Solo Leveling- Ragnarok

Is this really North Korea?

No, but was it Earth before that?

To everyone’s surprise, the sight of the city revealed as the blue fog cleared was absurd.

The ‘green’ city, covered with a dome-shaped transparent barrier, was truly beautiful, but at the same time, heterogeneous.

A sense of disconnect from reality.

The first thing you see is a huge, tall tree towering over the center of the city.

Of course, it wasn’t as big as the World Tree, but it was huge enough to bring the World Tree to mind.

The branches and green leaves that stretched out in all directions from the old tree covered the city like a roof.

And beneath it, countless beautiful trees, shaped like ‘buildings’, created the appearance of a vast city.

Looking at the windows pierced through the wooden pillars, it seemed like it wasn’t just a building with a simple appearance.

“Surely not that… … .”

Sirka blinked and muttered as she held onto the hem of Cha Hae-in’s clothes.

Cha Hae-in looked back at Sirka.

“Why? Do you know anything?”

“If I remember correctly, that’s ‘Elvenwood.\'”

“Elvenwood?”

Cha Hae-in tilted his head.

Sirka muttered with an expression of disbelief as she looked at the city.

“I heard from the village elders when I was young. Elvenwood, somewhere in the world, there is a village where ‘high elves’live.”

“High elf?”

Shwaaaaak-

Even as the conversation continued, the Kaisel carrying them had already reached the front of the city.

And as Suho, who had been gliding in front of him, turned around and came back this way, Kaisel also slowed down and waited for Suho in the air.

“Elvenwood? That’s the city where the high elves live?”

“You have good ears too.”

Suho arrived in front of Sirka without realizing it.

Even at this very moment, battles between shadow soldiers and spirit-possessed birds were still taking place all around, but Suho was able to overhear their conversation.

“What is a high elf?”

“High elves are a tribe higher than our ice elves. If I am the guardian of my tribe, I have heard that all of the high elves’ tribe

members are guardians.”

“What? They’re all Guardian-level?”

A strange sight appeared in Suho’s eyes.

But Sirka looked a little unsure.

“Yeah. But I’m not sure since this is just a story I heard from adults. High elves are a tribe that is only mentioned as a legend among us elves.”

“Silard, what do you know?”

Suho summoned the lord himself and asked him, who must have known more than Sirka, and even more than the ice elves

who had told Sirka about the high elves.

[The King of the Snowmen, the Lord of the Cold, rubs his chin and grimaces.]

[The King of the Yetis, the Lord of the Cold, says that the High Elves are a gathering place for losers who failed to become kings.]

“Losers who failed to become monarchs?”

Suho tilted his head at the strange expression.

“That makes me think that a high elf is just below a monarch. Were you a high elf yourself, Shilad?”

[The King of the Snowmen, the Lord of the Cold, nods.]

[The King of the Yetis, the Lord of the Cold, says that he is the only one among the Ice Elves who has ascended to the rank

of High Elf, and that he rules and governs over all Ice Spirits.]

“… … !”

Sirka was greatly shocked by Silad’s words.

“Then what about me? What happens to me?”

[Nagari-kun.] 2

“… … ?!”

Suddenly.

Sirka’s expression froze like a stone at Ber’s words that suddenly popped out from the side. 1

Sirka had always thought that she was the only descendant of the monarch.

But if the high elves, known only in legends, were actually present in that city, what would become of his situation?

[But, Your Majesty, something is strange.]

Berga added one more word. 1

[In the old days, during the wars of the rulers and lords, I never once met the high elves.]

“… … Hmm. That’s definitely strange. Wasn’t that war something that all races risked their lives for?”

It was definitely something strange.

Ber, who loved fighting, was a vanguard who took off his shoes and went to every battlefield. 1

A species that Berga has never encountered before? 1

[The King of the Snowmen, the Lord of the Cold, smiles bitterly, saying that it would be quite fitting for them to be that guy.]

[The King of the Yetis, the Lord of the Cold, says that the High Elves are cowards who want to become monarchs and wish for their monarchs to die more than anyone else.]

“Oh, so they hid in the back and did not participate in the war because they thought they could become the next monarch only if the monarch died? Even until the end of their race?”

Hearing it this way, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation, even though I understood something.

Suho thought for a moment and then decided.

“… … Let’s go into the city first. I’ll have to meet them in person to find out what kind of guys they are.”

The city was just around the corner.

It seemed as though the battle of the skies could be left to the soldiers alone.

“Mother, let’s go down together.”

“Okay. Kaisel, will you let us down and rest in my shadow for a while?”

Cha Hae-in nodded and affectionately patted the back of Sirka, who was in shock next to him.

“It’s okay. No matter what anyone says, you are the descendant of a monarch chosen directly by Shilad.”

“… … .”

Cha Hae-in felt bad because it didn’t seem to be of much comfort.

