CHAPTER 139
Green City**

After some time had passed, Seoul had completely changed. It was now a green city, with a forest encircling the barrier. Even inside the city, perhaps due to the World Tree's influence, the vegetation grew more lush and vibrant.
The White Land spreading outside Seoul had gradually increased in size and was now beginning to cover the Gyeonggi Province. If the current pace was maintained, it would take less than half a year to purify the entire Korean peninsula. The speed might even increase.
Ma Doo-sik was screaming with joy under the flood of work. He created farmland in appropriate places and cut down indiscriminately grown trees to supply timber. Resources that had been so scarce they had to be procured from Gates could now be sourced from around the city.
The burden of leading this massive change must have been considerable. But his face, shown on the TV screen, was bright and full of hope.
Chartia, too, was busy, being called to and inspecting various places. The only one with free time was Jinwoo. For a while, thieves targeting the World Tree had come periodically, but now even that had mostly stopped, leaving him idle.
From the side of the World Tree, Jinwoo comfortably watched the process of the city changing, the signal that the world was beginning to transform.
“Hoo.”
If all of Earth’s land recovers like this, there will be no need to rely on the Gates for food or other resources. The necessity of hunters will decrease somewhat, and incomes will drop accordingly, but it was an unavoidable change. It would become difficult to earn enough profit just by bringing back some food anymore.
Even so, the Gates held resources that could only be obtained there. If he sufficiently honed his skills, that wouldn’t matter. In fact, it had been a long time since Jinwoo had made money from things like fruit or game.
Many things were changing.
There might be some negatives, but most were positive signs. The unhealing wound left by Jerakson’s claws was now closing.
And then, night. Moonlight once again cast its glow.
Sitting on a branch of the World Tree, Jinwoo took a sip of whiskey from a small bottle.
“Want a sip?”
He asked the World Tree. To her, who was sitting in the Spirit Realm, beyond this tree.
If she had asked, he would have immediately tilted the bottle and poured some out, but there was no reply. No "yes," no "give me some." Was she sleeping or resting? He shrugged and was about to bring the bottle to his lips when…
He sensed a Black Flame.
“!”
It wasn't far. It wasn't something approaching from a distance that his senses had caught. The Black Flame was right nearby, appearing as if it had suddenly materialized.
Jinwoo leaped down from the branch. The Black Flame was felt below the tree he had been sitting on, inside the earth where the roots were.
‘Don’t tell me…’
A small mound of earth pushed up. It was tiny. A small burial mound the size of a palm. It wriggled and shifted, and then something like a black fairy poked its head out.
The creature that appeared looked around. It had the innocent physique of a child who knew nothing. But its entire body was black and its face was not visible, making it eerie.
What in the world was this?
‘First, catch it.’
Jinwoo snatched the creature as it looked around. The black fairy was startled and struggled to escape from Jinwoo’s grasp, whining. But it couldn't get away. It wasn't that Jinwoo's grip was strong, but that the fairy's power was too weak. Its physical strength was exactly as its size suggested.
Soon, either because its strength gave out or it gave up, the fairy’s struggling stopped.
“What are you…”
As Jinwoo was about to ask its identity, it happened suddenly. The fairy’s form melted like liquid and seeped into the ground.
Following the movement of the Black Flame, he saw it had returned to the roots. As if that was its home.
And then, its presence vanished completely. He could no longer feel the Black Flame.

The sudden event in the middle of the night brought Jinwoo’s movements to a halt.

He immediately dug up the ground to check the roots. On the surface, there was no problem. There was no aura of Erosion, and they looked perfectly healthy.
—The roots near the city? There’s nothing wrong with them.
The next day, he contacted Chartia to ask about the condition of the roots elsewhere, but only received a reply that there were no issues. She didn't seem to have any idea why Jinwoo was suddenly asking about this.
“Have you noticed anything unusual lately?”
—No. Myself and everyone else have been paying close attention to the roots’ movements, but there have been no abnormalities at all. Why do you ask?
“Something strange was found near my house yesterday.”

