020 — The Black-Haired Elf

The moment they started running, arrows rained down from all directions. They seemed to be firing indiscriminately, yet every single shot was sharp. Each arrow flew to the precise spot where your foot would land as you took another step.

“Jinwoo! Catch!”

Bulkar pulled a shield from his subspace pouch and threw it. It was a shield made by layering water-soaked leather over a steel plate, and its heavy weight felt incredibly reassuring.

Shields raised to cover their bodies, the two of them ran even faster.

Impact and vibration rang through the hands holding the shields again and again. It was the shock of arrows striking and ricocheting off.

As they began to perfectly block the arrows, the enemy's response changed. They put away their bows, drew their swords, and charged.

“Die!”

With a short word that even Jinwoo could understand, the Dark Elves swung their swords.

They must have thought that after two days of harassment had drained their targets’ stamina and willpower, it was fine to engage in close combat. But this was the moment Jinwoo had been waiting for.

Without even bothering to use his shield, he stabbed the Elf’s chest with the sword in his other hand. The blue flame trembled before shattering into pieces and being absorbed by Jinwoo.

“Mar!”

Shouting the name of his dead comrade, the second one charged. The Elf was burning with vengeance, but it was useless. He shared the same fate as the first.

“Jinwoo, strong.”

“Unexpected.”

Bulkar let out a cry of admiration, and Jinwoo also wore a surprised expression.

He knew his ability was stronger than he’d thought, but he hadn’t realized it was to this extent. To think he could overwhelm the notoriously infamous Elves.

‘Are these opponents weak?’

Even if Elves were fearsome beings, there had to be individual differences. Weren't these guys probably F- or E-class in Earth terms? That must be why they were robbing Dwarves in some primeval forest.

In any case, his confidence grew. As he absorbed the blue flames, his energy recovered bit by bit.

At this level, fighting back wouldn't be a major problem. It was far easier than fending off the werewolf for days on end in the 0th Floor Gate.

[A Fragment of a Past Life emerges. Its breath shall be as tranquil as the water's surface.]

‘Huh?’

It was unexpected. He wasn't particularly struggling, nor was it a crisis situation, yet he had awakened a new skill.

‘I heard you tend to awaken a lot of minor skills during your F- or E-class days.’

Like the very first skill Jinwoo awakened, the one that made his feet faster.

This new skill also had no flashy or dramatic effects. His breathing had simply become more stable.

It became more comfortable to breathe, and he made no sound. With a single inhalation, he could draw a deeper breath, feeling it spread from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

‘…This is actually pretty good.’

The skill that made his feet faster was minor, but it had been incredibly useful. This breathing skill was similar. Just the change in his breathing was enough to lessen his fatigue and fill him with vitality.

If he’d had such a good skill in his past life, it should have awakened when he was fighting the werewolf. If it had awakened then, it would have been a huge help.

‘Or maybe it’s because the experience I gained back then accumulated, allowing it to awaken now?’

That could be it. Or maybe not.

“Aargh!”

“Save me…”

With his breathing changed, combat became much easier. After cutting down a few more, there were no more charging at him.

However, they were still pursuing from a distance, and arrows continued to fly steadily.

The shield prevented him from being hit, but constantly maintaining a state of alert and holding the shield was, in itself, a source of fatigue.

Seeing how tenaciously they pursued even after losing this many comrades, it seemed they had no intention of letting them go.

After that, Jinwoo and Bulkar used every means at their disposal to shake their pursuers.

Sensing a pack of monsters, they deliberately ran toward it. They hoped to erase their tracks by mingling with the numerous monsters and that the pursuing Dark Elves would have to fight them.

Passing through a dry-looking forest, they threw molotov cocktails behind them. Among Bulkar's possessions was a bottle containing a flame, an item he called a "Flame Seed."

The bottle was for storing the fire, and the flame burning inside was the Flame Seed, a high-purity fire with a much higher temperature than an ordinary flame.

It was a tool normally used to provide a strong initial burst of heat when lighting a cold furnace, but they threw several bottles of it into the dry forest.

Fwoooosh!

The fire spread in an instant, creating a massive forest fire. Jinwoo's senses picked up the presence of the Dark Elves, who seemed flustered.

After exchanging a high-five with Bulkar for their success, the two followed a river they had spotted earlier downstream.

The fire did much to throw off their pursuers. But their relief was short-lived. After about half a day, the flames of the Dark Elves were once again detected on their tail.

