The White Tower's Bounty

One month had been granted for the Fruit of Good and Evil. If someone told me to give up the challenge, I could. But why bother? A month was plenty of time. Besides, Stage 4 was already a stage where a great deal of information had been shared through the community. If I moved diligently enough, collecting every single Fruit of Good and Evil wasn't impossible. That was why the real thing to watch out for was the [Events]. Threats with no information available. Fortunately—or maybe not—the number of events that appeared was only three, even though the difficulty had risen significantly.

Of these, the only one with any information was [Maze Monster]. As the name suggested, it was a creature that roamed the maze on its own. While keeping an eye on these three, steadily gathering the Fruits of Good and Evil was the best I could do for now.

‘The only downside is not having a map.’

Information about each region was quite detailed, but the locations of the zones were only approximate. Mapping of Stage 4 was underway in the community, but it wasn’t something I could use yet. Since I couldn’t rely on something that didn’t exist, I decided to move for now. For faster travel, I stored the zombies away. Excluding the special zombies, the total count was 37 dwarves and 196 monkeys. There used to be more, but after hearing that the scouting party wasn’t needed, Baengnae had eaten the nearby monkeys.

“Let’s go!”

“All right.”

I didn’t store Baengnae. I had accepted her claim that she wanted to run while wearing the sneakers I bought her.

‘Now then, the direction…’

The bracelet was shaped like three snakes twisted together, each a different color. A red one, a green one, and a white one. Depending on which snake’s head I lifted, the quality of the Fruit of Good and Evil at the destination changed. The one currently raised was the white snake. White meant a low-grade fruit.

‘Can’t fill my stomach with the first bite anyway.’

Whether it was low quality or high quality ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn’t matter. In the end, every single Fruit of Good and Evil in Stage 4 would become mine.

Earth was in chaos. One day, countless people vanished simultaneously from all over the world. According to witnesses, they had simply disappeared in an instant. It was an extremely hard story to believe. Yet identical testimonies poured in from around the globe. After several investigations, people concluded that something incomprehensible had occurred. Thus, the summoners were treated as missing persons.

This led to the emergence of all sorts of new religions. Fanatics proclaiming the end of the world occupied the streets and incited riots every day. Assault and arson had become everyday occurrences. In such an atmosphere, news of civilians being abducted by dwarf-like monsters wasn’t even considered newsworthy.

And then, the people who had quietly gone missing began to return. Those who claimed they had been kidnapped by dwarves. They said strange things—that they had been about to be eaten by the dwarves but were rescued by someone. People thought they were suffering from delusions. That they must have been brainwashed by the doomsday cultists.

Yet people giving similar testimonies started appearing in countries around the world. And one of them presented astonishing evidence. A politician who had disappeared in the first ‘Great Disappearance’ appeared and claimed to have rescued them from the dwarves. As proof, the returnee showed a badge that the politician had supposedly carried. A thorough verification was conducted. Fingerprints and DNA from the badge were collected and compared to confirm it matched an item the missing politician had possessed on the day of disappearance. An astonishing fact was revealed: the assemblyman’s badge contained biological information from a creature that did not exist on Earth.

The world was turned upside down once more. It wasn’t a simple disappearance. It meant that extraterrestrial beings unknown to humanity existed. And that they might be targeting humanity, while the missing individuals had awakened special abilities to confront them.

The majority of governments that analyzed the information reached the following conclusion: the dwarves were not a threat to humanity at a level worth worrying about. Rather, the real ones to watch out for were the missing individuals who would one day return to Earth.

South Korea reached the same conclusion. Since they didn’t know what kind of abilities the returnees would possess, they believed they needed to thoroughly prepare in advance before that time came. Reporters stormed into the hospital rooms of the returnees who had been kidnapped and returned, bombarding them with questions. Most of them only had positive things to say about the one who rescued them. But there was one person. Someone who spoke about the danger of the man. He claimed that the man he met there was no different from a violent thug, a creepy existence. He testified that the man freely controlled corpses and destroyed lives without a second thought. He also never forgot to repeatedly emphasize that the man was an extremely coercive person. That when someone didn’t suit his tastes, he created an atmosphere where they couldn’t even open their mouths until they returned to Earth.

This interview was edited to match the image the government wanted and broadcast to the public. Then, a documentary about the missing persons was produced, incorporating the criminal records of those who had disappeared from prison. It explained that those who had gained abilities were dangerous individuals, and that if they weren’t dangerous, they should voluntarily report to the state immediately upon return and use the power they had luckily obtained for everyone’s sake.

Government officials were gradually preparing for the day the ones called users would return, using various methods. The moment they returned, they would be collared and managed as resources for the nation.

After sprinting at full speed for about thirty minutes in the direction the snake head pointed, I discovered the first [Special Artifact].

‘To find it this quickly…?’

