The portal had been installed temporarily.
Since we could retrieve it later, we decided to find a better location afterward.
After setting up the portal inside Hassan’s house, we gathered the unfinished elixir and stepped through.
Then, the Dungeon of Gluttony unfolded before our eyes.
“Kyaa.”
The portal leading to the Dungeon of Gluttony had already been set up.
It was placed at the entrance of the slime village, so as soon as we entered, the charming village scenery came into view.
Ara, Mark2, and Hassan, who had followed behind, looked around.
“Hoho. Truly astonishing.”
“Amazing!”
Squish.
After seeing their reactions, we headed straight to the fairy village.
What we needed now were the ingredients for the elixir.
There were probably some left.
Even if we were short, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
Gathering ingredients wouldn’t take too long.
“Lord Overlord!”
As soon as we arrived at the fairy village, Frey was the first to greet us.
Since this was already Hassan’s third visit, he looked quite at home here.
“It’s always good to see. Hoho.”
I hugged Frey and placed her on my shoulder before asking,
“Frey, do you have any elixir ingredients left?”
Frey suddenly froze with a shocked expression.
What was that about?
“Uh, um, did you… know about it?”
“Hm?”
“I-I’m sorry! I never intended to hide it! I just collected them just in case!”
Seeing Frey act like she’d been caught red-handed, I tilted my heads in confusion.
“I will offer up all the ingredients I’ve gathered! Please have mercy…!”
“Oh, so you’ve been collecting them even after that.”
But was that really something to feel so guilty about?
Frey was trembling slightly, probably because she felt guilty about secretly gathering them.
It was kind of cute.
“P-please have mercy!!”
“Pfft, alright. But let’s see how much our little Frey has gathered so far.”
I held back my laughter and watched as Frey fidgeted anxiously.
Seriously, she was adorable.
Frey, along with the other fairies, brought out the elixir ingredients they’d hidden.
A rough estimate suggested there was enough to make about two elixirs.
They couldn’t have made them without me anyway, so why the secrecy?
Feeling a bit puzzled, I asked Frey.
Frey’s eyes widened, and she clapped her hands.
“Now that I think about it, you’re right! We wouldn’t be able to make them without you in the first place!”
Our adorable Frey.
Just stay healthy, that’s all that matters.
I scanned through the ingredients.
Not a single one was missing.
Now, if I just added the unfinished elixir to this…
“Soo! We need to find Soo!”
I immediately opened the minimap.
Soo’s icon appeared.
What? He’s nearby?
“Oh, right, he decided to stay in the fairy village last time.”
Come to think of it, Soo and the little herb gatherers were staying here.
I felt a bit guilty for not checking in on them recently.
‘I wonder how his rebellion is coming along.’
When I arrived at Soo’s location, the little guy looked startled, like he’d been caught doing something wrong.
“Soooo!!”
“Soo! What are you up to?!”
Ara ran over to him.
Soo flailed his arms, trying to act like nothing was going on.
“Soo, you’ve been well, right?”
—Kkyu-ing.
“How’s it been lately? Have you made progress on the rebellion?”
—Kkyu-kyuit!?
His expression screamed, ‘How did you know?!’
Seeing his adorable reaction, I couldn’t help but laugh and made a request.
“Soo, can you use the Five Elements Circulation?”
—Kkyuit?
Soo tilted his head.
Then, he followed us and used the Five Elements Circulation on the elixir, just like he had done before.
“Ohhh! Amazing!”
Watching the elixir take shape, Hassan marveled.
Once the Five Elements Elixir was complete, Hassan examined its effects and looked stunned.
“This… This is far more effective than any elixir I’ve known. Just what is this…?”
“With this, it should be enough to plant the World Tree, right?”
“Of course!”
As a reward for his efforts, we extended Soo’s rebellion preparation period by an entire month.
Overjoyed, Soo promised to prepare even harder.
Then, realizing his slip-up, he flailed around, pretending he didn’t know anything.
“Shall we head back?”
“Indeed.”
We took the portal and returned to Hassan’s house.
This portal was truly convenient.
It was almost unbelievable.
“This item has absurd functions. Can this portal transport others as well?”
“It’s not an item; it’s my ability, so I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Huh, just how many abilities do you have?”
“Haha.”
I let out an awkward laugh and started moving again.
Soon, we arrived at the location Mark2 had selected, carrying the seed and elixir.
“Mark2, is this the place?”
Squish!!
Mark2 confirmed.
Then, the four of us—Ara, Hassan, Mark2, and I—worked together to dig the ground.
As we dug, I couldn’t help but wonder why we were doing this manually when we had machines.
But just in case, we stuck to manual labor.
Squelch!
“This should be enough!”
Mark2 and Ara called out.
We carefully placed the World Tree seed in the center of the dug-out ground and gently covered it with soil again.
After smoothing the ground, it was time for the long-awaited elixir infusion.
“I never thought I’d be pouring an elixir into the ground.”
“Hoho. Even I feel a bit sentimental.”
I carefully poured the elixir onto the soil.
Directly over the spot where the World Tree seed was planted.
The elixir soaked into the ground, moistening it thoroughly.
“Is it done?”
“Hm…”
Surely, the elixir wasn’t wasted, right?
Just as anxiety started creeping in—
Plop.
“Huh?”
“Ohhh! It’s sprouting!”
“What?!”
The soil bulged upward.
