Chapter 45
#45. High Elf
The factions you can choose from on the 7th floor are divided into three: High Elves, Dark Elves, and the Kingdom Army.
According to open-community statistics compiled a few years ago, the selection rates for each faction were 29%, 39%, and 32%, respectively.
It's not a huge gap, but the High Elf faction has the lowest selection rate, while the Dark Elf faction has the highest.
That's only natural, since the quests and rewards available differ from faction to faction.
In fact, the faction known for giving the best rewards is the very one with the lowest selection rate: the High Elf faction.
The strategy guide I actually read also recommended choosing the High Elf faction for its good rewards.
So why exactly is the High Elf faction, which gives the best rewards, chosen so infrequently?
The reason becomes clear if you search the community for the keyword 'High Elf' just a little.
[Author: Kwak Joo-young#1551]
[Title: Those fucking knife-ears deserve extinction, goddammit]
(Photo)
These fucking knife-ear bastards jump every time they see me and reach for their bows.
I gave them gifts to raise affinity, and they just made sour faces and talked shit about how they didn't understand human culture.
It was fucking annoying, but I still found their treasure for them, drove out their army, and did everything for them.
They keep talking about heroes and my mom, and the moment I even touch them their faces go to shit, goddammit.
That High Elf knight bitch got shoulder-checked and immediately drew her sword, saying, 'I knew a human bastard would do that,' lol.
Goddammit, if I'd known this would happen, I should've gone fire mage so I could burn down the World Tree.
Can't I switch factions in the middle? Screw the rewards and all that—I just want to join the Kingdom Army and wipe out those knife-ear bitches.
- Hahaha, the High Knife-Ear faction you picked, hahaha.
- You only just realized those forest knife-ears have trash personalities? What have you been doing if you weren't on the community boards, lol.
- Hmm, I didn't have that problem. Maybe it's your face?
- ㄴ No, you bastard.
- ㄴ 'Sorry, I thought you were a lost orc or something.'
- ㄴ Those knife-ear bastards all say the same thing whenever they see someone a bit bigger, lol.
- There's still some idiot falling for the rewards and going High Elf, lol.
That's right. Setting the rewards aside, the High Elf race itself just makes people feel disgusting.
No matter how much you cooperate and build trust and goodwill, their peculiar attitude toward humans never seems to improve.
Since NPC traits vary a little from server to server, it could just be the grumbling of a few unlucky challengers.
[Live] Our server's goddamn knife-ears.jpg
[Got treated like a pervert by a knife-ear bitch, how's that?]
[Fuck, those hag-ass knife-ear bitches are insanely toxic]
[I want to throw all the elf bastards into a gas chamber. Is that normal?]
Judging by the flood of posts trashing High Elves on every server, that didn't seem to be the case.
Even if you look at the records of first-generation challengers, satisfaction seems higher among those who chose the Dark Elf faction.
So even in the somewhat peculiar Tower 2661, it probably wouldn't be any different.
The elf man drawing a dagger and charging at me the moment he saw me was proof of that.
**
When people think of elves, they usually picture them as nimble and good with bows.
-Clack! Tap!
And apparently that wasn't wrong, because the High Elf man closed the distance in an instant with steps that seemed to defy gravity.
That wasn't a speed an NPC from just the 7th floor should be able to produce.
Of course, I was beyond 7th-floor specs too, so it wasn't so fast that I couldn't respond.
I stored the [Death Knight Greatsword] I'd been wielding with both hands in my inventory, switched to a shield, and blocked the dagger.
-Clang!
He's fast, but the force behind each strike is very light. Reflexes and strength should be inseparable, so there must be some kind of trick here.
I swung the shield to knock the elf man's arm away, then lightly reached out to subdue him.
But the elf man took one quick step back, drew a new dagger from his waist, and aimed for my side.
It seems it's not just his speed—his reaction time is considerable too.
Since faction quests can carry over to later floors, I heard that some of the NPCs here are far above 7th-floor specs.
The ones they call elite NPCs, in response to elite monsters—maybe this elf man is one of them?
-Snatch!
I caught the thrusting dagger with the hand on which I had activated [Iron Wall], blocking it.
