Chapter 71. Inside the Stem

Fortunately, the misunderstanding didn’t last long. Elena's exposed pointed ears were undeniable proof of everything.

"So, this is the brown-skinned elf people mentioned," said Son Chang-Il with a serious look.

"Probably," replied Kim Do-Joon.

The two men stared at Elena, who was bound in chains. She was different from the white-skinned elf they had encountered in the past. Elena bit her lower lip and turned her head away, avoiding their gaze.

"Incredible. You caught two elves all by yourself," Son Chang-Il remarked, clearly impressed.

"It was easier than with Eldora," Kim Do-Joon said nonchalantly.

What!

Elena's eyes widened at his words, but since her head was turned, the two men didn’t notice her shock. However, her feelings persisted.

Did he kill Eldora?

Eldora was a renowned knight from the Northern Forest. He was one of the main reasons why that forest was impregnable. Elena and her comrades had retreated in defeat from Eldora numerous times.

Elena gulped quietly. The idea of fighting honorably against someone who had defeated a knight was absurd. While she was trembling in fear, Kim Do-Joon and Son Chang-Il continued their conversation.

"Is this elf the one responsible for clearing the dungeon?"

"Yes, she just confessed."

The two men discussed. Kim Do-Joon recounted how she snuck around the dungeon entrance and escaped with stealth ability, and how he eventually caught her and made her confess to clearing it.

"But why would an elf do that?" Son Chang-Il pondered aloud.

Both men reached the same conclusion: why would an elf, who worshipped the World Tree like a God, want to destroy its roots?

"Isn't the World Tree like a mother to elves? All the information from abroad suggests that they revere the tree," Son Chang-Il asked, looking at Elena.

She, who had been biting her lip and trembling slightly, turned cold at the mention of the World Tree.

"Did Eldora say anything to you before he died?" she asked in a serious tone. The way she looked at both men showed how significant the World Tree was to her.

“...”

Kim Do-Joon urged her to continue with silence. Elena hesitated, her lips moving wordlessly. When she finally spoke, her face contorted with bitterness.

"Yes, that's true. It used to be," she admitted.

"It used to be?" Kim Do-Joon and Son Chang-Il looked puzzled.

"The current World Tree... Yggdrasil is cursed," Elena said with a deep sigh, as if she had given up. "It's no longer a god. It's something more akin to a demon or a devil."

***

The World Tree, who once blessed and embraced all elves, began to change at some point. No one knew the reason. Scholars from the kingdom had been researching for decades, yet the cause remained unknown. It became a rotten tree—a cursed god that sowed misfortunes.

As a result, white elves and black elves started to divide.

"We never really got along, but the real war began after the World Tree's transformation," Elena explained.

The white elves refused to acknowledge the curse of the World Tree and clung to the past, still venerating the rotten tree. Meanwhile, the black elves believed they needed to burn the cursed tree and plant new seeds. The divide was irreconcilable.

Elena gave a bitter smile. At that moment, Son Chang-Il raised his hand slightly.

"You mentioned a curse. What exactly is it?"

"You should already know.”

Son Chang-Il furrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused. Kim Do-Joon had a similar expression until a thought crossed his mind.

"Nutrients," Kim Do-Joon muttered.

"

Huh?

" Son Chang-Il looked at him, puzzled.

"Don’t you remember the message that appeared when the World Tree first emerged?" Kim Do-Joon asked.

"Well... It’s been a long time..." Son Chang-Il said, trying to recall.

Kim Do-Joon hadn’t seen it personally, but he had heard the story.

— Planet V2 – FRD48295

— The planet has met the criteria for habitation and exceeded the required number of intelligent life forms. Sufficient nutrients have been gathered.

— The seed of the World Tree is germinating.

Kim Do-Joon recited the message, which indicated that the Word Tree appeared after accumulating enough nutrients.

"Yes, that's right. The World Tree has lost its ability to sustain itself," Elena said.

