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Chapter 136

Serian Olliana gazed at the Cloud Tree necklace, her eyes filled with ripples of emotion.

“How is this possible?”

“A scavenger had it. It seems to have come from the White Bear Caravan.”

“The Cloud Tree only grows in the Poellin Mountains in Kurayan. The elves of the Poellin Mountains use this necklace as a sacred item.”

Serian recalled her memories from before she came to Earth.

For elves, a few hundred years is not a long time, but since coming to Earth, Serian had been so busy that many of her memories had faded.

As a result, she had to make great efforts to revive those memories.

“Poellin elves give this necklace as a gift when they interact with elves from other regions.”

Serian took off the necklace she was wearing.

It was the same type of necklace that Borin had brought.

“The Cloud Tree has long been used as a medium between elves and spirits. So, elves with this necklace can easily form contracts with spirits. I, too, was able to form a contract with a spirit because of it…”

Her eyes grew misty.

At one time, she had formed a contract with a spirit.

She couldn’t describe how happy she was when she first made the contract.

The contract with the spirit completed her, and she felt immense satisfaction. But the small, cute spirit no longer exists by her side.

The connection with the spirit was severed when she crossed from Kurayan to Earth.

Spirits are one of the elements of that world.

Being part of Kurayan, they cannot leave it. Thus, they couldn’t cross to Earth with Serian and remained in Kurayan.

The loss and shock Serian felt when her connection with the spirit was forcibly severed were indescribable.

It took her ten days and nights of suffering to finally recover physically and mentally and accept reality.

It wasn’t just her.

All the elves who crossed from Kurayan to Earth had their connections with the spirits forcibly severed.

Although the connection with the spirits was severed, the Cloud Tree necklace remained a precious item for the elves.

It was a symbol of hope that they might reconnect with the spirits someday.

“Elves cherish this necklace until they die. When their life ends and they return to nature, they pass it on to their successors, continuing the legacy.”

Elves born on Earth do not have Cloud Tree necklaces. The Cloud Trees could no longer be obtained, nor were there any Poellin elves to make the necklaces.

“This must belong to an elf who came over from Kurayan. How on earth did the humans get this?”

“That, I cannot say.”

“We need to find out. How they got it, and how many they have. If they have more, we need to recover all of them.”

“What if the humans refuse to hand them over?”

“We must recover them, regardless.”

“By force, if necessary?”

“I told you, the Cloud Tree necklace is the contact point between elves and spirits. If spirits are born on Earth someday, this necklace will play a crucial role.”

“Understood. I will make sure to recover them all.”

Borin replied with a determined expression.

Serian, looking at her for a moment, took out a piece of paper from a drawer.

“Coincidentally, the White Bear Caravan has sent an invitation. Show this, and you should be able to get inside easily.”

At that moment,

“Wait!”

Someone opened the door and entered Serian’s room.

Serian frowned at the rude intruder.

“I know the Blue Leaf Task Force is impressive, but we cannot entrust the fate of the elves to them alone.”

The intruder spoke boldly.

Anyone else would have been immediately thrown out or severely punished for such behavior. But the intruder had enough qualifications to justify it.

Black hair down to the waist, black eyes, and even the tightly-fitting black outfit—everything was black.

The intruder’s name was Eli.

Serian’s confidant and the second-in-command of the North District.

Nicknamed the Spider Queen.

Though not actually related to spiders, her attire and aura earned her that name.

Borin frowned unconsciously at Eli’s appearance.

Eli’s decadent atmosphere and manner of speech, so unlike other elves, naturally irritated her.

Serian asked Eli,

“What do you mean? Do you not trust the Blue Leaf Task Force?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust them. I just think we shouldn’t entrust such a significant task to them alone.”

“So, you want to take on the task yourself?”

“No, but I think it would be better to assign additional support to the Blue Leaf Task Force.”

“Really? Who do you suggest?”

“I think the Thorn Attack Squad would be a good choice.”

“Aren’t they too aggressive?”

Serian hesitated.

The Thorn Attack Squad was one of the elite forces in the North District.

Composed of a hundred members, they were elite warriors who fought against humans constantly targeting elves.

They were human hunters who relentlessly pursued and avenged any harm done to elves by humans. Thus, all Awakeneds from other Districts avoided the Thorn Attack Squad.

Eli emphasized,

“That’s precisely why we need them. Their aggressiveness and combat power will suppress any human provocations.”

“That makes sense.”

Serian nodded.

Meanwhile, Borin lowered her head, saying nothing.

She bit her lips to hold back her anger.

What Eli said was effectively a statement of distrust in the Blue Leaf Task Force.

Eli was always like this.

She was strangely cautious of Borin and the Blue Leaf Task Force.

And she did it very cleverly.

Whether Serian understood Borin’s feelings or not, she concluded decisively.

“Then the Blue Leaf Task Force will take the lead, and the Thorn Attack Squad will support them.”

“A wise choice.”

“We will follow your orders.”

Eli and Borin responded simultaneously.

***

Swoosh!

Zeon showered, letting the hot water flow over his body.

