Chapter 110

Berg, along with other elves, could not accept this situation, just like Maya before. However, the reality was harsh as the adventurer clearly was the one who had the upper hand.

"If you don't need our help… then…"

"It would be nice to have you on my side, but that's all. With some trial and error, I can solve the problem by myself. I can bring Salevania back. I mean, the forgotten forest."

"You're talking about things you haven't even seen with your own eyes."

"I don't have to see to know. You saw me with your own eyes, and were you right about me?"

Berg had taken Seojin lightly, ignored the other elves' advice to be careful, and eventually had to hand over three pieces of his own craft for free, however…

"It doesn't matter, that was all minor."

He was reckless, but that was only because it was okay to do so since the only risk at stake was his hurt ego. He hadn't managed to get Maya and Jin out of their contract, but he could always look for a new strategy.

"…But I can't put our mission at stake."

"You don't have to; I'll take care of it. Do you have anything else to say?"

"I can't accept that."

"You will."

"I've been here for hundreds of years. I have watched how the forest rose and fell and have seen everything that happened here with my own eyes."

"You're right. You only saw the things that happened here."

Seojin threw another mockery at him.

"Your patience is admirable. Humans can't even stick to only one diet."

"Nothing else matters to me."

"Now you're belittling things that you haven't even seen with your own eyes."

"Because every event is the same, in its essence."

"You don't know that. Have you even tried something else? Have you looked at places other than forests or deserts in your nine hundred years of life? Have you ever had a goal other than to get Salevania back?"

"What do we call a craftsman who only crafted things for nine hundred years? A master. How about someone who studied and learned all the years? A wise scholar. But Berg…"

Seojin's mouth curled up into a smirk.

"…you're not one of them."

"We're trying to solve only one problem here as well."

"That's not an attitude that the leader of a group should have. Refusing to learn and denying flexibility will only lead you downhill."

"Yet we endured this eternity of time to now. Only we could've done it."

"In nine hundred years…" Seojin whispered, looking Berg in the eye.

"…what have you accomplished? What changes have you made, and what conclusions have you come to?"

"We delayed the process. We are the ones who hindered the spreading plague of the scourge. I'm not in any position to be judged by a kid like you."

"Yes, you are!"

Seojin sighed as if he was frustrated. Looking around at the audience, everyone shook their heads as if to see.

"That's all you've done for nine hundred years. slowing down that damn desertification."

"We are…"

"Is that any different from…"

Seojin interrupted Berg.

"…the slow, but steady downhill? Do you think you can root out that corrupt being? No, you can't. One day, it will become unstoppable. Especially if you're on your own."

The secret society of elves that had been there for thousands of years would finally collapse, and the Sleeping Desert would someday swallow the defenseless world, after Berg died and every other elf around them succumbed to time.

"You told me it was your mission, Berg. That means you that have to risk your life to achieve it, right?"

"…Yes."

"What do you think will happen after you die? Do you believe that it will magically stop spreading somehow?"

"…You're just a douchebag who's trying to make himself look better than everyone else."

"You are a leader, goddamn it! You're responsible for every elf here! You're the one who should dare to challenge the fate of this land!"

Seojin finally shouted, sick of Berg's irresponsibility. Leaders should open-minded and acknowledge inevitable change, and have to lead their people to innovation.

"Look, now. Look at those who follow you."

Berg's eyes scanned the rest of the elves. They were young in appearance, but even the youngest had lived for two hundred years. Some looked angry, some didn't know what to do, and some even sympathized with Seojin's words.

"Even in this situation, no one else is coming forward. Nobody's trying to diffuse things or give an opinion… do you know why?"

"Because they believe me."

"No, it's not faith, it's resignation. You ignored their opinions and forced them to obey you. You've conditioned them to be helpless."

Berg maimed his mouth and watched his fellow kindreds, who were only looking at Berg.

"…You arrogant human being, I hope you are done talking."

Bern shifted his gaze to face the glaring adventurer again.

"You're an idiot who doesn't even know the difference between humans and elves. The difference is…"

"What's so different apart from the fact you have bigger ears, live longer, and are closer to nature?"

"…"

"Did you want to say that you're born passive? So you can't do anything on your own?"

"Ha, you knew? Alright, that's a bit exaggerated, but what if it was true?" Berg admitted calmly.

Unlike humans, elves put the collective before an individual's well-being. If one's life and the group's safety were at the stake, elves always chose the latter.

"That's why another monster like that being hasn't emerged. If the being was of a selfish race like yours, the world would have been covered in monsters already."

"Then the same goes for you too."

