245 Chapter 245

Fwoosh!

Along with the sound of fireworks, a pink smoke flew into the air.

\"I found it!\"

Ho Sung Lee ran toward the signal fire with his heart pounding out of his chest.

Once Ho Sung Lee made his way through all the three and grass and arrived where the signal fire went off, he cursed.

\"F*ck…!\"

Ho Sung Lee stared at the pig that was captured in the trap, which ended up setting off the signal fire.

\"It's a beast. A pig in Beatrice? This is stupid.\"

Ho Sung Lee frowned and his shoulders dropped.

He didn't think about that part.

The dark elf wasn't the only one that lived in the Dark Elf Forest.

If it was a monster at least, he would have gotten something out of it, but it was just a regular beast and a pig at that.

Ho Sung Lee scratched his head with a dejected look on his face.

At this rate, all of his traps and signal fires that he invested so much of his magic power in were going to end up being used on regular beasts.

'Damn it.'

'Why doesn't anything ever work out in my favor?'

Ho Sung Lee laughed and clicked his tongue.

That didn't mean he could give up just yet.

The best thing to do was to actively look for the dark elf while hoping that the traps would be lucky enough to catch it.

***

The dark elf, Yoring, who was in charge of patrolling, sensed something fishy.

He saw a signal fire fly up in the air, and he also saw animals in traps here and there around the forest.

Yoring knitted his brow, and his face stiffened.

Someone had trespassed into their forest, and their intention was to be cautious off because he sensed that they could be dangerous.

Yoring got moving in order to report this new founding.

The trespassers appeared to be fairly large in size.

The fact that they entered the Dark Elf Forest and actively engaged in their search meant that they were quite confident.

The dark elf, Yoring, was on his way back to the home base when he flinched at a dark shadow that appeared out of nowhere.

As soon as the dark shadow spotted Yoring, it immediately sent out a signal fire into the air.

Yoring couldn't help but stare up at the signal fire that made a peculiar noise, and only after did he feel his heart sink.

He had to hurry.

He ran as quietly as possible using his magic, but a human man stood in front of him.

It was Ho Sung Lee.

\"… You're that dark elf, aren't you?\"

Ho Sung Lee stared at Yoring with surprise, joy, and caution.

\"Hmph!\"

Yoring chose to return to the base rather than fight…

\"We're not trying to hurt you!\"

But Yoring looked back at what Ho Sung Lee had to say next.

He was looking at him with sincere eyes.

\"I mean it. We're not looking for the dark elf because we want to fight. Let's talk,\" Ho Sung Lee said with a serious tone.

Yoring looked at him for a moment before turning and running at full speed.

\"Hey…! Damn it.\"

He felt Ho Sung Lee chasing him from behind.

Yoring bit down on his lip.

He couldn't trust humans.

They always betrayed and stabbed others in the back.

They were greedy, and they were crueler than any other species.

Especially players in Beatrice!

Yoring continued to run with all his might.

But Ho Sung Lee wasn't far behind.

When he first began chasing him, Yoring felt as though there was a good distance between them.

But once Ho Sung Lee became a dark shadow using his skill, he sped up even more, allowing him to catch up quickly.

Since he had run out of stamina, it was better for a dark elf such as himself to talk it out with him once more.

Yoring stopped. He caught his breath and glared with a weapon in his hand.

As soon as the human form popped out, the shadow disappeared.

\"Stop running away, so we can talk,\" said Ho Sung while waving his hand out of exhaustion.

Yoring stared at Ho Sung Lee and decided that he stood a chance against him.

Normally, battles involved both sides making attacks, but strangely enough, he felt as though the person in front of him was weak.

So weak that he wondered if he was hiding something.

But even if that was the case, he still believed he was stronger, so he didn't feel the need to feel nervous.

'I should test him.'

Yoring, who didn't want to hear Ho Sung Lee out at first, wanted to check if he was really a weak opponent with no ulterior motives.

He took out the weapon fastened to his belt.

