The tension among the twenty-two people was palpable, even through the screen.
In the living room, the only sound was the rhythm of Choi Yunseo chewing popcorn.
*Crunch, crunch.*
“— High Council Charter, Article 1, Clause 1: Elves are beings who seek harmony. This is a treaty drafted with the foresight of the great prophets of the past, and it is a teaching that all elves of Marsala must follow. However, evidence has recently surfaced that Iselin Derael has seriously violated this provision, and out of a sense of duty to clarify the facts…”
As the chairman droned on, the four Koreans, who had the “hurry-hurry” mentality practically hardwired into their DNA, each chimed in.
“Should we watch something else?”
“He sounds like my old high school principal.”
“Can’t we fast-forward this?”
“There was someone just like him at the Hunter Academy.”
Once the chairman’s long-winded speech finally concluded, Nazina Golins began his questioning.
“— Iselin Derael, you moved your fleet and engaged in combat in the open sea without the consent of the High Council. What was the reason?”
“— To preserve harmony, of course.”
“— This is no time for wordplay. If the fleet movement and the combat that occurred are not supported by detailed evidence, then this becomes an act of your own reckless volition. Answer immediately. I do not care if your explanation is pathetic.”
“— The basis for the movement was combat, and the basis for the combat was twofold: revenge for Dielka Nahromel and the elimination of a demon.”
The corners of Nazina Golins’s mouth curled upward.
Derael’s fleet had not been built solely by the power of the Derael family; a significant portion of it had been supported by the High Council.
Moving that fleet for the sake of Dielka Nahromel’s personal revenge was something that could not be tolerated from a broader perspective.
“— Ten years ago, Dielka Nahromel’s mother was captured alive by the Immortal Demon, Count Zende.”
Iselin spoke clearly about the long-standing ill-fated relationship Dielka had endured and the recent schemes involving Duke Royal.
“— I moved the fleet and engaged in battle to preemptively eliminate a demon threatening Marsala, while also achieving revenge for Dielka Nahromel. You should be expressing your regrets and your gratitude to her.”
“— The revenge for her is exactly the problem. Every elven family in Marsala has a grudge against demons. Why did you ignore their voices and only grant revenge for Dielka Nahromel? Is it because her family is a subordinate of yours?”
Iselin let out a small smirk.
“— You’re speaking nonsense.”
“— Wh-what? To use such vulgar language in the sacred High Council!”
“— ‘Vulgar’ is a word better suited for someone as stubborn and unreasonable as you.”
“Ooh, that’s refreshing,” Choi Yunseo said, clearly on the side of Iselin and Dielka.
Yunseo loved that bold side of Iselin.
“— Dielka Nahromel is a High Dark Elf. If she desires revenge, it is a matter the High Council should support. That is her right.”
“— It is not. That is a right held by members of the Upper Council.”
“— Indeed. The Upper Council. A right held by High Elves. Then, what are the conditions for an Upper Council member as specified in the Council Charter?”
“— An elf who maintains a continuous communion with a High Spirit.”
“— Is the Death Spirit a High Spirit?”
“— It is.”
“— Is Dielka Nahromel an elf?”
“— She is not.”
“— This is interesting. The High Council Charter does not distinguish between elves and dark elves. What is the magical definition of an elf?”
“— One who communes with a spirit and…”
Nazina Golins began to break into a cold sweat as he answered, trying to backpedal from his claim that a dark elf was not an elf.
Iselin was the one supposedly being interrogated, but the roles had completely reversed.
“— Is a dark elf a being who does not receive the protection of the High Council Charter? Do you oppose the motion for the restoration of dark elf status and their acceptance, which was passed in the last general assembly?”
“— No, that is not it.”
“— I will ask again. Is Dielka Nahromel an elf?”
“— She is…”
“— Do you oppose the decision of the High Council?”
“— No…”
“— Do you know what Article 1, Clause 1 of the High Council Charter was in ancient times, when dark elves naturally lived in Marsala?”
Nazina Golins did not know.