My hand was gloved, and with the help of [Iron Wall], a trick like this wasn't difficult.
"W-what!?"
The elf man was clearly shocked; he must not have expected me to catch it with my hand.
Even so, he was still swinging the dagger in his other hand properly. His combat focus is impressive.
I gave the dagger I was holding a slight tug, then reached farther and grabbed the elf man's wrist, twisting it.
-Crack!
The difference in strength between me and the elf man was greater than that between an adult man and a child.
"Kgh!"
Naturally, his wrist twisted with no resistance at all. The dagger fell from his hand.
I kicked the fallen dagger away, sending it flying, then grabbed his shoulder with my other hand and twisted his arm as well.
It was a restraint technique I learned while grappling with a snowfield troll on the 5th floor.
-Thud!
I shoved the subdued elf man into a nearby tree and slammed him against it in that same position.
He kept writhing and trying to break free, but with such a huge gap in strength, there was no way he could do it.
Soon the elf man gave up on physical resistance and began hurling shouts and curses instead.
"Agh, agh...! Let go of me, you filthy, disgusting human bastard! I won't forgive you!"
"Jeez, elf bastards really are as rude as I've heard."
"And you dare talk about manners when you were the one who invaded our territory!"
But even that, maybe because he was an elf by birth, was only cute compared to the spicy Korean mom-insult trash talk.
Well, I've managed to subdue him somehow. So what now?
He came at me out of nowhere, so I subdued him first, but if I kill him like this, I'll be making an enemy of the High Elf faction.
If I choose another faction, conflict will naturally be unavoidable, but I still don't want to narrow my options from the outset.
Considering the nasty reputation I'd heard about High Elves on the community, I didn't think letting him go would clear up the misunderstanding either.
-Crack!
Oops, I put too much force into my hand while thinking. I think I've properly popped his shoulder out.
"Aaaagh! Perrit! Legor! Glaniiiiiel! Is no one there, help me!"
The elf man was now screaming openly and thrashing around. This is pretty damn pathetic.
-Thump!
That was when I heard something heavy land in a corner of the forest.
I turned my head, wondering what that sound was, but before I could, a voice that rang through the entire forest reached my ears.
"Seventh Seat of the Pendula Knight Order, Perrit Betra! I am hereee!"
It was one of the names the elf man had shouted while thrashing.
And then, the next moment, something burst out from between the trees.
**
A single figure raced toward me at a speed beyond even a charging rune bear.
What burst out was a blond elf knight clad from head to toe in white armor.
-Clang!
The moment I hurriedly blocked the milky-white sword swung by the blond elf, I felt that something was wrong.
What the hell, why is this bastard so strong?
I hurriedly twisted my wrist and changed the angle of my sword, aiming for the elf knight's neck.
But at the same time, the elf knight also shifted the position of his sword with a movement of his wrist, and my strike bounced off his blade.
The standoff was unfavorable. I quickly thrust out the shield I had equipped on my off hand instead of my sword.
-Bang!
But the shield I thrust out cut through the air, and instead the elf knight's white shield struck my chin.
What? How did he swing a shield from that angle just now?
I hurriedly kicked off the ground and leaped far back. The elf knight didn't come at me again, and instead glared at me with his sword drawn.
His blond hair and pure white skin weren't all that different from the elf man stuck against the tree and groaning.
But his features were broader overall, giving him a much tougher, more macho impression.
No, it wasn't just how he looked—he was physically much tougher too. My chin is still numb from that shield hit.
"How dare you attack His Highness Elyuon! I, Perrit Betra, will not let you off easy!"
Keeping my standoff with the elf knight, I manipulated the interface with a glance and opened the community.
Then I quickly searched keywords like 'Perrit Betra,' 'Pendula Knight Order,' and 'Elyuon.'
The information I gathered at a glance told me my situation was anything but ordinary.
The Pendula Knight Order is the knight order to which the High Elf faction's named NPCs belong, and its main duty is guarding the royal family.
Considering the title 'His Highness' and the knight order's role, the guy whose arm I just broke seems to be a High Elf prince.
"Ha, fuck."
And that knight facing me was an elite NPC boasting specs far beyond the 7th-floor level.
He was effectively stronger than this floor's boss.