Chapter 256

It was a truly strange sight. Was this really North Korea? No, was this even Earth? The sight of the city being revealed as the blue mist cleared was so outlandish that it surprised everyone. The 'green' city, covered in a dome-shaped transparent barrier, was truly beautiful, yet alien at the same time. A sense of disconnect from reality. The first thing they saw was a giant old tree standing tall in the center. Of course, it wasn't as big as the World Tree, but it was enormous enough to remind them of it. The intricate branches and lush leaves covered the city like a roof. And below that, numerous large trees, shaped like 'buildings,' formed the vast cityscape. Looking at the windows dotting the tree trunks, it didn't seem like they were merely imitating buildings in appearance.

"Don't tell me that's…" Sirka blinked and muttered, clinging tightly to Cha Hae-In's clothes.

"Why? Do you know something?" Cha Hae-In looked back at Sirka.

"If I'm right, that's 'Elvenwood'."

"Elvenwood?" Cha Hae-In tilted her head.

Sirka muttered with an expression of disbelief, even as she looked at the city, "I heard about it from the village elders when I was young. Elvenwood, a village where 'high elves' live located somewhere in the world."

"High elves?"

Whoosh—

Even as they conversed, Kaisel had already reached the outskirts of the city. And seeing Suho, who was gliding in front, turn around and come back towards them, they slowed down and waited for him in the air.

"Elvenwood? You're saying that's a city where high elves live?"

"You have good ears." Suho had already arrived in front of Sirka. Even though battles between shadow soldiers and birds possessed by spirits were still raging all around, Suho had eavesdropped on their conversation.

"What's a high elf?"

"High elves are a higher tribe than us ice elves. If I'm the guardian of our tribe, high elves are all guardian-level."

"What? All guardian-level?" Suho's eyes sparkled. But Sirka had a slightly unsure expression.

"Yes. But I only heard about it from the elders, so I'm not sure. High elves are a tribe that's only spoken of in legends even among us elves."

"Sillad, do you know anything?" Suho directly summoned the Monarch, who would surely know more than Sirka or the elders who told her about high elves, and asked.

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, strokes his chin and acts all high and mighty.]

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, says that high elves are a gathering of losers who failed to become Monarchs.]

"Losers who failed to become Monarchs?" Suho tilted his head at the strange expression.

"That makes it sound like high elves are just a rank below Monarchs. Were you a high elf too, Sillad?"

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, nods.]

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, says that he is the only one among the ice elves who ascended to become a high elf, the king who rules and governs all ice spirits.]

"…!" Sirka was shocked by Sillad's words.

"Th-then what about me? What am I?"

[A nobody.]

"…?!" Sirka's expression hardened like stone at Beru's sudden interjection. She had always thought that she was the only descendant of the Monarch. But if the high elves, who were only known in legends, existed in that city, what would happen to her position?!

[But my liege. Something is strange.] Beru added,

[In the past, that is, during the war between the Rulers and Monarchs, I never met the high elves.]

"…Hmm. That's certainly strange. Wasn't that war something all races participated in with their lives at stake?" It was certainly abnormal. Beru loved fighting, and was a vanguard actively participating in all battles. A race that even he had never encountered?

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, smiles faintly and says it's understandable for those guys.]

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, says that high elves are those who want to become Monarchs, but they are all cowards who want the current Monarch to die more than anyone else.]

"Ah, so they didn't participate in the war and hid because they could only become the Monarch if the previous one died? Even despite the fact that their race was being destroyed?" Hearing this, he couldn't help but feel a strange mixture of understanding and confusion. After thinking for a moment, Suho decided,

"…Let's enter the city first. I'll have to meet them to know what kind of guys they are." The city was right in front of them. And it seemed like the battle in the sky could be left to the soldiers.

"Mother, let's go down together."

"Alright. Kaisel, can you drop us off and rest in my shadow for a while?" Cha Hae-In nodded and gently patted Sirka, who still was in shock.

"It's okay. No matter what anyone says, you're the descendant of the Monarch chosen directly by Sillad."

"…" 

Cha Hae-In felt bad that her words didn't seem to be of much comfort. While living with the ice elves for the past few years, she was the one who constantly watched Sirka from the closest distance. That's why she knew better than anyone how much she struggled to protect the tribe with her small and frail body. Therefore…

"It will really be okay, Sirka."

