Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: 20th Floor (2)
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The elves slowly approached me.
Leading the way was the one who looked the oldest.
If an elf could age that much, I couldn't even begin to imagine how many years he must have lived.
Behind him followed other elves who similarly exuded a deep sense of age.
They gazed at me with eyes filled with emotion.
Third group of NPCs I'd encountered since entering the tower.
Just like that old man who reduced magic damage, no one in the gallery had ever mentioned them.
This was the real deal, the genuine article.
I smiled in anticipation.
The elf elder who appeared to be the most senior opened his mouth.
"Legollos, Iruril Erhu…."
"Hm?"
It was a language I couldn't understand.
I furrowed my brow.
What was this situation?
This was bad.
If we couldn't communicate, there was no way to extract any rewards.
It was right then.
The pendant around my neck began to glow once more.
And with it, the elvish words were translated.
"…Savior. My name is Tinahan."
It had a translation function too?
The elf elder looked back and forth between the World Tree and me, his face brimming with gratitude.
"Great Savior… At last, you have freed this sacred seed from the source of corruption and brought new life to our homeland…."
I squinted, a bad feeling settling in.
He looked like he was about to launch into a long, long story.
"This sacred seed… was our race's last hope, the final ember of our fading life. When the shadow of that black tower fell over us, and our mother the World Tree groaned in the agony of corruption, we gathered our last strength…."
He pointed reverently at the pendant around my neck.
"…and bound the World Tree's final hope into that leaf and seed, forging a covenant: that someday, a stranger from a distant land would carry the seed back to our corrupted homeland and sprout new life. In the process, the pendant was lost in battle against the corrupted ones, but we clung to that one promise, wandering the cracks of time for eons, enduring what seemed an endless wait filled with despair…."
"No, wait, wait, wait…."
I cut him off there.
It felt like it would never end if I let him keep going.
"Whatever. Just give me the reward."
When I played games, I was the type to skip all the story.
I had zero interest in lengthy backstory or NPCs lamenting their fates.
There was only one important thing.
What I would get out of finishing this event.
The 20th floor was the last of this jungle anyway.
Learning their history here wouldn't be useful down the line.
At my blunt demand, the elf elder Tinahan looked momentarily flustered, as if at a loss for words.
But he soon burst into a hearty laugh and nodded.
Like a grandfather indulgently accepting a spoiled child's tantrum.
Their eyes held nothing but boundless goodwill.
"…Understood. You are a practical one. Very well. We shall repay you with our most precious possession."
The elder elf said no more and slowly walked toward the newly born World Tree.
He extended his wrinkled hand and gently caressed the trunk.
Then he closed his eyes and whispered something.
A brilliant green light poured from his body, flowing into the World Tree.
At the same time, his face began to age rapidly.
His eyes lost their vigor, and his skin shriveled like tree bark.
Even I, a complete layman, could tell.
He was pouring his entire life force into the tree.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Simultaneously, the World Tree began to grow even more.
Its trunk shot fiercely toward the sky.
In an instant, it filled the 20th floor space and beyond, growing endlessly as if defying the laws of space itself.
The leaves sparkled like stars in the sky.
The air around us brimmed with mana so pure and clear it was incomparable to before.
I stood there, mouth agape, dumbstruck by the overwhelming sight.
Only after a long while could I finally utter a single word.
"…So that earlier one wasn't fully grown?"
The elder elf, having poured out all his life force, paid his respects to the World Tree with hands now like dry twigs.
His face was filled only with the serenity of one who had completed a long mission.
There was no trace of fear toward death.
The elf elder, looking precarious as if he might collapse any moment, slowly walked toward the World Tree.
One of its massive branches extended gently downward.
Like a ramp in the shape of gentle stairs, welcoming him.
Without hesitation, the elder placed his first foot on the staircase.
One step, one step. Toward the heights.
From below, watching him, his figure gradually shrank.
Eventually, he vanished into the silvery leaves of the massive World Tree, fading to a distant point of light before completely disappearing from sight.
I stared blankly at the scene.
Ascension.
The word flashed through my mind.
The remaining elders, having watched his ascent, nodded silently to one another.
Without the slightest hesitation, they followed in the elder's footsteps.
They offered all their remaining life force to the World Tree and began climbing the staircase it provided.
I watched them blankly until a jolt snapped me back to reality.
I couldn't just let them all go like this.
I urgently grabbed the arm of an elf who was about to climb the stairs.
"Wait! You have to give me the reward first!"
At my shout, the elf stopped and turned to me.
His face bore only the gentle smile of one who had forsaken all lingering attachment to life.
"Fear not. Our youngest will repay you fittingly for your deed."
He gently removed my hand and resumed walking toward the stairs.
And so, all the elves vanished into light toward the heavens, save for one.
The only one left was a relatively young-looking elf.
Unlike the others, her face held a complex mix of sorrow and awe as she gazed long at the sky where her kin had disappeared.
"…Um, sorry, but I'm kind of short on time here."
Of course, I had a heart too.
I didn't want to drag this out in the middle of a group funeral.
But from my position, not knowing when I might get booted from the tower, I couldn't just wait indefinitely either.
At my question, the youngest elf turned her gaze to me.
"When our lifespan ends, we elves return to the World Tree."
She began explaining in a calm voice.
"What lies at the end… even we do not know. But… we believe in rebirth. For every elf who ascends into the World Tree's embrace, a new life is born from the tree."
No sooner had she finished speaking than faint glowing buds like flower blossoms began to bloom all over the World Tree's massive trunk.
The buds soon opened fully, revealing tiny children within.
