Only two years remain until the Fellowship of the Ring forms. Honestly, I considered leaving and coming back once during that time. A seventy-year span was incredibly long, after all. However, living among the unchanging elves and wizards, my own sense of time seemed to have warped, as if I had become a long-lived species myself.
'I've already lived for over two hundred years, so I have indeed lived longer than a normal human.'
Staying in the world of Lord of the Rings wasn't bad. I got to heal, I had a beautiful wife, and my understanding of magic had increased significantly. Furthermore, I had crafted various magical items, so I felt confident about heading to other worlds afterward.
Anyway, I spent those remaining two years checking if anything was needed for the Fellowship. During that time, Aragorn returned to the Dragon's Tower.
"I'm finally back..."
Aragorn looked as happy as if he had come to his own home. It wasn't exactly a wrong sentiment, considering he had spent most of his time wandering without a home; the Dragon's Tower was effectively his sanctuary and nest.
"I tracked him along the Great River Anduin and finally caught him in the Mountains of Mirkwood. If it had ended there, it would have been fine, but then I was told to take him to the Wood-elves living near the Lonely Mountain. It took eight years. If I had known it would take this long, I wouldn't have agreed to it."
Aragorn recounted his journey while eating.
"Whoa... you must have suffered a lot."
"There were times I almost died because of orcs."
"Did you have enough money?"
"Brother, you gave me plenty, and I did some village requests along the way, so I wasn't short on funds."
"That's good to hear."
"Anyway, I'm going to rest for a few days. I can't tell you how much I missed the baths in the Dragon's Tower and the meals you cook, Brother."
Aragorn spent a few days at the Dragon's Tower to relieve his fatigue. In truth, there was something Aragorn didn't know. Gollum, whom he had worked so hard to capture, would soon escape from Mirkwood due to an orc raid. I felt like Aragorn would be incredibly pissed if he found out.
'Sometimes ignorance is bliss.'
Since Aragorn planned to head to Rivendell after his rest, Arwen and I decided to go with him. Upon arrival, Aragorn shared many stories with Elrond. Since Elrond was like a father to him, they seemed to have much to catch up on after a long time.
Time passed, and two years flew by. It was finally time for the Fellowship of the Ring to be formed. The White Council was still active. So far, Saruman's behavior wasn't strange. Unlike the original story, he didn't seem to have fallen to corruption yet.
'Or... has he fallen already?'
Honestly, I wasn't sure what the criteria for corruption were, but seeing him neglect his duties and focus solely on magic research, Saruman might have already turned. He was certainly the type of person who couldn't escape once he became obsessed with something.
'People like Saruman really need to stay away from things like gambling or alcohol.'
Anyway, since Saruman hadn't defected to Sauron's side, I figured Gandalf and Aragorn would safely rescue Frodo and his companions. It was a relief that he wasn't bothering me with surveillance or by sending people my way.
'I guess I just have to wait.'
I continued my sweet life with Arwen as usual.
A few days later, someone urgently knocked on the door of the Dragon's Tower. Arwen hurried out to open it. The late-night guests were Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, and the hobbits: Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Unlike the original, Saruman was with them, likely because Gandalf had requested his help.
I knew why they had come but feigned ignorance.
"What brings you here so late at night?"
When I asked, they let out sighs of relief before answering.
"Phew... As expected, the Nazgûl dare not come anywhere near this place."
"Nazgûl? Did you have another run-in with Sauron?"
When I asked again, Gandalf replied.
"Yes, it is a very serious matter this time."
Gandalf spoke truthfully about the investigation into the One Ring and everything that had transpired. Seeing him speak so openly suggested he was looking for help.
"Hmm... May I see that ring? I'm curious to see what kind of ring has everyone in such an uproar."
Hearing this, Gandalf quickly tried to stop me.
"You mustn't! Even you might fall to its corruption."
"I won't succumb to corruption."
Then Saruman joined in to dissuade me.
"Even I found it difficult to resist its temptation. It's better if you simply don't look at it."
