Chapter 209: I Just Wish Everyone Would Get Lost (3)
Chapter 209: I Just Wish Everyone Would Get Lost (3)
Fifteen days had passed since the battle at Evergreen ended.
During that time, Patrick had been moving at a breakneck pace.
The major crisis had been averted, but a mountain of minor issues remained. While he couldn't solve every single problem, he at least had to help the Elves establish a system of their own. Only then could he expect them to function as a sturdy allied force after his departure.
For the past fortnight, Patrick had been running himself ragged.
“Alright, next person, please.”
“Yes, Lord Patrick.”
First, he set aside time every day to personally impart the Supreme Purity Mental Method to the Elves who wished to learn Aura.
This was a crucial task. It involved performing True Qi Guidance on each individual to enable them to cultivate Aura—a feat that no one but Patrick could accomplish.
In his spare moments, he met with Kilios and the Elven Elders to discuss the alliance with the Schneider territory and the pioneering of the Great Forest.
But among all his duties, the most important was…
“Alright, shall we try again today?”
“Yes. We are in your hands, Lord Patrick.”
It was the work related to the World Tree.
Patrick placed his hand on the remains of the World Tree and infused it with the life force of the World Tree seed residing within him. Infusing life force into a World Tree that had already died and become a withered husk wouldn't bring it back to life.
However…
“Oh… Ooh…!”
“As expected…”
As Patrick channeled the life force, sprouts began to bloom from the withered remains of the World Tree. Those sprouts budded into fresh shoots, which then extended into new branches.
The task was clearly taxing; even the peerless Patrick Schneider was breaking into a cold sweat as he focused his mind.
A few hours later.
“It’s done.”
Patrick wiped the sweat from his forehead. Resting in his hand was a small Vine Ring. Woven from small wooden vines, the ring was adorned with tiny leaves and flowers, brimming with life force. And above all…
“Ah…”
“Is that the…?”
“Oh… Ooh…!”
The faces of the Elves watching him were, surprisingly, marked with clear expressions of ‘greed.’
Though Elves were typically devoid of materialistic desires, they displayed blatant avarice for the Vine Ring Patrick had just created.
In truth, they had no choice. To the Elves, this was a treasure beyond price.
Wiping his brow, Patrick spoke.
“Faeorn, was it?”
“Yes, Lord Patrick.”
“This is yours now.”
“Thank you. I will never forget this kindness for as long as I live.”
The Elven Knight named Faeorn accepted the ring with both hands as if receiving a holy relic. He carefully slid the ring onto his finger and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Naia.”
Before Faeorn, the high-level water spirit Naia manifested.
Seeing this, Faeorn was moved to the core.
“Oh… You’ve come, Naia. How long has it been? My soulmate. My lifelong friend.”
Faeorn’s eyes welled with tears of joy, and the summoned spirit embraced him as if equally delighted. He communed with the spirit, letting its energy radiate freely in a moment of pure catharsis.
It was the happiest moment an Elf could experience.
The surrounding Elves watched Faeorn with envy.
The ring Patrick had created—it was a bridge that connected the Elves to the Spirit Realm.
To explain: originally, it was the World Tree that linked Elves and spirits. But the World Tree was gone. To be precise, it existed only as a seed within Patrick.
In this situation, if the Elves wanted to use spirits, there were two ways.
One was to stay by Patrick’s side. When near him, they could summon spirits just as they always had. However, this was inefficient. If they moved a certain distance away from Patrick, the spirits were forcibly returned.
While agonizing over this, Patrick had a flash of inspiration while looking at the withered wood of the World Tree.
‘This might actually work.’
It wasn't so much knowledge as it was an instinctual hunch. Just as a spider knows how to spin a web and hunt without being taught, he simply knew. The moment he saw the remains of the World Tree, the feeling hit him: ‘I can do it like this.’
By infusing the seed’s life force into the remains of the World Tree, he could create a makeshift path to the Spirit Realm.
The result of that process was this Vine Ring.
To the Elves, it was a treasure they wouldn't trade for a wagon full of gold.
Indeed, the ring’s effect was absolute. The wearer could summon spirits without any burden, and other Elves in the vicinity could easily summon up to mid-level spirits.
In other words, at this point in time when the World Tree had yet to sprout and grow, this ring was the most vital object the Elves needed.
Patrick produced one or two of these a day. Each time he made one, he distributed it to those who needed it most.
He started with the Elven Knights, including Elione. Once they could call upon spirits, they could exert a combat power truly worthy of the name ‘Elven Knight.’
Had the Elven Knights been at full strength, they might have struggled against the demon Brody, but they certainly could have handled the Dark Elves on their own. They were that significant a force.
