What Sang-woong knew was that the energy of this place was in direct opposition to someone else, and that he had to endlessly become stronger and keep fighting to protect the boundary.
He also had hope that, as a race with a long history, the Elves might know something more.
“I don’t know that much either. Many of the records passed down from our ancestors have been lost over the ages. However… according to a few remaining books…”
Astilbe paused to catch her breath, then began to speak slowly.
Her voice was quiet, but carried a deep resonance, as if containing the weight of thousands of years.
Sang-woong listened intently to her story.
“From ancient times, many races have lived on this land. The most prosperous and populous were the humans. The humans built kingdoms and cities, while our kind—the Elves, and other races like the Ahoa Tribe and Kahuka Tribe—lived in territories hidden from the eyes of humans.”
Listening to Astilbe’s tale, Sang-woong imagined what this world was like before the Gate had opened.
The flourishing human civilization, and the various races living in harmony with nature while protecting their own territories.
An age where all coexisted.
“But then. One day… suddenly, a massive crack appeared in the sky… and the Gate opened.”
A shadow fell over Astilbe’s voice in an instant.
It was as if the horrors of that day resurfaced in her eyes.
When Sang-woong heard the word “Gate,” he was reminded of the Dungeon Gates he’d experienced on Earth, but what Astilbe described was of an entirely different dimension.
It was the beginning of the disaster that led this world to ruin.
“When the Gate opened, from it emerged horrifying Monsters never before seen, and evil beings who commanded and controlled those Monsters invaded our world. We called those beings the Demon Tribe.”
At the mention of the Demon Tribe, Sang-woong’s expression hardened.
He had learned the true identity of the beings who now ruled this world.
He had vaguely suspected that Monsters would not be the only enemy.
As expected, it was the Demon Tribe who corrupted the world and led the Monsters—the true enemy.
‘The humans fought back against the invaders, but their power was not enough to stand against the Demon Tribe and the Monsters. The human kingdoms collapsed rapidly, and over 90% of the population met a terrible death. The remaining humans became slaves to the Demon Tribe.”
Ninety percent………
Sang-woong was utterly shocked by that staggering number.
It was a near-complete annihilation.
The fact that the surviving humans became slaves to the Demon Tribe made his fists clench tightly.
He could almost see the terrible scene playing out before his eyes.
“The proud Demon Tribe claimed the conquered lands and split apart to establish their own kingdoms. The order they built came after endless wars of conquest.”
This was the current state of the world.
Divided Demon Lords ruling their own territories, oppressing the remaining survivors—a time of chaos.
“The surviving humans became their slaves, and we of the other races desperately fled from the eyes of the Demon Tribe to preserve our lineage.”
That was why the Elves had wandered for centuries.
That was why the Ahoa Tribe and Kahuka Tribe had hidden from Demon Tribe rule.
Astilbe’s story connected the current situation perfectly with the tragic past.
In her voice, Sang-woong heard the agony and weariness of that long escape.
Astilbe paused to steady her breath.
“The fortunate thing… is that, at first, the Demon Tribe was not particularly active in hunting us down. After annihilating the humans, the Demon Tribe focused on something else. But as time passed… we learned the real reason they didn’t bother pursuing us.”
Astilbe’s voice lowered.
“The Demon Tribe focused on spreading the evil energy of the dimension they crossed over from—Magi.”
Magi…
Sang-woong realized that the bad air saturating the Dungeons, the source of Hunter corruption and Dungeon sickness, was in fact Magi.
It was the source of evil far greater than he’d imagined.
“They planted parasitic plants that drew out Magi all across the land, and installed many mysterious devices that extracted Magi at key points. As a result, the air gradually became polluted, nature fell sick and died, and the primordial Mana—the source of life—dried up. Magi corrupted and distorted everything.”
The gravity of Magi pollution was clearly conveyed by the timbre of Astilbe’s voice.
“Finding food became harder by the day… Monsters and the Demon Tribe who absorbed Magi became even stronger. The whole land was turning into an environment favorable to the Demon Tribe.”
The true aim of the Demon Tribe. Not simply to conquer land, but to transform the very foundation of the world to suit themselves.
They were not just invaders—they sought to dye the world with Magi and remake it into their own dimension.
Sang-woong felt a chill run down his spine at such overwhelming malice.
“One day, a rumor spread across this hopeless land ruled by the Demon Tribe: that there was a ‘land’ resisting the Demon Tribe. An existence known as the ‘Owner of the Land’ appeared, purifying the air tainted by Magi, expanding the land, and accepting us, the other races. Many gathered there, hoping to settle… but…”
A deep sorrow and pain swept across Astilbe’s face.
“Then, one day… a Red Moon rose in the sky… and the terrible attacks began. Monsters and Demon Tribe, empowered by the Red Moon, invaded with strength on a completely different level. In the end, unable to withstand it… that land fell. That is what our ancestors’ records tell.”
