Translator: Dreamscribe

Arsilan Research Lab.

The Arsilan Research Lab was Jinwoo’s personal lab and the most secretive place not only in Korea but in the entire world. It was the birthplace of Arsilan Saga, known only as the location housing the superintelligent AI called “Ella” and a massive data center whose true nature remained unknown.

Several nations and organizations attempted to hack it, but they couldn’t even approach. Physical intrusion attempts also failed.

This was because a security company, akin to a top-tier military facility, was stationed there. With national support as well, physical intrusion was virtually impossible.

Chief of Security Kim Han-soo personally inspected a freight truck approaching the personal lab. Together with his subordinates, he meticulously examined the vehicle inside and out and double-checked the cargo manifest several times.

“Pass!”

The freight truck moved up to the front of the lab. The security guards began transporting the items loaded on the truck into the inner part of the lab. Kim Han-soo then approached Jinwoo’s research room.

“Sir, these are the requested items.”

“Move them over here.”

“Yes!”

The guards moved all the items into Jinwoo’s lab. Kim Han-soo looked at them and became curious.

“Are you researching these as well?”

It was a fair question.

The items appeared entirely unrelated to Jinwoo’s research. There were various seedlings, seeds, and fruits. There were also crops like sweet potatoes and potatoes, as well as fertilized eggs of chickens and ducks. It resembled a market for agricultural produce.

“You could say that.”

Kim Han-soo didn't inquire further. He simply thought that the world's greatest genius was different in his own way. Kim Han-soo's job was to protect Jinwoo and follow his instructions.

“Do you have any other orders?”

“There is one, but it’s a bit difficult. Will that be okay?”

Kim Han-soo grinned.

“Haha! If it’s a tough job, I welcome it. I’ll execute it perfectly.”

“Then, this way.”

Kim Han-soo followed Jinwoo. There was another room inside the lab, a space used for researching and developing Soul Link. Even Kim Han-soo had never been inside before.

There was a capsule-type Soul Link there. It looked similar to the previously released Soul Link Pro version, but its exterior was slightly more refined and it had more buttons.

“Is this the next-generation Soul Link?”

Jinwoo nodded.

“It’s designed to handle urination and defecation. It’s currently undergoing clinical trials.”

Originally developed for patients, it seemed that after various additions, it could also be used by the general public.

Chiiiik!

As the capsule opened, it revealed some terrifying components. It seemed like interacting with those would cause considerable pain. Kim Han-soo gulped and then began coughing as he choked.

“Cough! Cough, ahem…”

“Alright, get in.”

“Si-Sir…”

Kim Han-soo’s expression grew desperate.

Seeing that, Jinwoo chuckled.

“Just kidding. There are still many stages to go through.”

“Ha, ha ha... Then, I’ll wait outside.”

Kim Han-soo bowed his head and quickly disappeared.

Jinwoo was indeed planning a Soul Link Pro 2 that didn’t require frequent disconnection. While it would be simple to solve through magic, since it was a product to be released on Earth, there were inevitably many cumbersome details to consider.

Jinwoo came outside and looked at the items Kim Han-soo had moved. With the reinforcement of the Soul Gate, it had finally become possible to store various items in subspace and transfer them to Arsilan!

He could transfer the equivalent of one cargo truck per month.

‘Players are putting in effort, but...’

They were managing to create decent meals using fruits and herbs from the forests and fields of Evanth, but there were limits. They couldn’t create what didn’t exist.

Arsilan was a world on the brink of destruction.

One could say the ecosystem of Arsilan had already collapsed.

Countless lifeforms had been devoured by erosion, and the people of Arsilan had no goal other than survival.

The staple food of the Arsilan people was the rubbery root of a plant. It was called 'Elun'. It meant a gift from Ella.

However, despite its grand name, the taste was terrible. When grilled, it tasted like potatoes heavily mixed with dirt. Nevertheless, Elun was rich in nutrients and even contained magic power, making it a crucial survival food for the people of Arsilan. It was used in baking bread and even in brewing beer.

‘It should be possible to restore things to some extent.’

Jinwoo placed everything before him into subspace. Since living beings with a will could not be stored in subspace, eggs were about the limit.

It was currently server maintenance time.

Jinwoo intended to use this time to update Arsilan's ecosystem.

Jinwoo returned to Arsilan.

First, he quarantined the items brought from Earth at the Magic Tower. While it would likely have no effect on the players' bodies, it could be fatal to the Arsilan people and this world’s environment.

Fortunately, aside from a slightly hollow sensation, there were no issues.

Upon arriving at the Evanth Secret Base, Tia and Tiris were having a conversation.

