Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 77
Chapter 77: Episode 21. Dwarf, Quest, Success (1)
Boooom!
When she planted the Seed of the World Tree, a deep vibration echoed around the dungeon. It was a roar of life to announce its grand existence. All the Dark Elves around it knelt down.
Two Seeds of the World Tree had sprouted only 100 feet away from each other. It was something that had never happened before, not even in history, legends, myths, or fairytales… This was an impossibility, but it had just happened. It was happening in front of everyone there.
It was a majestic surprise that left a deep impression on everyone!
It was an amazing achievement that people would talk about for a long, long time. Nobody knew what two Seeds of the World Tree could or would do together. This would be written down and passed from generation to generation. The Dark Elves clenched their fists. This dungeon just became their home, their real root and place to exist. They would happily sacrifice their lives if that was required to protect the two Seeds of the World Tree. To protect them… If they could protect them for the next generation, the Dark Elves’ prosperity was a given.
The Dark Elves had survived a long period of sorrow, treated as the weak ones in the Devildom. The great leader of Dark Elves, Higher Shila, miraculously met the True Magic Dragon Ahojin to give birth to hope, but they couldn’t hold on to it. Their emotions when they signed the contract with the Fairies of Darkness to give Krithli up were beyond anyone’s imagination.
But it was time for them to prosper.
To get over their sorrowful past, now with two Seeds of the World Tree…
For them to do so, I had to win the war and become the Dark Lord, because the existence of this dungeon depended on me.
‘Is this the effect of highly-concentrated Mana? it’s a good start.’
The newly-planted seed had a much stronger vibe than the already growing World Tree. As soon as it was planted, it grew up to my waist. I could feel that it would grow at an incredible rate.
Two steps ahead of me, Krithli was looking at it with deeply impressed eyes. Since she was the main player in this, I wanted to wait until she had recovered from her exhaustion.
I told the Dark Elves who were totally mesmerized by the scene, “Listen, Krithli will take care of both World Trees, so if you need to do something or see the Seed of the World Tree, you guys should talk to Krithli. Now that they’re sprouted, you need to take care of them carefully.”
“My Dungeon Master, I think Elder Julium would do a better job with such responsibility,” Krithli modestly recommended. The oldest was Elder Julium. He was experienced and had a lot of knowledge regarding many things. He would be suitable as the manager of anything else, but not this, so I shook my head.
It was the Seed of the World Tree. It was a cradle of life that couldn’t be measured or understood through any normal knowledge. Julium didn’t know enough to take on this responsibility. I needed someone who could react to variables quickly and effectively, someone who could see through the fundamentals of the Seed of the World Tree.
“You are in charge, Krithli.”
“Yes, Master.”
It was decided already, and Krithli knew that just as well.
She knelt down with one knee.
That was everything I needed to do as the first step. I had no idea how long it would take to grow up, but considering the special characteristics of the dungeon, it wouldn’t be too long.
I was about to turn around with satisfaction but then—
Boooom!
There was a movement not far from me.
Boooooom!
It happened not just once but twice. It was a huge sound that almost hurt my ears. Both trees from two Seeds of the World Tree were making sounds together.
I frowned and looked away.
But soon, I lost the ability to speak in the face of what was happening in front of me. It was simply amazing.
‘They’re uniting into one?’
A new sprout of the Seed of the World Tree was growing rapidly and reached its branches toward the other seed. The other Seed of the World Tree started to tilt toward it as if it making a movement to join together.
It was my first time seeing two Seeds of the World Tree together, so nobody had expected them to make a move to unite like this. It was impossible to know if it was a result from some different combo… or if it was just a natural reaction when there were two Seeds of the World Tree together.
“My Dungeon Master, there is a serious wave of Mana.”
“Any guesses?” I had to ask her.
The Seed of the World Tree with the combination with Krithli’s blood had made the first move, so it was only natural for Krithli, who shared the same Mana, felt something. She was more sensitive to Mana anyway.
Krithli bit her lips and answered, “Mana from the Earth Dragon’s dead body is making a move. It’s so violent that it almost seems like it’s trying to eat up the other…”
I was thinking what that could possibly mean for a while before I made a moaning sound. “To come back to life, an Earth Dragon has to eat up a whole huge forest. One Seed of the World Tree would contain the lives of a few forests for sure.”
Krithli looked at me with surprise. “Isn’t that a bad thing for us?”
“I’m not sure yet, but the Earth Dragon only appears after eating up a forest. Without that process, the Earth Dragon can’t be born. Maybe it will eat the other Seed of the World Tree in this form to become something else.”
I explained a grand theory, but it was just speculation. However, if it was just the Mana from the Earth Dragon, this was the most probable theory.
Gulp!
All the Dark Elves looked very nervous. They had all been moved and emotional to the point of shedding tears, but now, they looked so different.
I felt cold sweat on my hands as well. The two Seeds of the World Tree were clearly uniting.
‘Should I stop them, or let them be?’
I had to choose.
If I had planted them on different levels, this wouldn’t have happened.
But maybe it was a process of bringing the Earth Dragon back to life…
‘I want to know.’
I really wanted to know the result.
