Chapter 55
Elf Lord Jimenez.
She was the last High Elf.
It had been well over a thousand years since the World Tree had created a new High Elf, so she was the only one left now.
So she had no choice but to bear a tremendous burden.
She never acted rashly.
As the one who led the elves and served the World Tree, that was only natural.
It was only natural, but
-Creak.
'Good grief, what could all this commotion be about… Huh?'
"……Gasp."
She wondered what the commotion outside was about, only to see a man arrive with a whole string of elves in tow.
Even Jimenez herself, peerless among the elves, briefly forgot to breathe.
That was how… handsome he was.
'How can there be an elf like that?'
She was beautiful herself.
High Elves were invariably more beautiful than ordinary elves, making her the most beautiful elf alive at present.
Even she could not help but be stunned.
Hwi-min's looks were that distinctive.
By elven aesthetic standards, his face was the very image of one sculpted by God.
"I wondered what all the commotion was about…."
'Calm down, Jimenez. Maintain your dignity.'
She did her best to feign composure.
Of course, inwardly, she was too busy being shocked.
His nose, straight but not perfectly so.
His slightly protruding lips.
Even his eyes, gazing toward her.
Each feature was perfect on its own, yet all of them were contained in a single person.
"Hmm."
'Even she starts by complimenting my looks. I haven't gotten many compliments in my life.'
Of course, Hwi-min's looks were the very definition of ordinary.
The only things he'd ever heard were, 'You look kind' and 'You look like you'd be well-behaved.'
But by elven standards?
He was handsome even when viewed upside down.
Within the Fifth Tier, he was a peerless beauty.
'I'm barely holding it together, but the others are in serious trouble…. '
There was one more thing.
Jimenez could easily guess what was going through the minds of Hwi-min's fellow elves following behind him, especially the women.
After seeing nothing but similarly average men for several hundred years, hadn't a man of such beauty arrived who could slap the World Tree's avatar across the face sixteen times in a row?
Naturally, their reproductive instincts would be raging.
Never mind the elves' supposedly low libido; there couldn't be a woman who saw him and didn't feel her lower abdomen grow hot.
'…They might even rape him.'
This was the source of Hwi-min's discomfort.
Dozens of women here alone were desperate to sleep with him.
'Mother World Tree, why have you sent someone like that to test us?'
Thanks to that, Jimenez could not help but sigh.
The 'Child of Prophecy' seemed less likely to stop the calamity than to be in danger of being assaulted, but…
Contrary to her expectations.
Hwi-min was not the sort of person anyone could assault.
"So, what do we need to do?"
Thwack.
Hwi-min hoisted the wooden sword onto his shoulder.
Jimenez's gaze turned toward him, and…
she soon realized.
A familiar scent—that of her Mother—emanated from Hwi-min's wooden sword.
"Th-that, that is!!"
'Mother World Tree!?'
It was impossible.
And for good reason: what sort of existence was the World Tree?
An ordinary elf couldn't even approach her.
Even she, a High Elf, could not approach without permission.
That was because the World Tree emitted an immense aura, as if raising thorns.
That shouldn't have changed even for a single branch, yet…
'Why is she just letting him carry her around?!'
Unable to believe it, she checked several times.
But the result was the same.
That was definitely a branch of the World Tree.
The prickly World Tree, who would not even allow her own children to approach, was coyly acting shy in the hands of an unfamiliar man.
"By the World Tree! Just who are you!?"
Her shock naturally burst forth.
She pointed at Hwi-min with an accusing finger.
The dignity and grace she'd been talking about moments earlier were nowhere to be found.
And Hwi-min's reaction to seeing that?
'Here she goes making a fuss again… I'm getting a little tired of this.'
He was a little put off.
The whole world was already going on and on about Iron Gangmin, and now he was getting this reaction even in the Tower.
He was beginning to get sick of it.
'I prefer it when someone treats me comfortably, like Senior Yuna.'
Conversely, his favorable impression of Yuna rose, though she herself would never know it.
After thinking for a moment, Hwi-min suddenly thrust out his sword.
Then he brought it right up to Jimenez.
The shadow of the thick, long rod fell across her face.
"Look at my sword. What do you think?"
"I-it's big and beautiful…."
"Do you know what it's made of?"
"Yes…."
"Hmm."
That told Hwi-min all he needed to know.
At least the Lord knew that his sword had been made from the World Tree.
At that very moment, his free-rider instinct stirred.
-Swish.
'If I play this right, I could get a free ride.'
After putting the sword away,
Hwi-min fell into thought for a moment.
He also tapped the wooden sword against his shoulder.
Even that PE-teacher-like gesture exuded an extraordinary air thanks to the Trait 'Sword God'…
-Whisper whisper.
"This is a secret."
Hwi-min whispered in her ear.
He told her to keep his sword a secret.
He made a big show of seeming mysterious.
'If I do this, won't she come to the wrong conclusion on her own? That I'm buddies with the World Tree…. '
'…And he's really handsome♡'
At that moment, Jimenez wore the expression of a female in heat rather than an Elf Lord.
But Hwi-min couldn't see it while whispering.
"Kyaeung…."
'Protect master!'
Dohwa, who had instinctively sensed that Jimenez was in heat, bared her teeth while keeping watch around them.
Hwi-min, of course, knew nothing about it.
* * *
Jimenez helped Hwi-min in every way she could.
'This deviates somewhat from the prophecy, but… this much should be fine.'
"Everyone, would you gather some dream grass for our visitor?"
For example, the first task.
Leave the World Tree's domain and gather materials by fighting through the monsters.
Jimenez boldly skipped it.
She couldn't bear to watch the World Tree be toyed with by trash like that.
"You've worked hard. Rest for a while, and then…."
"No, I think we can just go right away?"
