Chapter 130

What he saw on the other side of the portal was completely different from the desolate Experimental Zone.

It was a lush, cozy space.

'It's like a garden.'

A wooden table stood in the center of the room, and a beautiful elf who looked like she'd walked from a painting sat next to it.

"Huh...?" The elf looked up in surprise as JiHan emerged from the portal, and then the expression vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"So we have a guest," she said, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

JiHan's viewers began commenting in admiration when her melodious voice filled the air.

- Woah... Nice...

- Heh... Hehehe...!!

- Isn't she at Shizuru's level?

- Yes! Another goddess has appeared before us.

- This channel really shows a lot of eye candy.

- Is she really an elf? Her ears are long.

- She's definitely an elf, but she's even more beautiful than the ones in the Colosseum.

- Is she one of the 'high elves' we've only heard about?

Shizuru's transcendent beauty had shocked the world, and many had praised her as the most beautiful woman on the planet, but the elf that they were seeing through JiHan's stream was just as beautiful.

She had the exact same face as the elves Ariel had shown him.

'She looks the same way as the elves you showed me.'

[Yes. That's a real elf.]

According to her, all of the elves belonging to the World Tree Alliance looked like that.

"To think a test subject would escape through the portal... What a curious case."

Swoosh-

The elf smoothly brushed a crystal ball from the table into her robe sleeve and pointed at the then-empty table.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" She asked in a warm tone.

Tap, tap-

She tapped the table twice, and two wooden tea cups sprang up from it. Steam rose from the cups and wafted into his nose. The scent was deep and clear.

- What an atmosphere.

- They're fighting a hellish battle in the Experimental Zone, but it's like heaven up here.

- No man would be capable of refusing this proposal.

- For real. Even if you knew something was off, your body would move on its own, hahaha.

[That lowly creature is trying to play tricks on you. Master, be wary of the tea's aroma.] Ariel quickly warned him.

Sure enough, his mind felt fuzzy, and his mood lifted as the tea did its job.

'No wonder the attitude seemed to suddenly change.'

Somehow, the already beautiful elf before him seemed even more attractive. He took a deep breath and returned his body to normal with Martial Soul. Such shallow tricks wouldn't work on him.

'I'd like to cut her down in one stroke.'

He still had a deep grudge toward elves from his past life and would have welcomed the chance to vent it.

'I have to clear the quest, though...'

He calmed down as he remembered that the quest had tasked him with finding out who was behind the Experimental Zone and what its purpose was.

He'd already found the creator, but he still needed to figure out what she was doing with it.

[Master, not even the finest Warrior can resist the leaf's scent for long. Why not eliminate this creature?]

'Let's play along for a moment.'

He sat at the table opposite the elf, and her smile deepened.

"Thank you for accepting my request."

"Sure. Did you create this place? Why would you make something like this?" He asked her as soon as he sat down. He hoped she would answer so he could clear the quest immediately, but…

"Fufu... You're quite impatient. Let's talk over some tea." The elf dodged the question and elegantly sipped her tea.

"Why don't you have some?" She said, "The tea is ready."

As soon as she finished speaking, the aroma intensified. He'd have been affected by it if he didn't have Martial Soul.

- Why does she keep trying to make him drink tea?

- There's something fishy about this.

Of course, the viewers weren't affected by the scent and felt something was off.

[Top Ranker has donated 10,000 GP.]

[Mr. Sung! Please, be careful!! She keeps trying to make you drink the tea! You have to secure 1st place!!]

An extreme fan even made a donation of 10,000 GP to warn him because he had the chat preview disabled in-game.

'I feel a bit bad about this…'

He'd already sat down and decided to go along with the elf, so he couldn't go back on his decision. He decided to respond to the message later.

Then he reached out for the tea and drank it all at once.

'Oh...'

His body stiffened for a moment as if he'd lost control of himself. He could've instantly returned to normal with Martial Soul, but he wanted to see what she did first.

"Fufu..." The elf made a mischievous smile, stood up, and approached him.

When she got close enough, she placed one of her hands on him. "What a peculiar specimen... His level isn't very high." Her eyes widened in surprise. "This physical ability... Is this even possible from such a low species?"

Tap, tap-

She dug her nails into him to draw blood, which she then licked from her fingers.

"This..." Her expression stiffened. "I have to send this subject to the lab."

She pulled the crystal ball from her robe and threw it onto the wooden table.

