#035
‘This NPC, I need light. It’s too dark.’
I grumbled as I carefully followed behind, and when my eyes had somewhat adjusted to the darkness, mysterious glimmers began to appear from somewhere.
‘Huh… this seems kind of familiar… Was there a place like this underground on the island?’
When there was a bit more light and I could look around properly, I could say for certain.
‘This place… it’s similar to the hidden dungeon that was in Wanderer’s Plains, isn’t it?’
I mean that place where mysterious lights sparkled everywhere and was filled with the refreshing scent of water, flowers, and earth. The sound of trickling water, the rustling of small animals hiding, and even bird songs could be heard from somewhere.
“This is the place.”
In the center of the underground space was a glass display case that looked like something you’d see in a museum exhibition room. The interior was empty, but looking closely, I could see some shape carved in relief on the bottom.
‘It’s the Sacred Tree…’
That is, it was the shape of the Sacred Tree I had seen at the game’s ending. The massive roots and trunk with lush leaves, sacred and mysterious in appearance.
The priest opened the display case and carefully brought the tree branch he had been carrying to the leftmost part of the relief carving.
‘They call it a Fragment of the Sacred Tree, but the branch looks too shabby to fit that shape…’
I thought with somewhat mixed feelings, but it was a hasty judgment. The moment the priest placed the fragment in the relief and let go, a blinding light burst forth, coloring everything around us.
“Ooh…”
I covered my eyes to protect my vision, and the priest let out a joyful exclamation.
‘Is that dried-up branch really a Fragment of the Sacred Tree?’
While it was a predictable scene, my expectations had been low, and there was an enormous gap between experiencing it in games or anime versus experiencing it in reality, so I was surprised too. Even after the light subsided and I could barely open my eyes, my mouth wouldn’t close.
‘Wow… that’s impressive.’
The branch of the Sacred Tree, which had looked like a dead tree branch, had somehow swollen to fit perfectly into the relief’s shape, and silver light continuously flowing out was spreading in all directions like a swarm of fireflies. The fragrant scent grew thicker, and small animals that had appeared from somewhere were perking up their ears, watching us—no, watching the Fragment of the Sacred Tree.
“Raon-nim.”
I was startled when the priest suddenly grabbed my hands.
“It was real. It was really real.”
The moved priest was shedding tears. The tears flowing down that beautiful face sparkled as they caught the light of the Sacred Tree, looking quite sacred. Despite having no religion, it was a sight that made me want to kneel and ask for blessings.
“It must be… real. Of course.”
It was a reward from a quest, so if it were fake, I’d have to beat up the system.
“No, what I mean is that you… No. Never mind.”
The priest started to say something, then stopped, wiped away tears, and composed their emotions. The pale complexion brightened considerably and gained some color. I could feel more vitality in their expression, voice, and even the smallest actions than before. I briefly thought that perhaps, being the Administrator of the Sacred Tree, they received some kind of energy when recovering fragments of the Sacred Tree. Isn’t that how typical fantasy settings work?
“Please listen to my story, Raon-nim.”
Now it seemed we were finally getting to the main point—the quest story. Before that, they’d probably explain some background setting. If this were a game, I would have skipped it, but now there was no way to skip, and having become reality, I couldn’t help but be interested. However.
‘The story is fine and all, but couldn’t you let go of my hands while talking?’
The priest was still holding both my hands. The white, thin hands were as cold as they looked. Would these hands become warm once the Sacred Tree was revived?
While I was lost in meaningless thoughts, the priest’s story began.
“As you know, Raon-nim, our village has a legend of the Sacred Tree that has been passed down…”
It was the familiar background story of the game. To put it simply, it went like this:
The omnipotent god who watched over this world fell into an endless deep sleep, leaving humans with a single tree. The tree would bestow many things upon humans, but at the same time would need care like a young child, and this fact must never be forgotten.
Given such a setting, the ending is predictable. Humans enjoy long prosperity but forget this fact and pursue only endless material development. The tree withers, and a few including the Administrator of the Sacred Tree raise warning voices, but few listen. With the efforts of only a few having limits, the Sacred Tree that had been taking on all the world’s pollution eventually collapsed in an instant. The Sacred Tree reached a dying state, and the world became… well, this mess.
