Novel Will Be Taken Down on 17 May or Earlier Chapter 159 - Blessing (1)

United States.

 

AAU West Branch was on alert.

 

Branch manager, Jim Joshua.

 

Even at midnight, the light in the branch manager’s office wasn’t turned off.

 

Their boss was not that kind of person…

 

“He’s working overtime? Joshua, that world’s burden?”

 

This was Jim Joshua, who talked about work-life balance not only on Thursdays when there were regular updates, but also when urgent updates came up.

 

Furthermore, today was Friday.

 

What kind of wind was blowing that made the man who would normally enjoy his Friday night on a private yacht do that?

 

“Katrina, what do you think?”

 

“Huh? What did you say?”

 

“No, I am talking about Jim. He’s not that kind of person.”

 

“Boss? I wonder what he is doing.”

 

“Your reaction is so bland.”

 

Slurp–

 

The man sucked on a straw and shook his head.

 

Surely there must be a reason for that.

 

“They went on a business trip to Korea, right? Both the West and the East manager.”

 

“Yes, it was a branch manager-level meeting.”

 

“…But, isn’t that a little strange?”

 

“What is?”

 

“No, branch leader-level meetings have been done through video conferences. But suddenly they went on a business trip abroad? And across the Pacific to Korea at that. Is there a reason for that?”

 

If he had to pick a reason, there was one thing that he could guess.

 

“…Is it because of Lee Hoyeol?”

 

In Korea, there was Lee Hoyeol.

 

The man who had cleared the London dungeon rupture.

 

However, Lee Hoyeol had cleared this kind of rupture more than once. Not only Jim Joshua had gone on a business trip, but he even worked overtime upon returning. Was there any reason for him to make such a fuss?

 

“Did he hear anything harsh at the meeting?”

 

“Who? Our boss? To whom?”

 

“No, to anyone. In the first place, it’s no different from someone who came out to play during working hours, right? He was just fooling around and trying to please the high-ranking people…”

Click clack–

 

By talking behind his boss’ back.

 

He was about to naturally change the topic.

 

But then the man’s eyes changed.

 

He thought that Katrina was just answering without a soul, but.

 

“What are you working on?”

 

“Oh, this? It’s no big deal.”

 

“You always say it’s no big deal. Look, can I see it?”

 

Creak–

 

Katrina pulled back her chair and he could see the monitor.

 

To be exact, he could see the pictures that came up on the monitor.

 

The man asked back.

 

“…Wait, isn’t this London?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“What are you going to use the collected photos of the Aquariu oak tree for?”

 

Before the Cataclysm, they were the developers of Arcana.

 

Thanks to AAU, the name of the tree became known to the world, albeit belatedly. Katrina, who was typing information about the oak tree because having the picture wasn’t enough, shrugged her shoulders.

 

“No, I’m not planning on using it for anything in particular.”

 

“You’re not planning to use it for anything, but you’re organizing it so carefully? What is it? I’ll keep it a secret. Just tell me. What kind of hypothesis is it this time?”

 

“Hm, yes. All right.”

 

Click–

 

She dragged a section of text.

 

The man read the words tactfully.

 

“Other than requiring a lot of moisture, it has no special characteristics… Is its special characteristic having no characteristic? You even wrote down such trivial information.”

 

“Because it’s definitely different.”

 

“Different? What is?”

 

“It is inconsistent with the testimony of London citizens.”

 

…Wait, come to think of it.

 

He didn’t have to turn on the Internet and search through the Internet articles.

 

News about London had been heating up the media for the past few days.

 

“Didn’t they say that they felt something like a warm vitality?”

 

“It wasn’t just a feeling, it was a definite effect.”

 

“That’s right. The players said they got a message.”

 

Thinking that far, he could see why Katrina was collecting pictures of the trees.

 

The man lowered his voice and whispered.

 

“So you’re saying this isn’t an ordinary Aquariu oak tree, right?”

 

Katrina nodded.

 

‘It’s not something I can say at this stage.’

 

If it was a tree related to vitality…

 

At least in Katrina’s memory.

 

Only one such tree ever appeared in Arcana’s worldview.

 

The World Tree.

 

Of course, this didn’t mean that the hundreds and thousands of Aquariu oak trees blooming in London were the world trees. Their characteristic of vitality just overlapped.

 

But there was another point of contact.

 

‘It’s Lee Hoyeol.’

 

Hoyeol had a track record of sprouting the seed of the World Tree.

 

Katrina thought seriously.

 

Would it be right to see this as a mere coincidence?

