Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Deal (2)
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Immediately after receiving the World's Root, I asked Hermit to give me about ten minutes alone.
I gave him a vague reason.
Something about messing with the World's Root to screw over Unknown.
Hermit walked away from the room with an impressed look on his face.
Bound by the Great Spirit's Contract, he wouldn't dare defy my order and spy on my room.
With a light movement, I opened the carrier.
Inside the carrier was what looked like a wild ginseng, about two meters long.
No, I'm not kidding. It looked exactly like a wild ginseng.
And they called this a staff.
I carefully gripped the World's Root.
"...I seriously look like I'm cosplaying a ginseng hunter."
A ridiculously successful ginseng hunter using a giant wild ginseng taller than me as a walking stick.
If I stood on a battlefield holding this, it would become an embarrassing memory I'd never live down.
The World's Root's effect was to store mana from the air.
In short, it was a natural mana tank.
Over the thousands of years it lay abandoned without an owner, it had accumulated a vast amount of mana. It held incredibly pure mana.
What caught Unknown's attention was the fact that it had accumulated mana for thousands of years.
Of course, he didn't plan to use that mana directly.
Even for someone like Unknown, using an Ancient Artifact was impossible.
However, he could make its mana go berserk.
He'd found a way through numerous biological experiments.
Its explosion was the starting point of the terror attack. Hundreds of thousands would die from the devastating blast.
There were two ways to stop this.
The first was to prevent the mana from going berserk during the localized terror attack itself.
It would require a fair amount of preparation, but it had the advantage of catching Unknown completely off guard.
The downside was that it would be difficult to handle any unexpected variables.
The moment a change occurred, like the location of the attack changing, I wouldn't be able to stop it.
The second was to use up all the mana currently stored in the World's Root.
This would render Unknown's entire objective useless.
The downside was that, having lost the core of his plan, there was no telling what new scheme Unknown would devise.
A change in his plans would be a major variable for me.
Both had their pros and cons, which made the decision harder.
"Hmm."
My deliberation lasted for about ten seconds.
"...Let's just use it all."
I decided to go with the second option.
Looking at how things were going, it was clear that unexpected variables were bound to arise.
In such a situation, I couldn't just hand over a bomb like this to the enemy.
I gripped the World's Root and focused my mana.
The use of mana had to be instantaneous.
So quick that it wouldn't be detected by the alarm systems installed throughout Korea.
So fast that the cadets and instructors in this dormitory wouldn't notice.
Normally, it would be impossible, but with the World's Root, it was.
Among the World's Root's special skills was one called [High-Speed Casting].
It was a special skill with a long cooldown, but its effect was outstanding.
It skipped all preparation for casting magic.
Using this, I could use the mana without anyone detecting it.
*Vmm, vmm, vmm.*
The World's Root began to vibrate faintly.
I had already decided on the spell.
No, there was only one spell I could use in the first place.
[Nature's Bounty]
A spell that cast a blessing on the soil and plants within a certain range of the caster.
A peaceful power befitting an artifact created by an elder elf to pray for the prosperity of his race.
I held the staff with both hands.
The manifestation of mana was instantaneous.
*Fwoooosh!*
The spell manifested at a speed no one could perceive.
However, perhaps because I had released such a vast amount of mana in an instant...
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-!*
The ground shook violently, creating the illusion of an earthquake.
"Ugh!"
"An, an earthquake!"
"W-what the! There was no disaster warning!"
No, it was a real earthquake!
The panicked voices of the cadets outside echoed loudly.
"...Ah."
As the ground continued to tremble.
I quietly sat down on my bed.
I screwed up.
It seems I severely underestimated the amount of mana the World's Root held.
This is going to be a hot topic tomorrow, 100%.
"...I'd better keep my damn mouth shut."
I'll stay quiet until the earthquake stops. No, I'll stay quiet even after it stops.
***
Hermit was watching Kang Seoyul's room from a moderate distance.
'...What is he planning to do?'
Messing with the World's Root.
No, before that, how could he know how Unknown planned to use the World's Root and prepare for it in advance?
Even Hermit didn't know its intended use.
To be precise, only Unknown knew.
But Kang Seoyul's tone implied he knew everything.
How in the world did he know?
'He's definitely from the Spirit Tribe, but...'
Hermit clutched his chest as he thought.
What a strange, cruel life it had been.
