Chapter 16
The beautiful golden forest had finally regained a brief moment of peace. And, naturally, Zion stood at its center.
Zion was lost in thought. Her slightly furrowed brow looked serious, but to anyone watching, it was simply cute.
Ifrit and Rin quietly stayed by her side. They believed Zion must have a good reason for acting this way.
‘……We’ve completed the quest and received our reward, so there’s no need to rush her.’
‘I wonder what Big Sis is thinking so hard about.’
How much time had passed? Just then, the hatchling had eaten nearly half of the boulder-sized magic stone.
“Fafnir.”
“Yes?”
“I was trying to decide…… on that little one’s name.”
“So that’s what you were agonizing over. A name?”
“You put so much thought into choosing a name. Big Sis really is so kind!”
[Kyu!]
The hatchling…… no, the dragon, now named Fafnir, seemed to like its name.
It came over with a body twice as big as before and rubbed its back against Zion’s thigh.
Zion doubted her eyes for a moment. Fafnir, who’d been about the size of a puppy, had grown to more than twice its size in an instant.
“How did it get so big……?!”
“Looks like it grew by eating the magic stone in the meantime.”
“Even for a dragon, that growth rate is unbelievable, Big Sis.”
“This could turn into more of a hassle than I expected.”
Ifrit grimaced like a crumpled scrap of paper and shook her head. The thought of those troublesome people had crossed her mind.
There were many religions in the Tower. Some believed in goddesses who bestowed divine power, while others worshiped the Tower itself as a god.
But if she had to name the most troublesome, obnoxious group of all, it would be the Dragon King Heavenly Sect, which worshiped dragons as gods……
“If those people find out about the hatchling…… no, Fafnir, they’ll come swarming over here at once.”
“But does it even make sense to worship dragons as gods in the first place?”
“Of course it doesn’t. It’s more like worshiping idols modeled after dragons. They probably haven’t even seen a real dragon.”
“If they’d ever actually seen a dragon, they couldn’t say things like that, Big Sis Zion.”
Seeing Ifrit’s biting sarcasm and Rin backing her up from the side, Zion could more or less guess what sort of group it was.
But the Dragon King Heavenly Sect was a problem for later. For now, they needed to focus on clearing the forest.
The three of them started forward into the golden forest. They’d defeated the boss, but the dungeon wasn’t over yet.
“Over there……!! Look over there!”
Ifrit was the first to spot it. In the direction she pointed stood a massive old tree.
The ancient tree that had once borne thousands of leaves now showed not the slightest trace of life.
It looked less like a tree and more like some grotesque bone shard stuck in the ground. Zion clicked her tongue. Had that been there before?
“Looks like this is the end of the dungeon.”
“Then shall we head back soon?”
“Please wait a moment.”
The sight of the withered old tree was certainly a little sad…… but for the two of them, that was all it was.
After all, there was no way to bring a tree that had already died back to life. At least, that was true for everyone except Zion.
If the Dragon Heart had only piqued her curiosity before…… this time, Zion moved forward with conviction.
“Revival.”
At last, when Zion stood before the massive old tree, the voice that left her lips instantly silenced the world.
The primordial law separating life from death was now being proclaimed…… for the sake of a withered tree.
Dark clouds gathered in the clear sky, and soon a spiral of light imbued with overwhelming vitality began to coil around the old tree.
“What is that……?”
“Could it be…… Big Sis is trying to bring that old tree back to life?!”
The concept of resurrection certainly existed in the Tower. In particular, the High Ranker <Miracle> could even bring someone who had already died back to life.
But reviving a dead tree that might have been dead for years, perhaps even centuries, had been ‘impossible’.
No matter what, once a day had passed, it was over. Yes, that was common knowledge in the Tower. And yet now…… that very common sense was being overturned.
Life began to flow across the surface, which had been cracked like earth dried out by drought, and leaves began to sprout one by one.
[Yggdrasil has been revived.]
[The Sacred Forest has been unlocked.]