Only a tiny handful of High Elves were permitted to see the records from that era.
“— It must have been different from now.”
“— No. It is the same. Not a single letter is different from the current version. Do you reject the treaty drafted with the foresight of the great prophets and the teachings that all elves of Marsala must follow?”
“— …”
The reason Iselin had waited until now to say what she could have said from the beginning was to utterly destroy the reputation of Nazina Golins for daring to attack her.
Having fallen into his own contradiction, he desperately tried to form an answer but eventually could not open his mouth.
“— Next.”
The elf next in line cleared his throat and spoke.
His voice was drained of energy.
The outcome was obvious now, but no one changed the channel.
A hearing would usually be boring, but because it involved another race in another world, it felt like a movie.
Choi Kangjoong found it interesting as well.
It was very like Iselin to fight for Dielka even though she had installed a wiretap in Dielka’s room.
It was a strange feeling to see someone he knew personally acting like that on screen.
The hearing ended.
Iselin was the first to exit.
The members of the hearing committee trudged away with heavy steps.
*Vrrr.*
[Iselin: Did you see?]
When Choi Kangjoong’s phone vibrated, Choi Yunseo peeked over.
Choi Kangjoong turned his body away and sent a reply.
[Choi Kangjoong: No.]
[Iselin: You saw it.]
[Choi Kangjoong: How do you know?]
[Iselin: I didn’t even ask what you saw, and yet you answered.]
[Choi Kangjoong: (Sweating emoticon)]
“Mom! Brother is texting the Princess!”
“What did she say? Let me see too.”
Choi Kangjoong escaped to his room to avoid Choi Yunseo and his mother.
Stealth Blink was useful even at times like this.
“Why are you trying to see that? You have to respect his privacy.”
Choi Jooyoung stopped the mother and daughter as they tried to follow him.
“I’m just worried he might say something weird.”
“Go to sleep.”
“When we told him to make friends, he couldn’t get close to anyone, but when did he get so close to a princess?”
“The Princess was probably the first person he met after becoming a Hunter. No, she’s an elf.”
“Elves and humans aren’t that different except for the ears. I heard there are even half-elves.”
“Still, an elf is an elf. Would you like it if someone called you an elf?”
“I’d love it.”
“I suppose you would.”
Choi Jooyoung readily admitted he had chosen a poor example.
The next day, Choi Kangjoong had lunch with his family.
Even after eating, there was so much food left over that he had to carry it back in both hands.
He even packed some for Han Junghwa because of Choi Yunseo, so the trunk was full, and he had to load the back seat as well.
Choi Kangjoong returned home with a warm heart.
After putting the side dishes away, the empty refrigerator was now stuffed.
“Should I have shown you to them too?”
*Krrk.*
The miniaturized Lutal looked up at Choi Kangjoong while crunching on marinated crab.
“They said the Walker was cute, so I think they would have felt the same about you. I’ll show you to them next time.”
*Krrk.*
Lutal gave a reply, though the creature likely didn’t understand what Choi Kangjoong was saying.
Heading to the bedroom, Choi Kangjoong entered the Evolution Chamber.
[Owned Evolution Points: 261,287,559]
The good mood from visiting home spiked even higher when he saw his points.
‘I should upgrade the Psionic Chitin Blade and Psionic Chitin Gauntlet. I’ll have to upgrade the Bioweapons once I unlock the Hive Class.’
Just as Level 6 Psionic Bioweapons could only be used from the Supertitan Class, Level 7 could be used starting from the Hive Class.
“Should I go a different route for mass production?”
During the last battle, Choi Kangjoong had felt a shortage of high-tier troops.
To suppress even a Baron-class demon without losses, Warriors were necessary.
However, since there were only 7,100 Warriors, the losses among Walkers and Scouts had been significant while facing fifty thousand demons.
‘I’ve produced plenty of Walkers and Scouts so far, so let’s skip them this time. I’ll produce 7,900 Warriors, 340 Giants, and 22 Titans.’
