The Player Hides His Past

The Fruit of Good and Evil.

From the moment the class quest appeared, I felt a strange sense of discomfort.

I didn’t understand.

Eunaxus and other dragons clearly swallowed the seeds of the World Tree. They said it was to hatch seeds using their corpses as nutrients.

Naturally, I had a question.

So what was the seed I found in the [Predator’s Swamp]?

[World Quest: Seed of the World Tree]

The crisis of extinction of the Arcana Continent has arrived.

In the midst of the great crisis.

Give birth to new hope.

– Germinate the seed of the World Tree. (In Progress)

• Seeds of the World Tree currently found 1 / Unknown

• Seeds of the World Tree currently sprouted 0 / Unknown

The Fruit of Good and Evil was divided into good and evil.

The dragons swallowed the evil fruit.

I was able to guess that the seed I planted was the seed of the World Tree that contained good. The problem was who sowed those seeds on the continent.

I was curious about that, so I asked Eunaxus.

– “I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about that.”

That was the answer I received.

Thanks to that, I thought quietly.

Perhaps the division of good and evil in the World Tree…

It might have been longer than I expected.

Well, just think about the state of the seed I discovered.

You could have mistaken it for a rock.

It looked as if it had weathered the ravages of time.

In fact, if it weren’t for the [Pentagram of Pure Knowledge].

I wouldn’t have realized it was a seed either.

The person who brought good on the Arcana Continent.

Had they sowed the seed of the World Tree?

There was no way to know for now.

Unless I found evidence.

Everything was just speculation.

But one thing became clear with this.

It was all the demon’s plan from the beginning.

“The World Tree has been eroded upon by evil.”

The demon must have taken advantage of the rift in the relationship between the World Tree, the dragons, and the elves. By separating good from evil in the World Tree. First, they kicked the good of the World Tree and brought about the current situation.

Argentress didn’t accept it easily.

“…There’s evil in Mother?”

He got angry and shouted.

“You are talking nonsense, human. Sisley is our land. If a demon had stepped on this ground, we would have noticed their presence!”

I’m not blaming you guys, the elves.

Besides, you have to listen to what I say.

There’s evil in the World Tree.

“Argentress.”

“Speak, human.”

“Behind light, darkness always follows.”

“…What?”

“If there is good, there must be evil on the other side.”

In the first place, what was the real seed of the World Tree?

It was the Fruit of Good and Evil where good and evil coexist.

It was common sense that when you plant beans, you grow beans, and when you plant red beans, you grow red beans.

So basically.

Even when the World Tree was whole.

Good and evil coexisted within the World Tree.

Argentress and the other elves still didn’t understand.

“How dare you insult Mother?”

Calling it an insult was harsh.

But I couldn’t show my disappointment.

I continued calmly.

“There is no perfect being in the world. The World Tree is no exception.”

From the mouth of Grandfel, who always pursued perfection.

I didn’t expect such dignified words.

After a moment of shock, I added the reason.

“Because that is providence.”

Perhaps because I spoke so confidently.

Argentress was silent.

But it was only for a moment.

“Don’t compare good and evil to light and darkness.”

Yeah, it was actually a leap of logic.

“You think Mother had evil in her body? She is my mother and the Mother of all things. For the sake of all things, evil is…! She wouldn’t have held it in the first place!”

“It seems like you still believe that the greenhouse is right.”

“…!”

Greenhouse.

Argentress’ face turned white at that word.

Then he turned his gaze to look at his kins.

Considering that he finally understood what I meant…

‘You were paying attention deep down, too, weren’t you?’

Let’s think about it objectively.

In fact, I–Lee Hoyeol–didn’t understand it either.

From the moment I checked the contents of the [Fruit of Good and Evil] class quest, I had doubts.

Good was good.

I wondered if there was a need for good and evil to coexist in the world.

Of course, my doubts didn’t last long.

As expected, it was thanks to Grandfel.

“The World Tree believed.”

To be precise, it was thanks to Grandfel’s high pride.

“Just like how a ray of light illuminates the darkness.”

“…?”

“As long as good exists, evil will have no choice but to lay face down on the ground.”

What was evil to Grandfel?

It was nothing more than an inferior thing that naturally had to be culled.

