Chapter 57
The other elves couldn't make sense of the situation.
Only one person had ever come face-to-face with the World Tree: High Elf Jimenez.
That was until she muttered,
"Could it be that you are—no, that you are the Mother World Tree's…?"
"……!!!?"
A remark hinting at his relationship with the World Tree.
The elves realized what it meant the moment they heard it.
He was… unquestionably the World Tree's consort.
'Right, he just fired off lightning that powerful!'
'He must be at least as strong as the World Tree herself!'
First of all, there was his strength.
He had overwhelmed the Elf Lord with a single wooden sword, then even brought down thunder.
Could an ordinary mortal possibly do such a thing?
Like the World Tree, he was someone the elves could never hope to comprehend.
'Ah, so he was the World Tree's husband!'
'If he's her husband, then of course it makes sense.'
The elves came to a realization.
He was the World Tree's husband.
No, considering that power, it was the other way around.
The World Tree might be his woman.
-Gulp.
'No wonder he was so handsome….'
'Could he be stronger than the World Tree?'
Everyone accepted it.
Since Hwi-min was far more handsome than the World Tree's avatar, they were willing to believe anything about him.
Even Jimenez was no exception.
"Th-th-then…."
'Did I fall for my mother's man—in other words, my father!?'
…That misunderstanding had sent Jimenez's world crashing down, but
"Hmm."
'Jimenez can handle the aftermath herself. Is this enough?'
Hwi-min had no idea.
If he had, he would have been dumbfounded that they took him for some kind of tree lover.
As a result, a single honeybee began wandering through the Tower.
"Forget all this prophecy nonsense and take me to the World Tree immediately."
'Give me a free pass through the Fifth Tier!'
'Let me skip the prophecy entirely.'
It was a truly shameless demand.
He was already getting a free ride, and now he wouldn't even pretend to clear the quests.
It was tantamount to asking them to scoop honey straight into his mouth.
And yet, there were dozens of elves here desperate to do exactly that.
"Understood!!"
Jimenez cried out.
At that moment, the prophecy became nothing more than a scrap of paper.
If an existence that powerful rejected the prophecy, there was nothing they could do about it anyway,
'Because he was sent by the Mother World Tree in the first place!'
The elves were laboring under the mistaken impression that Hwi-min and the World Tree were exceptionally close.
They had no choice but to obey his command.
Immediately, fwoosh—!!!
A portal leading to the next floor appeared.
A soft smile curved Hwi-min's lips.
"Dohwa~."
"Kyaeung!!!"
"Let's do just one more floor."
And when Hwi-min passed through the safe zone and headed straight for the next floor,
what greeted him was…
a crowd of elves who worshiped him.
"""Did you cough!!"""
"Hmm, how long has it been?"
"Half a day has passed."
"Oh?"
'The schedule is tighter than on the Fourth Tier. Well, the Fourth Tier was unusual.'
After looking around for a moment,
Hwi-min looked up.
A brown notification window was flashing.
[You have entered Floor 44 of the Beginner's Tower.]
You have proven your will.
However, the path leading to the World Tree
will be filled with hardship and adversity.
For the sake of your growth, the Elf Lord has prepared a hidden dungeon in the western forest…
"We don't have to go to some dungeon or anything, right?"
"So you did know about the prophecy after all. Of course not, O Great One."
And then, fwoooosh—!!
A portal appeared beside Hwi-min.
Floor 44, cleared in thirty seconds.
'At this speed, we might be able to clear several more floors before dinner.'
"Let's keep going like this!!"
* * *
-Ding.
[You receive the reward for climbing Floor 47.]
- 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 +1
- Weapon/Armor Summon Ticket x1
[Ryu Hwi-min]
Level: 1,257 (+107)
Title: Beyond the Impossible
Strength: 390+50 (+30)
Agility: 365+50 (+30)
Vitality: 340+50 (+30)
Magic: 150+50 (+15)
Luck: 71+50 (+2)
"Phew~."
I had climbed seven floors in a single day.
It felt like almost four hours.
"Kyaeung…."
"Our Dohwa, are you sulking because you haven't gotten to fight?"
She hadn't even had a proper battle, so Dohwa seemed thoroughly disappointed.
"Sniff… Mas'er, tired…."
"……?"
No, was she tired?
She looked strangely exhausted.
'Eh, it must just be my imagination.'
Dohwa hadn't done anything except swim.
What could have tired her out?
Heh.
I chuckled lightly and stroked Dohwa.
"Don't worry. We'll have to fight together on Floor 49 and the boss floor, whether you like it or not."
I'm going to tackle those two floors in Hard Tower mode.
I had to reach Floor 49 to obtain the first-clear reward for the Fifth-Tier scenario.
And I needed to defeat the boss to obtain materials for strengthening Dohwa.
So Dohwa had to come along too.
Although she was still a little behind me in level, she now had the stats of an ordinary Fifth-Tier hard-mode Awakener.
Besides, she had all sorts of Traits, with Regression as her foremost Trait.
"The boss floor is dangerous, so I'll unfold the Inner World right away, but Floor 49 is a little iffy."
"Kyaeung…?"
