Chapter 172
Chapter 172
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: The World Tree's Territory
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Goddess...."
Someone's faint whisper.
"Whooooa...!"
"Goddess...!"
Had turned into a wave spreading outward.
The World Tree, Yggdrasil, that had revealed itself—its form and power.
Shwaaaa.
Looked holier and more beautiful than anything else.
Who, upon seeing it,
"It's the Goddess!"
Wouldn't think it was the Goddess?
At this very moment, the sanctuary and Shin Mingyu—the good and evil that had flipped once before.
"This place is now my territory from here on."
Were flipping once more.
"I will not forgive any intrusion of harm."
Shwaaa.
Everyone fell silent at the sight of Yggdrasil speaking, its hair swaying even down to the tips in the rustling wind.
"Let go! I said let go! You fake—!"
Shin Mingyu's shouts were silenced as wooden vines plugged his mouth.
"Mmph! Mmmph! Mmph!"
A figure too wretched to be called legendary.
Yet even that scene felt nothing but beautiful and mystical.
"Ahh."
The people's awe and admiration were perhaps only natural.
The remaining angels were also seized by Yggdrasil.
Kukukuku!
The roots that had surged from the ground began sinking back into the earth.
Taking Shin Mingyu and the angels with them.
"......"
Silence descended.
The people, struck with awe as if witnessing a god for the first time in their lives, couldn't easily open their mouths.
Swoosh.
Yggdrasil surveyed them all.
And then.
Pashit.
The moment she vanished once more.
"Whew."
Kim Cheonseok and Yu Baek were just as stunned by what had just happened.
Such power and beauty.
Even they, who thought they wouldn't be surprised easily anymore, had to clutch their pounding hearts.
At the same time.
"Damn world, isn't it?"
Kim Cheonseok spat out an out-of-place remark toward Yu Baek.
"...I agree, to some extent."
Unlike usual, Yu Baek gave a faint smile and nodded in agreement.
Overwhelming power? If it had been that, they wouldn't feel this hollow.
"What a damn looks-based society."
As Kim Cheonseok said, what had overturned public opinion and dominated wasn't power, but beauty.
"But who do you think it is, hyung?"
Yu Baek asked Kim Cheonseok.
"Who else?"
Kim Cheonseok looked at Yu Baek as if it were obvious.
"This one."
He stuck out his pinky finger.
"Who else has such a pretty bride? With all those beauties around him, and he doesn't give them a glance—now we know why."
Kim Cheonseok nodded to himself.
Of course, Yu Baek didn't agree.
In any case.
"Whew. My legs are shaking like crazy."
Another crisis had ended.
He desperately wanted to collapse and sleep right then, but he couldn't.
"Get your head straight. It ain't over yet."
The enemy raid was probably done.
However.
"Speak of the devil, there he is."
If it was Go Yohan's temperament, there would be cleanup afterward.
And sure enough, a man with silver-white hair fluttering appeared before the suddenly manifested massive tower.
*
*
*
'Thanks.'
At Go Yohan's greeting.
Flutter.
A branch slipping out from between the massive magic tower seemed to shake.
The World Tree, Yggdrasil.
It had now fully merged with the magic tower, becoming one entity.
Having devoured all the mana from the gates and undergone explosive growth amid the chaos, she had responded to Go Yohan's will and revealed herself.
Now, she would focus on healing the apostles and hide away for a bit.
Swoosh.
Go Yohan climbed onto the branch she extended and looked around.
It was an utterly alien sight.
Modern society invaded by otherworldly civilization.
Moreover, Go Yohan atop the branch, in his loose black T-shirt and comfortable pants—modern attire.
"......"
But it all suited him perfectly.
If not for the magic tower's grandeur and overwhelming presence, it could be mistaken for a movie set.
Creak.
One drone began approaching from afar.
"As expected, you brought it well."
The top of the drone, garishly decorated with colors.
The text written on it.
-Yohan Revelation.
It was Yongyong's channel name.
Cameras were also starting to appear from below.
The threat had passed, and Go Yohan had revealed himself.
Drrrrr.
Only the declaration remained.
Only Yohan Revelation's drone was permitted near Go Yohan.
The rest could only zoom in from afar.
But the voice would reach them all the same.
"This structure is a magic tower."
Go Yohan spoke unprepared words, just pouring them out.
"And can be called the nest where the World Tree resides."
It would be hard to understand.
No need to understand.
