The Verdant Anomaly Gate (1)

The next morning, our group headed to the gate that had appeared near the Holy Kingdom at the request of BountifulHarvest. There, guarding the gate, we found elves holding guns—a truly bizarre sight—and, true to the report, a gate glowing with a faint green hue, utterly unlike any ordinary one.

"Is this the influence of the World Tree?"

"They said there's no real way to measure the difficulty. But so far, the gates that've popped up around here have only spat out goblins and such."

Goblins shouldn't be too tough. But if the World Tree itself handed me treasure and sent me here, there has to be more to it. Anyway...

"B-Bern-nim! I'm a r-real f-fan!..."

"..."

"Th-that's the Moonlight Sword, right...?"

I've never seen Ha-eun so bubbly and chatty. It must transcend her shy nature. Though, objectively speaking, he looks like a worn-out ajusshi.

"...Are you a swordswoman?"

"Ah! Y-yes! I'm a swordswoman!"

"You wield an unusual blade."

Bern, who'd been silent until now, finally spoke as he eyed Ha-eun's sword. She grabbed the hilt like she was about to draw it for show.

"But your basics are nonexistent."

"P-pardon...?"

"Your normal breathing. Your attitude toward the sword. And that grip right now."

A slight frown creased his face.

"Do you intend to swing at me?"

"Ah! S-sorry!..."

Only then did Ha-eun realize her stance looked like she was about to draw on a monster. It's probably muscle memory at this point. But to a Sword Saint, that wouldn't fly.

"Hey, hey, don't leave her hanging like that. Why don't you teach her a thing or two? You're the Sword Saint, right?"

"The sword isn't perfected overnight, dragon."

"Ugh, enough with the dragon crap. It's Goldie."

"And what would I gain from teaching her?"

Sheesh. Guy doesn't even listen. Still, I meant it—teach Ha-eun. Her fighting style last time didn't suit her at all. Problem is, I dabble with swords but I'm no expert. It's all instinct for me. No clue where to start correcting her. Someone who specializes in swords like him would be way better.

"Gain? Hmm... If I put in a word with the Association, maybe they could deliver some food?"

"What?"

"Saw you yesterday—didn't touch the mushrooms. You hate 'em?"

I held out a piece of jerky I'd brought from home. Meant it as Terra feed, but I'd been munching some too. And yeah, elves can eat meat. They just avoid it due to racial traits and the World Tree's animal-loving passive. Plenty did back in my old world. No real difference from Earth's elf image.

"...Quick on the uptake. Those eyes of yours?"

"Nah, I'm just naturally perceptive. Gotta be to hoard treasure."

But as a heroic figure to elves, he probably can't be seen chowing down publicly.

"...I'll consider it. Dragon."

Still wary, but he took the jerky. Positive sign? Food conquers all species. Even dragons like Terra.

"Alright, preps are done. Time to head in? Oh, first... Hey guys, donations please."

"Ha-eun, kick the chat trolls first."

Inside the gate, honestly? Nothing special. At best, goblins—even the boss was just a Goblin King. Felt like a D-rank at most.

Miserly rewards too. For something flashing green and showy, it was disappointingly underwhelming.

"Terra, process these mana stones for now."

"Yes."

Good news? It cleared, but no collapse yet. Like with Terra—something blocking it? That'd be ideal.

"Ha-eun, do gates sometimes not collapse after clearing?"

"Ah, yes! Th-there are permanent gates that don't vanish even after clearing!..."

"So this is one of those?"

"W-well... Permanent gates don't close their entrances. They're used for hunter training. But this one..."

The entrance definitely closed when we entered. Hmm... So what is it, really?

Then a status window popped up in my vision. Oh right, the Forest Gem. It drops here too!

As I stared at the gem fragment in my hand, a new message appeared. Truth?

"What's wrong, unnie?"

"Th-the status window says I've gotten closer to some truth. No idea what that means."

"Oh, I think I know."

"Huh?"

Terra, mid-processing, looked up at me.

"It's a hidden quest! A sudden hidden quest!"

"..."

"...You seriously need to cut back on games."

"Eek?! Why...?"

More pointless chatter. No mentions of me during the Gal Cup? Sigh.

"Haa... Fine, let's say it's a hidden quest like you said. What next?"

"No idea."

"Hey."

"B-but it's hidden! If I knew, it wouldn't be hidden!"

Great talker. Bottom line: clueless.

"You got nothing?"

"...No clue."

"Sh-should we explore more inside...? Since it's not collapsing..."

That makes sense. With Terra, it only started collapsing after resolution.

Hmm, speaking of...

"Terra."

"Yes?"

"You came from a gate, right? How'd you end up there?"

Since Terra emerged from one, maybe gates aren't just monster spawners. Though if dragons count as monsters... Anyway, why was she inside?

"I was just there. Then I met Goldie-nim."

"Gates have size limits, from what I hear. You were inside that space?"

Terra pondered briefly.

"Not sure about that... I just settled in an abandoned mine..."

She shook her head. She doesn't know how she ended up inside either?

"Sucks Earth has no magic tower. They'd figure this out. Should I make one? Golden Magic Tower sound good?"

As the chat buzzed, we kept exploring per Ha-eun's suggestion. A dense jungle-like forest, goblins lurking, mystery bugs buzzing around.

Slash!

"Not like that. Relax your strength. Who taught ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you such sloppy swordplay?"

"Uwaaa..."

Bern was correcting Ha-eun's technique against goblins. Plenty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of time anyway.

"Consider your frail body. Force-based swordplay is poison."

"Y-yes!"

"Your stance is too wide. Balance crumbling. Fix it."

"Got it!..."

Ha-eun seemed fine with it—thrilled to learn from her idol, probably.

Rustle—

How deep had we gone?

"...Hold up."

I halted the group at the noise. Not goblin footsteps. Stealthier, subtler—

Pew!

"...! Bern!"

"On it."

Tatadang! Arrows rained from all sides. Bern and I deflected them, scanning fast.

Rustle— Movement in the trees. That guy?

Thud! I dashed through the arrows, locking on. Bern could guard Ha-eun. Terra could handle herself.

"■■?!"

Bam! I tackled the shadow and slammed it against a tree. What came into view was...

'...An elf?'

An elf clutching a bow. What the hell? Another backstab?