While Kyu-seong’s dungeon was buzzing with excitement over meat and livestock issues, the people outside were beginning to sense something strange in the air.
Governments around the world were checking daily to see if any new anomalies had occurred and were paying more attention than ever to the sudden appearance of new dungeons.
The frequency and intensity of anomaly checks by each country grew stronger every time nothing was found, and as a result, citizens also began to pick up on the atmosphere.
“A global crisis is approaching!!”
What was initially dismissed as a ridiculous outcry eventually spread as a worldwide crisis theory.
Governments and high-ranking Awakeners, who had contributed to the public’s anxiety, secretly gathered for a meeting in an attempt to address the issue…
“So, we’ve ended up gathering like this again.”
The Level 9 meeting, which had been skipped before, was finally reconvened.
This time, however, not only the Level 9 Awakeners but also world leaders joined via video conference.
And among them, the one burdened with the heaviest responsibility, Eli, sat with a hardened expression, remaining silent.
“But if we’ve searched this much and found nothing, doesn’t that mean something is wrong?”
Katrina, who had teleported all the Level 9 Awakeners here, shrugged with a tired face.
At her words, all the Level 9 Awakeners—except Kyler—who had gathered for the first time in a while, nodded in agreement.
“I understand that we can’t know everything that happens across the entire planet. But this is an event with terms like ‘dimensional invasion’ and ‘demon king’ attached to it. The fact that there are still no signs of it at all means something must be off.”
Hassan voiced his opinion.
And he was not the only one who thought so.
World leaders were also secretly mobilizing every resource at their disposal to search thoroughly, but nothing had been found.
“Until now….”
Eli finally spoke.
“I have never once doubted my abilities.”
“……”
“Considering it’s the power that made me the first Level 9 Awakener, there’s no reason to question its effectiveness.”
People agreed with his words.
After all, Eli had not only used his abilities to strengthen himself but had also helped many individuals and nations as a remarkable Awakener.
Because of that, no one here doubted his abilities.
However, due to the system’s inherently vague nature, they only suspected that there might have been some misunderstanding this time as well.
“We might have missed something!”
Lionheart King Raulor exclaimed.
Others also chimed in, agreeing that something might have been omitted from the information Eli had obtained.
“We have to consider multiple possibilities.”
“Hmm, what if the so-called ‘dimensional invasion’ is actually happening somewhere other than Earth, and it just happened to catch Eli’s attention?”
“Or could it be occurring in a region we haven’t checked yet, like the deep sea?”
Various opinions were voiced.
Yet, no one questioned Eli’s ability or words.
Although he didn’t show it outwardly, Eli felt a bit relieved by this.
In truth, he had been doubting himself for days, wondering if what he had seen was real.
Maybe he had been too exhausted and hallucinated, or perhaps his ability had malfunctioned.
He had been under extreme stress because of it, so the people’s trust gave him strength.
“Let’s go back to the beginning and approach this differently.”
“The beginning?”
“It’s tedious, but we should check every Awakener again, one by one.”
Eli had a vague sense of certainty.
Even if the dimensional invasion remained uncertain, the matters of the Demon King and the Hero were undoubtedly connected to someone who had already awakened.
And that person was likely hiding it out of fear that the truth would come to light.
‘That would make sense.’
The Demon King and the Hero.
Neither was a light topic.
Any Awakener involved with them would have good reason to keep it secret.
“But we need to approach this more carefully.”
“Explain.”
“Previously, we searched for them as if we were hunting rats, but this time, we should offer a clear reward.”
“That makes sense. If someone is hiding, it might be better to treat them well instead. Rather than searching in secret, we should make a grand public announcement.”
Hassan agreed, and Eli nodded.
“World leaders, please issue a large-scale announcement to identify any Awakeners connected to the Demon King or the Hero. This should not only represent the stance of the governments but also carry the credibility of us Level 9 Awakeners.”
