Chapter 113

"We're all elves. We started with hundreds, but that number gradually decreased over time."

"You said there are a hundred and thirty members now, right?"

"One hundred and thirty-three."

"Was the battle that fierce?"

"They weren't just casualties of battle. They also died out due to natural causes, or we had to put them down by our own hands."

Seojin blinked in confusion.

"…The impact of that being. We were given a thousand years to live, but it shortened that by absorbing our life force."

"Ah… then…"

"It came a lot sooner. That moment."

Even a young elf who had only lived for three hundred years, for example, could turn into a monster once their life force was drained by the being. Berg, who prioritized his own kind above all else, would have been forced to make such a choice.

Seojin quickly changed the subject.

"…Looks like not all elves agreed with the Guardians of Balance if you only started with several hundred."

"The desert broke out in the middle of Salevania. The forests were torn and split, so I didn't have a chance to talk with them."

Background Knowledge Acquired!

* Knowledge of the Guardians of Balance added.

All of a sudden, a system message popped up. Seojin decided to ask another question, just in case.

"You mean the elves elsewhere had no idea… and probably still don't?"

"I suppose so."

"If we told them…"

"It would be useless. We elves never set out to turn the tides. They won't help us if there isn't any dramatic motivation."

'Dramatic motivation… we could borrow the power of the other elves as long as there's motivation…'

Something came to mind as soon as Seojin heard those words, but he didn't bother mentioning it.

"That's it. Maya and Jin will explain the rest. I just introduced our group as the representative of the Guardians of Balance."

"I guess you still don't believe me."

"It's not about trust anymore."

Berg shook his head slowly. It wasn't a matter of trust or anything, it was just…

"I'm terrified. I'm scared to death that everything we've worked for might turn to ruin… and that my misjudgment will break the balance…"

Seojin shook his head.

"The balance was never right to begin with."

"What do you mean?"

"The Sleeping Desert wouldn't have expanded if the balance was right. You're not breaking the balance. You're just adding another weight on an already skewed scale."

Meaning that the scales would now be tipped in their favor. Berg stared off into space for a moment, then turned and spoke.

"Maya will come. Jin, too. Wait here."

"Berg accepted you?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe it. Words can't describe how much Berg hates humans," Maya, the cause of the entire incident, murmured in surprise.

As far as she was concerned, Berg was the kind of elf to fight until the bitter end rather than accept outsiders.

"Well… since it's you…"

However, she also thought that it made sense, considering Seojin's behavior and achievements so far.

"You're the first human being to be acknowledged by Berg," Jin added how unlikely that was as he stood off to the side of Maya.

"Well, I've got to live up to that then. Let's start with the monster. Is there anything in the Sleeping Desert that could hinder us?"

"I've got this. There are roughly three kinds of beasts."

Maya's eyes became serious.

"You've already dealt with the first kind. Monsters with low intelligence and no combat skills."

The first kind were trash mobs, the weakest yet greatest in numbers, including the desert moles.

"The second type are the ones that have names. They have relatively high intelligence, and…"

"Compared to humans?"

"Not even comparable. Most of them can receive and undertake simple instructions."

"By most, you mean some are different?"

"That's right."

Among the named monsters in the Sleeping Desert, some beasts boasted intelligence superior to humans. It was to the point where they could converse and use their abilities to toy with humans.

"When we first met, you vanished in the middle of the desert, remember?"

"I did."

"I thought that was that bastard's work."

"That bastard?"

"Belial… all we know is its name."

Belial was only Level 180, but direct combat wasn't its specialty.

"If it sets its mind to it, even we, the elves, won't be able to find it. The pitfalls it sets won't even give us the slightest hint."

Compared to the adventurer classes, it seemed more along the lines of a hunter or rogue.

"How many of these entities are there?"

"One."

"I get the feeling that the reason the elves have been struggling is because of that one monster."

"You got that right."

Maya agreed at once. The elves were unmatched by the other monsters in the Sleeping Desert, but they were essentially defeated if they suffered even a single casualty, regardless of how many they had slain.

"So, Belial has the ability to do that…"

"Yes, it can bait other monsters into its traps without ever revealing its true form."

There weren't many elves left, and the death of even one led to a catastrophic loss of power.

"So, I just have to deal with Belial?"

"Then the direct threat will have been eliminated. The problem is that no one knows where he is."

"What if we can find that being?"

"We can kill it."

"You said it was quite powerful?"

"But its power is spread thin across the entire Sleeping Desert, so its body must be weakened at least somewhat."

"So, the key is to locate Belial somehow… and deal with the being…"

"That's right."

