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Chapter 222

Looking at the sparkling liquid carefully scooped up with both hands, Yeon-woo felt a small dilemma.

It was nice to drink it, but he worried if something dirty might be mixed in.

“Should I check it just to be sure…?”

Gathering mana in his eyes, Yeon-woo surveyed the surroundings. Even with the naked eye, he could see the mana color so vividly that there was no need to use the dragon’s eyes to distinguish the mana spring.

Although he was concerned that filth left by master beasts might be mixed in, fortunately, there were no visible impurities.

As Yeon-woo relaxed his worries and was about to turn off his dragon eye, he suddenly straightened his back and lifted his head, noticing a strange shimmer at the corner of his vision. Yeon-woo muttered.

“What’s over there?”

The mana waves trembling in the underbrush suggested a high likelihood of living beings. It was a typical wave pattern indicating fear or anxiety.

Stopping for a moment to think as he sensed the mana waves spreading among the dense leaves above, Yeon-woo considered that those hiding there were usually birds or insect-type beasts. Unless they were the leaders, insects had their emotions and reasoning severely curtailed.

“Sending something whole into the space might bring unwanted items along. I should be more careful next time.”

If he mistakenly teleported a half-formed person, he’d end up as a murderer! Gaining another point to be cautious about lifted his spirits.

“Maybe I can consider freeing it now… oh?”

The mana from Yeon-woo’s heart surged into the wind. He felt the magic manifesting much more smoothly and intricately than usual. The wind he created with his fingertips stirred the leaves, revealing the hidden life form.

“Eek….”

“Huh?”

On the palm of his hand was a tiny being, shaking with butterfly-like wings on its back. It was of a size that could fit in his palm. A Fairy, a member of the same lineage as elves and forest sprites—specifically, a Sylph!

“P-please don’t eat me, human…!!”

“Why would I eat a fairy? They say it doesn’t even taste good.”

The fairy turned pale at the careless words that slipped out.

“…Uh, did I mess up? A lizardman told me once that we don’t involve ourselves in our species disputes, you know?”

“Ugh, wait a moment….”

The purple fairy, on the verge of bursting into tears due to Yeon-woo’s comment, suddenly sniffed and approached him.

Feeling the strange tension, Yeon-woo raised his arms to show he meant no harm.

“Y-you’re not a human, but a dragon, huh? Phew! I was scared! A dragon wouldn’t eat us!”

Looking at the joyful sigh escaping the fairy, Yeon-woo couldn’t muster the courage to correct her assumption. So he kept silent.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought those horrible humans were coming to eat me…. Little dragon, what’s your name? I’m Kesh.”

“Um, sorry. I am a human. I probably feel like a dragon because I have a contract with one.”

“Whoa!! Well, still, since you have a contract, that’s good enough… I think I can trust you.”

“Glad to hear that! I’m Choi Yeon-woo. So you’re the spirit of this tree?”

Even though Kesh had been giving too much trust, it was time for Yeon-woo to come out with the truth.

He spoke in the gentlest tone he could manage, one fitting when addressing children. The Sylphs had the poorest physical abilities among all races, so they could easily be startled by a human’s light gestures, requiring him to be careful.

Kesh nodded fervently in response.

“Yep! I’ve lived here since this tree appeared. It’s like a part of me. I was sitting around because nobody was here, and then suddenly strange monsters showed up and wouldn’t let me out….”

“Oh, I took care of those! So that’s why you couldn’t come out?”

“Yeah. It was so thunderous and cold that I was scared and hid, then I suddenly ended up in this weird place….”

So it was about Namgung Seong and Baek In-hwa. Had the impact reached this far? It was a bit too close.

“I see. Don’t worry, this place is safe. I guess it surprised you because you didn’t feel nature, huh?”

“Yeah, but I’m relieved to meet such a kind human like you!”

Kesh, who giggled and flew onto Yeon-woo’s palm, was so light it felt as if she weighed no more than an apple.

It was Yeon-woo’s first time actually confronting a fairy, and he found himself feeling a bit flustered.

“You can stay here for a while, or I can take you outside, but you’ll have to leave the tree behind. I’ll be relocating it to another place.”

“Is it a safe place? I can’t send this child to a dangerous place.”

“…Hmm, as far as I know, it’s hard to find a place safer than that.”

They would soon start construction, and he could estimate relocating it within a month.

Until then, he’d need to focus on researching the sap, and for that, Kesh’s help would certainly come in handy. It wouldn’t hurt to win her favors.

“Could you take me there when you go? I want to check it out.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. There’s a really strong Elf nun there. If you explain the situation, she’ll protect you.”

“There are elves there? Okay, then can I go with you? I just talked to the tree, and it said it would wait here.”

“Sure. But before that, I want to drink this sap first. Is that okay?”

“Hmm? Why are you drinking that?”

Kesh, genuinely curious, flitted around as Yeon-woo struggled to suppress the urge to change the subject. She might not know… Yeah, ignorance isn’t a sin…

“To get stronger, I need elixirs. And the sap from this tree is an excellent elixir.”

