When Longing Finally Meets Its Answer
“We will begin the guidance for the important content [Item Enhancement]. Time itself briefly comes to a halt.”
“Oh? I didn’t have much time to spare anyway, so that’s a relief. Much obliged!”
With the reprieve granted to him, Ho-yeong could leisurely read the tooltip.
“Choose one of the enhancement trees... So it works the same way as in the game.”
As the name tree suggested, the diagram appeared in the shape of an actual tree.
❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦ ❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦
v v v v v v v v
V V V V
Y Y
Ⓐ Ⓑ
The process was simple: choose one of two enhancement effects, four times in total. In other words, the final enhanced form would be one of sixteen possible outcomes.
When he played the game, he could experience every enhancement tree through multiple runs.
But this is inside the game. If I fail to clear a stage even once, it’s over. Multiple playthroughs are impossible.
Clinging to a sliver of hope, Ho-yeong asked Daliha,
“Do they sell an enhancement reset scroll in the shop, like in the game?”
An enhancement reset did exactly what it sounded like: it reset the enhancement tree. There was a penalty, of course; you only recovered 60 percent of the resources invested in the enhancement, but it was useful when strategy needed to change in a hurry.
“Or maybe I can get one through a quest?”
Unfortunately, such an item cannot be obtained. I therefore strongly advise you to enhance items with great care.
The pressure of an irreversible choice.
“Right now only the details for Ⓐ and Ⓑ are shown, but can I find out the higher tiers later? Can’t I spend RP to preview them now?”
As of now, yes. If you choose either A or B, two higher-tier branches will appear.
“I see. But why is only Haria’s Tear glowing with a gold border?”
Ho-yeong suddenly sensed something odd. When he looked more closely, Haria’s Tear was shining much more brightly than the others.
Because enhancing Haria’s Tear greatly helps in progressing important quests.
“I see. Then let me take a closer look at the tooltip.”
Haria’s Tear +1 enhancement (consumes 1,000 RP)
[Common Perk]
- Enhanced item passive effect: “Holy power exerted by priests of the Hariad Order nearby increases by 20 percent” -> “The increase in holy power rises further in proportion to the amount and concentration of the charged tears.”
- This perk applies regardless of whether you choose branch A or B.
(A) Tears of the Soul
- The higher-tier effects in this tree are related to “reducing resurrection penalties” or “granting perks upon resurrection.”
- Choosing this tree adds two new traits to the item.
(1) [Specter Detection]
You can sense the souls of the dead, especially lingering spirits. It activates automatically when you approach a soul.
(2) [Specter Communion]
You can attempt to communicate with a spirit. EP is consumed each time this effect is used.
So this feels like I’m suddenly changing jobs into a medium? Hm... this enhancement tree seems to be the kind that thinks in terms of the bigger picture.
The immediate benefits looked minor, but he had a feeling the higher-tier effects would prove useful.
(B) River of Souls
- The higher-tier effects in this tree are related to “expanding the resurrection target.”
- Choosing this tree adds two new traits to the item.
(1) [Seed of the Soul]
Dead plants can also be revived.
(2) [Soul Tree]
Revived plants are inhabited by souls and become spirits. You can use abilities such as Edification on those spirits.
Reviving plants might seem pointless at first glance, but... if I think about it, the applications are endless. The reason healing potions became so rare is that all the Doom Trees died off. Then if I find those trees and bring them back, I can have infinite sap refills, right?! I might be able to build a healing potion factory.
Even in the Tamer domain, Doom Trees grew well enough, but the fact that there was only one made him uneasy.
And making plants into spirits and using Edification on them is pretty novel. That could be seriously useful, too. If I use it on ironwood, maybe I can turn it into an absurdly sturdy tank.
The balance of his heart tilted toward the (B) River of Souls tree.
“Then I’ll choose the B tree—”
Just as he was about to decide, Ho-yeong paused when he saw the gravestone in the corner of the garden. It was the grave of the marchioness, Dixie Valcarter.
“Daliha, didn’t you say that clearing the game would reward five mythic-grade items? Could those... be obtained in reality as actual objects, instead of dropping like loot in a mobile game?”
After a brief silence, Daliha brought up a yellow message in the status window.
RP expenditure required.
Ho-yeong guessed that this silence meant Daliha was coordinating the answer with the system.
To receive an answer to that question, you must pay 500 RP. Would you like to pay RP?
“Five hundred? Not fifty?”
500.
Sensing that there was something meaningful hidden in the answer, Ho-yeong paid the 500 RP.
The mythic-grade items obtained upon clearing the game are distributed as mobile game data. If you possess any mythic-grade items at the moment of clearing, you may select those items and receive them as rewards. If you have fewer than five, the remaining items will be distributed randomly.
