"Why, why?"
"Let's get out of the way."
The Half-Elves tensed at the sight of Lokan approaching, but they stood their ground, defending the World Tree buds they had risked their lives to gather. Lokan ignored their hesitation and acted immediately. Like the user who had discovered this method, he knew that repeated persuasion was unnecessary; the results would speak for themselves.
"What!"
"No!"
Shoving them away with a light brush, Lokan instantly took an Intermediate Health Potion from his satchel and poured it onto the World Tree bud. It was wasteful to use such a high-grade potion, but it was the fastest and most reliable way to achieve the desired effect.
"Humans, after all…!"
Cha-eeng!
The Half-Elves, convinced they had been betrayed and unable to stop Lokan's sudden action, immediately drew their weapons, their hostility flaring.
Squeak.
But the next moment, when they saw the World Tree Sprout begin to change, they dropped their weapons wordlessly, mouths agape.
[The sprout of the world tree that has grown]
The World Tree Sprout had grown visibly, albeit only slightly. To any other race, it would have been a minor difference unnoticed without checking the item information, but the Half-Elves were different. They were shocked by the subtle, yet undeniable, growth. They couldn't speak, looking alternately at Lokan and the now-grown sprout.
"What are you doing, hurry up." Lokan responded coolly, as if nothing special had happened.
As soon as they finished gathering the grown sprout, he added one more word.
"Let's go. Wouldn't it be better to collect as many as possible?"
Nodding like sheep, they allowed Lokan to lead them around the Tekalona Forest toward their final objective. In the meantime, finding and collecting more World Tree Sprouts was a matter of course.
In addition to the Spirit of the Contaminated Forest, two or three random monsters would sometimes appear, but none of them were a match for Lokan. Since they lacked combination skills, they were little more than lower-level prey than the Mine Kobolds had been.
"Lokan-sama."
After killing the monsters, the Half-Elves naturally looked to Lokan for guidance.
'I feel like I've been roped into something here…' he thought, but he knew that wasn't their intention. They were too pure-minded to think of such complex schemes; they were simply cooperating because their interests aligned.
Lokan grinned, approached them, and pulled out a potion—but not the Intermediate Health Potion from before. Even for Lokan, using 1 gold per sprout was too arbitrary. What he took out were the lowest-grade Health Potion and Mana Potion. He planned to compensate for the lack of quality with sheer quantity.
Squeak.
"Uh… Lokan?"
Even after pouring one or two bottles, there was no change, and the Half-Elves expressed their doubts.
'Hmm, this isn't enough,'Lokan thought.
He continued to pour potions without a word, one bottle after another. He didn't know how many more he would need to get the desired effect; he simply kept trying.
After pouring about five more bottles, a change finally came.
"I-it worked!"
"I believed it!"
However, unlike the elated Half-Elves, Lokan's expression wasn't good. He had brought plenty of the low-grade potions just in case, but their efficiency was terrible. It might have been more cost-effective to just stick with the Intermediate Health Potions.
"Hey, here's one more…"
At that moment, a soft voice caught Lokan's attention. And a sudden thought crossed his mind.
'Wait, do I really need a potion?'
According to the user who discovered this method, ordinary water did not work. Purified water, in particular, was said to kill the buds, which needed to absorb the energy of natural plants to grow. But what Lokan had in mind was not ordinary water.
"Uh, that's…"
Question marks appeared on the faces of the Half-Elves as Lokan pulled out a different bottle. It wasn't just a different grade; the liquid was a completely different color.
Instead of answering, Lokan poured it out. The liquid was the 'Water of Cheongmyeong Lake'. It looked like pure water, but it contained a potent, pure energy, a 'special water' that could restore mana just by drinking it. It was a pity to pour out what was essentially an expensive mana consumable, but he wanted to test if this natural water would be better for plants than an alchemically produced potion.
"Ugh!"
The effect was immediate. The World Tree Sprout grew so rapidly it was astonishing. Luckily, the corrupted spirit did not appear right then.
[Sapling of the World Tree]
As soon as he poured one more bottle, the sprout instantly grew to the size of a Sapling. The Half-Elves were astounded, and Lokan's mouth curved into a wide smile.
"Heh, what was the reward for this?"
Taking only the grown sprouts would have yielded a great reward, but a Sapling! Moreover, the Water of Cheongmyeong Lake was essentially free, and its location was already stored in his Rune Book. Instead of purchasing expensive mana potions, he had simply bought empty bottles and filled them with the lake water. This meant he could grow a Sapling every time he found a new World Tree bud.
Lokan, instructing the Half-Elves to continue gathering, moved through the Tekalona Forest, creating World Tree Saplings. Although the increased size was an issue, due to the quest mechanic—or perhaps their own racial inventory—they were able to carry them without problems.
"Here, here!"
When they arrived at the center of the Tekalona Forest, the Half-Elves were ecstatic. This area was thick with World Tree buds. He estimated there were twenty or thirty of them, meaning he would have to fight over ten monsters to gather them all. It was a moment where luck would be crucial.
"Now that this has happened, it will be finished in one shot."
After a moment's consideration, Lokan made a decision. He would summon all the corrupted spirits at once. The reason was simple: they were likely to crush the World Tree buds as they appeared. He decided to end the risk in a single, decisive fight.
