Chapter 300
Chapter 300
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Can One Who Has Seen the End of the World Plant an Apple Tree? (5)
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Alright, let's think about this rationally. Logically. Reasonably.
First off. Would it be better to keep looking for more reinforcements here, or take advantage of the mutants' hesitation, not give them time to recover, and launch a full assault with all the forces we've gathered so far?
In the old days, I would've picked the former without a doubt, but given my current situation, the latter doesn't sound half bad.
First, Lordric. Most of its territory has been overrun by mutants, turning it into a land where chambermaids stand out like monuments here and there, but the king survived, the knights serving him survived, and true to its name as the land of knights, its will to fight is rock-solid.
Troops. Lordric's elite soldiers are mostly wiped out. But beyond Lordric, the Free City Alliance, which doesn't want the war to spread, and Teldrat sent reinforcements. Now, in order to scrape together private troops from noble houses, His Majesty Gaïnax the New Emperor has pledged an outrageous number of soldiers. Quite a few tribes from the grasslands beyond Haunuman have started migrating to Lordric in search of new lands, so the cavalry divisions must have grown considerably.
Elites. As long as we don't run it into the ground, heroes from each country gather under the church's banner in every world—it's the same everywhere. Right now, on the Lordric frontlines, hero units from all over are making their mark in various spots. On top of that, the Church of Mercy, having reclaimed their saintess, has promised cooperation, and the Church of Radiance will send forces wherever I go to protect me, their central pillar. Basic hero unit set + very active cooperation from two of the five great churches + the pureblood elves cooperating reluctantly thanks to the World Tree. I haven't seen the battlefield with my own eyes, but magical forces must have been deployed too, and with our party in the mix, the elite forces are pretty solid.
The enemy? With the demigod mutant queen, they've probably made up for the early shortages in numbers.
Named units. Bazur presumed dead. Strategist and support-type Palkatus. Edeorna (recovering from injuries or evolving post-recovery). Given the time, two or three more named units have likely emerged.
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- Professor : What do you think? At this point.... we might be ready to see the ending without any more reinforcements?
- Deer Drug Please : No way.
- Professor : Come on, why not? We've grown this much, haven't we? We took down Edeorna at Storm Hill, and in the Empire, we smashed a witch who was practically a god!
- Take a Look : *Squeeze* Top-tier players who are cruising through the game and suddenly think, "I'm at that level now....?" For you, we've prepared this~ The legendary duel footage between the Supreme Argalian Sword and Thousand Stream Emperor! And footage of blocking the fully evolved Edeorna who took out the Supreme Argalian Sword in mutual destruction!
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Right in front of my eyes, desperately trying to avoid the desert trip, pops up footage sent by that blockhead.
A village and city completely buried by a landslide.
The two swordsmen responsible for that landslide slicing an entire mountain in half, turning the plateau into flatland.
Every time sword light flashed, a once-majestic peak was sliced off like butter, and the ear-splitting clash of metal dispersed the clouds, revealing a clear sky.
A clash between people who split the sky and cleaved mountains with a single swing. This is the level of those called the strongest in the 3rd world.
If this guy says that even with the Argalian Sword as an ally, humans lose if we just leave him be, it means the enemy has a monster on that level too.
Every time I tried to counter, another terrifying video popped up in the chat.
Like the final evolved form of Edeorna, now almost fully human-like, alternating between massive exoskeletons on her back the size of church steeples.
Or footage of Bazur grinding up an entire elite knight order using auras, fortifications and all.
Or a massive maggot-like mutant dropping onto what seemed like a nearly breached defensive line, instantly building a wall and stalling things for days.
Hmm.... Yeah. We've come close to clearing plenty of times but failed—that's all. Everyone thought, "This should be enough!" and charged into the final battle, only to get their heads smashed by some insane pro who popped out of nowhere.
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- Jokasss : Even with all this, you still think it's doable? Huh? And in your world, the queen's been upgraded to a demigod one step higher? Seems like a prosperity/survival type god too—what if she goes all out with mass resurrections or limited immortality as a last resort? Don't you know that in GG, imagining the worst is always exceeded by reality?
- Professor : ....I know.
- Jokasss : Then, with the elf forest trip off the table and a bit of time freed up, doesn't it make zero sense to head to Lordric just because it's a hassle or "good enough," when there's a chance to gather more power right now? Especially when failing means you might be stuck in here forever?
