Chapter 85

The garden in front of the grand mansion.

In the center of the garden, a small sapling sprouted. It was a small tree, about knee-high to Carpe.

"…Is this the World Tree?"

Upon reflection, there was such a phrase in the item description.

[Second Leaf of the World Tree]

[Grade: Legendary]

[If planted somewhere, it might grow into a very small World Tree.]

"Was that somewhere in this room?"

-Quite unexpected. I thought it would be a quest item to create an elf forest in another region.

"I thought so too."

He had expected a quest typical of RPGs, where he would revive a withered Tree of Life to save the elves.

-Actually, there is such a quest. It's a hidden quest that appears when elves show up in another region a few months later.

Clearing that quest grants the title 'Savior of the Elves' and sets the elves' favorability to the maximum.

Of course, for Carpe, who had already gone through the entire process, it was a quest he didn't need to clear.

"I want to see it too…"

The being who knew the most about the World Tree in this space.

Mirage, who had tended to the World Tree for over 800 years while imitating the elf queen, approached the World Tree.

Mirage gently stroked the sapling of the World Tree and smiled slightly.

"Hehe. What a cute little one. Yes, it's definitely the World Tree. It's still young, so its power is weak… and it's unique."

"Unique? In what way?"

"The World Tree is the guardian tree of the elves. It blesses all elves near it. But this one doesn't. It's blessing the Master instead."

"…Me?"

"Yes. It recognizes the Master as its owner. What a good little one."

Then, a notification window appeared in front of Carpe's eyes.

[You have become the owner of the World Tree!]

[Amazing achievement! Your progress is recorded.]

[You have obtained the title 'Owner of the World Tree'.]

[Owner of the World Tree]

- HP +5, MP +5

- Total HP/MP increased by 5%.

- You can use the 'Blessing of the World Tree' effect once a day (resets at 6 AM).

* Blessing of the World Tree: Ignore all non-recoverable effects and fully restore HP/MP (this option is not considered a skill).

* This is a growth-type title. The title's stats will improve as the World Tree grows.

"…What?"

Carpe simply blinked at the notification window, which far exceeded his expectations.

And about 5 seconds later.

"Wow! Wowww!"

-Oh! This crazy game, again, again!!! A growth-type title?! That's something you can only get by clearing epic-level quests!

The [Three Primordial] with all stats +33.

And balance-breaking options like [Primordial 0-star] and [Primordial 10-star], which grant additional skill points, were not present, but excluding those, it was undoubtedly the most outstanding title Carpe had.

-Even the HP and MP percentage increase is a cheat. You shouldn't be able to see such options at this level…

In fact, during the early stages of the game, it wasn't a particularly useful option.

Since the absolute amount of HP and MP was low, the amount gained from the percentage increase was also small.

But after the second and third class changes, the story changes.

It was not uncommon to gain several thousand, or even over ten thousand, additional HP and MP.

For this reason, items that increased HP and MP by percentage were rare and precious options, often found only on legendary-grade items.

"The Blessing of the World Tree…"

There was a true jackpot that even overshadowed the percentage options.

A simple yet incredibly powerful effect: 'full recovery'!

It was practically like having an extra life.

"Really, this is a jackpot."

Carpe gently stroked the young World Tree, just as Mirage had done. Then, another notification window appeared in front of his eyes.

[Young World Tree in the Room]

[Blessing Target: Carpe]

[The sacred tree of the forest, which protects the elves, has been born based on the player's room. It possesses a weak blessing power.]

[It grows as the room grows. If you show affection and nurture it, it may grow faster.]

[It grants beneficial effects to the room and the player.]

-HP of room workers increased by 10%. HP recovery speed increased by 10%.

-10% additional harvest from the room's production and collection.

-Player and subordinates' HP +200, MP +20. HP/MP recovery speed increased by 20%.

-Manager skill effects slightly increased.

"…That's good. Really good."

It was a versatile effect that buffed not only the room but also Carpe and his subordinates.

At this point, he was almost tempted to prioritize room upgrades over the third relic.

"Let's see. The next upgrade condition is…"

Ding.

[Room Upgrade Level 4]

-Player's level (43/60)

-Forest cat fur (0/40)

-Great tiger skin (0/1)

"Forest cat? Great tiger?"

-Aha. I know where to get these. It just so happens that they overlap with our route. You can get them from the forest before heading to the Lamarque Kingdom.

"Wow. Really? Is this a coincidence?"

-Not a coincidence. So far, all the materials for room upgrades have come from places you can reach. This time should be no different.

"Anyway, this is good."

Thus, the plan for the future was set.

He would obtain the room materials on the way to the Lamarque Kingdom and then head for the third relic!

-But what's this manager skill? It's something we haven't seen before.

