Chapter 544: Chapter 544
Just moments ago.
[Player is assigned to the Special Dungeon Map, 'Blessing of the World Tree'.]
After a long wait, Kim Jihun was assigned to a special map.
And.
As he entered the game, the BattleTube automatically turned on.
-Oh, what's this? Kim Jihun's gaming again today?
-What's with this male half-elf being so consistent?
-For real lol
-Wow, but what map is this?
-Special dungeon?
-Ah, I've seen some half-elves get this...
-This is a total bonus stage.
The 'Blessing of the World Tree' map Kim Jihun was selected for.
This was a map that only those half-elf or above could enter.
Unlike other games, it was known for giving generous rewards.
Inside the map that was filled with lush greenery.
In the center, a massive World Tree dominated with its overwhelming presence.
-Wow, it's the World Tree... Looks similar to the one on Namsan.
-Last time I saw people eating the World Tree's flesh that fell to the ground and getting free stat boosts.
-After getting the trash map on his first game, he's lucky today.
-There should be days like this, too haha.
-You need some luck like this to keep playing the game next time.
-For real, if he got another trash map like last time, he'd quit the game lol. He levels up just by sleeping anyway.
Since there were almost no male half-elves who consistently played the game.
People hoped Kim Jihun would keep playing after getting such a good map.
And.
Flash! Flash!
One by one, players were summoned after Kim Jihun.
"Oh...!"
"To be assigned to this map."
"It's an honor to receive Yggdrasil's blessing."
All composed of elves, these players.
Were very happy to be selected for this map, and bowed to the World Tree with great reverence.
After rising, some of the elves.
Frowned at Kim Jihun standing there blankly.
"But that one... is he a being that should be here?"
"I can clearly sense life force... but it's bizarre. He looks so different."
The elves, who looked like they were made in the same factory, were wary of Kim Jihun who looked different from them.
Thump. Thump.
"It's alright. Rather, he is a 'special-management target'. He's the one who should receive Yggdrasil's blessing the most."
An elven priest walked over from near the World Tree saying that.
"Yes, yes!"
"I see. Of course, there must have been Yggdrasil's will for a player selected for this map..."
"I thought carelessly, not knowing that."
Those who had doubts all bowed their heads to the priest.
"I'm not the one you should apologize to."
"Then..."
"Come on, sisters. Apologize to that person."
"Understood..."
As the elves approached Kim Jihun to apologize following the priest's words.
The viewers reacted before them.
-Wow, the elves are apologizing. OMG
-What an honor...
-But why isn't Kim Jihun coming to his senses?
-He should quickly bow his head saying it's okay OMG
-For real, a half standing there with his head high is crossing the line.
A Colonial.
The World Tree elves, clearly a 'superior race' compared to humans.
Were objects of reverence to people.
No matter how much preferential treatment male half-elves received, they were still half in the end.
It was people's natural perception that they should of course bow their heads to the 'real' World Tree elves.
As chat messages were coming up telling Kim Jihun to come to his senses.
"...Huh?"
Disaster.
Came from a completely unexpected place.
The world turned blood red.
Whooosh...!
The forest burst into flames in an instant. DiiScôver 𝒏𝒆w stori𝒆s on no/𝒗/e()/lbin(.)c/o/m
-Huh?
-What's this??
-Why is there suddenly a fire?
-It wasn't like this last time...
As viewers were puzzled seeing the map suddenly engulfed in flames.
Swoosh...!
Kim Jihun's vision was instantly filled with red light.
At the same time, his body melted away in an instant.
And above that.
[Player has died.]
[Game will be terminated.]
A message announcing the end of the game appeared.
* * *
'The Blessing of the World Tree map... So this is what happened.'
Meanwhile, Seong Jihan, who had returned to Kim Jihun's body.
Scrolled up through the BattleTube chat logs to figure out what had happened.
Blessing of the World Tree map.
'I was just planning to take out some D-rank World Trees and come back... I didn't expect it to coincide like this.'