‘Wow, how are they so persistent?’

Shouldn't they have given up by now?

Jinwoo watched the movement of the blue flames with genuine disbelief. Far from giving up, they seemed to be chasing them with even greater fury.

‘Tough bastards.’

He had certainly learned one thing: the tenacity of Elves. Come to think of it, the black-haired Elf he met in the first Gate had been similar.

Leaving a rabbit carcass every night, then a boar, then a wolf… he’d thought she was a complete psycho.

“Bulkar. This way.”

“Where?”

If the opponent was this stubborn, they had to be stubborn too. Jinwoo led Bulkar toward a certain place.

The sky was dizzyingly high. Below their feet, a vast sea of green trees stretched out.

They were on top of a cliff.

“N-No way…”

Bulkar took a step back with a sense of foreboding. Jinwoo grabbed his hand and securely tied Bulkar’s body to his own with a rope.

“No! We’ll die! We’ll die!”

Bulkar screamed, shaking his head. His eyes were darting around madly and his face was deathly pale, looking like a man on the verge of death.

Fortunately, Jinwoo had no intention of jumping without a plan. He took a parachute pack from his inventory and put it on.

“Let’s go.”

“Gyaaaaaaaah!”

Jinwoo leaped off the cliff with all his might.

---

“Dammit!”

Watching one human and one Dwarf disappear below the cliff, Benville stomped his foot in frustration.

Even if they were Elves and this was a forest, jumping off a cliff this high was impossible.

They could find a way down, but it would require a long detour. By then, the fugitives would have erased all their tracks and escaped. They might even find a blue portal.

“Retreat! We’re retreating!”

With a rotten expression, Benville ordered his subordinates to fall back.

They had suffered nothing but losses and gained nothing. The subordinates, overwhelmed by a great sense of futility, returned to base camp with their spirits completely crushed.

There were five more subordinates at the base who were still in good condition, but even if they brought everyone now, it would be impossible to find and capture their targets.

“Damn it all!”

The mission was a failure, and they were laden with casualties. The number of lost brethren's souls amounted to eight.

Dying was acceptable, but losing a soul was not. With the World Tree already withering, to lose eight more high-purity souls in a place like this…

“What happened?”

A clear voice rang out.

It was a beautiful, melodious voice, but Benville’s expression soured even further.

“Sir Garcia.”

“You don’t look well, Benville. It seems a few of the subordinates you took with you are gone. Where are they? Out scouting?”

“…”

He was speechless. How could he explain that he went to rob a single Dwarf hiding in a cave and ended up with eight of his own men dead?

It wouldn't have mattered if they had simply died. Elves, whose souls circulate around the World Tree, feel little emotion towards death itself.

The problem was that the souls needed for that circulation had been stolen.

But he couldn't just not say anything, so Benville took a crystal orb from his pouch.

When he infused it with mana, threads of light like skeins of yarn began to emerge and weave together. They then created an image in the air.

A picture of Jinwoo swinging his sword at a Dark Elf was rendered in detail almost like a photograph.

The woman’s eyes widened.

“This is…”

“One of my men found traces of a Dwarf hiding in a cave.”

Oblivious to her expression, Benville recounted the events that had transpired, from discovering the Dwarf's tracks to ultimately losing eight souls.

After hearing the whole story, the woman glanced at the image woven by the mana threads and spoke.

“An unforgivable mistake. To lose so many souls. The Mother World Tree will grieve. Your king will be furious.”

“You say that like it’s not your problem…!”

“Well, it isn’t my problem, is it?”

Grind.

Benville ground his teeth, but he had no retort.

“What will you do now?”

“I’m returning. The losses are too great. We need time to return to the hideout and regroup. You have no objections, I presume?”

Benville called over a few of his men and gave them orders to pack up the base camp and prepare for their return.

“I have no objections. But what will you do with that orb?”

“I must report it to the king. That a wicked being who has stolen the souls of eight of our brethren exists. A warrant for his arrest will be issued immediately.”

“…”

“No matter how strong that bastard is, he’s just a being active in the primeval forest. If those who frequent the 2nd and 3rd Floors pursue him, not even his bones will be left to collect.”

“I’m also a knight who frequents the 3rd Floor and above. Would you like to entrust it to me?”

“Nonsense! A Dark Elf’s soul was stolen, so it is only right for a Dark Elf to reclaim it!”

While it was true that the Dark Elves and the white-skinned Elves were cooperating, their long-standing animosity and rivalry had not disappeared.

