51
051 ― Why From The Sky
Taking elixir is not an easy task. Simply eating it is just a matter of putting it in your mouth, but there are many things you must endure in order to digest that energy.
Depending on the energy contained in the elixir, the body can become dangerous, and even if it's not dangerous, it's almost impossible to completely absorb all the energy of the elixir.
Even a great mage who is skilled in handling Magi will inevitably have some loss.
However, absorbing it with the Dragon Sword was different. There was virtually no danger and no loss of energy. An absorption rate with losses close to zero. All the energy of the golden apple settled completely in Jin-woo's heart.
Then it protected that heart and helped his transformation. Although the word 'molting' felt a bit strange since he was human and not a reptile, Jin-woo's body was being reborn into something entirely new.
'M, Master!'
To April's eyes, it was an incredibly mystical sight.
Jin-woo's consciousness sank deeply while golden waves gushed from his body. The waves that filled the room washed away and annihilated all kinds of impurities and filth from within Jin-woo. Watching the continuous golden waves, April couldn't help but admire.
'I became Master's disciple just because of contribution points.'
It wasn't because she thought Jin-woo was particularly strong that she followed him. She kept the village grandmother's words deep in her heart that there was something to learn even from a newborn baby. So she thought there was something to learn from Jin-woo, too. But after coming to the ruins, she realized it wasn't something to dismiss as just 'having something to learn’.
'The swordsmanship that cut down the Moss Snake, entering Erosion by cutting through the golden apple's energy. And now this mystical phenomenon.'
Not one of them was ordinary. Since meeting Jin-woo, each of his actions opened her eyes. It felt like closed eyelids were opening for enlightenment.
'To ascend to the 5th floor, I too... Must walk such a path.'
He said he couldn't teach her anything, but just being by his side, she was learning. When she was agonizing while accumulating as many as 48 million contribution points, there wasn't a single clue for enlightenment. But now, watching Jin-woo's enlightenment beside him, she too began to feel something.
'For now.'
Let's guard his side. The current Jin-woo was in a state of deep meditation, so he would be vulnerable to external threats. When a warrior gains enlightenment, it's safe to have someone guard them nearby. Of course, there were no enemies to attack, and it didn't seem like low-level monsters like Moss Snakes would enter this sacred space, but just in case.
'Just let anyone try to come!'
Unable to make noise lest she disturb his meditation, she shouted strongly only in her heart.
***
When he opened his eyes, the first sensation he felt was refreshment. His eyelids felt much lighter. His body seemed more flexible somewhere, and above all, his skin had become incredibly soft. It wasn't simply that his physical specs had improved and that was it - the gap between body, mind, and soul had narrowed.
'The change is quite significant?'
Among all the changes he'd felt so far, this one was the greatest. Even more than the moment when he absorbed the dragon's soul and obtained the Dragon Sword while fighting Johan. Jin-woo made a pleased expression at the surging satisfaction and sense of achievement.
"Master, is your body alright?"
"Oh, April. Did you wait long?"
"It wasn't that long. About half a day?"
"Half a day?"
Half a day had passed? Jin-woo went up to the surface with April and looked outside. It was already pitch-black night outside.
"Oh my, sorry. I made you wait for nothing."
"There's no need to apologize. Conversely, if it had been my moment of enlightenment, would Master have left me behind?"
"I wouldn't have done that."
"I'm the same."
He was even more grateful that she said that. Jin-woo chuckled and spoke.
"It's too late today, so let's stay in the ruins and return tomorrow. It was a trial with a ten-day constraint, but I cleared it in just one day."
"As expected of Master."
"When did you see me to say 'as expected'?"
She had been polite before, but somehow she seemed even more polite now. She could have been angry about wasting half a day for nothing, but why had she become so humble? Well, it wasn't a bad thing, so Jin-woo prepared to spend the night in the ruins with her.
"I'll go deal with some nearby Moss Snakes."
April took out an incredibly thick bow from her subspace pouch and disappeared into the darkness of the ruins. The sound of squeeeek as the bowstring was drawn and the sound of arrows being shot. The death cries of Moss Snakes were heard several times, then eventually no sound could be heard at all. When she returned, not a single drop of blood was on her body.
"Since you're an Elf, I guess you're good with a bow?"
"It's also the weapon I mainly use. I built these muscles to draw the bow, too."
"Really?"
He had thought for certain they were built for punching. Now that he looked, he was bothered by how incredibly thick the bow shaft was.
"Can I try drawing it once?"
"Of course."
She handed over the bow, but as soon as he received it, his arm dropped with a thud from the weight he felt. It seemed to weigh several times more than he had imagined. Drawing it wasn't easy either, so Jin-woo had to grit his teeth and pull hard, and at this rate, it seemed his arms would fall off from exhaustion after just a couple of shots.
"Whew, you shoot this thing so well."
"It gets easier once you get the knack of it. But as expected of Master. I didn't know you'd be able to draw it."
April spoke with interest in her eyes, and apparently just being able to draw it was surprising to her. Just how sturdy a bow was she carrying around...
They spent a peaceful night like that. Whether she really had shot all the Moss Snakes to death, no Moss Snakes attacked during the night. When morning came, April called the wyvern knight Poldere through a spirit, and the wyvern arrived around lunchtime.
"What, it's only been one day and you've already finished everything?"
"That's how it turned out. Give us a ride."
"Hmph. Board yourselves."