Everyone agreed with Eli’s words, and the meeting concluded for the day.
“Please ensure that the guilds in each of your nations are also informed.”
“What about the matters concerning the dimensional invasion or the Seven Great Virtues?”
“We’ll have to continue the meetings.”
Since they had gathered, it was obvious that these discussions would continue for days.
But no one could complain.
In fact, there were no complaints to begin with.
However, in Hassan’s case, he kept seeing the World Tree he had left at home flash before his eyes.
Of course, the caretaker, Mark2, whom Kyu-seong had left behind, would take good care of it, but seeing it with his own eyes was a different matter.
“Would it be alright if this old man made a suggestion?”
“What is it, old man?”
“Would it be possible to change the meeting location to my home? Haha.”
Hassan’s eccentricities had already become well-known.
The story of how he destroyed an entire city just to plant a single tree.
Curious about what they had only heard in reports, everyone except Eli—who had seen it firsthand—readily agreed.
“So, I have to move everyone again, huh? Sigh.”
“Please take care of it.”
Katrina grumbled for a moment, but it wasn’t actually a difficult task.
She was just complaining for the sake of it.
Soon, a magic circle appeared beneath the feet of the Level 9 Awakeners, and in an instant, they teleported.
As the space shifted, a new scene unfolded before them.
The entire city had been leveled and flattened.
Hassan’s city, where even the horizon seemed visible.
And in the center of it all stood a massive tree.
“Wow. This is enormous.”
A tree so large that it seemed to have grown for nearly a thousand years.
Its circumference must have been at least 50 meters.
“Isn’t this the biggest tree on Earth?”
“Haha. It probably is.”
It had been less than a month since the World Tree was planted.
Yet, it had already become the largest tree on Earth.
“Where did you even find a tree like this? And the report didn’t say it was this big.”
“Have you all ever heard of something called the World Tree?”
“The World Tree? Wait, are you saying this is that World Tree?”
At last, the secret of the tree was revealed.
Even Eli, who had visited before, hadn’t known it was the World Tree.
He hadn’t expected such a grandiose tree to actually exist.
“Are you saying this tree is literally the World Tree?”
Katrina asked with a shocked expression.
Meanwhile, Zhengzheng, the Level 9 Awakener from China, who had been examining the trunk, burst into laughter.
“This is an incredible tree! It’s still growing!”
“……Now that I look closely, I can see it with my own eyes. How is it growing this fast? And if it continues at this rate, just how big will it get…?”
Raulor trailed off as he scanned the surroundings.
A vast, flattened land where all buildings had been destroyed.
And in the middle of it, a giant tree growing at an astonishing speed.
“Could it be….”
Would this tree really grow to fill this vast land?
The suspicion arose, but it was almost a certainty.
Realizing this, the other Level 9 Awakeners looked around in astonishment.
“Hey, old man Hassan. Are you saying this tree could grow so large that it fills this entire area? A single tree could be bigger than an entire forest?”
“Haha, even I don’t know. All I can do is watch and see how much more it grows.”
Though he said that, there was a subtle confidence in his tone.
And from that, everyone could tell.
That the tree called the World Tree would truly grow large enough to fill this place.
“It truly lives up to its name, the World Tree. But where did you even find a tree like this?”
It was Eli who answered Raulor’s question.
“A certain Awakener named Lee Kyu-seong.”
“Lee Kyu-seong?”
Katrina flinched at the mention of Kyu-seong’s name.
Since she knew many of his secrets, she couldn’t help but feel nervous whenever he was brought up.
“There’s a Level 1 Awakener who recently gained fame for mass-producing buff items.”
“What? A Level 1 Awakener mass-producing buff items? Wouldn’t that mean the effects are pretty insignificant?”
“Raulor, you’ve always been like this, but you really don’t pay enough attention to the world.”
By now, Kyu-seong’s reputation was well-known not just domestically but internationally.
But Raulor seemed completely unaware.