If the woman before him were to reclaim the eight souls lost due to his mistake, what would become of his king’s honor?

As it stood, Benville might be thrown in prison to take responsibility for the loss of his subordinates’ souls.

But if he asked this woman for help and returned after she solved the problem, he could be summarily executed for the crime of tarnishing the king’s honor.

“Then…”

“Quiet. I need to pack my things as well. You should get ready quickly, Sir.”

Benville told the woman to step aside, turned his back, and began to pack his belongings. The woman shook her head slightly and walked past the busily moving man.

Simultaneously, her hand slipped into Benville’s pouch, as silent and natural as the air. Quietly, she stole the aforementioned orb.

The title of Knight was a symbol of nobility even in the world of Elves. Benville was a thief skilled in the art of pickpocketing, but he never imagined that a knight would stoop to such a thing.

It was because he did not know the woman's history. She was a knight now, but she had not been so in her youth.

Ting-CRACK!

A short distance away, the woman stepped on the orb, shattering it completely.

She couldn't stop the report that there was a swordsman who stole souls. But at the very least, she could destroy the orb that recorded his face and build.

“Sir Garcia! I said we’re leaving immediately, why are you still dawdling!”

Benville shouted at the woman who was fiddling around in a corner. The woman replied.

“You go on ahead. I’ll stay a little longer before I leave.”

Benville clicked his tongue and told her to do as she pleased. He led his subordinates and withdrew towards the blue portal they had located earlier.

He had to report today's events to the Black King. He would surely be punished, but a clumsy attempt to hide it would mean execution. It was cleaner to report it immediately and accept the punishment.

The woman was left alone in the place that had been their camp.

‘He fell off a cliff?’

Having shaken off the nuisances and now alone, she headed for the cliff Benville had mentioned.

---

After descending the cliff, Jinwoo and Bulkar traveled for a long time.

They were careful to leave as few tracks as possible, sometimes following the river downstream, other times descending another cliff with a waterfall.

By that point, no Elves were pursuing them anymore. They decided to rest in a cave located behind the waterfall, its entrance naturally concealed.

“Whew! You went through a lot, Jinwoo.”

“You too.”

They each took out alcohol and food from their subspaces and held a small celebratory party. They stuck to low-proof drinks so as not to get too drunk.

Bulkar seemed to be a heavy drinker, as he appeared to have dozens of bottles of alcohol in his subspace. He took out a few of his favorites.

Jinwoo also took out the wine he had received from Chartia; he hadn't finished it that day, and about half of it was still left.

They held a light party around a campfire. They tasted each other's drinks, expressing admiration and enjoying themselves.

They ate, drank, and slept to wash away the fatigue they had accumulated. While it wasn't as grueling as the werewolf incident on the 0th Floor, this ordeal had also been quite difficult.

‘Now that we’ve completely lost them, I can finally explore the Gate properly.’

Starting tomorrow, Jinwoo planned to search for a blue portal while also looking for game and monsters.

When he asked Bulkar, the dwarf said he planned to make this place his workshop and start forging metal.

The cave was hard to spot from the outside, hidden by the waterfall, and the sound of the waterfall would drown out the sound of his hammering, which were ideal conditions.

And above all, he said the water was good.

“Good steel requires good water and good fire.”

He seemed to have a craftsman's stubbornness. To Jinwoo, the water here was no different from the water in the previous cave, but there must have been a subtle difference that only a craftsman could feel.

“A gift for Jinwoo. One sword.”

“Really?”

Furthermore, he promised to give him a sword he had made himself. He said it was a reward for saving his life, a blade he would forge with his own hands.

Dwarven-made weapons were extremely rare and exceptional, fetching any price one cared to name on Earth.

He wasn't just picking up a finished product; a Dwarf was going to custom-make one just for him. He couldn't help but be excited.

Bulkar said he would craft it to fit him perfectly, taking into account his hands, body type, and even his sword-swinging habits.

‘Just this one thing makes this Gate trip a huge success, doesn’t it?’

He had been bothered by the time wasted clashing with the Dark Elves, but if this was his reward, that was a different story. He was willing to waste a few more days, or even weeks.

The next day, after they had rested well while discussing their future plans, the expressions of both Jinwoo and Bulkar hardened at the sight of a being who had suddenly appeared in their cave.

“Long time #%$@”

Waving at Jinwoo as if happy to see him, was the black-haired Elf he had met in his first Gate.

---