Chapter 320: Seventy-Seventh Floor, Euros’s Flower Forest (8)

[Survive. Time remaining: 45 hours 50 minutes.]

Darkness settled over Euros’s Flower Forest.

Though the sky remained dim, the surroundings were lit up, not by the flowers but by the climbers. No one dared to light a fire, but magic served as a steady source of illumination.

According to Hendrick, approximately twelve thousand had gathered, which was an astonishing figure. I hadn’t expected this many to assemble in such a short time. The pace of the mobilization far surpassed what Ha Hee-Jeong and I had envisioned.

In hindsight, it likely stemmed from their strengthened bonds compared to Ha Hee-Jeong's previous life.

Admittedly, much of that was due to Ha Hee-Jeong and me. Given our continued efforts across the all-climber floors, people tended to follow our directions.

Not to mention, we had high-ranking climbers like Alexei on our side.

The mages were widely dispersed, continuously casting beams of light into the sky.

Even now, more climbers were joining in real time. At this pace, the rate of gathering would only accelerate.

Of course, we weren’t the only ones who could see those lights, so guards had been stationed beside each mage as a precaution.

Even with climbers sealing off the forest’s perimeter, there is always a chance of someone slipping through.

We had divided the climbers into shifts, allowing some to sleep as others swept through the forest.

I planned to do the same. I had rested fully in the waiting room, so I wasn’t especially tired.

After exchanging a few words with Seo Ho-Su and Hendrick, I headed out. Ha-Rin, Cole, and Hakin were still asleep, so I let them rest.

I told Ha Hee-Jeong that she could sleep a little longer, too.

However, she had ignored that, explaining that since she had already woken up to meet with me, sleep wasn’t coming easily. So, she decided to join.

It ended up being the four of us moving together—Ha Hee-Jeong, Doppy, Aoshi, and me.

The villagers who had accompanied Aoshi had dispersed throughout the forest. There were around thirty of them, and I assigned them to the parties led by higher-ranked climbers. They were familiar with the forest, and though not as gifted as Aoshi, they too were favored by it.

I figured that arrangement would maximize efficiency.

As for the truth we had uncovered about the forest, I decided to save that conversation for later.

It is still pretty early.

Even with shifts, the majority of work would occur during the day. Calling people out in the dead of night just to talk seemed unnecessary. It wasn’t urgent, and the information wouldn’t shift the direction of the current search anyway.

It made more sense to deliver everything at once, in the light of day.

“How much farther?”

“We’re almost there.”

Just as the elder had warned, the majority of the Ancient Fire were hidden in the eastern section of the forest. Due to their blast radii, the pieces were spaced out.

Each one we found was stored separately, as previously agreed. It made them easier to guard and manage.

In Ha Hee-Jeong's previous life, the Ancient Fire had apparently exploded without warning at some point on the seventy-eighth floor.

Ha Hee-Jeong described it like a ticking time bomb.

That unpredictability was what made our current approach possible. If the tribes here could detonate it manually, we wouldn’t have dared attempt anything.

Ha Hee-Jeong’s theory ended up being accurate. Each piece of Ancient Fire held a growing magical charge, one that would eventually ignite once full.

She had stabilized the pieces we retrieved, sealing the energy using her own mana.

“

Oh!

Su-Hyeok! Hello!”

“Hey there.”

Climbers stood guard in tight formation around the stockpile. Given how volatile the materials were, it was no surprise Ha Hee-Jeong had taken every precaution.

I returned a few salutes before stepping into a makeshift hut. Fifteen blocks of Ancient Fire greeted me.

Hmm

.

It was my first time seeing one up close.

Roughly the size of a human torso, the square chunk of metal resembled rusted iron. It was obviously dangerous, given the strange symbols carved into it and the power pulsing from within.

Ha Hee-Jeong tilted her chin up and smiled faintly. “What do you think? We’ve gathered quite a few, haven’t we?”

“Yeah. More than I expected. Nice work.”

“Not just me. Everyone pitched in.”

In Ha Hee-Jeong's previous life, she had counted about fifteen mushroom clouds. Accounting for those obscured by distance or debris, we estimated there had likely been double or even triple that number.

