CHAPTER 65
065 - Return

Jinwoo frowned. He could feel a subtle fighting spirit emanating from Vertus. It was slightly different from hostility, but not by much.
Vertus wanted to fight him. Or, at the very least, watch him fight.
"What does it matter to me whether the God of Fading Light—no, the Lord of Light—is gathering soldiers or not? Are they going to invade this place with them?"
"That, I do not know. However, it is clear he is plotting something. To gather troops means to prepare for war."
"That doesn't answer my first question."
"I simply wanted to inform you. I wanted you to be aware."
For an Orc, Vertus had the smile of a good-natured man, and he was smiling that way now. But to Jinwoo's eyes, it was just a mask. A mask hiding a fierce thirst for battle.
"It's time for me to go back."
He made the decision lightly. Whatever Vertus said, whatever the Lord of Light was plotting, it had nothing to do with him. But since the atmosphere was turning strange, he figured he should just go home.
He had already achieved his original goal anyway: to determine if the God of the Moonlight Forest was truly the World Tree.
And though it wasn't his intention, he had also succeeded in acquiring a divine object with Kalesian. There was really no reason to stay here any longer.
"You're leaving already? Most people tend to stay on the 3rd Floor for quite a long time."
"That's because of Contribution Points. Do you think I need any more of those?"
"That... is true."
Vertus blinked as he replied. Jinwoo's Contribution Points were already number one in Pandemonium, an overwhelming figure approaching nearly 200 million.
Thanks to the arena, Vertus himself was in hot pursuit, but it would still take him months to catch up.
Besides, Jinwoo had no reason to accumulate Contribution Points on the 3rd Floor in the first place. He was already at a level where he could operate comfortably on the 4th, or even the 5th Floor.
"My, my. I wanted to build a friendship with you, but it seems it's not working out. Being an Orc, I'm not very silver-tongued."
He spoke humbly, but frankly, for an Orc, he was quite eloquent. He was even better at telling a coherent story than the average person.
But that was a separate issue from friendship. Why would he want to be friendly with a Monarch's servant?
As if that thought manifested externally, Vertus's eyes flashed. The killing intent flowing from Jinwoo made the hairs on his skin stand on end.
'There's something about him. There's definitely something.'
That wasn't all. Jinwoo felt like more than just a strong individual.
He felt like something very dangerous and fatal to him, a servant of a Monarch.
He didn't know what it was, but Vertus instinctively judged Jinwoo to be an extremely dangerous person—not through his Orc instincts, but through the instincts of Erosion.
Because of that, even the slightest twitch of Jinwoo's finger felt threatening. It wouldn't be strange if he drew his sword and struck off his head at any moment.
A tension that sent a shiver down his spine and brought a cold sweat to his brow.
How long had it been since he'd felt this sensation after pledging himself to his Monarch's will? Vertus was thoroughly enjoying this sticky sense of crisis, which had returned after a long time.
But business was business.
This man was a talent his own Monarch was watching very closely.
"Kang Jinwoo. I believe you are likely misunderstanding something."
"A misunderstanding?"
"The power of Erosion is sweet, but not all Monarchs take pleasure in it."
Jinwoo's eyes twitched. What kind of nonsense is this Orc spouting? His gaze turned menacing.
Vertus swallowed imperceptibly and continued.
"In the distant past, there was a First Monarch who was the beginning of all Erosion, and he was split into twelve seeds. Those separated seeds spread throughout the universe and settled in special deities, and thus the twelve Monarchs were born."
"I know that."
"Ah, you already know?"
Vertus had thought Jinwoo would show immense interest in this story. He was a little disappointed to hear he already knew. It wasn't a story passed down to humans, so how on earth did he know?
'Come to think of it, he is acquainted with a dragon.'
The fact that Jinwoo was a colleague of Mahiri was famous in Pandemonium. And so was the fact that Mahiri was a tamer who had domesticated a young dragon.
From Vertus's perspective, it seemed less like the human woman had tamed the dragon and more like the other way around, but in any case, there was a dragon by Jinwoo's side.
If so, it wasn't strange that he knew about the origin of the Monarchs. It was a story that had been passed down among dragons as well.
"What I want to talk about is what comes next. The Seeds of the Monarchs were planted in twelve deities, but not all of them willingly accepted the seeds."
"..."
"Some considered it a disease and tried to cure it. Others called it a curse. There are even those who, believing it incurable, have detached it from their bodies and sealed it away."
That... was definitely the first time he'd heard that.
He had thought the Monarchs of Erosion were kings who ruled over Erosion. Beings who wielded the immense power of Erosion to their liking and wreaked havoc.
Vertus was saying that wasn't the case. He said it was all a misunderstanding, and that among the Monarchs were those who sought to eliminate or seal Erosion.
"So, are you trying to say there are good Monarchs, too?"
"If we start by defining good and evil, it becomes very difficult to answer, but to put it simply, yes."
"And what if I say that's hard to believe?"
"Then I have no choice but to appeal to your emotions and say that it is the truth. Proving the inclinations of those beings is an impossible task for a lowly creature like myself."
Jinwoo hadn't really been asking for proof. There was no way to verify the truth here and now anyway.
Even if Jinwoo had a way to read his opponent's mind, or possessed excellent torture methods, it would be the same.
Vertus himself believed it to be the truth, so even if he verified it a hundred or a thousand times, he wouldn't be able to find out the real truth.
However, if he were to guess based on past experience...
'The World Tree, too... for something that coveted Erosion, it was more lenient than I expected.'
The blackened roots of the World Tree he had seen in Bellen Village.
At first, it had appeared ferociously, trying to swallow the Black Knight before Jinwoo could. It had grown angry when he'd taken it, but upon seeing Jinwoo, it had calmed down and arranged a meeting with Permu.
What Jinwoo was thinking about wasn't what happened after it saw him. It was what happened before and after.
'What the World Tree did then was try to swallow the Black Knight, and after everything was over, it disappeared without a trace.'
If you looked only at the results before and after, ignoring the process of the World Tree desiring Erosion, it looked like this:
The World Tree tried to take away the servant that was threatening Bellen Village, and once the knight was gone, it withdrew cleanly from the village.
It could be seen as an attempt to protect the village.
'If what Vertus says is true...'
How many of them could there be? Monarchs who weren't drunk on the power of Erosion and tried to eliminate it.
On the other hand, another thought occurred to him. The Monarchs were so famous that even a goblin on the fringes of the 6th Floor knew their names. What kind of existence was this Erosion, that it could never be erased even after they spent countless eons trying to eliminate it?
"So, you're saying the Lord of War you serve is one of those who rejects Erosion?"
"To be precise, it's a little different. Unlike those who try to blindly cure, eliminate, or seal it, our Monarch acknowledges its power. However."
"However?"
"He is trying to overcome it. My Lord always seeks power, but he does not desire power he cannot control. He wishes to overcome Erosion, bend it to his will, and make it his own. What do you think? Isn't that magnificent?"
If that was true, his disposition couldn't be called evil. At the very least, it was far healthier than the Sky Lord, who wielded Erosion as he pleased and spread it.
Then, another thought suddenly occurred to him. He wishes to overcome Erosion, bend it to his will, and make it his own power.
Hearing those words reminded him of his own ability to gain power by cutting down the Black Flame.
"He is my pride. When I first met him and knelt before his power, I decided to devote my everything to him. One day, he will surely achieve his long-cherished wish and become a being who reigns over the entire universe. No matter how great Erosion is, it is nothing before his will."
Jinwoo no longer heard Vertus's praises for his Monarch. He was solely focused on repeating the question that had arisen in his own mind.

