The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

“You’ve really changed a lot.”

“A lot of time has passed, and you’ve probably had many struggles in another world.”

Raul and Rabel were heading east, passing through the center of the Elemental Jungle where the World Tree was situated. They could feel elves’ presences watching them from afar, but they paid no attention.

“In the past, they had such pure hearts. While change is necessary, it seems they’ve changed for the worse. It’s a shame.”

“Indeed. Being so prickly won’t do them any good.”

Having met orcs, dwarves, and now elves, Raul was certain. The dominant race in Connect wasn’t them anymore; it was humans.

Orcs had large numbers and superior physical abilities, but they were far behind in organizational and societal aspects. Dwarves excelled technically, but their population was too small, and they were too accustomed to underground life.

And elves…

‘They have the smallest population, are reclusive, arrogant, and inflexible. While they do have more strong members than expected…’

Well, if the First Knight Order and players were fully mobilized, could they really stand a chance against them?

Perhaps in the era of the Great War, but now, with Connect Kingdoms’ populations surpassing hundreds of millions, it was doubtful the elves could maintain their pride.

‘They don’t even need to face the kingdoms. They are already struggling against the empire.’

Raul had already noticed during the negotiation between Rabel and the elves. The elves were not coping well with the empire’s relentless assaults.

“By the way, what do you think is causing the spirits to go berserk?”

Raul asked, and Rabel answered with a slightly dark expression.

“There could be many reasons. The restricted zone, the gates, and even the mana of the returned elves mixing, resulting in mana corruption. The empire’s mages or summoners could also be involved. But the most likely reason…”

Was the possible intervention of the fairies. That was why the elves were desperately searching for the fairies. Raul extended his hand and gently patted Rabel’s head.

“It’s okay. It’s probably nothing serious. If something really has happened to them, I won’t stand idly by.”

“Thank you, Raul. Saying that means a lot.”

The spirit-type monsters that appeared in the Elemental Jungle seemed to obey the elves since their return. Their high affinity for spirits played a role, and the control of the tree towns and the World Tree had passed into elven hands.

However, problems arose when battles between the elves and the empire began. Not only did the spirit-type monsters of the jungle go out of control, but even the spirits contracted with the elves started to go berserk.

They became aggressive, unable to properly distinguish between friend and foe, and even self-destructed in their final moments. When the elves’ combat power, nearly half of which came from summoning spirits, was neutralized, the empire gaining the upper hand was inevitable.

As a result, the elves surrendered a third of the Elemental Jungle to the empire and were barely fending off their attacks. Even with Rabel, the Fairy Queen, showing herself directly, the elves’ hostility stemmed from these circumstances.

‘Well, I can understand their suspicion to some extent, but did they really need to be so hostile?’

Ultimately, the elves failed to gain Raul and Rabel’s goodwill. Perhaps they continued to disregard the group with the most influence on the continent next to the empire.

‘It’s their loss. I have nothing to lose from this.’

What Raul sought in the Elemental Jungle was the ‘sap of the World Tree’. It was what Dwarf Chief Taro had requested to unseal Regnator.

Originally, Raul had thought to provide whatever they needed, just like he did for the dwarves. The fossil of the ancient World Tree.

The remnants of the true World Tree that withered away during the Great War, leaving only a sapling. Those remnants slumbered in a dungeon near the tree town currently occupied by the empire.

‘With that, the underdeveloped World Tree can rapidly grow. But now, I have no intention of handing it over.’

High Elf Melish coldly refused Rabel’s request for a small share of the World Tree’s sap.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t grant that request. The World Tree is still too young, and the amount of sap we can harvest is too little. Besides, with the spirits causing problems, we have many uses for it. If you truly need the sap, I suggest you solve the problem of the berserk spirits first.”

Hearing this, Rabel could hardly believe her ears. According to her memory, elves were straightforward in transactions.

But now…

‘For the price of a small bottle of sap?’

The sap of the World Tree. Indeed, it was a precious substance. But what kind of tree was the World Tree?

Even if it was young, the amount of sap a towering World Tree could produce was not small. Frankly, for the elves, it was a common enough thing to just give away without issue.

Even though Rabel had goodwill toward her old friends, she couldn’t help feeling angry. Her face hardened, and just as she was about to speak,

「Calm down. We don’t need the sap. Instead, say this.」

Rabel took a deep breath and spoke.

“Alright. We will look into what has happened to the spirits. However, I hope you won’t restrict Raul and me from wandering around the Elemental Jungle. If you can’t accommodate that much, I have nothing more to say to you.”

“That much, we can permit. Though it’s uncomfortable having a human roam our territory, we’ll allow it in honor of the Queen. But approaching the vicinity of the World Tree is strictly prohibited. Also, some of our war leaders will escort the Queen, kaack!”

Melish, who had been speaking with an air of nobility, was suddenly taken aback by a surge of immense energy and stumbled backward.

Whirrr!

Boom!

Rabel, who floated above the skill codex, and Raul, who had approached her, released the energy they had been holding. The absolute power of the Fairy Queen, who had surpassed an 8th-circle master and was reaching for the 9th circle.

Raul’s power, nearing the pinnacle of advanced psychokinesis and master-level strength, amplified by Regnator, spread around them.

“Kuh, what is this!”

“No matter how much of a queen she is…!”

The power they had shown earlier to repel the spirits was just a taste. The overwhelming presence of an absolute being, even at the pinnacle of superhuman abilities, was not something elves could easily withstand.