He couldn't say he had lived a purely good life, but he prided himself on having upheld his own principles and never crossing certain lines.
But after meeting Unknown, everything changed.
He had become a murderer.
Killing people as Unknown commanded. Acting as Unknown commanded.
He was no different from a will-less puppet.
He had already given up on escaping him.
Then, suddenly, a lifeline descended.
That lifeline's name was Kang Seoyul.
The one who had placed a new restriction upon him.
He didn't know yet if that lifeline was hope or a new despair,
but it was clearly the only way to break through the current situation.
But could he really trust Kang Seoyul?
What guarantee was there that he wouldn't become a second Unknown?
Hermit's mind was in turmoil.
"...I don't know."
In the end, there was no answer.
Just as a bitter smile formed on his lips.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-!*
"!"
The earth shook violently.
'There was no warning?'
He hadn't felt any flow of mana, either.
The strangeness didn't end there.
"What is that?"
Beyond his trembling vision, the scenery around the dormitory came into view.
"...Flowers?"
Flowers were blooming.
At an incredible speed, as if intending to cover the entire world, starting from the dormitory.
It was a dreamlike beauty that words could not describe.
And at the same time, it was an unreal sight.
"What in the world is..."
In that moment, Hermit's eyes widened.
"No way!"
The full bloom of flowers that started from the center of the dormitory.
The earthquake that occurred right before.
At the center of it all was none other than Kang Seoyul.
"...!"
At that moment, goosebumps erupted all over Hermit's body.
A flower bud that had bloomed nearby gently brushed against his skin, which was covered in goosebumps.
The sensation brought him back to his senses.
"Haha..."
It was a sight that could only elicit laughter, no matter how many times he looked.
It was astonishing enough that he had manipulated mana so stealthily that it wasn't caught by Korea's alarm systems or his own senses.
But to see the range and effect of this magic...
"...He made life bloom."
He had never seen such magic in his life.
Hermit turned 180 degrees, his back to the dormitory.
The flowers were stretching endlessly into the distance.
'Such a large-scale spell... so secretly, and so quickly?'
Awe.
It was the moment that awe for Kang Seoyul took root in Hermit's heart.
A feeling slightly different from the cloying fear he held for Unknown.
***
[Breaking News! Investigating the Cause of the 'Blooming Phenomenon' in Seoul!]
[A Flaw in Korea's Alarm Systems? Alarms Fail to Detect Earthquake!]
The next day.
As expected, the Korean media was in an uproar.
Calling it a national emergency, a sign of impending disaster. Claiming the demon's appearance was a precursor to a much greater catastrophe to come.
A bunch of novelists, the lot of them.
This situation was far from an emergency; it was a blessing.
The land had become more fertile, a better place for living things.
The air had cleared up, too, turning it into a true natural treasure trove.
...Of course, I was the only one who knew that.
"Whoa. You have no idea how shocked I was when I went outside after the earthquake stopped yesterday."
"It was so different, I thought the whole dorm had been transported to another dimension~"
"...Get out, you delusional freak."
The atmosphere in the classroom wasn't much different from the internet or the media.
Everyone was fired up, talking about last night's earthquake and the so-called 'Blooming Phenomenon'.
Ah. Did I overdo it?
A sudden wave of regret washed over me.
Last night. I'd used up most of the mana stored in the World's Root.
Hermit had taken the now-empty World's Root and returned to his organization.
When Unknown gets that, he's going to be pretty pissed, isn't he?
After all the trouble of infiltrating the academy and using a high-value asset like Hermit, all he got was a single useless Ancient Artifact.
Thinking of Unknown grinding his teeth, the creeping feeling of regret vanished.
Right. I made the best choice.
No matter how I thought about it, the risk of handing over the World's Root as it was was too great.
If variables were inevitable, then minimizing the danger was the best course of action.
"Are you sure something bad isn't about to happen?"
"The demon reappearance, the Blooming Phenomenon, the sudden earthquake. Ugh."
...Of course, I do admit my thinking was a bit shallow.
I'll have to be more careful next time.
"Everyone, take your seats."
Instructor Pi Jinho entered, cutting through the noisy classroom atmosphere.
He hadn't shown up for morning training, so it seemed the instructors had held an emergency meeting.
They're all going through trouble because of me.
The corners of my mouth turned down bitterly.
"Don't worry too much about what happened yesterday. The investigation revealed it was actually a beneficial phenomenon."