After chasing away Vertus, who was stealthily trying to sit down, Jinwoo packed his things. He folded the tent, extinguished the campfire, and scattered the traces with his foot.
Before leaving, he sought out his other companions to tell them he was returning.
"Leaving already? I plan to return after a bit more research. I haven't even finished interpreting all the data I've collected."
Kalesian said he had no intention of returning yet. His research on the Sky Lord's scabbard, which he had measured with Jinwoo's help, was not yet complete.
It was only simple, basic data, and interpreting it wouldn't mean he fully understood the divine object. But conversely, he hadn't even been able to interpret that basic data yet, so he couldn't proceed with the next stage of research.
"You haven't forgotten your promise to give me three treasures, have you? You're not staying behind because you don't want to give them to me, are you?"
"Ahem! Was it not two treasures and one small elixir! Where do you get off trying to sneakily raise the price?"
It seemed he hadn't forgotten the promise. As long as he remembered, Jinwoo could receive them anytime.
After parting with Kalesian, he next found Ipril. She was still offering prayers at the Temple of the Moonlight Forest.
'She probably doesn't know that the God of the Moonlight Forest is the World Tree.'
Nevertheless, Ipril and the other Elves had naturally gathered in the Moonlight Forest. The fact that it was a forest, a familiar environment for them, or that it gave Contribution Points particularly generously to Elves—those were all superficial reasons.
They were being drawn to the Moonlight Forest on a spiritual level. Drawn to the World Tree, which gathered the souls of all Elves and also gave birth to them.
"You're leaving already? If you could just stay a little longer..."
"I'll be back again later anyway."
"I see. Understood. I will internalize your teachings by the time we meet again, Master."
Ipril clenched her fists in determination. Having never taught her anything, Jinwoo could only tilt his head in confusion.
[The God of the Moonlight Forest is sad.]
Since he was in the temple, the World Tree's emotions flowed in. It was very sad that Jinwoo was leaving and wanted to hold him back. The feeling reminded him of Permu when they had parted at the White Tower.
'I'll buy more toys and dolls. This time, I'll bring back one of every kind, so look forward to it.'
[!]
An emotion of such joy that it couldn't be put into words was transmitted to him. Jinwoo smirked and turned his back on the temple.
He had already scouted a location for a blue portal. It wasn't too far from the city.
As he ran toward it, Jinwoo recalled the gains from this trip into the Gate.
The information that the God of the Moonlight Forest was the World Tree, the golden apple he ate in the ruins, the divine object he took from the Sky Temple, and the lightning-calling spell he learned from Kanok. And though he hadn't received them yet, the treasures and elixir from Kalesian remained.
'There's not much I can exchange for money.'
Looking back, there wasn't much that would fetch a high price. Not that he was in urgent need of money, since he still had a hefty reward from saving New York.
He had obtained many things more precious than money, things money couldn't buy, so this Gate trip had been more fruitful than any other.
Above all else.
'...I even went to the Spirit Realm.'
The 6th Floor, beyond the 5th. There was nothing more valuable than the experience of having been there, even if only for a moment.

Returning to New York, Jinwoo was reunited with Chartia. It seemed she hadn't left New York yet, as she had been waiting for him.
"Jinwoo! I heard the news. You accomplished a lot on the 3rd Floor, didn't you?"
The news of Jinwoo's deeds had reached Chartia even on Earth. Since Jinwoo was the reason Hunters had flocked to the 3rd Floor in the first place, it was impossible for her not to have heard.
She had so many questions, and her eager eyes pleaded with him to tell her everything. Jinwoo let out a small laugh.
But before he started talking.
"Did anything happen on this side? Did another being like Ireland appear...?"
At his question, Chartia's expression momentarily hardened.