In the southern region of the continent lies the Hawol Plains.

It has once been referred to as the 'Land of Milk and Honey'.

It was understandable because the Hawol Plain had seven major rivers running through it, as well as various rare plants, animals, and minerals being located here.

However, captivated by the brilliance of the scenery, a traveler passing by once said, "Anyone who looks at this vast and undulating grassland, would yearn for freedom. Even if they were already free.”

The land of freedom, Hawol Plain.

In the central part of the plain, there was a peculiarly tall green stem, and at its top bloomed a giant pink water lily.

On that water lily, there was a beautiful guest cup called 'Water Lily Goblet,' and today, a very special guest had come to visit.

Jeliel, the illegitimate daughter of Melian, the chairman of Starcloud.

Although her father was an ordinary elf, Jeliel had inherited a great amount of energy of the World Tree, and became a 'High Elf' at a young age.

However, she wanted to explore the world with her father and left the World Tree to venture into the world. Now, she gazed at the azure meadow that seemed to unfold endlessly with an expressionless face.

There were people who burst into tears upon seeing this scenery, and people who were so captivated by the breathtaking beauty that they couldn't leave this place forever.

A certain painter said that he drew this landscape until he went blind and passed away.

However, none of that beauty entered Jeliel’s eyes.

In her world, everything was perceived by its ‘value’.

[Value of All Things]

Jeliel had a unique ability to see everything, whether it be humans, animals, or material objects, in terms of numbers.

The least valuable was 0.

The most valuable was 100.

"I see the value of this land is rising...."

Instead of appreciating the beauty of Hawol Plain, Jeliel focused on its value and smiled slightly. She had invested heavily there, and it would soon become a fertile land, yielding abundant profits.

"Um, Miss Jeliel..."

As she absentmindedly admired the Hawol Plain, a man who had been kneeling behind her cautiously spoke up.

"Who dared to call my name so casually?"

Slam!

Upon her sharp rebuke, her bodyguard ruthlessly stomped on the man's head.

"Gah...!"

Jeliel sighed and turned around to sit down. The pitiful figure of the man, with tears, snot, and blood mixed on his face, was truly pathetic, and the number '3' floating above his head was even more pitiful.

A value similar to the cobblestones on the street.

"P-Please... Have mercy, just once..."

"Why did you have to go bankrupt? If you had just continued with what you were doing obediently, none of this would've happened. I warned you not to engage in unnecessary ventures..."

The man bit his lips with force and slammed his head down.

Her words were wrong. This venture was undoubtedly a “successful” one. In fact, it was on the verge of success, but that woman ruined it.

The reason? It was obvious. It would bring in more money this way.

By completely destroying and ruining the man's business, the plummeting value of the byproduct seemed more valuable in Jeliel’s eyes.

However, there was no evidence. No evidence that Jeliel was involved. It was obvious to everyone that she was behind it, but that cunning woman never left any traces.

So the man had no choice but to beg for his life. That woman had the power to make anything in this world come true as she wished.

"Do you want to live?"

Nod, nod, nod! The man vigorously nodded his head up and down, and Jeliel chuckled.

There was no reason to spare him.

Nevertheless, she wanted to pass the time with some entertaining content.

"Oh, right. Didn't you say you know how to play Soul Chess, Ahjussi?"

Why ask that all of a sudden?

Despite his doubt, the man hastily nodded his head.

"Alright. Would you like to play a game of 'Soul Chess' with me? If you win... I'll grant you any wish you desire."

".......!"

Soul Chess, known as the intellectual sport of mages, begins by selecting 20 out of over 200 different ‘chess pieces’ and placing them on the chessboard.

Each piece possessed unique abilities, such as 'Igniting flames three spaces ahead and resting for five turns' or 'Protecting allied pieces for two turns'. The goal was to strategically combine these abilities to capture the opponent's 'King' and claim victory.

Seems complicated? You understood it correctly. In fact, Soul Chess was dozens of times more challenging than regular chess, making it highly difficult for beginners to grasp.

Besides, Jeliel was a "Grandmaster" ranked professional Soul Chess player.

"Ah."

In other words, it aligned perfectly with the statement that she had no intention of sparing his life.

However, unwilling to give up hope, the man reluctantly stood up and sat in front of Jeliel. And thus, the game of Soul Chess began... and ended in a flash.

He never stood a chance from the start.

"... How boring."

‘Even in Soul Chess, he proved to have no value.’

