Chapter 663 – Longing (1)
The wind blows.
A wind carrying the scent of the forest.
As you can see, nothing has changed.
No, isn’t it actually more peaceful now?
“Was it just our overthinking, in the end?”
The elf leader, Agentress.
Agentress knew that the World Tree, which had sprouted anew, had disappeared from the Arcana continent. While it wasn’t quite like a mother, it had firmly rooted itself in the Arcana continent.
‘It even approached us first.’
It had clearly exerted a significant influence over the Arcana continent. Now that even that World Tree had disappeared, according to Agentress’s common sense, the Arcana continent should be heading towards its downfall.
There were World Trees that had sprouted from the seeds of the World Tree swallowed by dragons, but they were still just saplings. Moreover, as the blessing of the World Tree was finite, its power was limited, and the more individuals there were, the weaker each of their powers would become.
However, it seemed nature was speaking.
-Nothing has changed, Agentress.
Perhaps the World Tree wasn’t the mother of the Arcana continent after all…
Agentress’s sacrilegious thought was broken by the voice of his kin.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“Elsidor?”
It was Elsidor, who had once pointed a sword at him as his leader. If it had been in the past when he was bound by Sisley, he would have held him accountable for that. But now, Agentress asked casually.
“Have you finished what you needed to do?”
What he meant by “what you needed to do.”
Elsidor swallowed a bitter smile inwardly. He had judged that Harkon betrayed Hoyeol and chose the World Tree. He had searched the Arcana continent thoroughly to track him down.
“In the first place, I shouldn’t have been the one to step in.”
He coldly returned to the Empire’s fold.
Elsidor didn’t know exactly what Harkon had gone through.
But what mattered was the Light.
The fact that you mourned his death.
Moreover, wasn’t he someone who trusted Elsidor?
‘My judgment of humans couldn’t have been wrong.’
Having finished his thoughts, Elsidor continued.
“By the way, let me ask honestly, Agentress. Are you curious about the World Tree’s end, or are you more interested in the ‘Light and Darkness’?”
Elsidor, who had been reborn as a Blood Elf,
was someone to whom the hierarchy of the elves meant nothing.
Agentress answered honestly.
“Both. I want to hear the answers.”
“Honestly, I like that. You should’ve been like that with the others, right?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
The reason Agentress couldn’t laugh like this in front of his kin was likely due to the weight of the burdens he carried. Having realized the weight himself, Elsidor answered without hesitation.
“When I went to find the World Tree with the orc, the World Tree was already gone from that place. As you know, it had disappeared as if nothing existed there.”
“I see. But the orc, though?”
“A leftover kicked out from the Oak Auction.”
“No, that’s not what I’m curious about…”
As said before, Agentress already knew the full story of the World Tree.
He wasn’t that curious about its end.
The orc was the same.
What Agentress was curious about was Elsidor’s change.
“Really, Elsidor, you spoke with the orc?”
“…It seems you don’t want to hear the next answer.”
“No, it’s not that.”
Talking about himself made Elsidor feel awkward for some reason.
He immediately started talking about the Light and Darkness.
In truth, there wasn’t much to say.
“I’ve started walking with the Light.”
“Walking with him? Where are you headed?”
“Where I belong, Hell.”
The full story about the Light and Darkness was something they would have to dig into from now on. The person involved, the Light, would also step into Hell again, determined to uncover the truth beyond the gates of Hell.
Agentress felt a new feeling.
‘He’s grown unrecognizably during the time we wandered, Elsidor.’
If there’s something different about you,
it’s just that you met them a bit sooner.
Agentress stared at Elsidor and then spoke.
“When will you return to the Arcana continent?”
“Well, Hell’s time is really strange. It felt like only a few hours, but according to Arcana continent time, several days have passed. Plus, we have to consider the time in the adventurer’s world…”
“Just hearing that makes my head feel messy.”
It really was the case.
“More than that, it’s a damn hard place just to move your body.”
The aftershock of traveling between worlds.
No matter how many times you experience it, you never get used to it.
In that sense, Elsidor couldn’t help but admire it.
“…How did they adapt?”
Not only moving their bodies, but also using complex magic… Elsidor still couldn’t understand the Light and Darkness with his common sense.
“I can’t hold them back any longer.”
Agentress decided to wrap up the conversation there.
“I hope we’ll learn something from this journey, Elsidor. For now, you can leave the Arcana continent to us. We will continue our hunt.”
Even if peace has come, the enemy of the mother, the primordial evil, still lives and breathes in the Arcana continent. Agentress was determined. Until the day you return from Hell.
“We can’t break the peace that has come.”
We will protect the Arcana continent.
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Yusra Kingdom Territory.
Explorer’s Federation Main Headquarters.
Federation Leader Fabian’s office.
“I’m so sorry, Supreme Commander. I didn’t expect you to come here like this…”
I suddenly appeared in Fabian’s office through the portal. If it had been Grandfell, he would never have imagined such an informal action. But hey, even I need some privacy!
‘Explorers have to be known for their loose lips, right?’
I, Lee Hoyeol,
Whether I wanted it or not, I was unintentionally attracting a lot of attention. It wasn’t just excessive self-consciousness; it was a series of unavoidable events, wasn’t it? I still remember the articles I saw during my exploration of the anomaly.
-
Lee Hoyeol steps down from the position of Yusra’s General Manager…
-
From Yusra’s General Manager to the Chief Mage of the Magic Tower?
-
Lee Hoyeol’s current whereabouts are unknown. Has there been a change in his mindset?
‘If that was all, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.’
But after reading those articles, my relatives didn’t leave me alone…! I expected my mom and dad to worry, but I didn’t think my siblings would cause such a ruckus.
Of course.
‘…Though their worries were a bit different from what I expected.’
