Clearing the Game at the End of the World

Thwoomp— Crack!

Thwoomp— Craaaack!

…Crunchh!

Elf Ydrasil chewed aggressively on the tree root they had in their mouth. Mother always told her that actions that revealed her emotions were improper, but it felt like the emotion would come out on her face if she didn’t do this.

Kaneran, known as the Exiled Elven Village to humans, was far from a peaceful place. It was a place where elves who disrupted peace in their homeland, or those who had an unspoken reason for being kicked out, gathered together to create a second homeland.

Those who were captured by those human slave hunters and managed to escape, or got lucky and managed to live amongst them but were disgusted by their vile tendencies and came here, all had their kind and leisurely hearts crushed to pieces and lost their peace of mind, then the violent monster of the Blue Line Mountains stole away their physical safety.

So the elves of Kaneran were used to the state of ‘non-peace’, which the elven species considered the most precarious state, and were also well-versed when it came to dealing with it.

Thwoomp— Craaaack!

“We! Want! Conversation!”

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Thoomp— Craaaackk!

“Until we start a conversation! I will pull out all of the trees in this area!”

But surely, for the past 30 years since Ydrasil gained the Title of Nalhim and served as the guardian of the village, she has never experienced a ‘non-peace’ situation like this before.

Thwoomp— Crunchhh!

“You salty tree-hugger bastards! Don’t you hear the screams of the forest? Another tree that seems at least a hundred years old just took its last breath! If you do not deactivate the barrier and greet us as guests at once, then history will record today as the Blue Line Forest Massacre!”

“…Are they really considering that a threat right now?”

“I… believe so.”

It seemed the humans had a very wrong misconception about them as they were pulling off the bark of the trees as if torturing them, slowly twisting them to exaggerate the crackling sound, and then throwing them at the barrier heading to the village. Of course, their species did like trees. Even Ydrasil herself had ten bonsais she tended to, along with a small garden. But that was only their hobby. Did that human really think this threat was going to work?

“Nalhim Ydrasil. What will you do with that human?”

“Is there a chance that the human’s attacks will damage the spirit barrier?”

“Not in the slightest. It seems he has considerable physical strength, but nature itself cannot do any harm to the village’s spirit barrier without the assistance of aura or mana. However…”

“However?”

“If he continues to uproot the trees near the barrier to throw them, he has the chance of affecting the tree that is acting as the support wedge for the barrier…”

Crunchh!

Nera Rocio stopped what they were saying and quietly closed their mouth when they heard the vicious sound that came from Ydrasil’s mouth. To them, a ‘Nera’ rank who managed the internal matters of the village, they could not handle the anger of ‘Nalhim’ rank Ydrasil, who patrolled these harsh mountains and fought with monsters.

In order to identify exactly who the human that had arrows pierced throughout their body and was acting like such while speaking of ‘peace’ was, Ydrasil was scouring through all of the knowledge she had.

At first, she obviously thought it was the underling of a monster. That was only natural since they came running to this village with the most feared being in the area, the Cursed Immortal Felid, right on their tail. Hoping to bring peace to a poor soul who was being tampered with by the monster, she shot his heart. The best way to deal with the undead was to shoot their heads, but the Matriarch taught that a soul without a head would be unable to hear or see even after death and would wander the world eternally, so elves, as the icon of peace, should not harm the head of a living being.

But things took a strange turn from there. At the appearance of the Immortal Felid, the Matriarch had imbued the branches of the World Tree with her power, and as always, the monster was stopped by the purest ‘peace’ in the world and turned back to return to its territory. Still, the human who was shot in the heart continued to walk toward the village with blood spilling from his mouth!

Seeing the living being continue to smile despite being attacked with their two arms raised high, Ydrasil felt incredibly threatened. Though she was born 60 years ago in the village and only learned about the human world through writing and the elders of the village, she knew from the teachings of the forest what that position meant.

‘An animal that feels threatened will buff up their bodies! I’ve seen a bear-beast hit with an arrow express aggression toward others like that. Seeing that it isn’t affected by the World Tree, it isn’t a beast, but since it’s threatening the village, I must remove it!’

And with the Neras that joined soon after, she attacked it. They pierced the heart, liver, and all critical points with an important muscle or tendon, but the human still continued to raise up both hands and was continuing their sign of attack, and in the end, they thought the happening would end when one of the Neras who lost their peace of mind disobeyed their kind’s teachings and shot the human in the head.

But even after being shot in the head, the human stood back up with blood and other fluids pouring out, then started to uproot and throw trees at the village.

When that happened, though she knew it was a bad habit, Ydrasil bit down on the tree root that she carried around. The uprooted trees and humans that only spoke of peace and did not die to a headshot. This was too big of a ‘non-peace’ to handle for a young elf like herself, who was only 62 years old.

And now…

Time continued to pass without them being able to do anything, and the trees around the village were uprooted to the point where there was now a clearing, and next to Ydrasil’s feet were three tree roots that were chewed as much as her peace of mind was shaken.

