Chapter 4

Chapter 3: The Greedy Mangrove Tree

"Please, save me! Please!"

Lee Jong-soo begged for his life, but Jin-hyuk sneered coldly.

"Why should I?"

If you're unhappy, why don't you sue through your fancy law firm?

"J-Just... Aaaah! Aaaaaah!"

Crack!

Crunch!

The tree branches crushed Lee Jong-soo with immense pressure.

The one who had committed a deadly act was now dead.

Thus, there was no sense of guilt.

'Even scum like you can be useful at times.'

The mediocre ones had all fled.

'Now it's time to make my move.'

Thud!

Jin-hyuk leaped toward the tree's main body.

Now was the opportunity, as most of the branches were absorbing nutrients.

Of course.

Swoosh!

Not all the branches were idle.

Two vines lunged at Jin-hyuk with the sound of the wind.

If he were caught, he would end up like Lee Jong-soo—crushed and drained of all fluids.

Jin-hyuk tilted his body.

'Dodging isn't difficult.'

The branches that sliced through the air collided with each other.

Crack!

Shattered wood fragments.

35 degrees to the right.

22 degrees to the left.

Even the angles and directions.

As expected, there was no deviation from what he had experienced in the game.

With perfect timing, the branch attacking Jin-hyuk instead pierced the mangrove's main body.

Jin-hyuk smirked.

'Right. To figure out such precise trajectories and make it attack itself, that's what makes it a challenging opponent.'

"Roooooar!"

The Greedy Mangrove groaned heavily.

Why is it in so much pain when it can barely feel anything?

With its massive size, anyone would think it was being set on fire.

Jin-hyuk grabbed a piece of wood from the ground.

"Let's not make this tiring. How about you hand over the 'Mokdan' (木丹) quietly?"

This thing doesn't give experience points; it's just an event.

At best, it will be on the 'Hall of Fame' for a day.

It's better to get what you want without exhausting yourself in a fight to the death.

"Roooooar!"

The mangrove roared roughly.

It probably means no.

There's no other choice.

Now that it's come to this, I have to take it down.

Jin-hyuk pointed the sharp end of the wood fragment forward.

[The Greedy Mangrove Tree uses the skill 'Bloodsucking Vines'!]

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Dozens of branches shot out simultaneously.

No matter how skilled I am, dodging all of them is impossible.

But slightly altering their trajectories...

'Is possible.'

Possible, indeed.

Jin-hyuk's eyes narrowed.

He moved the wood fragment in his hand to match the timing of the branches flying at him.

Crack!

A branch that grazed his cheek embedded itself in the opposite ground.

With that, the real battle began.

Holding a 30cm-long fragment in his hand, Jin-hyuk took a step forward.

Crack!

The closer he got, the faster the attacks felt.

Crack!

A precarious game of cat and mouse where even the slightest mistake was unforgivable.

Jin-hyuk deflected or countered every attack.

'I need to find the rhythm.'

He had to find his unique breathing pattern and match it.

There was no need to be afraid.

No reason to be scared.

He had done this countless times before.

The distance had narrowed to 1 meter.

Now, a single leap would get him inside.

Thump! Thump!

He could feel the tree's heartbeat.

Something resembling a human heart was visible through the knots.

That's the weak point.

But at that moment.

Whoosh!

Something flew out from between the branches.

Butterflies.

Thousands of butterflies with a blue glow.

They flew through the air, scattering glittering dust, creating a picturesque scene.

"Whoa!"

Jin-hyuk held his breath.

'Sleeping butterflies.'

They use a dust containing sleep-inducing components as a defense mechanism.

Since the effects are quickly felt through the respiratory system, many fall victim to them on their first encounter.

But conversely.

As long as you don't breathe, they pose no threat.

Taking a deep breath, Jin-hyuk instantly plunged into the tree's main body.

The wood fragment, rotating in the opposite direction, ...

Pierce!

Pierced the mangrove's heart.

"Kyaah!"

A tearing scream echoed.

The branches swayed from side to side.

Jin-hyuk applied even more force.

Pierce! Pierce!

After a moment, the screaming stopped.

The tree no longer moved.

He had finally taken it down.

"Phew!"

Jin-hyuk exhaled the breath he had been holding.

Sweat, heavy breathing.

And a heart pounding madly.

Everything made him feel alive.

Ha ha.

'Who would have thought that the pattern analysis and timing research I repeatedly did would be so helpful.'

He felt grateful for everything he had done.

Then.

[You have defeated the 'Greedy Mangrove Tree' for the first time.]

A status window with a congratulatory message appeared.

Ah, right.

'I must have been the first in the world.'

That means...

[Your achievement will be recorded in the 'Hall of Fame' for one day starting tomorrow.]

[Please provide your player name.]

As expected, this follows.

The system asks for personal information to be on the Hall of Fame.

"I don't have a name. I'll keep everything private."

Jin-hyuk answered without hesitation.

Revealing personal information is absolutely out of the question.

If it were known that he was a long-time player, he would receive all sorts of attention.

[Name Unknown, face will be pixelated, and voice will be altered.]

Complete anonymity is not possible in the system.

'They must mean to hide my identity as a compromise.'

Of course, there might be a way to resolve this later.

But in the early stages, there's no choice.

'At least it's better than before.'

At the peak of his middle school syndrome, he had appeared on the Hall of Fame wearing a baracuta coat and holding a cigar, muttering, "The sunset is setting..."

Fortunately, it was a bad game.

If it were a popular game, he would have been stuck in a painful state forever.

'Damn it. Let's forget it quickly.'

Just thinking about it makes him want to kick the covers 12 more times.