"It must be a new feature added with the Level 3 upgrade. I need to check it out."

Carpe opened his status window.

At the bottom of the items listed under 'Room Functions,' a new entry, [Manager Skill], had been added.

[Manager Skill]

[When a subordinate is appointed as the 'Chief Manager,' the manager skill they possess is applied.]

[To unlock the manager skill, a special quest must be completed.]

[Manager Appointment List]

-Heavenly Demon Supreme (Currently appointed manager)

-Mokhyang

-Tistania of Radiance

-Mirage of Illusion

"Special quest."

Indeed, new things are not easily given.

Just as Carpe was thinking this and about to check the quest, another notification appeared.

Ding.

[Unlocking has been activated.]

[All subordinates' 'Manager Skills' are forcibly unlocked, ignoring the acquisition conditions.]

"…What?"

-Huh?

The unlocking activated on its own, skipping all the quests!

A barrage of notification windows started to appear in front of Carpe.

[Subordinate Heavenly Demon Supreme has obtained the manager skill 'Teachings of the Heavenly Demon'.]

-Teachings of the Heavenly Demon: When appointed as manager, all subordinates' experience gain increases by 15%.

[Subordinate Mokhyang has obtained the manager skill 'Fruits are the Best!'.]

[Subordinate Mokhyang has obtained the manager skill 'Magic Squirrel'.]

-Fruits are the Best!: When appointed as manager, all fruit production speeds from the 'Orchard' facility increase by 50%. Acorns receive an additional 50% increase.

-Magic Squirrel: When appointed as manager, subordinates' magic attack power increases by 3%.

[Subordinate Tistania of Radiance has obtained the manager skill 'Chivalry'.]

-Chivalry: When appointed as manager, subordinates' defense and HP increase by 3%. Tistania takes 10% of the damage dealt to other subordinates.

[Subordinate Mirage of Illusion has obtained the manager skill 'Friend of the World Tree'.]

-Friend of the World Tree: When appointed as manager, the World Tree's buff effects slightly increase.

[The number of managers that can be appointed simultaneously increases as the room level rises.]

[Current number of managers that can be appointed: 1]

"…This is like something from a management simulation game."

Although he didn't particularly like management simulation games, he had seen something similar.

"Phew. Why are there so many things?"

After entering the room, too many new things had appeared, and he needed time to sort them out.

Of course, this was only a concern for Carpe.

-Oh ho. This is an interesting feature. Manager skills. If used well, they could be quite useful.

The Heavenly Demon showed deep interest in the new feature.

-Good! Seeing something unknown has sparked my enthusiasm. Anyway, you'll leave the room's internal functions to me, right?

"Of course. You're much better at this than I am. Proper placement is key."

-Understood. I'll experiment with the upgraded room and manager skills, so you focus on what you're good at. Oh, and I need to edit the video.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

-Ooh.

By 'what you're good at,' the Heavenly Demon was, of course, referring to equipment crafting.

Carpe granted free action to Mokhyang and the other subordinates.

"Understood, Master. I will train the workers with Mokhyang and recheck for any dangerous elements in the surroundings."

"Chirp chirp!"

"I want to stay here, Master. It's comfortable here."

Mokhyang and Tina left to train the squirrel workers, while Mirage squatted near the World Tree and began to admire it.

"…It's so peaceful here."

Carpe chuckled and then entered the grand mansion.

He headed straight for the workshop. As soon as he entered, another notification window appeared.

[The room has been upgraded. Workshop functions have been added.]

[Smelting with 'Intermediate Iron Ingots' is now possible.]

[Set item crafting is now possible.]

[The difficulty of crafting set items is higher than that of regular equipment.]

"…Higher difficulty?"

With a foreboding notification, Carpe approached the anvil with a sense of unease.

On the anvil, there were 'two' hammers.

"Could it be…"

Carpe swallowed a groan. If his guess was correct, this was definitely…

[The set item 'Equipment Infused with the Spirit of Wind' is now registered in the blueprint.]

[The necessary materials 'Intermediate Iron Ingots' and 'Spirit of Wind' are available.]

[Do you want to craft it now?]

"I will craft it."

Carpe sat in front of the anvil and picked up the hammer.

[Please place 'two' Intermediate Iron Ingots on the anvil.]

"Damn."

Carpe sighed. His guess had been spot on.

The forbidden realm accessible only to rhythm game experts!

It was the two-handed technique!

"Phew. Good. I knew this would happen someday."

In rhythm games, there was no such thing as a game that didn't use both hands.

Carpe had anticipated this and had been practicing it whenever he had the chance.

Daily training at the game center for rhythm game special training!

Now was the time to test the results of that training.

"Come on, let's go!"

Thud!

Carpe's hammer made a satisfying sound, filling the workshop.

A 10-star player who became stronger through luck.