Chapter 208: Making Charcoal Out of the World Tree

Ever since he was young, Jisoo was much shorter than the rest of his peers. What was worse was that he had an ugly face and a large head, so he kept a low profile while being mocked with the nickname ‘Improper Fraction’. He did not do well in both studies and sports. He even had acne. As a result, he was introverted and had no friends. However, he was good at ‘games’. During weekends, Jisoo would play games alone at home, while most of his peers went out to the PC room or karaoke with their friends.

Jisoo believed that he would only have ‘games’ as a form of escape. However, one day, Jisoo was robbed of money by Lee Sungmin and his gang of friends. At that time, the student council president, a person whom he felt was too different to become his friend, heard about his situation and went to help him immediately.

That day, Jisoo came to the classroom in a daze. Then, that person continued to go after Lee Sungmin and his gang of friends the next day, the day after that, and the next day after that. One day, he appeared in front of Jisoo with money in his hands and said,?‘They’re not going to ask you for money?anymore.’

‘Ye…yeah. Thanks,’?Jisoo had said, smiling softly. He felt extremely grateful to that person. However, it was not a lie when Jisoo thought that it would be the end of their interactions. It was because he knew that their worlds were too far apart.

Who would have thought, the student council president said,?‘What are you going to do after school?today?’

‘Huh? Me? Me, well… I will play some games.’

‘Oh! PC room, shall we?!’

‘O…kay!’

He was the first friend that Jisoo had ever made. It was also through him that he met Seoktae and the Wild Boar General, Jihye since they were always with him.

‘Ah, Minhyuk is bad at games!’

‘Wow. Minhyuk…, the game collapsed!’

‘I always lose when I play games with you! Buy me some?ramyeon! Keuhahaha!’

‘Keuhahahaha! You’re 10 years away from beating me!’

Jisoo laughed happily when he realized that he finally found some friends.

As for Lee Da-Woul, someone who mocked and swore at ‘him’, Jisoo only considered things for a moment. He considered the things that he would lose. However, after doing the maths and wondering what it would feel like once he lost that, he realized that there were a lot of things that were far more valuable than that.

“Uweeeeeeeeeck!”

“…!”

Lee Da-Woul jumped up on his feet when he saw Jisoo feint-throwing up on him. He said, “Th…this crazy shit…!”

“A shameful inferiority complex from something that happened more than five years ago??Phew, you pathetic bastard,” Jisoo said as he brought his thumb across his neck, as he continued to say, “Watch the back of your head in the game.”

Jisoo left after he finished saying those words. Go Eun-Ah looked at them in confusion. She had already stopped recording the interview. Then, the players began to murmur.

“Wow. Locke really lacks tact.”

“What’s wrong with him? Why did he do that all of a sudden?”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit too much even if he has no manners?”

“Ahahaha. I’m alright, everyone,” Lee Da-Woul said, smiling pretentiously.

Then, Seoktae stood up, glanced at Lee Da-Woul with a smirk and left.

‘…Look at these bastards?’ Lee Da-Woul thought, grinning darkly. He firmly believed that they would be the ones that would get trampled in the game.

***

The day of the War of the World Tree.

Both Team Leader Park Minggyu and Lee Minhwa were busy. After all, it was the final day of?Athenae: Korean War. It was also the day of the ‘War of the World Tree’, an event with the largest number of players.

In the case of the War of the World Tree, the champion would not only receive the title of ‘MVP’, but they would also receive a special reward. However, the super mischievous and playful supercomputer Athenae had yet to reveal what the reward was. She said that it was going to be revealed just before the games started. Not only were countless players interested in this, but even the employees of Joy Co. Ltd. were also interested to know.

Not long after, the commentators shouted.

[The last day of Athenae: Korean War has arrived!]

[Waaaaaaaaaaah!]

Then, loud roars and shouts broke out from the stands.

***

[There will be a total of 30 players who will participate in the War of the World Tree. Each and every one of them is from the top combat classes for our country.]

