< Chapter 43: Deal (2) >
As soon as I received the World’s Root, I asked Hermit to leave me alone for about 10 minutes.
I made up a reason.
I said I was going to mess with the World’s Root to spite Unknown.
Hermit left the room with an admiring expression.
He was bound by the contract of the Great Spirit, so he wouldn’t disobey my order and peek into my room.
I opened the carrier with a light movement.
Inside the carrier was a ginseng that looked about 2 meters long.
No, it’s not a joke, it looks like ginseng.
They call this a staff.
I carefully picked up the World’s Root.
“Really, it looks good for a cosplay of Master Roshi?”
A huge ginseng that exceeds my height, holding it like a walking stick.
If I stand on the battlefield with this, it will be a black history for life.
The effect of the World’s Root is to store the magic in the air.
In other words, it’s a natural magic tank.
Over the thousands of years that it was left unattended, a lot of mana accumulated. It contains very pure magic.
Unknown was interested in the fact that it had accumulated magic for thousands of years.
Of course, he didn’t intend to use that magic directly.
No matter how much he is Unknown, using an ancient artifact is too much.
But he could make this magic go berserk.
He found a way through several biological experiments.
This is the first step of the terror. Millions of people die from the explosion of its terrible power.
There are two ways to stop this.
The first is to prevent the runaway itself at the time of local war terror.
It would require quite a lot of preparation, but it has the advantage of being able to poke Unknown’s weaknesses properly.
The downside is that it’s hard to deal with if any variables occur.
The moment something changes, such as the terror scene changing, you can’t stop it.
The second is to use up all the magic stored in the World’s Root right now.
This way, you can make Unknown’s purpose itself useless.
The downside is that Unknown, who lost the core of his operation, might come up with a new operation.
The change of operation itself will act as a big variable for me.
Both have their own pros and cons, so I’m more worried.
“Hmm.”
My worries lasted for about 10 seconds.
“Just use them all.”
I decided to go with the second option.
No matter how you look at it, there is no way that variables won’t occur at this rate.
In such a situation, I can’t just hand over this bomb to the enemy.
I held the World’s Root and concentrated my magic.
The use of magic should be instantaneous.
Fast enough not to catch on to the alarm system installed throughout Korea.
Fast enough that the cadets and instructors in this dormitory don’t notice.
It would have been impossible in normal circumstances, but it is possible with this World Tree’s Root.
One of the special skills of the World’s Root is [High-Speed Casting].
It’s a special skill with a long cooldown time, but its effect is very good.
All preparation steps are omitted in magic use.
Using this, I can use magic without being noticed by others.
Woong, woong, woong.
The World’s Root repeated a slight vibration.
I also decided on what magic to use.
No, there was only one magic I could use from the beginning.
[Nature’s Bounty]
A magic that blesses the soil and plants within a certain range around the caster.
It’s a peaceful power that suits an artifact created by an elder elf who wished for the prosperity of his race.
I held the staff with both hands.
The manifestation of magic was instantaneous.
Piiing!
The magic was manifested at a speed that no one could feel.
However, maybe because I shot out too much magic in an instant.
Kugugugugugung-!
The surroundings shook wildly as if an earthquake had occurred.
“Ugh!”
“An earthquake!”
“What, what! There was no disaster alert!”
No, there really was an earthquake!
The voices of panicked cadets echoed loudly outside.
“Ah.”
In the midst of shaking all over,
I quietly sat on the bed.
I lost.
I underestimated how much magic the World’s Root had.
This will definitely be on tomorrow’s hot topic 100%.
“Let’s just keep quiet.”
Let’s keep quiet until the earthquake stops. No, let’s keep quiet even after the earthquake stops.
* * *
Hermit was looking at Kang Seo-yul’s room from a reasonable distance.
“What is he trying to do?”
Messing with the World’s Root?
No, before that, how does Unknown know how to use the World’s Root and prepare something in advance?
Hermit didn’t know the use of the World’s Root either.
To be exact, only Unknown knew.
But Kang Seo-yul had a nuance that he knew everything.
How does he know?
“He’s definitely a spirit race…”
Hermit thought, clutching his heart.
It was a strange life.
He couldn’t say he lived innocently, but he prided himself on keeping his conscience and not crossing the line.
