Chapter 87 of 100
Chapter 87. The Flame Tree?
7 min read1,798 words
Chapter 87. The Flame Tree?
Creak.
Creak.
The sound continued from underground, but the surface remained peaceful.
...
As time passed, even the sounds from underground ceased. It was over. What remained were two fresh green leaves that had emerged from the ground and a name that appeared above them.
[Powerful Purifier Ent]
"What? It's over?"
When Sejun was bewildered by the unexpected result, there was a sudden thud.
Something emerged from beneath the sprout. Or rather, it emerged along with the sprout.
And then,
Crack.
A Powerful Purifier Ent, about 20 cm in diameter and 50 cm tall, rose from the ground, stretching its arms in a victory pose.
And then,
Crack. Crack.
The Powerful Purifier Ent, with a green leaf on its head, started walking past Sejun.
"Huh? Hey! Where are you going?"
Sejun touched the Ent's body and asked. Sejun's talent, Friend of Nature, allowed him to communicate with it.
But,
[Ent...protects...]
"What do you mean?"
Sejun asked again, but
[...]
It was a rather quiet friend.
Crack. Crack.
Sejun had no choice but to follow the Powerful Purifier Ent.
And then,
[Master! Please come quickly!]
They arrived at Flame. Crack. Crack.
The Powerful Purifier Ent began to circle around Flame, as if protecting it.
"Flame, why is the Ent doing this?"
[Just a moment. I'll ask.]
Flame conversed with the Ent.
[The Ent says its mission is to protect the World Tree.]
"World Tree? But why is it protecting you, Flame?"
[I don't know. It insists on protecting me. Flame is strong!]
Flame said, flicking its leaves as if throwing punches in the air.
"Got it. For now, Flame, keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't do anything strange."
[Yes! Leave it to me! I'll watch it carefully!]
Sejun had Flame keep an eye on the Ent and then asked Aileen,
"Aileen, do you know about the World Tree?"
[The Tower's manager says the World Tree is a tree with powerful fertility, and those recognized to live near the World Tree can enjoy its benefits.]
"Then what about the Ent?"
[The Tower's manager says the Ent is originally a guardian of the World Tree.]
"Then is our Flame the World Tree?"
[The Tower's manager says to wait a moment.]
***
When Aileen asked if the apple tree was the World Tree,
"Uh..."
She was taken aback. She didn't know much about it.
So,
"Wait a moment."
She left Sejun waiting and called Kaiser.
-Oh! Aileen~! Finally, you want to talk to this old man?
"Yes! Grandpa, I have a question."
-Oh! Ask anything!
"Can I check if a World Tree appears in the Tower?"
-Of course, it's possible. Through the crystal ball...
Kaiser began explaining to Aileen how to check for the World Tree.
And the result.
[Tower Growth Conditions]
...
..
.
-World Tree: Unachieved
...
..
.
There was no World Tree in the Black Tower.
"Grandpa, then why is the Ent protecting a tree that isn't the World Tree?"
-Do you think, Aileen? Did Park Sejun ask?
"Uh?!"
-You brat! You should have asked me. Don't bother my granddaughter!
Kaiser was ready to fly to Sejun to resolve his curiosity. The black dragon statue began to spread its wings.
But,
"Grandpa! If you tell Sejun everything, I won't let you off!"
Aileen's threat made the black dragon statue fold its wings back.
***
[The Tower's manager says there is not a single World Tree in the Tower yet.]
"Then why is the Ent acting like this?"
[The Tower's manager says the Ent might have seen potential in Flame.]
Aileen asked Kaiser in real-time and relayed the answer to Sejun.
"Really?"
So, there's a possibility that our Flame could become the World Tree? Sejun looked at Flame with satisfaction.
At that moment,
"President Park! Where have you been?!"
Theo shouted and jumped down from a hole in the cave ceiling. He had been playing with the black rabbit, Gweung, and was looking for Sejun to rest on his lap.
Thud.
As soon as Theo landed stably on all fours,
Thud.
He ran to Sejun's lap and stuck to it.
And then,
"President Park, sit down and receive my report!"
Theo told Sejun to sit down. He hadn't reported the results of the trade yet due to the various events that had occurred upon arrival.
"Oh, right. President Theo, did you sell everything again?"
Sejun asked as he sat down.
"Of course, it was a complete sell-out!"
Theo answered confidently and took out the money from his backpack.
824,630 Tower Coins. The amount had increased fourfold compared to the previous trade.
"Good job. Here's your incentive."
Sejun neatly handed Theo 50,000 Tower Coins.
"Thank you! And here are the things President Park likes!"
Rustle.
Theo rummaged through his backpack and took out Churu, coffee, and seasonings that Sejun liked. There were 70 packets of coffee mix, along with salt and pepper.
With the activation of the camp on the 38th floor of the Tower, each guild was sending supplies periodically, making the hunters' supplies abundant.
"Wow, so much! President Theo, you did great!"
Pat. Pat.
Sejun patted Theo's back.
"Then, how many hours, President Theo?"
"Hmm... I'll give you 150 hours."
"Great! Then, open the Churu quickly."
Praise from Sejun made Theo lie down on his back, exposing his belly, and asked for Churu.
"Alright."
Rip.
As Sejun tore open the Churu and brought it to Theo's mouth,
Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.
Theo started licking the Churu enthusiastically.
And then,
"So, you see! I defeated that U-tata guy..."
