Episode 50: Elf Fortress (3)
Elf King Eldiran.
He lost his father to Hertia and saw the World Tree, the heart of the elves, destroyed.
Even the noble elves were trampled under her hand.
Since that day, the elves never forgot Hertia.
Eldiran was no exception.
He had to punish her—it was justice, the end to their pain.
But Hertia vanished for a long time, her presence undetectable.
Then, by chance, he learned she was in another dimension.
Eldiran’s mission became clear: restore the World Tree and ensure elven prosperity.
Prosperity couldn’t begin until Hertia was punished, her curse on the World Tree lifted.
So, Eldiran set out for her dimension.
‘If they’re from another dimension, I’ll take the energy needed to revive the World Tree while I’m here.’
Reviving the decayed World Tree required vast life force.
Thus, Eldiran declared to all elves:
“We’ll invade Hertia’s dimension and seize everything. That land, tainted by her presence, is already corrupt. Fear not—take it all.”
Soon after the invasion began, Hertia appeared.
Her foul, oppressive aura—the scent of a shadow elf abandoned by the World Tree—spread through the fortress entrance.
“…”
Despite her appearance, Eldiran didn’t move.
He still knew little about this place called Earth.
Gathering information was priority, so he didn’t act rashly.
Five days were enough to understand the situation.
He summoned his advisor, Iruan.
“Iruan, do you think their strength surpasses ours?”
“No, my lord. They’re insignificant humans, here and elsewhere.”
“Then gathering life force for the World Tree won’t be difficult.”
“Of course.”
To revive the World Tree, bloodshed was paradoxically unavoidable.
Fortunately, Earth’s humans were laughably weak compared to the adventurers of their dimension.
“Soon, we’ll harvest vast life force.”
“Preparations are already complete.”
Everything was ready, and the humans’ forces assessed.
Not a single threat existed among them.
Except one annoyance—a human at the Altar of Radiance, reeking of shadow elf stench, wielding the King of Afterimages Azas and sweeping through elves and spirits.
Still, just a human.
Irritating, but not threatening.
Other regions had stronger foes.
Now was the time to prepare for the next step.
“Iruan.”
“Yes, Lord Eldiran.”
“Prepare for when they enter our land. Summoning that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
“You mean…”
“The Corrupted Ents. Born from the decayed roots of the World Tree.”
“You intend to bring them despair?”
“They’ll merge with the World Tree anyway. Crushing them with overwhelming force is my kindness, my mercy.”
Iruan bowed respectfully.
Eldiran summoned a charred, decayed branch of the World Tree.
“Take it.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Show them true despair.”
“I will, without fail.”
Eldiran vanished from the Court of Nature at the fortress’s peak.
Alone, Iruan gazed at the burnt branch.
‘This’ll be a fun show.’
With a sly smile, Iruan disappeared into the fortress.
***
《King of Afterimages Azas has defeated Altar Master Calebrin.》
《The Altar of Radiance has been cleared.》
《The Unknown Adventurer is the first on the KR server to clear the Elf Fortress.》
《Clear time: 141 hours, 17 minutes, 34 seconds》
《Clear rank: B-》
My first B- rank.
If I’d led from the start, it’d be top-tier, but that’d be a poison pill—global attention would swarm me.
Son Tae-ha’s already stressed from the Tower of Strife fallout, with calls flooding in, some asking if I’m for sale.
Sounds like veiled threats too.
‘Am I a global star now?’
That’s worrying.
Every Raid team will want me.
《Level up! Adventurer level has reached 100.》
Oh, max adventurer level too?
Like my summons, the real game starts at 100!
《Achieved first-time achievement: Rampant Sprint.》
A reward for fast leveling, it seems.
《For reaching adventurer level 100, you receive a Level 100 Celebration Box.》
《For the achievement, you receive an Adventurer Exclusive Weapon Box.》
Two rewards!
I’m thrilled to open them at home.
But the rewards didn’t stop.
《Unknown Adventurer has obtained the artifact Lumiel’s Grace.》
《For first clear, you receive Mystic Crystal Box x50.》
Yes! Mystic Crystals!
I clenched my fists.
【Mystic Crystal Box】
Description: Contains 2–5 Mystic Crystals randomly.
I was worried after burning through crystals for skill upgrades.
This is 100–250 crystals—huge!
Plus the artifact!
But I can’t hog it all.
The frontline team, including Radiance, deserves a share.
“Great work!”
“You all worked hard too.”