"Whatever."

Jin-hyuk clicked his tongue and searched through the blackened tree.

His fingers caught something.

A 1cm green pill.

[You have obtained the essence of the tree, 'Mokdan' (木丹).]

'Finally!'

Jin-hyuk's lips curled upward.

If each tree fruit increases one of strength, agility, stamina, or magic by +3,

'Mokdan' gives 12 bonus stats.

Considering that 3 points are given per level, it's equivalent to a 4-level increase.

'Insane.'

To be honest, there's no item with better cost-effectiveness.

Even considering the entire 50 floors.

Swallow!

Jin-hyuk swallowed the Mokdan in his palm.

He felt a warm sensation rise from his abdomen.

'Let's check if it was properly absorbed.'

Jin-hyuk activated his status window.

------------------------------------------------

Name: Kang Jin-hyuk

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Level: 1

Strength 5 Agility 6 Stamina 7 Magic 5

Available Stat Points: 12

Job: None

Unique Ability: None

Skills: None

------------------------------------------------

Level is 1.

But the available stats are 12.

'The strongest level 1.'

There's no other way to describe it.

***

About an hour later?

A message appeared on the 'Hall of Fame' of the [Tower of Trials] stating that the 'Greedy Mangrove Tree' had been defeated for the first time.

It was mentioned that the related video would be updated in 10 minutes.

The long-abandoned Korean server community board was now bustling with people.

-4dollars!: Wtf. There's someone who took it down?

-RedToadPCRoom: No way. Could that tree really be killed in the early stages? I died 100 times and gave up when I played this game with gritted teeth.

-Babamba: How much did he grind to take it down?

-KingSuccession: A game that everyone quit within a year, and he played it for 11 years straight?

-RabbitGongDoo: It must have been luck. He's a long-time player, but there's no way! NEVER! It can't be killed by normal means.

-fekk91: Agreed!

-Lovepack7: 222222

-Heisenberg: 333333

The comments exploded.

Except for a few initial comments, most were in disbelief.

It was either luck or a shortcut.

One of the two.

But a short while later.

[The video has been updated.]

As soon as the video was posted, the skeptical reactions vanished instantly.

It couldn't be helped.

They saw the entire process with their own eyes.

-kdc123: Wow...

-Heisenberg: Huh.

-fekk91: There's nothing to say.

-KingSuccession: Honestly, did he use a hack? Is that really human movement?

-Babamba: Look at how he uses the wood fragments to create trajectories. It's like Captain America on a Korean business trip.

-RabbitGongDoo: I can only admire. He's insane. I reached level 7, but after seeing this, I feel like I should just cower. I couldn't even follow his footsteps after dying 100 times and waking up.

The reactions of those who saw the video were consistent, with only slight variations.

-Kingsman: I am Park Ho-sik, the vice president of Oseong Semiconductor. I can offer a signing bonus of 1 billion won and a monthly salary of 100 million won.

-JadeDragon: I'll offer any amount of money. Please contact me if you see this comment.

-BaekJiJangDo: I'm forming a team...

There were even comments begging for him to join.

Jin-hyuk read the posts on the community board and smacked his lips.

'Was it that impressive?'

Of course, defeating the Greedy Mangrove at level 1 isn't easy.

But in his experience...

'It's not that surprising.'

Ah, right.

Others haven't played the later stages of the tower, so it makes sense.

I keep forgetting to think from their perspective.

Jin-hyuk smiled wryly.

'10 billion... '

Seeing the unrealistic amount, he was reminded of the past.

A life where even putting food on the table was a struggle.

He often fell behind on rent.

He went days without eating to save money for food in food videos.

If this offer had come a day earlier, he would have accepted it without hesitation.

But now.

10 billion or 100 billion.

He has no intention of sharing the information he knows.

'Money isn't the most important thing.'

Right.

What's important now isn't that.

Jin-hyuk searched for the 'National Museum of Korea' on his phone.

A large museum located in Yongsan, Seoul.

During the game, the overflow of mana from the appearance of the Tower of Trials spread throughout Seoul.

Most areas were unaffected, but one thing changed significantly.

The artifacts outside the tower turned into holy relics.

Of course, they aren't real.

The genuine holy relics with mythic powers were inside the tower.

What he's talking about are replicas.

In other words, copies.

'This is the place to get the most replicas.'

A place where numerous artifacts are stored.

The National Museum of Korea is like a treasure trove.

The problem is.

There are many others targeting this.

Unlike the 7 mangrove trees that appeared in Seoul, there is only one National Museum of Korea.

Certainly, people from all over will flock here to get the artifacts.

And of course, among them will be other long-time players.

"I need to start preparing."

Jin-hyuk put his phone in his pocket.

He would move at night when all the visitors were gone.

***

Jin-hyuk visited the E-mart near Yongsan Station.

He needed to shop for items before sunset.

'Let's see. I've got the Korean paper (hanji) for writing.'

He put about five 30cm-long utility knives in the cart.

'Is this enough?'

It's a bit disappointing that the only weapon available is a utility knife, but it's the same for everyone else.

The best they can get are probably kitchen knives or hammers.

Jin-hyuk pushed the cart toward the checkout.

At that moment, the TV on display was showing breaking news about the Tower of Trials.

-The government is actively investigating the current situation...

-The president has convened all cabinet members, including the Minister of National Defense...

-...Experts from various fields are gathering...

But no matter how many plans they make, it's useless.

There's nothing to be gained by applying logic and reason to a supernatural phenomenon.

Jin-hyuk looked out the window.

He could see the sun setting behind the mountains.

The day was ending.

And night was approaching.