Let’s consider when it’s the most annoying time to play a game:

-When an enhancement failed...

-A player’s level not going up no matter how many mobs were killed, dying and losing experience...

-Failing a raid, or succeeding in a raid only to not get a jackpot...

-Struggling like a dog to clear a quest, only to receive a poor reward...

-Finding out that the class chosen was rubbish...

-Selling an item for a low price, only for the value to skyrocket a few days later...

-Witnessing someone else get a jackpot, and so on...

There were so many moments that they couldn’t be listed individually. The culture of the game brought players a lot of entertainment, but it also brought them extreme loss and stress.

“Ah...”

Grid was the same as everyone else, despite being at the peak of the players. He gained wealth and honor from the game, but he still felt loss and stress from it. The current situation was the same. The elves were another species that had been separated from humanity for hundreds of years. They couldn’t be met even when Grid wanted to meet them, so why did they show up right now?

“...Why did they come up when I am using the white phosphorus wood?!!” Grid screamed as an arrow swept past his cheek and struck his portable furnace.

Puk!

[The portable furnace is hit.]

[The portable furnace won’t function properly.]

[You need to be careful.]

“Oh!”

The white phosphorus wood was still burning in the furnace that had a hole in it. The wood, which was difficult to transport from the East Continent, was consumed meaninglessly.

‘Now there are only 80 of them left!’

Since he needed a minimum of three or four pieces to achieve the desired firepower, the limited number of white phosphorus wood gave Grid considerable pressure. Moreover, as he couldn’t cross to the East Continent currently due to danger from the yangbans, the white phosphorus wood was truly a valuable resource.

Yet the elves had suddenly appeared and caused him to waste four pieces of white phosphorus wood. As such, Grid couldn’t help feeling heated up. “You are just pretty!”

It seemed that the rumor of how Kim Taehee and Kim Yisun were just like potatoes when compared to the elves of the elven kingdom was true. Among the elves who appeared in front of Grid, there were none who weren’t beautiful. The elves’ perfect beauty was comparable to the beauty of the best beauties he had seen so far—Yura, Jishuka, Irene, Sua, Mercedes, and so on. It wasn’t at all difficult to make a comparison since Mercedes was right next to him.

However, so what if they were pretty? They weren’t his anyway!

“Their chests are also small... Ugh!”

Puk!

[You have suffered 8,980 damage.]

“Your Majesty!”

“God Hands!”

Arrows flew without any sound. Grid could figure out the orbits of the arrows using his high agility and insight, but it was impossible to pick out the arrow that came flying immediately after the first one.

‘It is like archery from the movies.’

If an arrow was shot first and then another one, the second one would closely follow the first arrow and hit the target a second time. Since ancient times, archery had been said to be the best on the Korean peninsula, and this was a high-level archery technique. The Korean players were proud of this.

‘Bullshit!’ Grid didn’t care about such things. “Pagma's Sword Dance!”

Tang! Tatatatang! Grid started a sword dance as Mercedes and the God Hands protected him.

Puk! Then an arrow flew through a gap in the God Hands and pierced his thigh, interrupting the skill casting. This was the moment when he was caught by the deadly disadvantage of Pagma's Sword Dance.

‘Shit! The arrows are too fast!’

The power, speed, and covertness of the arrows were topnotch. The elves’ archery reminded Grid of the death knight of the legendary archer Povia. This meant that the skills of the elves were greater than the rankers. Arrows started to pour down like rain. The God Hands couldn’t endure the cumulative damage and fell into a stiffened state, exposing Grid to danger.

“Vaintz’ Swordsmanship 3rd style.”

Right now, Grid had a knight as a bus... No, it was a legendary knight. Mercedes appeared in front of Grid and protected him. “Fly Sword Energy.”

A storm occurred along the direction of Mercedes’ rotation. It was a silver storm that crushed the bushes, trees, and rocks equally well.

“Kyaaack!”

Kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

The elves were hit by the storm of energy swords and fell in all directions. Their sharp screams echoed in the vast forest. However, there was something even more surprising.

‘Their health only decreased by half?’

All the elves survived, and their health was even maintained at 50%. They had an unbelievable defense despite the fact that only leaves were barely covering their bodies. It was also a persistent vitality that didn’t fit their delicate bodies.

‘These are elves...! Then how strong is that elf?’ Grid’s gaze was focused on the white-haired elf. The elf called Beniyaru was a named elf, and her name was in a golden color.

“Your Majesty, you better avoid them.” Mercedes was also aware of the seriousness of the situation. The elves were stronger than rumored. Mercedes decided that protecting Grid while dealing with them was virtually impossible. Then...

“Avoid them?” Her judgment scratched Grid’s pride. Grid stared straight into Mercedes’ eyes. He used Quick Movements and spoke as two arrows flew, “You are mistaken. I’m not a weakling to be protected.”

Grid’s footwork accelerated. It was the effect of Quick Movements. He avoided the flying arrows and safely used Pagma's Sword Dance this time.

“Uh!”

“What...?”

The elves who were hiding behind a tree and sniping were amazed. Their behavior was being controlled by an unknown force, and their fingertips couldn’t move. It was an oppressive authority that couldn’t be rejected unless they had a status resistance. The bows and arrows in the hands of the elves fell to the ground.

“Pagma's Sword Dance!” Grid had been dressed for comfort when making an item, but he now swapped to Valhalla of Infinite Affection. He did this quickly with the help of the God Hands. Grid quickly moved while the elves were showing a gap. “Wave.”