"A beneficial phenomenon?"
"That's right. The soil around Seoul has become more fertile, and the air has become cleaner. There have been no negative effects whatsoever."
"Ooh."
"The only bad thing about it is that the instructors lost some sleep."
A few chuckles rippled through the classroom at Instructor Pi Jinho's joke.
"Anyway, don't worry. The media is trying to connect it to the demon reappearance incident, but the experts say the events are completely unrelated."
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing everyone's energetic reply, I let out a sigh of relief internally.
I'm glad it didn't blow up into a bigger incident.
"That's all for the announcements. Oh, and just so you know, classes will proceed as scheduled today."
The classroom became noisy again at the instructor's words.
"Ooh."
"Heh~ Finally. It's time for me to show my true skills."
"Ah. Please, don't let me be on the same team as that guy."
"How many points was the team mock battle worth again?"
The reactions were varied, but they all shared a common thread of anticipation for the training.
Naturally, I was looking forward to it too.
Today's training was a 5v5 team mock battle.
It was a training exercise where you could earn a decent number of points.
A high score here could probably get me into the low 100s in the rankings.
"The teams have been balanced using a simulation. I'll announce them now."
A hologram appeared above the lectern.
"Aah!"
"Ooh!"
Groans and cheers erupted at the same time.
Hmm. The compositions are actually quite well-balanced.
Except for one team.
"Ah~ Instructor. Team D is overpowered."
"Putting Kang Seoyul and Ha Siyeon on the same team is just wrong."
"That fire-ice combo is insane."
My team.
Except for Team D, that is.
Since the teams were assigned based solely on rankings and numerical stats, this result was to be expected.
After all, I'm just a common F-rank superhuman at rank 176.
"Shin Jia on Team A is a problem, but Team D is just ridiculous."
"What is this team draw luck..."
But it seemed I was the only one who thought so. Everyone else was freaking out.
They were all looking like they wanted to demand a reshuffle.
Of course, the instructor must have expected this reaction.
"Don't worry too much. For this mock battle, Kang Seoyul will be in the 'Archer' position. We're a bit short on marksmen."
The moment he said that, sounds of understanding, like "Ah~," echoed from all around.
"If he's an archer, then yeah, that's totally acceptable."
"So it was a golden balance after all."
What a quick change of tune.
Hey, that guy who just said "golden balance." Wasn't he the same one who complained during the virtual ruin raid, asking why I was using a spear instead of a bow?
"So we can just treat Kang Seoyul as a non-factor then."
"Then Ha Siyeon is still the problem. What do we do?"
"And what about Shin Jia?"
Now it seemed like no one was paying me any mind.
"...Tsk."
I feel kind of disappointed.
No, of course, I get it.
My strengths are known to be my fire-attribute gi and my ability to wield it.
My combat style, which utilizes daggers and a short spear based on that strength to strike at weaknesses, is highly rated.
After receiving such evaluations, my archery, which had been highly praised initially, became more of an awkward skill.
The reason is simple.
"But Kang Seoyul is good with a bow, too. Shouldn't we be wary of him?"
"Forget it. With his strength, he can't pierce our defense."
That's because normal gi cannot be imbued into arrows.
"Huh? He can just use gi."
"...You really don't know anything about bows, do you? The gi you put into a bow is completely different in nature from the gi you put into a spear or a sword."
"Ah~ I think I've heard that somewhere."
Unlike melee gi, gi for ranged projectiles must be maintained even after leaving the caster's body.
Therefore, the method of wielding gi is completely different.
"But what if he grabs an arrow and comes to stab us at close range?"
"...Come on. His physical stats aren't on Shin Jia's level. Do you really think he's capable of causing a ruckus with just an arrow?"
"I'll give you that. So he's really just a fill-in, then."
I shrugged as I listened to the harsh assessments of the cadets around me.
...They're all right.
They're right, but.
"Everyone's underestimating me way too much."
As I shrugged, the World Tree tattoo on my right shoulder blade peeked out from under my clothes.
Neither green nor red.
But the 'black' World Tree tattoo.
...Who decided I can't imbue gi into my arrows?
"You're all dead."
I'm the guy who held the World's Root for a whole minute! Huh?!
I'll have to let them experience just how terrifying the synergy between [Weapon's Master] and [Wind's Arrow(?)] is.