Crunch! Cra-ack!

With the direct method of expressing emotion, she could feel the greatly shaken peace in her heart settle down a bit.

“Nalhim. That human, no, that creature, is certainly going to be a big threat to the village!”

“…When are the other Nalhim returning?”

“They have gone to handle the Origin of Corruption that has pushed in nearby the village recently, so they will be back at least by nighttime.”

“If it’s Corruption… then they will return not by night but by sunrise. Since they will need to use the moonlight.”

Twu!

Ydrasil spat out the tree root she had already chewed through, then took out another one from her pocket and bit down on it. The Matriarch needed to stay next to the World Tree’s branch, and the Nera did not have the power to stop that monster. But if they left it alone, then it was going to affect the barrier. In the end, as the only Nalhim left in the village, there was only one choice she had left.

“I’ll go out.”

“Nalhim Ydrasil! It’s too dangerous! That monster is able to uproot entire trees, and there are also outsiders that seem to be their companions! You will return to the dirt if you leave without preparation!”

“I am also aware of that. However, if we just leave them be and they actually damage the barrier’s support wedge, then the Matriarch, who is already doing her all to maintain the barrier, will bear an even heavier burden. Though I am young, I am still a Nalhim. If I can protect the village by returning to the earth, then I will not hesitate to do so.”

“Sob, Nalhim Ydrasil…!”

Leaving behind the Nera, who were shedding tears, Ydrasil approached the village’s barrier. It had been the route she had patrolled countless times in the past. Yet her peace wavered like the first day she left the village.

Crunch!

“Will you come with me, Ariel?”

After adding an arrow to her bowstring and summoning her elemental, Ariel, who’s been with her for her entire life, Ydrasil finished her preparations.

“Please, may peace be blessed upon the forest.”

Taking one last look at the village, Ydrasil leaped forward like a graceful feather.

“Ottman. Is that… really alright?”

“Mmmmm…”

“Gwurh. Big small human should have been born as our kind no matter how you see it.”

“Well said. It is the first time I have seen such a bizarre standoff in my life…”

Meanwhile, Professor’s group’s situation wasn’t much different from the elves beyond the barrier.

“Gahahahah! Woww, look at these trees tearing up along their grain! Is this birch? If only there wasn’t the technology limitation, I would have brought in an entire truckload of paper here and sprayed it in front of all of your eyes! In the real world, there is a material called ‘paper’ that’s made from cutting down trees, grinding them to dust, then drowning them in chemicals to form a thin sheet! How’s that? Isn’t that just painful to hear?”

Thump! Crunchhhh!

Seeing yet another tree turn into kindling and bounce off of what seemed like empty air, everyone in the group simultaneously let out a sigh. Even Notum, who’s a troll.

“We are here to find an elf that will lead us to the Eleven Forest, and yet he is slaughtering trees right in front of their eyes… Do elves not have a special affection for trees?”

“Yes. Back when I just came out of the forest and wandered around arenas, there was once an elf slave who used to serve honored guests that came to our arena. Oddly enough, they routinely added a pot with a tree planted in it to the prison that the female elf was staying in. They said something about elves becoming ill and dying if they didn’t do that. That’s how deep the relationship between elves and trees is.”

“Then… isn’t what Warrior sir is doing right now basically declaring war? I’d think it would sound like, ‘Take us in! If you do not, then I will kill all of the trees in the area! You guys die without trees, don’t you?’ to them.”

When Lucilla commented as such while shaking her leg on top of the pile of supplies and watching Professor, Ottman’s face turned ashen. To think that he was torturing and murdering the trees in such a gruesome way in front of a species that quite literally ‘could not live without trees’. Would it not be more peaceful, rather, for him to send a wave at them?

As he looked at the elves’ barrier, which now fully revealed their borders due to the debris of trees surrounding its perimeters, Ottman estimated the amount of mana he had left. Since there was a chance that Professor would suggest kidnapping an elf and making a run for it.

‘It is more than likely if it is Professor. That is right! With his smooth tongue, he would be able to hypnotize an innocent woodland species and make them our guide!’

…Was what he was thinking when the barrier rippled with someone walking out, and the four people, excluding Lucilla, jumped up to their feet.

“It’s an elf!”

“An elf it is indeed!”

“A water elemental!”

“Gwurh. Pointy.”

.

.

.

.

Aside from Ottman, the other three turned their heads toward the overjoyed water mage.

“Ahah! Right, you’re a water mage.’

Lucilla’s voice came from inside the supply pile, which she hid in at some point. Thinking of the ‘relation between mages and elementals’ that she heard about from her merchant life, she snickered to herself.

“Then you can’t fight with her, can you, grandpa?”

“Ahem… mmm…”

To the gazes of the group that demanded an answer, Ottman could only let out an awkward cough.

[They came out!]

‘Ugh, I’m tired. I was wondering when they were going to come out.’

