Chapter 68 Part 1: Dryad
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After walking for a while, something changed in the vast grassland.
A familiar tree came into view, it was the same ancient tree that had served as a medium to cross over into this space.
Its noble form was unchanged.
「Shhh… We need to be quiet.」
「He’s asleep behind it.」
The clusters of light whispered softly.
Pyo Yeon-Won walked nervously along the perimeter of the giant tree.
“Ah…”
He recognized him at once, it was their King.
It was at the center of this group of lights, their spiritual leader and master.
It was vaguely resembling a deer, but with twisted branches in place of antlers, and a body ten times the size of a human.
It was awe-inspiring and unreal, but it was also very weak.
“The tree…”
Dried up…
The trunk of the tree, which had sprouted horns on either side of its head, had dried up, and its eyes were not even open and it was breathing unevenly.
I don’t know why, but it was clear that he was sick and weak.
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「Our precious one had been asleep for a long time.」
「A very, very long time.」
「We were unable to help because we didn’t have any form!」
「No human has ever been able to get in here.」
The cluster of lights pointed to the huge ancient tree.
「This Tree of Life only bears ten fruit, but it was very, very rare.」
「… And there is only one now..」
「If you give it to him.」
「He will awaken from his long slumber.」
「He may also grant you a reward!」
Pyo Yeon-Won looked far into the distance.
‘There’s only one fruit left… on this giant tree?’
The mere thought of him looking for it, on this huge ancient tree made him dizzy.
「Please, only you can do this!」
「He will definitely give you a great reward once he wakes up!」
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The cluster of lights spoke brightly as if they knew why Pyo Yeon-Won’s face was turning pale.
‘I don’t know how to find it, but… How do I even get up there?’
❖
The moment of making a decision has finally come.
Everyone looked stiff and couldn’t open their mouths hastily.
‘Do we save the students, or do we rush to save Pyo Yeon-Won.’
We were greatly conflicted.
The rest of the students were still asleep from fatigue.
Meanwhile, Kang Woo-Jung crept up and sat down next to us.
“Have you thought about it?”
Hyewon-Unnie broke the ice first.
“I’m telling you this in advance, I won’t be resentful. I won’t blame you as well. I know it’s not morally right to leave these kids behind when they’re still alive, especially when so much time has already passed and it’s unclear whether Yeon-Won is dead or alive.”
She must have felt like coughing up blood.
Hye-Won was now speaking for the sake of her brother’s life after all.
“So let’s all make a choice that we won’t regret—”
“I’ll go.”
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I cut off Hyewon’s words, and everyone turned their heads towards me.
“Unnie, please stay here.”
“What?”
“… Since you’re registered as the Guild representative, I think it’s better if you stay here. Instead, I’ll go… By myself.”
“What do you mean? There’s only one radio, so we’ll have to… Wait.”
She seemed to realize what I was talking about.
“Are you crazy, Han Seo-ha?”
Jo Yeon-ho was stunned.
“You’re saying you’re going out without a radio?”
“Ms. Seo-Ha. I understand what you feel, but it’s reckless. Don’t you realize that a hunter without a radio is practically isolated?”
Jo Yeon-ho and Jung Sang-Jun tried to stop me, and it’s understandable.
‘A hunter without a radio can’t call for backup, and if they get some valuable information, they won’t be able to report it easily, because they’re alone.’
Not only are these lone hunters extremely underutilized, but they’ll also be put in constant danger because they’re completely unprepared for contingencies.
‘Even independent units usually share important information.’
That’s why we were issued radios.
At the gate, being ‘Isolated’ must be taken as a matter of extreme caution, because it meant death.
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“The Shapeshifter’s attack power isn’t great, so I can handle it on my own.”
“If we want to catch the Shapeshifter hiding with these kids, we’ll need several people to take turns watching the targets, and if there are monsters lurking on your side, how are you going to watch all those students?”
“I don’t think it’ll take too long for things to get wrapped up over here. Apparently that shifter hasn’t eaten anyone since we first went in, so maybe you’ll be able to deal with it in two or three days at the latest.”
“I suppose what you’re trying to say is that you can hold out until then?”
I don’t mean to go recklessly.
After various calculations, I brought it up because I decided that I could do it with a little risk.
“But there’s one variable.”
I guess there’s no fooling a veteran hunter, like Hyewon-Unnie.
“We all know that there’s an Alpha shapeshifter out there.”
This is where the story changes.
After all, we had already guessed that the black dome was created by an Alpha or a King of Monsters.
‘We’ve never seen an Alpha Shapeshifter before, so we don’t know how much damage it can do.’
Unfortunately, if the monster on Pyo Yeon-Won’s side is the ‘Alpha’… Then I won’t be able to guarantee my life or death.
Especially since I’ll also have students who need to be protected.
So if I encounter a boss monster who is at least an A or B…
No matter how hard I thought about it, It was really hard to be optimistic about the outcome.
