A Land That Promised the Future
Would you like to enter the Land That Promised the Future?
[Y/N]
Without a moment's hesitation, Seonwoo chose Y.
At once, the space around him rippled outward as if ink were bleeding through water and turned into a Gate.
The very next moment—
Shaaaaaa—
Seonwoo was standing in a completely new world.
A double Gate.
A structure in which there was another Gate beyond a Gate—something that had never once appeared in this era yet.
Across that world stretched a boundless brown wasteland.
Ordinarily, it should have felt desolate.
But the opposite was true.
In this world, Seonwoo felt life force of incomparable density. It was like the power of life waiting beneath the earth, enduring winter while longing for spring.
Crunch. Crunch.
And that life force began to bloom along the path of Seonwoo's footsteps, embroidering the world as he walked.
Flowers of every color burst into bloom, and along the stems spreading outward, blades of grass unfurled.
Rustle—
It looked as though flower buds that had slept for ages were finally opening.
Countless lives stretched themselves awake and filled the ruined world with beauty.
Shaaaaaa—
As the world took on color, so too did the Seed of the World Tree in Seonwoo's hand.
What had looked like nothing more than a dark, filthy pebble buried in a heap of trash turned a fresh, vivid green.
Then it began to pour out endless life force, and Seonwoo instinctively drew a deep breath.
Suuu—
He drew in the aura of the great natural world with his breath and spread it through his entire body.
Suuuuu—
After circulating through every part of him, the energy left behind only its essence, and with his long exhale it returned to the world once more.
Seonwoo's small cycle melted into the great cycle of nature.
He had become part of the current of life filling this world.
Thump—!
Seonwoo shivered at the unbelievable speed of his chukgi—the pace at which his internal energy was building.
After using Restart, he had only just re-entered the basics of Yeon-shin-geuk-gi-gong.
Forget the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—he wasn't even at the stage where he could properly wield martial arts.
And yet even in that state, the speed at which internal energy was gathering in his body far surpassed anything even famed Murim masters could hope to touch.
A world overflowing with life force beyond anything found in the human world—or even the Elven's Forest, where the World Tree stood.
By becoming part of the current of life circulating through that world, he was building internal energy at an efficiency so far beyond the norm it was almost absurd.
Generally speaking, a famous master of Murim was someone who possessed one gapja—sixty years of internal energy.
But here, it felt like it wouldn't even take six years to accumulate that much.
Ten times the speed.
To Seonwoo, it felt like he'd just used a growth cheat that solved the one problem he'd always been absolutely short on—time.
That was how much life force overflowed in this world.
And there was a reason for that.
This world—this other dimension, not a dungeon—was called Elvenheim.
It was the “seed of a world” left behind together with the World Tree at the moment the elves' home planet was destroyed—a world that had promised itself a future.
There was always a reason a world remained behind even after its core had been removed.
This was one of those secrets of the world—something no one knew yet, something only revealed as the story progressed.
This was the secret here.
A star racing toward destruction.
Once no possibility leading into the future remained in that world, the will of the planet made a choice.
It would leave behind a new seed of a world—one that, together with the World Tree, could still promise a future.
A seed was a form that held infinite possibility.
As long as it had a foundation, it could grow and spread without limit.
The star would carve away a piece of itself and make a new world, and there the World Tree would plant its seed and bring forth life.
But unfortunately, before the Seed of the World Tree could take root, the elves' planet shattered.
The world that held new possibility never got to bloom. It mixed with the dungeon that had been corroding the star, and the Seed of the World Tree was lost.
That was a story only revealed in the final chapter.
And now—before the story had even truly begun—it had been made to bloom by Seonwoo, who knew everything.
The possibility of the land where the star and the World Tree had promised a future had blossomed.
And the effects of that awakened land were astonishing.
It didn't stop at simply increasing the speed at which internal energy accumulated.
This place was a base packed with outrageously unfair advantages.
It was the foundation for powering up the protagonist's party as they ran toward the final chapter—a place where every kind of buff and rare resource poured forth.
And Seonwoo had stepped into that foundation before the story had even properly started.
The only regret was that he couldn't enjoy all of its benefits just yet.
The qualification needed to claim every last advantage—Gardener—was granted only to elves.
The World Tree recognized only elves—and among them, only a very small number—as Gardeners worthy of receiving all its blessings.
Considering that this world had originally been left behind for the elves, that was only natural.
Which was why, after forming a relationship of sufficient goodwill with the elves and clearing the Elven's Forest episode, it was necessary to entrust management of this place to them.
Only then could one fully enjoy its benefits and reach the specs required for the final chapter.
...Until now, he'd never once fully succeeded at that.
He had never properly stopped the tragedy that unfolded in Elven's Forest.
"I have never once regarded the humans of this world as equals."
He had failed to save the Genius.
"So just kill me."
He had failed to save the friend who should have become his companion and served as a Gardener.
But this time.
Clench—
Seonwoo slowly tightened his fist.
This time, he would save her as the protagonist.
There were far too many futures he had to change.
And among them, one thing he desired right now was his relationship with the elves.
To the elves, the World Tree was no different from a mother goddess.
It was the origin of Elven's Forest, the home where the elves lived; the guardian tree that protected them; the divine tree that upheld the world itself.
