The Tekalona Forest where the Half-Elves had been dispatched was truly far from the Crossroads. Even on a horse that doubled movement speed, it took nearly 30 minutes of continuous running.
Lokan's butt was hurting, and as soon as he reached his destination, he immediately took stock of the location. The rune book's storage was small, but since he had already advanced to the Crossroads, deleting the old locations left him with only three reserved spots. He quickly saved his current position.
"Good work."
Beep!
Lokan, who blew a whistle to reverse-summon his horse, twisted his heavy Battle Axe in his hands. The Slayer's Axe would now become his favorite. Although it was only a +5 enhancement, which didn't outwardly change its appearance, it somehow seemed to emit a fierce, red energy. He stepped into the forest, ready to find the Half-Elves.
No one seeing his bloodthirsty momentum would think he was on a rescue mission.
"At the beginning, most of the mobs are neutral, so it's a bit boring."
Despite his predatory demeanor, there were no monsters that immediately attacked Lokan. At the entrance of the Tekalona Forest, only so-called neutral monsters appeared—creatures that would not attack the user unless provoked. Lokan didn't like the tedious start, but the quest came first. He exercised unparalleled patience and soon found evidence of the missing Half-Elf gathering group.
"I think it was like this… found."
What Lokan found was not the gathering team itself, but the traces they left behind. As he had known, the gatherers hadn't vanished; they had isolated themselves by plunging into the forest with a dangerous surge of greed. They already knew the approximate location, but he sought out the traces first, believing that finding them right away would have aroused suspicion.
"From now on, I just need to find the footprints."
The clearest sign they left behind was a lost shoe. One of the gatherers had lost their footing while fleeing a powerful monster. After that encounter, they found something they were searching for and went even deeper inside with renewed greed, yet they still hadn't emerged. This setting meant that from this point on, Lokan could track them by following the Half-Elf footprints left at regular intervals.
And what about the monsters they had fled from?
"It's a peek-a-boo, you bastard."
They became Lokan's conveniently placed sandbags. The level of the tree monster, named the Spirit of the Contaminated Forest, was 115—higher than that of a Mine Kobold—but it suffered from a major flaw: the "contaminated" modifier meant its combination skill was sealed. Its physical specifications were significantly higher, but the opponent was Lokan. In a pure clash of Strength versus Strength, this wooden monster was outmatched; its hard shell ruptured in a single blow, and it didn't take long for Lokan to cut its base and bring it crashing down.
"It's clean."
After measuring the performance of his strengthened equipment by cutting, slashing, and even taking a few intentional hits, Lokan was extremely satisfied. He liked the overwhelming attack power that felt explosive even without a critical hit, and he also liked the defense increase of his armor, which significantly reduced the damage taken. The fact that the equipment had no unnecessary options, focusing only on damage and critical chance, was entirely his style.
At this point, he felt so powerful that he had a fleeting worry about being patched by the system.
'It won't happen. I didn't get it for free.'
But Lokan was confident that wouldn't happen. All of this was orchestrated and encouraged by The Lord's mechanics. Whether he killed 100 or 10,000 monsters alone, it would have no direct, negative influence on his account.
'This way.'
Determined to take a further leap forward, Lokan didn't stop, but hurriedly found the next set of footprints. The Half-Elves favored the characteristics of Elves more than Humans, making their footprints subtle and difficult to find unless one looked closely, even requiring a sharp focus to notice them at distance.
Not only did he have to find the footprints, but he also had to deal with monsters that attacked him midway.
'First, tracking. The battle can be done later, I won't lose momentum…'
Lokan was brimming with confidence and skill, and his fighting instinct was boiling, yet he remained cold-hearted while tracking the footprints. He even used Stealth to minimize battles and focus solely on finding the gathering group. This was primarily to save consumables. He had plenty of money and items, but a fierce battle was scheduled soon, and his potions had a specific, future use.
'Bingo.'
Three Half-Elves appeared as the direction of the footprints finally coincided with the known approximate location. They looked wounded and wore bandages. Lokan carefully released his hide and appeared in front of them.
"What kind of guy are you!"
"I am the Human Jin Berserker Lokan. Terryl sent me, worried about those of you who couldn't be reached."
"Terryl-nim sent a Human?"
They put their weapons away and spread their hands out to signal they didn't want to fight, but their vigilance remained high. They reacted slightly to hearing the name of Terryl, the Crossroads Half-Elf Chief, but still gave him suspicious looks.
'I have the same name as their chief, but they still don't trust me,'Lokan thought ruefully.
He didn't like how they openly mistrusted the person who had come to rescue them, but he had to finish this quickly. Lokan added, thinking he should hurry things along.
"It would seem Terryl shouldn't send Humans. That's right. I was given this job as a test for recognition. But look, I have already been recognized by the Dwarves."
At Lokan's words, their facial expressions, which had been sniffing the air like suspicious puppies, changed. The moment he received the Dwarf recognition, a specific scent was absorbed into his being. This was the reason Terryl had trusted Lokan without hesitation.
"… I want to believe it."
'What if you don't believe it?'Lokan clicked his tongue at them pretending to measure his worth, but he didn't show it at all. Instead, he treated them with a supremely friendly, businesslike smile.
