I Made a Game Featuring Constellations

Chapter 61

Months since being kidnapped into this dark and gloomy underground.

The Dark Elf boy, Gaizerus, was, as usual, being beaten by the leader of the Dark Elf group, Baraklava, under the guise of training.

“Why...! Until when...!”

Though he was being overwhelmingly pushed back by the captain’s attacks, the boy still managed to land a few sharp counterattacks in between.

“I’m just supposed to be receiving training!”

Clang!

Because of that, even the captain couldn’t continue the sparring with ease.

“...Do you want to take the test?”

“Yeah. I’m sick of this training.”

The boy gripped a wooden training stick.

As he concentrated, a clear magic power rose up the stick.

It was unmistakable—the symbol of a swordsman, the blade energy.

Seeing this, the captain briefly closed her eyes.

‘A boy who didn’t even know how to hold a sword is now wielding blade energy at the expert level in just over 100 days.’

Compared to when he was first dragged into this underground place, his growth was almost unbelievable.

‘No matter how much Elves are blessed with magic, their long lifespan only slows their growth, making their speed of progress even lag behind that of humans. But this boy is different.’

Even the genius swordsmen praised in human lands couldn’t grow this fast.

Not even the unofficial strongest of Darkhood, her.

‘Perhaps this boy... really is.’

The captain opened her eyes again and extended the stick forward.

“Do you think you’re ready for the test?”

“Of course.”

Magic flowed from her hand, covering the stick in a sword-like form.

“Then try cutting this.”

The boy, who had been examining her face for a moment, lifted the magically-imbued stick and swung it with all his might.

Crack!

“What!?”

However, the boy’s stick was sliced cleanly from the opposite direction.

The boy’s face turned pale in shock.

“Not yet.”

‘I’m sorry, but you’ll need to be taught more until you can cut through this level of sword energy.’

The situation on the surface had turned for the worse due to betrayal.

Even though he tried to assassinate the betrayers, he ended up being outwitted, leaving no hope for them.

If things continued like this, not only would the clan’s salvation be impossible, but they could all be wiped out. Probably within a few years, an army would invade this place.

While waiting, the boy, whom they thought of as a mere diversion, ended up becoming the future of the clan.

‘Until you surpass me. Until then, you can’t.’

At that moment, she decided that, no matter what, she would make the boy the new Dark Elf king.

Bang!

“Captain! This is bad, it’s really bad!”

A Baraklava member slammed the door open and rushed in.

“You’re breaking the door! We’re already short on repair materials.”@@@@

“Oh, sorry. I’ll take responsibility and fix it... no! This is not the time for that!”

“What’s going on?”

“The White guys have invaded with an army!”

“...What?”

A chill ran down the captain’s spine.

Her head felt hot.

This couldn’t be true.

There’s no way those self-righteous, pretentious White guys could act this quickly.

They take years to mobilize their armies!

The captain scanned the surroundings.

If the invasion from the White side was real, there was no time to waste.

“Kid. You wanted to take the test, right?”

“...Huh?”

“You probably didn’t think I could move my army so quickly, did you? Always move unpredictably. I haven’t forgotten.”

“You...”

“The captain, who told me that, didn’t just sit around doing nothing, waiting underground. You can tell by the state of the weapons and defenses now. You’ve violated the captain’s principles: ‘If you’re going to do something, do it without leaving any openings, and if you’re not sure, don’t gamble.’ ...Wait a second.”

The captain’s expression stiffened slightly.

“Ah... I see. A Shadow Elf.”

Crash!

The captain swiftly rushed forward and swung her sword, but Arcilla’s blade easily blocked it.

“...Tch!”

“Have you already forgotten, Captain? You told me, ‘If you’re not sure, don’t gamble.’ You said that to me.”

The captain’s sword was sharp, but it couldn’t break through Arcilla’s defense.

“When you were teaching me, you told me that half-breeds, born from different bloodlines, are more superior and stronger than pure-bloods.”

Arcilla’s sword strike grew in size.

“Trivial High Elves, far inferior to Dark Elves.”

Crash!

Arcilla pushed forward with her sword, and the captain leaped back, retreating.

“Scum like you can’t defeat me.”

“...Tch.”

At the captain’s signal, all the Baraklava members formed a line and charged toward Arcilla.

“Scum like you are nothing but my prey.”

Crack!

***

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Grandma!”

“So, before it was revealed that Shadow Elves were actually male, there was a child whom we mistook for a Shadow Elf. That child’s name was Arcilla. She was the illegitimate child of the pure-blooded High Elf Atrie family, a hybrid of High Elf and Dark Elf.”

“Are you saying that child was my executioner?”

“She’s at the top of the Senate now, but yes.”

“...No way. I thought the story about Arcilla Atrie being a Dark Elf hybrid or of lowly origin was just a tale created by her political enemies to attack her. Is it really true?”

“Anyone who knew the truth about her probably died under mysterious circumstances, likely at Arcilla’s hand. She’s from here, so she’s thorough about cleaning up her own messes.”

“No, I don’t get it. You said we were kidnapped to collaborate with Arcilla to improve the treatment of Dark Elves. Arcilla returned to the Atrie family with Baraklava’s help and even succeeded in taking control. So why is Arcilla trying to kill us now?”

“That’s... damn it! She’s here! Quickly, get inside!”

The Dark Elf old woman shoved the two Elf children into a hole in the wall.

“Stay quiet inside. If she sees you, she’ll kill you. Understand? Stay silent.”

The old woman hurriedly sealed the hole with magic and turned around.

Boom!

With a loud crash, the wall collapsed.

“Ah! Grandma! Long time no see!”

Arcilla, with her jet-black skin, smiled brightly and waved her hand.

“Good to see you, you damn traitor.”

The old woman straightened her staff, which she carried around with her.

“I came to find a Shadow Elf... and I won’t speak sweetly about it.”

“Our conversations are much easier this way, aren’t they?”

Thud

The old woman slammed her staff into the ground, creating a heavy vibration.

“Did everyone forget my personality?”

Arcilla, who had been twirling her sword, grinned.

“Earlier, those idiots tried to challenge me, but they were nothing.”

Boom!

In the next moment, her sword was stopped right in front of the old woman’s face.

“...Grandma, you’re still the same, huh?”

A hardened barrier blocked the old woman’s path.

Arcilla’s sword was embedded in it.

Being old means surviving.

Surviving means being strong.

Hum, hum, hum

The old woman’s magic surged, and dozens of magical circles appeared behind her.

“Ugh, I really don’t have time for this!”

Electricity, fire, ice, wind, water—

Dozens of elemental streams shot toward Arcilla.

Boom, boom, boom!