Chapter 48
#48. Dark Elf
Five dark elves emerged from the shadows in total.
As expected of elves, some of them carried bows, while others were armed with swords. Aside from being dark elves, they didn't seem to have much in common.
The first to appear and speak to me was a dark elf woman, with something like a jet-black aura wrapped around her right hand.
That jet-black ribbon-like thing that shot out from there and blocked the High Elf female knight's sword must have been it.
And the means she used to summon the other dark elves through the shadows was probably that as well. I already had a rough idea of what it was.
Shadow magic, one of the dark elf race's traits.
I'd heard it was magic specialized in stealth and illusions, magic that hid the body in darkness, but could it also do summoning?
And considering it had blocked that High Elf female knight's attack, its defensive abilities must be incredible too.
I wasn't sure whether that was because the shadow magic itself was excellent, or because the mage was simply strong.
“Don't be so wary. We're on your side.”
A dark elf NPC who popped out of the shadows patted my shoulder as he said that.
He was a sword-wielding warrior-type NPC. When I glanced over, the console floating above his head was green.
That was the color that appeared over NPCs who were friendly or neutral, regardless of level.
I didn't know whether he was truly on my side, but at the very least it meant he wasn't an enemy.
And this bastard was strong enough that even that pat on the shoulder packed a lot of force. He didn't seem to have done it on purpose, so his Strength stat must be pretty high.
I couldn't tell from the console colors alone since they were all green, but like that High Elf over there, he was probably an elite-grade NPC.
At this point, you could say that the strongest beings from both opposing factions had all gathered here.
“Well, I guess it'd be suspicious if I left it at that. Then let me put it more simply: we're the enemies of those forest-dwelling bastards.”
The dark elf swordsman smiled faintly as he spoke, saying the enemy of your enemy is your ally and all that.
“Eleanor, are you siding with the human race?”
Meanwhile, the High Elf female knight said that and shook off the shadows binding her sword.
“Yes, I took a liking to this human. Didn't he give that obnoxious face of his a nice, refreshing beating?”
The dark elf woman called Eleanor said that, moving the hand that had been pointing at the fallen knight toward the High Elf prince.
“And he was the one who started it. Since you keep coddling him just because he's the prince, he goes around acting up without knowing how the world works.”
“His Highness is a wise man.”
“See? You don't know the whole story and you're already taking his side. You've been holed up in the Great Forest all this time, so what wisdom are you talking about?”
The glow of mana reinforcement flowing from the High Elf female knight's body gradually faded. But in contrast, her expression only grew darker.
“That stupid prince attacked the human here first. That obnoxious bastard didn't even know that and rushed in before getting thoroughly wrecked.”
At Eleanor's words, the dark elves who had emerged from the shadows each added a remark of their own.
“What a disgrace.”
“He couldn't even put up a fight.”
“And still trying to act noble.”
“That's supposed to be a bodyguard?”
As they pretended to cover their mouths while snickering, it was obvious they were trying to get under the other side's skin.
The sight was, how should I put it, extremely confusing.
Like the shepherd girl I met on the second floor, I knew there were a few NPCs out there who acted unusually human.
And I'd also heard that in other towers, the elite NPCs on the upper floors were quite humanlike too.
But watching NPCs actually engage in a battle of nerves like real people, I couldn't help but feel confused.
Are these things really just throwaway NPCs?
**
The standoff between the High Elf female knight and Eleanor went on for a while.
And the cold, somewhat childish exchange of insults between both sides dragged on quite a bit too. The pattern never changed.
The dark elves deliberately kept tossing out mocking remarks to needle the High Elf side, while the High Elf side responded in a stiff tone, pretending not to care.
Of course, as time went on, I could see the High Elves' faces turning red and blue as their anger piled up.
If they were that pissed, they'd normally be the type to charge in without caring about the consequences, but they didn't.
“Enough. That's enough. We'll be withdrawing now.”
I could almost hear her teeth grinding, yet she even sheathed her sword and said she would be the first to pull back.
Was the gap in power so huge that they couldn't even bring themselves to attack?
Everyone on the dark elf side was an elite NPC too, but I didn't think there was anyone stronger than that female knight.