The tree, unable to gather the energy it needed, resorted to drawing nutrients from the land it was rooted in. The World Tree drained everything from Elvengarde, and then moved on to other fertile worlds, eventually reaching Earth.

"Unbelievable," Son Chang-Il muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

There were so many hypotheses about the presence of the World Tree and today, he finally heard the truth from an elf. Having lived as a Hunter for decades, Son Chang-Il could feel the weight of this revelation.

Meanwhile, Kim Do-Joon processed Elena's words. Based on the previous messages, the nutrients referred to intelligent lifeforms, meaning humans. The white elves’ goal was to feed the World Tree and help it grow.

"In other words, the white elves are our enemies," Kim Do-Joon concluded.

There was no room for negotiation. The white elves were hell-bent on the destruction of humanity. Of course, this all hinged on whether the dark elf in front of them was telling the truth.

"What are you planning on doing?" Son Chang-Il asked Kim Do-Joon.

"You're asking me?" Kim Do-Joon replied.

"You captured her. So, it's your decision.”

Son Chang-Il had a point. Kim Do-Joon pondered for a moment. The simplest, cleanest choice was to kill her. Whether white or black, they were invaders threatening their world.

But that seems wasteful.

Capturing one alive was a rare opportunity. Besides, elves might become frequent adversaries in the future. Therefore, knowing their inner workings would be invaluable. The saying goes, "Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger."

"Maybe she could be our ally," Kim Do-Joon suggested.

"You’re saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Son Chang-Il mused, nodding.

Son Chang-Il was just as eager, or even more eager, for information about the elves.

"Elena," Kim Do-Joon called.

She looked at him impassively, waiting for her fate as a prisoner.

"Is your goal to destroy the roots?"

"Yes.”

"We aim to do the same. We extract what we can from the inside before defeating the boss," Kim Do-Joon explained.

Elena frowned, sensing where this was headed.

"You want me to cooperate?"

"Why oppose each other when our goals align?"

"And what if I refuse?"

"I don’t want to force anything. You can refuse," Kim Do-Joon said, resting his spear on his shoulder.

Elena's eyes instinctively went to the weapon. The gleaming blade reminded her of the wound on her neck. She looked back at Kim Do-Joon, meeting his unreadable gaze. While she couldn’t discern his emotions— but one thing was clear: he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if necessary.

Eventually, her shoulders slumped.

"Fine. I'll do as you say.”

Kim Do-Joon nodded, having cleared the first hurdle. Next, they needed to decide where to keep her. He couldn’t take her home because he didn’t fully trust her.

"President, is there an available dormitory?" Kim Do-Joon asked Son Chang-Il.

"There is, but are you sure about this?" Son Chang-Il asked, worried.

Allowing her to roam freely in the dormitory meant she could escape at any time.

"I understand your concern. She'll need to be monitored for a while.”

"No one among our Hunters can keep an eye on her. Even I could not detect her stealth ability," Son Chang-Il pointed out.

"I'll do my best to keep watch.”

"It’s too much for one person," Son Chang-Il argued.

Keeping an eye on someone so slippery wasn’t a task to be done alone. Locking her up somewhere seemed like the best option. After all, there were other ways to extract information if needed.

Son Chang-Il’s expression darkened slightly. Kim Do-Joon shook his head.

“I have someone in mind.”

Kim Do-Joon knew of someone else who wouldn’t fall victim to Elena’s stealth abilities.

***

That night, Elena watched the sunset from the Association's dormitory. She observed the faint silhouette of the World Tree against the reddish sky with a complex expression.

In a way, she and the other dark elves were traitors. They sought to burn the World Tree and plant new ones, simply because it could no longer sustain itself. Unlike the white elf king, the black elf king could not overlook the tree's parasitic nature, draining life from other worlds.

“...I should sleep.”

As night fell, she lay down on the bed. To her shock, the mattress, pillow, and blanket were really soft. It was a stark contrast to the damp alleys where she usually slept because she couldn’t just break into someone’s house.

