Chapter 008

Although he was speaking as such, Eldmir had his own intentions beyond the unfamiliar concept of the primal era.

If things progressed as they did in the game, if he could lay the groundwork for any form of advantage in the upcoming racial war, it would benefit the elves in some way.

Preparations for the racial war. Forming a friendly relationship with the beastmen, or at least moving away from a hostile one.

Originally, it might have been impossible, but if those little ones truly were the royals of the beastmen…

Perhaps it could be possible.

And it was something only he, the player, could achieve.

This was the answer he had discovered.

As an elf, he had arrived at this conclusion to preserve the races.

That's right.

Before he knew it, he was already beyond the point of no return.

──he loved the elven race.

"Hmm…"

With the mention of the primal era, Istein seemed hesitant.

Just like any elf, he too harbored vague fantasies about the primal era.

"Please understand, brother. Even I, if I were in your position, might have had the same thoughts."

"…"

Istein fell silent.

With his furrowed brow, it seemed like he had a lot to say, but he appeared to be struggling to choose his words carefully.

Perhaps his reaction of discontent was clear, as one of the elves behind him interjected.

"Istein, are you really going to heed the words of those young kin?"

An elf with his hood turned inside out spoke with a voice full of discontent.

"It's unavoidable, Ervan. These young kin, as well as Elysia, seem to be quite resolute in their thinking. But that doesn't mean we should stoop to the level of the younger ones."

"This is outrageous. What in the world do those creatures think they're doing, making such a fuss?"

"Hey, brother."

Eldmir revealed his thoughts to the complaining elf and spoke.

"Instead of grumbling from behind like a child, why not speak up if you have a complaint?"

"What did you say?"

The elf with the hood turned inside out showed signs of annoyance.

Seeing that kind of elf, Eldmir felt a refreshing sensation.

The elves in the village had never shown an angry expression, not even once.

It was the first time he had seen an elf getting angry.

Rather than being scared, he found it intriguing, so Eldmir continued to provoke.

Before he knew it, the tension he had initially felt disappeared completely, and the conversation naturally flowed.

"Hey, brothers. What's with this? Acting childish! There are things I need to do, and there are things you need to do. Right now, we're just at odds. If we each make a little compromise, there won't be any issues here, and everything can end smoothly. It's simple. You take care of your enemies, and we'll protect our guests."

As if his words had acted as a stimulant, Ervan, who was behind Istein, approached angrily.

He pointed his finger at Eldmir's face as if poking it.

"You're arrogant, young elf. We've lived for centuries to uphold the duty of being the sentinels of the forest. We've risked our lives for it! For our kin, for the forest! For hundreds of years! And you dare speak to us like that?"

As if his agitation was not going away, he huffed.

"Then what burden rests on your shoulders? What sense of duty can a mere novice who hasn't even undergone the rite of adulthood have? Have you ever engaged in a battle where your life was on the line, even just once? Have you ever upheld the oath of the forest, even just once? Young brother. If you know nothing, keep your mouth shut!"

"…"

"Stop it, Ervan. He's still just a child. You're getting excessively worked up."

Istein's intervention caused Ervan to pause for a moment.

"Fine. I guess I need to calm down a bit."

Seeing Ervan's excitement subside, Eldmir honestly felt bewildered.

Externally, he didn't show it, but Eldmir was inwardly embarrassed.

Wasn't this like being caught up in the excitement and getting hit afterward?

No, in the first place, he hadn't expected anyone, especially not elves, to retort or speak harshly like this.

So, he realized his fault lay in spewing impulsive words.

As Ervan had said, he wasn't a sentinel.

He hadn't experienced war and didn't know the life of a sentinel over hundreds of years.

Of course, he had never attempted to find out.

Before being an elf, he had lived a human life for thirty years in his past life.

There was no way he could know that.

The sense of duty that the sentinel elf had to uphold over hundreds of years.

The destiny of an elf who had to swim through the unfathomable waves of those years and dedicate their beliefs and life as a forest's oath, as a guardian of the forest.

He knew nothing.

Both as a player and as an elf who was living anew.

Nevertheless, he had too lightly touched upon his beliefs.

"But you're odd too, Istein. Just because their will is firm, why should we bend our will to theirs? Is the belief you've built as a sentinel the kind of thing that can be undermined by a few words from a young elf?"

"…Don't say any more, Ervan. I told you to calm down."

As Ervan growled, Istein continued to speak calmly.

Seeing his eyes gleam eerily, Ervan flinched.

"…I'm sorry. I went too far."

"I already told you to calm down, Ervan. You lose control when you get too worked up."

The last elf who had been watching quietly spoke.

"So, instead of just presenting conflicting opinions, let's come to a conclusion once. How should we proceed, friends? How should we show respect for these 'guests' of our two neighboring friends?"

"Of course, we should…!"

"It's not that simple, Ervan."

Istein cut off Ervan's outburst.

"It could potentially escalate into an issue between the villages. Here, it's best if we try to reconcile our opinions as much as possible."

"That's exactly what I said earlier. Why should we align with the opinions of those elves?"

"Sorry to interrupt while you're talking."

Eldmir interjected again.

Meeting Ervan's fierce gaze head-on, he continued forcefully.

"We should align with our opinions. If you don't want to be left behind."

"…What?"

Amidst the settling quietness, a sense of resignation and youthful acceptance flowed through Eldmir.

The initial determination to leave everything to Elysia and quietly follow from behind had long since dissolved.

He had made up his mind to save the catkin tribe girls.

In a somewhat impulsive and reckless manner.

"They asked if I'd ever fought a battle risking my life."

Eldmir chuckled.

It was a smile that contained the fierce energy he had shown to Istein.

