Chapter 15
The next morning.
At BountifulHarvest’s request, our group headed for the Gate that had appeared near the Holy Kingdom.
At the Gate, we found an elf standing guard with a gun—a rare sight in its own right—and…
True to the report that it was quite unlike an ordinary Gate, we found one with a faint green tint.
“Is it the World Tree’s influence?”
- Whoa, what is that
- First time I’ve seen a green Gate
- How do they even measure the difficulty of something like that?
- 10 a.m.? Time to sleep. Good night.
- Dude
“They said there wasn’t really any way to measure its difficulty. But apparently, the Gates that have appeared so far only had things like goblins coming out.”
If they were just goblins, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
If the World Tree itself sent me here after even handing me a treasure, there must be more to it.
Anyway….
“M-Mr. Beren! I’m a huge f-fan of yours!….”
“….”
“That’s the Moonlight Blade, right…?”
I’d never seen Ha-eun so cheerful and talkative before.
Was he so amazing that she could overcome her timid personality?
He really just looked like a haggard middle-aged guy, though.
“…Are you a swordswoman?”
“Ah! Y-Yes! I am!”
“You use an unusual sword.”
Beren, who had been silent until now, spoke for the first time as he looked at Ha-eun’s sword.
At that, Ha-eun grabbed the hilt as if to draw it and show him, but…
“Yet you don’t even have the basics down.”
“Excuse me…?”
“Your usual breathing. Your attitude toward the sword. And even the way you’re holding the grip right now.”
His brow furrowed slightly.
“Are you trying to swing your sword at me?”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry!….”
Only then did Ha-eun realize she was in a stance as if she were about to draw her sword on a monster.
It had probably just become so familiar to her that she unconsciously did it every time she drew her sword.
There was no way the Sword Saint would look kindly on that.
“Hey, if you’re going to be that half-hearted about it, why don’t you teach her? You’re the Sword Saint, aren’t you?”
“Swordsmanship isn’t mastered in a day, dragon.”
“Enough with ‘dragon.’ It’s Goldie, remember?”
“Besides, what would I gain from teaching her?”
Good grief.
The guy doesn’t even listen when people talk.
Anyway, I was serious about telling him to teach Ha-eun.
When I’d seen her last time, her fighting style didn’t really suit her.
The problem was, even though I used a sword a little, I didn’t actually know much about it.
I just used it by instinct.
I had no idea where to start or how to correct her.
So someone who specialized in using the same weapon would definitely be more helpful than me.
“Gain? Hmm… If you ask the Association, they might at least deliver you some food?”
“What?”
“I saw yesterday that you wouldn’t even touch the mushrooms. You don’t like them, do you?”
As I said that, I held out a piece of the jerky I’d brought from home.
I’d originally brought it as something like Terra’s feed.
Well, I’d been nibbling on it a little, too.
And, naturally enough, elves could eat meat, too.
They just avoided it because of their racial traits and the World Tree’s animal-loving passive.
There were elves who ate meat even in the world I used to live in.
That general perception didn’t seem any different for Earth’s elves.
“…You’re observant. Is it because of those eyes?”
“No? I’m just naturally pretty perceptive. You need to be this perceptive to collect treasures.”
Still, Beren held a position among the elves on par with a hero.
So it would be hard for him to be seen openly eating meat.
“Is this enough to make a deal?”
“…I’ll think about it. Dragon.”
He was still wary of me, but he took the jerky anyway.
I could take that as a good sign, right?
As expected, no one could resist food, regardless of their race.
Even Terra, a dragon, was like that.
“All right, we’re just about ready. Shall we head in? Before that… guys. Donations.”
- [I’mGonnaDie] Are you insane, meow?
- I’m used to it by now
- Too repetitive. I’m out
- We agreed to boycott, yeah
- Boss is in trouble lmao
“Ha-eun, kick out the people who just chatted first.”
- Eeeek!!
- You merciless mass murderer!!
[NotSuspiciousAtAll donated 50,000 won!]
[Loyalty^^7]
- Tie up that traitor too, boo
***
Inside the Gate.
Honestly, there wasn’t much there.
At most, there were goblins, and the strongest thing around was probably a Goblin King for a boss.
Even being generous, it seemed like a D-rank Gate.
[The Gate has been cleared.]
[Reward - 5 low-grade mana stones]
The reward was stingy to the extreme, too.
For a Gate that had glowed green and made such a show of itself, it was disappointingly unimpressive.
“Terra, process the mana stones for now.”
“Yes.”
But fortunately?
Even though we’d cleared it, it wasn’t collapsing right away.
Was something preventing its collapse, like with Terra’s Gate?
If so, that would be even better.
“Ha-eun, are there cases where a Gate doesn’t collapse?”
“Ah, yes! Th-There are Gates called permanent Gates that don’t disappear even after you clear them!….”
“So this is one of those?”