 

Above all, London’s aquarium oak tree didn’t grow by itself. Spirit, Haiel. The tree bloomed through the ability of Lee Hoyeol’s contract spirit.

 

It was difficult to pass it off as a coincidence.

 

Of course, that didn’t mean she had evidence.

 

She couldn’t even ask Lee Hoyeol.

 

But as was the case then, one fact was clear.

 

Now that the World Tree was involved.

 

‘That race’ wouldn’t stay still forever.

 

Katrina drove out the disruptor.

 

“Now, step aside.”

 

“No, so this is all? What, you have no hypothesis?”

 

“I have nothing to say at this point.”

 

“…What’s with that unpleasant tone of voice?”

 

If they appeared in reality through the ruptures.

 

The repercussions would be hard to imagine. Even when Arcana was just a game, the content alone had enough influence to shake up the world.

 

Katrina shrugged again.

 

“Well, let’s make as much noise as we can for now.”

 

“What’s with that meaningful line?”

 

“I feel like there will soon come a day when I won’t be able to rest even if I want to.”

 

“…What an absurd remark right before the weekend!”

 

*

 

Time should have been fair to everyone.

 

For the elves who live for eternity, time simply passed by. The same was true of the evil eyes that rose up in the night sky in place of the stars.

 

Just like the season that changed over time, the night view also just changed.

 

“It’s meaningless.”

 

Throughout the eternal years, the emotions of the elves had become dull.

 

Demons came out of the demon world.

 

The lives of the Arcana Continent were suffering from such demons.

 

From the elves’ point of view, that was also a normal routine.

 

Because from their lofty perspective, humans and demons were inferior, there was no difference between them. The same was true for war. In the first place, there had been constant conflicts on the Arcana Continent.

 

“However, it seems that Mother has different opinions from us.”

 

The home of the elves, Sisley.

 

Their gaze was directed to the World Tree.

 

The World Tree was losing its vitality and collapsing.

 

It was probably because it sensed a crisis and scattered its seeds all over the continent.

 

Really, it was something they didn’t understand.

 

“It’s just something that will pass.”

 

There was no humility in their eyes even in front of the World Tree and their mother.

 

“You have become weak, Mother of all creation.”

 

A sign of intense wildness remained around the World Tree.

 

It was the energy of the dragon that enjoyed eternity just like them. In order to sow seeds. It even reached out its hands to those arrogant lizards?

 

The corner of the elf’s mouth twitched.

 

“I understand what you mean, Mother. But I cannot follow that will.”

 

The elf declared in front of the World Tree.

 

“We are not old enough to be swayed by your excessive caution, are we?”

 

That day, the elves rebelled against the will of the World Tree.

 

Crisis of continental extinction?

 

So what.

 

Whether the ant farms were destroyed, or the king of ants changed.

 

It had nothing to do with them.

 

As had been stated, time was generous to them.

 

When they looked back on it later, everything was meaningless.

 

It was just a thing of the past.

 

Indeed.

 

Their emotions had dulled after living for a long time.

 

All that remained was arrogance.

 

There was no pride or nobility among the elves.

 

However, those misaligned children.

 

There was no way their mother would just sit back and watch.

 

Even if its body lost its vitality and collapsed.

 

“?!”

 

The change was immediately noticeable.

 

The generous time had begun to pass. Their body, which hadn’t lost vitality, began to build fatigue and their mental strength, which didn’t even need rest, began to creak.

 

The elves had a hunch.

 

“Damn it!”

 

The World Tree had taken their ‘blessing’ from them.

 

How could a mother abandon her child?

 

They couldn’t understand it at all.

 

“Why!”

 

If their blessing was taken away.

 

It meant that the blessing had been passed on to someone else.

 

But no matter how much they looked around, they couldn’t find it.

 

Even if they were against the will of the World Tree.

 

Those who received the blessing on their behalf didn’t exist on the continent.

 

Because all of them were unqualified.

 

In front of the collapsing World Tree, the elf lifted his head and shouted.

 

“Mother, do you really feel sorry for humans? What is the difference between humans and demons? Their nature is no different from that of the demon. The pain they are experiencing now is just the karma they have accumulated over the years!”

 

But no answer came back from the World Tree.

 

“…We, foolish ones, cannot understand.”

 

Their blessing was stolen and their eternal life was lost.

 

They couldn’t relax anymore.

 

This meant that they couldn’t just stay in Sisley like they did now.

 

“We will find out who took our blessings away from us. We will watch with our own eyes to see if they are worthy of receiving that blessing.”

 

If the person was undeserving of it.

 

On behalf of the old collapsing World Tree.