When Jinwoo explained what had happened the previous night, Chartia fell silent. Even though he couldn't see her, he could tell she was making a serious face.
—I’ll be right there.
Not long after, Chartia arrived. Ma Doo-sik, who had also been contacted, rushed over as well. Experts on trees and experienced hunters who had long dealt with Erosion also came. Many people came to inspect, but still, no abnormalities were found.
“Are you sure such a thing really existed?”
“Perhaps you saw it wrong in the dark…”
“No. I saw it clearly. I can swear on it.”
At his firm declaration, those who had been skeptical closed their mouths.
“Understood. We will keep a close watch for the time being,” Ma Doo-sik said, concluding the meeting.
An anomaly had been discovered, but since it wasn't visible now, there was no way to deal with it. For now, the matter was closed.
‘What in the world is going on? Answer me.’
Jinwoo spoke to the God of the Moonlight Forest, to the World Tree that should be in the Spirit Realm. But just like yesterday, there was no answer. There was no reaction at all, as if the connection had been severed. It was like when he was in the Spirit Realm.
‘What is it.’
What was happening?
He couldn't shake the eerie feeling. The power purifying Seoul, no, the entire Korean peninsula, was the power of the World Tree’s roots. Furthermore, it was believed that it would eventually restore the entire Earth to its original blue state.
But what if those roots were actually harboring Erosion? They might be invaders just like Jerakson or Prycia, just with a different method.
If he could just get in proper contact with the World Tree, he could clear up any misunderstanding, but that was the problem. Should he go and ask her intentions directly?
‘Come to think of it.’
Bellen Village. A similar incident had happened there. The time he first saw the World Tree’s roots tainted by Erosion.
After defeating the Black Knight, a blackened root had appeared and tried to snatch it from the side. Perhaps yesterday’s incident was a sign that the roots were about to turn black.
‘Let’s go.’
He might find out something if he went there. At the very least, he could get a clue.
Let’s go and check. Having made his decision, Jinwoo packed his things and neatly stacked them in his inventory.
‘Let’s go find Rona or Permu.’
In that kingdom, those two were the ones Jinwoo could rely on. Both held high social standing and were in positions to hear various high-level information. There was no reason not to seek them out.
‘Or that Dark Elf from back then.’
The Black King, who called himself the king of the Dark Elves. He might know more about the black roots than Rona or Permu.
Rona likely wouldn't know much about the World Tree's circumstances, and Permu wasn't even aware that the World Tree was tainted by Erosion. When he had tried to probe her about it in the past, she had flatly rejected him, telling him not to speak such blasphemy.
Whoever he met, he could get information. His preparations complete, Jinwoo stood before the World Tree in his yard.
Normally, he would have to go through a Gate. Enter the Original Forest, find a blue portal, and within the portal, follow the path led by the Ego Sword to reach the Kingdom of Delphinia.
But even without going through a Gate, this World Tree was connected to that place. Not only that, but also to the Spirit Realm.
‘I wonder if this will be helpful when I need to find the World Tree’s main body in the Spirit Realm.’
It might or it might not. But he wasn't planning on entering the Spirit Realm right now, so that was for later.
As he placed his hand on the World Tree, his soul began to be drawn to it.

The place he opened his eyes to was a forest. It was no exaggeration to say that Delphinia, the kingdom of the Elves, was mostly composed of forests and lakes. It had a coastline, but over 80% of its territory was forest.
So it was natural to wake up in a forest, but this was no ordinary forest.
A black forest.
Just like Earth, where most of the land was tainted by the Black Land, most of the Elven forest was also tainted. He climbed a tall tree to survey the surroundings, and everywhere he looked was black.
—Hyaaaaaah!
Just then, he heard a desperate battle cry. A powerful voice that seemed to have been dredged up from the gut. It was a voice he had heard before, so Jinwoo rushed toward it.
What he saw was a knight clad in black armor from head to toe. It was similar to the one that had invaded Bellen Village before.
The Elf facing it was a woman with a huge build and bulging muscles. Ipril. She, whom he had a connection with on the 3rd Floor, was drawing her steel composite bow and aiming an arrow at the Black Knight.
BOOM!
The fired arrow struck the Black Knight’s armor, making a sound like a cannonball. But it didn't do much damage. The knight staggered slightly but quickly regained its posture and charged forward, swinging its sword.

“Haap!”
Ipril deflected the knight’s swung sword by swinging her steel bow. The bow was so heavy and had such good elasticity that it could easily deflect a single sword.
Quickly taking three steps back, Ipril shot an arrow. Three arrows flew in succession, striking the knight’s abdomen, shoulder, and helmet. CRUNCH! The armor dented slightly. But the knight did not die.
Thump— Thump—
The knight tried to close in on Ipril several times, but she was too skilled at pushing it away. Even if she was caught, Ipril’s physical strength was no joke. She could grab the knight’s arm and throw it over her shoulder, showing she was by no means inferior in close combat.
Vwooom—
Perhaps deciding this wasn't working, an aura began to shimmer on the knight’s sword. The ominous and gloomy black aura characteristic of Erosion.
VWOOOOOSH!
A long stream of aura flew from the swung slash. Ipril’s eyes widened as she blocked with her steel bow. However, the knight's aura easily sliced the bow in two and pushed through.
‘This is…!’
Ipril panicked and tried to pull back, but it was too late. The aura was approaching much faster than she could retreat.
As Ipril braced for injury and bit her lip, a sword ki flew from behind her.
KWAAAAANG!
The slash that flew over Ipril’s head cut through the Black Knight’s aura, causing it to explode on the spot. A powerful energy burst before her eyes, sending a shockwave rushing over her, but it was better than being cut by the aura.
Ipril, who escaped with minor injuries and disheveled hair, looked behind her with surprised eyes.
“M-Master!”
At that moment, another slash shot by Jinwoo cut through the Black Knight. Seeing the Black Knight she had struggled against be killed in a single slash, Ipril’s eyes widened.