Cha Hae-in was the one who had been watching Sirka closely while living with the ice elves for the past few years.

That’s why he knew better than anyone how much effort Sirka had put into protecting her tribe with her small and fragile body.

therefore….

“It’ll be okay, Sirka.”

Pat pat.

Today, my heart ached because I saw Sirka’s delicate back, her small back covered with lush silver hair, like a cowering hamster in fear.

* * *

As they entered the green city, presumably called ‘Elvenwood’, Suho actually had a real plan.

‘That’s great. This is a chance to grow Sirka.’

From the beginning, it didn’t matter to Suho what kind of people the high elves were.

‘If they are the enemy, just kill them and that’s it.’

It’s all experience anyway.

That was the biggest reason I came to North Korea in the first place.

‘After killing them and turning them into soldiers, it would be perfect if we entrusted them to educate Sirka to become a high elf.’

[The King of the Snowmen, the Lord of the Cold, laughs wickedly, saying that it is a very wise plan.]

‘… … Don’t laugh like that. It makes me feel like a villain for no reason.’

[The King of the Snowmen, the Lord of the Cold, tilts his head.]

But I really didn’t feel any mercy towards the high elves.

No matter how much they wanted to become the next monarch, they were cowards who hid behind the scenes until the moment their entire race was destroyed.

Berdow ground his teeth.

[It is only right that those with power should carry out their responsibilities with dignity. And if they had been defeated with dignity and joined the Shadow Legion, how much help would it have been to the lord in the current war with Itarim… … .]

That was when.

“Welcome to Elvenwood, Son of Shadow.”

…huh?

The moment the Guardians entered the Green City.

Tall elves, over two meters tall, were waiting for them with warm smiles.

Leaving Sirka aside, who was intimidated by the sight, Suho and Cha Haein glared at them with wary eyes.

“Son of Shadow?”

“You know my identity?”

The old elf standing among the elves in the guardian’s residence pointed outside the city with a troubled expression.

“I don’t know. If you were planning to hide your identity, why didn’t you start with those soldiers?”

“ah.”

Suho felt a little embarrassed.

Still outside the city, the shadow soldiers of the Guardians were busy hunting birds.

[Level up.]

Because there were so many of them, they were fighting so hard that they reached the level at the right time.

The elves who came out to greet Suho looked tired at the sight.

But he didn’t look scared.

‘You don’t look like you have any intention of fighting?’

[Your Majesty, from the moment you enter this city, you can sense the energy of Itarim.]

[It seems to be the effect of the barrier covering this city. Let’s analyze what kind of barrier it is.]

Harmakan also appeared in a small form and whispered in Suho’s ear.

As he said, this huge dome-shaped barrier was blocking the thick blue fog outside the city from entering.

“What is this barrier?”

“Heh heh. You look very curious. I’ll tell you everything, so won’t you just let go of this killing spirit a little? I can bear it somehow, but the young guys seem a little burdensome.”

At those words, Suho obediently gave up his life. 2

Anyway, the old elf who had stepped forward was still maintaining a kind smile even though he was receiving the full force of the guardian’s life force.

It was hard to tell whether his lack of fear or cowering meant he was confident in the fight, or if he had no will to fight at all.

Suho glanced up and checked the name tags floating above their heads.

[??]

‘Unable to verify? Are you saying that it is a species that the system cannot interpret? Or… … .’

Suho looked at them with a suspicious gaze.

Like the ice elves, the elves here were basically beautiful in appearance.

Handsome men and beautiful women, even the old people, had handsome and beautiful appearances.

But if there was one difference that stood out, it was the pair of ‘horns’ that sprouted from their heads.

At first glance, it looked like a deer’s horn, but the material was unusual.

“It looks strange. Are those things growing out of its head horns or tree branches?”

“It’s meaningless to distinguish them. Even if they are the same elf, their appearance will change depending on where they

live. It’s common sense to us, but a tribe that lives in the same place their whole lives might not know.”

The old elf’s gaze swept over Sirka as he answered with a hollow laugh.

“… … By the way, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Shilad clan. I don’t know if you know, but we high elves are nomads who wander through the good lands. That’s why we don’t go to cold regions very often.”

Cha Hae-in asked, hiding the cowering Sirka behind his back.

“Are you high elves?”

“You guessed right. My name is ‘Fores’. Normally, there is no chief among us high elves, but I am the eldest and lead everyone.”

“But you guys… …what happened to your eyes?”

As for the horns, there was something I was most curious about from the beginning.

Here, in Elvenwood, every single high elf was wearing a green eye patch covering both eyes.

“Eyes… … .”

At Cha Hae-in’s question, the old elf Fores’s mouth drooped for the first time.

He answered calmly.

“What good is having eyes for? Even after seeing the destruction of the race, I just watched and plucked out all the eyes that were there.”

“… … !”

“Anyway, welcome. I’ll show you around our village.”