In Search of Gold
The migration of the Dark Elves began in search of gold. However, since there was no sea around the Equator suitable for floating them across, Patel emerged from her jar and the work of transporting them in small groups proceeded. The new immigrants planted black trees on the Equator. Around the factories standing sparsely on the red land, countless black trees rose up. For the first time, nature had appeared on the desolate island.
Though grotesque in appearance, the black trees were extremely useful plants. Their fruits grew rapidly and were rich in nutrients. It was a different form of blessing from the factories of the Destination. As the black forest took shape, the Equator’s food shortage—which had previously required external hunting—was largely resolved. There was no longer any need to search for large prey just to feed the super-giant zombies. Higher-tier entities were still required for enhancements, but at least the problem of hunger had been solved.
And as a new wind blew across the Equator, talents that had never been visible before began to shine. The seahorses’ many arms, once thought useless except for learning ghost shamanism, were perfectly optimized for gathering. They roamed the black forest, harvesting fruits with the efficiency of a thresher and returning with baskets full. They were natural-born gatherers.
The synergy was not limited to seahorses and black trees. The elves, with their high concentration and skilled hands, took jobs at the factories after touring them. They replaced precise, small components that the existing production lines could not manufacture with handmade work, more than doubling the quality of all factory products.
Although their physical abilities were low, commanders with high intelligence and the capacity for detailed judgment were deployed. Various equipment suited to the Dark Elves’ physiques was produced, and at the same time, technology advanced by having the Dark Elves directly pilot golems while receiving only support. Independent combat capability and fundamental combat power were both secured at once.
Stable food supply. Technological advancement. These two virtuous cycles turned endlessly, driving each other toward ever-greater efficiency. A self-sustaining cultural ecosystem was taking root on the Equator.
The Equator was no longer a mere military collective. With the emergence of culture, the residents’ rank system also changed. Zone leaders such as the Prophet, now factory manager, or the Seahorse King were addressed as vice presidents, while priests became directors. Baengnae received the title of vice chairman, and I became chairman.
‘No, I told them not to create a weird culture…’
In truth, the reason this rank system took hold was because of the Snail Knight, Ju Giju. When culture was budding and the matter of titles was being reorganized, I had been away on a business trip to the maze connected to the Relic Temple. The task was to summon the Dark Elf warriors sealed within relics and bring them under my influence. By the time I returned after completing that work, Ju Giju had already distributed ranks under the pretext of “the rules of human society.” The seahorses and elves had accepted the term “Earth culture” without any sense of incongruity. When I came back, everyone was already addressing one another by the new titles.
‘That bastard Ju Giju…!’
Ju Giju had sneakily appointed himself director as well. I immediately demoted him to executive director. A director was a position on the level of the Goddess’s priests—someone who brought immense benefits to the entire Equator, far beyond merely managing a zone.
‘At least take a title that makes some sense before I let it slide.’
Ju Giju protested, but when I told him that if he disliked it he could be a department head instead, he fell silent. Still, Ju Giju had not done anything strange. He had neatly organized various administrative processes and divided the administrative districts. The part I thought he handled best was the establishment of the sales department. Ju Giju had selected good-looking elves and was training them as sales representatives to sell Equator-made items. Of course, since he had inserted himself as project manager, I immediately removed him and handed the matter over to Campbell of the information department. Salespeople and information had always been close, after all.
‘Finally, it’s over.’
I gazed at the now-empty Obsidian World Tree after two weeks and read the letter Dotamund had given me. It was merely a short note of thanks. He had used a loophole, knowing that return would occur automatically upon receiving the reward. After finishing the letter, the reward acquisition criteria were fulfilled. A brilliant cluster of light. Baengnae and I returned to the Garden of Fresh Greenery.
***
A gentle singing voice drifted through the air. The trembling of string instruments, a soft melody. Feeling the warm sunlight pouring down through the glass ceiling, I looked around.
‘We’re back.’
The statue of [Great Warrior Dotamund] remained exactly as before. I pressed the button again, but instead of entering the story, only the tale contained within the statue flowed out gently. It had been clearly cleared.
“Mm, sweet.”
“Madda.”
It was an enormous achievement. Even if we had run the story like mad for two weeks—no, two months—we would never have gained this much profit. Moreover, the growth brought by the Dark Elves’ migration had only just begun. If left alone, development would accelerate on its own. I savored the success once more. Baengnae clapped her hands beside me, giggling, and pulled out snacks she had brought from the Equator. Now that food was plentiful, snacks were unlimited.
“Then shall we start the experiment?”
I took the phone out of my pocket. We had accepted the Dark Elves, who had appeared as enemies, as allies. So what would happen if I pressed [Combat Start]?
Press— [Confirm Reward]
“Hahaha!”
I burst into laughter. The battle ended the moment it began. In the end, the system had been unable to provide any special alternative. Press— Press— Press— I pressed [Combat Start] three more times in succession. This meant every round except the boss had been cleared. Literally free profit. On top of that, it was like landing a blow on whatever will had been trying to mess with the Goddess.