Do you want to know what my sister, Lee Yerim, sent me in a message?
-
You could’ve at least kept your position in the Yusra Kingdom!!
-
I was planning to visit during summer vacation anyway
-
What am I supposed to do with my vacation if you quit being the General Manager? ㅡㅡ
I really love how consistent she is, our youngest sister.
‘At least, thanks to her, I didn’t feel too guilty about causing them worry.’
After all, giving up positions that most people would have trouble even obtaining is bound to be a huge scandal… Plus, wasn’t there a bombshell announcement from the AAU side?
-
Breaking News: Was Lee Hoyeol behind Raymon Sean’s update?
-
AAU officials, “Raymon Sean received advice from Lee Hoyeol on updates… His influence is gradually becoming apparent in the Arcana continent.”
-
The era of peace, behind it was Lee Hoyeol.
It was overwhelming, embarrassing, and honestly, I almost died from it.
‘But I’m not the type to be swayed by that kind of reaction.’
You know, if things go wrong, public opinion can do a complete 180. With that in mind, I wasn’t about to get cocky. If it had been Grandfell, he would have proudly puffed out his chest without a care.
‘But I’ve learned something through all this.’
If you act without regard for formality or act rashly, things could escalate to a point where you can’t fix them. That’s exactly why I secretly came to the Explorer’s Federation Main Headquarters.
‘Especially, Park Hwigang, that net-tuber, is also an explorer, right?’
If you ask who Park Hwigang is,
I’d say he’s one of the most annoying figures to me, Lee Hoyeol, who never neglects the exploration of the anomaly. I mean, I almost passed out after tuning into one of Park Hwigang’s live broadcasts.
-“What’s with all this ‘Homen,’ seriously?!”
Anyway, I looked at Fabian, who was busily tidying up his office. The pile of documents laid out clearly showed that being a federation leader was no easy task.
Click.
“Please wait a moment, I’ll finish up right away!”
A teabag of green tea was hanging over his teacup.
‘The rumors have spread everywhere, huh.’
How much has he been obsessed with green tea? Every place I’ve visited, green tea was ready for me. It’s no wonder they even added a green tea menu to the floating garden of the Magic Tower.
‘Anyway, if it doesn’t suit me, it’ll never suit me.’
…What’s so great about this?
But it can’t be helped.
I reluctantly savored the bitterness of the green tea while waiting for Fabian.
Soon enough, Fabian sat down in front of me, holding several sheets of parchment.
“You must have come here because of Mr. Lorenzik, right?”
“Yes.”
“Of course, you look full of energy…”
The romantic explorer, Lorenzik.
Just as I had sent telepathy to Elsidor, I had also sent telepathy to him. However, I never received a reply from Lorenzik. To be more precise,
‘The telepathy didn’t reach him.’
By the way, my telepathy had reached the Anomaly realm. That meant I could send telepathy from the real world to the Arcana continent, and vice versa.
With that in mind, I asked directly.
“Where is Lorenzik now?”
Lorenzik was, by his very name, an explorer who chased after romance.
While others feared it, Lorenzik had followed into Hell with shining eyes. Since he hadn’t finished his Hell expedition, he must have been waiting for this day…
Fabian handed over a parchment and spoke.
“Actually, I’ve been investigating that too.”
I slowly began reading the parchment Fabian handed me.
But even in this serious situation, as soon as I opened it, I felt drowsy.
I forced my eyes open and continued.
“This is a history book of the continent.”
“That’s right.”
“Is this the last trace left by Lorenzik?”
Fabian nodded with a vague expression.
“Yes, Mr. Lorenzik practically used the federation leader’s office as his own room. Before he disappeared, the last thing he looked at was this history book. To be precise, it’s not a typical history…”
“It’s an unofficial history, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
If it were a regular history, it would have already been published as a book.
But these writings were only written on old parchment.
I sighed inwardly.
‘He’s such an unpredictable person.’
From the moment he seriously started writing ‘The Bible After the Cataclysm,’ I knew he was interested in nonsense rumors.
And now, of all times, studying history.
‘He probably went off to explore again.’
It could be seen as breaking a promise, but I didn’t plan on blaming him.
Although the circumstances were different, I was the one who delayed the promise first.
‘It’s not like it’s my first time, anyway.’
From here on, Lorenzik would be on a new path, just like me, right?
I decided.
If I can’t find Lorenzik’s whereabouts by the time we reach the promised time,
‘We’ll just fall into Hell first.’
I neatly arranged the parchment again and handed it back to Fabian.
“Are you sure you don’t need to examine it further?”
My head is already complicated enough.
With my current state, I didn’t have the energy to go through the history book.
I nodded, and Fabian spoke.
“If Mr. Lorenzik returns, I’ll let you know!”
“Good work.”
…Click.
I was about to confidently open the door and leave when I suddenly remembered.
Oops.
I almost made a mess of things again, Hoyeol.
‘Park Hwigang, maybe I should just unsubscribe from him.’
Always be careful, every move you make.
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Arcana Continent.
Lorenzik thoroughly read the unofficial history written on the parchment.
He compared it with the place before him.
“…It doesn’t match.”
Then, he found it.
The reason why this seemingly plausible history never became an official one.
It was due to a significant error.
“The timeline doesn’t match.”
If he were a regular human, he would have torn the worthless fake history book to shreds. But Lorenzik was an explorer. His way of thinking was far from ordinary.
“If there’s a reason for the wrong timeline…”
That’s right.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many fake history books being written. Lorenzik began visiting the places listed in the fake history book one by one, using his skills as an explorer to pursue the truth.
As a result, he arrived at a conclusion.
“…This is?”
Sisley.
The base of the dead World Tree.
What he discovered in its rings.
“This world has been repeating itself…!!”
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