“...I see.”
However.
Just as he was about to give up on that faint hope, Daliha told him something astonishing.
If you succeed in reaching the true ending rather than the normal ending, you can obtain mythic-grade items in real form. These materialized items cannot be used in the mobile game, but they do exert actual effects in the world you recognize as “reality.”
“Really?! That’s possible?!”
What Ho-yeong thought of when he looked at the marchioness’s grave was his parents. If he could bring Haria’s Tear, enhanced with the Tears of the Soul tree, into reality, then perhaps he could speak with his deceased parents again. He clung to that hope.
Don’t forget, the condition is that I have to reach the true ending.
Ho-yeong immediately pressed the button on the left.
“Enhancement tree selection. I’ll go with (A) Tears of the Soul.”
Enhancement complete! One enhancement stone and 1,000 RP have been consumed. Remaining enhancement stones: 0. Remaining RP: 700. Time flow resumes.
With a burst of golden sparks, the world brightened again.
* * *
“I-is that really true? You can bring my dead wife back to life?”
“When my mother passed away, we brought in the Bishop General, but even he failed... Is it really possible?!”
Ho-yeong decided to do a good deed for the marchioness’s house by using the Tears of the Soul enhancement tree.
Since I already chose the tree, I might as well try it out myself. And I can rack up another debt of gratitude from the marchioness’s house while I’m at it.
That was what he thought, though he also felt pity for the marchioness who had died only after worrying herself sick over her son.
“Then I’ll go fetch a priest!”
“There is no need, Second Young Master.”
Sir Demis stopped Rosta, who was about to rush straight to the Hariad Order’s central headquarters.
“Though I am but a humble servant of Hariad, I am still a Holy Knight. I, too, can make use of the authority of resurrection.”
“Y-you mean you’ll bring my wife back? Truly... truly, I’m grateful. From the bottom of my heart!”
At those words, the Count of Iolid bowed again and again, looking as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
“That will save time. For the dead as well as for us.”
Demis Ezef answered calmly.
“Though, of course, that depends on whether we can awaken within the dead the will to return.”
* * *
Ho-yeong stepped up before the gravestone.
Item effect [Specter Detection] activated! The spirit of Dixie Valcarter is nearby.
But no matter how hard he looked around the grave, he couldn’t see anything resembling a ghost.
Look up.
Ho-yeong looked up as Daliha instructed, and nearly fell over in shock. A pale human shape was floating there. It was a middle-aged woman.
Is she staring at Garza’s room?
Though her form was faint and hard to make out, the spirit’s gaze seemed to be fixed blankly on the mansion’s highest floor.
Ho-yeong let out a short breath and pressed the button.
Using item trait [Specter Communion]. EP 15 will be consumed per minute. To communicate with the spirit, you may speak aloud or speak in your mind.
What is this, a collect call from the afterlife? Look at that EP cost.
Alarmed, Ho-yeong hurriedly tried to make contact.
“Lady marchioness. Your youngest son, whom you were so worried about, has regained his mana. So please, you too, regain your will to live.”
The spirit’s gaze, which had been fixed on Ho-yeong, shifted toward the family standing behind him.
The ghost, which had been hanging in the air empty and weightless, slowly descended to the ground. When the spirit lay down aligned with the corpse in the coffin—
“This can’t be...!”
The ivory cross Demis held erupted with light and lifted its wings.
“The will of the dead has been stirred.”
Demis, still holding the ivory cross, immediately began to pray.
* * *
The garden turned into a sea of tears. Most of those tears were shed by the resurrected marchioness herself. After expressing her heartfelt gratitude and apologies to Ho-yeong and Peach, she departed for the temple to recover.
“Lord Tamer, Sir Demis. You two are benefactors to my family, no, to our house. I don’t know how I can ever thank you...”
As expected of a senior noble leading the peerage, the Count of Iolid understood proper conduct. Rather than seeking out Hariad first, he offered his thanks to Ho-yeong and Demis Ezef.
“I would like to host a grand banquet for you two over the course of several days.”
“We simply did what needed to be done. Since the mission is urgent, it would be best to save the banquet for later. Just as the marchioness’s house has regained its happiness, we still need to return the kidnapped children and soldiers to their families.”
“R-right. Of course, that should be handled first.”
Ho-yeong reminded the count, who was drowning in emotion, that the quest timer was running out.
I’m glad things went well for the marchioness’s family, but... what exactly is this so-called strategy guide?
Just as he was growing anxious because the system had yet to give him any meaningful message—
Ultra-positive event detected!
Golden radiance surged from the heavens, reflecting in the people’s clear tears and casting golden ripples of light.
The skill tree of the passive skill [Influence] gains +4 enhancement in the branches [Influence Conversion] and [Influence Pioneer]!