---

Chapter 220

At the heart of the forest, where the expedition team arrived, stood a tree as colossal as the Elder Tree itself.

This mighty tree would eventually earn the nickname “Tree of Life” in the future. The reason for such a grand title was simple: the sap pooling at the base was a spring of mana.

To understand just how remarkable its potency was, one only needed to hear what martial artists referred to it as.

“It was even called the ‘Empty Purity Wood Oil.'”

Since it was on par with the legendary Empty Purity Stone Oil, that nickname was no joke. Knowing how the martial artists and hunters valued the Empty Purity Stone Oil made it clear that this title should never be taken lightly.

Yet to the ordinary onlooker, it would simply appear as a beautiful scene where blue liquid gathered at the base of the trunk.

But to Yeon-woo and Shar, it was something entirely different.

Overwhelming. The mana swirling up like mist was so potent, it could rival even Nea’s nest.

Having seen countless landscapes, Yeon-woo was momentarily spellbound by the ethereal sight before him.

“Wow, wow….”

[You’re so amazing!! Dad, Tae-oh wants to live in a place like this!!]

Startled back to reality, Yeon-woo heard that voice echo in his mind. Though he anticipated Shar’s reaction, Tae-oh’s unexpected response made him smirk wryly.

While Yeon-woo was basking in a warm memory, Kim Yoo-min stepped forward and muttered.

“This is what they were guarding? It’s pretty underwhelming. Is there anything in that tree?”

Kim Yoo-min’s reaction made Yeon-woo’s frustration bubble over. As Yeon-woo shot a resentful glare at Kim Yoo-min, he retorted, questioning why he was being looked at like that.

“Seriously, your sensitivity is dried up. Kim Yoo-min, you really need to learn from them.”

Since martial artists loved beautiful nature, Yeon-woo confidently believed they would appreciate it, turning to Namgung Seong and Baek In-hwa.

“Oh, training here would be incredible!”

Perhaps instinctively, Namgung Seong excitedly grasped the point.

“…Yawn.”

Baek In-hwa was just yawning lazily. Despite Namgung Seong at least showing some reaction, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but feel let down.

What? Is that all they can muster after witnessing such a stunning view?

“What on earth? You want to learn from this?”

“Your sensitivity is completely dead….”

As Kim Yoo-min retorted, avoiding his question, Yeon-woo sighed. It wasn’t that they couldn’t appreciate beauty like Shar did, but this generation of young martial artists had lost all sense of romance!

Ah! The future of the hunter industry is grim!

‘I won’t let it stay dark!’

Having seen enough of dark futures before the regression, he figured some change wouldn’t hurt. First, he had to correct this future’s master trio.

“Alright, what I’ve been looking for is right before your eyes. Does anyone know what it is?”

“Mr. Me!”

“Namgung Seong! Give it a shot!”

In tune with Yeon-woo’s exaggerated act, Namgung Seong absurdly shot his hand up. The other two, excluding Shar, looked at him with annoyed expressions.

“Memories made with friends in a beautiful place…!?”

“A wonderfully poetic answer, but it’s wrong! Who comes to dig for memories at the risk of their lives?!”

As Yeon-woo turned to look for other answers, no one raised their hand.

They all realized they’d acted foolishly, but what could they do? After all, Yeon-woo’s reputation was already that of a weirdo.

“The scenery you’re all watching is exactly the opportunity you’ve been searching for.”

“Eh? This stagnant water?”

“Stagnant water, you say…? It seems you’re misunderstanding something. In this world, if a landscape is beautiful, there’s bound to be a reason for it. It’s not just pretty for no reason.”

Just as the Earth Serpent lived beneath the waterfall, a tree in the western forest absorbed pure energy from the land.

Like the breathtaking landscape of the Great Culinary Hall serving as a fortification for the city, beauty comes with reasons; it’s almost a fundamental law of this world with intersecting dimensions.

“Oh, so what is this place then?”

“A place where amazing elixirs flow endlessly.”

“Are you being serious? Are you sure you’re not out of your mind?”

“I mean it. And we have a duty to collect it.”

“…I think they’re genuinely nuts.”

Well, it would sound that way. But Yeon-woo had reasons to speak such seemingly nonsensical words.

Amid frivolous conversations and preparing to gather elixirs, Shar timidly raised her hand and asked.

“Um, Dad, just out of curiosity…is there a reason for the ugly things too?”

“…”

At that question, Yeon-woo’s face stiffened, and he could only shake his head quietly. Though the era where silence was golden had passed, there were still times when silence was worth more than gold.

*

It had been a month since preparations for the western forest expedition commenced. Riley, who usually handled his affairs independently unless it was important, contacted him.

“Is now a good time, Yeon-woo?”

‘What’s up?’

