Chapter 348

Hidden Quest

???

[ description ]

▸???

▸???

▸???

[ reward ]

▸???

[ conditions ]

▸Playable characters who have met more than half of their awakening conditions [4/8]

(* Hidden information will unlock as the count rises.)

▸Critical information will unlock when a specific character's awakening conditions are met. [2/3]

The moment I saw it, I couldn't help thinking, what on earth is this?

…First off, what did this thing called a quest even mean?

Judging by what had come up moments earlier and what the quest window now in front of me was showing, it looked like this quest was generated once at least four people had awakened, and every additional awakening from there peeled back a bit more of the hidden contents.

The ones who'd met their awakening conditions so far, in order, were Jin Ye-seul, Choi Hyun-woo, Lee Yu-na, and Lee Ye-eun.

That made four.

Han Su-yeong, Ivan Hunt, Ahn Do-hoon, and Kath Ryle hadn't met their awakening conditions yet — but the moment I read 'a specific character's awakening conditions' in the conditions row, I could tell who it meant.

It had to be Han Su-yeong.

Unlike everyone else, she needed three conditions met before she could awaken — the notification windows had made that clear any number of times — and up to now she'd cleared two.

On top of that, the quest window itself listed 2 of 3 as satisfied, so there was no doubt it was pointing at her.

She was the core and the key of the whole thing.

Well — come to think of it, considering she was the protagonist of this world, wasn't that only natural?

So in the end — if I want to know what it is, I have to get every one of them awakened….

For something to show up in a situation like this, it had to be hiding something important — but there was no way I could help four more people awaken right this moment.

I barely had any real contact with Ahn Do-hoon. Kath Ryle wasn't the kind of person I could help. And Han Su-yeong's conditions had turned out completely different from what they'd been in the original, so there wasn't much I could get involved in there either.

If I had to pick someone with the most possibility, it was Ivan — but even his condition wasn't exactly a soft one.

No, wait. Maybe….

"Ji-hyeok?"

"Ah, sorry."

While I was still deep in thought, Lee Ye-eun spoke to me.

She was giving me a few small pokes, as if to say let's head out already.

"Let's get going. Weren't we in a rush to make it to where the others are waiting… hm?"

As she was getting to her feet, she looked around, seeming flustered.

"Uh, huh? Where did my shoes go?"

"What's wrong?"

"My— my shoes are gone. I was still wearing them when you carried me here on your back…."

She kept looking around, genuinely flustered.

And she'd sunk back into a crouch, her face gone red, hiding her feet with her hands as if embarrassed.

Not seeing why that was a problem at all, I got to my feet.

"Didn't they just get taken during the trial?"

"What kind of trial takes a person's shoes off them?"

She shot the question back at me as if she couldn't believe it, then quietly muttered:

"Don't tell me I did something wrong without realizing it? She clearly told me I was too cute a descendant to hand over to anyone else…."

She was rambling, and I just gave a shrug at her, as if to say, what's the big deal.

"I'll just carry you out on my back too. You came in on my back anyway, right?"

"Ugh, but still."

Even at that, she looked reluctant.

Carefully rubbing at her feet, she mumbled in a small voice:

"…It's embarrassing being barefoot."

Now, of all times? — the thought crossed my head, but I said nothing.

Because her face had gone so red it looked ready to burst any second.

Maybe her green hair was making it stand out more than it otherwise would, but there was no mistaking it — she was genuinely embarrassed.

"Here, come on."

When I offered her my back, she climbed on, resigned.

With her on my back I got up without any trouble and walked back out the way we'd come.

"You know, the World Tree's a bit weird too. Nothing better to take, so it goes for a descendant's shoes— agh!"

A sharp prick made me flinch, and Lee Ye-eun — who'd been quiet on my back until then, unlike before — startled and asked:

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Think I just got a cramp all of a sudden."

As I said it with a small smile, Sbeungali's voice came through in my ear.

[Er… there's something inside that woman's body. Do you happen to know about it?]

I gave a small nod at his question.

That was exactly what had just pricked me.

As I kept walking with Lee Ye-eun on my back, a single branch of the World Tree quietly slid out of her arm.

It coiled itself into a sentence in a spot where Lee Ye-eun couldn't see.