It was a shocking story.
And the fact that there had once been an Owner of the Land, and that his land had been destroyed because of the Red Moon, was stunning.
“Then the Red Moon… what is it, exactly?”
Sang-woong asked breathlessly.
“…That… is not clearly described even in our ancestors’ books. There is only a vague speculation… that it may be connected to a god worshipped by the Demon Tribe… That is faintly mentioned at the end of the records.”
Sang-woong nodded at Astilbe’s words.
Just as the yellow Gate where Aria had appeared connected to another dimension or summoned beings, it seemed only a godlike existence could do such a thing.
And Sang-woong himself possessed the Shop, which could only be described as a divine blessing.
Where there is one side, there must be the other.
If there is a wicked god bent on destroying this world, then naturally there must also be a god who wishes to help or bring new hope.
And as Sang-woong listened to Astilbe’s story, he began to faintly guess why the previous Owner of the Land had ultimately fallen.
It must have been because of food.
As the land expanded and more people gathered, they naturally needed more food to eat.
But using the crops grown on the land to feed the residents meant, conversely, giving up the most effective means to earn Points.
The previous Owner must have given up Points to feed the residents, and as a result, the land’s expansion and growth stagnated.
Thus, the land stalled in place, and unable to withstand the constant Monster and Red Moon invasions, it eventually collapsed.
In this sense, Sang-woong realized how wise his actions had been up to now.
Until now, he had sold most of the crops from his land to earn Points, then used those Points to buy items needed for the land’s growth and defense.
He provided the residents with food ingredients purchased from Earth, thus solving the food problem.
This small practice had, in fact, been the wisest choice, overcoming the inherent fatal weakness of the previous Owner of the Land and allowing the land to survive.
With the arrival of the Elves, Sang-woong realized that the history of this world closely resembled Earth’s, and at the same time, gained certainty about the actions he must take going forward.
***
As the population of the land grew explosively, Sang-woong became incredibly busy.
With more than seven hundred Elves newly joining, it was only natural.
There was a mountain of things to prepare and manage, from the massive quantity of food they needed right away, to the tools needed to build comfortable dwellings.
Because of this, his original plans to upgrade the Shop window and expand the land were inevitably pushed back.
Expanding the land would widen the boundaries and increase the likelihood of nearby Monsters attacking in groups.
He wasn’t afraid of the battle itself, but the newly arrived Elves needed time to adapt to their new environment.
But Sang-woong soon ran into an unexpectedly big obstacle.
Money.
No matter how much money he earned by selling Detoxification Potions, it was difficult to continuously provide food and supplies for a suddenly increased population of over seven hundred.
But using the precious crops grown on the land as food for the residents would mean giving up the most important means of earning Points—a path that would only lead to self-destruction.
However, this problem was surprisingly easy to solve.
The newly arrived Elves were not only excellent warriors skilled with bows, but also profound magic users and Alchemists with exquisite craftsmanship.
The Elf Alchemists, having seen Sang-woong making Detoxification Potions from shiitake mushrooms in the yard, stepped forward and made a polite proposal.
“Sang-woong-nim, please leave potion-making to us from now on.”
Their skills, which they had maintained through years of wandering, far exceeded Sang-woong’s expectations.
With the same amount of ingredients, they could produce far more Potions than Sang-woong, and even increase the effectiveness of the Potions themselves.
Thanks to this, Sang-woong was completely freed from the repetitive task of potion-making and could focus on other important matters such as developing the land or building up the defense System.
The Elf Alchemists, following Detoxification Potions, also quickly produced Healing Potions, Mana Potions, and Stamina Potions.
Thus, Sang-woong contacted his one and only outside trading partner, Kyung Yoon-seul, and invited her to the Gentle Breeze Restaurant.
At Sang-woong’s sudden call, Kyung Yoon-seul dropped everything and headed straight for the restaurant.
As the restaurant was about to close, a sleek foreign car glided to a stop in the wide parking lot in front.
The door opened, and Kyung Yoon-seul, dressed in a perfectly neat suit, stepped out.
Before entering the restaurant, she carefully checked her reflection and attire in the car window one last time.
Opening the door cautiously and stepping inside, she was greeted by Sang-woong’s welcoming face.
“Welcome, Yoon-seul.”
“Sang-woong! You startled me by contacting me so suddenly. Is something the matter?”
There was a subtle tension in Kyung Yoon-seul’s voice.
Sang-woong calling her was never an ordinary matter.
“Hahaha, it’s not as serious as last time. It’s actually very good news. You don’t need to worry. Please, have a seat here.”
Sang-woong led her to the bar table.
“You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? I remember you really enjoyed the Sanggye-tang last time, so I specially prepared Sanggye-tang for today.”
Sang-woong quickly set out a few side dishes and placed a steaming bowl of Sanggye-tang, which he had prepared in advance, before her.
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