We set our working count at fifty. It was a clean, round figure, typical of something like this.

Still, we weren’t going to stop the search once we hit it.

Anyway, collecting fifteen this early on the seventy-seventh floor meant we were well on track to finding nearly thirty already.

“We’re storing them in mimics, right?”

“Yeah. Everything here has been neutralized.”

That too had been agreed on in advance.

As devastating as they were, these relics were undeniably valuable as weapons. Leaving them here risked them falling into the wrong hands. It would be better if we took them with us.

I figured I could use them either on one of my individual challenge floors or during a future all-climber trial.

I won’t use them lightly, of course.

Just because I held something like a nuclear weapon didn’t mean I could wield it recklessly.

Judging from what had happened here, the aftermath would be devastating.

I wouldn’t dare use one unless things were going catastrophically wrong. More likely, it would be needed during the next set of all-climber floors.

We planned to use the Essence of Decay there, anyway. Or perhaps we could use it to avoid the future that the Meticulous Architect had shown me.

As I stepped closer, preparing to store one in the mimic, Aoshi winced. “There’s something wrong. I can feel a foul, malignant presence.”

I paused and turned to him. I could sense the power inside each one, sure, but nothing like what Aoshi was describing.

“Really?”

Ha Hee-Jeong had located them using magic. She had sent her mana deep into the earth to detect them.

Suddenly, a question occurred to me.

“Would you be able to find one even if it is buried?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“I can sense it. The flowers here are shuddering as if they’re screaming.” Aoshi closed his eyes and focused. “The hostility is overwhelming. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Even if they’re hidden underground, I think I can still find them.”

I glanced at Ryun, raising my axe slightly. “You too, Ryun?”

“Yes...”

“Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”

“I knew... the boy would... say something. And like I... mentioned before... in this world... he senses the flowers... more clearly... than I do...”

Fair enough.

Even though Ryun could commune with plants, we weren’t from this world. It was strange, but Aoshi said the forest’s goodwill felt fundamentally different here.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Still, given that such an ability was real, we would have just found our breakthrough.

I exchanged a look with Ha Hee-Jeong. She widened her eyes and nodded. Clearly, the same thought had crossed her mind.

“Do you think the other villagers can do it too?”

“Not to the same extent, but probably.” Aoshi hesitated briefly and added, “Even if they can’t sense it as directly as I do, they’ll be able to recognize the unease and the dissonance caused by the flowers’ hostility.”

“Good.”

Truth be told, even with our intention to protect Euros’s Flower Forest, we hadn’t been confident we could actually pull it off.

Finding every piece of Ancient Fire hidden throughout the forest had always seemed uncertain. In the end, the answer came from an unexpected direction.

From the moment I encountered the secretive tribe hidden deep within the forest, I had suspected they would be tied to a hidden mission. Now, I was convinced that meeting them held the key to clearing this trial.

Perhaps, with a bit of luck, we would uncover everything before reaching the seventy-eighth floor.

I turned to Ha Hee-Jeong. “Hee-Jeong.”

“Hold on. I’ll summon the mages.”

***

[Survive. Time remaining: 45 hours 31 minutes.]

We quickly relayed the information to the top-ranking climbers, instructing them to focus on what Aoshi’s fellow villagers sensed.

Though their tribe was fairly old on average, the forest’s protection allowed them to move with surprising agility.

With buffs from the priests enhancing them further, their search speed would easily surpass that of climbers, who needed to expend chunks of mana just to move carefully through the terrain.

Naturally, things will speed up from here.

As for me, I planned to move alongside Aoshi, Doppy, and Ha Hee-Jeong, with the latter two’s magic supporting us.

Since our party members were still resting, we decided not to wake them and proceeded with the original group of four. We would limit our rest to the bare minimum and keep searching through the forest as efficiently as possible.

Just as we were preparing to head out, the sky flared in the distance. Beyond the edge of the forest, three pillars of blue light rose into the night.

I glanced at Ha Hee-Jeong.

“That’s a battle signal. Three beams mean an entire tribe is attacking.”

“I’ll go check it out.”

“No need. I positioned the defenses well, so a single tribe won’t break through.”

Though she shook her head, I was already set on going.

