What Yujun Pulled from His Inventory...

The item Yujun drew from his inventory was nothing especially remarkable.

For a Legendary-grade piece, it raised no stats at all, and the effect had little to do with combat. There was even the drawback that the helmet had to come off before the scouter could be worn. Even so, used in the right moment, it was plainly a fine item.

Yujun stripped off his headgear and fitted the Eagle Eye Scouter into place. It was his first time actually wearing the thing, and he fumbled with the fit. The pressure at the corners of his eyes was faintly uncomfortable.

"Ooh…"

The Eagle Eye Scouter worked. His eyesight had already been keen from a high Agility stat, but now it had climbed past any comparison with before. Even things far enough away to make him dizzy resolved into exquisite detail.

It was this strong? The effect?

He was genuinely startled, though the result was only natural. His Agility sat at a height without precedent, and the scouter's effect had scaled to match it.

Wait. This is actually good?

Why hadn't he used it until now? The thought came, and with it a reason. In the game, the Eagle Eye Scouter's effect had been trivial. Honestly, he had barely felt a difference whether he wore it or not. Using it in the flesh was another matter. Part of it was that his stats outstripped No-Pay Casual Gamer's, but the greater gap was surely the one between game graphics and reality.

In any case, he liked what the scouter could do. Yujun began to look around.

Tearing the whole labyrinth apart just to find a Level 11 objective is absurd.

It was clearly a Level 11 objective unlocked only for him, or for his teammates — unlocked because some condition had been satisfied. If that was so, the odds were high that it lay hidden nearby.

While his two teammates, along with Paranet and Tapagol, bustled about in search of the Level 11 objective, Yujun alone stayed where he was and studied the surroundings. Seeing differently meant thinking differently.

"So I've been staring at the trees and missing the forest…"

"Yes?"

Paranet, who happened to be passing just then, tilted his head.

"It's nothing."

"Did you not speak of a forest? There is no forest in this place."

"Drop it."

"Yes, sir!"

Paranet scurried off in a fluster, and Yujun's mind grew still. He began with the walls, checking whether letters had been carved into any of them. The likeliest place for a Level 11 objective was, after all, the stone walls strewn through the labyrinth.

The stone was so smooth it might have been planed by hand. Every wall in sight was the same, smooth enough to feel unnatural.

A space the System built as a virtual construct?

If all of this had been designed exactly as the System intended, then his guess was right. The Level 11 objective was nearby. That guess, he thought, would not prove wrong.

Time slipped by quickly. Even Paranet, whose instincts were unusually sharp, had turned up nothing — and then Yujun's eyes lit.

That?

Something had been incised into the otherwise spotless wall, set in a position so cunning that the naked eye would have struggled to find it.

Without the scouter, I never would have found this.

It was no exaggeration. Even if he had found it eventually, it would have been long afterward. Yujun stepped up to the recessed stretch of wall. Characters of a curious shape were cut into the stone. The script was unfamiliar, yet — thanks, perhaps, to the System — he could read it.

The Level 11 objective. He had found it at last. Fitting, that it should not be a mere Level 11 in name alone — it demanded an exceedingly precious item called the Tears of an Angel. Yujun himself had obtained one only once, and it was not in his inventory now.

It says to find them. Even if I'd still had one, clearing the objective on the spot would've been difficult.

And he would have to use the Tears of an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Angel as a material to craft a single item — of Mythic grade or higher. That part, he judged, would not be difficult. There was, however, one problem. Unlike the other objectives, Level 11 could not be selected.

"Why won't it take?"

It could not be locked out for no reason. On the off chance, Yujun set his hand to the wall and released his mana. Blue-tinged mana seeped into the incised stone.

In that instant, brilliant light burst from the wall. The light began to change shape, and soon what had spilled from the stone took form, hanging in the air like a hologram.

Ah. So this is how you find the objective.

The contents were the same as before. Now, though, it had changed so the objective could be chosen. Yujun did not hesitate. He selected the Level 11 objective.

That objective name is ridiculously long.

Leonhard came over then, eyes wide.

"How did you find it?"

"Because I could see it."

"…Remarkable."

"Hardly. You flatter me. My skill simply happened to be up to it."

"I see. And yet you speak of luck? Absurd. Humility as well, on top of everything… Hm?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Leonhard shook his head, plainly at a loss.

"By the way — do you know what the Tears of an Angel are, Shin Yujun?"

It was Erger who asked. At the question, Yujun smiled.

"Yes. I do."

"What exactly are they?"

"An item that raises every stat when you consume it."

"…Every stat? By how much?"

"About a tenth of your current level. If you're level 500, every stat goes up by fifty."

"An item like that exists?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Yes. In exchange, they're miserable to obtain. Absurdly so."

"Then why choose that objective? Isn't the chance of failure higher? Even if it isn't a failure, won't we only waste time?"

