MDPS 50🔐

Episode 50

My Dark History is Too Strong 

The Elf Fortress (3)

The Elf King, Eldiran.

He had lost his father to Hertia, and even the World Tree—the heart of the elves—was taken from him.

Even the noble elves were ruthlessly crushed by her hand.

Since that day, the elves never forgot Hertia.

Eldiran was no different.

He had to punish Hertia, the one who caused all that suffering.

It was only natural—and it marked the end of his pain.

However, Hertia had long disappeared without a trace.

Her presence could not be felt anywhere.

Then, by chance, someone discovered it.

Hertia existed in another dimension.

Now, Eldiran’s mission was clear.

Restore the World Tree, and ensure the prosperity of the elves.

And the prosperity of the elves could not begin unless Hertia was punished.

The curse that the Witch of the End had placed on the World Tree had to be lifted.

So Eldiran set off for the dimension where Hertia was.

“If she exists in another dimension anyway, I might as well gather energy here for the World Tree’s revival.”

Reviving the decayed World Tree required an enormous amount of life force.

So Eldiran declared to all elves:

“We will invade Hertia’s dimension and seize everything they possess. As long as that witch remains, the land is already tainted by evil. So fear nothing, and plunder it all.”

Not long after the invasion began, Hertia appeared before them.

The stench of the elves, bitter and grueling, filled the air.

It was a smell only a shadow elf, abandoned by the World Tree, could emit—and it reached the fortress entrance.

“……”

Even with Hertia’s appearance, Eldiran did not move.

He did not yet fully understand this Earth.

For now, gathering information was the priority, so he did not act rashly.

It only took five days to assess the area.

Eldiran summoned his advisor, Iluan.

“Iluan, do you think their abilities surpass ours?”
“No. They’re insignificant humans. It’s the same for other regions as well.”
“Then obtaining the World Tree’s life force won’t be too difficult.”
“Of course.”

To revive the World Tree, paradoxically, taking life could not be avoided.

Fortunately, the humans here were ridiculously weak compared to the “adventurers” from their own dimension.

“Then we will soon absorb a large amount of life force.”
“Preparations for that are already complete.”

All preparations were done, and the humans’ capabilities had been assessed.

There was not a single being that posed a threat.

However, one figure caught Eldiran’s eye.

A human at the Altar of Radiance exuding the intense stench of a shadow elf.

He commanded the King of Afterimages, Azas, sweeping through the altar’s elves and spirits.

Still, he was only one human—annoying, but not threatening.

Other regions had beings far superior to this man.

Now was the time to prepare the next step.

“Iluan.”
“Yes, Eldiran.”
“Prepare for when they enter our land. Summoning them might not be a bad idea.”
“You mean…”
“The corrupted ents. Beings born from the rotting roots of the decayed World Tree.”
“Do you intend to instill despair in them?”
“They will become one with the World Tree eventually. Best to let them close their eyes under overwhelming power—it is my kindness and mercy.”

Iluan bowed respectfully.

Eldiran summoned a rotten branch in his hand—the branch of the World Tree burned by Hertia.

“Take this.”
“Yes, Eldiran.”
“Do your utmost to make them realize true despair.”
“Understood. I will remember.”

Eldiran disappeared from the top of the tower’s Natural Court.

Iluan, now alone, stared at the burned, decayed branch in his hand.

“This is going to be an interesting show.”

With a peculiar smile, Iluan disappeared into the tower.

[King of Afterimages Azas has defeated Calebrin, the head of the Altar of Radiance.]
[Altar of Radiance cleared.]
[An unknown adventurer has cleared the Elf Fortress on the KR server for the first time.]
[Time taken: 141 hours, 17 minutes, 34 seconds]
[Clear rating: B-]

A B- rating for the first time ever.

If I had led from the start, it would have been the highest rating—but that might have been more of a curse.

People from all over the world would keep trying to contact me.

Son Taeha said it already gave him a headache.

Since the Tower Battle incident, he had been receiving constant inquiries.

Some wanted to know if he planned to “sell” me to other countries.

Apparently, that had been a headache in itself.

“I felt like I was being threatened, too.”

But if other countries recognize me, does that mean I’ve become quite famous?

I’m worried about the future.

Everyone will want me in their strategy teams.

[Level up! Adventurer level has reached 100.]

Oh! Adventurer level finally reached 100!

Like with the summons, level 100 is the true starting point!

[Achievement “Rampage” unlocked.]

Looking at the achievement, it seemed like a reward for fast leveling.

[Level 100 adventurer reward: “Level 100 Celebration Box” granted.]
[Achievement reward: “Adventurer Exclusive Weapon Box” granted.]

Two rewards! My heart raced at the thought of opening them at home.

But the rewards didn’t end there.

[Unknown adventurer obtained artifact: “Lumiel’s Grace”.]
[First clear reward: 50 Mystery Crystal Boxes granted.]