Then, from the shifting ground, a sprout the size of a clenched fist emerged.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
“Wowww!”
Ara clapped and cheered.
Hassan and I were too astonished to say anything, our mouths hanging open.
Who would have thought it would sprout this quickly?
“…Looks like we need to hurry up with construction.”
“Agreed. It’s hard to predict its growth rate.”
Mark2 decided to stay here for the time being.
As a World Tree slime, he was the perfect caretaker for the World Tree.
Even though it was just a sprout, he was already communicating with it.
I then instructed Hassan to be informed whenever the World Tree needed anything.
However, Mark2’s words didn’t reach Hassan.
‘But he can just visit every day.’
With that, we completed the first dig and admired the baby World Tree.
The tiny sprout was irresistibly cute.
“It will grow strong and healthy.”
Ara stroked the sprout as she spoke.
The sprout quivered in response.
‘…It moved.’
That was fascinating.
So, this little thing would eventually become the World Tree in our dungeon?
In reality, a fully grown World Tree was nearly as large as a small city.
Hassan’s city was already quite large, but aside from the ecological botanical garden, we might have to give up all the space for the World Tree.
However, Hassan had grand plans.
“We shall build a city inside the World Tree, just like the fairies. Hoho.”
In fact, the fairies were probably using less than 1% of the World Tree.
Considering its sheer size, that was only natural.
Looking at the interior space of the World Tree, it seemed more than capable of accommodating an entire city.
This was something we had already discussed with the World Tree in the fairy village.
The World Tree could reshape its interior as it pleased.
As long as we designed the city’s layout, it was entirely possible.
‘This could become the most famous landmark on Earth.’
Hassan mentioned that even the building owners in the area had agreed to the city plan inside the World Tree.
To convince them, he had taken numerous photos of the World Tree’s interior and exterior and spent a lot of effort persuading them.
Hassan had also covered most of the costs, as a bonus.
“Well then, we’ll be going now. If anything happens, just come through the portal and call for us.”
“Of course. I shall take good care of Mark2.”
“I’m counting on you.”
After saying our goodbyes, we stepped through the portal.
Every time we used it, we were reminded of how convenient it was.
Hassan would probably stay glued to the baby World Tree, watching it all day.
It was practically his lifelong dream coming true.
“Welcome back.”
“Oh, Emily! How have you been?”
“Yes! I’ve been training all day to get closer to my sword.”
Emily held up her sword.
It was the mythical (?) sword that Bell had crafted.
“Have you gotten stronger?”
“Yeah! Let’s have a sparring match later, Ara.”
“Anytime! Whoosh whoosh.”
Ara struck a clumsy boxing stance and threw playful cat punches.
Despite her cute appearance, getting hit by her would send anyone straight to the afterlife.
“You’re trying to get used to the sword?”
“Huh? Oh, that too, but as I said earlier, I want to get closer to it.”
“Hm?”
What did that mean?
Wasn’t that the same thing?
I tilted my head in confusion, and Emily mimicked me.
As we stared at each other, she suddenly had an “Ah!” moment and explained.
“This is an Ego Sword!”
“An Ego Sword? What’s that?”
“Umm… A sword that can think and talk?”
“What?”
A sword that could think and talk?
That sounded more like a living creature than a weapon.
I stared blankly at the black sword Emily was holding.
Then, I hesitantly greeted it.
“Uh… Hello?”
“Kyu-seong-Kyu-seong, are you talking to a sword? Are you okay?”
“No! Emily just said it can think and talk.”
“Emily must be messing with you.”
Ara smirked, clearly thinking I’d fallen for a joke.
But looking at Emily’s expression, she seemed completely serious.
“It’s true. Its name is Geomdori. It means ‘sword’ and also refers to its black color. But it can only talk to me. It’s actually complaining that you’re greeting it so late.”
Wow. What a polite sword.
Meanwhile, Ara narrowed her eyes and stared at Geomdori, as if engaging in a staring contest.
“So, you’re Geomdori. Let’s hear you speak.”
“It says to soften your gaze.”
“Why can’t I hear it? I want to hear it too!”
Ara pouted, inflating her cheeks, but Emily only gave her a helpless look.
“Sorry, Ara. It seems like only I can hear it.”
“That’s unfair. Geomdori! I will resent you!”
Ara dramatically turned her head away.
It was rare to see her sulking.
She must have really wanted to hear it.
…Or maybe she was just pretending.
Looking closely, she only turned her head but kept sneaking glances at Emily and the sword.
It was so obvious that it was adorable.
“An Ego Sword, huh…”
What would happen if I held it?
Would I be able to talk to it too?
“Can I try holding it?”
“Uh, when my dad held it, it hurt him… Oh, I mean, he said it felt painful.”
“Then I’ll pass.”
You don’t just grab someone else’s sentient weapon like that.
“Oh? Wait, it says it wants to talk to you.”
“What? Geomdori?”
It wanted to talk to me?
Why? I had nothing to say.
Suddenly, Emily extended Geomdori toward me.
Remembering how even Kyler had flinched from the pain of touching it, I instinctively stepped back.
“Whoa, whoa! That’s dangerous.”
“It’s fine! It says you can hold it.”
“Huh? Uh, wait…?”
Before I knew it, Geomdori was in my hands.
And then—
A mysterious voice echoed in my mind.
—“At last, we meet, Demon King!”
What the heck was this?!
Cliche Novel 