“Thanks, Unknown Adventurer! You stopped the dungeon break!”
“No big deal. Now, about item distribution…”
“Let’s head back!”
As I tried discussing distribution, Son Tae-yeon stepped in, dismissing the adventurers.
I’m not shameless enough to ignore fairness, even if I’m greedy for loot.
“Wait, the distribution—”
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“We’ve already agreed.”
Guild Master Yoon Hae-joon answered from behind.
“Agreed? First I’m hearing of it.”
“No matter how hard we tried, we only broke through the second gate in five days. Without you, we wouldn’t have cleared the final one.”
“Still, you did great up to the second gate.”
They weren’t the most skilled, but they put in real effort.
Effort deserves reward.
“We don’t want the rewards.”
Yoon Hae-joon’s expression showed their decision was final—they wouldn’t take anything.
Good people.
Not even considering splitting such valuable loot.
How could I ignore folks like that?
“Fine, then.”
“Huh?”
“Not rewards—I’ll share what I have.”
“What do you mean…?”
“My knowledge. Tower of Strife high-floor strategies, deck consulting, anything. Free for everyone here today.”
“Really… you’d do that?”
Of course.
Sharing tower strategies or deck advice causes no harm.
I want these people to grow stronger.
Stronger allies push me to improve too.
That’s how Lucifer hit unofficial rank one.
Back then, I shared knowledge freely with newbies for the same reason.
“Contact Ascend anytime. I’ll inform them in advance.”
“Yes! Got it!”
My talk with Master Yoon Hae-joon ended.
Now, time to open those boxes.
I headed straight to my private trailer.
***
Ascend Management’s private trailer.
I’m alone—staff are at their lodgings since it’s late.
Apparently, this trailer’s just for me.
Lucky me, I can open the boxes here instead of at home.
‘A company that handles things well is a blessing!’
Phew, I’m nervous.
I saved the main event, the Adventurer Exclusive Weapon Box, for last.
Important pulls come last, right?
First, the Level 100 Celebration Box.
【Level 100 Celebration Box】
Description: A congratulatory box for reaching level 100. Contents are random.
This is my chance to test my luck.
Per gacha rules, I’ll treat this as a “sacrifice”—bad pulls here mean better ones later.
Rubbing my hands, I opened the box.
《Using Level 100 Celebration Box.》
The box glowed brightly, bursting with small firework effects.
Pop! Pop pop! Pop!
Here we go! What’s it gonna be?
《Obtained Summon Skill Level ALL Scroll.》
【Summon Skill Level ALL Scroll】
Description: Maxes out all skill levels for one summon.
Oh! This is huge!
Especially for the Seven Sins members—their skill upgrades cost a fortune, maybe more than summoning them.
A scroll maxing one summon’s skills is incredible.
My “sacrifice” talk feels a bit off now, but good pulls here and later? Even better!
…Or so I thought, but the rest were lackluster.
《Obtained Mythic Crafting Material Box x10.》
《Obtained Skill Enhancement Scroll.》
《Obtained Legendary Crafting Material Box x30.》
Nothing stood out.
Not total flops—the ALL Scroll saved me billions—but still.
‘This counts as a sacrifice, right?’
A bit disappointing, so the main box should deliver.
【Adventurer Exclusive Weapon Box】
Description: A weapon exclusive to adventurers. Equipping it allows combat intervention in certain dungeons.
Adventurer weapons.
Some adventurers, like me, have combat-capable classes.
In PVP, summons usually fight, but guild PVP sometimes involves summoners.
That’s what makes guild PVP tedious—many guilds find it daunting.
‘Doesn’t bother me. I’ll use whatever I get.’
I took a deep breath, entering a meditative state.
I have no greed.
No desires.
I’ve reached a state of detachment.
Whatever comes, I’m fine.
I chanted to myself.
Then, finally—
《Using Adventurer Exclusive Weapon Box.》
Black smoke billowed from the box.
Anxiety hit me instantly.
The smoke rose, then sank to the floor.
A strong gust sucked it away.
A message appeared.
《Obtained Rebel of the Dawn Star weapon ‘Extinction’.》
The weapon of the ‘Rebel of the Dawn Star’?
It looks like the ‘hwando’ I used back then…
‘Did I use a weapon like this…?’
I clutched my head and slumped down.
‘Oh Hyun-woo, you lunatic! You’ve done it now! Argh!’
A forgotten truth hit me.
Eighteen-year-old Hyun-woo was deeply obsessed with national pride.