Naturally, they would be a great asset in Patrick’s plans for the Great Forest’s development.
However, there was a problem.
‘I’m running out of materials.’
The withered wood of the World Tree was massive, but it crumbled further every time a Vine Ring was crafted. If he continued making rings at this rate, the ancient wood would eventually disintegrate into a handful of dust.
There was a limit to how many Vine Rings he could make.
‘Based on a rough calculation, five or six more is probably the limit…’
That wasn't enough. The combat power of the Elven race he had managed to recruit might be less than half—perhaps even less than a quarter—of its peak.
‘Ugh. It can’t be helped. I just have to do as much as I can for now…’
Patrick squeezed out every bit of his energy to continue making the Vine Rings. Seeing Patrick laboring so hard, drenched in cold sweat, was an incredibly moving sight for the Elves.
“Ah… Lord Patrick.”
“To work so hard for our sake…”
“We will never forget this debt.”
Patrick didn't even hear what the Elves were saying; he was purely focused on crafting the rings.
‘More pushovers, better pushovers, spirit-wielding pushooveeerrrs!’
Sometimes, it’s better not to know what someone is thinking.
* * *
Time passed, and eventually, even the withered wood left by the World Tree completely crumbled into dust.
But in the process, Patrick had done his absolute best.
Twenty-seven.
That was the number of Vine Rings Patrick had managed to extract from the remains of the World Tree. By being extremely frugal with the materials, he had produced far more than he initially expected.
“Phew… Well, at least I’ve put out the immediate fire.”
By organizing squads centered around the ring-bearers, they now had a force that was reasonably deployable in actual combat.
“Now I’ve really done everything I can.”
Patrick felt a swell of accomplishment. He spoke in an upbeat voice.
“Elione, bring me some alcohol this evening.”
“Oh? Is your sobriety finally over?”
“Yeah. I’m finally free.”
He had even given up drinking—something he’d never done in his life—just to manage the Natural Qi a bit better. Considering he’d made sure to drink even during the war against the Unorthodox Faction, it had been a massive sacrifice.
Elione looked at Patrick and said, “Yes, I understand. I’ll prepare the finest Elven liquor and come by this evening.”
“Yeah, do that.”
Was it a side effect of his long abstinence? At that moment, Patrick could think of nothing but the fact that he could finally drink again. He failed to notice Elione’s eyes flashing like a predator eyeing its prey.
That night.
Elione visited Patrick’s quarters. She brought several bottles of Elven liquor that looked expensive even at a glance, along with suitable snacks. So far, so good. Everything was fine until…
“The clothes you’re wearing are… a bit flashy and unusual.”
And revealing, he added silently.
She was wearing a fluttering white silk dress that was sheer in many places. It was so loosely draped that it looked more like she had just thrown it on rather than actually dressed, and she looked breathtakingly beautiful.
Elione smiled and said, “It’s a traditional Elven ceremonial robe. It’s worn on important days. Would you like to know which ones?”
“No, I think I’m good.”
In fact, he’d rather not know. A chill was already starting to run down his spine.
He tried to excuse himself, but Elione stood at a perfect angle between him and the entrance, blocking his exit.
Was it a coincidence? No. When he tried to slide to the side, Elione moved with him, cutting off his path. This was definitely intentional.
The design of the fluttering white silk dress, with its subtle transparency and excessive ornamentation, made its purpose clear. It was the kind of garment that made one instinctively think, ‘Ah, so that’s what that’s for.’ Furthermore…
“Traditionally, this is the garment an Elven bride wears while waiting for her husband on their wedding night.”
Elione kindly provided the finishing blow.
“Ah… I see. Is that so? I had no idea.”
Of course, Patrick played dumb. I don’t know anything. I’m just an ordinary human who doesn't know the culture of other races. With that expression, Patrick tried to stand up slowly.
But then…
“Thank you, Lord Patrick Schneider.”
Elione politely knelt on the spot and bowed her head, showing her respect. Her serious demeanor made Patrick stop his attempt to flee and listen to her.
“Thank you for not forgetting my request and coming to our aid.”
“Um…”
“Thanks to you, our tribe has escaped a crisis. Thanks to you, our people have a future.”
“……”
Elione was sincerely grateful. This was neither empty talk nor exaggeration. The World Tree had been dying. An Elder of the tribe had been colluding with demons. If Patrick hadn't come, the Elves would have met a grim fate.
Elione’s forehead touched the floor. A woman of the proud Elven race had voluntarily performed an act of total submission to a human.
With her forehead still pressed to the ground, she spoke.