- Professor : Yeah.... probably not. Hmm....
- Jokasss : Now you've got two options left: the southern great forest, where there's no paths—just trees everywhere, so you get lost easily, it eats up 4 weeks round trip, and even if they listen well, their mindset's so alien they barely fit into human army structures. Or Taklan, the desert nation where you can zip along the wide eastern roads of the three countries, and you have deeep~ connections with their upper echelons. Which one's the "rational" choice? No question, right?
- Professor : Well, uh....
- Jokasss : You're going to the desert, right? Huh? You have to.
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Damn that tactless bastard.
Professor had no choice but to shut his mouth, unable to believe the logical barrage from the guy who usually seemed so dim.
I knew too. Even before bringing it up, I knew going to the desert was the best use of this unexpected breather.
But still, optics matter.
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- Speed Wagon : ....
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Just sitting quiet was scary enough, but with the chat blatantly showing "thinking..." with those three dots, it was terrifying! Who knows, maybe my real-world body had her fiddling with the power cord, lost in some horrifying thoughts.
Dana might have a frail body, but in a world where you survive by getting ruthless somehow, making it this far with a weaker body than most might mean she's even more vicious.
'Come to think of it, I never heard how Dana survived with that body to set up a hospital in the underground library.'
Maybe her past is even more brutal than mine? Living underground in some heavily ruined wasteland. Maybe riding around in construction mechs, saying, "You'd die anyway left alone, but your remaining lives combined aren't worth as much as this one," while mowing down a dozen scavengers.
As Professor's imagination delved deeper into anxiety amid Dana's silence, picturing a past Dana turning into something like Sarah Connor—
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- Speed Wagon : I think going to the desert is right too.
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Finally, her permission came.
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- Speed Wagon : Like I said earlier, lives are on the line. In a situation where we should squeeze out every last drop, pausing to calculate is nonsense.
- Speed Wagon : I know. That my relationship with Professor is kinda warped. We've known each other for 7 years without seeing faces, barely talked face-to-face for even a day, yet we're lovers, sharing emotions—it's overstepping.
- Deer Drug Please : Hey,
- Speed Wagon : But though we live forgetting it, everyone here doesn't have much time. Every winter, we go through the ritual of calling out names one by one to check who's died in the chat. So many die, it becomes routine.
- Speed Wagon : Professor, you're biologically almost dead already, and I've outlived what the doctors predicted. The match ended, overtime's over—why hasn't the ref blown the whistle? Right when I was doubting, I met you and for the first time held someone in my heart.
- Speed Wagon : Embarrassing to say, but I'm desperate. Scared that one day you'll vanish, and before I process the grief, I'll die too. Like how you're awkward now, scared this "warped meeting" ends with nothing left behind. I'm desperate.
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“Uh, w-wait.... Dana? Um....”
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- Speed Wagon : So! ....Please, come back to me the safest, fastest way. I beg you. If there's anything I can do, I'll do it all. Desert, space, anywhere. Don't feel burdened—just do what's needed.
Ding-!
[Player ‘Speed Wagon’ has left the chat room!]
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“Uh.... um....”
With no room for anyone to interject, Dana poured out words like a machine gun and left, leaving only the text behind. The chat cursor blinked quietly, mirroring unfocused eyes and silently swallowed curses.
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- Deer Drug Please : Ugh, idiot.
- Jokasss : Frustrated bastard.
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What rained down on the flushed, stammering Professor was cold scorn from the 47th Sector chat's official couple.
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- Professor : Did I, uh, do something wrong?
- Jokasss : Guy's brain runs like a 4D supercomputer around nobles, politicians, emperors, but drops to abacus level in situations like this.
- Deer Drug Please : How'd our Dana fall for a guy like that—ugh, so frustrating. Such a waste. I wasn't gonna say anything, but....
- Heung An Mandu : Hey.
- Professor : No, really, what did I do? I didn't do anything anywhere....
- Deer Drug Please : You don't know? Really don't know? With that genius brain pulling off plays we can't tell if it's car skill or brain skill—you don't knooow? This is total bullsh@#*&*@#^!^&fuck@#&*^!!!
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What? What's this vibe?
