## Chapter 60 – 60. To the 3rd Floor
#60. To the 3rd Floor
“Haaam… umm…”
Iris opened her eyes about ten minutes after receiving the secret reward from the World Tree.
I held the clueless Iris in my arms, racking my brain for future plans.
The things I had to do could be broadly divided into two categories.
1. Prevent the war with the Northern Empire.
2. Oust Resilia and either put Iris back on the throne or end the current tyranny.
As expected, none of them were easy.
First of all, number one was the problem. War is, by nature, a matter involving numerous interests. Since the Northern Empire was a great power, an overwhelming justification that everyone could accept would be needed to stop a war that had already begun.
No, even if there was a justification, would they even try to stop the war?
‘There’s no way.’
As the declaration of war showed, the Northern Empire was clearly serious about this war. They were not only confident of an overwhelming victory, but they had already calculated the benefits they would gain from this war.
It was safe to say that it had already reached a stage where the war could not be stopped by normal means.
If you asked if I should just stand by with my arms crossed, that wasn’t the case either.
There were two ways to stop the war.
The first way was to kill all the higher-ups of the Northern Empire to stop the war.
‘Impossible.’
Of course, I wanted to do that, but it wasn’t a realistic option.
I didn’t have a way to kill them, and even if I could stop the immediate war, it would only serve as a justification for a new war in the future.
Besides, if the frame of ‘Pelledia is a country that assassinates high-ranking officials of enemy countries if they don’t like something!’ spread, it wouldn’t be good for international diplomacy in the long run.
“Hyunwoo…?”
Just in time, Iris opened her eyes again.
“You’re awake? You can sleep more.”
“Hehe, then hold me tighter.”
I gently hugged Iris, who was still drowsy and acting more childish than usual.
The other way to stop the war was none other than Iris.
To be exact, Iris with the power of her prime was the second method.
I heard that Hanrahel, who had dealt with dozens of monsters with a single spell, had even single-handedly subjugated that ice golem after I fainted.
If Iris, who had reached the great realm of 8th Circle, a step further than that monster-like Hanrahel, existed, she would surely be a deterrent to war just by her presence.
Two hundred years may not be a long time for an elf who lives an ordinary life, but it is a long time for humans, with generations changing more than twice.
Of course, it was only natural that the fame of the former queen, Iris, would fade on the continent.
‘The Northern Empire must know that Iris is gone and is waging war.’
Of course, this method was also impossible at the moment.
The biggest reason was that there was no way to undo the seal.
The World Tree said that I could only get out of here by using the artifact on the third floor, but undoing the seal was another matter.
[Ashen Knot]
The World Tree said that the seal around Iris’s ankle was an artifact used in ancient times.
It boasted overwhelming performance, granting stronger restraint to those with strong power, and concluded that it could not be undone by ordinary means.
It added that the artifact called the ‘Ashen Flame’ was absolutely necessary to undo the ‘Ashen Knot.’
The problem here was where that Ashen Flame artifact was.
It would have been much easier if the World Tree had told me that, but it disappeared after saying that the Ashen Flame was needed, so I couldn’t know its whereabouts right now.
In the end, I had to go out and find it myself, but it was easier said than done, and I didn’t know how long it would take.
“Iris, do you happen to know where the Ashen Flame is?”
I could tell without looking that it wouldn’t take long for the Northern Empire to organize its troops and invade Pelledia after declaring war.
In that situation, I couldn’t waste too much time searching for artifacts.
If it didn’t work out, my last resort was to go back to Earth and get a holy relic to undo the seal, even if it took years.
Even if I had to steal it.
“Ashen Flame? I know it. I’m sure I heard it’s in the temple of the Santala Kingdom.”
“…?”
What? There’s no way the world would be so kind to me.
***
From the moment I found out the location of the Ashen Flame, my course of action was as good as decided.
“I’ll be back.”
“…Don’t overdo it.”
“Of course.”
When I told her that I was going back to the underground dungeon, Iris hugged me tightly for almost 30 minutes with a tearful expression, telling me this and that.
Don’t get hurt, be careful, and so on.
“I don’t care if I can’t get out of here as long as I have Hyunwoo.”
Iris’s voice was heavy, as if she thought it was her fault that I was going to that underground dungeon.
I was grateful and found that side of her cute.
It meant she loved me that much.
I was receiving love from Iris that I didn’t deserve.
“Iris.”
I lightly kissed the corner of Iris’s eye, which was red.
“Do you know what I want to achieve most in this world?”
“…A harem?”
“…”
No, that’s not it…
“When you came up from the underground dungeon, you smelled like other women. About four of them?”
My vision is blurry.
It was proof that my pupils were shaking.
‘I definitely took a shower…?’
And four people? The only women I’ve met are Chun Yeohwa, Choi Hyena, and my teacher.
If there was anyone else, it would be Hanrahel, but I didn’t even have a conversation with her, let alone physical contact.
“Hehe, you don’t have to look so serious. I heard that humans are monogamous, but elves have a low birth rate and a shortage of men, so most of them are polygamous.”
Wow, elves are definitely the best race in the world.
“But the distinction between the main wife and the concubine is clear, okay?”