 

They would collect it again.

 

Trash didn’t deserve their blessing.

 

“You can trample on anything that stands in your way.”

 

The elves’ expedition.

 

Even in eternal years.

 

Something that had never happened before was happening.

 

*

…I suddenly felt a chill.

 

Was it the aftereffects of walking around in the rain?

 

I wondered if I was getting sick.

 

I had [warmth] buff, so that was impossible.

 

It was just my feeling.

 

‘Besides, I came here because I did something bad enough to be resented.’

 

It was like a bomb had been dropped in AAU ahead of the golden weekend. Even when I thought about it myself, it was a nuclear-level declaration. AAU Yusra branch, no one would have thought of it.

 

“Harmony is more important than anything else.”

 

The space of [『oddity』], the rupture.

 

Of course, you had to fight oddity using oddity.

 

In fact, the information I had about the Arcana Continent was enough for now.

 

I had a strong ally that overshadowed my hiatus gap.

 

Mage Tower.

 

Knights of Lionheart.

 

Shadow Mercenary Corps.

 

League of Explorers…

 

Starting with the Arcana forces that were difficult to completely list off.

 

There were also players, including the Great Alliance.

 

It was also applied to each area, too.

 

So I didn’t want much from AAU.

 

In the first place, AAU had acknowledged their limitations long ago.

 

All I wanted was.

 

Information on ‘Arcana Continent Biography’.

 

More precisely, it was information about the Arcana system.

 

‘The system doesn’t lie.’

 

Whether I liked it or not, hadn’t I risked my life to prove it? There was no evidence more solid than the fact that I had died on the Arcana Continent and was revived in reality thanks to the [Title] system.

 

“So I can’t neglect anything.”

 

For the first time in a while, you are right, Grandfel.

 

Of course, for the Holy War.

 

In order to save reality from the erosion of Arcana, the system must also be understood accurately.

 

In that regard, information of AAU, which was once the development team of Arcana, would be greatly helpful.

 

‘Actually, there was no need to go as far as making the Yusra branch.’

 

Was there any way that this guy’s lofty pride would choose the easy path?

 

“Only when you look at something from an equal position can you see it for what it is.”

 

…But again, he wasn’t wrong, so I couldn’t complain.

 

Let’s imagine that I received the information through the AAU.

 

What if someone delivered distorted information?

 

The possibility of it was overflowing.

 

Well, the looks they gave me at the meeting were still vivid in my memory.

 

If I had been a little naive, I would have said all kinds of bullshit.

 

So If I became just like them,

 

The level of branch manager at the Yusra branch.

 

I wouldn’t have to worry about that. The reason why AAU, where the interests of countries around the world were intertwined, could be maintained until now was because of the mutual restraints between branches.

 

‘Besides, I have some allies in AAU as well.’

 

Starting with London’s branch manager, Baker.

 

There were people who had changed their minds about Grandfel’s pride.

 

Naturally, they had no excuse to reject my proposal.

 

There was a give and take in everything.

 

I also planned to provide information about the Arcana Continent to the AAU.

 

“It’s not just them.”

 

No, to be exact, it would be provided to everyone who participated in the Holy War.

 

In reality, it was because I had tiring pride that wouldn’t hide anything due to my self-confidence. Well, It was up to them to add excuses. By the way, this was not the time to waste my day like this.

 

-Train your weak body. (Repeat) ▲

 

• 40KM run (Successful)

 

• 3,000 push-ups (Successful)

 

• 2,000 pull-ups (In Progress)

 

• 1,000 burpee tests (In Progress)

 

Increased physical training requirements!

 

It had gotten to the point where I needed to multitask in order to complete my training every day. In other words, I had to cram the knowledge of magic books into my head while exercising.

 

Damn it, my vision became blurry before I could even start…!

 

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have invested my level-up points in [strength] and [agility].

 

But there was no point in whining.

 

As long as this pride existed in my heart.

 

I would complete any physical training quest while sipping hot green tea.

 

So let’s start without saying anything.

 

One, two…

 

“A magic circle. That’s an interesting form of interference.”

 

…One thousand.

 

• 1,000 burpee tests (Successful)

 

…What?

 

Not only I did my physical training, but I even read through the contents of magic books.

 

I didn’t feel any fatigue in my body or my mind…?

 

I wondered if it was because of the increased stats.

 

This wasn’t a change that could be done just by increasing the stats by a few points.

 

‘There must be a reason…?’

 

I checked the status window and was shocked.

 

[The first World Tree blesses you.]

 

…Wait, that ridiculous blessing was a permanent buff?