Yes! Mystery Crystals!

I clenched my fists unconsciously.

[Mystery Crystal Box]
Description: A box containing 2–5 Mystery Crystals at random.

I had been worried because I had used many Mystery Crystals to enhance adventurer skills.

Now I could get 100–250 at minimum and maximum!

A huge reward in itself.

And I even obtained an artifact!

Of course, I couldn’t monopolize all of this.

I also had to share with the leading guild, Radiance.

“Good work, everyone!”
“Yes, thank you all for your hard work.”
“Thank you, unknown adventurer! Thanks to you, we stopped the Dungeon Break!”
“Not at all. Now, about distributing the items…”
“Shall we return first?”

Son Taeyeon intervened before we could discuss item distribution, disbanding the adventurers.

Even if I were greedy, he wasn’t shameless.

“Wait, the distribution—”
“It’s fine.”
“Excuse me?”
“It has already been agreed upon.”

Guild master Yoon Haejun answered my question from behind.

“Agreed? I didn’t hear about this.”
“No matter how we struggled, the second gate could only be cleared in five days. Without the adventurer, the final gate couldn’t have been cleared.”
“But they contributed up to the second gate.”

They may not have been talented, but they had made an effort.

Effort deserves proper reward.

“We do not want that reward.”

Judging by Yoon Haejun’s expression, the answer had already been decided—they agreed among themselves to refuse.

Good people.

I couldn’t ignore people who wouldn’t even think to take this precious thing.

“Then I have no choice.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not the reward, but I’ll share what I have.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll provide information—high-floor Tower strategies, deck consultations, anything. Free for those who participated today.”
“Really… is that okay?”

Of course.

Sharing deck strategies or tower strategies posed no problem.

I wanted these people to grow stronger.

When strong people appear, I am challenged to become stronger too.

That’s why Lucifer achieved unofficial rank 1 in the past, sharing information generously with newbies.

“Contact Ascend anytime. I’ll inform the company in advance.”
“Yes! Understood!”

The conversation with Yoon Haejun ended…

Now it was time to open the boxes.

Ascend Management’s exclusive trailer.

I was alone.

Other staff had gone to their dorms due to the late hour.

This trailer was meant just for me.

I was lucky I could open the boxes immediately, without going home.

“A company that works well is great!”

Sigh. I was nervous.

I decided to open the Level 100 Celebration Box first.

[Level 100 Celebration Box]
Description: A congratulatory box for adventurers reaching level 100. Contents are random.

This was a chance to test my luck.

Even if I got trash items, it was fine—I was offering them as a “sacrifice.”

I rubbed my hands together and opened the box.

[Using Level 100 Celebration Box.]

A bright light emerged, followed by a small firework effect.

Bang! Pop-pop! Bang!

Whoa! What could it be?

[Summon Skill Level ALL Scroll obtained.]

[Summon Skill Level ALL Scroll]
Description: Maximizes all summon skill levels.

Oh! This is an amazing item.

Especially for the Seven Deadly Sins members—it’s invaluable.

Raising their skill levels normally costs a fortune.

And now, one scroll could max out all skills for a single summon.

The “sacrifice” idea seemed a bit disappointing now, but I could still get great items later.

…Immediately, the rest of the rewards were underwhelming.

[Mythical Crafting Material Box x10 obtained.]
[Skill Enhancement Scroll obtained.]
[Legendary Crafting Material Box x30 obtained.]

Nothing too exciting.

Not a complete waste, though—the ALL Scroll alone saved me billions.

“I suppose this counts as a sacrifice.”

I was a bit disappointed, but I could hope for better items from the main box.

[Adventurer Exclusive Weapon Box]
Description: A weapon exclusively for adventurers. Equipping it allows combat participation in dungeons.

Right. Adventurer exclusive weapons.

Some adventurers have combat-participation jobs.

I am one of them.

In PvP, only summons usually fight, but guild PvP allows summoners to join as well.

This had made guild PvP frustrating for many guilds.

“But it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll use whatever I get.”

I took a deep breath and meditated.

I had no greed. No desire. A state of detachment.

Whatever came out, it didn’t matter.

I focused and opened the box.

[Using Adventurer Exclusive Weapon Box.]

Black smoke rose from the box.

A wave of unease struck me immediately.

The smoke thickened, covering the floor.

Suddenly, strong winds surged, pulling the smoke away.

A message appeared:

[Obtained Dawn Star’s Rebel Weapon: “Extermination”.]

Dawn Star’s Rebel Weapon?

It looked similar to the old Hwandou.

“I used a weapon like this…?”

I instinctively grabbed my head and sank to my knees.

“Oh Hyunwoo… this crazy bastard! He really did it! Ughhh!”

I remembered something I had forgotten.

At 18, Oh Hyunwoo had been extremely nationalistic.