‘Why is it so dark here?’
Even with her eyes open, she couldn’t see a single speck of light; nothing was visible at all.
Lee Yeon-hee instinctively tried to summon the ‘Castle’.
‘The summon isn’t working?!’
Her lips felt stuck, as if coated with glue.
‘?! I can’t even move my body?’
Her entire body was rock-solid, like stone, and she couldn’t do anything.
– You have entered [Stone Statue] state.
– Damage taken is reduced by 90%.
– Movement speed is reduced by 95%.
– [Invincible] has been activated.
This was a first for her, and she was greatly panicking, trying to circulate her magic to loosen her body.
After a while, it seemed that her efforts were helping a bit, and her body gradually began to move.
‘Ugh… It’s not just my movement speed that’s been slowed.’
She crawled slowly with her sluggish hands, hoping to grab something.
The fear of possibly being stuck like this forever intertwined with the pitch-black reality, instilling a sense of dread in her.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
‘Don’t cry. I told myself to remain calm no matter what happens.’
She didn’t know what had happened to her before coming here, but with superhuman patience, she continued to extend her hands.
After a while.
Thud—
“?!”
She felt something touch her hand.
Startled, she let out a scream with her sluggish mouth, causing something to respond with a soft glow, starting to illuminate the surroundings in a green light.
“Am I… a tree?”
It was definitely a small tree, but as her vision gradually expanded, she realized it was just part of a gigantic tree. The little, cute tree seemed like a main body…
(Uh… hello?)
“Ahh…!”
The tree could talk?
Well, more accurately, it wasn’t using a mouth but communicating directly through thoughts.
Yeon-hee was taken aback, but having communicated with Ran and other human-type summoned creatures before, she quickly adapted.
“What… what are you? Where… is this?”
It took a while for her to speak, but she enunciated her questions clearly.
(Wow! You can hear me? Haha— I’m so excited! But why do you speak so slowly? Are you playing a game I don’t know about?)
The tree didn’t answer her question and simply danced around with its branches. It was a bizarre tree, but somehow, it didn’t feel dangerous at all.
(Let me introduce myself! My name is Rainy! I’m a Tree of Amazing Possibilities!)
“A Tree of Amazing Possibilities? Uh? Wait, this smell…”
The scent was something she recognized from somewhere.
Yes, it was that scent she sometimes caught from Il-wol.
‘…No way.’
She had vaguely heard while exchanging love with Il-wol that there were talking friends in the Dark Space.
After hearing that, she had hoped to see the world where Il-wol lived at least once.
And she wanted to find out what kind of friend would smell of her lover.
Could it possibly be a Dryad, as she had only heard about?
A tree-type monster resembling a human.
These creatures lured male hunters in with their enchanting female forms and drained their life force.
She never thought Il-wol would be secretly doing such things, but she may have had a nagging feeling.
‘So it really is a tree…’
In that moment, Yeon-hee felt a sense of relief, but also a bit of self-pity.
‘That’s a relief, but did I really come into Il-wol’s space?’
Then where could Il-wol be? How did she end up here…
Suddenly, something brushed past her mind, sending a chill through her body, and Yeon-hee hastily checked her earring’s information.
[Water Drop Sealed by the Magic of a Forgotten Ancient Kingdom]
– Special Ability: Instantly move your partner to the safest place you can think of.
– Number of times special ability can be used: 4/5
“One has decreased. Ah… no way. Il-wol!”
She finally remembered that something had captured her amidst a bright flash.
If that was the case, it meant that Il-wol activated the ability to save her afterward.
Rainy, who had been quietly listening to Yeon-hee’s words, suddenly asked, shocked at hearing Il-wol’s name.
(Il-wol? What happened to him?!)
Rainy fluttered its branches as if urging her to speak quickly.
Seeing the tree in a greater panic than herself somehow calmed her down, and after a moment’s thought, she decided to tell Rainy everything as it was.
“No… nothing has happened yet. He hasn’t broken…”
Yeon-hee tried to reassure herself.
There’s nothing to worry about. It’ll all be fine.
“But are you a friend of Il-wol who’s here?”
(No, is there really nothing happening with Il-wol?)
“I’m sure.”
(Whew— what a relief.)
Rainy pretended to let out a sigh of relief and then leaned forward.
(Yes! I am indeed Il-wol’s friend! Who are you? Are you also a friend of Il-wol? How did you get in? The old man said that not just anyone can come here.)
The old man? Who could that be? Well, it was called friends, so it wouldn’t be surprising if there were other intriguing beings.
“Um… I think Il-wol activated the artifact to send me here.”
Yeon-hee waved her earring to show Rainy.
There was no hint of any sinister energy from the friend Il-wol spoke of, but rather, she felt an overflowing vitality, making it unnecessary to keep it hidden.
(Ahh, what’s that energy?)
Rainy sensed the energy coming from the earring Yeon-hee held and flinched, stepping back for a moment.
‘This person must be Il-wol’s master?!’
No wonder Rainy felt its body shrink and something drop inside itself; as it pondered why it felt this way, it couldn’t figure it out.
‘She’s such a pretty girl… no wonder Il-wol loves her.’