“But why drink sap?”

“…Uh, didn’t you hear?”

“No, I heard. But there’s no need to drink sap, right? Just wait a moment?”

Barely holding back annoyance, Yeon-woo retorted with a smile as Kesh buzzed away and plunged into the bushes.

“Ugh… ha!!”

Crack!

With the sound of a branch snapping, Kesh darted out with her arms spread wide. Startled, Yeon-woo caught her with both hands.

“Whew… I feel dizzy….”

“Are you alright? What did you just do?”

Kesh, whose head had been spinning, shook her head to clear her mind and presented Yeon-woo with what she had brought back.

A fruit that exuded a brilliant light, resembling an apple. From its appearance alone, it seemed extraordinary, and the mana emanating from it was anything but trivial.

“They call it Dragonfruit! The tree says it’s okay to take this!”

“…Huh?”

He had never heard of such an elixir before.

*

Feeling dazed, Yeon-woo accepted the Dragonfruit, wrapping it carefully in a fine cloth before placing it in the storage room.

Since the Pure Spirit Sap was best consumed here, he initially intended to drink it right away, but if it was in fruit form, that wasn’t necessary.

“I need to show this to my master~.”

The sap, known as Pure Spirit Sap, contained high purity essence. The fruit yielded by a tree that emitted such essence…

Unless it was a real dragon, Yeon-woo’s half-Dragon Heart could potentially cause a conflict with the elixir. While Shar and Nea could assist him in consuming it, it was clear that Yuri would be the one to turn a crisis into an opportunity. It wouldn’t hurt to have a good teacher by his side.

“Kesh, are you hiding well?”

“Yep, I’m hiding perfectly! No one will see or hear me!”

Kesh, who had been lying down on Yeon-woo’s head, said while keeping watch.

With each race having its pros and cons, the Sylphs, who had poor physical abilities, compensated with excellent magical powers. While their overall combat capabilities might be as lacking as their physical attributes due to their naturally timid disposition, their abilities to conceal themselves were second to none.

Without dragon-level detection abilities, it was questionable whether anyone would discover them.

“How long has it been since I’ve been out? I’m so excited!”

“Yeah, yeah. Enjoy yourself. I’m going to introduce you to my family, so don’t fly away.”

Yeon-woo, reminded of a tingle in his scalp that nearly brought back memories from his previous life, felt his worries wash away at the thought of the Dragonfruit sitting in the storage room.

“That’s right! If I can obtain a top-tier elixir for a bit of annoyance, that’s a good trade!”

Surprisingly, the energy sensed from the Dragonfruit felt like that of a top-tier elixir. Compared to something like a Millennium Flower or a Great Return Pill, if it were auctioned, it would likely be valued higher than a mid to low-grade Heavenly Pill.

“It’s unbelievable, for real.”

Moreover, the fact that Yeon-woo had never heard of Dragonfruit before his return was one of the reasons he felt joy.

What this meant was that, before his return, it was highly likely that the demon side had obtained it.

At the very least, it indicated that one of the main powers of the Demon King’s Order had become significantly weaker than before his return, which naturally brought joy to Yeon-woo.

If this isn’t a windfall, then what is it? As he thought about this, Yeon-woo gleefully moved forward. For some reason, the sky seemed too clear today. Could it be that his luck was high enough for a meteor to fall?

“…I should get home quickly.”

Suddenly feeling uneasy, Yeon-woo set his expression and quickened his pace. He had no intention of buying seolleongtang.

*

“Master, I found something like this.”

“…Am I seeing things?”

A few days later, Yeon-woo entered the Department Head’s Office and confidently presented the Dragonfruit. Upon placing it on the desk, Yuri rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

“Surely this can’t be an illusion? I’m saying I brought a top-tier elixir. Please help me digest it.”

“Wow….”

Yuri stood up abruptly, approaching as if to ask what the hell was going on, examining the Dragonfruit on the desk.

“It looks fine…. Though it contains an excessively pure energy, I think you can digest it just fine.”

“If I eat this, I can immediately leap to Aura Expert late stage, right?”

“Hmm, hard to say. Thanks to the time you’ve accumulated, you might make it to mid-level without much trouble, but late-level might be difficult.”

“Eh?”

So my ten years of effort only got me to mid-level expert?

“Why are you so surprised? Swinging a simple sword without form or style to break through the expert barrier is still quite commendable. The mid-level boundary was broken through by your diligence.”

Is that so? Upon reflection, being a mid-level Aura Expert as a first-year student was indeed a solid achievement.

Not knowing even the ‘ㅇ’ of Aura, and yet becoming an Expert in just over half a year—compared to other Aura users, that was outstanding.

“It’s a shame, but you should eat it, right?”

“Wouldn’t hurt. Since it’s come to this, should we have Noel witness this as well? Let her in.”

With arms crossed, Yuri moved towards the Gate in the wall of the Department Head’s Office without hesitation. He would meet Noel after a long time. I wonder how much stronger she’s gotten in the meantime?

(Continued in the next part)

 

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