249th Chapter
Ray openly displayed his unpleasant emotions toward the Elf.
Having repeatedly used the derogatory term “pointy-ears,” one might expect his voice to rise, yet the emotional disturbance emanating from the Elf only seemed to subside.
“I will confirm again. Are you the human the Emperor spoke of?”
The Elf’s voice now carried no emotion at all.
There was no trace of anger, irritation, or even coldness—his tone was akin to that of a machine.
As Ray gazed into the air and nodded, the Elf dispelled his concealment.
It was as if the initial emotions the Elf had shown were merely out of consideration for humans; the atmosphere he exuded now resembled a colorless painting.
Standing still, Ray watched as the Elf plunged a long branch, reaching up to his chest, into the ground.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept through, and the scenery began to change.
Centered around the branch, a ripple of green light spread, and before Ray knew it, he was standing in the middle of a forest.
Caught off guard by the Elf’s unique barrier, Ray managed to hide his surprise.
Crack!
Branches sprouted from the ground, intertwining with each other to form a chair.
The Elf sat alone on this chair, crossing his legs.
“What do you desire?”
“That’s a rather abrupt question.”
With that reply, Ray signaled his intent for the Elf to clarify his question further. However, the Elf remained silent.
Realizing that engaging in a battle of wits would be futile, Ray eventually spoke again.
“First, I’d appreciate an introduction—what kind of Elf are you?”
“Guardian.”
High Elves of the Guardian rank.
They were reputed to temporarily wield Lord-level power within the domain of the World Tree.
Though Ray pondered whether to trust this statement, given that the Elf had been sent by the royal family, he decided to accept it at face value.
“Can you tell me if there’s a way to lift Resina’s curse?”
Ray’s voice carried traces of irritation and reproach.
Hadn’t the Elves abandoned the human families while leaving Resina to suffer alone?
Thinking this, Ray couldn’t help but feel resentment. However, the Elf who called himself a Guardian criticized those who had tried to protect Resina.
“Resina had to endure her trials fully.”
The corruption of soul and body, the decay and disintegration without protection.
The frustration and anguish, the repeated regrets over past wrong choices—all of this was part of a ritual, a price to pay for purification.
“The world needed Resina’s suffering for its cleansing. But humans interfered, and as a result, the land remains unpurified.”
“…”
Ray furrowed his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
He wanted to vent his frustration loudly, but refrained, knowing it would be futile against this enigmatic Elf.
With a heavy sigh, Ray asked again.
“Is the failure to purify the land due to humans interfering? No… Then, if Resina had rolled around in the dirt as you say, performing her ‘full’ trials, would that have purified the Demonic Realm?”
“…”
The Elf didn’t answer.
Of course not, Ray muttered to himself with a smirk.
Even if Resina’s trials were a kind of ritual, and even if they were completed in full, it likely wouldn’t have resolved the issue of the Demonic Realm.
At best, it might have slightly alleviated the burden on the World Tree.
If simply sacrificing one Elf could cleanse the Demonic Realm, the world would have been tidied up long ago.
Shaking his head, Ray moved on to the main topic.
“I’ve received information about a ‘core’ that enhances the erosion of the Demonic Realm.”
“…”
“My questions are threefold. Does this ‘core’ enhancing the erosion of the Demonic Realm truly exist? Is it realistically possible to locate and remove this ‘core’? And if we succeed in removing the ‘core’ and weaken the erosion, will it resolve Resina’s curse?”
Ray’s fixation on this matter wasn’t solely for Ulte and Resina.
If the expansion of the Demonic Realm continued, it would pose a significant threat in both the short and long term.
Once the land becomes demonized, regardless of the outcome of any battles, it becomes uninhabitable for humans.
And asking if it can be purified easily, physical force alone is insufficient.
Even when Luna dropped a meteorite in Alimo, the Forbidden Forest remained unpurified.
Thus, if possible, Ray wanted to resolve the issue of the Demonic Realm’s expansion before his death.
‘If only the identity and location of the core enhancing the erosion of the Demonic Realm could be pinpointed, I could persuade the Emperor and Ernst to borrow the Empire’s strength without needing to act directly…’
Ray looked at the Elf hopefully.
But the Elf refused to provide the answers Ray sought.
“Human, what you seek is forbidden information.”
“Ah, feels like dealing with a stubborn old man who won’t budge an inch.”
Ray grumbled irritably.
“Why come to me if you’re just going to keep your mouth shut?”
“Human, if you wish, you may meet our Mother directly and ask her for answers.”
“…You want me to meet the World Tree directly?”
“Before that, you must pass a trial.”
The Elf said this abruptly.
Immediately after, an immense gravitational force pressed down on Ray.
“!”
Thud!!
Bending his knee to the ground, Ray clenched his teeth.
The enhanced gravity prevented proper blood flow to his brain, making unconsciousness imminent if he let his guard down for even a moment.
‘…Not brute force pressing down, but the gravity itself has intensified.’
The Elf had altered the environment within the barrier at will.
To counter such an attack, one would need to either tear apart the barrier with sheer force or analyze its structure to exploit it.
“Tch.”
Ray clicked his tongue and activated his decoding ability.
A special type of barrier, fundamentally different from magical or divine barriers, shared exclusively among the World Tree’s Guardians, began to be deciphered by Ray’s ability.
Surprisingly simple in structure compared to what Ray had expected, he found the solution shortly after activating his ability.
Thud!