Poldere didn't even get down from Golong's back and just gestured with his chin. Neither April nor Jin-woo was unable to board a wyvern, so there was no particular problem. A moment later, they arrived at Pandemonium and headed straight to the temple in the Moonlit Forest.
"By the way, wasn't the trial to bring the golden apple? What should we do since Master ate it all?"
"What do you mean what should we do, this trial is a failure. It's not like we could have brought the golden apple in that state anyway."
"That's true."
Even if the golden apple had been in perfect condition, it would have been the same. Having heard that it was elixir, regardless of contribution points or anything else, eating it was absolutely the right choice. He couldn't just offer up such precious elixir to get some contribution points.
Contribution points rise rapidly even if you just give toys. Incidentally, the voice of god conveys intentions directly, so there are no word games. The trial to obtain the golden apple meant to bring the golden apple to the temple.
[The God of Moonlit Forest welcomes you. Very satisfied with how much faster it is than expected.]
As soon as they entered, a welcoming message was immediately heard. Jin-woo headed to the altar with April and reported the trial's failure.
'I found the golden apple, but it was contaminated with Erosion. So I cut it down.'
Somehow, he ended up absorbing all the energy that was released, too. When he reported this, an unexpected reaction came back.
[You have made a great contribution to the Moonlit Forest.]
• Kang Jin-woo — God of Moonlit Forest's contribution points 6,184,986 (↑1,041,841)
'What, it's going up properly? And by a million at that?'
Contrary to his thought that it would be a failure, the God of Moonlit Forest gave contribution points. And it was a considerable amount. When he had the best reaction while giving toys, it was around 100,000, but he earned ten times that in just one day.
"Oh, Master? Did you receive contribution points?"
"Yeah. You too?"
"I received 200,000! My goodness."
April seemed quite shocked, probably thinking similarly. She was especially shocked by the high number of 200,000, because she had never received this many contribution points at once during the several years she spent on the 3rd floor. All she had done was go find Poldere, ride the wyvern, and catch a few Moss Snakes at the ruins.
[The God of Moonlit Forest is satisfied. Thanks to your wit, things were resolved quickly.]
Looking at the message, it seems finding Poldere was highly evaluated, but he couldn't understand why. Even so, it was just that something that would take about 7-8 days was reduced to one day. He didn't know what meaning saving just over a week had for a high-dimensional god.
"Well, good things are good things."
"That's true, but... Still, one thing is certain."
"What?"
"Master is very much favored by the God of Moonlit Forest."
Giving even her 200,000 contribution points couldn't be explained any other way. When she caught troublesome monsters, the contribution points that went up were only around 30,000 to 50,000. But when she went on a trial with Jin-woo, she received 200,000 just for shortening the time by a week. This felt like emotions at the level of love or obsession, not just favor.
"......"
Jin-woo didn't bother to answer. He neither affirmed nor denied it. However, he thought he understood why the trial succeeded even though he didn't bring the golden apple.
'Was the intention to feed it to me from the beginning?'
That would explain it. If the reason for bringing the golden apple wasn't to offer it at the altar but to feed it to Jin-woo. Then it would explain why the trial succeeded even though Jin-woo had absorbed all the golden apple's energy and came back.
[The God of Moonlit Forest anticipates. The next item.]
'By item, you mean the doll? Would other series besides that one work?'
[Impossible.]
'I told you that series is all sold out...'
It seemed the trend in its heart hadn't ended yet. Well, since he had cleared a ten-day trial in just one day, it was reasonable that it would still be the same.
[The God of Moonlit Forest harbors dissatisfaction.]
When he said there weren't any, it complained dissatisfiedly. He somehow coaxed and appeased it and offered some other toys. This time, he gave a sketchbook and crayons, thinking this would be good since it could draw the characters it wanted directly.
[You have made an adequate contribution to the Moonlit Forest.]
• Kang Jin-woo — God of Moonlit Forest's contribution points 6,192,827 (↑7,841)
'It doesn't seem greatly interested in drawing, but it's at least enough to divert attention briefly.'
He received contribution points of just under 8,000. Compared to other toys, it was a small number, but actually, this was also ridiculous. April said she got 30,000 points for catching a house-sized python, but offering just 3 sets of sketchbooks and crayons gave almost similar numbers.
After barely appeasing the complaining god, Jin-woo left the temple. April followed behind him with a joyful expression. Having earned as many as 200,000 contribution points in a short time, she was also smiling broadly. As they left the Moonlit Forest and headed toward the center of the city.
Whiiiiiiik—!
An ominous sound was heard from above. When the two looked up, someone was rapidly falling. Soon with a CRASH—! sound, dust rose thickly.
"Are you alright?"
Jin-woo approached and asked about their well-being. Inside the risen dust was a familiar face. Mahiri, wrapped in a patternless black outfit, was coughing and spitting out dust. Below her, the figure of the baby dragon Kalesian could be seen, lying as if protecting her body. Kalesian opened his mouth happily upon seeing Jin-woo, then saw April beside him and borrowed Mahiri's mouth.
"Jin-woo! You were also in the 3rd level?"
"Ah, yes. But why did you fall from the sky?"
"Well..."
At that moment, someone else fell from the sky as if chasing them. A man who didn't fall, losing his posture like Mahiri, but jumped down on his own feet and landed properly. An East Asian man with sharply torn eyes and a cunning appearance. However, the energy dwelling in the sword he held was at an extraordinary level.
"Finally fell."
Speaking in Chinese with a distinctive tone, he was Lin Shenlin, who firmly held the 1st place position in the 3rd floor.