“It won’t take long. Better I go than risk losing even a single climber.”

To be honest, I had something else in mind. We hadn’t given much thought to what would happen after clearing this floor at first, but that wasn’t the case anymore.

This wasn’t just about surviving the current trial.

“They’ll come even when we’re gone. Although the climbers have experience with direct battles, they need more practice against skirmishes.”

Ha Hee-Jeong tried once more to dissuade me, but I insisted. “I’ll take care of it quickly.”

“Then let me come with you.”

“No need. You go ahead slowly, and I’ll catch up.”

Reluctantly, she nodded.

One of the greatest advantages of the necklace was how little mana it consumed during teleportation. In effect, Ha Hee-Jeong and I had unrestricted access to each other.

It was likely due to the item’s divine origins.

Turning my back to her, I picked up speed. There was no time to waste.

As I moved, I organized my thoughts.

I can’t allow too many casualties on their side either.

Though protecting the forest was the right thing to do, we were ultimately trying to preserve human lives as well. Battles that ended in bloodshed only deepened hatred. It was inevitable to some degree, but still, I had to be careful.

Even after we were gone, they would try to destroy the forest again.

To us, this was merely one trial to overcome, but thinking that way felt selfish. I couldn’t just dismiss the consequences as someone else’s problem. That didn’t sit right with me.

Trying to reason with them won’t work, though.

Explaining the deeper reasons wouldn’t help either. If we told them the core of the forest could purify its surroundings, they would only become more desperate to seize it. Moreover, a war would only lead to its destruction.

However, that didn’t mean I wanted to kill them just to protect it.

For now, driving them away would have to suffice. They would likely return later, better prepared. That was a problem to think through another time, though.

Wait, driving them out?

A sudden thought flashed through my mind, and a potential solution began to form.

As I crossed the forest’s boundary, I began accelerating my mana circulation.

***

[Survive. Time remaining: 20 hours 24 minutes.]

After repelling the attack yesterday, there hadn’t been any additional assaults. No doubt, that was thanks to the spectacle I created.

Just like on the seventy-fifth floor, I summoned bolts of lightning from the heavens. The sky lit up, and thunder crashed into the earth.

Of course, I didn’t strike them directly. The lightning fell just short, landing right in front of their ranks.

Dozens of bolts rained down, and they scattered in utter panic.

My idea was rather simple. Whether or not a god of plants actually existed didn’t matter. The people of this world didn’t believe in any.

Therefore, I decided to become their god. If I could convince them that attacking Euros’s Flower Forest would invoke divine retribution, the rest would follow.

Judging by their reaction yesterday, it had worked. I had a feeling it would work again.

With that problem seemingly resolved, I felt at ease.

There had been an unexpected side effect, though I wasn’t sure if I could call it a benefit.

“Did you hear what Kwon Su-Hyeok did yesterday?”

“What? What happened? I just got back from a sweep.”

“Dude, it was insane. The whole sky turned gold, thunder crackled above, and lightning struck the earth like rain.”

“Yeah, right. Don’t exaggerate.”

“I’m serious! Thompson saw the whole thing. Yo, Thompson!”

“

Ugh

, what? I was sleeping!”

“Tell them what you saw yesterday. About Su-Hyeok.”

“

Oh

, Su-Hyeok? Dude’s a beast. Thought I was watching Thor or something.”

The hushed murmurs of awe and praise echoed from all sides. I walked on while hiding the smile tugging at my lips.

It had been a while since I had felt shy about this kind of attention. As of late, I kind of enjoyed it.

More importantly, thanks to Aoshi and the villagers, the search for the Ancient Fire had picked up speed.

Thirty-two.

The mimics continued to fill with recovered Ancient Fire. More climbers were arriving, too. Even unexpected reinforcements had shown up.

Apparently, word had spread about our clash with the coalition trying to burn the forest, and now, other tribes who sought to protect the forest had joined our cause.

Things are going well. Exceptionally well.

Since the nearby areas had already been scoured, we relocated our base.

Of course, the unexpected would always strike when least expected. It happened in the morning, just as we were casually eating breakfast.

Without warning, a message from the tower appeared, and the notification window updated.