There were hundreds of World Tree Alliance planet coordinates marked on the bulletin board.
Who would have thought that the one randomly chosen would match so perfectly?
Was it simply a coincidence?
'...Well, I should use this situation for now.'
Thinking that, Seong Jihan checked Kim Jihun's status inside the connector.
A body burned at the stake without even raising stats despite getting the bonus map.
Of course, since it was in-game, it shouldn't affect the body in the real world normally.
'The blue... it changed a bit?'
The Stat Blue residing in Kim Jihun's body.
Its ability had grown slightly.
Did it receive some stimulation when completely burned by the flames?
'Hmm...'
As he was thinking about this phenomenon.
"Jihun-nim, are you feeling alright?"
Mia's voice calling him was heard from outside the connector.
She must have seen the body burning in the BattleTube.
'I should get out for now.'
As Kim Jihun pressed the exit button from inside.
Screech...
The connector door opened, making space for him to come out.
"Ah... What in the world happened? This shouldn't be that kind of map."
"I was so surprised watching the BattleTube. How are you feeling?"
"Well..."
The change in Stat Blue was still subtle, so it was premature to bring that up now.
He decided to use this incident for something else instead.
"It's just dying in the game but... my head feels a bit dizzy."
"Your head..."
"Yeah. My condition is a bit... I think I have a headache too."
As he said this, Kim Jihun rubbed his temples.
"I think I need to go rest a bit..."
"Yes. Since you're not feeling well, I'll open a portal for you on the way back."
As Mia gestured while saying that.
Zing...
A portal appeared in mid-air.
"Ah, but I should at least tell the Guild Master I'm leaving."
"Taking care of your body comes first now, Jihun-nim. I'll relay that message for you later."
"Re-really?"
"Yes. So please prioritize resting, Jihun-nim."
Mia urged him to quickly enter the portal.
Kim Jihun nodded and stepped inside.
After returning to his room like that, he.
"Ugh..."
Frowned and carefully looked towards Mia.
"Um, can I lie down..."
"Oh my, Jihun-nim. Don't mind me and rest well. I'm just here as a secretary after all."
"Ah... Okay."
Kim Jihun lay on the bed and tossed and turned.
"Ugh, ugh..."
As he occasionally let out groans of pain, unable to fall asleep for 30 minutes.
Mia, who had been watching this, opened her mouth.
"Jihun-nim, if you can't sleep, should I use a sleep spell?"
"Ah, please do..."
"Alright. I'll also make arrangements so you don't get summoned to the Hall of Swords today for rest."
Male half-elves get summoned to the Hall of Swords when they sleep.
He blinked at her words saying she would block that for today to let him rest.
"Huh... Is that possible too?"
"It is for me."
Mia approached Kim Jihun, who was tossing and turning, and used her magic.
His eyes slowly closed.
After confirming he was completely asleep, she.
Zing...
Opened a system window and connected a communication.
"Tria, has the Red Administrator appeared?"
[Yes, two planets have already been annihilated. The legions are gathering to prepare for another possible invasion.]
"So the Blessing of the World Tree map Kim Jihun connected to exploding was the Red Administrator's doing."
[Yes. Planet 174, which was selected for this Blessing of the World Tree map, has been blown away.]
"I see, they appeared simultaneously..."
Mia muttered that while looking at Kim Jihun.
Tria spoke from the other side of the screen.
[Did you think he might be related to the Red Administrator?]
"I thought it needed to be verified."
[The verification seems to be done with this incident, but wouldn't it be better if you returned?]
"..."
[To begin with, the connection between him and the Blue Administrator was just that their appearance times were similar. If we go by that logic, we'd have to investigate all male half-elves who became Blue Swords in March.]
"I know. The evidence is flimsy."
[Then...]
"Still, I'll watch for three days."
Governor Mia, who still said she would stay here even though the Red Administrator had burned Kim Jihun.
'She's stubborn.'
He needed to show the Red Administrator rampaging more if that was the case.
