Chapter 32 032

"How?"

"That's…"

Henrite raised his eyebrows the moment Rousseau hesitated.

"…Investment! He said investment. I think he poured a lot of money into the town."

"Think? Are you just speculating?

"No, it's certain. I spotted a large number of goods transported from Ilynea to Berne. That guy has even grown blacksmith NPCs skills significantly."

"Oh." Henrite curved his eyes into a smile. "How did he do that?

"From my investigations, he has a connection with Master Ferguson and he used that to his ad—"

"Ferguson, huh

Henrite interrupted Rousseau. His eyes gleamed underneath the purple hair covering his forehead.

"You said Master, didn't you?"

"Yes, definitely."

"So, it was him. I didn't know we'd meet like this. Rousseau, was it?"

"Yes, sir. I'm Rousseau."

"You're very lucky, my man. Do you know what the Ironbloods value the most?"

'What's the purpose of this question?'

Rousseau squeezed out the answer from his dry throat, "It's talent… finding talented personnel."

"Yes, and you, my man, did it. That small town of Berne means nothing to us, but as for the kid you found…"

Henrite stopped there, smiling widely. He gestured toward Rousseau with his chin.

"You can go back."

"…Sir?"

"Go back and stay in your position. Don't do anything stupid. Keep quiet and stay low. Am I asking for too much?"

Rousseau's gut was telling him that he had survived this.

"No, you're not! Not at all!'

"Yes, go ahead."

Rousseau left in a hurry, relieved that the problem was not his to deal with anymore. As Henrite said, he only had to stay low and keep quiet until the trouble was gone.

"Rekkir."

"Yes."

This time, another man showed up beside him.

"What did the King say? You sent him the letter, right?"

"He didn't say anything, the letter didn't go beyond the Lord High Treasurer."

"…Really? Why would that be?"

"He said that the Baron promised him a huge taxes."

Henrite curled his mouth into a weird smile.

"So, he's asking us for more money. Looks like the Baron gave the money to the Lord High Treasurer instead of us. Looks like he's less greedy than I thought."

Baron Bolton was being ripped off for about ninety percent of his income. It was clear that he had turned most of it over to the King.

"Hey."

"At your command."

"Better put another one there… Not you, I think there was a dude who returned recently, right?"

"It will be done."

"Yes, consider it a favor."

The man left the room and Henrite smacked his lips as he sat in his room alone.

'So he revived the dying town… what an incredible fella.'

It must have been possible because he had a hidden class. It didn't matter if that wasn't the reason why, that meant he was even more capable. There was only one thing he didn't like.

'I can't let a fellow like that roam free outside our fences.'

Henrite began to read Rousseau's report again with a creepy eye-smile lingering on his face.

* * *

Berne was bustling with players and NPCs. Seojin was barely able to relax but right now, he was stuffing his stomach.

"As I thought. Just because you rested a bit, your skills didn't rust."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Who would not like these delicious food?"

The old bar owner, Mac Gray, showed off his cooking skills for Seojin, though most of the dishes were simple snacks like fried squid dipped in a special sauce, or stir-fried meat and onions. Seojin couldn't rest even while eating as messages kept showing up.

New player received a quest!

The Tree of Life…

…

The Tree of Life beats vigorously!

Life Remaining: 100%

The Tree of Life is fully grown

The fruit can be harvested

'Finally. It's reached a hundred percent now.'

The feature which made Seojin paranoid at the start had finally fully grown up. He even could harvest its fruits. What mattered right now was finding out what the hell that fruit actually was.

'It must be rare considering there isn't much detailed information. Not many people even asked about it in the first place.'

That meant he had to get the reward at all costs. Seojin put his fork down.

"Thank you for the meal, Mac."

"Sir Craig sent his regards. He said he left first because he didn't want to disturb you."

Mac spoke the moment Seojin finished eating.

"Sir Craig?"

"I told him the general situation. He looked very sorry, was a bit hard to catch though because he's kinda… stoic."

He was very grateful for that. Sir Craig only came here to accomplish Baron Bolton's orders. In other words, he didn't have to be acquainted with Seojin in the first place. It looked like Seojin left a good impression on him if the knight wanted to send his regards.

'Guess I'll have to send a letter at least.'

He didn't want to lose the relationship he'd built with him so far. It wasn't ideal but showing that much sincerity would be helpful.

"Since you're done eating, I'll go and control the situation outside."

"Why don't you get some rest, Mac?"

"Me shedding more sweat will save yours."

"Can't argue with that. Good luck!"

Mac left the bar with a big smile on his face. There were no other players in the inn since it wasn't officially open.

Seojin tapped the table with his index finger before checking the quest window.

* Achieve 320 daily visitors (293)

The quest was almost done, maybe it could be finished within a day.

'It'll be done by tomorrow at the latest, there's no harm in me walking around a little bit.'