"All gates that appeared in Korea have been moved inside the magic tower."
Murmur murmur.
Reporters and people babbling things like "Is that even possible?"
"The threat of gate breaks is gone."
Go Yohan's declaration felt more solid than any promise before.
"All gates that appear in Korea will emerge inside the magic tower, and..."
Sreek.
There was an unexpected harvest too.
The power to manipulate this massive spatial axis, the power to move the World Tree—for efficiency, he'd limited it to Korea.
But in that process, they had overreached to deal with him decisively.
The result.
"Gates from neighboring countries will also emerge from the magic tower."
Over 300 gates had been detained in the magic tower.
Pfft.
They probably never imagined it.
Even they couldn't grasp over 300 gates in their hands.
Even with the existence of the World Tree.
'A miracle.'
This was truly something close to a miracle beyond all expectations.
'Gates inside the magic tower resonate with each other, generating attractive force.'
And that force pulled in gates that should have appeared in neighboring countries.
Furthermore.
'It will expand that domain.'
What did that mean?
Blink, blink.
Yohan Revelation's drone flashed red.
Yongyong's signal asking if he could explain in more detail.
"That means."
So he opened his mouth.
"At least in Korea, the disaster of gate breaks has been completely conquered."
Murmur murmur!
It was noisy below.
Whirrrr!
Yongyong's drone buzzed excitedly.
Gates, players.
Why were players hailed as heroes and respected?
Not as miners digging new resources, but because gates weren't judged solely as superhuman threats.
The existence of gates that would explode if not cleared, and the players who prevented the disasters they caused—that's why they were so revered.
But if that problem was solved.
"Let me put it simply."
Go Yohan said.
"A new world, a new era has opened."
Behold.
'I will continue stabilizing humanity, my domain.'
At least this Korea would become paradise for those who followed him.
'Only fighting demons and my enemies.'
Ensuring eternal stability within.
"The issue with the vanished system is being resolved too, so please wait."
As Go Yohan turned to leave.
As if struck by a sudden thought, he turned back to the drone and said.
"It's a major update, so look forward to it."
Players, system.
If they thought what should have been the goddess's blessing was just part of a game.
Then he'd adjust it to be easy for everyone to understand.
*
*
*
Go Yohan's declaration was short and clear.
But those in the know would grasp the many implications hidden behind it.
"Crazy bastard."
Go Minji sat in the holy mansion and said.
The injuries from this battle had been healed by Go Yohan, but with the system not fully restored, the holy ones were taking a brief rest.
Go Jaehan and Shin Sookyung were busier than ever, and Go Woojin rarely came home as the next guild master, but Go Minji was different.
She was enjoying the long-overdue rest more than anyone.
"Go Yohan... nim?"
At the voice that rang out then.
Wary.
Go Minji scowled.
"Go Yohan nim? What bullshit is that?"
Her irritated tone was directed at Kim Dayeon, sitting under the sofa.
"Who the hell calls a friend's little brother 'nim'?"
"Why? What's wrong with it."
"What?"
"If my little brother was Cha Eunsu, you'd call him Cha Eunsu nim too, right?"
"Th-that's..."
For some reason, she had no retort.
"Anyway."
Kim Dayeon and Go Minji's gazes turned to the screen covering an entire wall of the living room.
-The existence of the magic tower truly ushers in a new era...
-Another update on the magic tower...
New world, new era.
"Go Yohan ni—"
"Please, just call him Yohan. Do whatever elsewhere."
"Ahem. Well, Yohan."
Kim Dayeon corrected herself.
"Yohan only emphasized Korea's safety this time, but you know that's not the whole story, right?"
Go Minji nodded slightly at Kim Dayeon's words.
Her face was utterly different from the playful one before.
Sreek.
A smile as viscous and cruel as could be.
"'It even pulls in gates from neighboring countries.' I don't know the principle, but..."
Go Minji said.
"It means he can bind gate spawn locations, and the limit of that domain is vast."
"Yeah. The info provided to the association was similar."
"And if."
Go Minji's smile deepened further.
"That domain expands across the entire Earth?"
Even when Go Minji acted sloppy, she was a ranker acknowledged even abroad.
She was also one of the holy successors, and a tactician who had achieved feats recognized by the American holy branch.
"Go Yohan talked about gates only as disasters or threats, but in reality, gates aren't just that anymore."
Gates.
"A treasure trove overflowing with resources. That bastard Go Yohan plans to monopolize it."