Elves—a race famous for their beauty and elegance.
Regardless of age or gender, they possess appearances and physiques that the vast majority of intelligent races would consider extraordinarily attractive.
Why say "the vast majority"?
Because there will always be intelligent beings like pure-blood orcs who adore massive muscles, or people like Roger who prefer dragons. Unless you brainwash them with magic, there's simply no fixing their personal taste settings.
As for where the beauty of the elves comes from, all current evidence points to one thing:
They are favored by the Goddess of Beauty.
Because of that blessing, the goddess gathered impressions of "beauty" from creatures across the entire continent. After compiling them, she selected the most common traits—the ones that best matched the aesthetic preferences of intelligent beings.
Then she molded those traits together, shaping the race that became the elves of today.
That was why their appearance aligned so well with the aesthetic tastes of most people.
Naturally, an old and highly experienced mage once raised a question about this.
"If we could change the majority's perception of beauty, would it be possible to manipulate the appearance of elves?"
"For example… if most people came to believe that tentacle monsters were beautiful, would elves eventually transform into—"
The research proposal never even made it to the Magic Association's conference table.
Not long after asking that question, the mage was reported to have "committed suicide by shooting himself in the back with an arrow."
At the same time, the elves—together with several other races from the Forest of Elves—held a large-scale military exercise.
They even brought out the Forest Guardian Deity for a public stroll.
After that incident, research into manipulating elven appearances died before it ever began.
No one mentioned it again.
To this day, people still couldn't figure out whose aesthetic preference had produced the common elven traits:
Green hair.
Pointed ears.
Bust size never exceeding a C-cup.
Slender bodies that looked like they would snap if you bumped into them.
Plenty of people preferred fuller figures.
So why couldn't elves all be F-cup beauties?
One day, surely everyone would come to appreciate ambitious chests.
"Look! Those elves are the ones who caused this mess!"
Following the direction of the crowd's gaze, several graceful figures stepped out from the shadow cast by the notice board and appeared before everyone.
Seeing a single elf wasn't unusual.
But seeing this many at once was rare.
Combined with their striking good looks, everyone craned their necks for a better view.
And once they saw them clearly—
It was like a buffet of personal preferences.
No matter what someone's taste was, there was definitely an elf who matched it.
At the very front stood an elf auntie who radiated the mature charm of a perfectly ripened peach.
Next to her was an older-sister type elf with a wicked smile and a sharp expression, like a teasing female brat.
There was also a deadpan younger elf girl with thick glasses, hugging a stack of books.
Beside her stood a cool elf guy with the lower half of his face hidden behind a mask, striking a dramatic pose with his arms folded.
Behind them were many more handsome men and beautiful women, each with their own distinct appearance.
Altogether, there were more than twenty of them.
"Wow! They look incredible!"
Some people shouted excitedly, hearts practically appearing in their eyes.
These elves seemed to carry a permanent low-level charm spell.
If they matched someone's taste, a single glance was enough to make that person instantly like them.
The elf auntie at the front seemed to be their leader.
She smiled gently and slowly waved to the crowd, like a queen acknowledging her people.
Every movement she made felt warm and refreshing.
Simply looking at her beauty felt like it extended your lifespan.
Meanwhile, the flowers growing from the cracks in the pavement had already grown taller than people.
Petals drifted through the air like snow.
The spectacle was beautiful, and the fragrance filling the plaza was intoxicating.
They even had special effects during their entrance.
"What the heck? These elves are so pretentious."
On the stage, Luluwo gritted her teeth.
All the attention she had gathered earlier had been stolen. Even the people buying her guidebooks had run off to stare at the elves instead.
When she turned around and saw her own teammates staring too, she puffed up her cheeks angrily like a tiny pufferfish.
The elves had instantly captured everyone's attention.
Although no one here had ever met them before, the atmosphere felt like fans greeting famous celebrities.
Their appearance and entrance effects were simply too powerful.
"Hey! Were you the ones who made this mess in the plaza?!"
A loud elderly voice suddenly rang out.
The elf auntie turned toward the source.
The speaker was a spirited old woman wearing a rainbow armband—the symbol of Bedford City's sanitation supervisor.
The elf auntie smiled politely and slowly opened her alluring red lips.
But before she could say anything—
"Smile, smile, smile—what are you smiling at, you big-headed goblin?!"
The old lady's blunt remark cut her off mid-sentence.
The elf froze in shock.
"What's with that look? Don't understand what's going on? Country bumpkins from the forest—you don't even know the rules."
The cool elf guy showed a flicker of anger.
But the old lady continued scolding while writing out a fine ticket, which she slapped directly onto his forehead.
"Go pay the fine within two days, you ignorant bumpkin! I just finished cleaning this plaza!"
Then she walked away with her hands clasped behind her back.
Only when she started sweeping the fallen petals did the elves finally recover.
Old humans possessed a strange kind of power.
Once they started nagging, people simply lost the will to argue.
The cool elf guy stared at the fine ticket stuck to his forehead and turned to the elf auntie.
She glanced at the flowers covering the ground, then at the old woman cleaning alone.
