A Week of Peace in the Blue Leaf Village
The time Jin Chen had spent in the Blue Leaf Village was exactly one week.
During those days, the only thing he had done was to lie down on the flattest and sturdiest branches of the World Tree.
The elves, now used to it, walked right past him without a care.
At first they had been startled, but soon they got used to it.
Jin Chen smiled faintly, chewing on the branch stuck in his mouth with a crunch.
It was a branch the elves had brought him, and its sweet flavor was actually quite good.
Ah, nice.
The breeze that brushed his skin was refreshing, the shade of the tree was cozy, and the aura that seeped quietly from the World Tree was clear and sparkling.
Especially the Green and Yellow auras of the Tree and Earth surged through him, filling him completely.
“I figured out why you keep coming here.”
He tossed out the words with a flick of his finger.
The three-colored bird that had been lying on his chest answered with a short chirp.
Kiiiik!
Jin Chen grinned and slightly lifted his head to look at the bird.
The green and yellow feathers on its tail, which symbolized the Tree and Earth auras, had shortened more than when he had first seen them.
Of course they would have, since he had used the dragon power on them himself.
According to what the elves had heard, the three-colored bird had turned every undead summoned by the black-robed humans into dust.
It had even flown here while forcibly manifesting the full five elements it had completed just for helping him.
No wonder the newly acquired Tree and Earth auras would disappear in an instant.
“Your life is pretty tough too.”
Kiiiik?
“That’s right. Those Tree and Earth auras—how could you just live peacefully without them? You’re just being unreasonable, kid.”
Kikik! Kiiiik!
“That’s why it’s tough. It’s not because it’s not your instinct or the reason you were born, you brat.”
Kiiiiiiik!
The bird suddenly jerked its head up and spread its wings wide open.
Even if I hadn’t completed the five elements, dealing with those humans would have been nothing!
Jin Chen chuckled at the clear message behind that action.
“Fine, then hurry up and finish it. I’m curious too about what happens once the five elements are complete.”
According to legend, when the five-colored divine bird gathered all the five elements, it would possess power comparable to the phoenix, the king of divine birds.
But gathering all five elements was as hard as picking stars from the sky.
That was also why the five-colored divine bird was so rare.
Most of them died before they could gather the five elements.
That was why Jin Chen had never stopped the bird from flying around looking for them.
Fly as much as you want in the new world.
Live freely even if you don’t find the five elements.
That was his only consideration he could give it.
Thinking that, he gently stroked the bird’s head.
Kiiiik!
The three-colored bird let out a happy sound and rested its body in his hand.
“Hahaha.”
Jin Chen laughed heartily.
From below came a woman’s voice.
“Lord Aria? Could I have been a disturbance?”
The first to react was the three-colored bird.
It flew straight up and headed straight for Aria standing below.
“Useless kid.”
Jin Chen leaned his body and dropped down.
Just before he hit the ground he twisted his body and landed smoothly.
“Whoa! Already feeding time? What’s for dinner today?”
“I brought some food I made from the mountain.”
“Again?”
“Sorry. We should have prepared something for you.”
“It’s fine. Who came this time?”
Before Jin Chen finished speaking, familiar voices came from far away.
“Hahaha, please try this too. I specially asked Aunt Kwak to make it.”
“Heh heh, try this. I came back from guarding the territory and picked these while thinking of you. Heh heh!”
“Um, please don’t force yourself to eat it. It’s really fine! Please trust me!”
“Eat this. Hehe. But you’re really pretty. Can I like you too?”
It was obvious without needing to listen carefully.
They were the voices of his subordinates.
Jin Chen wrinkled his face and said.
“These brats are really wanting to die and are crying.”
“Please don’t say that. We’re really fine.”
“Fine? What’s fine about you all showing up so noisily?”
“Would you believe us if we tell you we survived the hard times thanks to you?”
“Those guys?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not forgetting that these guys came here for the first time, right?”
Aria answered with a small smile.
Gods of the elves! I will offer up my soul!
The bandit voices that had shouted the moment they saw them still lingered in his ears.
“With you guys here, I could at least forget a little pain and sadness. Because we started smiling a little more every time we saw your honest and true faces.”
“These brats really can’t be helped. What kind of bandits would make even a crying kid stop crying? Honest? True? Wah! Damn it! These guys are missing out.”
“Um, what I mean is that although they look scary on the outside, they’re actually warm on the inside.”
“Warm? Bullshit. They’re idiots who think they’re smart just because of their rough temperament.”
Aria wiped her smile and began watching Jin Chen for his reaction.
Jin Chen, whether he knew or not, walked toward the place where his subordinates were and continued speaking.
“Still… I’m glad it helped.”
“What?”
“Even though they’re the kind of guys who came to the mountain because people hit them, they should understand your hearts better than anyone.”
“We’ve received that heart perfectly.”
“They don’t know the word ‘moderation,’ so they might make mistakes and misread the situation. Tell the other elves beforehand. No need to accept everything. If they don’t want it, they should clearly say they don’t.”
Aria smiled gently and looked at the bandits.
The sight of the bandits fumbling in front of the elves looked purely good.
“I doubt it will happen, but I’ll pass it on.”
“As I said last time, I only came here to repay that guy’s debt. If it was because of me that you’re accepting them, you don’t have to. I’ll pass that on too.”
“I’ll pass it on too, even though it probably won’t happen.”
Jin Chen nodded at Aria’s answer and headed toward his subordinates.
“These guys came swarming again! Did I say only come one at a time because I announced I was showing off my mountain level?!”
“Ha, ha. Fortress Master! You’ve arrived!”
“Chaeju hyung, you’re here? This time I was coming, but these guys followed.”
“W-we greet Fortress Master!”