Soon, her eyes grew heavy, the bed pulling her into a deep slumber.

Suddenly, she jolted awake. She had accidentally overslept!

No, I can't do this!

She threw off the blanket and stood up. Quite a bit of time had passed, but luckily, it was still dark. She scanned the room, ears pricked for any sounds.

No one’s here.

Ridiculously enough, the cautious old man, the President, had simply left her here unsupervised. Kim Do-Joon, who had promised to monitor her, had long gone home. They had naively trusted her just because she agreed to be their ally.

Are all people in this world so naive?

The next moment, she opened the window and carefully slipped out.

Liaz.

Then, she enshrouded herself in shadow and started running. Although there were guards around the Association's premises, they were no match for her stealth abilities. Even during the day, she was able to easily slip past people, except for Kim Do-Joon, let alone at night.

Soon, she easily slipped past them and made it out of the grounds.

I've escaped.

Elena smiled, feeling a rush of triumph. Escaping was child’s play for her. Just as she was about to leap again, an elderly man appeared. With his hands behind his back, he blocked her path.

"Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" the old man asked.

***

The next morning, Kim Do-Joon left his house early and headed straight to the Association's dormitory.

Knock. Knock.

When he reached his destination, he knocked on the door.

"Come in," an elderly voice answered from inside.

I knew it.

It was not the president’s voice. Kim Do-Joon shook his head with a knowing smile and opened the door. Inside, he saw Elder Jecheon Seong reading a book at the desk, and Elena tied up and bundled in the bed.

"

Mmmph! Mmmph!

" Elena struggled, muffled sounds escaping her gagged mouth.

"She was so noisy, I had to press her acupressure points," Jecheon Seong explained.

"She tried to escape last night, didn't she?" Kim Do-Joon asked.

"She was so full of energy that she made several attempts. I had to bring her back five times," Jecheon Seong replied with a chuckle.

"

Mmmph! Mmmph! Mmmph!

" Elena continued to protest.

Kim Do-Joon glanced at her before addressing Jecheon Seong.

"Thank you for your trouble. I'm sorry to have burdened you with this."

"It's nothing. Just bring me the books I asked for," Jecheon Seong replied, waving his hand dismissively.

“Okay,” Kim Do-Joon nodded.

Jecheon Seong chuckled and waved his hand once, pressing a vital point on Elena’s body.

“Undo this! What did you do to my mouth... Huh? I can speak now?” Elena seemed confused.

“Didn’t I say that I just blocked it temporarily?” Jecheon Seong replied nonchalantly.

Elena stared at Jecheon Seong as if he were some kind of monster. Understandable, since he’d foiled all her escape attempts. Moreover, with just a wave of his hand, he had rendered her mute.

“Who... who is that man? Is he your acquaintance?” Elena asked Kim Do-Joon, glancing nervously at Jecheon Seong.

Kim Do-Joon, noticing her unexpected fear, answered with a subtle smile.

“He’s my daughter’s teacher. I’ve asked him to watch over you for a while.”

“What a pointless thing to do...” Elena grumbled, then sighed deeply, accepting her situation.

She realized that as long as that old man was around, escaping was impossible.

“

Ha...

Alright. So, what do you want me to do?” Elena asked.

“First, let me ask you one thing. Is it true that you came from inside the World Tree’s stem?” Kim Do-Joon asked.

Elena nodded. “Yes, that's right. Didn’t I tell you yesterday? Our homeland was gone, consumed by the World Tree. We live inside the stem now. It’s vast, almost like a continent.”

Information about the stem was crucial at this point. Knowing its layout, the dangers within, and the locations and numbers of elves were all vital. Now, if only they found out about this before the exploration team departed, but it wasn’t too late.

However, there was one thing Kim Do-Joon wanted to ask before anything else. Without hesitation, he posed the question.

“Is there an elixir inside the stem that contains the essence of fire?”