"Leave it to me."
As Lokan explained the circumstances and his plan, the Half-Elves' eyes shone. They were prepared to save the timber of the World Tree even at the risk of their lives, so their resolve was strong.
"Then we begin."
As they settled into their positions, Lokan counted down.
"3, 2, 1… Now!"
Whoa!
The Water of Cheongmyeong Lake, collected in a bucket, was sprayed over the ground at once by one of the Half-Elves' commanded spirits.
—Kooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
With it, a monstrous aura bloomed around the area. The tainted spirits would all appear simultaneously.
"Shield!"
"Aqua Shield!"
"Divine Shield!"
Without delay, the Half-Elves showed their own strength. Defensive spells from the Wizard, Elemental, and Priest classes unfolded, protecting themselves and the World Tree Saplings at their feet.
"Heh heh heh heh heh!"
Meanwhile, Lokan unleashed a Cry of Madness. He withered the wildly appearing tainted spirits and drew all eyes to him.
"This way!"
He didn't forget to throw hatchets at the distant ones to ensure he secured all the aggro. This successfully diverted their attention away from the Half-Elves, and Lokan slowly retreated, repositioning himself on the battlefield.
"Let's play!"
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
The attack of the corrupted spirits was fierce. The trunks of the tree monsters stretched out to snatch Lokan, and from the sky, a creature with a sharp beak descended. The moment he avoided it, another monster, a fighting dog-like entity with a jaw that could chew and swallow stone, rushed in. With dozens of these creatures, even without their combination skills, this was dangerous even for Lokan. He found it hard to recover his senses due to the endless, rushing assault. If it hadn't been for Lokan's experience and control, he would have already suffered a major injury or been forced into a one-sided defense.
"Yeah, I can write it if you want. Berserk!"
Recognizing that overcoming this situation would be impossible with a moderate counterattack, Lokan activated Berserk without delay. He instantly turned the tide, releasing a sense of power and upliftment that had been dormant within.
Turuk.
A tainted spirit in the form of a fighting dog, rushing to tear his flesh, was caught mid-air. Ignoring its frantic attempts to bite him, Lokan plunged his hand into its mouth, grabbed its lower jaw, put down his weapon, and grabbed its upper teeth with both hands.
Goofy, jerky. Whoops!
He ripped its mouth open with sheer force. It was an unbelievable feat of strength, possible only for Lokan because of his active Berserk.
"Heh heh heh heh heh!"
Then, the Scream of Madness erupted once more. A battle-cry used by a truly enraged man, amplified by Berserk. For a moment, the movement of every rushing creature stopped.
That was all he needed.
Lokan immediately identified the positions of all enemies and leaped forward. A movement line that would perfectly dismantle the enemies automatically appeared in his head, and his body moved to execute it instantly. From now on, he was the only one leading the fight.
"Lethal Strike!"
He took out the most annoying monsters first. Fortunately, the bird-like creature wasn't flying very high, making it a close enough target. With that one blow, its shape was distorted.
Hey!
Even though the critical hit didn't explode with his normal attack's 30% chance, it didn't matter. His weapon was enhanced and powerful enough that a mere touch would cause its flesh to burst and its feathers to be torn off. The monster, flapping its wings desperately against Lokan's leap, collapsed. Its wing was severed in one blow and it was dragged down to the ground.
"Throwing!"
Lokan tossed the body of the fluttering creature as it was, and used it to knock down the others.
Perch.
With each step Lokan took, the head of a fallen monster exploded, its brains soaking his boots. He strategically excluded the tree monsters, which had the highest vitality, and thoroughly crushed the corrupted spirits in the form of birds and dogs. Even those who hadn't been directly hit trembled in fear, losing their senses and desperately trying to run away.
"Huh! You babies are nothing."
As a result, even after rushing into the fray and taking damage, Lokan's health was only reduced by 20% of his original maximum—a small amount, even considering the Berserk penalty. This was because it wasn't a proper battle but a one-sided slaughter, meaning Lokan barely suffered any true losses.
"Set up a safe zone. Let's rest for a while."
"Of course!"
However, the lingering effects of Berserk still made a continued battle dangerous. Returning to the Half-Elves, Lokan established a safe zone as soon as they finished gathering the sprouts and rested leisurely. Only after all the side effects of Berserk had vanished did he begin to move again.
There was no need to find any more World Tree Sprouts, but the heart of the Tekalona Forest still held monsters up to Level 130. If he encountered them, there was no guarantee that even Lokan could protect the Half-Elves while fighting off two or more of them.
"Thank you. Thank you very much. I and the Half-Elves will never forget this grace."
As they carefully followed the road out of the forest, the Half-Elves began to blur. It was the completion of the quest. The mission was to secure their safety and bring them to the Crossroads, and it didn't require him to escort them all the way back. Since this was a game, their bodies simply shimmered and disappeared.
Now, by returning to the Crossroads, he would be credited with their safe arrival.
"With this, the authentication quest is slowly ending."
Knowing this, Lokan activated the Rune Book without hesitation. The destination was the Crossroads. The Gnome's authentication quest was easy to complete, meaning the race-specific authentication quests were now effectively over.
All that was left was to collect the reward from a beautiful beauty!