Kim Hajun’s face was often expressionless, but currently, there was a frown plastered on his lips as he interacted with the tower through the root bracelet on his wrist. Something was wrong. Missions that shouldn’t have been appearing until way later on were showing up now, over a decade in advance: destroying the dimensional monument, clearing a special formation, hunting for spies, those were all missions only assigned when the tower was at war with another tower.

Kim Hajun muttered to himself, “Did something happen?” Along with issuing missions, the tower also had a news section; of course, the quality of the information acquired depended on one’s subscription level. As a newbie with very few assets, Kim Hajun could only read one sponsored article, read advertisement, for free. Regardless, if a tower war was in motion, then some of his plans had to be set aside. War mission rewards were quite substantial, and some achievements could only be acquired through fighting other towers. The problem was there weren’t many opportunities for a first-floor newbie to participate.

Kim Hajun scratched his head. Man proposes, God disposes. Even if the plan he had meticulously laid out for the past two decades had to be scrapped, it didn’t matter. He still had valuable information, and besides, who was he? He was Kim Hajun. He was the one chosen by Keulonoseu because of how quickly and adeptly he had climbed the tower. At least, that was the official reason given, but Kim Hajun had sneaking suspicions Keulonoseu didn’t have enough power at that point to send anyone stronger back. Kim Hajun moved his wrist, and the connection formed between his mind and the tower was severed. His eyes narrowed. Since such a good opportunity had presented itself, he had to take advantage of it.

***

Vur sat on his haunches, watching as the elves packed their belongings. Not too far away, there was a portal with elves coming and going. There were boxes and cylinders, all made of gnarled wood, placed on the ground by the portal, and the elves were ferrying them out.

“As the winner, you can keep their belongings,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “In fact, if you wanted to, you could forcibly transfer these elves back to the tower, and ten percent of the rewards they receive from completing missions will be taken and given to you.”

“Too much work,” Vur said and swept his tail to the side. An elf that was approaching the gigantic tree behind Vur stopped in place. Vur snorted and thumped his tail against the ground, causing the elf to jump and scramble backwards. “The tree and fruits are mine.”

The elves in the surroundings glared at Vur, but their hands and feet didn’t stop moving as they packed their belongings. One elf was using magic to vacuum water out of a pond, transferring it into a cylinder, but a blue hand emerged from the pond’s surface and grabbed the leaving stream of water, yanking it back inside. A blue, head-sized rock floated to the top of the pond’s surface. “Leave the water behind too,” Mistle said, staring at the elf with her sapphire eyes.

“Don’t touch the plants in that garden either,” Stella said from her spot on Vur’s head. She was sitting with her legs crossed, and placed on her lap, there was a small coaster of grapes and small tomatoes. There was a slurping sound as she sucked the juices out of the tomato in her hand, but since she was so tiny, the sound was barely audible.

“Can I lay claim to the rocks and soil?” Diamant asked. “I don’t want the elves taking the rocks here away. They’re nice ones.”

“Then I want the trees and vines,” Zilphy said. “This place would really look less pleasing if all the trees and other greenery were taken away.”

“I agree,” Lindyss said. “As much as possible, they should leave it untouched while leaving.”

Vur nodded. “Personal belongings only,” he said as he slipped forward and fell into a comfier position with his stomach on the ground. “Leave everything else.”

Tafel scratched her head and looked around. The elves were glaring at her group while working, and the demon was a bit surprised at their efficiency considering they weren’t looking at their hands. Tafel looked to the side towards her companions. “None of you feel the tiniest bit guilty for what we’re doing?”

“What did you think was going to happen when you said you wanted a residence?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow. “There’s always going to be something living in a good, habitable place, and if you want to claim that place as your own, you’ll have to do some unsavory things. Wars are fought over territory all the time.”

“I felt bad for a tiny bit, but then I remembered they’re elves,” Erin said.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Lindyss asked, rolling her eyes up to look at Erin.

“You know,” Erin said, waving her hand. “They can grow plants and trees really quickly with magic. Since they live in trees, and their weapons and armors are practically made of trees, other than a plot of land with dirt, they don’t need much to live, right? Well, they might need some water too for growing fruits and vegetables, but they’ll be fine! Elves are resilient.”

“Still, it must not be a nice feeling to have your home taken away,” Tafel said, not shying away from the glares being sent in her direction.

“It’s the fate of the weak,” Gaegukja Yeol said, floating over to Tafel. “If they were strong enough, they wouldn’t have been targeted and lost their home. If they’re adaptable, they’ll recover from this and thrive, but if this little setback is enough to end their time in the tower, then it’s time for them to go.” The flaming woman patted Tafel’s shoulder. “Besides, they’re not the ones you should feel bad for. Elves are pretty high up on the food chain. They’ll wage war on someone else to take their lands as their own; it’s those inhabitants you should be sorry for. Elves are known for being ruthless.”