But everything changed when he met Unknown.
He became a murderer.
He killed people as Unknown said. He acted as Unknown said.
He was no different from a puppet without will.
He had already given up on getting away from him.
Then, suddenly, a ray of hope came down.
The name of that hope was Kang Seo-yul.
The one who gave him a new contract.
He didn’t know if that hope was a new despair,
But it was clear that it was the only way to break through the current situation.
But can he really trust Kang Seo-yul?
Is there a guarantee that he won’t become the second Unknown later?
Hermit’s head was confused.
“I don’t know.”
In the end, there was no answer.
He was wearing a bitter smile when it happened.
Kugugugugugung-!
“!”
The ground shook violently.
“There was no alert?”
He didn’t feel the flow of magic either.
The strangeness didn’t end there.
“What is that?”
Beyond the sight that shook with the earth, the scenery of the dormitory came into his eyes.
“Flowers?”
Flowers are blooming.
As if to cover the whole world with the dormitory as the center, at a fast speed.
It was an indescribable dreamlike beauty.
At the same time, it was an unrealistic sight.
“What the hell is going on…”
At that moment, Hermit’s eyes widened.
“No way!”
The blossoming of flowers started from the center of the dormitory.
The earthquake occurred just before that.
The one in the center of it all is none other than Kang Seo-yul.
“!”
At that moment, Hermit felt goosebumps all over his body.
Before he knew it, the flower buds that had sprung up near Hermit gently stroked his skin that had risen like chicken skin.
He came to his senses at that sensation.
“Haha…”
It’s still a sight that makes me laugh no matter how I look at it.
It’s amazing that he used such a secret and fast magic that even Korea’s alarm system and his senses didn’t catch on to it.
Look at the range and effect of this magic.
“He brought life to life.”
This is the first time I’ve seen such magic.
Hermit turned his body 180 degrees and turned his back on the dormitory.
The flowers are stretching endlessly far away.
“Such a large-scale magic… so secretly and quickly?”
Awe.
It was the moment when awe for Kang Seo-yul settled in Hermit’s heart.
It’s a slightly different emotion from the sticky fear he has for Unknown.
* * *
“Breaking news! The cause of the ‘blossom phenomenon’ that occurred in Seoul is revealed!”
“Korea’s warning system’s gap? The warning system failed to detect the earthquake!”
The next day.
As expected, the Korean media was in an uproar.
They said it was a national emergency, a sign of impending disaster, and that the appearance of the devil was a precursor to a great calamity.
They were like novelists.
This situation is not an emergency, but a blessing.
The land of this country has become more fertile, and the living creatures have changed to a better place.
The air has also cleared up, so it can be said that it has become a heavenly treasure.
Of course, this is a fact that only I know.
“Wow. Do you know how surprised I was when I went out of the dormitory after the earthquake stopped yesterday?”
“It was so different that I thought I had moved to another dimension with the dormitory.”
“…Delusional bug out.”
The atmosphere in the classroom was no different from the internet or the media.
Everyone was burning with talk about the earthquake and the so-called ‘blossom phenomenon’ last night.
Ah. Did I do something stupid?
I suddenly regret it.
Last night.
I dumped most of the magic stored in the world’s roots.
The empty world’s roots were taken by Hermit and returned to the organization.
And when he gets it, Unknown will be pretty annoyed, right?
He had brought in Hermit, a high-level personnel, for the infiltration of the academy,
And all he got was a useless ancient relic.
As I thought of Unknown’s teeth-grinding appearance, the regret that had risen slightly went away.
That’s right.
I made the best choice.
No matter how I think about it, the risk of passing on the world’s roots as they were was too high.
If there is a variable that will happen anyway, it is best to lower the risk.
“Is something really going to happen?”
“Devil’s advent event, blossom phenomenon, sudden earthquake. Wow.”
Of course, I am reflecting on the fact that I was a little shallow in my thinking.
I’ll pay more attention next time.
“Everyone sit down.”
Cutting off the noisy atmosphere in the classroom, Instructor Pi Jin Ho came in.
Judging by his absence during this morning’s training time, there must have been an emergency meeting among the instructors.
They’re all having a hard time because of me.
My mouth was bitter.
“Don’t worry too much about what happened yesterday. According to the investigation results, it turned out to be a beneficial phenomenon.”