Most of the elite-looking elf warriors clutched their chests and dropped to their knees, with only High Elf Melish and a few elders managing to remain standing stiffly.

‘A miscalculation. Who would have thought they possessed this much power!’

A look of shock appeared on Melish’s face. Had she known, she would have brought the great war leaders from the imperial battlefield. With trembling hands, she drew her rapier, staring at Rabel with wavering eyes.

Whoosh.

“Guk.”

“Gulp.”

As suddenly as it had appeared, the overwhelming force vanished.

“Who are you to say you will escort me? I will permit you to observe from a distance, but do not interfere with my actions.”

Adjusting her glasses, Rabel spoke, and Melish could only nod. Rabel seemed to have something more to say but then turned away.

And now, after walking east for a while, Raul and Rabel came upon the edge of a vast lake.

“Ah…!”

A sigh escaped Rabel’s lips.

Finally, she had returned. After thousands of years, she could finally see her abandoned homeland, the 『Dasos Forest』, with tearful eyes.

The Dasos Forest bordered the northeastern edge of the lake before them. And it was currently under the control of the empire. If the brethren who had fled were safe, they might be hiding somewhere in that forest by now.

If they had fallen into the hands of the empire…

‘No, that can’t be.’

At least, this forest was the cradle of the fairy race. As long as the forest remembered them, they wouldn’t easily be seen by humans or be captured by them.

“It’s going to be alright, Rabel. Let’s go and see for ourselves.”

Raul warmly said as he embraced Rabel’s trembling shoulders. Rabel, who had stopped trembling, nodded with a resolute expression.

*

“Yawn. It’s pretty quiet today.”

“Yeah, they’ve been a nuisance for the past few days, but it seems they’ve finally come to their senses.”

Imperial soldiers stationed on the palisade at the outskirts of Town Tree were chatting. The battle with the elves continued, with the empire holding the upper hand.

Having found a way to seal the spirits, the elves’ strength had greatly diminished. Unable to win against the empire’s powerful knights, mage troops, and undead in direct combat, the elves had resorted to guerrilla warfare.

Using their other specialty, archery, the elves had been harassing the imperial forces. Even if they lost their base, they continued their long-range sniping as if to deny the imperial soldiers any rest, and it wasn’t without effect.

Imperial soldiers had to keep watch on the palisades day and night.

“But they’re really foolish. Do they think they can stop us with that kind of tactic?”

“Exactly. We, the grunts, are the only ones struggling with this. The knights don’t even care. Those cowardly bastards don’t have the guts to really breach our defenses.”

While dozens of unlucky soldiers had fallen to the elves’ sniping, it hadn’t affected the overall military power. After all, the soldiers existed merely to serve the knights and handle menial tasks.

The real power lay with the knights, mages, mounted troops, and undead soldiers. But the soldiers didn’t really mind.

The less they had to wield their swords and spears directly, the higher their survival rate.

“By the way, when will we get out of this damned place, huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Looks like someone’s walking over there.”

“Come on. No way those pointy ears would show themselves in broad daylight… What is that?”

Perhaps it was the sheer audacity of the approaching figure that caught them off guard. The soldiers didn’t even think to ring the alarm until Raul came clearly into view.

“A human?”

Rattle!

And that was the last thing the imperial soldier said. Raul’s weapon legion mercilessly swept through the small imperial outpost.

“Is this a D-rank settlement? Less than a thousand soldiers.”

Raul muttered as he looked around the center of the Town Tree. While the higher-grade settlements crowded the outskirts of the Elemental Jungle, deeper inside was a small settlement.

How ironic.

‘Thanks to this, I obtained it easily.’

Raul infused his mana into the heart of the Town Tree, transferring the ownership of the settlement.

“What, what on earth were you thinking attacking us? You must not realize that our imperial forces are all around this area…”

“Shh. Be quiet. I haven’t asked you anything yet.”

As Raul smiled, the man in the imperial junior officer’s uniform shut his eyes tightly and went silent. He was the sole survivor of this settlement.

Raul had captured other officers as well, but some had committed suicide, and others’ bodies had exploded due to the prohibitions placed on them.

‘It would have been best if there had been a mage.’

The more elite the troops, the stronger the prohibitions seemed to be. They exploded like bombs the moment they were captured. With Raul having many questions, he needed to handle this remaining officer carefully.

“Since you didn’t self-destruct, I guess you have a strong will to live?”

“Of course…”

“Keep your mouth shut and only speak when I tell you to. Use nods for the rest. I don’t want you bursting like those other guys.”

Raul motioned to a spot where shredded robes and pools of blood indicated where the others had perished.

“Believe it or not, I have a way to remove those prohibitions. So, if you answer well, I’ll let you live.”

The officer nodded frantically. Satisfied, Raul asked him a series of basic questions. The officer, showing no signs of lying, answered them with nods.

Finally, Raul asked, “So, how exactly did you neutralize the elves’ spirit magic? Do you know?”

The officer’s eyes trembled violently. Then, cautiously, his gaze shifted somewhere. It was towards where the remains of the exploded mage lay scattered.

Raul rummaged through the blood and debris and pulled something out.

‘A magic pouch?’

It seemed to have withstood the explosion due to its quality. As Raul carefully took out what was inside, “Aaah!”

Rabel screamed with a pale face, losing consciousness, and was sucked back into the skill codex. Raul bit his lip unconsciously. Inside the small bottle were dozens of fairy wings, stained with blood.

(To be continued)

TL’s Corner:
Fucking imperial sons of bitches.