"Then let's go back. Don't worry about your safety. I easily caught five 'Corrupted Forest Spirits' on the way here. I can handle all the monsters in this neighborhood alone, so feel free to follow."
Lokan's words were mixed with a bit of exaggeration to reassure them and make them consider an alternative.
'Ask, ask, just ask.'
They started looking at each other. Instead of following Lokan, they shifted their gaze to a spot deeper into the forest.
"Really… is it easy to catch the Spirits of the Contaminated Forest?"
"Of course. Look at this."
As one of the Half-Elves finally spoke, Lokan immediately pulled an item called 'Corrupted Spirit Energy' from his inventory. It was an item later used for quests or crafting, but now he was using it as proof of ability.
"It is true. If so, could you please grant me a favor?"
[The resolution of the young half-elves] [Quest]
A request from the young Half-Elves who left for gathering in Tekalona Forest. Before escorting them to the Crossroads, they want to take you to wherever they want to be.
-Success Condition: Arrive at the heart of Tekalona Forest
-Failure conditions: Abandon moving to the center of Tekalona Forest or death of Half-Elves
-Reward: Combined with the quest reward for securing safety of the gathering group
'Good.'
This was exactly what Lokan had been hoping for. If he were alone, escorting three people would be a massive risk, but he figured it was worth it now.
'There will be no obstructions.'
The Tekalona Forest, located north of the Crossroads, was also a quest site for the hostile Undead faction not far away. In the future, interferences who tried to ruin the quests of the opposing camp would frequently appear. Though it wasn't an official conflict zone, it was the first place to encounter hostile camps.
However, since no one else had yet advanced to the tertiary city, there was no need to worry about encountering any hostile players. He only needed to pay attention to the monsters.
"It must be dangerous; are you sure?"
"It is necessary for us to see this through."
"Then please follow my instructions exactly from now on. Otherwise, I will take you back immediately by force."
"Agreed."
Even though he didn't like giving up command, Lokan insisted on establishing their relationship first. If he didn't, he knew these unpredictable characters might run off, attracting unnecessary aggro.
'I've got the reins, so let's go.'
This was where many players would make mistakes later: bending to the wishes of the quest-giving NPCs, the Half-Elves would wander aimlessly, causing monster aggro and requiring a massive consumption of consumables. So Lokan made securing the right to command his top priority.
"Mark the places you want to go on this map."
He showed them a map, pinpointed the location, and gave them unilateral instructions: hide if you must, and only move around in a straight line.
At some point, the Half-Elves stopped for the first time, refusing his instructions.
"Wait."
"What is it?"
Lokan glanced at them and immediately recognized the reason. They had finally reached their goal.
"We have to get this."
What they pointed to was a small, green bud. Had it not been for them, Lokan would have ignored it as a simple weed, but when he looked closely, he could feel a palpable aura. At that sight, the Half-Elves' expressions became serious.
"It is the bud of the World Tree. To be precise, it is a sprout with the potential to become a World Tree. No one knows if it will actually grow into one, but if even one tree becomes a World Tree, it will change everything for us. We are here to gather the buds with this potential."
Lokan understood. He knew the entire context. And he knew his exact role.
"Then let's get started. Any monsters that appear will be handled by me."
"How do you…"
A kind of guardian spirit resided in the sprout that held the potential to become a World Tree. And because 'some tricks' were currently being practiced throughout the forest by the Undead, some of those guardian spirits could be contaminated and endanger the gatherers. The Spirit of the Contaminated Forest was one such entity.
"I studied a little beforehand," Lokan replied with a smirk.
The Half-Elves were bewildered by his confidence, yet they felt a sense of trustworthiness. If he already knew this much, the story could move quickly. They nodded and immediately began to carefully transfer the sprouts using their special equipment.
"Who dares to steal the spirit of the forest!"
At that moment, the space condensed, and a huge form materialized. A monstrous wooden entity, glowing with green madness, rose up, attempting to crush the culprits.
"That would be me, man!"
"Aww!"
Whoosh!
Lokan's body, crashing into the creature like a chariot, shoved the tree monster, which was four times his size, back to its roots. Not only that, but the impact tore off a part of its body, revealing its white core. This was no normal shoulder charge, but the combination skill Rush of Destruction.
"Force! Strike!"
[Critical!]
He didn't stop there. The axe, imbued with Force, continued its assault. The Spirit of the Contaminated Forest was horrifically splintered like cheese full of holes, exposing its core.
"Your brother is busy. Let's finish it quickly!"
Lokan ripped the creature open without hesitation. Though the monster was larger and higher level, its basic weak point was the same as any 'forest monster'. He faithfully carried out the strategy of using overwhelming firepower to slash the body, targeting the nucleus, and knocking it down in an instant.
"There, wait!"
Then he quickly spun around and stopped the Half-Elves, who were trying to gather the World Tree buds with surprised expressions. There was still work to be done.
A method discovered by a curious user in his previous life: a way to grow the World Tree Sprout right here.
If he just took the seedlings as they were, the rewards would be limited, no matter how many he brought back. However, if he took them back in a more mature state, the rewards would have to increase significantly. The method essentially accelerated the growth time. Failure would mean being beaten and cast out by the Half-Elves, but Lokan persisted, persuaded them, executed the method, and succeeded.
The final fruit of his labor was about to appear in Lokan's hands.