Around the time Hassan was experiencing incredible events in Kyu-seong’s dungeon, the Isthart Guild officially announced their visit to South Korea.
This was an unprecedented event, as Isthart, despite being ranked number one in the world, had almost no exchanges with other nations or guilds.
It was their first official visit to another country.
As a result, not only South Korea but the entire world was in an uproar.
The media was reporting on the event extensively, covering updates daily.
“This is even bigger than when the Grand Witch came.”
“Well, the Grand Witch was an Awakener who loved being in the spotlight. In contrast, Isthart has maintained an air of mystery until now.”
After the news broke, the Awakening Headquarters became busier than ever.
Because of this, Director Jeon Young-joo and his team, once again caught in a cycle of overtime, stretched with exhausted expressions.
“By the way, this is because of Kyu-seong again, isn’t it?”
“There was never another reason to begin with. It has to be because of him.”
“It seems that the Isthart guild members who visited recently submitted a report on Kyu-seong. We don’t know exactly what was discussed, though.”
Beep beep beep.
“Director, there’s a call from the European Union!”
“Director, it’s the Pentagon from the United States…!”
“Director! We’ve also received calls from both the Chinese and Japanese embassies…!”
Just when they thought they had a moment to chat, things got hectic again.
The Awakening Headquarters remained as chaotic as ever.
***
Upon hearing that there was a seed, Hassan eagerly begged to see it.
Moved by his enthusiasm, I returned to the Slime Village with everyone.
‘This is so different from his image.’
Hassan was becoming more of a friendly Elder by the day.
At first, I thought he was a terrifying figure, hiding the face of a ruthless assassin behind his smile.
But based on what I had seen so far, he was just an Elder with an intense love for plants and insects.
“This is it.”
“Ohhhh!!”
The World Tree seed, which had been carefully stored away in the warehouse.
It looked like an oversized acorn, with nothing particularly remarkable about its appearance.
It wasn’t even labeled as an item, making me question whether this was truly the legendary World Tree seed.
Of course, since the World Tree itself confirmed it, it had to be genuine.
It was just… a little underwhelming.
“Amazing!”
Hassan exclaimed as he examined the seed.
Even though I had no idea what he found amazing, I nodded along.
“But, Elder, while we have the seed, we do have a problem.”
“A problem? What kind of problem?”
“We need to decide where to plant it.”
“Huh, but isn’t there land everywhere around us? Or is there some strict condition?”
“It has to be on Earth.”
I didn’t want this.
But the World Tree did.
I felt like I was being toyed with by both the quest and the World Tree, but what choice did I have?
I couldn’t just let the World Tree wither away.
I still couldn’t shake the image of the fairies looking up at me with sorrowful expressions.
“On… Earth? You mean outside the dungeon?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you saying the World Tree can grow outside the dungeon!?”
“Not only can it grow, but it must be on Earth. I don’t know why, though.”
Suddenly, Hassan fell silent.
At the same time, the hand holding the seed began to tremble.
“Huff… Huff…!”
“Uh, Elder?”
Something seemed off.
Was he okay?
Just as I started worrying about him having trouble breathing, Hassan finally came to his senses and shoved his face close to mine—still holding the seed.
“Mr. Kyu-seong!!”
“Whoa!”
Caught off guard by Hassan suddenly using honorifics and rushing toward me, I nearly fell backward.
At the same time, Ashu lunged in to separate Hassan from me.
—What do you think you’re doing to Lee Kyu-seong?!
After prying Hassan away, Ara tilted her head in confusion.
“Hassan! What’s wrong with you?”
“This… this seed! Please, plant it in our village!!”
Hassan’s desperate voice made me gesture for him to calm down.
“Take a deep breath first, Elder. Let’s think this through.”
“Huff… Okay, okay.”
Hmm, Hassan’s village, huh…
If I recalled correctly, the mana concentration there was too high for plants to grow.
I would need to ask the World Tree first, but since it had said it could grow almost anywhere, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
Honestly, I was struggling to decide where to plant it anyway, so this could actually be a good solution.
Just look at the size of that World Tree.
It would take up an enormous amount of space—what landowner would be willing to accept something like that?
‘Well, I guess we’ve found one.’
Asking the World Tree was the priority.
So, we embarked on yet another location shift and returned to the World Tree.
Then, I immediately asked about the mana concentration.
Wobble wobble!
“It’s actually a good thing! It means it can grow strong and healthy!”
A positive response.
Thanks to that, Hassan was already cheering as if he had received permission.
“Uhuhuhu!”
Hassan, Elder.
You’re too soft.
“Elder.”
“Hmm?”
“If you receive something, shouldn’t you give something in return?”
“Whoa!”
Only then did Hassan realize that he had celebrated too soon, and he looked at me nervously.
“W-what should I do?”
“First, protect the World Tree with everything you have.”
“Of course! If you entrust me with the seed, I will guard it with my life!”
“And any profits or benefits that arise from the World Tree belong to me. Of course, I will make sure you get a fair share.”
“Just witnessing the growth of the World Tree is enough for me!”
Hassan nodded vigorously.
The more I saw him, the more I doubted whether he was really the legendary Awakener I knew.
“Also, I’d like to establish a friendly relationship with the Isthart Guild. I know you’re not the guild master, of course.”
“Even though I’m not the guild master, I have enough influence.”
The leader of Isthart was another Level 9 Awakener.
Hassan had become wealthy through oil, but the real powerhouse behind Isthart was an entirely different level of Middle Eastern tycoon.