[Do not tell the child.]

Then the branch wriggled and the sentence changed.

[In exchange, I have seen to it that she can grasp the last of her power.]

Sure enough, right in front of my eyes, a notification window about the World Tree's Branch — now with its final ability revealed — had appeared, just as she'd said.

World Tree's Branch (Bound / Parasitic / Legendary)

[ Effect ]

Active

▸You can put down the roots of your very origin, take the whole surrounding area as your territory and a part of yourself, and place it under your dominion.

Lee Ye-eun asked me again in a whispered voice.

"…Ji-hyeok, are you all right? Did something else happen?"

"No."

I answered her, playing dumb.

"Nothing happened."

The moment I finished answering, I hoisted her up higher on my back without warning.

She let out a small yelp, and when I burst out laughing at the sound, she squeezed at my neck as if in protest.

When I stepped outside, someone was waiting for us.

The woman named Seo-ryeong — one of Lee Ye-eun's close aides, and her attendant.

"Young miss. Young clan head. There are guests waiting for you in the annex."

She bowed deeply to us, then slowly straightened and spoke in a professional tone.

"That said — some of the guests are a bit unusual in appearance, and there was a bit of a stir. But since they carried the young clan head's token, we've shown them through to the annex."

"Thank you for your work. But I'm sure I passed on clear word ahead of time?"

At what had really only been an offhand remark, she quickly bowed her head.

"I have no excuse! I made sure the instructions were passed on, but there must have been some kind of mix-up somewhere…! I'll take full responsibility for this…."

"No, there's no need to go that far. These things happen."

Up to that point, I'd only been thinking that maybe Seo-ryeong was a bit less experienced than Shin Woo-seok, or that someone under her had slipped up.

But when I made my way to the annex where the guests were said to be waiting, and the moment I laid eyes on the first of them, I understood exactly why there'd been a commotion.

"Ah, at last I get to meet you in person."

Someone perched on a boulder slowly got to his feet.

The voice and the bushy beard made it easy enough to tell he was a man.

The problem was that his build wasn't anywhere close to any normal person's.

A human, however tall, couldn't stand anywhere near three meters.

On top of that, as he rose, he reached out an arm as thick as a log to pick something up, and only after looking a few times did I recognize it as a mage's staff.

"A pleasure to meet you. I'd heard you were Miss Ji-na's older brother, but… goodness, how did you two end up with the exact same eyes?"

He said it with a smile, looking truly delighted to see me.

Neither I nor Lee Ye-eun, on my back, could return the smile.

"Miss Ji-na told me a great many stories, so I know quite a bit about you, her older brother, too… oh, I've forgotten my manners in my excitement. I'm called Kritolki. As you can see, only a paltry mage."

"…I'm Yu Ji-hyeok."

"Oho, well now."

Kritolki sniffled, let a tear fall, and wiped it away with a finger.

"Forgive me for making a fool of myself. Looking at you, I couldn't help picturing Miss Ji-na… she truly was a kind, wonderful child. Yes, she was."

He said it and nodded.

"If only to hear my friend's voice and see her smile again, I, Kritolki, will help you with everything I have."

With those words, the troll mage held out a hand to me.

I forced a friendly smile at him and took the hand he'd offered.

Really, it was less a handshake than me catching hold of a few of his fingers, but he paid it no mind and pumped them up and down anyway.

"And now, at last, I can give you this."

Once the handshake was over, he drew something out of his clothes and handed it to me.

"…This is what Miss Ji-na asked me to make absolutely sure reached you."

What he held out was a box firmly sealed with iron chains and paper wards.

The moment he tapped the lock, the lock, the chains, and the wards all scattered and vanished, as if they'd never been there at all.

When I opened the box he'd handed me, I couldn't help swallowing hard.

Inside was Ji-na's phone.

A phone half-shattered, its screen cracked through.

And for some reason — the moment I saw it, what came into my head was the game console. The very thing that had been the root cause of my ending up in this world.

Not long after, the rest of the group — Han Su-yeong and Choi Hyun-woo included — arrived.

Even while startled at the sight of Kritolki and of the gargoyle who'd introduced himself as Kwakal, Choi Hyun-woo kept his eyes on Yu Ji-hyeok alone.

