Chapter 416


    In this world, I was Anemos, one of the most influential nobles, and Yeon-Hee was my wife. This world was created based on An’s memories, and Anemos was the freest among all the aristocrats in his memory.


    Anemos was the perfect candidate for me to focus on Mana research. No one bothered him even though he didn’t visit the pce frequently, nor did he host parties at his mansion like the other elven nobles. Therefore, the only moment he could be interrupted was now.


    It’s about time.


    I heard footsteps climbing the stairs.


    “I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”


    This female elf’s name was Elena, amoner who hade in as a maid.


    ***


    Maind.


    The reason why parents in Daechi-dong[1] was obsessed with their kids’ education were because they weren’t in top positions in society. They hoped that their children would enter prestigious universities and establish a respectable social status based on their academic background, just as they had done.


    However, parents in Apgujeong and Cheongdam-dong were different. They had always been confident that they could pass their positions on to their kids, regardless of whether their children were good or bad at studying. They were in a position to inherit their status easily as they were forming an inner circle with the Jeonil Group in the center.


    However, in the elven society..? The structure was primarily like Apgujeong and Cheongdam-dong, but there was no Daechi-dong. The social structure was divided only between the extremely small upper ss and the majority ofmoners like Elena, with no middle ss.


    The extraordinary aspect of the elven societypared to the Greenwood Continent or our medieval maind was that their social structure had naturally emerged. They did not define ss byw.


    Simr to the United States, which did not need to enact financial real namews, their social sses were naturally created by social agreement. The pce and its surroundings were the residential areas of the upper ss, and those who lived here did not hesitate to call themselves nobles.


    I thought it was because of the lifestyle that the elves enjoyed. They lived for hundreds of years once they were born, and the session that worked in countless families from ancient times had created the current elven society. In this way, Elnd was a world ruled by customs, and there was no separatew.


    The power struggles of the elven upper ss were fierce and cunning, perhaps because they were trapped in their own world. Therefore, it would have been reasonable for Yeon-Hee to appear like that.


    When she returned after attending the pce party that day, I could smell the strong scent of blood. Her fur dress was soaked in blood and it dripped everywhere. It wasn’t her first time, so she was annoyed, wriggling her pointed ears.


    “I will reset.”


    Then, the door opened cautiously with a knock.


    “I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”


    Elena’s eyes widened when she saw the blood-soakeddy in front of her.


    ***


    Which one would you choose between a happy fake world and an unhappy real world? People usually choose the former since the difference between fake and real is only a matter of perception.


    However, I would choose thetter. A stable environment where I could devote myself to exploration without any other stress. A beautiful snowfield was visible through the window. A warm firece that made me forget the cold climate, Various delicacies and alcohol without hangovers. Incense that abundantly evoked happy emotions.


    Even if such things were infinitely provided, I could answer without hesitation as there was a world outside that I needed to protect.


    However, I was concerned about Yeon-Hee. With the invasion of Elnd in mind, I frequently visited the pce to uncover a part of Elnd’s situation that An might have carelessly missed. When that was over, Yeon-Hee would melt into this fake world.


    It was different from extracting only important memories from the subject. We were living on a new stage as new characters, living in that world again.


    Half a year had already passed. We had reset the world several times, but that was how long we had spent in An’s memories.


    Meanwhile, I came out of focus because it was time for the disturbance to arrive. The unwee guest Elena, who inevitably visited at this time whenever the stage was reset.


    “I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”


    Ignoring her was useless as I had tried that before. The guest the queen sent was An, the owner of this memory, and he never returned until he personally delivered the message sent by the queen.


    At that time, An must have peeped at the message, and that was why the contents of the message would be clearly remembered, not in ck and white.


    「Dear Anemos,


    Since the arrival of Demon King Doom Man as prophesied, the Greenwood Continent has been burning rapidly. It was unbearable for the weak inhabitants of the continent. Greenwood’s Holy Knights are also inevitably showing the limits of their kind.


    However, my concerns do not cease as there are weak and vulgar things like the inhabitants of Greenwood even in our Lord Lacryma’s sanctuary, outside of the court. Wouldn’t it be good to form a corps of the sanctuary and prepare for the night? However, the atmosphere in the court is chaotic as Anikas has openly criticized Ruthra’s son, Kanonas, recently.


    If you ept the n of mediation…」


    The message hasn’t changed this time either. I pushed it aside and resumed focusing on my studies. Every time I concentrated, I realized that the Old One had designed the Awakened properly. In particr, the mechanism of the skill area, which had its own rotation power and worked like a self-generator, was beyond words.


