Episode 40
‘You speak very slowly.’
The old tree continued speaking slowly. But X listened to the old tree. How can you pay attention to a quest that you don’t know what reward it will give?
When the old tree finished speaking, X opened his mouth.
“So, you’re saying that an evil energy has seeped into the heart of the forest of old trees, and that evil energy must be removed so that the old trees can maintain their sanity, right?”
-You understand... very well...
The heart of the forest of old trees!
I still don’t know exactly where it is, but there is an energy source there from which the old trees get their energy. However, an unknown evil energy approached the energy source, and as a result, the old trees were suffering from terrible pain.
X said, sticking out his chest.
“Please leave it to me. “I will deal with that evil energy!”
It wasn’t a complicated quest.
All you have to do is remove the evil energy at the heart of the forest of old trees! It’s probably a simple quest that just requires catching a specific monster or eliminating the cause.
The old tree responded to X’s words.
-Before that... there’s something I need to take care of first...
“Just tell me. “What is that?”
Even if it’s slow, it’s too slow. X used to listen calmly, but he couldn’t just listen to stories all day. X urged the old tree. Gomok seemed to understand and immediately went to work.
-Children of the forest... An evil spirit... is tormenting the children. Saving the children... rather than us... that takes priority.
Tiroling! A quest came to mind.
《Save the children of the forest!》
The evil energy that began to spread from the heart of the forest of old trees also extended its grip on monsters. The monster dominated by the instrument mercilessly massacred its compatriots, and the old trees could not help but feel sad upon seeing it. But you can drive away the instrument and bring order to the forest of old trees.
Condition: A person who has communicated with an old tree.
Difficulty: C+
Reward: Closeness to old trees.
‘Hmm, I guess it’s a prerequisite quest.’
To drive out evil energy, you must find the energy source of old trees. Since we had to literally show the heart, even the old trees needed to trust X.
However, X could not help but be pricked by his conscience.
‘Mercilessly massacred...’
I could tell from the conversation we just had. The old trees care about the monsters that live in the forest so much that they call them children. But isn’t it X who just recently killed a monster, cooked it and ate it while smelling good?
As X hesitated, the giant tree noticed his expression and spoke.
-Eating and being eaten is a matter of nature... I have no intention of blaming that. If you don’t care too much... it’s okay. But you... seem to be a glutton...?
Were you watching the merciless massacre?
X quickly waved his hand and excused himself.
“Originally, I ate a lot and became hungry. Of course! Who will do it if not me? “I will drive away evil spirits from children!”
X, who accepted the quest, took the ingredients he had laid out. Although the old trees said they understood, I still had a conscience.
‘It’s an evil energy.’
X thought deeply as he organized his inventory. I had no idea what the evil energy was that was trying to contaminate the old trees.
“There should be just one or two evil guys.”
Everyone is a bad guy except me!
X always lived with that mindset. Anyway, as of now, I couldn’t know exactly what the evil energy was. First of all, the priority was to carry out quests and gradually find information.
“Let me see.”
It seemed like all I had to do was find the monster that was attacking his fellow monsters who were controlled by evil energy. If it attacks, it will definitely make a crying sound. X walked down the forest path with his ears pricked up.
“Let’s be patient. “I have to hold on for now.”
Rustle rustle. New monsters seen everywhere!
How much experience and stats can you raise by eating these guys? I felt like I wanted to hit him right away. But I was on a quest now.
‘I’m starting to notice again.’
Also, there were too many eyes watching.
Because the surrounding old trees spoke to X every time he passed by.
The identity of the evil energy you will encounter in the heart!
X decided to keep all possibilities in mind. Of course, no matter what situation comes, X’s code of conduct does not change. Always get the maximum benefit, even on your own!
‘Let’s catch it quickly for the real quest!’
X ran out into the forest with enthusiasm.
*
“Wow, you ran around a lot.”
As X gasped, the old tree next to him opened his mouth.
-Good job... Thanks to you... the children... have regained stability.
Tiroling!
[You have succeeded in the quest!]
X was able to succeed in the quest after literally going through a lot of hardships. The difficulty level was C+, but the perceived difficulty level seemed to be B. It wasn’t a terrible task, but it was a quest that required quite a bit of hardship even at the current level of X.
‘Even at this level, I’m stronger than most rankers.’
It goes without saying that the higher the difficulty, the higher the reward!
X shook off his troubled expression and asked the old tree.
“Now all we have to do is solve the source of the evil energy at the heart of the Forest of Old Trees?”
-That’s right... If it’s you... I can leave it to you with peace of mind. Will you defeat the evil spirit... that is trying to dominate us?
Tiroling!
Quests came to mind one after another.
《Purification》
In the heart of the forest of old trees, there is an energy source from numerous old trees. However, the source of evil energy has reached out to the energy source to dominate and control the old trees. If you have built trust with the old trees, you will be able to enter the heart and deal with the source of evil energy.
Condition: A person who has gained the trust of the old tree.
Difficulty: B-
Reward: Infinite trust relationship with old trees
“Of course!”
X answered without hesitation. Although the stated compensation was shabby, there were additional rewards that could be expected. Once you defeat the source of evil energy, you can obtain loot.
‘If you think about the monsters that have been controlled, it must be a formidable monster.’
Monsters that have become incredibly strong just by being dominated!
However, X still had Yongyong and denial of death. Moreover, black magic does not work on X when he uses the bear stance. It could be said that it was a perfect compatibility relationship.
-Then... let’s start guiding...
The road to the heart!
The old trees waved their branches and guided X.
‘How complicated is it?’
X, who was walking along the path led by the old trees, could not help but be impressed. I thought I had wandered around the forest of old trees quite a bit while performing the quest. But then you come across such an unfamiliar road!
‘There was a reason not to go deeper other than auditory hallucinations.’
The perfect place to be shipwrecked was the forest of old trees. X, who diligently advanced as the old trees led him, was soon able to reach what appeared to be the heart of the place.
“Oh oh.”
The shadow of the huge old tree was not visible.
The sunlight shining from the sky illuminated the entrance to the heart of the forest of old trees.
But the entrance to the heart of it...
seemed somehow familiar. It was definitely a place I had visited for the first time. It doesn’t look familiar at all.... X approached me while tilting his head and was immediately startled.
“This!”
A cave-like exterior leading underground and a unique energy felt inside!
Doesn’t this look exactly like the entrance to the dungeon we saw in the Thier family?
X raised the corner of his mouth with a grin.
“Now the puzzle has been solved.”
The source of evil energy is the dungeon’s boss monster!
X had discovered the newly created dungeon in the heart of the Forest of Old Trees faster than anyone else.
Munchkin that I eat all by myself