The Pure White Knight, Serengeti

Without handing over an egg, a battle with the forest would begin.

But handing one over was a problem of its own.

"Hmm. What is he doing?"

I held out the Heavenly egg, but as expected, it seemed invisible to the High Dryad. Only I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could see an egg that held a Heavenly Spirit — of course she couldn't. And since it wasn't a nature-type spirit either, it couldn't revive the forest.

Maybe I really should just run.

The hit to my reputation if I failed the quest would sting, but if I raised a wall with Star Scratch and Isabella and Hudson held out for thirty seconds, I could use the Teleport Book.

"Take this, resident of the forest."

While I was seriously considering escape, Isabella stepped forward. She handed a Spirit Egg to the High Dryad.

The High Dryad's eyes went wide as saucers the moment she took it.

"A-a Wind Spirit!"

A Wind Spirit's egg. A nature-type spirit that could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bring a dead forest back to life. Judging by its size and the aura it gave off, the forest would grow even more vigorous than before. A Wind Spirit was far better suited to nurturing a forest than a Rock Spirit ever could be.

Joy flooded the High Dryad's eyes.

"Thank you — truly, thank you! You are the benefactors and friends of our forest!"

"O Forest!"

"Hooray!"

The watching Dryads erupted in excited cheers.

At the same time—

The quest-complete messages floated up. But the words barely registered.

…Honestly, I was a little surprised. I never imagined Isabella would hand over a Spirit Egg she had earned by clearing a trial in the Tower of Spirits without a second thought. There was no way she didn't know a spirit's value. If anything, she knew it too well.

"…"

When I stared at her, Isabella only shrugged, as if it were nothing. Only then did I realize this, too, was part of the "service" I had ordered from her. In exchange for leaving the desert, hadn't Isabella sworn to serve me for a year? She was showing her resolve to devote herself completely — even giving up what was hers.

"Today we must hold a festival!"

The High Dryad broke into a broad smile and began to dance with abandon.

Waiting in front of the Tower of the War God, Haksal's face twisted into a snarl.

What the hell is this crap?

He had been lounging around, waiting for the person he suspected was Randolph, when his ranking suddenly dropped — and with it, the level of his Guardian Wall.

Do you have any idea how much work I put into climbing the Tower of Tempests…!

For Main Quest 3, anyone who made the top 100 received a privilege called the Guardian Wall. From 10th to 100th, everyone got a Level 1 wall — but from 1st through 9th, the wall's level scaled with rank.

Gracia had spent months leveling just to climb higher and claim a stronger Guardian Wall. That effort had earned him 219 points and a Level 10 wall. Haksal had done the same. He had poured his heart into conquering the Tower of Tempests, ranked 5th, and seized a Level 6 Guardian Wall.

The Guardian Wall protected your logged-out body in the real world. No matter how high your level in Pangenia, if your real body died, it was over. And almost nothing else would automatically protect your real body without using a Broken Fragment of the Golden Rule. You couldn't keep something like a Talisman of Protection running around the clock. That was why everyone climbed the towers so desperately.

His teeth ground together.

Phantom. No — Randolph…!

He felt like he might die of sheer rage. Once you cleared a Main Quest, you couldn't attempt it again. If even he was this furious, how must Gracia feel — the man who had already lost first place three times?

Gracia had spent months leveling under the worst possible conditions just to get a Level 10 Guardian Wall. Growing without clearing Main Quests had hard limits, and he had still pushed himself to 7. Then he had risked death grinding his way up the Tower of Immortals. And even then, only 219 points.

So what tower had that bastard Randolph climbed to hit 240?

What kind of exploit did you pull?

One thing was certain: he had climbed a tower of a higher grade than the Tower of Immortals. There was no way he had done it by normal means. Phantom had mastered every scrap of knowledge in Pangenia — he must have used a bug. Nothing else made sense.

Huff! Huff!

Haksal forced himself to breathe.

"Goddamn it! This is such bullshit!!"

But no amount of deep breathing could cool the fury boiling in him.

The messages appeared the moment I entered the Hall of Fame. First place was still first place — but this time it was clearly different.

An elevation of the privilege rank, huh.

Seizing first place in Main Quest 3 — Climb the Tower — had generated the Guardian Wall privilege. I immediately read the description.

My eyes lit up.

