they’re filming from far away.”
“……Well, I guess asking them to film this up close would be too much.”
Hoyeol and the elf.
The two seemed to be exchanging words, but no sound could be heard. However, the Shadow Mercenary Corps had an excellent informant who could infer the content of a conversation from the shapes of mouths alone. Ninth Seat Descheve opened his mouth.
“He asked the mage accompanying him to treat Rockkid.”
“!”
“And…… he says he’ll hold him strictly accountable for that responsibility?”
The screen itself was unsteady, so he could not catch the entire conversation.
But that alone was enough.
Wolf let out a small laugh without realizing it.
“It’s been a while since we had a client who worried about a mercenary.”
At that moment, Alkari shouted.
“It’s done. Everyone, hurry!”
The portal manifested.
There was no more patience.
The eyes of every member of the Shadow Mercenary Corps, including Wolf, changed.
‘Even if it’s Sir Hoyeol.’
Wolf understood Hoyeol’s physical capabilities. His ability to acquire something, including marksmanship, was unparalleled, but if one compared simple physical ability at this point…… ‘He was clearly below Rockkid.’
Facing an elf who had overwhelmed that very Rockkid?
Even for Sir Hoyeol, it would absolutely not be easy.
Wolf made a judgment in his head.
The others, who had as much practical combat experience as Wolf, did not think very differently.
“It would be best to subdue him with a swift, decisive blow!”
They would go all out from the start.
The moment the Shadow Mercenary Corps raised their weapons.
The battlefield came into view.
To be precise.
“……Sir Hoyeol?”
They saw Hoyeol, who had made the elf kneel....
I realized it.
[Blessing Hierarchy].
This was a skill exclusively for natural enemies even more extreme than [Natural Enemy Relationship], wasn’t it?