Jin Chen narrowed his brows and scanned the bandits.
From the minotaur horns and ogre tendons that made bows, to the leather armor made of wyvern skin and necklaces with large magic stones embedded, they had brought every rare item they received at the mountain.
“Why? Are you carrying the entire mountain?”
“Really? Then are we moving here? Awesome! I’m so excited!”
“Um, um, Mr. Muscle. It wasn’t that kind of meaning, though.”
“Hey! Claw! Fortress Master never lies!”
“Ah, no, it wasn’t that kind of meaning…”
Muscle kept pressing Claw.
Jin Chen closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and called out a guy who was secretly hiding the large magic-stone necklace behind his back.
“Idiot.”
“Yes, Fortress Master.”
“If I open my eyes and see Muscle, you die.”
“Kyaaah!”
Idiot jumped in fright and rushed to Muscle’s side.
“Huh? Suddenly why are you attached?”
“Sorry, Mr. Muscle!”
“What is it?”
“Teleport!”
Paaaaat!
Idiot disappeared with Muscle right there.
Jin Chen reopened his eyes and slowly scanned the bandits.
“You want to disappear again?”
The bandits quickly shook their heads without opening their mouths.
“Quietly eat and leave. Got it?”
The bandits nodded strongly, the sound of wind almost, and the young elf women around them smiled faintly.
Hihihihihi.
The bandits laughed with their whole bodies twisted.
Jin Chen shook his head.
“Haa, what a bunch of idiots.”
Just as Jin Chen was shaking his head, Aria came over and said.
“Please eat.”
“You keep saying that. We’ll eat what we need by ourselves, so just leave us alone.”
“You bring so much meat, vegetables, and fruit every time that we can manage this much.”
“After eating, go tell Sybel to be moderate and come quick. If we go like this, our fortress is going to fall apart.”
“Hmph!”
Aria let out a short laugh.
A figure more beautiful and dazzling than any flower.
The only ones who stood there stunned were the bandits behind her.
Jin Chen, on the other hand, clicked his tongue with a calm expression and drove the bandits on.
“Stop embarrassing the bandits and go eat.”
“Yes, Fortress Master!”
Jin Chen and the bandits walked as a group toward the dining table set up between the wooden houses.
When they reached the table, there was a large amount of delicious meat, vegetables, and fruits.
Around them sat the elders and young men of the village discussing the affairs of the village and town.
Since they hadn’t eaten together even once before, Jin Chen and the bandits sat without hesitation in the seats the elves had left empty.
And the meal began.
Crunch crunch.
While Jin Chen and the bandits ate noisily, the elves ate calmly and elegantly.
Jin Chen picked up a large piece of meat in his hand and tore it apart.
“It must be because the aura is good, the food tastes even better.”
“It’s all thanks to Mother’s blessing.”
“The auras coming out of that tree aren’t ordinary auras, obviously.”
“Honestly, at first I was surprised. The first human to feel Mother’s aura so precisely was you.”
“I’m not the only one, right?”
Jin Chen glanced sideways at his subordinates.
“Among those guys, there are quite a few who can feel the auras when doing qi circulation here. Including the ones in the fortress… roughly over fifty.”
“Are you talking about the mana cultivation method?”
“That’s right. But it’s different from the one in this world.”
“…I see.”
Aria gave a short answer and closed her mouth.
She seemed to have something she wanted to say but didn’t ask further.
She had roughly guessed what he wanted.
Jin Chen took a sip of the fruit wine the elves had fermented and nodded.
“This is pretty good too.”
When he nodded satisfied, one of the young elf men stood up abruptly from his seat.
With a firm expression and fists tightly clenched, he spoke to Jin Chen.
“How is it possible for a human like you to possess such power?”
Before the words finished, the bandits who had looked silly changed their atmosphere instantly.
Swaaaah!
The elves shivered and looked at the bandits beside them.
Because an aura that instantly cooled the atmosphere was spraying out from their bodies.
Aria hurriedly opened her mouth.
But before her, Jin Chen’s voice echoed in the space.
“It’s easy. You’ve crossed the line of death many times.”
Jin Chen put down the meat he was holding and looked at the young elf.
“Want to try it once?”
Kuuuung.
With a heavy rumble, the young elf’s body crumbled as if destroyed.
---
**SYSTEM: Quest completed!** **Reward: +50 Martial Arts Experience** **Title: World Tree Protector** unlocked!
Jin Chen tilted his head slightly. The kid had finally taken his first real step toward true power. But that was fine. The world was still far too fragile for him to rush.
Aria watched the scene with gentle eyes, her heart full of awe. Her Lord, the bandit king… even when he looked so carefree, his strength was absolute.
The elves around them began to relax again, smiling softly. They had survived the first real threat together.
Jin Chen wiped his hands clean and stood up. “Enough talk. Let’s eat. I’m still hungry after that.”
The bandits laughed loudly and resumed eating, but their eyes kept darting toward Jin Chen with respect and trust.
Aria smiled and poured him more fruit wine. “More?”
Jin Chen accepted it with a grin. “More. And tell those other elves to stop looking at me like I’m some kind of monster. I’m just a bandit who likes good food.”
Aria covered her mouth to hide her laughter. Her Lord truly was too honest.
Outside, the World Tree rustled its leaves as if in agreement. The Green and Yellow auras still flowed through Jin Chen’s body, warm and endless.
For the first time in this world, he felt something like peace.
But peace was always temporary. The bandits, the dragons, the dark elves… all of them were still out there.
Jin Chen took another bite of meat and thought. He would protect this place. His fortress. His home. Even if the whole world tried to burn it down.
Because he was Jin Chen. The bandit leader who would never lose.
And the world would learn that lesson soon enough.