Fortunately, Kim Jihun slept well now, thanks to Mia's magic, without being dragged to the Hall of Swords.
There was no better time to terrorize the World Tree Alliance than now.
'The Red has almost filled 700, so I should raise it to eternity from the next World Tree.'
Seong Jihan, who had finished planning how to absorb the World Trees' abilities.
Leaving Kim Jihun alone, he started the invasion again.
And, 30 minutes later.
[Si-six more planets have been attacked. A full legion mobilization order has been issued, but he's so elusive that the situation is already over by the time the legions arrive.]
"...That's to be expected. It doesn't even take 5 minutes to destroy one World Tree."
[Ah, news of one more being destroyed just came in... Oh, another?]
Eight more planets belonging to the World Tree Alliance had already been devastated.
Of course, all the affected planets had D-rank World Trees installed.
From the Alliance's perspective, they weren't considered very important locations, but.
"The speed is too fast. At this rate, all the lower colonized planets will be damaged..."
[Yes. The lack of countermeasures is critical.]
But if things progress like this.
There was a risk that all colonized planets with D-rank World Trees would be completely devastated by the Red Administrator.
Meanwhile, while this side was being terrorized like this.
Snore...!
Kim Jihun, lying on the bed, was sleeping peacefully, snoring.
[Is that... snoring?]
"...Yeah."
[...Why don't you just return right now, Governor?]
"No, but still."
[I don't see what relationship that snoring half-elf could have with the Red Administrator. We're still under heavy invasion right now...]
Mia gave a bitter smile.
Certainly, in the current situation where the Red Administrator was carrying out large-scale terrorism, Tria's words were correct.
'Was my intuition wrong this time?'
Kim Jihun, snoring with his blanket kicked off.
It didn't seem likely that this half-elf, who only cared about his own comfort, would be related to that powerful Red Administrator.
And.
"Yawn... Thanks, I slept well."
After Kim Jihun woke up.
"My head's still fuzzy. Can I watch some TV?"
"Oh my, Jihun-nim. You don't need my permission for that."
"Ah. R-right."
Click.
While he was sitting on the bed blankly watching a drama.
[Governor! This time the Red Administrator has invaded a mid-level colonized planet! Part of the Alliance's legion arrived in time to intercept but was annihilated...]
"Really?"
[Yes...]
World Trees continued to be destroyed.
'Was my intuition really wrong this time...'
When gaming or snoring in his sleep,
And when watching TV, etc.
Since the Red Administrator's terrorism occurred frequently in situations where Kim Jihun couldn't possibly be involved,
It was right to see that there was no connection between the two.
And, when seven more World Trees on colonized planets were destroyed.
"Yawn... That was a good watch."
Kim Jihun's drama viewing ended.
"Come to think of it, I haven't eaten. What should I order?"
The male half-elf asking about food with a calm face while the World Tree Alliance was in chaos.
"...I'm fine. I don't need to eat, as I have a body that doesn't require food."
"R-really? Okay. I'll eat alone then."
While glancing at Mia's somehow depressed mood, Kim Jihun ordered delivery.
"...You really don't want to eat?"
"No, it's fine. Really."
Nodding at those words, Kim Jihun wolfed down the delivered food, chewing noisily.
Even after the Red Administrator had burned him, she stayed close to watch him for one more day just in case, but.
Kim Jihun had no connection to him, no matter how you looked at it.
While he had been sleeping, watching TV, and eating like this since yesterday.
A total of 16 colonized planets of the World Tree Alliance had been destroyed.
And.
"Ah, I want to take a nap... but somehow I can't sleep. Um, could you use that magic from yesterday?"
"...Sleep?"
"Yeah, that was good. Oh, and make it so I don't go to the Hall of Swords when I nap, since I'll sleep at night too."
As Kim Jihun, picking his teeth with a toothpick, made that request.
Mia could be certain.
'...This guy definitely isn't it.'
That her intuition was wrong this time.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone