Ken slowly opened his eyes to the sound of leaves rustling overhead. A wooden cage surrounded him, suspended high among the branches of an enormous tree. His head throbbed lightly.
Right in front of him, Alya was quietly chanting, a soft green glow enveloping her hands as she healed him.
Ken blinked. "Where… are we?"
Alya tilted her head, wearing a confused expression—but her eyes sparkled with excitement. "I don't really know, but I do know one thing! We were totally captured by elves!"
Ken made a face. "You called me weird before, but I think you're the weird one here... For now, let's just focus on escaping."
Before Alya could reply, a glowing blue screen materialized before them.
> (SYSTEM)
■ You have successfully survived and landed on the Unknown Continent.
■ Out of 700,000,000 people summoned, only half have survived.
■ Reward granted: Random Spell Scroll (Rare).
Their excitement vanished, leaving only silence.
Half... survived? Ken clenched his fists.
Suddenly, soft footsteps approached. An elderly elf, dignified with long silver hair, appeared, accompanied by two adult elves.
The elder spoke calmly. "My name is Kora Wren. I am the one who governs this village. You were captured because you were trespassing on our village's beach."
Ken frowned in disbelief. "Trespassing? You've got it wrong! We were summoned by a wicked emperor and thrown here to die. everyone from our boat is dead—we're the only survivors."
The elves exchanged skeptical looks.
"Can you use magic?" one of them asked.
Ken responded cautiously, still not fully trusting them. "I can't... but my friend can."
Elder Kora whispered to a young elf girl beside him, who quickly brought a glowing orb.
"This is a Mana Ball," Kora explained. "If you want our trust, place your hand on it and answer truthfully."
Alya gently placed her hand on the orb.
"Is what the young man said true?"
"Yes," Alya replied firmly.
The orb glowed green.
"Do you both possess any harmful intentions toward this village?"
"No."
Green again.
Elder Kora suddenly burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha! Very well!"
The two adult elves opened the cage with warm smiles.
Ken blinked in confusion. "You're... letting us out?"
"Why wouldn't we?" Kora said kindly. "You mean no harm. Besides, humans are quite rare here."
Before Ken could ask more, an elf lady and another elf gently pulled him and Alya away toward a nearby treehouse.
After some time, they emerged wearing new clothing made of woven leaves and natural fibers, blending beautifully with the forest.
"Welcome to Tresa Village," one of the elves said proudly.
Ken tried to walk back to ask Elder Kora more questions—but a cheerful boy elf around his age suddenly grabbed his arm.
Meanwhile, Alya was immediately swarmed by curious elf girls asking endless questions. She didn't seem to mind—in fact, she smiled happily while answering them all.
The boy introduced himself with a grin. "I'm Theron Wren, Elder Kora's grandson. Come on, let's talk."
After a short walk, they arrived at a cozy outdoor bar made of carved wood. They sat down, and Theron called out cheerfully, "Two drinks, please!"
Ken panicked. "W-Wait! I'm fine, no need!"
Theron looked curious. "What? Do humans not drink?"
Ken chuckled awkwardly. "No, we do. But you have to be at least twenty to drink beer."
"Oh right," Theron nodded. "I remember a human saying the same thing about a hundred years ago. Can't recall his name though."
Ken blinked. "A hundred years ago...? How old are you?"
Theron rubbed the back of his head casually. "Oops, forgot to introduce myself properly. I'm Theron Wren, and I'm about one hundred and sixteen years old."
"ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN?!" Ken nearly fell off his seat.
Theron laughed. "Yeah, elves live long. Sadly, humans only reach a hundred at best. Anyway, what's your name?"
"O-Oh, right." Ken scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Ken. Ken Carter."
Just then, their drinks arrived.
The bartender placed two wooden cups on the table. "Here's your order."
Theron grinned. "By the way, it's not beer. It's soda—you can drink it."
Ken froze. "How do you even know what soda is...?"
Theron rested his chin on his hand. "That human I mentioned earlier taught us. He arrived here the same way you did—by boat—and was jailed for trespassing. But when our village was attacked by dangerous creatures, he saved us. We called him our hero. He taught us many things, like how to make soda from fruit, and others cool stuff."
Ken listened intently.
"It's been a hundred years," Theron sighed. "We almost forgot his face... and even his name. But we built a statue for him in the center of the village."
Ken recalled the stone statue he saw earlier. "We saw it while we were in the cage… That was him?"
Theron nodded. "Yep."
They continued chatting, exchanging stories with growing comfort.
That night, Theron invited Ken and Alya to stay with his family. They met his parents and two sisters—one older, one younger. The younger sister's eyes sparkled with amazement at seeing humans for the first time and bombarded them with questions until Elder Kora gently ordered her to sleep.
Later, over dinner, Ken asked seriously, "Has a human like us really come here before?"
Elder Kora nodded. "Yes. Around a hundred years ago. He arrived by boat, was jailed for trespassing, and said the same story as you."
"What about that huge barrier surrounding the continent?" Ken continued.
"That barrier was created by the First Hero a thousand years ago to imprison the Unknown Creatures inside," Kora explained.
Ken leaned forward. "We were told there are ten danger zones in the Unknown Continent."
"That is true," the elder confirmed. "But currently, you are in Danger Zero. Most Unknown Creatures are trapped inside the barrier and cannot escape."
Ken hesitated. "Then what about the creatures from the sea? Are they Unknown Creatures too?"
"No," Kora shook his head. "They are a natural race born on this planet."
"Then why did they attack us?"
"Because they made a promise with the First Hero to prevent humans from entering the Unknown Continent," the elder replied even more "But humans blinded by greed still summoned heroes to claim the God Fragments and become gods themselves. At first, they summoned one or two. After five hundred years, they summoned millions, trained them like soldiers, and sent them to their doom."
Ken was stunned. "Then why did the Unknown Creatures appear?"
"No one knows," Kora said quietly.
"And how did the First Hero trap them all?"
"That is also unknown. We know nothing about how or why he did it. But we are grateful."
Ken asked one last question. "Why did humans flee to other continents?"
"When the war broke out a thousand years ago, only the Hero stood with other races to fight. Humanity lost hope and abandoned their homeland, scattering across other continents."
And than dinner ended. Ken and Alya shared a room with two beds.
Alya sighed softly. "That First Hero… he was the real hero. He fought to the very end, even when his race abandoned him."
Ken smiled faintly. "I wonder if people like him still exist. If they do... I hope we can meet one someday."
Alya frowned and threw a pillow at him. "Idiot! Are you saying people who fight until the end don't exist anymore?! What about me?! I've always fought for your sake!"
Ken laughed. "Yeah, yeah. You're one of them."
Alya crossed her arms. "Still… someone like him must have been lonely. Protecting everyone by himself…"
Ken stared at the ceiling. "And in the end, he probably died... and his own race didn't even grieve. They just left him to die alone."
Their quiet conversation was suddenly interrupted as a chilling blue screen appeared.
(SYSTEM)
▸ Next Quest Starting from tomorrow
▸ Objective: Kill at least one Unknown Creature
▸ Time Limit: 24 Hours
▸ Failure: Penalty
Both of them froze in horror.
Their peaceful night had ended.