CHAPTER 147
What Must Be Found

Jinwoo's sword singled out the Seed. It held an extraordinary power, but for now, it was docile. It had done its best to protect its master but had failed.

[Damn… it…]

Cain's eyes closed. The sound of his heartbeat faded, and the color began to drain from his body.

The brilliant golden hue that held the power of the sun vanished. After it dissolved as if into water, what was revealed was brown fur, the kind that could be seen anywhere. His original, born form.

The Golden Lion is an object of reverence.

A symbol of the sun, worshipped by all, before whom all bowed. The young, starving brown lion had wanted to become that. He thought that then, he would no longer have to suffer.

He did whatever it took to survive. He didn't hesitate to steal, and he would deceive or even take a life if necessary. Days when he committed any evil act without reluctance, just to live, just to somehow hold onto that thin thread of life.

When he obtained the Seed and gained the golden fur he had so desired, his life changed completely. He no longer had to steal meat to satisfy his hunger; food was always prepared for him. He no longer had to endure the night dew that stole his body heat; a soft bed was prepared for him. All he had to do was sit arrogantly before the bowing people.

What a comfortable and peaceful life.

All of it came from the Seed. The golden fur, the power and majesty to match—all of it was given to him by that tiny, little Seed.

To protect it, he did anything. He offered up everything the Erosion desired. It wasn't a difficult task for a lion symbolizing the sun. There were plenty of fanatics who would throw their lives away for him, and plenty of heretics who rejected the sun. It was also easy to brand an innocent person a heretic.

Everything was to avoid losing the Seed. To survive. Even after obtaining the Seed, even after becoming an object of worship, his fundamental nature hadn't changed one bit.

And now, Jinwoo had taken it from him. The Seed of a Lord he had so desperately protected.

[Resent…]

Resentful. Full of regret. Unable to even utter those words, he closed his eyes. Jinwoo let out a deep breath and sank to the ground. That made three Seeds.

‘I have no memory of this one.’

As another Seed returned to him, some memories of his past life surfaced. But there were no memories of a lion. This one truly had no connection to his past self. He was just a random being who happened upon a Seed.

‘But more importantly…’

There was another being in his memories. The familiar plunderer, Rondar. And opposing him, the form of a wolf.

‘A wolf… could it be Belkarim?’

Its appearance was too different to know for sure if it was Belkarim. It might be a completely unrelated being, or it might not. The truth was unknowable for now.

Rondar and the wolf did not seem to be on good terms. Rondar had been close with him, so naturally, the wolf did not view him favorably either.

But he paid it no mind. As usual, he spent his days plowing his fields, planting seeds, and harvesting fruit.

The wolf, while seeming to dislike him, would often come down and watch him work the fields. With his current memories, he couldn't tell what emotions were contained in that piercing gaze.

The memory ended there. It was the third of only twelve Seeds, yet what came to mind was scant. Perhaps even after gathering all twelve, he wouldn't remember everything.

"Jinwoo-nim!"

Permu ran over and threw her arms around Jinwoo. Right, Permu had used the World Tree's power to block that final sun.

Whether it was because the memory of that scene was still fresh, or because of her emotions about being in the outside world for the first time, Permu's heart was pounding fiercely. So much so that he could clearly feel it.

"You've been freed from the tower."

"Ah, yes! Yes!"

When Jinwoo patted her on the shoulder, Permu finally let go. Then, with a flushed expression, she nodded her head several times.

She turned her head this way and that, taking in the surrounding scenery. The scenery of the forest that she had only ever seen from a distance on the tower's rooftop.

Come to think of it, even though she was an Elf, this was her first time actually being in the forest.

‘I can understand her reaction.’

To an Elf, the forest is home. A home where just being there brings peace of mind and a sense of security. A place they must one day return to, even if they leave for a while.

This wasn't just a cultural tale; it was etched into the species' instincts. Because the Elf species is born from the bosom of the World Tree, the regressive instinct to return to the forest where trees grow is deeply ingrained in them.

But Permu had lived in a tower. Though the tower was built in the forest, it was still not the forest itself.

Inside the tower, she must have felt a connection to the World Tree, which would have suppressed many of her instincts, but there must have been unfulfilled longings. Only now could she finally fulfill them.

Even as she looked around the forest, she didn't let go of Jinwoo's hand. Perhaps she felt a subtle fear of this new world. Even so, her curiosity seemed several times stronger.

Fwoosh.

Just then, he saw flames flaring up. It was the fire that Cain's final blow had ignited in the surroundings.

"Fire!"

"Let's put those out first and then think. We'll also need to gather any scattered or injured Elves."

"Yes. Leave it to me."

She was so dependable it was hard to believe this was her first time out of the tower. Permu spoke with determination.

"I may be the priestess who serves Mother World Tree, but I am also their queen."