[That’s right. There are plenty of players here who are in the top 10 in our country’s rankings. There are even unofficial players whom we have never seen in the rankings before. I think it will be fun to see the strength of these new faces.]

[Can you please explain the rules of the game before it starts?]

[Yes. The War of the World Tree will start on this large area of land. This land was once called ‘Icea’. It was an extremely bountiful land, so rich that when you sow seeds, the seeds would definitely bear fruits in abundance. But right now… The World Tree that has supported the land of Icea is being eaten away by ‘termites’.]

[Termites?]

[Yes. Ancient termites are nibbling away at the roots of the World Tree. With its roots being damaged, the World Tree is starting to gradually lose its powers.]

[Ah. So what the players simply have to do is narrow their numbers down?]

[That’s right. The players have to hunt those termites. If you successfully hunt the termites, you will be able to receive the ‘World Tree’s Spirit’. The players should inject the spirits into the World Tree and the player with the most number of spirits injected will be crowned the MVP of this event.]

[Then, you can’t raise your score just by hunting the termites? Players will definitely prevent other players who have hunted the most number of termites from injecting this ‘spirit’.]

[That’s right. Being able to hunt these monsters does not mean that you will win. However, you should also remember that the termites are not easy opponents.]

A window filled with the information about the termites popped out on the big screen.

[Wow… The level of the termites is around Level 440~470!]

[That’s right. In addition, the termites have a variety of properties that are compatible with their attribute type: ice, fire, water, poison etc. Everyone has to keep in mind that the termites with attributes are not easy opponents.]

[According to the descriptions, there’s also an item called ‘World Tree’s Blessings’, correct?]

[Yes. The World Tree will save the players who are struggling to survive, once. The World Tree would unleash its power once. At that time, the strength and power of all the players and the termites will become the same.]

[The strength and power of all the players and termites will become the same?!]

[Yes. Athenae may be a virtual reality game, but it is also important to consider the abilities of the players in real life. Through the ‘blessings’ that Joy Co. Ltd. and the God of Athenae created, the players will solely depend on their control and abilities, since their stats and skills will be equal. In a way, this may be an opportunity for those players who have been pushed behind by the other players with high stats, high luck and are overgeared. It’s their chance to show off and explode in strength. In addition, the termites will have lower abilities to match the players’ strength and abilities, but I think it will be a bit lower than their stats.]

[In other words, once the ‘Blessings’ come down, then the situation will be favorable to Lee Da-Woul, or Player Carr?]

[That’s right. As we speak, it seems like the players are starting to enter one by one.]

“Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

[The cheers when Player Carr entered are no joke!]

[There’s nothing we can do about it. When Player Carr, a gold medalist in the London Olympics, told us that he was playing Athenae, he already grasped a lot of attention.]

[Right now, the Crazy Priest Locke is entering!]

“Booooooo!”

“Get lost!”

“Locke! You piece of shit! Apologize to Player Carr!”

[It seems like the audience is booing.]

[Last night, there was an article that said that Player Locke swore at Player Carr and pretended to throw up.]

[What was worse was that there were a lot of players who witnessed the scene and pointed out ‘Player Locke’s Rudeness’. It’s now becoming an issue.]

[But Player Locke does not seem like he’s discouraged at all.]

[He looks rather excited.]

***

When he heard the booing from the audience, Locke raised his arms and roared, “Euwoooooooooo!”

This was the Crazy Priest Locke. This was his true appearance. And Khan, who was walking beside him…

“Hey, come on!”

“Ah, why~”

“Do you really want to do that in this situation?”

“What’s the situation right now?”

Khan closed his mouth for a moment when he heard his words.

‘That the whole country will hate you? And that Carr will certainly put us in check?’

Carr was a strong contender for the title. It was a fact that they could not forget. However, Khan had nothing to say. In fact, he even thought that Locke did a good job.

“Boo!?That Khan person is cheap too! That’s obvious!”

“That’s right! They’re playing with each other. Legend Guild might not be able to survive!”

Then, Khan raised his hands and roared, “Euwoooooooo!”

‘Shit, I don’t know anymore. If I were Locke, I would have definitely spat on him before coming out!’