“If you thought I'd fall for such vulgar provocation and swing my sword, you were mistaken, Eleanor.”
The High Elf female knight said that while tapping her scabbard, so it didn't seem like she was refusing to fight simply because of the difference in strength.
“But do not think I'll let this kind of behavior slide over and over. Especially that human over there...”
The knight's sharp gaze turned toward me.
“You invaded our forest, harmed His Highness, and still think you can walk away unscathed. Consider it heaven-sent luck.”
Heaven's blessing, my ass. Just how much unfair crap had I been through up to now?
“What a load of crap. Next time we meet, I'll rip your ears off, you damn elf bastard.”
I held up my middle finger at the knight. I knew I was poking the hornet's nest, but this time I just couldn't hold back.
The knight ground her teeth and stormed off, while the dark elf—Eleanor—laughed delightedly and patted my back.
“Hahaha! I really do like you!”
Looks like I naturally ended up taking the dark elf route.
**
This was probably the kind of situation a challenger would run into when they first set foot on the 7th floor.
They'd meet the High Elf prince while chasing the Rune Bear, and after nearly being hit by an arrow, they'd form a connection.
Since the one they'd gotten to know was a prince, they'd probably be able to reach the center of the High Elf faction pretty quickly too.
And then they'd naturally receive some large-scale quest and join the High Elf faction.
If not, they'd start by being attacked by the prince because their weapon looked ominous, just like I did.
The prince was a little strong for a 7th-floor challenger, but not so overwhelmingly strong as to be ridiculous.
A normal 7th-floor challenger wouldn't go down in one hit, and might even be able to beat him.
Then an elite NPC, the escort knight, would appear next—someone a 7th-floor challenger could absolutely never defeat.
The knight's attitude would probably depend on how the challenger treated the prince.
If they handled him cleanly by knocking him down or avoiding the fight, the knight would likely be friendly too.
But if they handled the prince roughly like I did, or killed him outright, they'd be attacked by the knight and end up in danger.
And then, after getting help from the dark elves who appeared right on time, they'd survive and naturally end up joining that faction.
“You're going to rip my ears off? That's the first time in my life I've heard an insult like that. My, you've certainly got a way with words, don't you?”
“Not really.”
“You're incredible—giving a solid hit to all three of the bastards I hate most. I'm about to fall head over heels for you. I love it!”
And I, who had won the forced defeat-event fight against the High Elf knight, had ended up building up a huge amount of goodwill with the dark elf faction.
Eleanor apparently had always hated the prince, his escort knight, and the female knight who appeared at the end.
She said she hated the way they acted all noble and looked down on other races. According to her, all High Elves were like that.
Then I almost wondered if she just hated High Elves as a race in general, but that didn't matter.
From the way she'd blocked that knight's attack, Eleanor was probably one of the most important NPCs in the dark elf faction too.
“This is fate too. If you don't mind, why don't you come to our village sometime? I'd like to have a leisurely chat with you.”
[Quest Triggered: The Dark Elf Chronicle - Invitation]
I hesitated before answering. To be honest, I hadn't planned on joining the dark elf faction at all in the beginning.
The dark elf faction had the highest selection rate among the three factions, but that had nothing to do with the quality of the quest rewards.
Take the High Elf faction, for example: despite having the best rewards, its selection rate was low because the NPCs had such terrible personalities.
There was only one reason the dark elf faction's selection rate was high.
[Dark elves <<< the greatest race in the universe, upvote lol]
[Dark elf noona's boobs lol.jpg]
[NSFW) Goddamn, these dark elf girls' shadow pouches are insane]
[Tower of Trials NPCs are the hottest.realfact]
[Fuckfuckfuckfuck VS Dark Elf comparison analysis]
[Why the hell didn't anyone tell me to pick dark elves]
[Handpicked Dark Elf Collection (Lots of pics)]
It was nothing more than the primal popularity born from the dark elf NPCs' unmatched looks.
If it were just about faces, High Elves wouldn't be far behind either, but dark elves had a much stronger presence in certain areas.
Of course, I had no intention of being an idiot who chose a faction just because the NPCs had good bodies.
“Then I guess so.”
So there was another reason I accepted Eleanor's invitation and quest.
For real.