It was a shame Robert didn't bite the bait, but every drop makes an ocean. Right now, Seojin had to take what he could.

'2100% reward from the main quest and Morgan Feriah's bonus reward. It'd be just perfect if I could get the fruit of life here…'

Soon enough, Seojin began to wander around every corner of the village. He was trying to find the Tree of Life, without any clue what it was. Time passed.

"…?"

A message popped up when he reached the outskirts of the town, there was almost no one else there.

A strong Energy of Life stimulates the Spirit

The Spirit wakes up

"Spirit?"

Seojin was dumbfounded. The meaning was obvious, Seojin had only reacted like that because it was so random.

"No way…"

Something that looked like a tablecloth flew up from the ground, it was around the size of a basketball. Seojin couldn't help to let out a wry laugh.

"So, it was really about Flappy."

* * *

Spirits were the closest beings to the energy of nature in Midgard. Elves merely had a high affinity towards nature, but spirits were of nature itself. At least all of the elementalists(who were hidden classes) said so.

One such spirit, Flappy, who escaped from the cave in Movelon's not long ago, opened its eyes.

"…?"

The intense sunlight baffled Flappy. It was dreaming just a little while ago, a lovely dream about hanging out with an elf in a forest full of green leaves.

"…"

Flappy blinked in a daze. The spirit didn't like the lousy surroundings, but it soon forgot about that. The human who saved it was looking at it with caring eyes. With relief, Flappy finally realized what had woken it up.

"…!"

Intense natural energy—there was an energy nearby that could only be sensed in the Forest of the Elves. Flappy was longing for that sweet, soft, energy and looked at the man.

'Let's go together. I'm scared. Protect me.'

That's what its eyes were saying. Surprisingly, the man responded with a sweet smile.

"Do whatever you want, Flappy. Where shall we go? Can you guide me?"

"…!"

Flappy waved wildly with excitement. It flew in the air at a slow speed so that his human could follow. A little while later, Flappy couldn't control its joy and flew wildly toward a purple flower that didn't look so special.

"Is this what you were looking for? How can I help?"

From that moment, Flappy fully trusted Seojin. It thought that he was a really good man since he'd saved it from the cave. It reached out its stubby hands and patted the dirt.

"Is it down there? Do you want me to dig for you?"

The really good human was even quick to understand hints! Excited, Flappy circled around in the air.

"Okay, I hope this flower doesn't get hurt."

Flappy, true to his name, flapped around in the air.

"I'll be careful. I'll start from here, okay?

The human moved quickly. He ran somewhere, picked up a small shovel, and began to dig the ground around the flower. Dust piled up slowly and after a while, Flappy almost fell into ecstasy as the energy became stronger.

"It's… oh my God, it was something like this."

The human seemed to have a similar feeling as the spirit. He stared at the inside of the pit and his eyes widened. The root of the flower, the source of its natural energy, was pulsating like it was a golden blood vessel.

"It was the root, not the flower! Huh… Tree of Life my ass, it's more like the Potato of Life."

Flappy didn't understand what he meant, so it just tapped the hole as if it was asking him to dig out the rest.

"All right, let's carry on."

The human dug carefully, yet even faster, near the roots. Soon, the forked roots were completely exposed. The human glanced at Flappy and pulled the entire flower out of the ground by its roots.

The root shone like it was made out of gold, and the supposed fruit, which shined even brighter, appeared from below.

"…This is the fruit."

Flappy lost its mind the moment it faced it.

* * *

Seojin frowned and examined the item he'd just received.

The Source of Life

* A precious fruit from the Tree of Life. It is a mass of natural energy that is bound to the limits. It can grow Elemental Spirits or provide money to Elves.

* Worth 1200EE to Elves.

* Increases Spirit's EXP by 83600 when used.

* Effect is halved upon trading with other players.

The golden fruit looked like an apple. It had emitted a dazzling light when it was first pulled out, but now it had dimmed significantly. Seojin carefully separated the root from the fruit. The root immediately lost its radiance and turned into an ordinary plant. Only the fruit was shedding a subtle glow now.

'First of all, I get that this will be ridiculously expensive.'

It could be traded with elves and used to grow sirits. Seojin knew both were very rare among ordinary players.

"Merhen said that even he hasn't been to Elven Settlement yet, and elementalist is a hidden class."

Maybe Seojin could be the first to name the price of it. While trying to open the auction house with a trembling heart, Seojin checked on how Flappy was doing.

"…Flappy?"

It was lying on the floor like a rag. Seojin felt his heart skip a beat for a moment. But after staring at the trembling spirit, he understood.

'It's just overwhelmed with joy.'

He could tell that much even without a system message. It looked excited from the beginning as they went to pick the fruit together and went wild seeing the stem revealed. Judging by its previous reactions, it wasn't strange at all for the spirit to act like a drama queen.

'Let's see the price.'

Flappy needed some time to rest. Seojin opened the auction screen as there were no players around.