“A scale like that should be fine. We also have the resources borrowed from Helby nim and Magic Developers has been upgraded too.”

"Good. I'm feeling motivated."

Jinwoo approached them. Tia was in the middle of creating various scenarios while talking with Tiris.

‘Leon’s Ascension’, ‘Leon’s Corruption’, ‘Leon’s Abduction’, ‘Leon’s Sealing’, ‘Leon’s Separation’, and so on, various scenarios were being written rapidly.

Tia was almost in overdrive.

‘Hmm....’

Complicated thoughts crossed Jinwoo’s mind, but he pushed them to the back of his head for now.

"Ah! You're here!"

“Master.”

Tia and Tiris greeted Jinwoo.

“I feel like we’re going to create a masterpiece.”

“Take it easy. We still have plenty of time.”

"No! I can't do that!"

Tia was bursting with enthusiasm.

‘The tutorial is finally over.’

After this event, real action awaited.

Jinwoo took an apple out of subspace and handed it to Tia and Tiris.

“Huh? This is...”

Tia tilted her head after receiving the apple. Tiris did the same. They had probably never seen such a large fruit before. Most of the fruits in Arsilan had disappeared after the World Tree was swallowed by erosion, long before the two were even born.

“Try it.”

Tia and Tiris bit into the apples.

"Ummm!?"

"Mm!"

Their reactions spoke for themselves.

Ah yes, this was what an Earth apple was.

Their ears trembled slightly and soon turned red. As Arsilan people had more sensitive senses than humans, they could perceive flavors more vividly.

“This is the first time I’ve had a fruit like this. Somehow... it makes me want to cry.”

“The taste is really diverse.”

Tia's eyes welled up, and Tiris’s pupils quivered fiercely. Seeing them like that made Jinwoo smile. It was a reward for everything they had endured so far.

There was a perfect candidate site for growing the seedlings.

Jinwoo accessed the “Elvens Notice Board”.

Luceren (Elvens Village Chief): Day by day, fewer heroes are visiting Elvens. Everyone, please work harder. Never forget to keep smiling!

└ Silua (Receptionist): What should we do? If the Heroes leave because they’re bored… we’ll have no Quests left to offer!

└ Luceren: Do something! Dance if you have to! Being called "boring Elvens"..., such a shameful title.

└ Silua: Understood! I’ll prepare a dance with all my heart.

Jinwoo (Leon): Coming soon.

└ Luceren: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

└ Silua: (Emoji: Cheering Elf)

Thanks to the players’ efforts to protect Elvens, all the Quests had disappeared. They were barely managing to create things to do, but even that had reached its limits.

Even Corrupted Goblins and other monsters were instantly wiped out the moment they appeared.

Rocks, where the Dwarves were, at least had mines to extract minerals, but Elvens was just a forest. A slightly denser forest than Evanth Forest.

‘It’s perfect as an update zone.’

There was even the narrative of 100% Quest Completion.

Jinwoo looked at the two.

“I’m going to Elvens. Let’s go together.”

Jinwoo immediately teleported to Elvens.

Elvens was a typical elf village. There were neat houses built from wood and large trees standing tall.

The expressions of the elves practicing acting were stiff, almost cold. That only enhanced the classic elf-like atmosphere.

‘They’re actually a race that feels loneliness a lot...’

They were like cats on the outside, but dogs on the inside.

As soon as Jinwoo was spotted, Luceren came running.

“Lord...! Ah! Now I just want to call you our Lord!”

Luceren wore an expression like someone who had met a savior.

She politely greeted Tia and Tiris as well. Tia was royalty to the elves, and Tiris was nobility.

“The princess has come too!”

“Hehe...”

Tia looked very embarrassed at being called a princess. The elves’ eyes sparkled. As Jinwoo nodded confidently, everyone's faces lit up.

“Is there an open space?”

“Yes! I will guide you!”

Following Luceren, they headed to a clearing next to Elvens. Originally, it was a densely wooded area full of bushes, rocks, and trees, but through Quests and task assignments, it had turned into a vast flatland.

When asked to catch a bear, they would bring not only bears but deer as well.

If asked to deal with a few goblins, they would wipe out the entire village. One could call it a 200% Quest completion rate.

Jinwoo took out several seedlings, seeds, and eggs from subspace. The expressions of Luceren and the elves turned to astonishment. The same went for Tia and Tiris.

“These are plants I’ve never seen before. And these eggs... I can feel life inside them.”

Luceren was amazed but did not ask about their origin.

Jinwoo planted the seedlings in the center of the clearing.

The seedlings looked incredibly fragile. Jinwoo wondered whether Earth’s seedlings could adapt well in Arsilan.