Ferocious.

It was the smile of a predator.

After an unwanted past life, he had lived about twenty years.

Throughout a life that wasn't particularly long, but wasn't short either, Eldmir could confidently say that he had lived his life more deliberately than anyone else.

This world was a world within the game.

However, undeniably, it was also a reality.

In that world, he was living a life as a player.

And that was by no means an easy life.

In the game, there was a unique tutorial system called the "youth tutorial," which meant that until undergoing the "coming-of-age" ritual, players couldn't receive any systematic assistance.

In those adverse conditions without saves or status screens, players had to somehow maximize their latent potential to nurture their characters.

Otherwise, they would become NPCs.

The characters thus developed would finally have their ability stats, skills, and job choices determined based on how they were nurtured through the coming-of-age ritual.

And the significance of that was…

"Yeah, quite a lot."

"You…"

"Clearly, I don't know your life over hundreds of years. I don't know. How could I even gauge it? a young kid who hasn't even gone through the coming-of-age ritual."

Nevertheless, despite all that, this young kid dared to speak up.

This time, with stronger determination than ever before, he took aim directly at the other's beliefs.

"Why should we align with our will? Don't you understand why?"

Eldmir drew his bow.

Calmly, as if deliberately.

The attention of the sentinels focused on his hands.

"Because I've recognized them as guests."

The bow was drawn in his grasp.

"I won't say it twice."

"Eld, more than that…"

"Mother, believe me, just once."

Eldmir cut off Elysia, who was speaking anxiously, without even giving her a glance.

He merely gazed silently at the three elves before him.

-Can you handle it, half-breed?

At some point, Atir whispered as he approached.

Eldmir didn't reply.

"I'm sorry if I seem a bit arrogant for a young kid who hasn't even undergone the coming-of-age ceremony. I should have shown you first what you believe and what you are messing with, so you guys would have kept your mouth shut and listened."

"…Are you really an elf?"

Ervan asked, his expression showing disbelief at that distinct tone.

Heresy.

It was the most common thing Eldmir had heard from the villagers.

Eldmir revealed a smile in response.

"Well, what do I look like? Idiot."

The bowstring that had been pulled in his hand snapped.

Whether he truly didn't know if he would really shoot or not, the three sentinels looked astonished.

Swoosh

In that moment, the wind began to guide the arrow's movement.

-Hooh.

Atir exclaimed in admiration.

It wasn't what the spirit had intended.

It wasn't a movement the forest had called for.

It was just Eldmir's will to move the arrow, purely and simply.

It was a marvel that only someone who stepped into the realm of mystery beyond the domain of archery could demonstrate.

Whoosh, thunk, thunk

It was just a single arrow, but the echoing sound of the arrow penetrating flesh resonated three times.

"Whoa?!"

"What is this…!"

The three sentinels cried out in alarm.

Before they could even blink, the arrow that had pierced through targets returned to Eldmir and entered the quiver.

His arrows had already passed through different parts of the clothes of the three elves.

Some sentinels had their cloaks pierced, and the hems of their clothes were grazed, even at their sides of torso.

As if it were incredibly fast, it wasn't until the three elves, who had lived as sentinels for hundreds of years, touched and checked where the arrows had pierced their clothes that they realized.

The gravity of the situation caused cold sweat to run down the backs of the three sentinels.

"Did I not tell you, brothers?"

This was the moment Eldmir became certain of his identity as a player.

He faced the courage to stand against their firmly held beliefs, which he had accumulated over hundreds of years with determination.

It was a skill.

Though it was a tutorial, he couldn't grasp any information starting from the name of the skill he had learned. However, he was aware that he had acquired the skill.

Furthermore, without leveling up, he had learned this skill purely through effort. This fact was meaningful enough to instill him with sufficient pride.

Literally, demonstrating that it was possible to learn skills during one's youth was an achievement of unprecedented and unparalleled magnitude in the "Omega World."

"Do good while still mild words come out of my mouth. Oh, is the case different now? anyway…"

Eldmir shrugged his shoulders and drew out his arrow once again.

In response, the three sentinels also reacted, each beginning to draw their arrows.

"Eld."

Elysia called out his name with an anxious voice, but Eldmir ignored her.

"Brothers. I'm not here to fight. It would be the most beautiful thing to resolve this situation peacefully through words. But what to do?"

He started to draw the arrow slowly again.

"Lower your bows. Right now."

"It seems like neither side is willing to yield to the other."

"This isn't a warning. Put them down now, immediately!"

Istein yelled with a growl-like tone, but Eldmir showed no signs of paying attention.

In fact, he even appeared to be smiling.

"You're going to shoot? It would be better not to."

"Oh my God, you son of El Ruhr1. Elysia! If he's your son, figure out how to deal with him! Do you not know what it means for our kind to draw bows against each other?!"

"Mother, don't answer. Please trust your son."

"Young elf! Just because you've helped a few cat girls doesn't mean it will be beneficial to us now! Do you really think those four alone can bring true harmony between humans and elves? It's all delusional! Snap out of it! Do you really think drawing bows against each other makes sense because of such delusions? All because of those little beasts!"

Their arguments were valid.

However, Eldmir continued to smile.

"No, you don't need to show interest in something like that."

He toyed with the bowstring, pulling and releasing it in succession.

His eyes traced the shape of the crescent moon.

"How many times do I tell you that they're my guests? You only need to care about that. They're my guests, assholes. I keep saying it, okay? Don't you understand?"

Suddenly, he pulled the string of the bow sharply and aimed it at them again.

The three sentinels reacted by firing their arrows simultaneously.

Their eyes were filled with sinister intent.

This wasn't a warning.

They acted as they had said.

"Eld!"