That's a weight off my shoulders.

This privilege was one of the things I needed most desperately. When I logged into Pangenia, it would protect Park Hyunmyung in the real world; when I returned to reality, it would protect Randolph in Pangenia. And not just any protection — an absolute defensive wall that could nullify even Transcendent 1-Star attacks for a full thirty seconds, past Level 10.

So first place should have been Level 10, but breaking the Limit Score elevated it to Level 11.

Apparently the privilege's grade could rise depending on the score. And thirty seconds was more than enough time to get back and regroup.

The Broken Fragment of the Golden Rule's remaining time is up to seventy-two hours now, too.

That wasn't the only first-place reward. An extra twenty-four hours had been added to the Broken Fragment of the Golden Rule, bringing it to seventy-two. Looking ahead, the more remaining time I had, the better.

"Star's Successor, thank you. I never dreamed I would obtain a spirit."

While the Dryads danced and celebrated, Hudson approached. He had received a Water Spirit egg — a natural result, given that his talent included Water.

"You'll need to hatch it first if you want a proper contract."

"Yes. Once we're back, I'll buy a Spirit Incubator right away."

The most common way to hatch a Spirit Egg was a Spirit Incubator. A handful of major cities had Spirit Associations that offered the service — for a steep fee.

"What egg did you receive, Star's Successor?"

"I don't know either."

"…Excuse me?"

Hudson blinked at my answer. But what could I do? It was the truth. Heavenly Spirit or not, even I had no idea what it actually was. Whether "Heavenly" meant the Demon Realm, the Divine Realm, or some other world entirely, I couldn't tell.

"Keeheeheehee!"

"Ahahahaha!"

"Play! Spin! Dance!"

The Dryads whirled in a lively circle. And in the middle of them stood Isabella. Having gifted the Wind Spirit, she was the guest of highest honor among us — yet she only stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with herself.

Good thing she got two eggs.

Isabella had claimed two eggs climbing the Tower of Spirits. No wonder she had given one up so easily — she still had another. Even so, it had been a hard choice. A Spirit Egg was enormously valuable on its own. And a spirit earned by climbing the Tower of Spirits was far more powerful than ordinary ones.

To hand over a thousand-year-old mandragora as a gift…

In Isabella's hands was a mandragora — a plant in human form. A supreme elixir that had lived a thousand years by drinking the forest's vital energy. Eating one could awaken a new talent. Of course, I had no more talents left to awaken, so it would do nothing for me either way.

"I want to hatch it as soon as possible. A spirit should be more than enough to solve my problems."

Excitement filled Hudson's eyes. Was he already picturing a future of hunting alongside a spirit? The path from 9 to 10 was impossible alone — but with a spirit, it might just be possible.

"Before that, there's somewhere we need to go together."

"There's still somewhere left to visit?"

"There is."

"I'll follow you without question."

When I nodded, Hudson clenched his fist, eyes blazing with resolve. He looked ready to follow me to the ends of the earth. I couldn't help a short laugh.

Without question, was it?

"I expect you to keep that promise."

"…"

Hudson already regretted saying he would follow without question. After the warp, he could only stare blankly at the territory spread before him.

Gulp.

"Why… here…?"

"Do you recognize ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this place?"

"This is… the territory of Marquis Weiser of the Balan Kingdom, isn't it…?"

Of course he would recognize it. Serengeti. The woman with whom he had promised a future and held a secret engagement ceremony — the woman who had returned from the Great Expedition with both legs severed — was here.

Hudson's body swayed. He wasn't ready to face her. He hadn't even become a city councilor, much less reached Level 10. And he still didn't understand why the Star's Successor had brought him here. Was he trying to arrange a meeting between him and Serengeti?

"Th-the place we needed to go together…"

Hudson swallowed hard and asked again. I nodded firmly.

"This is it."

The Balan Kingdom, made up of thirteen great cities. Among them, the place called Knight's Garden. But I hadn't come here for Hudson's sake.

The end of the Great Expedition — the day I fought the Demon King.

Serengeti, the Pure White Knight, who had joined the Great Expedition with five hundred knights and lost her lower body falling into a trap while saving me. She had been my closest aide during the expedition. She was also the only witness who had seen me fight the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Demon King.

So she would know.

…About my end — the end of Knight King Wilhelm — and the things about that day that had never made sense.