It was a weapon in the form of a crow, resembling 2 fingernails.

He positioned himself low.

As soon as Yoring got ready for battle, Ho Sung Lee flinched and stepped back.

He looked slightly scared, and in response, Yoring's face changed.

There was no trap.

He was certain that the person in front of him was weak.

\"W-wait…!\"

Ho Sung Lee expressed that he didn't want to fight with a trembling voice, but Yoring charged forward without any hestitation.

Ho Sung Lee immediately pulled out his weapon for defense.

He had an Aura and had the ability to launch it, but in a place like Beatrice, and the inner continent at that, he was too weak.

His Aura was so slow that it made his opponents yawn, and the intensity of it was not strong enough to hurt anyone.

Yoring sighed and held his neck down with his other hand.

\"… Ugh?!\"

Ho Sung Lee laid on the ground with his eyes shut closed.

Yoring looked down at Ho Sung Lee, who laid there unconscious.

He was pathetically weak.

Much weaker than he expected…

Yoring laughed at his useless worry and turned away.

But Yoring's smile soon faded.

There was another man standing in front of him, and he looked all too different from the man that he just put down.

Just the sight of him gave him shivers.

Although he wasn't giving off any will to kill, he still couldn't move as if there was a large wall in front of him.

That was because he saw in his head what would happen if he happened to try to run away.

\"Tell me where the dark elf, Ellen, is,\" ordered Min Sung with soft but unwavering eyes.

His eyes weren't tense, but it seemed as dangerous as that of a powerful monster.

That was what the dark elf sensed with his sensitive instincts.

When he stood there without a word, Min Sung explicitly expressed just how annoying he found it.

It was simply annoyance without an ounce of tension.

\"Tell me,\" commanded Min Sung in a low and heavy voice.

\"Why are you looking for him?\" Yoring asked while trying to suppress his shaking.

\"I need an ancient document.\"

Yoring gulped.

He had never seen a man like this before.

He revealed his objective without any hesitation.

That didn't mean he wasn't suspicious, but that he was that confident.

But Yoring didn't sense that he was overly confident either.

He would only be able to know if he faced off against him in battle, but since he already felt defeated by his presence alone, it was useless.

Running away and fighting were both choices that wouldn't get him anywhere.

He had no choice but to tell the truth and face death.

Ellen and an ancient document.

He couldn't hand over that information.

That was the rule and the pride of a dark elf.

At that moment...

\"Sigh.\"

Min Sung sighed.

\"…?\"

Yoring stared at Min Sung strangely and continued to stare at him with tension.

\"It looks like you're ready to die but have no intention to tell…\"

Min Sung said while staring straight at Yoring.

Yoring lowered his stance while holding his crow weapon.

His face clearly showed that he had no confidence to win.

A cold breeze blew between Min Sung and Yoring.

Yoring, who was facing death because of Min Sung, was ready to unleash everything he had.

His eyes said it all.

Min Sung stared at Yoring before turning around.

He began walking, and once he grew distant, Yoring stared on blankly, not understanding the situation.

He had no idea what Min Sung's intentions were.

Min Sung planned to follow him.

After making him feel like he spared him, he was going to stay on his tail.

Yoring smiled bitterly.

'He's looking down on dark elves.'

This was the Dark Elf Forest.

Since this was his own forest, it wasn't difficult to lose a tail if he knew his opponent's objective.

Even if he was much more powerful than him, he didn't know the forest like he did.

'This human's making a mistake.'

Yoring used his ability and began to move.

***

\"Ugh…\"

Ho Sung Lee opened his eyes with a groan.

He saw Min Sung.

He was sitting with his back against a tree and staring at him.

\"…\"

\"…\"

\"… I'm sorry, Sir.\"

Ho Sung Lee slammed his face into the ground in shame.

He remembered that he found the dark elf but was defeated by him.

Ho Sung Lee expected to get a scolding due to his incompetence, but what he heard was something different.

\"I didn't expect you to fight well anyway, but your supporter ability… was above my expectations.\"