Congratulations!

Yujun's war contribution had been overwhelming, and the reward he received stood well ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠apart from everyone else's.

A Trait Gem?

The word gem alone was enough to stop him. It was an item he had never once seen in War of the Gods—or, more precisely, the servers had shut down before that new item ever appeared, so he had never actually laid eyes on one.

They're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠giving me this? Please. Am I the first?

He hoped so. This was the single reward he had earned through effort and merit, and if gems like it were scattered around by the handful, he would be bitterly disappointed. Yujun drew the Trait Gem from his inventory and pulled up its information.

It raises a trait's power?

Yujun drew a sharp, useless breath. Calling it a lesser cousin of the Fruit of Evolution didn't quite hold, either. This Trait Gem had no ceiling. EX-rank trait or SSS-rank trait, the gem could be used on either, and that was no small thing.

A late-game item, then.

Far too precious to spend on an S-rank trait or skill. But Yujun had one trait he wouldn't regret using it on immediately—none other than Swordsmanship (SSS).

I could use it right now.

The trouble was that he had no real idea how a Trait Gem was meant to be used. At times like this, there was no special trick. Trying everything was the answer. He closed his hand around the gem and wished, hard.

Apply it to the Swordsmanship trait.

Fortunately, a message appeared at once. There was no reason to hesitate.

He opened his status window, and nothing about it looked different on the surface. Even so, Yujun—who had already felt the trait's strength moving through his own body—could tell. His swordsmanship had climbed several stages higher.

Jackpot. Of all the things to receive, a Trait Gem. Are there stat gems, too? From what was made public back then, there were supposed to be several kinds.

Gems. One of the few items still missing from his inventory.

I absolutely cannot afford to skip events like the Species Tournament.

Warped out beyond the tower where the tournament had been held, Yujun looked around. Thousands of players stood with dazed faces.

Everyone's too busy checking their rewards.

He offered Mei and Hong Yeji a farewell.

"Ah……"

Mei wore a regretful look, though he couldn't have said why.

"See you later."

"Yes……"

Yujun returned to the residential zone, went into his usual room at the inn, washed, and stretched out on the bed.

The Abyss entry ticket…… when do I use it?

During the second mission—whether by some error or something else entirely—he had brought down Guardian Horidan and obtained an Abyss entry ticket.

I can't use this right now.

Entering the Abyss at his present strength was close to suicide. The rewards waiting there were surely sweet, but the place was every bit as dangerous.

I'm level 198 now…… I should push to 200 quickly and swap out my accessories and armor.

The set bonus on the Frenzy Armor was plainly broken. Even so, a level-150 Frenzy set could hardly be compared with gear locked behind a level-250 requirement. Before he slept, Yujun gathered the items he meant to equip at level 200 and sorted them into one place.

The Species Tournament always left ripples behind it, but this one had spread farther than usual. There were the missions that had unfolded there; the second mission, forcibly ended by an Irregular; two commanders of terrifying strength; and, on top of all that, a rising player who had brought an enemy commander down alone.

Even granting that he had ambushed his opponent and fought from a favorable position, facing a commander by himself was astonishing. Yujun had already been making a name as a prospect. Because of this, he became the hottest topic in the Tower of Infinity.

"Please, don't be like that……"

"I said I'm not joining. How many times do I have to say it before you understand? Are you looking for a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fight?"

"Th-that isn't it at all. If you would only reconsider……"

"I have no intention of joining a guild. Please leave."

"……Very well. Should you ever change your mind, please contact us again……"

Bang!

Yujun shut the door hard. He hadn't expected them to track him all the way to the inn where he was staying—and at an hour like this, no less. The real problem was that the man who had come recruiting wasn't alone. There wasn't just one of them.

There was even this.

"Other-Race Alliance."

"……"

"We were deeply impressed by your showing in the Species Tournament. Our alliance has judged that your future is limitless, and so……"

Even the Other-Race Alliance had come to his door. Their power in the Tower of Infinity was considerable—a colossal organization beside which even the Four Great Guilds looked small. That alone said everything. They were not the sort who stirred themselves lightly, and yet here one stood. The orc, dressed in something very like a modern suit, spoke again.

"What will you do?"

"Sorry? Do what, exactly?"

"We aren't telling you to join the alliance. We simply wish to do business with you."

"Then what was all that about my future being limitless?"

"We would like you to collaborate with the Other-Race Alliance."

"Collaborate how?"

"Exactly as it sounds. When one of us has need, the other helps."

"Help? From the alliance's point of view, I'm just another promising player, aren't I?"

"No. That isn't how we see it. Your strength isn't far behind that of the other top-tier players."

