The Name That Covered the World

The north of Eternal Island — a transcendental reach known as the domain of the Absolute Beings.

"Nnngh..."

The Spirit of the Forest could feel its soul slowly going out. Wings that had once been as fresh and green as Tinker Bell's were already half crumbled, and its whole body had dried and split like earth in the grip of a killing drought.

For an Absolute of the Tower, sovereign of every forest, it was a miserably shabby sight. The reason this transcendental being suffered so was simple.

"The forest... it's too polluted..."

The Evil Spirit of Demonic Energy had been fouling the forests of Eternal Island with every petty scheme it could devise. Woods that ought to have been green and bursting with life were rotting under demonic miasma, and the more they did, the more the Spirit of the Forest lost its strength.

"Ngh... this really is the end..."

Warmth dried out of it like fallen leaves in the dead of winter. All the while, the forests of Eternal Island kept soaking up miasma. It had already decided there was no hope left.

H-Holy Power...?

For the briefest instant — a quantity no greater than a speck of dust — Holy Power bloomed, and purified the miasma that had been polluting the forest.

But... h-how...?

Since the extinction of the World Tree, not a single living thing that carried Holy Power remained on Eternal Island. As the Spirit of the Forest, it knew that better than anyone.

Surely... a new plant hadn't grown in so short a time...?

I-I have to check... first...

A spider-thread of hope, risen at the very brink. Wringing out the last of its strength, the Spirit of the Forest set off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the southernmost reach of Eternal Island.

An invention of Master Monkey Doctor: the Dimensional Leap Ring.

Once that unprecedented masterpiece came into being, Minhyuk's castaway life grew comfortable beyond words.

So this is what the advance of civilization tastes like?

From the Beachfront Safe Zone to the plains was a thirty-minute trip, one way. Traveling with the whole legion while keeping watch on every side had stretched the time, of course, but even allowing for that, the distance itself was simply too far.

But now?

Swoosh—!

Pass through the Dimensional Leap Ring, and that was the end of it. The moment he stepped through the ring, where a blue aurora shimmered, he arrived in an instant on the plains where the Ox Couple and the Monkey Scout Corps waited.

"Haa. Now this is the stuff."

Thirty minutes, cut down to one second. With the rings set at the Beachfront Safe Zone and out on the plains, he could come and go as often as he pleased, with nothing to constrain him.

Looks like this year's Monkey of the Year award is headed straight for Master Monkey Doctor.

Well, of course. Thanks to him, tending both fields was this easy. Who else ought to get it?

Trickle, trickle—

Minhyuk watered the wheat sprouts, which were shooting up at a startling pace.

"Boss!"

Elia's upper half popped suddenly out of the Dimensional Leap Ring — and she was not alone. Kkurung—! Kkororong—! Kkuruk-kkuruk—! Beside her, the meerkats thrust their heads through in a rush, like moles. At first they had been too frightened to come anywhere near the thing. Seemed they had finally gotten used to it.

"Hm? What are you all doing here?"

"Hehe, look!"

Elia held out a clam of some kind, and the meerkats proudly showed off the ones clutched in their paws.

"We caught 'em with Kkureung."

The kids had been playing with the Sea Otter a lot lately. So they had even picked up how to hunt clams.

"You went in the water yourselves?"

"Uh-huh. Elia's a real good swimmer now. The Kkureungis are too. We'll catch lots and lots, so Boss, you eat these."

Hmm. Maybe a clam stew for dinner tonight.

"Then we'll be off! Bye-bye!"

"Yeah. Play safe. And always watch the water."

Elia and the meerkats vanished beyond the Dimensional Leap Ring with a swoosh. The members of the Safe Zone were putting it to fine use, and the Monkey Scout Corps was no exception.

"Oh. They've covered a lot of ground."

Minhyuk nodded over the Slate Map. Subtle as it was, the mapped territory was creeping outward in real time. Once he had set a Dimensional Leap Ring up beyond the lava, they had thrown themselves back into scouting in earnest.

All of it, you might say, thanks to Master Monkey Doctor's inventions.

I ought to give him more ore.

You never knew. Something even greater might come popping out, just like that.