Fwoosh-

Green flames rose from the table and flowed into the elf's body. She stiffened for a moment before starting to move again.

"&!$!#." Her voice sounded remarkably different.

Everything she said was automatically translated before, but now it was incomprehensible.

'Do you know what she's saying?'

[It's elvish. Superior test subject: Found... is what she said. But how…?].

[There are 50 survivors left.]

[The game will end soon.]

'What? Is it already over?'

How could the game have ended so soon?

It seemed it wasn't just JiHan who felt that way.

"#$&!#!#$&$!#."

['Trash species.' They said. They're wondering how the game could already be over.]

Elves had insane regenerative abilities, so their survival maps probably lasted much longer.

The elf reached down to her sleeve and pulled out a palm-sized leaf.

"!##@#!..." She chanted, and the leaf began to emit a green light. Then, she brought the leaf to JiHan's chest.

Shhh-

The leaf sank into his body, and he suddenly understood elvish.

"Your master commands you…" The elf said, "Come straight here next time you end up on this map and turn off your stream."

With those last words…

[You've finished 1st in a survival map.]

He was logged out.

JiHan couldn't help but feel disappointed when he returned to his room.

'I thought I had cleared the epic quest.'

The big problem with survival maps was that they suddenly ended when half of the players died. He was sure that he'd clear the quest with his act.

'But that leaf earlier...'

JiHan took off his shirt and saw the image of a green leaf on his muscular chest.

Swoosh-

[Master, are you okay?] Ariel asked in concern after she emerged from his arm.

"I'm okay."

[Hmm... Think back about that elf. Do you feel anything in your chest?] She showed him an image of the elf to test him.

"No. Nothing." He didn't even flinch.

[Master, you truly are something... Even a shadow elf would feel infinite fondness for elves if marked by a World Tree's leaf. How come you aren't affected?]

"That was a World Tree's Leaf?"

[Yes.]

JiHan looked at the leaf pattern on his chest again. The World Tree was said to be capable of dispelling all abnormal status effects. That should've been true of its leaves as well.

"Will the Enchantment break if I feed it to my brother-in-law?"

[Ah, you're talking about the guy who fell under an abnormal status? It's integrated with you right now, so that's not possible. Though you might be able to do it if you take it from the elf when they retrieve it.]

"Oh..."

He'd thought he would have a hard time coming across a piece of the World Tree, but fortune seemed to be favoring him.

"U-Uncle!"

Meanwhile, as soon as the stream ended, Sae-ah came running.

"Are you okay? That game was totally weird! The elf suddenly started saying strange things, and the atmosphere was off. Also, people were really worried! Huh, what's that pattern on your chest...?"

"Ah, it's a gift from that elf," he said.

"What?"

"It's a World Tree's leaf. If I take care of this, we might be able to return the Sword King to his senses."

Sae-ah's eyes shook. "My dad...?"

[Yes. If the World Tree's leaf remains intact, any abnormal status effect can be completely removed. The problem is how to make him eat it.]

"Will it work if I feed it to him during the national team's match?" JiHan asked.

[The League match? Of course.]

"Then I'll just have to force him to eat it," JiHan said as if defeating the world's strongest Warrior, the Sword King, and force-feeding him a leaf were nothing.

"My dad... Can come back..."

"Well, I'll have to extract this before that."

"You aren't overdoing it, right, Uncle...? I'm okay, even without my dad."

"No. It's not okay," JiHan said as he touched the image of the leaf on his chest. "My brother-in-law... Yes. I'll bring him to you for your Christmas gift."

* * *

An ordinary-looking, young woman with a hat on exited the Incheon Airport as she pulled a light, carry-on suitcase behind her.

"It isn't easy being away from the main body..." She complained in Japanese. "Ah, I should talk in Korean now."

She quickly switched to Korean as she hailed a taxi.

"Where should I take you?" The driver asked.

"The Sword Palace, please."

"Ah... Are you talking about the Sword Palace in Gangnam?"

"Yes. I'm going to stay there for a while," she said in fluent Korean.

She looked at something on her smartphone.

"Do they offer lodging at the Sword Palace?" The driver asked.

"I rented a studio for a month," she explained.

"Ah, I see. If you're staying in the Sword Palace, you might be able to see the famous Mr. Sung."

"Yes, but..." She said as she was looking through photos of Sae-ah on her phone, "There's someone else I want to see."

"Someone else?"

'Yes. My soon-to-be daughter."

A deep smile appeared on her face.