“First, I’ll report.”

Reports were coming in from Double D that human trafficking was intensifying, updates about the nobility from Aaron Chester.

Reports stated that pirates were still rampant in the East Sea, and although research was progressing well, they couldn’t proceed immediately due to lacking materials and artifacts…

All pieces of information were things to keep in mind. Considering all this warranted contact, Yeon-woo nodded to himself, but then he heard Riley’s voice, unusually puzzled.

“And something strange happened.”

‘What kind of strangeness?’

“When I entered the archive after a long time, there was a peculiar change. I think it’d be best for you to check it out yourself.”

‘What kind of change…?’

[…It’s a bit hard to explain in words….]

Although Yeon-woo found Riley’s discomfort amusing, he speculated that since Riley mentioned it, there must be a reason.

Yeon-woo headed straight for the archive, where he stumbled upon something unusual.

“What is this?”

Relin’s Archive and the magical books welcomed their long-absent caretaker. Sunlight was streaming in from somewhere.

Yeon-woo found that the sunlight felt very out of place. How could sunlight possibly enter a place enclosed by bookshelves and walls, including the ceiling?

As he pondered that question and looked up, he saw there was a skylight. It appeared as if the library had transformed into a greenhouse, revealing a clear blue sky and sunlight.

<Authorization of the Gate Management Artifact, ‘Relin’s Warehouse,’ confirmed for access to Relin’s Archive. Procedures to renew permissions will begin now. Do you agree?>

Startled by the mechanical voice he had heard when Riley passed him the Relin’s Warehouse, Yeon-woo nodded dazedly.

Had mere movement confirmed his consent? His head spun as he realized that a massive amount of mana had disappeared.

<Renewing… renewal complete. Would you like an explanation of the newly created function, ‘Housing’?>

Housing? Yeon-woo momentarily pondered over the familiar term but soon nodded. It was a system typically referred to as decorating a house in games…

Playing around with the Relin’s Archive as he blankly listened to the explanation, Yeon-woo snapped his fingers, realizing that this might allow him to relocate the mana spring.

And thus, time went on until now.

Housing wasn’t particularly impressive. It felt more like an evolved version of the authority to change the internal structure of Relin’s Archive from before…something similar to that.

While the previous authority was merely structural alterations, Housing was the authority to change its concept, as it had become like a greenhouse.

Honestly, he thought it was a useless function at first, but from the ensuing explanation, he could see its utility.

If desired, he could use items stored in Relin’s Warehouse as decorations, and it was also possible to ‘isolate’ spaces through the warehouse.

Initially, he didn’t grasp the meaning of isolating spaces, but it meant they could assign external spaces to the inside of the library or evacuate allocated spaces to the outside.

Just like assigning a storage area within Relin’s Archive.

At first, Yeon-woo planned to seize the mana spring, gather samples, and extract as much as possible, then fill the spring back up.

This was indeed joyful news!

It was as if the mana spring had transformed from a temporary opportunity to a continuous one!

‘I’ll have to think it over whether to keep assigning the mana spring within the Archive or somewhere else as time goes on.’

Given the characteristics of the Tree of Life extracting earth energy, unless it was in a rich natural area like the western forest, there would be a need for regular land changes, which posed a bit of a problem.

“Anyway, shall we go collect it?”

The Empty Purity Wood Oil, it’s mine!!

With that thought, Yeon-woo grinned, while the other three watched him with concerned expressions.

Of course, they were startled to see the great tree and the mystical spring in the forest suddenly vanish, leaving behind an empty lot.

*

“…Is this enough?”

Christopher, with hands of bone, hesitated for a moment but moved forward without a second thought. Before him stood an ornate coffin.

Previously, he had transitioned from the Cult of Sorrow to the Cult of Oblivion, suiting the nature of his material collection.

He had previously used his undead minions to ambush a gathering, so he intended to replenish them.

“Hurry up and open it.”

From behind him, the voice of the necromancer, wearing a raven mask and crossing their arms, was gruff and clipped as Christopher pushed the coffin. It required little strength.

Clang, thud.

As the sound of the coffin hitting the ground echoed, dust flew up. Inside the sarcophagus lay the corpse of a being from another world, clutching a sword.

“What was their name again?”

“Didn’t they say it was Dragon Knight? Quite the grand name for a corpse.”

The necromancer muttered irritably as he slowly approached the corpse. A curse, dark as night, began to rise.

As if a butterfly had stopped flapping its wings somewhere, causing a storm, many changes were underway.

Even if the butterfly halted its fluttering across time, it was the butterfly’s fate to continue flapping its wings to survive.

Many things were changing unbeknownst to Yeon-woo. The world seemed to be saying that regression didn’t guarantee everything could be achieved.

(To be continued)

 

---