“Th-But permanent Gates don’t close at the entrance. They’re used for Hunter training, too. But this one….”
The entrance had definitely closed.
When we entered.
Hmm… then what was this, really?
Beep-
[The Golden Dragon’s special reward has been applied.]
[Unique]
[Reward - Forest Jewel Fragment 2/3]
Then, a status window appeared in my field of vision.
Oh, right. The Forest Jewel.
It can appear here, too!
As I thought that and looked at the jewel fragment that had fallen into my hand…
[You take another step closer to the truth of the World Tree.]
Another unfamiliar message appeared.
The truth?
“What’s wrong, Unnie?”
“Uh, my status window says I’m one step closer to the truth. I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean.”
“Oh, I think I might know.”
“Hm?”
Terra, who’d been busy processing mana stones, looked at me and said.
“It’s a hidden quest! A hidden quest that starts unexpectedly!”
“….”
“…You really need to cut down on gaming.”
“Eeh?! Why is that…?”
- [Children’s Shelter] Terra has a point, though
- Seriously
- Terra’s cute again today, hehe
- [LushGreen] Getting closer to the truth? What is it? Tell me more. There’s no data on something like that, is there?
- [I’mGonnaDie] This stream’s doomed, it’s all pedos, meow
- I like Fire Sword noona the best
- Why is there no demand for Beren?
- ?
They’re just talking about useless stuff again.
Look at them in the middle of another fan war, and not one of them has anything to say about me.
“Sigh… Fine. Let’s assume it’s a hidden quest, like you said. Then what do you think we should do?”
“I don’t know that.”
“Hey.”
“N-No, I mean! It’s a hidden quest! If I knew about it, it wouldn’t be hidden!”
You’re really good with words.
In the end, you just don’t know.
“Do you know anything?”
“…I don’t know.”
“F-For now, why don’t we explore farther inside? The Gate isn’t collapsing….”
She had a point.
When I met Terra, the Gate only started collapsing after the problem was resolved.
Hmm, now that I think about it….
“Terra.”
“Yes?”
“You came out of a Gate, right? Um… how did you end up in there?”
I got to thinking because Terra had come out of a Gate.
Could it be that Gates weren’t just a phenomenon where monsters came pouring out?
Of course, if dragons counted as monsters, I didn’t have much to say.
Even so, why had Terra been inside one?
“I was simply there. Then I met you, Lady Goldie.”
“I heard the space inside a Gate was large, but still had limits. You were inside that space, weren’t you?”
At my words, Terra thought for a moment.
“I don’t… really know about that. I only settled in an abandoned mine….”
She soon shook her head.
She’d ended up inside a Gate without knowing it?
- There are university teams researching that, at least
- Yeah, but apparently nothing’s really been discovered
- [LushGreen] There just aren’t enough samples to begin with. They’re expensive and dangerous, too
“It’s a shame Earth doesn’t have a Mage Tower. Those tower mages always seem to figure something out about this kind of thing. Should I build one? How about a Golden Mage Tower?”
- [LushGreen] Please do it, please!!!1
- [MageAspirant] I greet the future Tower Master
- Line
- With Gates around, towers are genuinely dangerous!!
As those sorts of things went back and forth, we continued exploring inside the Gate as Ha-eun had suggested.
A forest so dense it was practically a jungle.
With goblins and unidentified insects flying around us.
Slash!-
“That’s not it. Relax your strength. Who on earth taught you that kind of swordsmanship?”
“Aaaah….”
Beren was correcting Ha-eun’s swordsmanship as she fought the goblins.
We had time to spare anyway.
“Think of that frail body of yours. Swordsmanship that relies on that kind of strength will only work against you.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Your stance is too wide, too. You’ll lose your balance. Fix it.”
“Understood!….”
Thankfully, Ha-eun didn’t seem upset about it.
If anything, she might be happy to learn swordsmanship from her idol.
Rustle-
How far into the depths had we gone like that?
“…Wait.”
I stopped our group at the sound I heard.
Those weren’t the footsteps of goblins.
They were more cautious and stealthy—
Pew!-
“…! Beren!”
“Got it.”
[Withdrawal 100,000 won - Details: [Acceleration] skill usage fee]
[Scabbard Acceleration]
Tatatatang!-
A large number of arrows suddenly came flying from all directions.
Beren and I knocked away all the arrows and quickly scanned our surroundings.
- Arrows?
- Do goblins use bows, too?
- Of course they can’t;
Rustle-
I sensed something among the trees.
Is that the one?
Tap!-
The moment I spotted it, I sprang out through the arrows flying toward us.
Beren should be able to protect Ha-eun.
Terra… could take care of herself.
“■■?!”
Bang!-
I ran forward at full speed, grabbed the shadow I saw, and slammed it into a tree.
Only then did I realize, to my surprise, that it was…
‘…An elf?’
An elf with a bow in hand.
What was this?
Don’t tell me this is another backstab?