While eating the Churu, Theo boasted to Sejun about his heroic tale of defeating the wild boar merchant on the 38th floor of the Tower. Theo's happy healing time began.
An hour later,
Snore.
Theo had fallen asleep on Sejun's lap, enjoying the petting.
"Yawn. Time to sleep."
Sejun yawned, picked up Theo, and stood up.
[Master! Good night!]
Flame waved its leaves and said.
"Sure. Good night, Flame."
Sejun greeted Flame and went to his bedroom, placing Theo next to him and lying down.
[The Tower's manager says good night.]
"Sure. Aileen, good night..."
Sejun replied and fell asleep.
A little while later,
"Meow..."
Theo, feeling uncomfortable, opened his eyes and climbed onto Sejun's lap to find a comfortable spot.
Snore.
As Theo's snoring began,
Squeak.
"Rustle."
The door quietly opened, and Iona, who had just finished teaching magic to Kkyul, came in to get some sleep.
And then,
Snore.
Iona climbed onto Sejun's lap, covering Theo's tail, and fell asleep.
***
Day 257 of the ordeal, early morning.
-Park Sejun, wake up!
"Ah! Yes!"
Kaiser's shout made Sejun jump out of bed.
-How can you sleep when the enemy is coming?!
"Enemy?"
-Yes. The corrupted Ent scouts are coming! Move quickly!
"Yes!"
Spurred by Kaiser's roar, Sejun quickly grabbed his weapon and ran west.
At that moment,
"Huh?!"
There was something fighting the branch scouts. Upon closer inspection, it was a one-sided beating.
Punch! Punch! Punch!
The Powerful Purifier Ent, despite its name, was being beaten by ten small branch scouts.
It seemed to have come out to protect Flame. It was badly injured, with both legs and one arm broken.
"Ent!"
Whoosh.
Sejun quickly threw his hand axe at one of the branch scouts attacking the Purifier Ent.
Punch!
[Corrupted Ent Small Branch Scout defeated.]
[25 experience points gained.]
"Retrieve!"
Whoosh.
Sejun retrieved the hand axe while running and threw it again, reaching the Purifier Ent.
And then,
Punch!
Punch!
He swung his dagger and hand axe, defeating the enemies. The small branch scouts were no match for Sejun.
After defeating the ten branch scouts,
"Are you okay?"
Sejun asked the Purifier Ent.
Crack.
Crunch.
The Ent nodded and began to chew on the dead branch scouts.
Crack.
With each bite, the broken legs and arm began to heal. The Ent could heal its wounds by eating wood.
"Good."
While Sejun watched the Purifier Ent heal,
Crack. Crack.
More enemies approached. This time, fifteen of them.
"Come on!"
Sejun shouted and ran towards the enemies. He fought several times, as 10-20 small branch scouts kept coming, but it wasn't difficult.
***
"Meow?"
Theo woke up feeling something was missing. He immediately noticed Sejun was gone.
"Where did President Park go?"
As Theo looked around for Sejun,
Squish.
Something grabbed his tail.
"What?!"
Theo, startled, looked at his tail and saw
"Kkyul... No..."
Shiver.
Iona was holding his tail, trembling in a nightmare.
"Just this once, meow."
Theo, with Iona still attached to his tail, went out to find Sejun.
***
Crunch. Crunch.
After eating wood and fully recovering, the Purifier Ent started fighting the enemies again.
But,
Punch!
It broke its arm again from the enemy's punch. The Purifier Ent was still weak.
Crunch. Crunch.
The Purifier Ent started eating wood again to heal. It seemed to have grown a bit and a white flower began to bloom at the tip of the sprout on its head.
"Keep it up."
Sejun wanted to cheer for the Purifier Ent. It didn't feel like someone else's problem.
While Sejun was defeating the branch scouts,
"Found you, meow!"
Thud.
Theo, with Iona still attached to his tail, ran over and stuck to Sejun's lap.
"Now I'll take care of everything, meow! President Park, rest, meow!"
"No, I'll fight."
"Alright, meow."
Theo, who didn't like to insist, agreed.
"Rustle."
Thanks to this, Iona's sweet sleep resumed.
The enemies appeared intermittently, so Sejun could fight leisurely.
At that moment,
Crack. Crack.
The Purifier Ent approached Sejun.
"Huh? Why?"
Sejun touched the Ent's body and asked.
[Seed...take...]
"Seed? What?!"
At the tip of the sprout on the Purifier Ent's head, a white seed had replaced the flower.
Tap.
Sejun picked up the seed.
[Obtained a seed from the Purifier Ent.]
[Job experience increased slightly.]
[Seeding skill level 2 proficiency increased significantly.]
[Seeding skill level 2 proficiency maxed out, level increased.]
The seed, not named "Powerful," didn't have the effect of boosting stats.
"I need to plant it again."
Thud.
Sejun immediately dug a hole with his dagger and planted the seed.
Then,
Crack.
After a while, a sprout grew from the ground, and another Purifier Ent emerged.
Crunch. Crunch.
The two Purifier Ents started eating wood together. When the flower bud began to form on the sprout of the newly born Ent, the two returned to Flame after eating all the branch scouts.
"Wow, good!"
Sejun thought he should bring more wood for the Ents. It seemed their numbers would increase quickly.
Sejun went to the pile of wood behind his house and brought some to the cave where the Ents were.
(Master! I have something good for you!)
The golden bat, waiting for Sejun to pass, called out to him.