"If I waste an ultimate, I'll have to wait through its cooldown and lose our momentum, so let's fight together for now. We can try Giantification too. Got it?"
"Keng!!"
Thanks to that, Dohwa perked up.
Her tail swished and her ears perked up.
She seemed very excited to fight alongside me.
And so, I said with a smile,
"So, Dohwa?"
"Keng!! Dohwa, with Mas'er…."
"Let's go home now."
…I had originally only planned to clear through Floor 43.
Egen Tower was a fair distance from home, and I'd also wasted time talking with Yuna.
Thanks to the free pass, I'd breezed all the way to Floor 47, but time was running short.
It was already close to six in the evening.
Now I really had to go home.
"Keng…?"
"I promised Serin I'd definitely be home by seven."
"Kyaeung… Keng!!"
"That's right, that's right. We'll go home, eat, sleep well, and tackle the climb tomorrow~."
"Kyaeung~."
Dohwa didn't seem particularly dejected either.
No, if anything, she seemed a little relieved.
Hmm, she'd looked tired for a while now.
Could she have been hungry?
'I should stop by a convenience store on the way.'
"Stay inside for now. Dohwa, unsummon."
After unsummoning Dohwa,
I dusted off my backside and stood up.
Then I changed the Tower's difficulty.
And then, whoosh—!!
The distinctive white light of Egen Tower welcomed me.
After passing through it twice in a row, I found myself in front of the park.
-Ding.
[Return complete.]
"…Ughhh."
'What a productive day!'
I gave myself a light stretch.
Then I took out my phone.
-Brrring….
[Oppa!!]
"Serin, I'm done for the day. Should I pick up some chicken on the way?"
[Not really~? More importantly, hurry home and tell me about the Tower!! I'll make doenjang jjigae too!!]
"Oh my, now I'm looking forward to it. I'll just buy some food for Dohwa and be home soon. By seven."
[Okay!!]
Fortunately, it seemed Serin considered seven o'clock early enough for dinner, so I'd make it just in time if I left now.
Well then, let's hurry.
'The convenience store first.'
I quickly headed for a nearby convenience store.
Then I picked up some low-sodium chicken breast.
'Ten thousand won for these four tiny things? No, don't begrudge it. You're rich.'
Normally, I'd go out of my way to find near-expiration buy-one-get-one products, but today should be fine.
Whoosh.
I tossed the items into a basket without much thought.
Then I headed for the beverage section.
This time, I intended to buy some beer for myself.
Since it was for me, naturally I picked the cheapest Filite Fresh.
I was only going to take one can, but…
-Pause.
'Oh, this brings back memories.'
I ended up picking up one more after all.
It was canned coffee in a blue can.
'The old man always made me buy this, so I drank a lot of it for free.'
It brings back memories of my construction days.
Whenever the old man gave me his card and told me to buy some coffee, it was always this.
Maybe that's why it still tastes a hundred times better than an Americano.
'I should go say hello sometime.'
The old man who had been my construction foreman was a benefactor who had helped me endure those difficult days.
Thinking about how grateful I was, I placed it in the basket.
On my way out after paying, I called him too.
-Brrring.
[Who is this… Hwi-min?]
"It's me, sir."
[Oh, are you doing well? I heard you found a new job?]
"I have plenty to tell you about that and other things. Why don't we meet up for a meal sometime? My treat."
The long-overdue call had me feeling a little excited.
Maybe because it had been so long, I was glad to hear from him.
Perhaps he felt the same way; laughter filled his voice on the other end.
[You little punk, playing grown-up. Never mind that—call me when you have time. I know a place that makes incredible grilled hagfish. My treat.]
"I said I'll pay… Sigh, fine. Are you free this Saturday?"
[When a kid like my own son calls, of course I have to go, even if I have to leave work halfway through. The site has been a damn mess lately, though, so I can't do an early finish.]
"No early finishes? Did you get stuck with a bad foreman?"
[It isn't the foreman. The site manager is the problem….]
We continued chatting warmly after that.
Thinking about my days on construction sites stirred up some memories.
That nostalgia lingered even after the call ended.
-Heh.
"Why do I miss this of all things?"
'Back then, I really did go around shouting about status windows every day.'
Those were the days when I carried heavy construction materials all day, bought a can of cheap beer, and went home.
The old man was one of the pillars that helped me get through that difficult period with a smile.
My memories of construction work became fond ones thanks to him bowing his head and apologizing alongside me whenever I caused trouble.
A faint smile stayed on my lips the entire way home.
'He'd be just as happy as if it were his own business when he heard that Serin had recovered, wouldn't he?'
And then, step.
I finally arrived near the apartment.
Just before seven in the evening.
I was cutting it close, but I arrived a little before the promised time.
'Serin said she wanted to say hello sometime too. Should I bring that up?'
I was about to head straight home, but…
-Vrrrr.
"Hmm?"
My phone began vibrating at that moment.
Wondering what it was, I pulled out my phone.
Then my mouth fell open.
[(Emergency Disaster Alert) A Gate has appeared in XX-dong, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City…]
"……Huh?"
'Isn't that the neighborhood where the old man lives?'