    That was where I had been constantly investing my efforts. I wanted to imitate the rotation power, deciphering the Old One’s blueprint. That was my first goal to achieve. If I could master Mana maniption to the point where I could imitate it, then I was convinced that a new field would be revealed.


    And one day, it happened. One day…


    ***


    We repeated the stage countlessly. The starting point was when Kanonas entered the queen’s life as her lover, and the end point was when An was equipped with the Soul Ring and sent to the expedition. Each stage took about three months.


    “I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Anemos. The queen has sent a guest…!”


    Looking back, I had heard this voice more than ten times. I thought it was time to change the stage for Yeon-Hee’s sake. She needed to get out of the pce.


    “You want to change the stage?”


    I was the one who chose this stage as the starting point, but since confirming the identity of Elnd’s Queen, Yeon-Hee insisted on this stage. She thought that it would be more efficient to proceed with the work in the stage where information that would help in the future was abundant.


    She figured out everything, including the geography of the pce, the magical system protecting the court, and the faces of each noble, through An’s subconsciousness. However, she even learned the presumed location where one of the three primordial temples existed.


    “I am sick of it.”


    When I replied, Yeon-Hee narrowed her eyes. She stared at my face for a while, probably because she was still blocking her Empathy. Then, her face regained a smile at once.


    “Seon-Hu!”


    She threw herself at me, still in her Anemos’s wife character. She pulled my face into her ample bosom and didn’t let me go. She seemed happy to joke around after a long time. It wasn’t because the moment to change the stage hade, but because she had noticed something.


    When I took my face out of her bosom, I saw her sparkling eyes. Although she had the face of Anemos’s wife, those eyes were unmistakably Yeon-Hee’s.


    Really? Did you really figure it out? Finally?


    Yeon-Hee looked at me as if she was asking those questions.


    “Yes, there is something I want to try.”


    “Okay, okay.”


    Yeon-Hee’s voice became faint at once.


    Swoosh-!


    When I returned to reality, I vividly remembered the scene in this room. I had forgotten about this room for years.


    Doom Arukuda’s stuff was still on the floor, and the curtain of the Absolute Warzone hung on the inner walls. An, who asionally appeared as a nuisance, stood in the form of Daniel. He wasn’t wearing the pce formal attire but instead a maind suit.


    [Remaining time (Odin’s Absolute Warzone): 23 hours 53 minutes 31 seconds]


    It had been one second since Ist checked before entering the mental world. I sat downfortably, and Yeon-Hee’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Although the face of Anemos’s wife ovepped with her real face, seeing her true face in reality brought joy.


    Yeon-Hee told An to go away, and her use of the unique pronunciation of elves was natural. I couldn’t do it like she did. As An stepped aside with a surprised look, I began to focus on the internal movement.


    I concentrated on the area in charge of the A-ss Teleportation insignia and felt a sensation of being enveloped in a speed that seemed to suck my entire body in.


    Swaaaak-


    This feeling was a clear sign that I hadpleted a high level of concentration. I manipted the area gently, as if caressing it with an intangible hand. The design containing rotational force was engraved in my mind, so I didn’t need to use the skill area as a reference.


    Nheless, there was no way to replenish the insignia once it was destroyed, as I couldn’t go out of the Absolute Warzone. Therefore, I had to be extremely careful. The tension as if I was handling an explosive had to be guarded against. Reaching the state of self-annihtion was a prerequisite.


    I opened my eyes.


    [The insignia ‘Teleportation’ has been removed.]


    The message was disappearing, and a new message appeared over it.


    [You have acquired the skill ‘Hermes’s Teleportation.’]


    However, the main purpose ofing back to reality wasn’t this. I had expected that I would be able tobine rotational force into the insignia and copy the teleportation skill through other types of insignias rather than just Teleportation!


    What I wanted to check was the next step. When I was able to see through the design of the skill, I noticed what more was possible. Therefore, the task I wanted to try was clear.


    First, I needed to dismantle the teleportation skill I just created in the Mana area. Then, I had to direct the dismantled Mana to the shell surrounding the entire area, including skills, traits, and insignias, and try to increase the size of the shell.


    Whoosh-!


    A feeling of mingled drowsiness, not knowing how much time had passed, and the sensation that came from thest moment of self-annihtion were intertwined. My back was soaked with sweat, and a new message was waiting for me.


    [Skill ‘Hermes’s Teleportation’ has been removed.]


    Another message oveid on top of it.


    [You have gained XP.]


    Yes, this was it!


    1. A neighborhood located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is known for its high-end residential areas,mercial buildings, and cram school districts. ?