“...!” The elves and Mercedes were startled because Grid’s momentum was reminiscent of a volcano. Strong, destructive, and widespread—the elves were swept away in it, suffering a lot of damage while losing their swiftness.

“Now!”

Who was the cry meant for? Naturally...

“Yes!” It was Mercedes. She was amazed and thrilled at the grandeur of the king she served.

“Vaintz’ Swordsmanship 4th style, Raising the Sword Energy.” A storm of silver sword energy sprang up from below. Swept away by the attacks of the two people, the bodies of the elves flew through their air.

“Pagma's Sword Dance, Transcended Link.”

“Vaintz’ Swordsmanship 5th style, Sowing Sword Energy.”

Grid and Mercedes chose ranged skills as the final blow and aimed at the unaware elves. No, they attempted to start a rampage.

“Kuk...!”

“Uh!”

Grid and Mercedes groaned at the same time.

This was due to Beniyaru. Her bow struck Grid’s neck while her fist, which contained a fire elemental, slammed into Mercedes’ abdomen. Grid flew back into a rock while Mercedes flew toward a tree to the left, stopping with the power of her silver wings. Meanwhile, Beniyaru restrained her fellow elves, who landed safely on the ground with the help of the wind elementals.

A smile emerged on Grid’s face. ‘It is a sign.’

The fact that the heavens had brought him a legendary knight was preparation for a greater threat. How many of them were hidden in every corner of Satisfy’s huge world? Grid judged Beniyaru to be on the same level as Mercedes.

‘However, Mercedes has the disadvantage.’

It was natural as this was the world tree forest, the home of the elves. Furthermore...

‘Just like me, Mercedes doesn’t know anything about elementals.’

It was an unknown power. As Grid watched Beniyaru alternate between the fire and wind elementals, respectively called ‘Yutan’ and ‘Sulle’, his regret toward the white phosphorus wood disappeared. At this moment, Grid was purely focused on the enemy in front of him.

Beniyaru’ ridiculing words entered his ears, “She is a pretty decent human, but you aren’t.”

Elves were classified as a superior species to humans, like the water clan, vampires, and the evil eyes. Beniyaru’s self-esteem as one of the 12 Te was extremely high. (TL: Te= a one-word character that has multiple meanings, none of which seem to fit. I’ve decided to just translate it literally)

A human was just an oddity from her point of view. She didn’t like that the weak male was looking at her with challenging eyes.

“Yutan, Sulle.”

The elementals were the symbol of the elves’ strength. Among them, there were only 15 elves who had two or more elementals. They were the 12 Te and three kings.

“Help me.”

The bowstring Beniyaru pulled back was surrounded by flames. Suddenly, a wind blew from the south, and Grid’s hair moved. Then Beniyaru let go of the bowstring. The fire arrow accelerated with the wind and reached Grid.

“How dare you?!” Mercedes was moving even before Beniyaru fired the bow. Her sword appeared before Grid and cut the two arrows. A huge explosion occurred. Mercedes’ leather armor was swept up in the explosion and became rags.

“You—!” Mercedes was furious as her milky-white shoulders were exposed. If an elf were killed here, wouldn’t the diplomatic relationship between the Overgeared Kingdom and the elves become completely impossible? Mercedes wasn’t concerned about this and revealed her power. She had no intention of forgiving Beniyaru for attacking her king.

However, Grid acted before she did. As he entered the Blackening state, he stepped across in front of Mercedes and arrived before Beniyaru.

“Trivial thing!” Beniyaru hated both humans and demonkin. From her point of view, the blackened Grid was an unacceptable existence. Her fire and wind elementals responded to her rage, causing her body to be surrounded by a burning vortex. It was a powerful shield that couldn’t be pierced with ordinary physical and magic forces. The shield was also a weapon that swallowed up nearby objects.

“Your Majesty!”

Then just as Mercedes was wrapping her silver wings around Grid to protect him, lightning struck.

‘What?’

Wasn’t the sky clear a little while ago? The elves’ gazes headed to the sky and saw a completely grey sky peeking through the thick leaves of the forest. Grid whispered to Mercedes who was holding him, “You should get far away if you don’t want to be hurt.”

“...!”

A knight who existed for her master was told to get away? Mercedes was about to refuse, only for her eyes to widen as she hastily escaped. This was because she detected an unfamiliar energy from the sky. It was almost as if...

‘Astaroth?’

Demonic lightning bolts were aimed at the feet or heads of the elves.

“What...?!!”

Beniyaru’s ward was knocked down with a single blow. She was confused by the transcendent power and tried to escape using the power of the wind elemental. However, her body was heavy as the storm was holding her down. Meanwhile, Grid’s body was infinitely lighter. “You won’t die from this much right? Let’s talk after this. Linked Kill Wave Pinnacle.”

He wanted to talk...?

A ferocious attack mangled Beniyaru’s body while the other elves became rags due to the thunderbolts falling from the sky. Rain and lightning bolts fell onto the middle of the forest.

[The title ‘One who Made the Elves Surprised’ has been acquired!]

[The elves feel awe toward you.]

[The elves aren’t hostile to you.]

Consequently, Grid gave a good impression on his first time meeting another species. And...

“Strong...!” Mercedes was unable to close her mouth from outside the storm. Then she finally remembered. Her new master was the first Hero King born in hundreds of years!