[The growth rate and grade of all plants growing on the Starting Floor have increased by 30%.]
[All harmful effects have been removed from plants harvested on the Starting Floor.]
“……Guess that’s what you get with a legendary NPC. The scale of the quest is on another level.”
Ifrit was genuinely impressed. She’d only completed one hidden quest, yet its influence was this powerful.
It truly was the great Saintess of legend who had helped the Hero defeat the Demon King…… Once again, Ifrit was reminded of her majesty.
Unfortunately, a problem arose that the three gathered here hadn’t anticipated. It was……
[Yggdrasil has been revived.]
[The Sacred Forest has been unlocked.]
[The growth rate and grade of all plants growing on the Starting Floor have increased by 30%.]
[All harmful effects have been removed from plants harvested on the Starting Floor.]
“?? What does this mean?”
“The Sacred Forest? What’s that?”
“Y-Yggdrasil? I’ve never heard that name before??”
The same system window had appeared before every adventurer on the Starting Floor. Not just the beginners, either.
It had even appeared for spies another High Ranker had secretly stationed there to keep tabs on things and gather information.
◇
In fact, claims that there was a hidden dungeon on the Starting Floor had been made consistently for a long time. It was simply never found……
After all, this was the starting point for every adventurer. The argument was, surely there had to be at least one hidden dungeon.
Perhaps they’d been making the claim seriously at first, but by now it was little more than a joke.
“Not only has a hidden dungeon appeared on the Starting Floor, but there’s even a permanent buff…… This has become quite a problem.”
In a fortress filled with cold gazes, a man reading a report in his office crumpled the letter in his hand.
His skin was pale and bloodless, and silver strands like frost had taken root in his neatly slicked-back black hair.
At last, his deep, clear…… glacier-like blue eyes filled with concern. The man was troubled.
“……The Starting Floor has little to offer. That’s why none of the High Rankers have ever set their sights on it.”
It had neither abundant resources nor a thriving trade. Even its transportation was poor.
Of course, it did have the special distinction of being every adventurer’s hometown…… but that wasn’t something anyone could simply take over.
If anyone monopolized all the novice adventurers, every guild in the Tower would join forces to hunt them down.
“Besides, its dungeons aren’t that dangerous, and it doesn’t even have any Named monsters. You could call it the safest place in the Tower.”
The Starting Floor. On every other floor, monsters appeared not only in dungeons, but outside them as well.
Even Named monsters on par with bosses. As a result, not a single guild had ever completely conquered a floor.
And the 21st Floor, which the man currently managed, was no exception. He let out a deep sigh and muttered.
“……Rankers who failed to claim a floor—or got driven out of one—will start flooding into the Starting Floor.”
The reason the major guilds hadn’t managed the Starting Floor was simple. It didn’t make enough money to support a guild.
But now, along with the hidden dungeon being cleared, an absurdly powerful permanent buff had been applied to the floor.
And there was even a legendary NPC. The guilds would run the numbers, decide it was profitable, and converge on the Starting Floor.
“Humans are more frightening than monsters. That never changes, no matter what floor you’re on.”
He didn’t have to think for long. He wanted nothing more than to protect his only remaining family, but……
But circumstances were against him. In terms of income alone, the 21st Floor he currently occupied was worse than even the Starting Floor.
A desolate floor beyond compare. A place called the Frozen Land…… The man was its sole administrator.
“There’s still a little time before those hyenas start flooding into the Starting Floor. I suppose I have no choice but to bring her here before then.”
As soon as he reached a conclusion, the worry that had filled his eyes vanished in an instant. All that remained was an unfeeling resolve……
The man looked out the window. It was snowing again. A hellish floor where it snowed for a full 150 out of 365 days.
Paradoxically, that was what made it the safest floor. No one but the man coveted it.
“I should prepare to welcome my daughter.”
The man’s name was El Roscadi.
He was a High Ranker ranked 39th in the Tower, the administrator of the 21st Floor, and…… an adventurer known by the title <Ice Emperor>.