After a soft sigh, she spoke in a calm, intellectual tone.
"Let's help."
Soon, an unusual scene appeared in the plaza.
The elves—who had made such a dramatic entrance earlier—were now each holding a broom and cleaning the plaza.
Occasionally they were still scolded by the seemingly ordinary old lady.
Someone overheard the cool elf guy complaining.
"Which idiot used high-level plant growth magic? Cleaning this is such a pain. Did a tentacle monster suck his brain out?"
Hearing that, the expressionless elf girl quietly looked away.
Then she subtly pointed at the ground beneath him.
Instantly, exploding sound fruits sprouted under his feet and began popping loudly.
He screamed in a voice that sounded more like a young girl's shriek.
Meanwhile, the teasing elf sister disappeared after sweeping the street a few times.
No one knew where she went.
But Wade saw clearly.
That elf looked familiar.
After thinking for a moment, he remembered.
She was Stella's older sister—Melga.
She pretended to sweep for a bit, then slipped into the nearest tavern and began drinking happily like someone who had been deprived for ages.
"So that's where she's been… back to her hometown?"
Melga had once been part of an elite team with Leon and the Holy Light Knight, yet she was the only one who hadn't received the dungeon-clear reward.
That level of bad luck made her unforgettable.
She also held the record for the most ridiculous death in Sein Dungeon.
She had been knocked out of the air by a Crystal Lizard and crashed to her death.
The record still stood today—mostly because crystal lizards no longer existed on the map.
Back when she interacted with Stella, Wade had already suspected she was a bit strange.
Now it seemed the entire group of elves she brought back was just as strange.
Look at them—
The elves who had been sweeping earlier had now started eating buffet-style.
And the food?
The flowers and plants on the ground they were supposed to clean up.
If you eat all the "trash," then there's nothing left to clean.
What powerful logic.
But how could they calmly eat like that in front of so many people?
Was their mental endurance really that strong?
"Come to think of it… books say elves prefer vegetarian diets."
But Wade clearly remembered Stella devouring meat enthusiastically every time she visited the Gourmet Zone, always leaving with a stuffed stomach.
Looking at it that way…
Stella was also a weirdo.
Did the elf race specialize in producing strange people?
Maybe the elf auntie was the only normal one.
Wade turned to look.
She had gathered plant leaves and branches from the ground—
Then stuffed them under her long floor-length skirt.
Her face showed an expression of bliss.
"So delicious~"
"…."
Regardless of why she was doing that, one thing was clear:
Her brain was a little strange too.
"Now I'm curious what kind of chaos they'll cause in my dungeon."
If every one of these elves thought outside the box, maybe they would discover unusual ways to clear the dungeon.
As the designer, Wade found that very interesting.
The elves' little episode soon ended.
After cleaning the plaza, they wandered off instead of staying.
Wade didn't follow.
He was worried he'd look like a stalker.
Meanwhile, the Skyrim Team kept selling their guidebooks—batch after batch, each time claiming it was the "last stock."
Thanks to their efforts, the two new areas—
Raya Lucaria Magic Classroom
Liurnia of the Lakes—
quickly entered public awareness.
Without Luluwo's promotion, it might have taken several days for the news to spread.
Soon, "Raya Lucaria" became the most talked-about term in town.
Discussions about the Apprentice Hat and magic skyrocketed.
People quickly acted on the information and rushed to the Sein Dungeon to test it for themselves.
Statistics showed that:
76% of people died to the random hidden door traps in the classroom area.
24% avoided the traps, but most of them lost their first death to the puppet soldiers' insane combo attacks.
Those who survived both the traps and the combos eventually found the Transfer Certificate, allowing them to reach the true classroom area and encounter the Apprentice Hat.
A tiny number of them successfully learned magic.
After learning that magic could be permanently trained in Liurnia, they eagerly went searching for the seal.
Then they promptly lost their first death to Carian Knight Moongrum.
Even ordinary Carian Knights were formidable opponents for most adventurers.
Within two days, only a handful managed to reach the lake.
So the Skyrim Team launched a carry service, helping others progress through the area as assistants.
Occasionally, however, they still failed due to invaders.
Some adventurers couldn't pass the seal at all.
So they turned their attention to the portal at Val City.
From there, they could also enter the lake region.
But the surrounding environment was dangerous, and the round trip was extremely long.
Two days had passed since Luluwo revealed the information.
Most adventurers were still experimenting and dying inside the dungeon.
Those heading to Val City were still only halfway there.
Many secrets of the Val Dungeon were still waiting to be discovered.
What most people didn't realize was this:
Liurnia of the Lakes was enormous.
This new region alone contained as much content as several regions of Sein Dungeon combined.
It would accompany adventurers for a very long time—perhaps even influence their entire lives.
And just as the hype was about to explode—
Gapar's group finally returned.
"I finished it! After staying up all night, I've finally compiled the information about Liurnia!"
Roger clutched a thick manuscript while riding his horse.
Despite the dark circles under his eyes, he looked incredibly excited.
"This time—"
"I'll be the first!"