Denying its very existence just because you were afraid of such evil?

It was beyond his comprehension.

In the first place, it was not in his dictionary.

‘That’s amazing. Really.’

Being on the same page with the World tree.

It was a pride that went beyond being the filial son…!

Still, he wasn’t wrong.

But in the current situation.

No one would understand.

Argentress pointed out that fact.

“Providence? Ha! Look at what it looks like now. As you said, Sisley has become a land of demons, and Mother has fallen after being consumed by evil. Can you be confident that good will always overcome evil?”

I, Lee Hoyeol.

I felt like he’d hit the nail on the head.

To be precise, I felt like he’d peeped into the flower garden in my head.

‘Wouldn’t I know that?’

No, actually, I knew better than anyone else.

Grandfel’s theory of pride.

It was closer to stubbornness than anything else in the world.

As little as he knew the world.

It was the pride of my second-year middle school self who had nothing to fear in the world.

However.

“I’m confident.”

That was why he didn’t bow down.

Because he didn’t bow down.

He could move forward.

And eventually, he would make that flower garden happen.

“I can.”

As always, I had nothing to say even if I pointed out that he was good at speaking.

But if you’ve been watching, wouldn’t you know?

He was pretty good at keeping his word.

『For Grandfel, the feeling of humility doesn’t exist. If he’s underestimated, he can prove himself to them. Because he’s the one who ends up making the overestimation a reality.』

Even if the process was tedious.

Even in worse conditions than I had now.

I had been producing unbelievable results.

Therefore.

This is not the time to look dumbfounded.

Argentress.

I shamelessly said.

“Open the way, Argentress.”

To the place where the primordial evil took root!

*

He just thought it was arrogance.

But now he was confused.

It was ‘something’ that went beyond arrogance.

‘…How can you be calm in a situation like this?’

Mother, the World Tree, was a primordial being.

He didn’t expect that Mother was controlled by evil.

And she was consumed by the evil she held within herself too…

He desperately wanted to deny it.

Chew–

Argentress bit his lips.

‘…Most likely.’

It was because he and his kins didn’t fulfill their mission.

It wasn’t until Mother withered and dried up that he noticed it.

It was only when the blessing was taken away that he went to see Mother.

‘Maybe we could have stopped it.’

Even if they were not of the same race.

If he had fulfilled his mission…

Argentress was upset by the fact.

Even though he could have made everything right, he couldn’t.

‘It’s my mistake.’

He even blamed himself, which he’d never done before for eternity.

So he couldn’t understand it all the more.

How could that man keep his composure?

Tap tap–

Argrentress could tell by the sound of the man’s steps.

He didn’t feel any fear in that straight stride.

The primordial evil that eroded Mother.

Just with that moniker alone.

The being that he approached made him nervous.

It was only natural, wasn’t it?

Clink–

But the man even had a teacup in his hand that he got from who-knew-where.

‘Even a lizard can’t do that.’

The man was doing something that even a dragon, who was praised as the king of all things, could not do. Was it the influence of ‘something’ that went beyond even arrogance? Argentress suddenly remembered what the man had said.

– “I can.”

Unconsciously, he asked himself.

‘…What difference does it make if the man can do it?’

But he soon clenched his fist.

‘No, nothing changes.’

Mother was already dead.

The green leaves had long since withered and fallen, and her body was as dry as firewood. Even if the man drove out the evil that had eroded Mother, nothing would change.

Furthermore.

‘Our mistakes don’t go away, either.’

It had been distorted for far too long.

Maybe it was just as the man said.

Everything might have been wrong since the beginning.

Sk–

Argentress looked at the man.

‘You’re terrible, Argentress.’

He laughed at himself.

The man was a being who truly humbled him.

Was it because he acknowledged his inferiority complex?

Argentress unexpectedly looked forward to it.

He wondered if the man could really correct everything.

But the moment he faced the World Tree.

“…Mother?”

His expectations turned into ashes.

They had set out for the Arcana Continent to find the whereabouts of the blessing.

Meanwhile, Mother had been left alone in Sisley.

She was horribly broken.

To the point that you couldn’t call her Mother of All Things.

She was lying on the ground in a miserable state.

“…”

But Argentress didn’t say anything.

He knew it was all his fault.

So he would accept any blame.