“He’s so talented that even that arrogant Naef personally tried to scout him.”
“What? Isthart? He never even tried to scout me!”
Raulor glared fiercely at Naef, who was standing nearby.
However, Naef simply stood there with his usual bright, unreadable smile.
“I met him once myself. I remember how he didn’t even flinch when he saw me.”
Zhengzheng recalled his encounter with Kyu-seong.
He was also the one who had told Kyu-seong about the dimensional invasion back then.
Squish?
At that moment, Mark2, the caretaker of the World Tree, tilted its head and appeared.
Everyone stared blankly at the sudden appearance of the monster.
“A slime?”
“He’s an old friend of mine. An excellent worker left here by Lee Kyu-seong.”
“Slimes are that smart? Aren’t they basically just mindless blobs?”
Raulor spoke, thinking of ordinary slimes.
But contrary to his expectations, Mark2 gave a small nod as if greeting them before returning to its work.
“This whole situation is just full of things I don’t understand.”
No one could argue with Raulor’s words.
Meanwhile, Katrina simply prayed that the conversation about Kyu-seong would quietly pass.
Katrina.
She already had a strong suspicion about the true identities of the Demon King and the Hero.
‘If we cross Kyu-seong, Earth will be destroyed!’
She had to be extremely careful not to upset him.
While each person was lost in their own thoughts and concerns—
Kyu-seong was getting scolded by his younger sister, Seon-ah.
***
“How could you just let them roam around like this?!”
Seon-ah’s voice rang sharply in my ears.
I scratched my head, checking each issue she pointed out.
“First, the fence! You can’t just put it here like this, all sloppy!”
“Uh…”
“It’s a good thing they’re so docile. If they weren’t, you’d be spending all day running around trying to catch them.”
“I see.”
“And how could you let the chickens and pigs roam together like this? You have to separate them into different areas.”
“Got it, I’ll do that.”
“And as for the boars, I don’t know much about their habits yet, so I can’t say for sure. For now, let’s leave this as a temporary grazing area. Later, we’ll move them to a place that suits them best.”
“A place that suits them best? Isn’t this good enough?”
“We don’t know that yet. We still don’t know whether they prefer damp areas, places with mud or swamps, or if they just need shade and cool air. We have to observe them first.”
“Ohh.”
I was glad I had asked Seon-ah for help.
Unlike my haphazard approach, she was much more systematic.
After communicating with the boars and chickens, Seon-ah diligently took notes and fell into deep thought.
“The chickens need a place with plenty of sunlight, but this place is tricky. It always feels like nighttime here.”
“Oh! In that case, we can install solar panels.”
Luckily, we had a lightning spirit with us.
We could generate electricity to create sunlight.
I had already spoken to my father about it in advance, so electrical wiring work would likely begin soon.
“As expected, the pigs prefer damp areas. Their unique body structure makes dry environments cause their skin to crack.”
“Got it. Actually, I already scouted a few places with the kids before, and there was a swampy area.”
“Hmm, a swamp is a bit too much. It would be better if there’s a wide open field nearby.”
“Noted.”
It felt satisfying to see things gradually coming together.
Realizing the need for not just free-range areas but also proper livestock housing, we began sketching out a rough plan.
Fortunately, Seon-ah had learned a lot from the Skyscraper Guild, which helped make the discussion smoother.
“Alright, shall we start building?”
“Brother, the land first.”
“Oh, right, right.”
Together with Ara, Seon-ah, and Jung So-yeon, we set out to find a good place to relocate the pigs.
We already had a few candidates, and we chose the closest one first.
“Once we make a proper road for carts and build the livestock shelter, we’re done.”
“Don’t forget the fences.”
“Oh, right. And we should release a guard dog here too.”
“A dog?”
Oh, Seon-ah hadn’t seen it yet.
I’d have to show her our new sheepdog later.
“Alright, time to head to Gnoll Village.”
Workers! Assemble! Assemble!
Cliche Novel 