“A beneficial phenomenon?”
“That’s right. The land near Seoul has become fertile, and the air has cleared up. There was no negative impact.”
“Oh.”
“The only bad thing is that the instructors’ sleep time has been reduced.”
At Instructor Pi Jin Ho’s joke, faint laughter rang out in the classroom.
“Anyway, don’t worry too much. The media is linking it to the devil’s advent event and writing scenarios, but according to experts, they are completely unrelated events.”
“Yes!”
Hearing everyone’s strong answer, I sighed with relief inside.
I’m glad it didn’t spread to a big event.
“Then I’ll finish the announcement with this. Oh. And just in case, I’ll tell you that today’s class will proceed normally.”
At his words, the classroom became noisy again.
“Oh.”
“Cool~ Finally. It’s time for me to show my true skills.”
“Oh. Please don’t let me be on the same team as him.”
“How much was your team mock battle evaluation score?”
The reactions were varied, but they all seemed to be looking forward to training.
Of course, I’m looking forward to it too.
Today’s training is a 5:5 team mock battle.
It’s a training where you can get a fairly high score.
If I get a high score here, I can go up to 100th place or so.
“The teams were arranged according to balance using simulation. I’ll announce it right away.”
A hologram rose above the podium.
“Ah!”
“Oh!”
At the same time, sighs and exclamations burst out simultaneously.
Hmm. It’s definitely a well-balanced composition.
Except for one group.
“Ah~ Instructor. D group is overpowered.”
“Kang Seo-yul and Ha Si-yeon are not in the same group, right?”
“Ice-fire combination is awesome.”
Our group.
Except for the D group.
It must have been arranged using only ranking and mathematical values, so it’s natural that it came out like this.
I’m just an ordinary 176th F-rank superhuman.
“A group Shin Jia is also a problem. D group is really awesome.”
“Luck of team picking what…”
But it seems that only I think so. Everyone was making a fuss.
They all have eyes that demand reassignment.
Of course, the instructor must have expected this reaction.
“Don’t worry too much. In this mock battle, Kang Seo-yul is the ‘archer’ position. We’re short of archers, you see.”
At that moment, voices of ‘ah~’ and acceptance rang out from all sides.
“Archer position is legit.”
“Golden balance.”
It was a quick change of attitude.
Hey, the guy who just said golden balance. You were complaining about why he was holding a bow instead of a spear in the virtual ruins raid a while ago.
“Then Kang Seo-yul is awesome, right?”
“Then Ha Si-yeon is still a problem. What do we do?”
“What about Shin Jia?”
Now they don’t seem to care about me at all.
“…Sigh.”
I feel a bit neglected.
No, of course, I understand.
My strength is known to be fire attribute qi and its manipulation.
Based on that, my dagger technique and spear technique that pierce the weaknesses are praised.
After receiving such an evaluation,
My archery, which was highly praised in the beginning, became rather a hindrance.
The reason is simple.
“But Kang Seo-yul shoots well. You can’t ignore him, right?”
“That’s enough. He can’t pierce our durability with his strength.”
It’s because you can’t put qi on arrows in general.
“Huh? Just use qi.”
“…You really don’t know about bows, do you? The qi that you put on bows and the qi that you put on spears or swords are completely different in nature.”
“Oh~ I think I heard that somewhere.”
Unlike close-range qi, long-range projectile qi has to be maintained even after it leaves the caster’s body.
Therefore, the qi manipulation method itself is completely different.
“What if he comes close with an arrow and stabs you?”
“…Hey. He’s not Shin Jia, even if he does that. Can he make a fuss with one arrow?”
“That’s true. Then he’s really a pickle.”
I shrugged my shoulders as I listened to the harsh evaluations of the surrounding cadets.
…They’re all right.
They’re right, but still.
“They’re all ignoring me too much.”
As I shrugged my shoulders, the world tree tattoo on my right shoulder blade peeked out through the gap in my clothes.
It was not green or red.
It was the world tree tattoo that had turned ‘black’.
Who said I can’t put qi on arrows?
“They’re all dead.”
I’m the guy who held the world’s roots for a minute! Huh?!
You’ll have to experience how scary the synergy of [Weapon Master] and [Wind Arrow(?)] is.
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