Then an old memory surfaced.

“Don’t the elves have a ritual to rapidly grow plants?”

"I'm sorry. We were all born after the Erosion...."

Everyone present was from the generation born after the World Tree was swallowed by the Erosion. The previous generation perished along with the World Tree.

Jinwoo rummaged through his subspace. He had preserved the elven texts.

“Found it.”

Various traditions were written in Elvish.

Among them, Jinwoo found the “Ritual of Growth” he was looking for. It required a High Elf and over one hundred elves. Fortunately, the conditions were met. When Jinwoo looked at Luceren, she nodded with a determined expression.

"We'll try! I want to show everyone that Elvens can do it too! It’s time for Elvens to become a fun place!”

NPCs had been subtly mocking Elvens as a “boring village”.

Even the Heroes had occasionally called it that.

After carefully reading the text, Jinwoo drew the symbols for the Ritual of Growth on the ground.

“Should I stand here?”

“This feels... strange.”

Tia and Tiris stood before the seedlings. Around the clearing, Luceren and the elves took their positions in a circle. The Ritual of Growth wasn’t a magic ritual cast with spells or magical techniques.

"It says to infuse magic power while thinking of the World Tree..., and the stronger your desire to give back, the stronger the effect? Hmm, that’s vague.”

This ritual responded to one’s heart and emotions.

Tia, Tiris, and the elves focused, but nothing happened.

Jinwoo’s expression darkened.

When the World Tree was consumed and rotted due to the Erosion, the elves lost their spirit. Only after a new generation that didn’t know the World Tree had been born, did a new kind of spirit emerge.

'Is the World Tree necessary?'

If the World Tree was the heart of this ritual, then the ritual wouldn’t activate.

Jinwoo was about to stop them.

"Let's try a bit more!"

When Tia said that, everyone nodded. Tia placed her fingers on her temple and focused. Tiris extended both palms forward, her expression grave.

“Huuuuh!”

“Huuuuhhh!”

Luceren and the elves shouted and broke into a sweat with their exertion.

The server open time was approaching. Just as Jinwoo was about to stop them again.

“You said the World Tree, right?”

“Yes.”

Tia looked at Jinwoo. She strode toward him and led him to the center.

“Please become the World Tree.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Tiris nodded as if Tia’s words made sense.

“The World Tree is a massive tree containing vast magical power. In that case, Master could act as its substitute.”

Jinwoo stood blinking.

Then, Tia and the elves began to concentrate once again.

Jinwoo didn’t think it would be that simple. The World Tree wasn’t just a tree. It was the greatest pillar of support that the elves believed in and followed.

“It’s almost time for the Heroes to arrive..., huh?”

A green light shimmered around Jinwoo.

Tia, Tiris, and all the elves stretched their hands forward. In that moment, an intense wave of emotion surged toward him.

Paaaat!

That emotion seeped into the seedlings and eggs.

Jinwoo’s magic power also began to get sucked in rapidly.

The seedlings swelled as if water was rushing into rubber hoses.

Kwagagagak!

The swelling branches squirmed like octopus tentacles, then explosively spread outward in an instant, engulfing the surroundings.

“Get back!”

At Jinwoo’s shout, everyone moved to avoid it.

The seedling transformed into a gigantic tree, filling the clearing and continuing to stretch further. It grew larger than any nearby tree and reached toward the sky.

Fruits far larger than any on Earth began to grow in clusters.

Thudududuk!

They fell to the ground in heaps.

Those fruits sprouted into trees again. The trees extended beyond the clearing and spread throughout the inside of Elvens.

Kwaaang!

Elvens’ buildings were swept away and burst apart.

“......”

“......”

Jinwoo and the elves stood dazed, watching the scene.

A massive egg full of magic rolled to Jinwoo’s feet.

It was nearly the size of his torso.

Crack!

A fissure formed in the egg, and a yellow chick poked its face out.

“Cheep!”

The chick that hatched from the egg was far larger than a big dog. Chicks like it began appearing from all directions. It was as if an entire tray of fertilized eggs had hatched.

“Hmm....”

It was a very intriguing result.

Earth's organisms seemed to have excellent compatibility with magic power. Jinwoo was momentarily distracted.

“Kyaaha! Look at this!”

Tap tap tap!

Tia ran, and the giant chicks followed her. Luceren and the elves tasted the fallen fruit and their eyes went wide.

It seemed like a good thing, somehow....

"How do I clean this up?"

As he looked at the wrecked Elvens, the massively overgrown fruit trees, and the various crops densely growing everywhere, Jinwoo began to seriously contemplate.

“Ah!”

There was a sword perfect for times like this.

A very sharp sword.

* * *