"Think it through. Finding the Tears of an Angel came up as an objective. That means the Tears are in this labyrinth. The System isn't going to tell us to find something that isn't there."

"…Yes. That's true."

"So we get the Tears of an Angel and clear the objective. How is that not ideal?"

"But it won't be easy, will it?"

"It's Level 11. Of course it'll be hard. It won't even compare to Level 10."

"…So you are also allowing for the chance that we fail to clear it."

"No?"

"Pardon?"

"We clear it. What are you talking about?"

"But you just said it was harder than Level 10…"

"That isn't a reason it's impossible. The objective gets cleared. No exceptions."

Yujun said it as if nothing could be more obvious, and Erger was left with nothing to say.

"…"

"Anyway, it's a chance to take both at once — the points, and the Tears of an Angel. I'm not letting that go."

"Hmm…"

Leonhard's face was only half convinced. Whether they could find the Tears of an Angel at all was doubtful enough, and on top of that they had to craft an item of Mythic grade or higher with the Tears as a material. By any ordinary measure, that could not be easy. Yujun's expression, however, was ease itself — the look of a man who did not harbor so much as a speck of worry.

"Is there something you're counting on?"

Erger asked it carefully.

"Counting on?"

"Yes."

"Well. There is."

"There is?"

"Yes."

"Might I ask what it is?"

"No. Don't ask."

"…Yes. I'm sorry."

"I'm joking. I'm just trusting my wit and my reflexes."

"…?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm sorry."

"What is there to be so sorry about?"

Yujun broke into a mischievous smile, and only then did Erger's face brighten. What Yujun was actually trusting was nothing other than his inventory. Hadn't he worn those items out from sheer overuse? Naturally, he meant to clear this objective the same way — by putting the inventory to work.

"I have something to say."

Leonhard's face had gone serious.

"Something to say? What is it?"

"I believe I may know where the Tears of an Angel are."

"You may know?"

Yujun tilted his head. Had that elf found, so easily, a thing even he did not know? It was possible. Elves were a keen-sensed people, and Leonhard's level was high.

"Where?"

"I do not know the precise place. There is, however, a decisive clue."

"A clue?"

"The Tears of an Angel are found only where a World Tree has grown. Therefore, we need only find the place where a World Tree stands."

"…A World Tree?"

It was information he had never heard.

"Are you certain?"

The man's word might still be wrong. Leonhard nodded, his face full of conviction.

"Erger. Did you know this?"

"I did not even know the Tears of an Angel existed."

"Then how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠does Leonhard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know?"

"Because it is a tale passed down only among High Elves. It is not a matter for an elf of mixed blood."

"Only High Elves? You mean that the Tears of an Angel lie near a World Tree?"

"Yes."

So Leonhard was a High Elf. He had not looked different enough from an ordinary elf for Yujun to tell. Still, if the man was right, clearing the Level 11 objective would become a good deal easier.

"And if you're wrong? Can you take responsibility?"

Yujun put it to Leonhard, who answered with a wry smile.

"We are a team. I have no reason to deceive you. It would be a loss to me as well. Would it not?"

Yujun looked into Leonhard's eyes, then smiled and nodded.

"All right. A World Tree. Let's find one."

Even if the elf was mistaken, it hardly mattered. There was no time limit on clearing the Level 11 objective. Wasting time was something to avoid, of course, but they would have to scour the labyrinth either way. And if a World Tree truly stood inside this closed space, then what Leonhard had said would be the truth.

Yujun left the scouter on. Having gone to the trouble of wearing it, he meant to get his money's worth. The trouble was that a scouter in place of head armor dropped his defense by a great deal — but his defense was already so high that it was no real worry.

"Tapagol."

"Yes."

"You wouldn't know where the World Tree is, would you? Any place that feels likely?"

"No. Howev… er, if you name the location, I am confident I can make for it at once."

"Hm."

Was he going to have to pull mana potions again and start another search? The thought and the action were one. For the Tears of an Angel, he would not grudge a single mana potion, however many he burned through.

And if I use the Tears of an Angel as a material, I can make something even better.

The corners of Yujun's mouth climbed toward his ears. He only had to find it. Just find it.

Nothing but smooth sailing from here!

He sat where he was, opened his inventory, and drew out mana potions by whatever his hands closed on.

"…"

"Insane…"

There were even more potions than before. Erger let the curse slip before he knew he had. Was such a thing even possible? No matter how much money a player had, none of them spent mid- and high-grade mana potions with that kind of abandon. He had to wonder whether any player alive even possessed that many to begin with.

Just as he had when searching for the ruler of the labyrinth, Yujun began a sweep by mana. This time he needed still more of it than before. He could hardly hunt for a World Tree on Leonhard's word alone, and so he meant to comb the entire labyrinth.