“I will spend the rest of my life repaying this debt. Whatever you desire, whatever you wish for—I swear here and now to follow and obey you in all things.”
This was essentially a vow of absolute obedience.
Throughout history, how many powerful men had tried to win the heart of a haughty and beautiful Elf? The heart of an Elven woman, which couldn't be bought with all the gold in the world, was now being offered entirely to Patrick.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Elione now belonged completely to Patrick. And Patrick…
“There’s no need for all this.”
Patrick approached Elione and helped her up. He spoke in a calm voice.
“I’ll be receiving plenty of help from you all in the future anyway. If we bow like this every time, neither of our foreheads will survive.”
“Lord Patrick.”
“So don’t worry about it. Just, in the future…”
“No. I cannot do that.”
Elione shook her head firmly in denial. Before he knew it, she had grabbed Patrick’s hand—no, she was gripping it tight.
‘Uh…’
Patrick flinched. A faint smile played on Elione’s lips.
“I must repay the debt. I will definitely repay it.”
“Uh… hey…”
How should he describe Elione’s eyes? ‘She’s lost it.’ It felt as if he could see literal swirls spinning in her pupils. She began to draw closer to Patrick.
“Don’t do this. Don’t come any closer.”
“Hehehe. Just quietly accept my repayment.”
“Get back. I’ll scream.”
“I’ve already set up a silence barrier with spirits, so no one can come anyway.”
“That’s… that’s playing dirty…”
Wait, hadn't the roles reversed? Elione pressed her body against Patrick’s, her breath hot and sticky as she whispered.
“Hehehe. Don’t be nervous. It’ll be over soon.”
“How can I not be nerv—”
Sshhh…
One of the shoulder straps of the silk dress draped loosely over her body slipped down.
“Aaaah! Don’t take it off! I said don’t take it off!”
“Oh my… are you shy? Were you planning to be the only one undressing me?”
“I never undressed you! Get your hand off my belt!”
“Ah… Lord Patrick.”
“Save me! Somebody help!”
Patrick shouted, but Elione didn't even pretend to listen.
“Hehehe. You’re so cute.”
Watching her approach seductively while continuing to loosen her dress, Patrick thought: ‘Damn… is this where I die?’
A sense of crisis, similar to when he fought with a death-defying resolve at Nakbongpa in his previous life, washed over him. Patrick Schneider was nineteen. It was too early to enter the grave of life. However…
“Hehehe. Don’t be shy.”
“You should be the one who’s shy!”
There was no escape route. His opponent was too formidable. This wasn't a problem he could solve by knocking someone out. If he let his guard down for even a second, he felt like his hands would move on their own to grasp those tempting white breasts. He felt like he would press his lips against hers, which smelled so sweet, and kiss her fiercely. If he did that… if he did that…
‘Wait? Isn't that a good thing? Why am I resisting?’
Just as Patrick’s reason was about to throw in the towel and bolt from his mind—
Boom! Bang! Crash!
The sound of something exploding echoed from outside. Elione’s expression instantly turned fierce.
“Tsk.”
“What was that? Are the demons attacking again?”
“No. It’s just some stray cats getting caught in the spirit traps I set up.”
“…Huh?”
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
Boom! Bang! Crash!
Wait, the explosions were continuing. And they were getting closer.
Regardless, Elione approached with a smile.
“Hehehe, let’s get back to what we were—”
It was then.
Slaaaash!
The door to the quarters was sliced clean through by a flash of light and fell to the floor. Emerging from the dust were two peerless beauties, their clothes scorched in several places.
There stood Isabella, radiating a murderous aura, and April, who had led the way in breaking through.
“That damn 7-Star…”
Elione clicked her tongue in lament.
And Isabella saw it. She saw the half-naked Elione and Patrick, who was on the verge of being devoured.
“This crazy bitch…”
Naturally, she flipped her lid. Isabella spoke.
“April.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Cut her down.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
April lunged forward, and Elione summoned spirits to meet her.
Boom! Bang! Crash!
“How dare you? Who do you think you’re interrupting?”
“It is the Princess’s command.”
In an instant, the room became a chaotic mess. In the midst of it, Isabella also drew her sword to double-team Elione.
“You shameless Elf… Die!”
“You’re ruining everything! You nasty thief cat!”
“I was here first, you crazy bitch!”
“Shut up!”
“Die!”
Amidst the flying insults, curses, and the sound of the room being demolished, Patrick simply slumped to the floor. He grabbed a bottle of Elven liquor that had rolled over to him, took a long swig straight from the bottle, and spoke with a smile of total resignation.
“I just wish everyone would get lost.”