Chapter 3: The Greedy Mangrove Tree
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 3: The Greedy Mangrove Tree
"S-spare me. Please!"
Lee Jong-su begged for his life, but Jinhyuk scoffed coldly.
"Why should I?"
If you don't like it, why don't you sue me through that precious law firm of yours?
"W-wait... Aaargh! Aaack!"
Crunch!
Crack!
The tree branches crushed Lee Jong-su with immense pressure.
A bastard who deserved to die had died. Thus, he felt not a single shred of guilt.
Even trash like you is useful at times like this.
The half-hearted ones had all fled upward.
Time to make my move.
Tap!
Jinhyuk leaped toward the main trunk of the tree. Now, while most of the branches were busy absorbing nutrients, was his chance.
Of course,
Whoosh!
not all the branches were idle.
With a rushing wind, two vines whipped toward Jinhyuk. If caught, he would naturally suffer the same fate as Lee Jong-su. He would be crushed, and every drop of his bodily fluids would be sucked dry.
Jinhyuk tilted his body sideways.
Dodging is the easy part.
The branches that missed him collided in midair.
Thud!
Splinters of wood shattered in all directions.
Thirty-five degrees to the right.
Twenty-two degrees to the left.
Even the angles and directions.
As expected, it was exactly as he had experienced in the game, without a single millimeter of error.
With perfect timing, the branches that had been targeting Jinhyuk pierced into the mangrove's own trunk instead.
Jinhyuk smirked.
Right. Figuring out the exact trajectory to make it attack itself—now that's what qualifies as a challenge.
"Groooaaar!"
The Greedy Mangrove let out a heavy groan.
You barely even feel pain, so why are you groaning like that? You're as big as a mountain. Anyone watching would think I poured gasoline on you and set you on fire.
Jinhyuk grabbed a wooden splinter that had fallen to the ground.
"Why don't we save each other the trouble? Just hand over the 'Mokdan' quietly."
This guy was an event monster, so it didn't even grant EXP. At best, getting your name on the 'Hall of Fame' for a single day was all you got. Rather than wasting energy fighting to the death, it was better to just take what he wanted.
"Kroooar!"
The mangrove roared fiercely.
He didn't speak tree, but that probably meant no.
Nothing else for it, then. Since it had come to this, he had no choice but to bring it down.
Jinhyuk pointed the sharp end of the wooden splinter forward.
[The Greedy Mangrove Tree uses the skill 'Vampiric Vines'!]
Whoosh!
Swish!
Dozens of branches shot out simultaneously.
No matter how much of a veteran he was, dodging all of them was impossible. But slightly altering their trajectories...
...is possible.
More than possible.
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed. At the same time, he timed the incoming branches and moved the wooden splinter in his hand.
Screeech!
A branch grazed his cheek and plunged into the ground behind him. With that as the trigger,
Thud! Thud! Thud!
the real battle began.
Holding the 30-centimeter splinter in a reverse grip,
Step.
Jinhyuk took one step forward at a time.
Crash! Crash!
As the distance closed, the perceived speed of the attacks increased.
Thwack! Thwack!
A tightrope walk where not a single mistake was permitted. Jinhyuk deflected or parried every single attack.
I have to... find the rhythm.
He had to find the unique flow of the battle and match it. There was no need to be scared. No reason to fear. Because he had already done this countless times.
Before he knew it, the distance had closed to one meter. Now, with just one leap, he could penetrate its inner defense.
Thump! Thump!
He could feel the tree's pulsation. Through a knot in the wood, something resembling a human heart was visible.
That was the weak point.
But right at that moment,
Flutter!
something took flight from between the branches all at once.
Butterflies. Thousands of glowing blue butterflies. They fluttered through the air, scattering glittering powder and creating a picturesque, breathtaking spectacle.
"Hup!"
Jinhyuk held his breath.
Sleep Butterflies.
They used a sleep-inducing powder as a defense mechanism. Because the effect took hold rapidly through the respiratory system, first-timers were often left completely helpless.
But looking at it another way, it also meant they posed absolutely no threat as long as he didn't breathe.
Taking a deep breath beforehand, Jinhyuk lunged into the tree's trunk in an instant. Spinning the wooden splinter counterclockwise...
Stab!
It pierced straight through the mangrove's heart.
"Screeech!"
An ear-splitting shriek echoed. The branches thrashed wildly from side to side.
Jinhyuk put even more strength into his grip.
Twist! Shove!
After a moment, the screaming stopped. The tree ceased to move. He had finally defeated it.
"Phew!"
Jinhyuk let out a long, held breath.
Dripping sweat and heavy breathing. And a heart beating like crazy. Everything made him feel intensely alive.
Haha.
To think that all those tedious hours analyzing patterns and studying timings would pay off like this.
For once, he felt genuinely grateful for everything he had done.
It was then.
[You are the first to defeat the 'Greedy Mangrove Tree'.]
A status window containing a congratulatory message appeared.
Ah, right.
Come to think of it, I must be the first in the entire world.
Which meant...
[Your achievement will be recorded in the 'Hall of Fame' for one day starting tomorrow.]
[Please state your Player Name.]
As expected, this followed. The trashy system demanding personal information just to put him on the Hall of Fame.
"I don't have a name. Keep everything private."
Jinhyuk answered without hesitation. Having his personal information exposed was the absolute last thing he wanted. If it got out that he was a veteran player right now, he would be bombarded with unwanted attention.