When Yu Ji-hyeok eventually got to his feet and came over, Choi Hyun-woo drew in a small, deep breath and walked to meet him.

"It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has."

Choi Hyun-woo nodded at Yu Ji-hyeok's greeting.

Then he hesitated a few times, looking awkward, before finally forcing the words out.

"I'm sorry."

"That's something you should say to Su-yeong or Master, not me."

"I will. But I wanted to apologize to you too, Ji-hyeok. And to the others."

Partway through, Yu Ji-hyeok caught sight of the cut at the corner of his mouth and let a small smile show.

"Damn, always so earnest. …Did that hurt?"

At that, Choi Hyun-woo let out a small laugh of his own.

"Of course it hurt."

After that brief reunion, Choi Hyun-woo asked Yu Ji-hyeok:

"By the way, who exactly are those… people?"

Realizing that Choi Hyun-woo, unlike the rest of the group, hadn't met Reto or Sharisna either, Yu Ji-hyeok answered right away.

"My sister's companions."

"Ah."

Choi Hyun-woo nodded at the answer as if that settled it, and closed his mouth.

Sharisna, who'd been waiting off to the side for their conversation to wrap up, came straight over to the two of them.

"So what will you do now?"

"Miss Sharisna."

"You can just call me Sharisna."

Sharisna gave a single flap of the huge, rough-looking wings that stood in stark contrast to her beautiful human form.

"As you know, Juno's seal is at the south pole. Even if I were to carry someone in my arms or on my back, one or two at most… there won't be enough time to move this whole group down to the south pole together."

"Oh — saying it up front, no can do on my end either, Yu Ji-hyeok."

Even from a distance, Belluna had apparently caught the conversation; she lifted a hand and waved it around.

"A spirit's power weakens dramatically at the south pole. In my current state, I might just drop all of you partway there."

Yu Ji-hyeok didn't look bothered by what either of them had said.

And, glancing at Sharisna as if he wanted the group to overhear, he spoke.

"Honestly, making it in time isn't going to happen. The Smith of Yado — the one who built the seal — was Ahriman's subordinate to begin with, so he's probably already on his way to the south pole by now. He might have arrived already, or already be in the middle of breaking the seal."

"Then….."

"What I'm saying is — the idea of getting there in time was never on the table to begin with."

Adding that what mattered was the simple fact of going to where the seal was at all, he turned his eyes to Belluna.

"Miss Belluna, would you be able to move all of us to the south pole?"

"Umm, Yu Ji-hyeok? I'm pretty sure I just explained a moment ago that I can't."

"Yes, I heard. You said it wouldn't work in your current state. Which means… by 'current state,' you meant you don't have a contractor, right?"

Belluna didn't say anything to his question — she only watched him with a chilling smile.

Without a proper contractor, a spirit couldn't pour out and use its full power.

And Yu Ji-hyeok knew perfectly well that Belluna Hunt's one and only contractor had been her husband, Brix Hunt.

"Don't tell me… you're saying you want to make a contract with me? Or something like that?"

Belluna went on watching Yu Ji-hyeok, still smiling.

Her reaction brought something else back to Yu Ji-hyeok — that after losing Brix Hunt, Belluna had loved him deeply enough to try to follow him.

"Of course not."

Yu Ji-hyeok held up a hand at her, as if to tell her to settle down.

Belluna tilted her head slightly and watched him for a long stretch before she spoke.

"…First, to answer your question — yes. My not having a contractor is why I can't put out my full strength. Yes, that's right. But if you're under the impression that me signing a contract would solve every problem, I'd tell you to drop that idea."

Her voice was sharp enough to cut you if you touched it as she added:

"A half-baked human wouldn't so much as draw my power out — they'd only get in the way. And more than anything else, after I lost him, I swore I'd never make a contract with a human again."

"Which means, as long as it isn't a pure human, there's still a chance."

Yu Ji-hyeok said it and slowly turned his head.

His eyes came to rest on Ivan Hunt.

The fact that Ivan was a being of mixed human and spirit blood.

And that Ivan Hunt's awakening condition was, precisely, 'form a contract with a Spirit King-tier spirit' — Yu Ji-hyeok remembered every bit of it clearly.