"……"

In truth, Yujun thought so himself.

"Your level, however, is low. The fact that you entered the Species Tournament means you aren't past level 300…… and power of that degree, at that level, is unprecedented. You haven't passed 300 already, have you?"

"……Do I have to tell you?"

"If that was rude, I apologize. In any case, our alliance holds you in very high regard."

"A deal. You want to make it right now?"

"We need help. If you assist us with this matter, we will offer a reward to match."

"It'll be difficult to satisfy me with a reward……"

It might have sounded arrogant, but it was the truth. With his inventory in mind, he didn't expect much from whatever the Other-Race Alliance meant to offer.

"Is there something in particular you want?"

Yujun considered for a moment. There was.

"Do you happen to know about gems?"

"……Do you mean gems one works and sets?"

"No. Gems that disappear when you use them."

"How do you know about those? Have you already obtained one?"

"That's why I asked. I want gems."

The orc looked thoroughly thrown.

So the Other-Race Alliance knows about gems too.

They didn't seem to have them in abundance, though. At Yujun's demand, the orc couldn't readily open his mouth.

"Gems are extremely rare items. No—rare doesn't cover it. There are only a handful of them on the Continent."

"Is that so."

"We do have a gem we can give you. Its grade is low, however."

"High, mid, or low?"

"Low."

"I see."

He wasn't disappointed in the slightest. He hadn't expected to receive a gem as payment in the first place.

I don't know what the request is yet, but this seems worth dealing.

Gems would only grow more powerful the further things went. The more he could stockpile, the better.

"You said you needed my help. Tell me what it is."

"The explanation is long…… Will that be all right?"

"Yes."

"There are a great many players waiting out front. You have no intention of joining a guild, correct?"

"That's right."

"How fortunate."

"Fortunate?"

"They've all wasted the trip, haven't they? I'm the only one who stands to gain, so of course it's fortunate."

"……"

The orc went on, utterly shameless.

"I'll keep this as brief as I can. The Other-Race Alliance has formed a large-scale expedition, for the purpose of eliminating the demonkin parasitizing the Continent."

"Do you really need to go as far as an expedition?"

"This time, quite unlike demonkin, they've joined forces. Their scale is large enough that one might as well call them a guild. The number we've identified already exceeds three hundred."

"Hmm……"

More than three hundred demonkin? He was suddenly reluctant to go. He knew from experience that demonkin were few by nature, and that each of them possessed a powerful body and formidable abilities in exchange.

They didn't form an expedition for nothing.

A number like that would be a burden even for the Other-Race Alliance. That was why they had come to him for help.

"You're not just poking a hornet's nest, are you? What if the demonkin disband on their own……"

"No. They're moving in a highly organized fashion. A dark elf village has already been wiped out. The demonkin attacked it."

"……"

Demonkin and dark elves together called one village to mind.

Surely not. It can't be.

It definitely wasn't that village. He was still exchanging messages with the dark elf elder, and if something had actually happened, the elder would have contacted him first.

"That's serious."

"It is. The alliance didn't commit to an expedition on a whim."

"And you want me to join that expedition?"

"Yes."

Yujun propped his chin on his hand and sank into thought. Facing demonkin was plainly a risk, and not one or two of them—hundreds.

I'd like to know what level the alliance's expedition is at before I go……

With demonkin as the enemy, the odds were high that it was composed entirely of elites.

"All right. In exchange, I'll take a gem as payment."

"Of course. Simply for joining the expedition, we will give you the gem, and if you produce results, we will add a reward to match."

"That works."

He might have been making a considerable name for himself as a prospect, and again through the Species Tournament, but his level still wasn't even 200. He was a greenhorn. Considering how painfully slow levels became past 300, treatment like this was honestly excessive. Yujun set out at once for the place where the expedition had gathered. He saw no reason to linger at the inn, and a trace of urgency had already shown on the orc's face.

The situation must be pretty serious.

The Other-Race Alliance had buildings all across the Continent—some in the residential zone, others established on particular floors. The place where the expedition had assembled, however, was a fair distance from here.

"We'll be taking a portal. Will that be all right?"

The orc asked carefully. Travel by portal came with considerable dizziness, and that was likely why he had asked. Yujun nodded.

"That's a relief. We need to save every bit of time we can."

The Magic Tower of the residential zone—both an organization formed by mages and the name of the tower itself—held a portal. The two of them went there, waited some twenty minutes, paid an enormous sum in points, and were permitted to use it. Their destination was the place of the stone statues that allowed passage between the upper and lower floors.

The orc of the Other-Race Alliance, of course, paid for all of it.