And reviving the dying Sacred Tree and rebuilding the village becomes the game’s main quest.
The problem is that with me being actually dragged into this world, this situation is no longer a game but reality, and through repeated cycles, it has become a much more serious disaster story than in the game.
Unlike the game where I just had to farm, gather, and fish diligently and offer the results to the Sacred Tree’s altar, I now live in a reality where I have to traverse dangerous lands, fight monsters, and collect Fragments of the Sacred Tree. (And in the pitiful situation where I don’t have proper abilities or tools to fight and win against monsters, so I have to beg for help from NPCs who aren’t even friendly.)
After listening to the priest’s entire story and cursing inwardly, I delivered the lines I was supposed to say.
“If all the Fragments of the Sacred Tree are gathered and this model is completed… will the divine tree be revived?”
“That is how I received the revelation.”
If the god is asleep, who did you receive the revelation from? Thinking of the hardships ahead of me, I suddenly felt rebellious and wanted to pick a fight for no reason. But thinking that the NPC just following the system’s orders wasn’t at fault, I forcibly suppressed my petulant mood.
“If you don’t wish to, you can just forget what you heard today and return. The choice is yours to make, Raon-nim.”
As if sensing my mood, the priest made a step-back statement. The choice is mine—that sounded good. If I really had a choice, that is. Even if I ignored the quest and went back, there would be nothing but an ending of starving to death on a ruined farm or being eaten by monsters, so what choice is there? To return safely to reality, I have to push forward as far as I can.
Swallowing my sigh, I delivered my assigned lines.
“For the village’s sake, and my farm won’t come back to life unless the Sacred Tree is revived, right? I’ll do my best to help gather the Fragments of the Sacred Tree.”
In other words, I’ll beg Carlisle as much as possible and try to clear the quest with his help.
***
When I emerged from the island, night had already fallen outside, but I couldn’t go straight back to the guild and instead lingered around the lake’s edge—to be precise, at the entrance to the path leading up to Carlisle’s mansion. It was because I kept wanting to postpone the uncomfortable meeting. But if it was something I had to do anyway…
‘It’s better to get beaten first, and if I’m going to get scolded, it’s better to get scolded a day sooner and find other methods.’
I steeled my resolve and moved my steps toward the path leading to the mansion.
The gate leading to the garden was open, and the excessively wide garden was desolate, giving an eerie feeling. I couldn’t tell if it was because winter had just ended or simply because it wasn’t being maintained, but thinking of Carlisle Lightinger who had been immaculate from head to toe without a single flaw, it was somewhat unexpected. He himself seemed to have lived completely unrelated to the world’s pollution, but his house seemed unable to escape the devastation.
When I knocked on the heavy front door, a butler I had seen familiarly appeared.
“…Raon-nim.”
Though familiar, this was the first time I had faced Carlisle’s butler head-on like this. In the game, he existed as an extra with no dialogue and no separate illustration, so I had always just nodded silently and passed by hazily.
“It’s been a while. What brings you here?”
The butler’s attitude was stiff. I was about to dismiss it as just his character setting, but suddenly thought it might be because of the ‘relationship’ between Carlisle and me. I felt suddenly awkward.
“Uh… I came because I have something to talk about… Could I possibly meet with Carlisle?”
“……”
He just stared at me silently. While his expression didn’t reveal his thoughts, perhaps due to my mood, it definitely didn’t seem favorable. Even though it was still the cold early spring, I was about to break out in a cold sweat.
“Um…”
What was the butler’s name again? Just as the silence was getting long and I was about to say something, the butler finally stepped back.
“I’ll ask him. Please wait here for a moment.”
At least he wasn’t making me wait outside in the cold, which was fortunate. I entered the foyer, and the butler crossed the wide hall and disappeared up the central staircase. Listening to the sound of the butler’s footsteps growing distant, I carefully examined the hall.
This was quite a familiar space too. I had frequented it constantly while working on favorability with Carlisle. I had visited every day to talk to him, ask him on dates, and shower him with gifts.
‘The things I never did in real life, I did to a game NPC… and a male character at that.’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