{TN:- Wordplay: could also mean he has got no (interesting) moves. There’s a lot of chess related wordplay since Jeliel seems to talk exclusively in chess terms. I am trying my best to not miss tones and wordplay, but sometimes, they don't go too well in english.}

"Go ahead and ask."

"I understand."

Jeliel’s bodyguard, Seong Taewon, nodded slightly and covered the man's mouth as he left the room. He did so to prevent the person from making any more noise or causing a scene, as the lady disliked it.

"Mmph! Mmmph! Mmphh!!"

As expected, the person struggled and thrashed, but he couldn't resist against Seong Taewon's strength.

"Sigh, it would’ve been more fun to just let him be."

There was no one left who could be her opponent in Soul Chess. She had never achieved victory against the Archmage Doaron Carcest, but she was confident that there was no one else she couldn't defeat.

Therefore, she grew impatient.

The sole purpose of Jeliel learning Soul Chess was because of the ancient Carmen Seth's ruins.

'The one who defeats Carmen Set with Soul Chess, shall be bestowed with eternal light.'

{TN:- Could be a possible reference to the Carmen Sandiego video game series.}

Only a few people in the world knew that this ancient myth, considered a mere legend by others, actually held the 'truth.'

Now that her skills were sufficient, all she had to do was win against Carmen Seth in Soul Chess. But, where on earth was that ruin located?

Her frustration was growing, but she held it in, knowing that rushing wouldn’t lead to the ruin’s discovery.

"Miss, I have taken care of it."

"Good. Well done."

After flicking through the pile of documents related to the man and setting them ablaze before throwing them into the trash, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

“It's Dad.”

"Ah..."

A rare smile appeared on her face.

"Please come in."

As the door opened, the first thing that caught her attention was not a number, but a '?' symbol.

It was Melian's value.

Jeliel had the ability to recognize the value of everything in the world, except in two cases.

When the subject was someone she loved.

When the subject possessed an unknown value beyond her analytical capabilities.

However, there was no existence in this world with an unknown value. Moreover, since the only person Jeliel loved was her father, there would be nothing she couldn't measure the value of.

"Have you been well?"

"My adorable daughter, you must have had a good time while I was away. Shall we go home?"

"Yes, I'm tired of this place now."

"Haha, it never gets boring for me, even if I see it every day."

That was because... her father still had 'emotions.' And Hawol Plains was such a beautiful place.

Jeliel hurriedly said, "Me neither. I’m not bored of it either."

It was to prevent her father from knowing that her heart had grown cold.

Melian smiled kindly and stroked Jeliel’s head.

"Oh, by the way, did the deal go well this time?"

"In a way yes, but also not."

"What do you mean?"

Melian took out a piece of paper from the pocket of his coat. That was undoubtedly 'Alterisha'.

It was a Messenger Scroll that led to the alchemist named Alterisha.

[57]

‘A scroll that leads to a woman named Alterisha has a value comparable to mine. In that case, just how valuable is she?’

"As expected, my father has a good eye."

Jeliel touched the scroll as Melian spoke. "Oh, by the way, I should have given another scroll to that boy."

"That boy?"

"Yes. He was an interesting one, co-author of the Delta Augmentation Formula and a student of Stella Academy."

"... Is that so?"

Jeliel knew that there was a co-author for Delta Augmentation Formula, but she didn't expect him to still be a student.

"Apparently he’s a year younger than you. There are truly remarkable children in the world. We still have to watch and see, but his business skills were quite impressive for his age."

"What's his name?"

"Baek Yu-Seol, I believe. It might be good to remember it."

Among the names her father told her to remember, there hadn’t been an unimportant name so far, so Jeliel made a mental note of it.

"At the age of seventeen, he solved a problem that’s been unresolved for over 300 years…”

It was undoubtedly impressive, but it didn't pique her interest much. She didn’t know what her father saw in that boy, but he was probably a chess piece at best.

‘It would be nice if he could use him to generate some profit.’

With that thought in mind, she temporarily stored the name Baek Yu-Seol in a corner of her memory. Whether he knew her thoughts or not, Melian still had a strong interest in Baek Yu-Seol.

"I heard he’s a student of Stella Academy. Who knows? Maybe you might meet him someday."

Jeliel was attending the Elven magic academy, "Astral Flower Magic Academy."

Magic academies from various countries often had events such as student exchanges and academy competitions, so there was a chance they might meet each other in the future.

However, the name Baek Yu-Seol had long been pushed to the depths of her memory. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the time with her father.

"Father, would you like to play a game of Soul Chess before we go back?"

Today and tomorrow.

As long as she was with her father, she believed she could do anything.

Even if it meant falling into hell.