At this location, even if I had mobilized the monkey scouting party, I would have only arrived tonight. And right now it was morning. This wasn’t just a matter of being faster—it felt closer to using a cheat code.

“Hehe… The Cat God is the best! This is what sponsorship is!”

“Cat God is the best!”

“That’s right. Even Baengnae knows? The Cat God is an incredibly great being! Never forget that.”

“Madda!”

Praise ends here. Now it was time to check the artifact. I approached the object that looked like a white pillar and examined its information. It was roughly three meters tall. It wasn’t something you’d expect to find in a forest, but objectively speaking, its form was ordinary.

This was the effect of the [Special Artifact]. Simply staying nearby caused permanent stat increases. This effect was a common ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠phenomenon found in all artifacts, and it was also the reason users experienced explosive growth starting from Stage 4. However, as noted in the Stage 4 tips, this effect wasn’t limited to users and summons. It was a passive effect that also applied to native creatures and enemies. It was also the reason why Stage 4 gradually became more dangerous if you just sat still.

You might think that a slight increase in Strength wouldn’t make much difference. But the White Tower was a lower-grade artifact, so this was the level it offered. Higher-grade artifacts were said to grant skills, so they couldn’t be ignored.

‘Well then, shall we get to the main event?’

As the description indicated, the special artifact’s effect only applied to the surrounding area. But busy users couldn’t just sit next to these artifacts and stay there. That was why there was a special reward. I brought the Energy Storage Type-X close to the pillar. It activated upon contact.

Whirrr— The gauge that had displayed 19% on the storage device dropped to 17%. Then light began to emanate from the pillar. It was operating normally. I cheered inwardly. It was said that Type-V consumed about 6% of the gauge to activate a lower-grade artifact. But my Type-X only used 2%. By simple calculation, its energy efficiency was three times better.

Creak— The top of the pillar split into four sections. Then it collapsed as it was, and a white apple was pushed up from the center. It looked stark white, not very natural.

“Hee… Apple…”

Baengnae was drooling beside me. First, I read the apple’s description.

‘Jackpot…!’

7200 hours. In days, that was 300 days. It was an extraordinary number. Owners of Type-V had bragged about receiving 100 days’ worth of growth.

“Hehe. It’s Baengnae’s.”

Baengnae reached out as if entranced. I quickly grabbed the small zombie’s arm.

“Hey! This one’s mine.”

“Hah… All right.”

And the moment I picked up the apple, I realized something tremendous. There wasn’t just one apple. When I lifted the first apple, another apple rose up in its place like a vending machine.

“Whoa…!”

I picked up another apple with my other hand. Then another one appeared.

‘No way?! Are the apples infinite?!’

There were a total of three apples. It was like obtaining a reward that could instantly grant the combined effect of 900 days from the White Tower. I bit into the apple in my right hand first.

Crunch— The taste was strange. It was like a regular apple, yet somehow dry and crumbly.

‘It’s just… tasteless.’

It really was just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the taste of a dry apple. But because of the placebo effect, it almost felt like there was some unknown fragrance.

‘Hmm… Huh, huh?’

And the moment I swallowed the last piece, I began to feel as if the muscles throughout my entire body were pumping tremendously. It felt like power was overflowing from my whole body. Strength… I couldn’t control my strength. Without thinking, I lifted Baengnae who was beside me.

‘She’s light!’

Baengnae had always been light. But never this light.

‘My whole body feels like it’s going to burst!’

Dopamine was surging wildly. Without thinking, I tried to eat the next apple but stopped. The effect was too powerful. If my body changed this rapidly, problems could arise instead.

‘Let’s absorb it slowly. It’s not like it’s going to disappear anyway. No, it’ll only increase. There’s no rush.’

I gave the apple on the artifact to Baengnae and stored the one in my left hand. Baengnae grabbed the apple and devoured it. Soon, the same effect I had experienced began to take hold of her.

“Waa! Waa! Baengnae is super strong!”

Surprisingly, Baengnae succeeded in lifting me up. But because I was heavy, she quickly put me down. We looked at each other, feeling the vitality coursing through our bodies.

“Hehehe.”

“Hihihi.”

Before I knew it, I showed Baengnae the white snake, which was now pointing in a different direction.

“Shall we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠run straight to the next Fruit of Good and Evil?”

“Do it! Do it! Baengnae will do it!”

“Let’s go!”

We ran without showing any signs of fatigue. Along the way, we encountered several monkeys, which was perfect for releasing our uncontrollable vitality. The number of stored monkey zombies increased to 320.

“Just wait, Growth! We’re coming!”

“Baengnae is coming too!”

We dashed wildly through the forest. Whether it was the creatures here, the Fruits of Good and Evil, or anything else—we would devour them all until they went extinct. The Maze of Evolution was truly a place worthy of its name.