"Fine, fine... I get it."
In fact, I had already checked the contents of Frodo's pocket with my [Naked Eye]. Its stats were indeed insane. But the penalties were just as severe.
[(SSS) One Ring]
Rules over the other Rings of Power.
S-grade or lower abilities can be used as if they were one grade higher.
Grants the ability to see the Unseen World and enter it.
Penalty: Weakening of the body and mind due to forced life extension, temptation, Sauron's will.
'So that's why it gives even more power if a strong individual wears it. I do want it.'
From one perspective, it might seem like it only increases S-grade or lower abilities by one grade, but if someone has many S-grade or lower abilities like I do, the story is different. It's definitely an item with tempting performance.
That didn't mean I was excessively obsessed with it. I desired its performance, but it couldn't tempt me beyond that.
"You all seem to have come in a hurry, let's eat first."
"Yes, now that the tension has eased, I am quite hungry."
Arwen and I prepared a meal for them. They must have been starving because they ate ravenously.
"Are you really a dragon?"
Pippin, who had been glancing at me while eating, finally asked.
"Yes, I'm the master of this place."
"Wow! So you're Arcadi-Jin! I can't believe I'm meeting the protagonist of my favorite song. Nice to meet you!"
Pippin apparently enjoyed singing my song.
"Y-yeah..."
"Would you like me to sing it for you?"
"I'll listen some other time. Everyone's in the middle of eating, and matters seem urgent."
I hurriedly stopped Pippin. To be honest, I was a bit flustered because he was trying to bring up memories I had worked hard to erase. As I struggled, Arwen was beside me, laughing as if she found the whole thing delightful.
After everyone finished eating, they discussed their future plans. I served them dessert and tea. Gandalf was the first to offer an opinion.
"First, how about we head to Rivendell to seek support and consult with the other races?"
Saruman then spoke up.
"Hmm... then everyone will know about the One Ring. Are you sure that's wise?"
"I believe it's better that way. That way, we can collectively monitor the One Ring and prevent individual greed."
"As you say, that might be better. Then let's head to Rivendell first."
While they were deliberating, I contemplated what to do with the ring. Honestly, with my power, I felt I could destroy it. But doing that would ruin the fun of the original story, and it felt like wasting a perfectly good item, so I thought of another method: a [Penalty Removal Coupon].
'If the penalty disappears with the coupon, then Sauron's will also disappears... does that mean Sauron dies? I wonder...'
When the One Ring was forged, Sauron poured so much of his power into it to dominate the other rings that a part of his very essence was fused into it. Because of this, if the ring were destroyed, Sauron would lose his power and perish as well.
I organized my thoughts and set a clear goal: Keep the ring alive but eliminate Sauron. And if I could enjoy the original plot on top of that, even better.
Having decided that, I provided them with beds for the night. Gandalf, Saruman, and Aragorn had rooms they always used, so they could rest there, while I gave the hobbits a large guest room like before.
While they were resting, I went outside to scout the perimeter, just in case the Nazgûl were around. But they were nowhere to be seen. It seemed they had given up the chase as soon as Gandalf's group entered the territory of the Dragon's Tower.
The next morning, the group packed their belongings and moved toward Rivendell. Arwen and I went with them. Since I expected to be away from the tower for a long time, I moved all the items in the warehouse into my inventory and replaced the tower with a miniature model.
On the way to Rivendell, I half-expected the Nazgûl to ambush us, but nothing happened. When we arrived at Rivendell, Elrond and the elves were already prepared, having likely received the news in advance.
"Welcome, everyone. We have been waiting for you."
We unpacked and rested in Rivendell. The difference from the original story was that Saruman hadn't fallen and had come along, and Frodo hadn't been injured.
That evening, Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, Elrond, Arwen, and I gathered for a meeting. Things flowed roughly similar to how they had at the tower. I didn't say much. I just participated because I wanted to see how things would unfold.