Chapter 68 Part 1: Dryad
Sponsored Content
After walking for a while, something changed in the vast grassland.
A familiar tree came into view, it was the same ancient tree that had served as a medium to cross over into this space.
Its noble form was unchanged.
「Shhh… We need to be quiet.」
「He’s asleep behind it.」
The clusters of light whispered softly.
Pyo Yeon-Won walked nervously along the perimeter of the giant tree.
“Ah…”
He recognized him at once, it was their King.
It was at the center of this group of lights, their spiritual leader and master.
It was vaguely resembling a deer, but with twisted branches in place of antlers, and a body ten times the size of a human.
It was awe-inspiring and unreal, but it was also very weak.
“The tree…”
Dried up…
The trunk of the tree, which had sprouted horns on either side of its head, had dried up, and its eyes were not even open and it was breathing unevenly.
I don’t know why, but it was clear that he was sick and weak.
Sponsored Content
「Our precious one had been asleep for a long time.」
「A very, very long time.」
「We were unable to help because we didn’t have any form!」
「No human has ever been able to get in here.」
The cluster of lights pointed to the huge ancient tree.
「This Tree of Life only bears ten fruit, but it was very, very rare.」
「… And there is only one now..」
「If you give it to him.」
「He will awaken from his long slumber.」
「He may also grant you a reward!」
Pyo Yeon-Won looked far into the distance.
‘There’s only one fruit left… on this giant tree?’
The mere thought of him looking for it, on this huge ancient tree made him dizzy.
「Please, only you can do this!」
「He will definitely give you a great reward once he wakes up!」
Sponsored Content
The cluster of lights spoke brightly as if they knew why Pyo Yeon-Won’s face was turning pale.
‘I don’t know how to find it, but… How do I even get up there?’
❖
The moment of making a decision has finally come.
Everyone looked stiff and couldn’t open their mouths hastily.
‘Do we save the students, or do we rush to save Pyo Yeon-Won.’
We were greatly conflicted.
The rest of the students were still asleep from fatigue.
Meanwhile, Kang Woo-Jung crept up and sat down next to us.
“Have you thought about it?”
Hyewon-Unnie broke the ice first.
“I’m telling you this in advance, I won’t be resentful. I won’t blame you as well. I know it’s not morally right to leave these kids behind when they’re still alive, especially when so much time has already passed and it’s unclear whether Yeon-Won is dead or alive.”
She must have felt like coughing up blood.
Hye-Won was now speaking for the sake of her brother’s life after all.
“So let’s all make a choice that we won’t regret—”
“I’ll go.”
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I cut off Hyewon’s words, and everyone turned their heads towards me.
“Unnie, please stay here.”
“What?”
“… Since you’re registered as the Guild representative, I think it’s better if you stay here. Instead, I’ll go… By myself.”
“What do you mean? There’s only one radio, so we’ll have to… Wait.”
She seemed to realize what I was talking about.
“Are you crazy, Han Seo-ha?”
Jo Yeon-ho was stunned.
“You’re saying you’re going out without a radio?”
“Ms. Seo-Ha. I understand what you feel, but it’s reckless. Don’t you realize that a hunter without a radio is practically isolated?”
Jo Yeon-ho and Jung Sang-Jun tried to stop me, and it’s understandable.
‘A hunter without a radio can’t call for backup, and if they get some valuable information, they won’t be able to report it easily, because they’re alone.’
Not only are these lone hunters extremely underutilized, but they’ll also be put in constant danger because they’re completely unprepared for contingencies.
‘Even independent units usually share important information.’
That’s why we were issued radios.
At the gate, being ‘Isolated’ must be taken as a matter of extreme caution, because it meant death.
Sponsored Content
“The Shapeshifter’s attack power isn’t great, so I can handle it on my own.”
“If we want to catch the Shapeshifter hiding with these kids, we’ll need several people to take turns watching the targets, and if there are monsters lurking on your side, how are you going to watch all those students?”
“I don’t think it’ll take too long for things to get wrapped up over here. Apparently that shifter hasn’t eaten anyone since we first went in, so maybe you’ll be able to deal with it in two or three days at the latest.”
“I suppose what you’re trying to say is that you can hold out until then?”
I don’t mean to go recklessly.
After various calculations, I brought it up because I decided that I could do it with a little risk.
“But there’s one variable.”
I guess there’s no fooling a veteran hunter, like Hyewon-Unnie.
“We all know that there’s an Alpha shapeshifter out there.”
This is where the story changes.
After all, we had already guessed that the black dome was created by an Alpha or a King of Monsters.
‘We’ve never seen an Alpha Shapeshifter before, so we don’t know how much damage it can do.’
Unfortunately, if the monster on Pyo Yeon-Won’s side is the ‘Alpha’… Then I won’t be able to guarantee my life or death.
Especially since I’ll also have students who need to be protected.
So if I encounter a boss monster who is at least an A or B…
No matter how hard I thought about it, It was really hard to be optimistic about the outcome.