A minute before the game started…

[As you can see, the ground is filled with ant caves. In those caves, the termites are nibbling away at the roots. One ant cave is equivalent to a dungeon.]

[Yes. And there are even a lot of termites above ground.]

[Ah! Just in time! The information for the additional rewards for the War of the World Tree is going to be announced!]

[The bonus reward for the War of the World Tree is a ‘World Tree’!!!]

[The World Tree!!! That’s an SSS-grade item! No, it’s an SSS-grade item, but it’s much more effective than that when used as an artifact material!!! That’s the bonus reward for the War of the World Tree!]

[The random warp of players is now beginning!]

The players began to enter one by one. There were players who appeared above ground, and there were also players who appeared underground.

One of those players was Carlo. He was frowning. Carlo was a Level 442 ‘Knight of the Sun’, but he was visibly upset.

‘I appeared with Locke.’

It was because he appeared in the same ant cave as Locke. However, Carlo decided to not bother with him anymore. After all, no one had gained any ‘spirit’ yet. It was better for them to acquire and increase the number of ‘spirits’ they have, than to fight their enemies from the very beginning. Hence, Carlo ignored Locke.

‘Crazy Priest.’

It was originally a healer class. Carlo had heard a lot about Locke, but he still looked down on the latter. Of course, his participation in the ‘War of the World Tree’, the best competition for combat classes, had proven his strength but in reality, he thought that he did not have to take precautions against Locke.

Carlo finally encountered a termite. The white termites that were walking on two feet with wings on their backs, looked strangely humanoid. They were even holding spears. As soon as they flew towards him…

Flash─!

Clang!

“Kgghk!”

Carlo could not help but frown and thought,?‘Sh…shit…!’

They were told that the termites were around Level 440~470, but the attack that he had just received earlier was a bit too much than that. While Carlo was busy collecting himself…

Bang, bang, bang!

…sparks suddenly started to pop around him that dwindled his HP down.

‘Shit…!’

He should have paid attention to opponents that have different attributes.

Meanwhile, the commentators were quickly explaining the situation.

[Ah, the players who are already facing the termites look confused.]

[The termites are more powerful than what you think! Our country’s best rankers are perplexed!]

[Just now... Our strongest contender, Carr, has already hunted one. That’s amazing. He revealed his job class to be the ‘Sword Crown Prince’! We can see that with just a raise of his hands, dozens of swords appear from the sky and pierce the termites!]

[One kill! Double kill! Triple Kill! He already obtained three ‘spirits’! It’s overwhelming!]

Then, one commentator said…

[Huh…? But, why are Player Locke’s hands turning red?]

[Player Locke is displaying quite an extraordinary momentum.]

Carlo turned his head. He could see that Locke’s hands were dyed red and there was a huge amount of pressure emanating from his body.

‘Come to think of it…’

Why did Legend Guild let Locke in the field? Legend Guild?had Abel, an assassin, and Ascar, the Goddess of the?Battlefield. So why did Locke come out to participate?

‘Why on earth…?’

Of course, both Abel and Ascar, the Goddess of the Battlefield, were participating in different events. However, the most brilliant event in this entire competition was the ‘War of the World Tree’.

‘So why? Legend Guild can’t be that dull, right?’

At that moment, Locke struck the ground with his red fists.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang!

***

After eating beef to his heart’s content in Paladi Village, Minhyuk was back in reality taking a rest. He was currently talking to Jihye on the phone.

“I know. I understand.”

After hanging up the phone, he could not help but smile bitterly. He saw an article a while ago about ‘Locke’s Rudeness’ on his phone. He could see the criticism that the netizens had heaped on Locke. They even made a lot of noise on the TV.

[The reward that will be given to the MVP of the War of the World Tree is literally the ‘World Tree’. The World Tree is an SSS-ranked artifact material…]

Minhyuk gulped. He chuckled and said, “I think it would be delicious if I grilled my 3,000 year-old eel on charcoal made from the World Tree, right?”

Then, he stood up.