Silvery hair and pointed ears.
Unmistakably elf children.
A rustling sound came from the massive petal beds scattered everywhere.
Small shadows toddled out one by one.
At first, the children looked at each other in wonder, but soon their eyes locked onto the single foreign presence.
Me.
The bravest child approached me.
And with tiny hands, cautiously touched my hair.
"…It's black."
That one remark was the signal.
The children who'd been hesitating until then swarmed me like a beehive unleashed.
Tugging at my clothes, fiddling with my hair, peering up at me with eyes full of curiosity.
Chattering voices poured in from all sides.
"Your hair's a different color from ours!"
"Why's this outfit so big?"
"Ears are round too!"
"…What is this?"
Children just a bit smaller than me.
In an instant, I felt like the neighborhood boss of the little ones.
The elf elder, now the oldest after becoming the youngest no more, smiled at the sight.
"Benefactor, now is the time for repayment."
She gestured toward the newly reborn colossal World Tree.
Her motion carried deep reverence.
"This tree was reborn by your will. Thus, you are worthy to claim a part of it."
The elf pointed to a branch glowing faintly with the energy of life.
"Break off a branch brimming with living vitality to craft a staff, and you shall wield the magic of the forest's will."
Next, she pointed to a particularly thick and sturdy root where it met the ground.
"Uproot a root embodying the deep, solid power of the earth to craft a staff, and you shall command magic that shakes the land."
Finally, she looked up at the lush canopy blanketing the sky.
"Or we could weave leaves into an accessory for you."
As I listened to her explanations, I posed the most important question.
"Can I take them all?"
"…That we cannot allow. The World Tree has only just been reborn and must maintain its balance. Taking one part strengthens the opposite to restore equilibrium. Even as our benefactor, you cannot shake the tree's foundation."
"Then could I take one of the elves here… Kidding."
"Haha, such a jovial one."
I quickly ran the calculations in my head.
First, wood-attribute magic. Not bad.
Especially since it was an attribute I'd never heard of.
But it didn't mesh with my sand magic.
A tree growing in the desert?
All that came to mind was a cactus.
Was I supposed to fire cactus spines or something?
'Pass for now…'
Accessories were obviously out.
I was already wearing a growth-type pendant—no need for more baubles.
Naturally, prioritize the main gear: a weapon.
'Which leaves just one option…'
Earth-attribute magic?
Technically, I was an earth-attribute mage.
But all my magic was tied to the sand sub-tag.
'Did eating all that sand before awakening do this?'
No way to know. I was the only one who'd awakened this way, after all.
What was certain: I couldn't control the earth as a whole right now.
'If I get this, can I use rocks and minerals too?'
It might break through my limits once more.
The synergy would be the greatest too.
I'd made up my mind.
"The root."
"A wise choice."
The elf nodded approvingly.
"Please wait a moment. I shall seek the tree's permission and bring the finest root suited to your body."
The elder headed toward the World Tree.
In the meantime, I was surrounded by the elf children again.
They circled me endlessly, bombarding me with endless questions, fascinated by everything.
One child stood in front of me and asked.
"Who are you?"
"Someone who's about to leave soon. Don't worry about it."
I answered in a soulless tone.
Another poked my side and asked.
"Where'd you come from?"
"Over there. But why are you talking so casually?"
"What's this outfit? Why wear something so big?"
"…It's the trend."
The kids didn't care about my answers at all, treating me like a new playground ride as they started climbing all over me.
Pulling my hair, trying to crawl into my robe, even one attempting to scale my back.
It was annoying as hell.
Hurry up and make the staff already…
It was while I was suffering under the kids that a sudden thought struck me.
"Oh, right."
Grunting, I peeled the clinging children off me for a moment.
I pulled a familiar item from my pocket.
My smartphone.
"……."
"…?"
In an instant, the noisy surroundings fell silent as if by magic.
The kids climbing me, the ones tugging my hair—all froze.
Dozens of eyes fixed simultaneously on the black, shiny rectangle in my hand.
Casually, I opened the camera app.
I had to capture this rare scene.
In the end, only photos remain.
But the moment I tried to frame the kids' faces on screen.
"Wow!"
The nearest child's tiny finger poked the screen.
The camera app closed, replaced by some random calculator.
"Hey!"
Before I could scold, the other kids charged again.
This time, their target wasn't me—it was the smartphone in my hand.
"It sparkles!"
"So cool!"
One tried to snatch the phone outright; another shoved their face right up to the screen, peering in wonder.
I desperately defended the phone, yelling.
"Hey! Don't touch! Back off!"
But I couldn't fend off dozens of tiny hands.
Somehow I managed to reopen the camera and hit the button, but the result was a disaster.
The photo showed only a blurry elf child's huge eye and about ten fingerprints smudging the lens.
"Sigh…"
In the end, I gave up on everything and pocketed the phone.
Just then, the elder elf returned, carrying something massive.
A staff woven from living roots entwined together.
It looked like no ordinary item at first glance.
But there was one problem.
"…Isn't it too big?"
The staff was at least a head taller than me.
With my small frame, it seemed unwieldy even with both hands.
"That too is the World Tree's will. I dare not interfere."
The elf shrugged helplessly.
No flexibility.
I grumbled inwardly.
But the grumbling lasted only a moment.
The moment I took the staff, the info window that popped up made me forget all complaints.
[World Tree Root]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Effect: Authority of the Earth. Grants the power to command the earth itself, beyond mere sand. Earth-attribute magic evolves to a higher realm.]
I smiled in satisfaction.
Yeah. Who cares about the size.
It was a Legendary item.