And if that divine tree were said to exist here, in the supposedly lost Elvenheim?
...Astonishingly, instead of welcoming it, they would try to kill it and burn it down.
In other words, it led straight to a tragic ending.
The elves of the present did not acknowledge this World Tree of the New World.
Rather, they saw it as a calamity that had to be eradicated at once.
There were complicated reasons for that, all tied to the Elven's Forest episode.
So for now, Seonwoo decided to do what he could.
Crunch.
He walked onward through the world, which was continuously blooming and dyeing the wasteland in the fresh light of life.
Then at some point, he came upon a place.
A center the current of life led him to—something he understood instinctively.
It was the spot where the Seed of the World Tree had to be planted.
Seonwoo set down the Seed of the World Tree, now fully restored to light, in that place.
Paaaaa—
The Seed of the World Tree dissolved into light and sank into the earth.
It was infinite possibility breaking out of its shell.
And that possibility grew into the form of a single ash sapling.
This was the World Tree Sapling.
Shaaaaaaaaaa—
The sapling shot upward in an instant and became a giant tree.
All around it, the life force filling the world swirled in delight, and the current of life accelerated.
Suuuuu—
Continuing the breathing method of Yeon-shin-geuk-gi-gong, Seonwoo felt it through all five senses.
Inside him, where he had become part of the current of life, internal energy was gathering at an even faster speed than before.
Ordinarily, in a case like this, turbid energy would inevitably mix in.
But perhaps because he was beside the World Tree—
Or perhaps because this was a newly blooming, pure world—
Only the purest and most powerful energy of all filled his entire body instead.
Hmm...
And then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Strictly speaking, the total amount of energy filling the world was decreasing little by little.
After all, it was accumulating inside him.
No matter how insignificant the amount might be from the perspective of the World Tree and the world itself, it still wouldn't have been strange if they got angry.
But Seonwoo hoped they might understand.
In exchange for taking that pure life force in as internal energy, he was accelerating the circulation of the surrounding energy and refining it into something of even better quality.
Yeon-shin-geuk-gi-gong, the foundational breathing method that served as both the tempering art and basis of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, did not simply stop at absorbing the energy of nature.
It also possessed the ability to assist the circulation of natural energy and purify it.
In doing so, it enhanced the effect of the natural energy already functioning for the growth of the World Tree, making it beneficial to both sides.
Seonwoo rapidly built up the internal energy he lacked so desperately, while the growth of the World Tree also accelerated.
And for Seonwoo, even the World Tree's accelerated growth was to his benefit.
If things could continue like this, there was nothing to lose.
So he kept a close watch on the World Tree's mood, ready to change his method the instant it showed any dissatisfaction, and continued to circulate his breathing art.
Then—
Rustle—
Hm?
One branch of the World Tree extended toward him.
If it had contained any hostility, he would have dodged.
But instead, he felt goodwill from it, so he stayed where he was.
Chak.
The branch of the World Tree wrapped around his wrist like a human hand.
Click.
Then it wove itself together and became a bracelet made from the World Tree's branch.
At last, the World Tree's aura settled into that bracelet, completing it.
Ding—
◈ A bracelet woven from the branch of the World Tree
◈ Proof of one acknowledged as a Gardener
Huh?
Seonwoo was a little taken aback.
The Bracelet of the World Tree was an item granted only to elves acknowledged by the World Tree as Gardeners.
Ding—
The World Tree recognizes you as its Gardener.
A channel connecting the player and the World Tree has been created.
And just like that, Seonwoo truly became a Gardener of the World Tree.
A Gardener, despite that role having been reserved exclusively for elves.
And proving that this wasn't false but true, a dedicated panel appeared at the right edge of his vision.
The World Tree is showing interest in your possibility.
"Possibility?"
The World Tree is interested in the countless possibilities you tried to save.
No way.
"You... can tell?"
The countless failures—no, the countless efforts—he had repeated.
Seonwoo hadn't said it outright, but through the connected channel, the World Tree understood, and it answered in the affirmative.
The World Tree wishes to stand with you.
"...Haha. If you really would, I'd be more grateful than I can say."
He couldn't count the number of times he'd thought about it.
If only the World Tree would lend him its strength.
If only it would do that—how wonderful that would be.
And now, astonishingly, it had happened.
And then—
Ding—
For the first time after overcoming countless failures, Seonwoo had succeeded in altering the story.
Thump-thump.
The feeling reminded him of the day, after wandering for months, he had miraculously discovered a strategy guide.
His heart beat with joy and anticipation.
He had worked through endless years to seize the future he longed for.
He had kept moving forward and never once stopped.
But moving forward without stopping didn't mean it was okay.
It had hurt. It had been hard. It had been miserable.
He couldn't see the destination.
And still, he had gone on.
It felt as if a warm light were seeping into all of that.
For the first time, he truly felt he was getting closer to his destination.
For the first time, he had heard the system itself affirm that he had succeeded in altering the story.
So Seonwoo smiled softly, left Elvenheim for a while, and returned home.
Then—
Hm?
His eyes widened slightly when he saw a message sent from a number that wasn't saved in his phone.
It wasn't saved, but the moment he saw it, he knew exactly whose number it was.
It was a message from none other than Kang Han-na.