"…If that's what you wish. This time, you'll have to go yourself, Visitor."
And then, the second task.
Find and retrieve a ceremonial dagger from beneath a transparent lake.
-Ding.
[The Trait 'Dragon Eyes'….]
"Dohwa, it's over there, you see? Can you get it?"
"Keng!!!"
"That's right, good girl~."
Hwi-min solved it by simply clicking Dohwa.
Dohwa also activated the Trait 'Loyalty,' learned to swim, and brought it back right away.
"Kyaeung…."
"……?"
'Does the visitor's pet seem to be baring its teeth at me? It has been doing that for a while now.'
The reason for that haste was that she was on guard against the female possibly pouncing on her master.
Jimenez had no idea.
If she had known she was being treated like a female in heat, she would have immediately turned into a 'Kkanf' and hurled abuse.
Of course, Hwi-min was completely unaware of either of their thoughts.
'It didn't even take an hour. I mostly just waited, too.'
"Easy mode, easy mode, what a fun easy mode~."
He was gradually riding a dopamine high from taking the easy way out for once.
He had no time to worry about Jimenez's strangely sticky gaze or Dohwa's vigilance toward the female elves around them.
He was too busy checking the brown notification window in front of him.
-Ding.
[You receive the reward for climbing Floor 42.]
- Stat Points +20
- Low-grade Recovery Potion x1
- Weapon/Armor Summon Tickets x4
[The Trait 'Golden Rule+' activates.]
You receive the following additional rewards.
- Stat Points +2
- Low-grade Recovery Potion x1
[Ryu Hwi-min]
Level: 1,150 (+63)
Title: Beyond the Impossible
Strength: 360+50 (+15)
Agility: 335+50 (+15)
Vitality: 310+50 (+15)
Magic: 135+50 (+12)
Luck: 69+50 (+6)
'The Trait Seed of Transcendence does add up to about a Floor 1 reward, but… there's still nothing like the Tower for growth.'
He had eaten Legendary- and Mythic-grade items, but his base self's growth had stagnated for a while before this explosive level-up.
'And it's showering me with rewards, too.'
Starting from Tier 4, it even gave Low-grade rather than Lowest-grade potions, and four times the equipment, didn't it?
That had Hwi-min grinning from ear to ear.
The dopamine coursed through him.
'How much has the difficulty inflated for things to be like this?'
…Why had the rewards increased?
Furthermore, why had no one been able to conquer the Pilgrim's Tower's Fifth Tier?
Thinking about it should have sent a chill down his spine, but
-Snicker.
'Well, who cares? I can't die inside the Inner World.'
Hwi-min didn't give it much thought.
Even if something happened, all it would take was a click of the Genesis Sword.
Instead, he decided to enjoy the present.
"Dohwa, swimming earlier must have tired you out, right? I'll give you a present now."
"Kyaeng?"
"Here we go, Dohwamon, evolve!!"
"Keng!!!"
Within the Floor 42 safe zone.
Hwi-min and Dohwa jumped to their feet.
Immediately, fwoooosh!!!
Pink light whipped around the cave, and…
-Ding.
['Consume 'Colossal Titan' to evolve 'Dohwa'?']
[Evolution complete.]
[Due to the effect of the Trait 'Fusion,' you gain one additional Trait.]
[Dohwa]
Level: 1,160 (+4)
Traits: Giantification (Unique), Lightning Speed (Rare), Cuteness (Common), Regression (Legendary), Loyalty (Rare)
"Kyaeung~."
Dohwa had finished evolving.
"Oh, Unique."
'Maybe it's because the Gate type is Raid, but this is a pretty tasty one.'
Hwi-min was quite pleased, too.
Feeling pleased, he took Dohwa into his arms.
"If you grow huge, maybe you'll be able to have a good fight with Hortensia later, Dohwa?"
"Whine…?"
"I'm kidding. How could you beat her?"
Besides, after climbing all the way through the Fifth Tier.
Wasn't he planning to summon a dragon?
Naturally, Hwi-min was grinning from ear to ear.
He continued to do so even after arriving on Floor 43 with Dohwa in his arms.
"The honeybee is chubby~ Chubby today too~."
"……."
'The visitor seems to be in a good mood.'
Meanwhile, Elf Lord Jimenez saw it differently.
How should she put it? He seemed utterly at ease.
He was just like a transcendent being who had come out to amuse himself.
'Could he be Mother World Tree's consort…? No, this must be a misunderstanding.'
But she dismissed her own speculation.
She had no choice.
If that conjecture were true, Hwi-min would also have to possess overwhelming strength, but…
'There is no way someone that handsome could be strong too!'
Just how handsome was Hwi-min?
A peerless beauty by elven standards.
It was impossible to imagine that a man who could dominate all the elves by merely swinging his lower half could also be strong.
The World Tree's prophecy said to 'guide the being from another world so that the being could grow,' which made it all the more unlikely.
-Fidget fidget.
"Then, V-Visitor, this time you'll have to spar with us…."
'I wonder if there's even an elf who can put up a proper fight. The women will be frantic to rub their bodies against him somehow.'
That was why Jimenez hesitated.
The third task: spar until he had earned the recognition of every elf.
One of Egen Tower's famous—or infamous—features, and one of the reasons Awakeners shuddered at Tier 5.
She wondered whether she should really make him do this, but
'If I clear this and go home, it'll be exactly dinnertime.'
"Sparring sounds good."
Hwi-min willingly raised his sword.
Thwack.
The World Tree's branch pointed toward Jimenez.
"Come at me. If you so much as graze my clothes, I'll do anything you ask."
"……Eek!!?"
'E-everything? Anything?!'
The greatest provocation ever delivered to Egen Tower's strongest official NPC had just been issued.