[Name: Unknown. Your face will be pixelated and your voice modulated.]
The system didn't allow complete privacy.
I guess it's telling me to compromise by hiding my identity.
Of course, it wasn't like there were no ways to bypass this later on, but in the early stages, he had no choice.
Still, it's better than back then.
Back when his eighth-grade syndrome was at its peak, he had climbed the Hall of Fame wearing a trench coat with a cigar in his mouth. Mumbling "It's high noon..." was the cherry on top.
Thank goodness it had been a dead game. If it had been a popular game, he would have been immortalized online forever, living out his days in agonizing embarrassment.
Damn it. Let's forget about it quickly.
Just thinking about it made him want to kick his blankets in embarrassment a dozen times over.
"Do whatever you want."
Clicking his tongue, Jinhyuk searched through the crevices of the blackened, dead tree. His fingers caught on something.
A green pill, about one centimeter in size.
[You have acquired the Tree's Essence, 'Mokdan'!]
Finally!
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
While individual tree fruits increased one of Strength, Agility, Stamina, or Mana by +3, 'Mokdan' gave a whopping 12 bonus stat points to distribute freely. Considering you got 3 points per level, this was equivalent to gaining a massive 4 levels.
This is insane.
Honestly, there was no item with better value than this. Even if you searched the entire 50 floors.
Gulp!
Jinhyuk tossed the Mokdan from his palm into his mouth. Instantly, he felt a warm energy surging from his abdomen.
Now, let's see if it was absorbed properly.
Jinhyuk activated his status window.
----------------------------------
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Level: 1
Strength: 5 | Agility: 6 | Stamina: 7 | Mana: 5
Available Stat Points: 12
Class: None
Unique Ability: None
Skills: None
----------------------------------
His level was 1. But his available stat points were 12.
The ultimate Level 1.
There was no other way to describe it.
* * *
About an hour later.
A message was posted on the 'Hall of Fame' of the [Tower of Trials], announcing the first-ever defeat of the 'Greedy Mangrove Tree'. Along with a notice that the related video would be updated in ten minutes.
The Korean server community board, which had long been deserted, was suddenly bustling with countless users.
The comments exploded. Except for the first few, most of the reactions were of sheer disbelief. They claimed he either got lucky or used a glitch. It had to be one of the two.
But a moment later.
[The video has been updated.]
As soon as the video went up, the skeptical reactions vanished in an instant. It was only natural. Because they saw the entire process with their own eyes.
Though there were slight differences in tone, the reaction of everyone who watched the video was unanimous.
There were even quite a few comments begging him to join them.
Jinhyuk smacked his lips as he read through the community posts.
Was it really that big of a deal?
Sure, defeating the Greedy Mangrove at Level 1 wasn't easy, but...
Honestly, I don't know... It's not something to be this shocked about.
Ah, right. Other people had never played the mid-to-late stages of the Tower, so it made sense.
I keep forgetting that I shouldn't judge things by my own standards.
Jinhyuk smiled bitterly.
Anyway, 1 billion won, huh...
Seeing such an unrealistic sum of money brought back memories of his past. It had been a life where he struggled just to put food on the table. He was constantly behind on rent, and he had even starved for days just to scrape together money for food to use in his mukbangs.
If someone had offered him this money just a day ago, he would have accepted without a second thought.
But now, whether they offered him 1 billion or 10 billion won, he had no intention of sharing the information he possessed.
Money isn't what's important.
Yes. That kind of stuff didn't matter right now.
Jinhyuk searched for the 'National Museum of Korea' on his phone.
A massive museum located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
When the Tower of Trials appeared in the game, the overflowing mana from its aftermath had spread across all of Seoul. Most things weren't heavily affected, but there was one major change.
The artifacts outside the Tower had transformed into relics.
Of course, they weren't the real deal. The true relics possessing mythical powers were located inside the Tower. What he was referring to now were replicas. In other words, duplicate versions.
And this is where you can get the most replicas.
A place where countless artifacts were preserved. The National Museum of Korea was essentially a treasure trove.
The problem was, he wasn't the only one targeting it. Unlike the mangrove trees, which appeared in seven different locations in Seoul, there was only one National Museum of Korea.
People from all over would surely flock there to get their hands on the artifacts. And of course, that would include other veteran players.
"I should start getting ready."
Jinhyuk shoved his phone into his pocket. He would make his move at night, once all the visitors were gone.
* * *
Jinhyuk stopped by the E-Mart located at Yongsan Station. There were items he needed to buy before the sun went down.
Let's see. I've got the hanji paper to use...
He also tossed about five 30-centimeter paring knives into his cart.
Is this enough?
It was a bit of a shame that his only available weapons were paring knives, but it would be the same for everyone else anyway. At best, kitchen knives or hammers were all they could get.
Jinhyuk pushed his cart toward the checkout counter. Just then, a TV on display was broadcasting breaking news about the Tower of Trials.
—The government is currently launching an active investigation into this situation...
—This afternoon, the President convened all cabinet members, including the Minister of National Defense...
—...experts from various fields have gathered...
But trying to come up with countermeasures was utterly useless. Applying logic and reason to a supernatural phenomenon would yield absolutely nothing.
Jinhyuk looked out the window. He could see the sun setting behind the mountains.
The day was ending.
And the night was coming.