Dana suddenly got worked up, spilled her guts, and bailed, but everyone acted like they expected it. More like they're treating me—the clueless one—like the weirdo....
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- Deer Drug Please : That's why it's wrong, you moron! Aaaargh! If you were in front of me, I'd smack you! Hey! When your stream cut out and you were totally cut off from the outside! That was just five hours ago—five hours! You were sleeping or passed out, so it flew by, but for us, it was breaking news flooding the community: "Professor Park finally dead! Silent Dome—did the hero fail to return?" That was just five hours ago, you utter piece-of-shit F-grade trash bastard! Dana had to prepare once when you got carted in like that, and again five hours ago! Prepare for what? To face Professor Park, who ultimately bit the dust!
- Jokasss : Naily, stop. We promised not to do this with these folks. No need to worry them.
- Deer Drug Please : Stop what! Even a mom-fucker should know some limits! We let it slide out of consideration, and you think it's no big deal! Hey! I visited Dana's hospital room recently? Dug through her closet for cute clothes—found exactly two outfits: white hospital gown and black mourning clothes, you fucker! With that big brain, can't you spare a tiny bit for us? Huh? You shit-crumb stuck in a asshole—
- Jokasss : Aigoo, she's fired up again. Hey, we'll head out too. I'll calm her down, so think it over alone.
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He missed a few words, but it was enough to piece together the conversations behind his back.
People who all knew it was clear or die.
Watching him alive via live stream, then suddenly it cuts out. Dome goes silent, rumors spread like wildfire.
People preparing to accept human Professor Park's death.
He'd imagined the scenario plenty, but never truly thought about it.
'Why didn't I think of it? When I first met the World Tree. So anxious I couldn't even ask, but my first words were [Did I die?]. The emotions I faced—others felt them too. But without an immediate answer like mine, until the stream came back.'
Never once considered being the one leaving others behind, not the one left.
Conversely, Dana, born with congenital heart issues, lived the opposite—always ready to leave others' sides.
Then, just as they finally saw faces, exchanged greetings, and tiny feelings started budding, the 38th Sector Orpheus incident hits. People from the Dome drag her to a freak corpse and introduce it as me. "Your acquaintance. Hard to accept, but prepare your heart...." That's her reality.
'I'm desperate.'
She must've felt it in her bones then. Chronic illness or whatever—in the wasteland, you never know who, when, where you'll lose.
Losing the direction for her first real feeling, she clung desperately, nurturing it by my vegetative body's side. During the 4 months Dome scientists hunted my in-game data. When I woke thinking, "Just a pretty girl who likes me. Oh, it's Speed Wagon!"—what was she thinking, holding my hand, hugging me?
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- Holy : Someday, Dana unnie said this. Every time she sees unnie smile, she finally gets her mom's eyes turning away. Every bright moment shared, her mom pictured it as the last memory in a portrait and incense smoke. That's the gaze of one facing a loved one who could die anytime. So she wants to share one more word, one more moment, fiercely. Knows the other feels less, but desperation overrides it.
- Holy : Ugh, actually unnie told me not to say this.
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I didn't know. After Orpheus, about the backstory to Dana's sudden confession before my ghost-like eyes in the pod.
Just as I was used to preparing for others' ends, I never imagined others preparing for, accepting mine.
Dana struggled to accept my ever-looming death while fighting to convey her feelings.
I didn't know. Never felt emotions like this—truly didn't know.
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- Take a Look : Honestly, you should've said it first. No big deal. Stick it out a bit more and we'll meet safe outside. I won't die. Basic, right?
- Professor : I, uh, gotta message Dana real quick....
- Holy : Too late. Unnie had a super important checkup today, but bolted from the exam room hearing you're fine. Probably back there now. Might not return to chat to avoid burdening you.
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Frustrating. Want to go do something, but trapped in this world.
So many words on my tongue, no one to hear.
“Ooom.... Quite the dilemma, eh? Can't decide where to go?”
Amid ears burning with shame, guilt, remorse, the old mage's voice flowed in. Professor, envisioning his best immediate apology, opened his mouth toward him.
“I'll go east.... to the desert nation.”
“East, eh.... Riding the dry winds.”
I'm going out. Fastest, without a scratch, perfect clear—out.
That way, no more anxiety.
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