‘You can laugh at me as much as you want, human.’

As he had said, his expectations had disappeared.

Even the man wouldn’t have expected Mother to look like that.

There was really nothing he could do about this.

The moment Argentres helplessly looked at the devastation.

Tap tap–

“…?”

The man, Hoyeol, stepped forward without saying anything.

Argentress was ready to accept any harsh words.

But Hoyeol’s reaction was different than he expected.

As Argentress stared at Hoyeol.

Hoyeol stopped in front of the remains of the World Tree.

Then he slowly opened his mouth.

“Exorcism.”

He spat out a word that Argentress didn’t know.

However, his questions didn’t last long.

Straight away, the change began.

Crack!

“…!!!”

The scattered remains of Mother burned up.

Broken pillar.

The stump left behind.

Dry roots.

Scattered tree branches.

They began to burst into flames, not leaving anything behind.

“Ah…”

He could hear his kins being agitated.

But Argentress couldn’t move.

Was it because of the Hierarchy of Blessing?

No, it wasn’t because of that.

“Mother…?”

It was because the burning flame was blue.

Like the leaves that Mother made bloom.

As if mourning Mother’s death.

The green flame burned brightly.

Furthermore.

He felt the warmth.

A warmth that he’d never felt since he lost the blessing touched his whole body.

It was the warmth that lovingly cared for all things.

It was Mother’s warmth.

However.

‘…It’s not Mother.’

Argentress was not mistaken.

Mother was dead and burning.

So this warmth didn’t come from Mother.

So whose warmth was this?

He could only look at one thing.

Hoyeol.

An unwavering attitude.

The only thing that moved was his silver hair.

Argentress watched from behind and spoke quietly.

“This Argentress finally understands Mother’s will…”

A high perspective that looked over all things.

An aesthetic sense that looked for beauty in even the most insignificant things.

A formality that didn’t waver in the face of any tragedy

It was truly ‘something’ that embraced all of that.

Yeah.

He was the closest being to the World Tree.

.

.

.

I looked at the quest goal.

– Train your weak body. (Repeat)

– Enter Sisley, the land of the elves. (Success)

– Encounter the primordial evil that took root in Sisley. (Fail)

– Track down the primordial evil. (In Progress)

The World Tree split in two.

Thanks to this, the primordial evil that was trapped in the World Tree disappeared.

As I looked at the message that appeared, I thought.

‘Perhaps…’

Was this also a planned story?

Well, like the archmage or the dragon knight class quest.

This was a set story of the demon hunter class quest.

With the purpose of making me, the last demon hunter, grow a little more through this ordeal.

‘Well, It’s hard to tell right now.’

So I’d just do what I could.

The World Tree eroded by evil had been cremated through exorcism.

Track down the primordial evil according to the quest goal.

That was what I had to do from now on.

I wondered if this time too, I had to shoulder everything by myself.

If anyone asked.

I would answer that question with ‘We will see’.

At this moment.

The message that flashed wasn’t just the quest message.

[Changes occur due to the effect of Noble.]

[Your relationship with Hidden Piece, Sisley has increased significantly.]

[Your influence in Hidden Piece, Sisley has increased significantly]

Flump–

At the same time.

A sound came to my ears.

Argentress knelt before me.

It was not an effect of the [Hierarchy of Blessing].

Is this real?

As expected, the message that appeared was proof of that.

[You have gained the command of the Elf, Argentress.]

[Elves, 107 elves under Argentress]

[Current status: Waiting for command]

He had knelt down earlier, too.

I was not such a nasty person that would make him kneel once more.

I opened my mouth.

“You can get up.”

But the answer I got was unexpected.

“I won’t get up.”

…Ah, I see what you mean.

You’re seriously reflecting on yourself, aren’t you?

Yeah, I am glad.

Even though it was late, he came to his senses.

However.

‘But still…’

Everyone needs to get up now!

This guy’s personality.

He was impatient.

[You have acquired the class’s unique skill, ‘Akshan’s Guardian Spirit.’]

Class quest reward.

I had just activated my newly acquired skill.

So get up now, everyone…!

If you don’t.

“…?!!”

Akshan’s guardian spirit.

Howl–!

You might go against the wishes of the 『Akshan’s Wolf』.