They had finally come to a conclusion, but that didn't mean they didn't have a lot of homework to do.

"I want to see the records of the Guardians of Balance. Everything. Can you get them to me?"

* * *

'I can't believe how little information there is.'

What Maya brought was a few thick old books back, and that was it. Seojin, who was flipping through the pages, couldn't believe his eyes.

'What have they been doing all these years?'

The elves' "records" were, by human standards, ridiculous.

'One day we went to the desert and some monsters came out… someone fought someone and got hurt… someone died…'

It was just all written down for the sake of it being recorded.

'When? Where? Who? Why? What? How? How is it that not a single record meets the 5W1H principle?'

Seojin felt like a diary written by an elementary school student would likely be more organized than those records.

Closing the old book that he was reading, Seojin turned to his side.

"This won't do."

"Wha…? Did you read it?"

"I did."

"How… you said you just started learning Elvish!"

"I tried my best."

"It won't cut… never mind."

Maya was speechless. In fact, she was right. Learning a language was not something that could be done in such a short amount of time.

Ancient Elvish

* Current Proficiency: 100%

Thanks to his constant conversation with Flappy, Seojin's proficiency had hit one hundred percent a long time ago.

"Anyway, that's not the point, Maya. These records are going to be hard to use."

"Why?"

"It's too vague. When it was cold? Which elf said they didn't like the weather? Where was that sand dune?"

"What's the problem with that?"

"… Do you understand this, Maya?"

"Let me take a look."

Maya came over and scanned the book before nodding her head.

"This was seventeen years ago. This elf is called Edlock. This is where the sand dunes used to be."

She pointed at the map beside her, leaving Seojin speechless.

"You remember all that?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I? Can't humans do such a thing?"

"Oh, well, yes. I understand now, you're an elf."

Seojin now realized the reason for such sloppy records. Such crude records left enough clues for them to remember everything by memory. Flappy nodded in agreement from above.

"I expect nothing less from elves. But they're all no match for me, though."

"For you?"

"Elves' memories become hazy after around five hundred years, but spirits never forget."

"You're right. Honestly, I'm already starting to get confused after three hundred years."

Seojin decided to accept the situation after seeing the spirit and elf exchange words of understanding.

"Okay, I get it now."

So, he would definitely need Maya with him to analyze the records. With her memories, Seojin would be able to roughly figure out the basic information. However, he was still wondering…

"There are many records here yet the name of the being isn't mentioned once. The fallen elf, the creature that swallowed the forest, and is still devouring life in the middle of the desert."

"That's… ."

"What's the elf's name?"

"It's not an elf."

"I stand corrected, ex-elf."

"Legia," Maya murmured as if she hated the sound of it.

It was at that very moment that a system message popped up.

You have found a crucial clue to the episode.

Bookmark added.

Bookmark added.

'… Two?'

His question was soon answered.

Major divergence occurred!

That meant Seojin's decision could lead the quest to two possible results.

The entire world was at stake. The players of XXXXXXX stood with me, but the end was disastrous: Salvania became a barren wasteland.

First up, the first bookmark meant blatant failure, and the second…

The entire world was at stake. The players of XXXXXXX stood with me, and we did it! Savannah got its green forest back!

…described what would happen if he completed the quest perfectly.

'So, it's all or nothing. It's kinda strange that they both mention players though.'

The previews had always been written from the point of view of the NPC. But now, it was described from the perspective of the player…

"Oh my God."

Conditions for the unofficial world quest have been met.

Step 1: Finding out the name "Legia."

'Step One?'

It didn't just over there.

Step 2: Identifying the Elven group - "Guardians of Balance."

Step 3: Allying with the Guardians of Balance.

Step 4: Discovering the existence of the field boss "Belial."

Messages popped up consecutively, all related to the information Seojin had obtained.

And finally…

Conditions met!

Unofficial World Quest: A Sleeping Desert

* Quest Type: Escort and Destroy.

* Escort: Elves.

* Target: Legia.

* Bonus Conditions: Defeat Belial.

* Failure Conditions: 2 or more elves killed.

The madness continued.

An unofficial world quest meant that it wasn't designed by the devs, but by players who caused a specific event.

You can set eligibility requirements.

You can set the visibility.

You can set the number of participants.

The system messages kept growing wilder.

"…What's wrong?"

Maya, unaware of the situation, could only shake her head in bewilderment.

Flappy answered her instead.

"He does this every once in a while. Just wait a second."

"Is that so?"

"That's the way it is."

"Adventurers are really a unique breed, aren't they…?"

Flappy nodded as Maya and Jin stared on curiously.

Under the gazes of the elves and the spirit, Seojin slowly comprehended the situation.