"I see. Very well. I shall send word to the other races and factions then."
Elrond contacted the leaders, framing it as a council to stop the growing power of Mordor rather than mentioning the ring. He likely did this because he didn't know what might happen if the news of the ring provoked greed.
It took a long time for the representatives of each race and faction to gather. While the original story skipped over this quickly, in reality, the distance even from Minas Tirith was substantial. Thus, Arwen and I spent our time relaxing in Rivendell. The funny thing was that whenever it was time to eat, everyone would come to me.
"Come on, just eat what the elves make. This isn't the tower, so it's hard for me to cook here."
To this, Gandalf replied cheekily.
"Now, don't be like that. They only do it because your cooking skills are so magnificent. In exchange, aren't we the ones procuring the ingredients?"
Under these circumstances, I couldn't help but be a bit busy during meal times. Eventually, the representatives began to arrive one by one.
Legolas, son of Thranduil, King of the Wood-elves; Gimli, son of Glóin of the Moria mines; Boromir, son of the Steward of Gondor; and even Théodred, son of King Théoden of Rohan—who wasn't there in the original story—arrived. This was likely an aftermath of Saruman not having turned to evil. Other leaders began arriving in Rivendell as well.
One day, while Arwen and I were preparing a meal, someone came to see us; it was Legolas. He was certainly a handsome, blonde young man.
"You may not know me, but I watched your exploits at the Lonely Mountain. Thank you for helping in the war against the orcs."
"Since you're the son of Thranduil, I suppose you were there. Don't worry about it too much; I only did what I promised."
"Nevertheless, it is true that the losses were greatly reduced because of you. You are more than worthy of our gratitude."
Saying this, Legolas bowed his head in thanks. Since I was busy peeling vegetables at the time, I accepted his thanks in a rather uncool manner.
Once enough leaders had gathered, the Council of Elrond began the next day in an outdoor area shaded by a large tree, with chairs arranged in a circle around a small stone table. Elrond, as the host, stepped forward to explain the situation.
"Old friends and brothers-in-arms, we are gathered here to face the threat of Mordor. Middle-earth stands on the brink of destruction. We must unite. If we do not, our downfall is inevitable. Therefore, as Mordor grows stronger, each faction..."
Elrond emphasized the threat of Mordor to capture their attention and warned them to be wary of Sauron's cunning plots and schemes. Then, Elrond looked at Frodo and asked him to show the ring.
"Frodo, bring forth the ring."
Upon hearing this, Frodo stood up and slowly placed the One Ring on the central table. A murmur rippled through the crowd. Seeing the One Ring in the flesh—something that had only been a persistent rumor—seemed to leave them stunned and rattled.
At that moment, Boromir, his gaze fixed on the ring, slowly rose from his seat and began to speak nonsense.
"In a dream, I saw the eastern sky grow dark, but in the West, a pale light lingered. A voice cried, 'Your doom is at hand.'"
Boromir spoke strange words as if he had been chosen as the owner of the ring and began to slowly approach it. Immediately, Saruman created ice spikes at Boromir's feet to block his path and spoke firmly.
"We wizards have heard no such voice!"
I was quite surprised. To think that a non-corrupted Saruman would act like this.
'I suppose setting aside his obsession with power produced this result. Impressive...'
Saruman continued.
"The One Ring will try to tempt and corrupt us. It is evil! Do not fall for its sweet words!"
Then Boromir looked at those around him and spoke.
"Why should we not use it? This is a gift given to us by our enemies. My father, the Steward of Gondor, has held the armies of Mordor back with the blood of our people. Because of that, your lands have been kept safe. So, give the ring to Gondor so that we may strike the enemy with their own weapon."
Boromir was using grand words, but ultimately, his meaning was "I'll use the ring to protect you."
Aragorn then spoke to Boromir.
"You cannot use it! No one can. The owner of that ring is Sauron alone."
To those words, Boromir spoke, looking down at Aragorn with contempt.
"How would a mere ranger know such a thing?"