The Earth Dragon had to eat a whole forest to come to life, and the Seed of the World Tree was greater than any forest. It was a huge cradle of life that could even be called the origin of all life. That made this so unpredictable. Maybe something stronger than the Earth Dragon would appear, or maybe I would just have one Seed of the World Tree.
I finally decided to leave them as they were.
The fight between two Seeds of the World Tree continued for a long time.
One was intruding the other’s territory and attacking, while the other was defending itself and its territory.
I stood there for hours to watch it, because I would have to make a move very quickly if something bad happened…
A day passed, then another day passed, but nobody around two seeds moved. Even Lyhee, who had gone for a walk with the King Bees in the surrounding forest, came to join us.
On the third day, there was a change. The defending seed’s movement became slower, while the attacking one became more aggressive.
And then the rest was a walk in a park. The attacking World Tree’s branches started to cover up the other and made a hovering sound while absorbing Mana from it.
When the two trees became one, the message windows came up in front of me.
[Two World Trees became one successfully.]
[Impossible achievement! ‘The Tree of Origin’ has rooted for the very first time!]
[The Tree of Origin is the ‘Beginning Tree’ that gave birth during Genesis. Not much information is available on it.]
[The title ‘the Owner of the Seed of the World Tree’ changed to ‘Owner of the Origin.’]
[3,000,000 points were rewarded.]
This achievement had just changed my title and rewarded me 3,000,000 points!
“Huh…”
But the message window wasn’t what surprised me.
The Tree of Origin was shining gracefully in blue. The mystical presence of it overwhelmed everything around it. It was still growing, so it was tiny, but it looked wise and mystical in a very mysterious way.
I had kind of guessed that there would be some changes, but this almost felt like I went through an evolution.
I calmed down a bit before opening the status window. The Seed of the World Tree’s Owner (Ex U, All Abilities+2) had become the Owner of the Origin Tree (Epic, All Abilities+3).
It was my first time having an Epic-level title. Even in my former life, the best I had achieved was Ex U level. Unlike skills and items, a title was a very difficult thing to receive. People could get it from their bloodlines or by achieving something extreme. In other words, it was nearly impossible.
‘This is almost emotional.’
My abilities had surpassed those from my former life a long time ago, but having a new title gave me a different feeling. It felt like someone had confirmed that I was making the right move and stepping forward, that kind of satisfaction.
Krithli looked pale when she asked me, “My Dungeon Master, is that the real Seed of the World Tree?”
“It’s the Tree of Origin.”
“…The Tree of Genesis?! M-my Dungeon Master. Did I hear you correctly?”
“You heard me right.”
There were so many names—the origin, Genesis, and the beginning of the world were some of the tree’s names. Krithli and the Dark Elves were stumbling a bit.
“I thought that was a story from a myth. I never knew it was a real…”
“So your responsibility is very serious.”
“I will do my best.” Krithli looked serious. I was able to see the desperate motivation on her face. If that was the real Tree of Origin, the Seed of the World Tree wasn’t even a problem.
I had to touch my upper nose, suddenly feeling tired. I was pretending to be cool and calm, but I was probably the one who was most nervous about all this.
One wrong choice could blow everything away. Losing the Seed of the World Tree would have been a great cost. It was a gamble to combine the Seed of the World Tree with others as well. After a long time of stress, I was really exhausted.
“I’ll leave you to it,” I told her without any emotion on my face before walking away.
Krithli and the Dark Elves knelt to see me off in silence.
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In the meantime, there was a group of people climbing up the dungeon.
“Two more Lava Spiders are approaching!”
“Stay in your positions!”
“Edward! The Fire Lizard spits fire, so don’t stand in front of it!”
It was the Devil Hunter attack unit from the Guild of Heaven’s Will. Twelve members, including one unofficial member, came up to the sixth floor of the dungeon.
The sixth floor was the lava region. It was so melting hot that everyone sweated, and if they took a wrong step even once, they would melt. The conditions were terrifying, but there were also horrible monsters inhabiting the region.
Yoo Eunhye swung her sword with electricity to back Edward up. Edward’s lower body was crushed, but Elixir fixed him, and revenge was his motivation to become stronger.
He was a newly awakened hero with the incredible growth to already rank third in the Devil Hunter attack unit. He was only eleven years old, twelve in Korean age, but he was five feet and two inches tall and already had quite a few muscles. His physical changes after awakening caused him to grow more than four inches in a few months.
A huge Fire Lizard spat fire. Edward Windsor lowered his position and approached the Fire Lizard. “You worry too much. This kind of lizard is a piece of cake.”
Slash!
Edward moved his shoulders up and down after stabbing the lizard’s chest with his sword. After, he kept stabbing the body of the Fire Lizard cruelly.
Yoo Eunhye touched her forehead while looking at Edward. “You… huh! But the attack unit is working as a team. You can’t just go forward alone.”
“Okay. Then, come hunt the Lava Spiders with me. The others are a bit tired now.” Edward ran toward the Lava Spiders before even finishing his empty words. Yoo Eunhye became speechless and shook her head.
“Sigh! This sucks.”
Yoo Eunhye had to take care of that troublesome kid. She almost felt like she was babysitting him. Her attack unit leader had left her with that troubled kid.
‘Team leader, wait and see. I will punch you in the face!’ Yoo Eunhye looked like she was about to cry when she started to follow Edward.