Step. Step.

Pickaxe in hand, Minhyuk headed for the cave out on the plains.

The toxic gas was shut out with ease by Sanctuary Proclamation. After that, he set to work with the pickaxe.

Crash— crash— crash— crack—!

Blue, yellow, white, purple, emerald. Veins of ore glittered in every color.

"...Hm?"

Minhyuk's eyes narrowed. Among the veins shining as gaudily as a rainbow, one pitch-black mineral stood out — a black luster so dark that, unless you looked closely, you might never have known it was there.

"A new mineral?"

If so, he could hardly leave it sitting.

Crack—!

Oh. One shot, one kill. Minhyuk examined the black mineral that had dropped to the floor.

Hmm? A specially crafted rune stone?

At the same time, a message window rose over his head. Hold on. Did that mean someone had deliberately released miasma into the cave?

Now that I think about it...

The Watcher's Snare that had bound the Ox Couple. The lava contaminated by demonic miasma that had barred the wheat field. And now this Contamination Rune Stone.

Every one of them was a specially crafted item.

Is there someone else on this deserted island besides me?

Hmm. Put it that way, and it gave him the creeps.

...No. Don't go nursing pointless suspicions.

Watch a horror movie and it's always the curious ones who die first. Better to keep his mouth shut and finish what he was doing.

Crash— crash— crash— crack—!

Minhyuk swung the pickaxe with a will.

Day 103 of being stranded.

Soft and full, the heads of wheat stood plump in the field.

"Heh heh..."

Minhyuk smiled, thoroughly pleased, at wheat that had grown to his knees before he quite noticed. Just looking at it put his heart at ease. For the moment, you might have called it a treasure of the Safe Zone more precious than any SS-rank artifact.

That didn't mean, of course, that he could raise it as tenderly as a flower in a greenhouse.

"Hiss. A little sorry about this."

Minhyuk carefully pulled off his shoes. Then he stepped, firmly, through the wheat.

Rustle. Rustle.

Sprouts flopped over beneath his feet. He had seen this on Nutube once. If transplanting seedlings was essential for rice, then wheat absolutely required wheat treading. Done right, the plants grew tougher and didn't fall over; the growing point was stimulated, so more ears formed, and the roots took a proper hold. Or so they said. It looked like you were stomping them to death, but it was a necessary step.

Mooooo~?

"It's nothing. I'm stepping on it so it'll grow better."

Mooooo—

Uh... maybe not that. If you two stepped on it, I think you'd smash the whole field to bits.

Swoosh—

Once the wheat treading was done, he returned to the Beachfront Safe Zone. Farming was coming along just as well on this side. Cherry tomatoes reddened as they ripened. Cucumbers hung in heavy clusters. Potatoes sat fat with nutrients drawn up from the soil. Corn was sending up fresh shoots all over again.

His attention had been so fixed on the wheat field that he hadn't looked after any of it lately. Fortunately, the Meerkat Brothers had been tending it well. These days, they felt almost like dependable coworkers.

And the bananas, under the special care of his monkey vassals—

At last the yellow fruit packed the bunches solid. Minhyuk rolled up his sleeves at once and started bringing them in.

Now and then, a delicious crackle of feedback ran through his hands.

On top of that, he leveled up twice.

"Nnngh, yes—!"

The bananas from this round of farming came to five hundred in all. Breaking down the details—

Ordinary bananas with a so-so special effect: three hundred and sixty-two.

And a full one hundred and thirty-eight (Special) bananas, which raised mana by a whopping 0.1 on eating and boosted mana sensitivity by fifty percent for eight hours.

These we don't sell. We eat them among ourselves.

Mana was an important stat for Minhyuk and Elia both. Until they were harvesting more than they could eat, he had no intention of putting the (Special) bananas on the market.

"Boss, can Elia go to work?"

Elia, just finished with her swim, asked at exactly the right moment.

"No. Rest today. We'll be harvesting potatoes before long anyway, so let's sell everything at once then."

"Mm, okay."

"Anyway. You hungry?"

"Super hungry!"

Elia's stomach growled. The Meerkat Brothers' bellies had gone flat as well.