He was actual royalty.
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
‘They just crushed the competition with money.’
In fact, there was a lot of controversy about Isthart being ranked number one globally.
Many didn’t recognize their position since they had monopolized the awakening industry early on with overwhelming financial power.
But no one could deny Isthart’s strength.
Having two Level 9 Awakeners already said everything.
“Not just that, if you ever need Isthart’s power, we will always be ready to assist you. Oh, instead of just talking, why don’t you meet my granddaughter? She’s a kind girl.”
“Haha… I appreciate the thought.”
It was practically a done deal.
We decided to plant the World Tree seed in Hassan’s village.
Hassan seemed eager to take the seed with him immediately, urging me constantly, but later, when Kyler arrived, he scolded Hassan for rushing things.
Seeing Kyler scold someone much older than him was a bit awkward, so I told him it was fine.
“It’s great that your whole family stays together.”
Since we had formed an alliance, I introduced Hassan to my family.
Of course, in the process, Seon-ah made a scene.
“Hassan al-Din Sinan!!”
“Don’t be rude and shout someone’s name like that.”
“O-oh, I’m sorry.”
Hassan was good at talking and got along well with people.
Thanks to that, he quickly blended in with my family and started chatting like an old friend.
“But Elder, aren’t you very busy? Is it okay for you to be out here like this?”
“At my level, things run themselves. An Elder like me doesn’t have many responsibilities left.”
Saying that, he went off again with Ara, enthusiastically collecting insects.
Seeing Ara enjoying herself too, I felt relieved.
After spending the entire day having fun, Hassan and Ara returned just in time for dinner.
“Good work, everyone.”
The restaurant staff was at their busiest, serving customers.
So, my parents, Kyler, his daughter, and I sat down for a meal with Hassan.
“Is this your daughter?
This is my first time meeting her in person.”
“Hello! I’m Emily!”
Hassan found Emily adorable and treated her like his own granddaughter.
At the same time, he subtly teased Kyler.
“Unlike you, Kyler, she’s bright and full of energy.”
“You can’t insult my dad!”
“Hahaha, I wasn’t insulting him, just stating the facts.”
Looking at this scene, it was quite amusing.
An Arab and an American chatting in Korean—what a fascinating sight.
This must be the power of culture.
Then, perhaps the World Tree could expand its roots to Earth and spread Korea’s influence even further!
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, you’re having strange thoughts again.”
Somehow, Ara always saw right through my nonsense.
“Let’s take the seed and leave tomorrow. There’s a Korean saying: ‘Strike while the iron is hot.’”
“I’m ready to go anytime! Even right now!”
For someone saying that, he was still scraping his bowl clean.
After finishing a satisfying meal, Hassan sighed with admiration.
“I love plants. That’s why I also enjoy vegetarian food. I’ve eaten all kinds of vegetarian dishes, but this was the best meal of my life.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll make sure to send you some good ingredients regularly.”
“Would you really? Thank you.”
Then, Hassan suddenly asked if he could stay one more day.
Since he had focused on insects today, he wanted to observe plants tomorrow.
“And the seed?”
“Hmm, the seed is urgent too, but I don’t know when I’ll get to visit here again, so it’s a tough choice.”
“Well, one day won’t make a big difference. You can stay another day.”
At that moment, my father suddenly approached Hassan.
“Elder, there’s an amazing hot spring here. Would you like to visit it with me?”
“Ohh, that sounds great! A hot spring, huh?”
Before long, the two of them were enthusiastically heading off to the hot spring together.
The cold, ruthless, and emotionless image of an assassin had long since faded away.
As the two walked off toward the hot spring,
Flash!
The World Tree began to radiate a beautiful light.
“……Ah.”
Hassan stood there, staring at it in awe.
His eyes sparkled like those of a child.
Had he rediscovered his sense of wonder?
For some reason, watching him like that made my chest feel tight.
“Hassan! Your eyes are shining too!”
“Yes… it’s truly beautiful.”
“Are you crying?”
“Haha… without realizing it, my eyes teared up. Ah, how embarrassing. That glow was just too beautiful.”
Seeing Hassan smile with sparkling eyes, Ara grinned and shouted as well.
“Hassan is sparkling too!”
After spending one more day together,
We finally left the dungeon with Hassan.
He said the road to his village was easy—just follow him.
‘Still, I should contact the guild and headquarters before we go…’
As I stepped outside, I checked the messages I hadn’t seen in two days.
A flood of missed calls and messages awaited me.
At the same time, Hassan also seemed troubled as he checked something.
“This could be a problem.”
He had probably received similar messages.
It made sense—after all, all the messages pointed to the same thing.
‘Isthart.’
They had officially announced their visit to South Korea.
For a guild that had always remained closed off, this was a major shift in their stance.
“This is probably the first time they’ve informed another country before visiting.”
“Normally, they just show up unannounced like you or the other guild members did, right?”
“Ahem… Sorry about that.”
I wasn’t trying to pick a fight, but he still looked embarrassed.
Well, that was their own fault.
In any case, Isthart was arriving in South Korea today.
Since this likely involved me, I couldn’t leave just yet.
“Let’s talk to Isthart first.”
“Don’t worry, I’m on your side.”
Was it really okay for a high-ranking Isthart member to say that…?
For now, Ara, Hassan, and I headed toward the Awakening Headquarters.
Cliche Novel 
Collecting another Old Man.
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