This would bring the numbers to exactly 15,000 Warriors, 1,000 Giants, and 100 Titans.
[Apocalid Mass Production Complete in 135:00:00]
“Give the rest to Kuongi.”
“Kuong.”
He also upgraded the Psionic Chitin Blade and Psionic Chitin Gauntlet to Level 7.
[Owned Evolution Points: 61,287,559]
Even after opening the Titan Class six times over, he still had tens of millions of points left, but compared to the hundreds of millions he had earlier, it felt like a small amount.
‘If I go north of the Enterprise Union, I’ll probably be fighting dragons a lot. And dragons mean magic. I should look for some magic defense-related Evolution Codes.’
Dragons were truly difficult opponents.
Their scales were hard, and the Dragon Heart was a natural mana battery that could hold an immense amount of mana.
Each individual was a massive organism and a Dimension Ship that could freely travel into the Dimensional Sea.
If things went south, they would rain down magic bombardment or fire their breaths from the Dimensional Sea.
If even that failed, they would use Dragon Speech Magic to flee and sharpen their blades for revenge.
‘I can’t just rely on Lutal. There could be multiple dragons or a huge number of guardians.’
The scary thing about dragons was that they weren’t just simple monsters, but a race that could interact with other species.
Thus, they often acted as gods of a dimension, protecting others or receiving protection themselves.
If their scale grew large enough, they could take over an entire sea region or even multiple ones.
‘What kind of magic defense monsters were there? I remember the Anti-Magic Shell, and there was one among the Golems too.’
Choi Kangjoong examined the Black Market Map Iselin had given him.
‘The Anti-Magic Shells have been wiped out. I heard they were delicious, though.’
The Anti-Magic Shell was a large clam with a beautiful shell and tasty meat, leading to overfishing.
Since the Dimensional Sea was so vast, no one thought they would go extinct.
They thought that even if they couldn’t catch them here, they could just catch them elsewhere.
That was true to an extent.
Anti-Magic Shells still lived somewhere in the Dimensional Sea.
It was just that their habitat had shrunk, and they were no longer seen near the Enterprise Union.
The environment itself had changed, so Anti-Magic Shells no longer came to settle there, making them very rare to find nowadays.
Since the shell was the main body, they could survive in the Dimensional Sea as long as they had it, but the processing of those shells was also an issue.
“I should go catch some and share them.”
Choi Kangjoong sent the Light Titan he had summoned to fight the demons back toward the north of the Enterprise Union.
His mouth watered at the thought of the allegedly fantastic taste of the Anti-Magic Shell.
‘I’ll leave the Apocalyde Dimension to the east.’
This was for the purpose of keeping the Demon Realm in check as well as for Choi Kangjoong’s own travel.
‘I want to open the Hive Class soon.’
Even if Kuongi grew to be over 10km in size, he couldn’t perform the functions of a Hive Class yet.
He had to achieve evolution by opening the class to utilize everything that class offered.
“Move faster. Faster.”
Choi Kangjoong needlessly urged the Light Titan.
It took a considerable amount of time since it had to cross the dimensions occupied by Marsala.
Whenever the Light Titan grew tired, he would open a Gate to shorten the distance, then summon a fresh Light Titan to move at full speed.
[Dielka: I saw the Bio Battleship moving.]
[Dielka: Where are you going?]
Among the dimensions the Light Titan passed through, there were places where dark elves had settled.
[Choi Kangjoong: To catch Anti-Magic Shells.]
[Dielka: I heard those are really delicious.]
[Dielka: Have you tried them?]
[Choi Kangjoong: No. I’m on my way to eat some now.]
[Dielka: Me too, me too, me too!]
[Choi Kangjoong: I’ll let you know when I arrive at the habitat.]
[Dielka: Awesome!]
‘If Dielka knows, then Iselin, Choi Yunseo, and Han Junghwa will probably find out soon too.’
Sure enough, a message arrived not long after.
However, it was from someone entirely different than whom Choi Kangjoong had expected.