Water was scarce in this era.

Going out into the desert made it hard to find even drinking water, let alone take a shower.

Being able to shower like this was possible only in Neo Seoul.

Underneath Neo Seoul, there was a resource recovery facility.

The water and sewage used in Neo Seoul were gathered and purified there, then supplied to the slums.

Thanks to this, people in the slums could use water without shortage.

This was another benefit of civilization.

Zeon finished his shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, and stepped out.

“Hyung?”

“That wound….”

Levin and Brielle, who were in the living room, were startled when they saw Zeon.

It was because they saw numerous wounds on Zeon’s body.

There were countless scars densely engraved on his upper and lower body, visible through the towel.

Among them, the most noticeable was a large scar connecting his chest and abdomen. If one had received such a wound, their chest bone would have been broken, and their organs would have spilled out, leading to death.

Even the most effective potion couldn’t have healed such a wound. At least that’s what they knew from common knowledge.

Despite having suffered such immense wounds, Zeon was still alive.

There were many other prominent scars as well.

It was unbelievable that one person could have so many scars on their body.

“Hyung, you have wounds all over your body…”

“It’s nothing.”

Zeon finally noticed that the two were staring at him and smiled awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Brielle couldn’t close her mouth that had fallen open.

‘What kind of life has been living?’

They had never seen scars like Zeon’s, even on elves or humans.

Even the slightest scar would have been fatal for an ordinary person. Yet, Zeon’s body had more than dozens of such wounds.

There were so many scars that it was hard to see bare skin.

Through the scars, Brielle glimpsed into Zeon’s life.

‘He must have fought relentlessly to get here.’

Only then did she understand why Zeon seemed so listless.

Unless absolutely necessary, Zeon stayed holed up at home. In a way, it was a life of leisure.

But seeing Zeon’s scars, she understood his actions.

Having fought until his body became like that, he must have been very exhausted.

Returning to his hometown of Neo Seoul in such a state, rest must have been desperately needed.

For someone who had burned everything to gain vigor again, he needed time to recharge, and now was that time for Zeon.

Contrary to the heavy atmosphere, Zeon smiled lightly and said,

“It’s nothing. Everyone lives with scars like this.”

“Who would have such wounds…”

“Ordinary people would die from just one of these wounds.”

“Maybe because I was raised roughly by an old man since I was young, my body is quite sturdy.”

Zeon put on his clothes.

With each piece of clothing, the scars were covered up.

Finally, when he had put on all his clothes, no scars could be seen on him.

He looked clean as if he had lived an easy life without any hardships.

Without seeing Zeon directly, Brielle and Levin would never have imagined that there were so many scars hidden under his clothes.

Seeing Zeon pick up the invitation card on the table, Brielle said,

“Are we going now?”

“The auction is about to start soon.”

“I want to come too.”

“Me too, hyung!”

Brielle and Levin said they would follow.

Zeon nodded his head.

“Sure! Let’s go together.”

They were the kind of kids who would follow even if told not to.

It was more reassuring to go together from the beginning.

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah!”

The two followed Zeon as if they had been waiting for him.

When they entered the desert, leaving the slums behind, Brielle suddenly pointed to the opposite side.

There were numerous people moving.

It was a procession heading towards the White Bear Caravan.

Levin said,

“West District, East District, huh? And there, the Awakeneds from the South District. And those are elves, Awakeneds from the North District. What? Awakeneds from all Districts of Neo Seoul are here. Is the City Hall the only place left? This is insane!”

He shivered involuntarily.

Despite having lived in Neo Seoul all his life, he had never seen so many Awakeneds before.

Levin felt his whole body shrink for no reason.

Although he had awakened a rare ability, he was still a young boy.

In the face of such an overwhelming sight, he could only feel overwhelmed.

Brielle stared blankly at the Awakeneds from the North District.

The North District was entirely made up of elves.

Even for her, a High Elf, it was the first time she had seen so many elves.

Her gaze towards the elves was complex and subtle.

Humans remaining in the human world, and elves who had assimilated into human society.

Their atmosphere was closer to humans than elves.

Before living in Neo Seoul, she would have scorned elves assimilated into human society.

She would have criticized them for losing their elven identity.

‘Who am I to criticize? I’m no different from them.’

In a way, she was even more corrupted than them.

No matter how much she blamed it on the threat from humans, she even created drugs.

Countless humans died miserably from the drugs she created.

Her original sin would never disappear, no matter what.

That’s why, even if she broke free from the pact, she couldn’t dare to return to the High Elf village.

In the end, it was her fate to spend her life here.

Living like this, she would eventually change, just like them.

‘Even now, to others, I must seem the same as them….’

Levin asked her as she stared blankly at the elves,

“What are you thinking?”

“Oh, nothing. Let’s hurry.”

Brielle shook her head and walked away hastily.

Levin glanced at her back for a moment before following her.

Zeon also thought as he walked with them.

‘Gathering all these people in one place, it must also be your plan.’

As if answering his question, Damien appeared standing high in the fortress.