Having been reborn as a tree and lived a very short life, Rainy had an absolute aesthetic sense, immediately recognizing Yeon-hee’s appearance as outstanding.
‘Il-wol… she’s the master of my only friend. I must treat her well!’
Regaining its composure, Rainy raised its energy back up again.
(So you’re Il-wol’s master, huh? Right? Am I correct?)
“That’s right. By the way, I didn’t expect Il-wol’s friend would be such a wonderful tree!”
(Ha-ha?! You have great eyes! Want me to show off a bit more glow? Then you’ll be able to see my roots and trunk that stretch farther!)
“That’s amazing! Would you show me?”
(Hahaha— wait a moment!)
Rainy gathered its energy, glowing brightly enough to illuminate the surroundings, proudly showcasing its splendid form to Yeon-hee.
While boasting, something in its heart felt a little bittersweet.
The more she spoke, the more courteous and beautiful her voice was, invoking emotions of envy rather than fear.
Envy? Yes! This was an emotion of envy!
‘How intriguing… I’m feeling this emotion?!’
As Rainy embraced this new sensation, it felt a strong urge to meet more diverse people.
‘To do that, I need to escape this place. Of course, I love this place dearly! But I still want to see the broader world!’
Rainy felt that longing, and at that moment, a slight transformation began to take place in its roots, which were endlessly stretching through the Dark Space.
“More importantly… Il-wol has been living in such a dark place all this time.”
Yeon-hee, knowing that Il-wol enjoyed coming here, felt an unsettling pang in her heart.
‘There’s a world of difference between coming by choice and coming by death.’
If Il-wol died, he would be forcibly brought here, adding another reason for her to protect him.
She slowly lay down on the ground from her cat-like position.
The [Stone Statue] state lasts for a full day, but adapting to it in such a short time seemed impossible.
She couldn’t even breathe easily, and the heaviness in her chest continued to grow.
‘Il-wol’s master doesn’t look good. Is it because his body is stiff?’
Looking intently at Yeon-hee, who had awakened new emotions within her, Rainy pondered for a moment, then plucked one of its larger leaves, bigger than Yeon-hee’s head, and gently placed it in her mouth.
“Huh? What is this—”
Yeon-hee bit down on the leaf Rainy had given her.
And as she tasted the unknown energy flowing from the leaf, the pressure that had pinned down her chest suddenly lifted.
“Wow—!”
They didn’t call it the Tree of Amazing Possibilities for nothing.
Curiosity sparked within Yeon-hee for the tree, and the two began to share stories and get to know each other slowly.
Il-wol was always busy training, and Rainy rarely had the chance to converse with someone.
But thanks to Yeon-hee, who had no other options but to talk, Rainy could chat to its heart’s content.
Bzzz—
And the more they talked, the greater Rainy’s thirst grew.
A thirst to be with them and to stroll through the world they lived in.
What outcome that desire would eventually lead to, no one knew, and the day passed just like that.
* * *
‘Hmm… Now that the transformation has worn off, I feel a faint connection with Yeon-hee.’
I had returned to Korea in a few hours, using the White Knight Guild Headquarters, where Jo Gi-man was located, as my designated coordinate.
With a glimmer of hope, I rushed home straight away.
But there was no sign of Yeon-hee, and naturally, neither were the summoned creatures.
Seeing the empty house made me feel dizzy, and I plopped down on the floor.
‘Huh— If Yeon-hee can’t call for me… I’ll have to go in.’
Honestly, it wasn’t that I hadn’t tried to release my summoning myself.
I had tried continuously during my swordsmanship training, and I sometimes felt a slight tickling sensation.
‘Still, it ended in failure.’
At least, Yeon-hee would have Rainy with her, which was a relief, but how much could she last in that terrifying darkness?
‘I need to blow up and get there somehow.’
Of course, how to send Yeon-hee back once I got there remained a homework assignment, but even just thinking about food and drink made a swift return necessary.
Using the earring again was a last resort; I had to find another way.
I sat up straight, crossed my legs, and began meditating.
I had never attempted to release my summoning in such a tense situation before, so after one final try, if it didn’t work, I would have to devise a special countermeasure.
‘Releasing the summon… releasing the summon…’
I concentrated desperately, visualizing the door to the summoning, hoping and hoping to go to the Dark Space.
But.
‘No luck… damn it.’
Even if I exerted my utmost concentration, all I felt was that annoying tickle without any events unfolding.
Eventually, I had to find a way back, even if it meant forcing it.
‘If I have to die to do it…’
So then, where should I go to die most efficiently?
I still needed to prepare to activate the [Blast of Madness], as it required a short preparation to gather magic.
Of course, it was only a second or less, but in front of a tremendously strong existence, that short time could lead to life fleeing and a situation where I couldn’t achieve my goal.
In a life where I had to consider efficiency even in the moment of death, it felt like a comedy, but I figured it’s best to get what I could.
‘Should I try catching the Great Evil One Haseirin? …No, she could be taken down without self-destructing soon enough… Maybe heading to a high dungeon is a good idea.’
If I blew myself up among monsters above A-rank or high B-rank who swarmed together, I could expect a large amount of experience points and several level-ups along with the activation of [Thievery].
‘Oh, right. Going to the Temple of Light could be interesting too.’
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