Seojin exploited his point. If elves were a passive race, that meant that Berg, who led them, was no different.

"You've always been passive. You've only ever reacted to problems passively, just trying to slow the process down as much as possible. Even when you tried to find the source of the problem, you gave up rather quickly. Isn't that right?"

"I've seen more than you, I've been through a lot more, and I made such a decision after much consideration. As a result, if it weren't for us, this entire continent would have become a desert long ago."

"Unlike you, who has been blessed with thousands of years of life, human life is short. Because of that, we dare to try, go through a lot, and overcome more things at the same time. That's the nature of humans."

"So, what have you been through?"

Seojin took something out of his inventory.

"Do you know what this is?"

"…A demon's horn. Did you buy it with gold?"

"I hunted the demon by myself."

Berg's head tilted, and he moistened his dry lips as his brows furrowed.

"That's impossible."

"No, it isn't. I've already done it. My time is far too short compared to the time you've lived, Berg, like a spark against the sun. But if you and I lived the same amount of time, the results would be very different."

-Now, Flappy.

Seojin summonded her as soon as he finished talking. The quick-witted spirit revealed herself, and eyes of the elves around them opened wide in astonishment.

"This light…"

"What the… ? How could a mere human…?"

"…Don't be misled! Have you forgotten that this guy is an adventurer?"

Berg's frantic yells came a bit too late because even he had been surprised at first.

'I heard that he's a good person, but I didn't know he would be this good!'

Only the elves could see the light radiating from Flappy, therefore, they were able to see how good Seojin was more accurately than anyone else.

"Berg, maybe…"

With that, a female elf walked up toward Berg. She hesitated, but spoke clearly after a moment.

"Maybe we made the wrong decision."

One more…

"That's right, Berg. I've never seen such a good man. No human being has ever shone so brightly."

And again…

"Berg, it was a real demon's horn."

Everything that Seojin had built up was finally working, as he wasn't just talking to persuade Berg in the first place. His speech was designed to move every single elf in the room.

"Even if that's the truth, we must not trust an adventurer. ! Even if he is a really good person, that's not any reason to abandon our mission!"

"I never asked you to abandon it, just… let me help you with the burden. You haven't seen any change in hundreds of years, what's so hard to accept? !"

Seojin shouted, pointing to Maya.

"Maya did it! Jin, as well! Those two accepted reality! Those two passive elves made a move because they had good reason to."

His finger now turned to Berg.

"Now it's your turn to choose, Berg. Are you going to spend the next few hundred years as meaninglessly as you did in the past, or are you going to try and change something?"

"I…"

Suddenly, another elf burst open the door and ran in, standing in front of Berg.

"…What is it?"

"Adventurers are here."

"Adventurers?"

"It's Ironblood. They must be about to invade the desert!"

"Ironblood?" Berg asked, and Seo asked the same thing internally.

'Why are they here?'

"Flappy?"

"Uh, I'll go and see."

He sent Flappy off first and racked his brain at full capacity. Moments later, he drew a simple conclusion.

'I don't know why they're here, but I'm sure that I can use it to my advantage.'

"I've confirmed my intentions, so now it's time for me to prove my capabilities. I'll take care of it, Berg."

It was time to snatch up an opportunity.

* * *

Hansen, a member of the Ironblood Knights, couldn't hide his excitement.

'It's just around the corner. How pleased our union master would be if he knew!'

With the city located in the middle of the desert in his sights, he made one final check on the force that he was leading.

"Boris, is anyone missing?"

A man with a crossbow walked over to answer Hansen's question.

"None. I'm on standby after circling our buff."

"Active items?"

"Fully operational."

"Huh, perfect! Find the target first. Are the scouts ready?"

"Deploying them now."

Several rogues ran forward upon the man's gesture. They moved at a sight-blurring speed, even though they were suffering from level-penalties.

"Do you want to make a bet with me? On how long it will take to find the target?"

"Interesting, I'll call in at an hour."

"An hour? I say half an hour."

"Uh… I guess I'll have to buy you a drink this time."

Hansen observed the chat window quietly, surrounded by a friendly atmosphere, ready to move as soon as the scouts found their target. But soon enough…

Eddy left the group.

"Oh, I guess he's CTD."

"Me too, he'll probably rejoin…"

Rodrick left the group.

Allgreen left the group.

Boris' words were interrupted by a series of messages. Hansen felt that something was wrong, but it was already too late.

Strong Guy left the group.

Dagger Man left the group. ...

"…What the hell? !"

Guild members were continuously closing their access as if they were an ant hell.