“Nothing much! Let’s go find some gold.”
“Om nom nom, let’s go!”
Objectively speaking, the blue-grade story composition was not easy. Starting from a mobile prison, defeating guardians, moving to the kingdom, and assassinating the military commander—there was even a penalty where excessive commotion would draw pursuit from the entire kingdom’s army. Turning Dotamund into an enemy was also problematic. Since one had to understand the story first, returning to the kingdom with him was an inevitable mission. But by then he would already have met his own forces and been moving in secret. A typical 6th-stage user would have struggled quite a bit.
‘But the real challenge starts with gold.’
The difference between those who had experienced even a single gold story and those who had not was stark. A true sense of direction had begun. Accordingly, the difficulty rose sharply—violently, even. Gold was problematic from the moment of discovery. There were no recorded cases of it appearing in low-grade libraries like bookstores, and even locating it in higher libraries was purely a matter of luck.
But there was one piece of good news. Since the Garden of Fresh Greenery was a famous area, there were more records about it than other places. Therefore, a method to definitively locate gold stories was also known.
I stopped after finding a suitable space. Then I summoned the witch and began slowly ascending into the air. It was work to widen my field of view and search for landmarks.
“Don’t go too fast. There might be Librarians.”
“Yes… Master…”
As the altitude increased, distant indoor gardens gradually came into view. An endless indoor space filled only with potted plants and statues lined up in every direction.
“Wait.”
At my command, the witch halted in midair. Far away, I could see a cluster of statues that were noticeably larger than the others. Towering, super-sized statues. I roughly estimated the route and distance.
‘About an hour?’
“Let’s go down for now.”
“Yes…”
The giant statues I had just seen were not gold. That too was a blue cluster. But it was a discovery that could serve as a clue to finding gold. There was an explanation that in the Garden of Fresh Greenery, blue clusters were arranged in a circle around gold stories. In other words, if several blues were found, they could be used to track gold. It was a simple principle. If gold was surrounded by blues in a circle, locating three blues would definitively lead to the center. The problem was that I had currently found only two blues. Since I had drawn a chord across the circle, going perpendicular from the midpoint would lead to the center. But there was also a 50% chance of heading in the opposite direction.
‘If I find just one more, it would be certain…’
Leaving it to luck was not wise. Going the wrong way could waste several days. While pondering this, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘The sound of singing…’
Following the singing in the Garden of Fresh Greenery was a kind of taboo. All users who had tried to find its source had disappeared. At first there were many mocking posts saying they vanished because they were weak, but after a verified ranker disappeared without even leaving a warning, it became an officially avoided rule. If the singing was that dangerous, it was highly likely to be near the garden’s core. And gold would probably be nearby as well. Since I was already in a 50-50 situation, it was worth trying.
“Let’s try it.”
After running for thirty minutes, Baengnae and I stood at the central point of the line connecting the blue stories. Before departing, I reminded myself once more.
‘I’m not chasing the song. Turn at a right angle and go straight. Don’t get the direction wrong. Straight ahead, no matter what.’
I began moving while consciously ignoring the song. I did not follow the paths either. Whenever pots or statues blocked the way, I slightly avoided them or climbed over. Even if I had to fly for a moment, I stuck strictly to going straight. Steadily, for three hours. I finally arrived at a fountain adorned with gold.
‘Wait, a fountain…?’
I stared blankly at the fountain and felt a sense of foreboding. This place was a library containing only pots and statues. If anything else existed, it meant something was wrong. At that moment, a voice came from behind me.
“A guest?”
I quickly turned around. In the direction of the sound stood the Owl.
“Owl?”
“Owl… It seems in your world, beings that look like me are called owls.”
The creature took out parchment from its bosom and began writing a memo with its feathers and blood. From the way it was mouthing “Boo-woo-eong-i” and trying to read the pronunciation, it seemed it was also trying to leave a record.
‘It’s not… an owl…?’
Looking at its appearance more closely, it was not an owl. The owls I knew did not have legs as sharp as awls, nor did they have five layers of wings. It was clearly a grotesque creature.
“For now, Owl… Who are you?”
The owl-like thing rotated its head. Not backward, but sideways. After spinning it around three times until its eyes faced upward again, it cheerfully answered my question.
“I’m the gardener? I was working after receiving the mission to manage the stories here. Rather, what about you? You’re definitely a new rider… right?”
The Owl spun its head around again. An extremely grotesque act.
“Why… would a new rider come here? You’re a new rider, right? That must be it. My words are correct, right?”
I quietly mulled over its question and asked back.
“That’s a strange question. Since your world was defeated, can’t it be used as our stage anywhere?”
“Hmm…”
Spin spin. Spin spin. Spin spin. Grin grin. Grin grin. Grin grin.
And the entire surrounding area was declared as the domain of the monsters resembling owls. And the creature grinned widely.
“As expected, you were a new rider? Hihihihi! The end of the long wait has come! The gate of the sky is mine!”
The Owl was a new dropout.