I Became a 10,000-year-old Elf

“…”

When I opened my eyes again, naturally, I was in a completely different space. I was on a soft bed. It was no longer some unknown cold dirt field, and I was no longer naked.

However, one thing remained the same. The deep sense of futility and weakness, what people commonly call burnout.

Even after opening my eyes like this, I didn’t particularly feel the will to do anything.

Positively speaking, it meant I had reached a state where I wouldn’t be shaken by most things, but negatively speaking, it meant I didn’t care whatever happened.

“Tell me what happened while I was asleep. Actually, I think I roughly know.”

Still, I had to do what needed to be done. I heard everything that had happened while I was unconscious from the earth spirit sitting beside me.

Happy that I had woken up, the earth spirit quickly stood up and hurriedly told me what it had seen and heard, mixing in gestures.

‘It was a mistake to only devise a way to control those guys. I didn’t expect them to hand me over to someone else and run away like this. By the way, he’s an interesting fellow.’

Thanks to this, I learned about the being who had received me from those idiots, dressed me in these luxurious pajamas, and laid me properly on a bed.

Just listening to the earth spirit’s description, he sounded exactly like a scary uncle as described by a kindergartener, but I thought I should see him with my own eyes first.

I was curious about the reason for his attitude, which was completely opposite to that of the idiots who suddenly tried to attack me. Surely he couldn’t be a genuinely nice guy.

“I heard the news.”

It didn’t take long to meet him. When I told the maid who entered the room without knowing any better to call him, she ran off in panic and brought him back.

As soon as he saw me, he nodded with a stern face as if he had known I would wake up.

“Is it true?”

“What do you mean…”

“Big build, rough beard, sharp eyes, just overall scary-looking.”

Seeing his face, I snickered and openly recited the earth spirit’s assessment of his appearance. His brow twitched in surprise, but he didn’t get angry.

Why? He was being very cautious of me right now. Judging by his attitude, it was like he was looking at a bomb about to explode.

“Why are you so scared?”

There was nothing to hold back now. When I asked bluntly, he bit his lip. It was clear he was pondering how to answer.

His expression was similar to that of a student facing a huge exam, full of anguish.

“Those idiots said they picked you up from the Forbidden Area where something happened this time.”

“That’s right.”

“…The Forbidden Area is one of the remnants of the Primordial Tower that collapsed in ancient times, and from time to time, ancient demons that pop out from there have caused massive accidents just when we start to forget about them.”

It seemed like I had finally met someone who could communicate properly. He started telling me one by one about worldly matters I didn’t know, but felt I should know.

“It’s close to a legend, but about 4000 years ago, a demon dragon that popped out from the tower’s remnants once annihilated a continent. In this situation, how should I deal with you?”

He swallowed dryly. Looking at me just sitting on the bed without any thoughts, as if looking at a bomb about to explode at any moment.

“Above all, I’ve never heard of silver-haired, red-eyed elves existing in this world.”

“There’s so much I’m curious about right now.”

I chuckled at his tense appearance and then frowned.

Now that everything had become meaningless, the only thing that still piqued my interest was how this world had changed after the tower collapsed. That was the only thing.

One thing was certain: the world I knew no longer existed.

“Shall we start the story from when the tower collapsed? Tell me in detail what happened from that point on.”

“Th-That story begins 10,000 years ago.”

Then he started telling me what he knew. Not some vague old tale, but a more concrete and detailed ‘history’.

However, the fact that the starting point was 10,000 years ago made me doubt my ears.

* * *

“10,000 years ago, the tower collapsed and the myth came to an end. The descendants of the ancient humans who survived that apocalypse and those who came out of the tower were thrown into a new world, and that is this world.”

“What happened next?”

“For a while, it was chaos itself, they say. Because it wasn’t just the ancestors who popped out when the Primordial Tower collapsed. Monsters came along too.”

Sitting down and taking a sip of the tea brought by the maid, he told me interesting stories as I listened attentively, my long pointed ears twitching.

The monsters he mentioned were the demons from the tower. Calamities that would crawl out into reality and end the world if not defeated. It was clearly them.

In the end… we didn’t completely conquer the tower. While I was in the tutorial, the rapidly passing time changed everything.

Should I be grateful that those who barely survived the complete destruction are now building a new civilization?

“After that period of chaos ended and the world finally started to find stability, it went through cycles of development and destruction. This is all the history I know. I’m not that well-educated myself.”

“You seem to know a lot for a back-alley boss? Now, tell me if you know anything about what I’m going to say.”

I smirked and bombarded him with questions in return. Most of what I explained was about all aspects of Earth civilization that I had been enjoying until just a few months ago, by my perception.

Internet, cars, huge skyscrapers, asphalt, South Korea where I lived, America which was the strongest country, its history, how we lived and how we resisted the tower, everything.

“According to myths, ancient humans built huge castles that reached the sky and flew in the sky on giant ships… Wait, what you’re saying now, could it be…!”

His eyes widened as he listened to my story, racking his brains. Come to think of it, most of the records and history from before the tower’s collapse, that is, 10,000 years ago, have disappeared and are called myths. The information that had changed, twisted, and been added to over 10,000 years sounded like real myths even to me.

So from his perspective, he’s now hearing about unconfirmed ancient myths directly from the person involved.

‘To think I’ve become a 10,000-year-old monster.’

While he now looked at me with fearful eyes, unable to control his trembling gaze, I felt bitter. It seems that changing into this seemingly significant appearance has accelerated the misunderstanding.

If I had the face of an ordinary human man, would he be this scared?

But although I look like this on the outside, right now I’m just a novice climber who had just finished the tutorial and was about to go up to the second floor. The 10,000-year-old monster elf he’s thinking of is far from reality.

Moreover, I’m now on the second floor of a building, separated from the ground. My combat power without contact with the ground is terrible, but he doesn’t know that fact.

“There are many scholars in this city who study the Forbidden Area. They’re obsessed not only with the Forbidden Area but also with artifacts and history from myths. They could provide everything you want. I don’t know what you want… I’m just a branch manager of an organization.”

Moreover, after learning my identity, he seemed extremely burdened and tried to drive me out while watching my reactions.

But from my perspective, it was a matter to be cautious about. He considers me a 10,000-year-old lump of calamity, but in reality, I’m still just a weak novice.

I don’t know how strong the people of this world are, but there are certainly those stronger than me. I can’t guarantee what will happen if I run into such people.

Of course, my potential is still there. If I could immediately commune with the spirits that are abundant in this world and make them my allies, no one would dare touch me.

‘I need time.’

But it would take time and effort to gain such power. Before that, if something bad happens because I draw attention as a 10,000-year-old or whatever, I’ll be the only one to lose out.

“You, what’s your name?”

Considering these things, after a brief deliberation, I asked him first.

My purpose regarding what to do specifically is still floating in a void, but at least I didn’t want to leave my fate in someone else’s hands.

“Eh, it’s Ethan. But why…”

“Alright, Ethan. Call me whatever you like. Judging by the scantily clad maids you have, it seems you have some money. How about doing some business with me?”

He might be an executive of a low-grade criminal organization, but that’s not my concern. At least his abilities seemed useful, so I planned to cooperate with him since we’ve formed this connection.

‘To think I’d be saying such things.’

Even I was surprised by my changed personality and behavior. It’s proof of how critical the situation I’m in is.

The handful of my past self that remains has now disappeared into the myth along with the collapsed tower.

Regardless of my will, I now had to live as a completely different being.