I was honestly a little irritated, but I had no plans to oppose them. I needed to somehow persuade them to lead us to the Eleven Forest they were kicked out of, so how would it be a good idea to ruffle their feathers?

According to the traits of elves known to the public, the moment I tore off the first tree’s bark, they should have gone…

‘P-please don’t do that! The trees are in pain!’ and come running out crying, but just when I was slowly starting to get worried when they didn’t even budge with sawdust flying through the air, an elf finally came out from the barrier.

==========

- professor : Hey! Anyone that knows elf traits or anything else I should know! Hurry!

- takealook : Has smooth pale pretty skin.

- Jokass : Lives long. About 250? 300 years?

- Undam_undam : Good archer and uses familiar magic.

- professor : No, not simple things like that! Something more detailed, like their culture or traditions!

- Noru_is_druig : / Cares deeply about trees. To the point they die without one. / Only eats vegetarian and prefers clothes woven from grass over leather clothing. Customers like that better too. / Will die quickly if they do not interact with other elves regularly. / It doesn’t matter trapping them in one space for a prolonged time, but will die quickly if trapped in a closed space. / That’s abt it.

- professor : What’s with this oddly professional info.

- Noru_is_druig : From the Legendary Ranker HardBoiledEgg’s Elf Brothel Business☆Tips

- professor : *&#)^&*!!! Not that you f**ktard!

- Speedwagon : That’s all you’re gonna get.

- professor : Why?

- Speedwagon : World 1 : No interaction with elves. World 2 : Met them a few times but nothing special. World 3 : Thanks to the Light’s Order’s super racism all normal elves either fought to the death when they met humans or were only found in brothels. There really isn’t any info.

- professor : But…. I saw a good number of elf companion or battle ss on the Community

- Noru_is_druig : They’re all slave companions. Similar to dolls you dress to your taste and take around. Combat strength is just a sunfish with good aim. (TL note : Sunfish in Korean refers to something that dies easily and/or is extremely sensitive)

==========

[So that means… there’s no intel?]

‘Pretty… much?’

P-pat!

While I was trying to think things through, the elf that came out of the barrier settled down on top of a tree a decent distance away. They were aiming their bow, but seeing that they were close enough for me to see their face, it meant they were prepared to talk.

Just when I was about to take a step forward, five arrows landed right in front of my eyes in the blink of an eye.

“I heard you want to converse. This distance should be close enough to talk, is it not?”

When I raised my head, I saw an elf with sharp eyes aiming at the spot I was standing at.

‘An elf… a kind species but hard to talk to. Let’s see just how strong of a guy the elf that shot me wa…’

.

.

.

.

.

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Professor, who had raised his head, thinking of all sorts of reasons he was going to use in the discord against the elf…

“Huahhhh…”

…froze on the spot.

A voice colder than ice but still beautiful.

Unlike the claims he heard, the blue-haired elf was wearing smooth and sturdy leather clothing, with something looking like tree bark in her mouth.

But that wasn’t what came into Professor’s eyes.

“Goodness. How could… something like this?”

Step—

Sp-p-p-p-pew!

Another shower of arrows flew down on Professor when he took a step forward, but as if hypnotized, Professor didn’t stop walking.

“H-how could this be? It’s beautiful! The peak of beauty! I can’t take it. I can’t… hold…”

“D-don’t come any closer! I’ll shoot you! You promised peace…”

“Back!”

“Ahhhh!”

Phwack!

Professor charged towards Ydrasil even before she finished her warning, and with the power of his quadriceps, he closed in quickly with his barbaric-looking arms. Ydrasil was unable to react in time to his sudden movement, and at that moment, she remembered the stories of the ‘terrible humans’ that the elders in the village told her about.

[You can never trust humans. They always long for us.]

[The moment you get caught by them, a horrifying future that you cannot even imagine will be waiting for you.]

[So Ydrasil, if you ever get caught by the humans…]

‘Ahhh, Matriarch…’

Seeing the massive figure shadowing over her, Ydrasil tightly closed her eyes.

Slosh—

Spwoosh!

“…Huh?”

The shadow passed over her and ambushed the water elemental floating behind her.

“Ooooooh! Look at how pure this water is! I’ve never even imagined something like this! It’s not a pointless purity of evaporation! This… This is unexplainable—ohhhh, goodness! It’s a good thing we came here!”

When Ydrasil saw Professor completely ignore her and swing his arms wildly around to touch even a single drop of her elemental Ariel, and Ariel dodging the man while sending her all sorts of negative feelings, she dropped the tree root that she had in her mouth.

“This…. is a human?”

“Just once! Let me hug you just once!”

“Let me go! I will become one with them! The water elemental! The water elemental is right in front of me!!!!”

Seeing Professor somehow track and chase around Ariel, who’s scattered into water droplets to run away, and the old human down there in the distance struggling to escape the other humans’ grasps, Ydrasil fell into a flurry of confusion.