Defeating the gravity, Ray stood up and strode forward.
Reaching close to the Elf, Ray drew his sword and swung.
Snap!
One of the wooden branches forming the Elf’s seat split apart.
With the central structure of the barrier destroyed, the first barrier shattered.
As the scenery shifted to deploy the second barrier, Ray had no intention of playing along anymore.
“Enough fooling around.”
Rotating his Core and Circle, Ray emitted mana that distorted space.
Swinging his sword at the seated Elf, the remaining barriers shattered into pieces.
Crack!
With a slight noise, the barrier disappeared.
The Elf stood unscathed a few steps away from Ray.
Catching fragments of the dissolving barrier in mid-air, the Elf turned back to face Ray.
“Human, I sense the remnants of El-Lam within you.”
“…”
“I formally invite you to the center of the world.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
Ray replied sarcastically as the Elf pointed to the branch of the World Tree embedded in the ground.
The green-tinted branch was already beginning to root into the earth.
“The branch of our Mother will guide you to the center of the world.”
“…”
Irritated, Ray pulled the branch of the World Tree from the ground.
A brief silence ensued as a powerful Knight approached the Elf and Ray.
“Are you done talking?”
Takaus, of the Royal Guard.
Without a word, the Elf deployed his concealment and turned away.
Before following the Elf, Takaus briefly bowed his head to Ray.
Ray waved casually in response, and Takaus, along with a few other quiet presences nearby, vanished immediately.
Ray sighed deeply while twirling the branch of the World Tree in his hand.
*
In the large bathhouse of Izhise, shower devices were installed on the walls.
Standing in front of one of these showerheads, Ray stood under a steady stream of hot water for quite some time.
Still feeling uneasy, he ended up banging his head against the wall.
The impact caused a soap bar hanging on the wall to fall and slide across the floor.
Looking at the sliding soap, Ray called out to Sebas, who happened to be washing nearby.
“Senior, could you pick up the soap for me?”
“…”
After a brief silence, Sebas asked.
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Could you please pick up the soap?”
“…”
Sebas glanced between the soap and Ray’s lower half before carefully bending down to retrieve it.
Taking the soap, Ray washed himself and entered the bath.
Inside the tub were Delun and Aaron, who had been coerced by Ray to join him in the large bathhouse.
Not long after, Harvey and Sebas finished their showers and entered a separate tub near Ray, prompting Ray to speak.
“Seniors… this is the designated bathing time for third-year students.”
“But… we can use it briefly, right…?”
“It’s fine with me, but if I allow it, the third-years will surely complain. Please stick to the schedule next time.”
“…”
Sebas and Harvey grumbled unhappily.
Ray was rumored to be an instructor disguised as a student… Despite the widespread gossip, they couldn’t shake off their frustration.
At that moment, Aaron quietly moved closer and whispered into their ears.
“Seniors, bear with it. I’ve personally witnessed this person manifest Sword Energy…!”
Aaron omitted the detail that he’d seen Ray manifest Sword Energy in mid-air, knowing it would be hard to believe.
Sebas and Harvey glanced at Aaron, then hesitantly calmed themselves.
Sebas was especially confused since he’d once seen Ray acting as Speira’s fiancé.
Could someone be both Speira’s fiancé and a disguised instructor at Izhise?
Sebas couldn’t quite grasp it.
Meanwhile, Ray was preoccupied with thoughts about the Elves.
To reach the forest where the World Tree resides, one must traverse the desert region.
Doralanche.
A term encompassing the desertified areas near the World Tree and the small towns within them.
‘There’s a hypothesis that the World Tree drained the surrounding land’s energy, causing desertification…’
It was probably true.
To defend against the erosion of the Demonic Realm, the World Tree likely had to obtain energy by desertifying the surroundings.
Of course, the Elves didn’t live on the desert surface.
‘Those pointy-eared ones living on the desert would soon have sand pouring out of their ears.’
Beyond the desert, where lush forests began, lay the land of the Elves.
Travelers reportedly experienced a strong sense of alienation or wonder upon seeing dense forests bordering the desert.
“Um… Has anyone been to Doralanche?”
Ray asked without much expectation, but Harvey responded.
“I’ve been there a few times.”
“Eh? You, Senior?”
“Our family’s trading company supplies goods to Doralanche. I’ve visited a few times to gain worldly experience.”
“Oh… By any chance, are there any giant bugs in Doralanche?”
“Bugs? What kind of bugs?”
“Ah, well…”
Recalling fantasy works from his previous life, Ray became somewhat excited.
“In stories told by storytellers or in novels, giant worm-like creatures that eat people often burst out of the sand in deserts.”
“…”
“Always, the protagonist gets eaten instead of the girl, who screams and cries, and then the protagonist cuts open the bug and complains about the disgusting fluids while shaking it off… I’ve read dozens of these kinds of stories…”
Realizing he was getting too carried away, Ray cleared his throat.
“Uh… Well, I assume such bugs don’t really exist, right?”
Ray laughed nervously, pretending it was a joke.
Giant sand-dwelling creatures that ate people were common in the fantasy works of his past life, but Ray hadn’t expected to encounter them in this reincarnated world.
However, Harvey blinked awkwardly and refuted Ray’s hopes.
“There’s a worm-like creature called Sandworms in the desert—they eat people.”
“Ugh…”
Ray sighed deeply.
Apparently, the creator of this world also lacked imagination.
Guardian (1)