Even if she had been trapped in a tower for ages, she was the queen of the Elves.

The situation was quickly brought under control. Once Cain vanished, the Erosion in the forest began to recede. There were many areas stained into black land, but the World Tree already possessed the power to purify it.

‘It did absorb Prycia's power.’

Wasn't it using that power to purify the black lands on Earth? The only difference was that on Earth, only a single small tree was growing.

Conversely, this world, and this forest in particular, was a place completely under the World Tree's domain. The power of purification spread quickly, and the black lands were rapidly cleansed.

As the forest returned, the Elves who had evacuated returned to their villages. The queen's duty was to send medicine to the injured and food to the hungry, to soothe their wounds.

Permu, accompanied by the High Elves, toured all the villages, comforting them. The village Elves, seeing their queen for the first time, revered her and bowed their heads before her.

"It's alright, please raise your heads…"

"Ahem!"

"…"

It seemed Permu wanted to interact more intimately with her people, but the old High Elves surrounding her prevented it.

In the first place, the queen leaving the tower to tour the villages was an unprecedented event for them. They were insisting she not lower her dignity as queen any further.

"You should listen to them on this, Your Majesty."

"…"

"…"

Still, Rona was always by her side, protecting her. The first thing Permu had done was to appoint Rona as her personal escort. For Rona, too, Permu had been the only one she was close to in the stuffy royal palace, so she gladly accepted the offer.

While feeling suffocated by the nagging of the High Elf elders, she was doing her best with Rona by her side. That was the impression Permu gave for a while.

"This man's name is Jinwoo. He is the one who saved me and the savior of the forest, acknowledged by Mother World Tree."

Another incident that made the elders want to cough up blood was her introduction of Jinwoo as the "Savior of the Forest."

Coming from the queen's mouth, this was the highest expression of gratitude an Elf could offer, and it didn't just end as simple praise. It transformed into a tangible status that granted him all sorts of preferential treatment in the kingdom.

But…

How can a human…

The elders opposed it with various opinions, but Permu would not yield on this matter. Moreover, Jinwoo had a real track record of protecting the Elves, driving out Cain, and normalizing the forest.

Faced with that fact, the elders could only remain silent. His achievements were too great to oppose him simply because he was human.

Ugh. It’s a shame to set a precedent.

— He's just a human anyway. He'll be dead in 100 years when his lifespan runs out, so let's just endure it until then.

In the end, the elders came to that understanding. More than anything else, defeating Cain, who had put the entire kingdom in peril, was a great service. That alone could not be devalued with any excuse.

"The elders seem to think they just have to put up with it for about 100 years. They say you'll be old and dead by then, Jinwoo."

"Well, they're right. A person's lifespan is about that long."

"Couldn't you live for 500 more years, Jinwoo? Don't die! Live a long life and stay by my side…!"

"500 years is a bit…"

Permu told him to live a long, long life and stay in the forest for a long time, but how could a human live for over 500 years? Unless he stopped being human, that is.

"By the way, Permu. Do you know anything about the World Tree being affected by Erosion?"

The original purpose for coming to this world. He asked about the World Tree's Erosion.

"Yes... I only just learned about the Black Root myself. I fainted when I first saw it."
"So you really didn't know."
Back when Jinwoo had entered the tower, he had asked Permu about the Black Root and she had denied knowing anything. It wasn't that she was lying; she truly hadn't known.
Like Earth, this world had been protected from the Lord's immediate invasion. But it hadn't been saved in the truest sense.
Both worlds were deeply dependent on the World Tree, and that same World Tree was now afflicted with Erosion. It was a source of instability that could not be ignored.
'I guess I'll have to meet its main body in the Spirit Realm to find out for sure.'
At this point, that was the only method he could think of. In fact, it was the most certain way, provided he could solve the problem of how to find the World Tree's location in the vast Spirit Realm.
"Do you happen to know where the World Tree is growing in the Spirit Realm?"
"No, I don't know that either... I've never been outside the tower, so I've never been to the Spirit Realm."
It was the answer he'd expected. He already knew as much.
"But I have heard a few things from Mother World Tree."
"Oh?"
It seemed she wasn't completely without information. A hopeful expression appeared on Jinwoo's face as he urged her to continue.
"Um, for one, she said it's a place where the earth is very warm and the water is good."
"A place where the earth is warm and the water is good..."
It seemed it wasn't a contaminated area, at least. While that was a piece of information, it was a bit disappointing.
"Anything else?"
"Also, um... I think she mentioned there's a large, beautiful lake nearby."
"A lake, huh."
If the World Tree called it a large lake, it must be truly massive. It might even be large enough to be mistaken for an ocean.
A lake that big wouldn't be common, even in the Spirit Realm. An uncontaminated environment. A lake comparable to a sea. That was enough to narrow it down.
'The next thing to find is a lake.'
His next destination was set.