At that moment, I felt a chill down my spine, and I felt like I was sweating profusely.
Instead of her usual warm and cozy eyes, she was pouring a colder gaze at me than when the World Tree had descended.
“I don’t care about mistresses. After all, we’re not going to live together, and Hyunwoo needs to have something to enjoy. But not a wife. Got it?”
“…Yes.”
With that, I headed to the underground dungeon, receiving a send-off that wasn’t really a send-off.
As I went down the stairs, I suddenly opened my palm, and it was wet with sweat.
Only then did I realize that Iris wasn’t just a kind and gentle woman.
If you asked if I was unhappy about that, that was definitely not the case.
Rather, I liked that I saw a new side of Iris.
And the part where she made it clear that she was the main wife.
Even as I went down the stairs, the different side of Iris that she had shown me was not easily erased from my mind.
If I had more time, I would have spent a few more days with her, but I knew that the war was imminent, so every minute and every second was precious.
I hurried down the stairs, and it didn’t take long to reach the end.
When I reached the first floor, a familiar and unpleasant eerie air brushed past my nose.
[Magic Detection]
Now that the limit of my magic power had been broken thanks to the elixir, it was only natural that the range of my magic detection would increase.
My current limit was about 500m in radius.
Just in case, there were several monsters, large and small, within the detection range. The closest one was lurking less than 50m away from here, but I didn’t have time to leisurely catch monsters right now.
As I said before, every minute and every second was precious.
Securing more time was more important than the coins and magic stones I could get from catching monsters.
[Haste]
I used a support magic and ran along the map I had mapped before.
Even while running through the dungeon, I didn’t hunt monsters unless they were coming towards me.
However, that didn’t mean I could avoid all battles.
Because I had spent time upstairs, other monsters had taken their place in the mapped area, and monsters basically try to kill humans.
There were monsters I saw for the first time, and monsters I had seen before.
There were also monsters that attacked in groups, but the monsters on the first floor were no match for me.
[You have defeated Kobold Warrior x2]
[Duplicate Kill Reward: 100 coins]
[You have defeated Skeleton Warrior x3]
[Duplicate Kill Reward: 150 coins]
[You have defeated Tentaclipper]
[Duplicate Kill Reward: 50 coins]
[You have defeated Low Reaper]
[First Kill Reward: 100 coins]
[You have defeated Blade Wolf x3]
[First Kill Reward: 150 coins]
Of course, that didn’t mean the monsters on the first floor were weak.
Most of them were D+ grade elite individuals, so they were about C grade monsters.
Even so, the reason I could get out of here without a single scratch was because of the cheat-like weapon, Gillennium, and the support magic that an ordinary 2nd Circle mage wouldn’t even be able to use due to lack of magic power.
With one swing of the sword and one spell, the monsters’ heads flew off and their bodies exploded.
That didn’t mean there were no problems with the dungeon exploration.
No matter how much I swung my sword, I was still a mage at heart.
The realm I had achieved was too insignificant to escape from the chronic limitation of being physically weak.
If I allowed even one of the monster’s attacks, it would lead to a fatal wound.
The barrier only blocked attacks that I recognized, and it didn’t automatically block attacks coming from blind spots.
Even if the battle ended without any injuries, the mental fatigue that accumulated in situations where arrows grazed my side and my clothes were torn by swords could not be ignored.
But I didn’t rest in the middle.
Because I couldn’t predict what kind of snowball effect the short rest now would have later.
I didn’t want to do anything I would regret for the rest of my life.
As a result of continuing to run through the dungeon with minimal combat and rest.
“Hoo…”
I was able to break through the distance that took me a little over 2 hours last time in just 1 hour and 30 minutes.
However, I couldn’t help but be soaked in sweat.
I roughly chugged a bottle of mineral water and took out the key from the inventory and approached the door.
There was no keyhole in the huge stone door, but I wasn’t worried.
When I brought the key to the door, the key disappeared with a huge vibration sound, and the door began to open.
A huge amount of dust flew in the wind, and the familiar stairs reappeared.
“…Do I have to go down again?”
I resented the World Tree for not installing an elevator.
The World Tree, unaware of my resentment, made one mistake.
It said that it would give birth to my child in exchange for saving the elf, but it didn’t say how many it would give birth to at most.
‘I have to make at least two or three soccer teams.’
It seemed like the World Tree’s belly would never go down until I died.
***
A quiet lakeside in a splendid garden.
A woman with refreshing green hair is playing in the water.
With a bright smile like a child who doesn’t know anything, running barefoot along the water’s edge seemed to paint a peaceful daily life that made you smile just by looking at it.
“Your Majesty.”
However, the servant who was watching the scene from afar knew.
How crazy she was.
“Yes? Why are you calling me?”
“…It’s time for the execution.”
“Ah! That’s right.”
The servant internally vomited out disgust at the sight of her clapping her hands like a child again this time.
The number of her own kind who would die at her hands today was beyond words.
“Shall we go then?”
The servant recalled a scene from a fairy tale he had read as a child.
Like the hero of light who saved everyone.
I hope that a hero who will save our elves will arrive on this land.
The Queen of Treason, Resilia