Pat Pat

Sirka with her small back, covered in rich silver hair, looked like a frightened, cowering hamster, and it pained her heart. 

Suho actually had a real plan as he entered the green city presumed to be 'Elvenwood.'

'This is good. It's a chance to help Sirka grow.' First of all, Suho didn't care what kind of guys the high elves were.

'If they're enemies, I'll just kill them.' They were all experience points anyway. That was the biggest reason he came to North Korea.

'It would be perfect to kill, then turn them into shadow soldiers, and have Sirka educate those to become proper high elves.'

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, smiles wickedly and says it's a very wise plan.]

'…Don't smile like that. It makes me feel like a villain too.'

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, tilts his head.]

But he truly didn't feel any sympathy for the high elves. No matter how much they wanted to become the next Monarch, they were just cowards who hid until the moment their race was destroyed.

Beru also gritted his teeth. [Those with power should rightfully fulfill their responsibilities. And if they had been defeated honorably and joined the Shadow Army, how much help would they have been to Master in the war against Itarim…] It was then…

"Welcome to Elvenwood, son of shadow."

"…Huh?"

The moment Suho and his party entered the green city, Tall elves, over two meters in height, greeted them with warm smiles. Leaving Sirka, who was intimidated, aside, Suho and Cha Hae-In glared at them with wary eyes.

"Son of shadow?"

"You know my identity?"

At Suho's killing intent, the old elf standing in the middle pointed outside the city with a troubled expression.

"How could we not know? If you intended to hide your identity, you should have done something about those shadow soldiers."

"Ah." Suho was a little embarrassed. Outside the city, his shadow soldiers were still busy hunting birds.

[Level Up!]

There were even enough of them to level up. The elves who came to greet Suho looked disgusted at the sight. But they didn't seem scared.

'They don't seem to want to fight?'

[My liege, I haven't felt Itarim's energy since we entered.]

[It seems to be the influence of the shield covering this city. I'll analyze what kind of barrier it is.] Harmakan also appeared in his small form and whispered in Suho's ear. As he said, this giant dome-shaped barrier was blocking the thick blue mist outside the city from entering.

"What is this barrier?"

"Huh. You seem to have a lot of questions. I'll tell you everything, so could you please withdraw your killing intent a little? I can endure it, but the young ones seem to be struggling."

Suho obediently withdrew his killing intent at those words. Even while receiving it head-on, the old elf who stepped forward maintained a benevolent smile. He didn't seem scared or flinch at all, so it was unclear whether he was confident in his strength or had no intention of fighting at all. Suho glanced up and checked the name tags floating above their heads.

[??]

'Unidentifiable? Does that mean it's a race the system can't interpret? Or…'

Suho scanned their appearance with suspicious eyes. Like their ice brethren, the appearance of the high elves here was also fundamentally gorgeous. Handsome men and beautiful women, even the elderly had attractive and charming appearances. But there was one noticeable difference: the pair of 'horns' growing from their heads. At first glance, they looked like deer antlers, but their material seemed unusual.

"They look unique. Are those horns or branches growing from your heads?"

"There's no point in distinguishing between them. Even if we're fundamentally the same elves, our appearance changes depending on where we live. It's common knowledge for us, but a tribe that lives in the same place all their lives might not be aware of that fact ." The old elf, answering with a chuckle, glanced at Sirka.

"…By the way, it's been a while since I've seen Sillad's bloodline. As you may or may not know, we are nomads who wander around, looking for good places to live. So we don't often go to cold regions." Cha Hae-In hid the intimidated Sirka behind her back and asked,

"Are you high elves?"

"Yes. My name is 'Forest'. We high elves don't have a separate chieftain, but I'm the oldest, so I lead everyone."

"But you guys… what happened to your eyes?"

Besides the horns, there was something he was most curious about from the beginning. All the high elves in Elvenwood, without exception, had their eyes covered with green blindfolds.

"Eyes…" At Cha Hae-In's question, the old elf Forest's lips turned downwards for the first time. He answered calmly,

"What good are they? We plucked out the eyes that only watched as our race perished."

"…!"

"Anyway, welcome. I'll show you around our village."