Yeah. Getting hungry after playing in the water was basically a law of nature.

Slice. Slice.

"Eat up!"

Kkurung—! Kkorok-kkorok—! Kkururung—!

He set out a spread of (Special) crops for the Meerkat Brothers, who preferred their food raw.

"What about Elia...?"

"You and I are eating something even better."

After a swim, nothing beat a warm cup of instant ramen — but unfortunately the Survivor Shop didn't sell cup ramen. A soup that stuck to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ribs, then!

Slice. Slice.

The recipe was simple. First he cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces, then he stripped the corn from the cob and set the kernels aside with them. That was everything he needed for texture and a full stomach. From here on, it was time to build a warm broth.

Whoosh—

He poured milk he had been keeping in the Cold Storage privilege into a pot and brought it to a boil, stirring gently so it wouldn't catch. Then in went the potato and the corn. Once the starch had leaked out and the pot had thickened just enough, he seasoned it with salt and pepper, and—

A steaming cream potato corn soup, complete!

And today, as a special extra, one ultra-premium item on the menu.

"Elia, you're still not eating fried eggs?"

"Nuh-uh. Not eating."

Elia shook her head from side to side. Minhyuk had no choice but to buy a single egg.

Now that the Survivor Shop had reached level 2, a newly stocked luxury good had appeared — a whopping ten coins apiece.

Sizzle—

He fried it in oil until the edges crackled and the yolk stayed soft, then set it on the table. Now the meal was truly ready.

"Mmm... this is really, really good..."

One spoonful of cream potato corn soup, and a flushed little smile rose in both of Elia's cheeks. The warmth she had spent in the water was charging right back up. Minhyuk took a spoonful of his own.

Slurp—

Thick, clinging milk against salty-savory potato and corn. Honestly, you could not fail a pairing of staple crops and cream. And then a bite of the egg he had just fried.

Haa. A flavor too good to eat alone.

He wasn't saying it to be polite. It was genuinely good enough that sharing it with only Elia felt like a waste. The meerkats and the monkey vassals couldn't eat Minhyuk's cooking.

Come to think of it, how's Earth getting on?

The company had surely fired him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for skipping work without a word. The lump-sum lease on his apartment still had a long way to run, so that was fine. His family, though...

...They might not even know.

Buried in overtime, he had barely been in touch even on ordinary days. And his parents had always been the independent, American-minded sort who didn't hover.

Well... they're probably doing fine. I'm doing fine too.

Maybe even far happier than he had been as an office worker.

"More of this!"

"You finished already?"

Kkurung-kkurung—! Kkururuk—!

"You too? Everybody must've been starving."

Minhyuk laughed and portioned out more food.

......Meanwhile.

Three cucumbers, commissioned to Tower Appraiser Calligo.

Some insisted it was the work of the elves. Others swore it was the demons. Elsewhere, people said it had to be an absolute being reigning on the top floor of the Tower.

After a long wait, the appraisal of that rumor-choked item was at last revealed to the world.

A cucumber grown on Eternal Island, just as everyone had guessed. But the cultivator's race was something not one of them had expected.

Ji Minhyuk.

That name blanketed the whole world in shock.

"What? It wasn't those elf bastards?"

The demons were badly shaken. An elf princess had been acting as the merchant, so they had naturally assumed the elves were behind it.

"What did you say? A human...? You're telling me it wasn't a demon?"

The elves were just as blindsided, the back of the head still ringing. From the name Kkureung alone, they had been certain it was a lightning-type demon.

And at nearly the same moment, there was a place where a bolt fell out of a clear sky.

"Wh-wh-what did you just say!? Who's a Korean?"

Park Hoseok, Director of the Korean Hunter Management Bureau, had no choice but to jump at a special report that came out of nowhere. A Korean? That player who was supposed to be on the 777th floor of the Tower?

"Ji Minhyuk? Find every hunter registered under that name! Now!"

And around the time an untimely state of emergency was declared at the Korean Hunter Management Bureau, in a certain upstart cult situated in the neighborhood right next door—

"Niiiiice—!"

—a mysterious cheer burst out.