Chapter 42 : The Seven Tribes Awaken

[Additional reward obtained.]

[Golden Apple obtained.]

The golden apple gained as an additional reward.

This was no ordinary item.

It had “golden” in its name after all.

It had to be a jackpot.

Carefully, the item was examined.

[Golden Apple] A legendary golden apple that only appears in places rich with mana. It is said to be able to restart even a stopped heartbeat.

Restart a stopped heartbeat.

Does this mean it can bring the dead back to life?

Its exact use was unclear, but it was definitely an extraordinary item.

Lately, luck with items had been overflowing.

How many rewards had that been already?

At this point, it was impossible to keep count.

Anyway, this was stored for now.

Just in case it might spoil, it was carefully placed in the inventory.

Now, shall we check on the Laruns?

Katarlos must have been defeated. There would be no more pests to bother the Laruns.

By now, everyone was probably enjoying their freedom.

***

With the destroyer Katarlos defeated, peace returned to the 13th floor.

At last, those annoying pests had disappeared.

“Kuwoo!”

Before long, Captain Larun arrived in a row, bowing deeply as he expressed his gratitude.

He was the hero who saved everyone from this hellish place.

Thanks to the hero, they no longer suffered.

Their ripe fruit was protected, and the merciless chopping had stopped.

It was complete liberation.

The Laruns began gathering around Woo Min, who had saved the orchard from Katarlos.

Empty-handed?

No way.

The Laruns’ ironclad rule:

When you receive grace, you must give back accordingly!

Everyone brought a piece of fruit, flocking to Woo Min.

With their soft, cute hands, they pressed the fruit into Woo Min’s.

Starting from red apples, then oranges, persimmons, pears, and so on.

Whatever fruit grew on the trees was welcome.

These fruits had grown absorbing the rich mana of the 13th floor.

They were gifts for their new master.

“Hey, guys?”

But there were just too many.

If they pushed in like this, there was no room to move.

One wrong move and a Larun tail might get stepped on.

Eventually, it took quite some time just to catch his breath.

Kuwoo.

In their joy, they had caused a bit of chaos.

The hero who came here for the first time was perplexed.

Captain Rakua, representing the Laruns, tried to speak but only wheezed.

They must have felt very sorry.

Wondering if they should stay silent, he stroked his head and smiled brightly.

“It’s alright. Not a problem at all.”

Kuwoo.

At those words, tears welled up.

This wasn’t what they had wanted.

But the tears burst forth from Captain Larun.

One by one, the other Laruns began crying as well.

They said tears were contagious.

The tears overflowed in a wave of relief.

Still, this was a bit troublesome.

Though it was good, it was better to all laugh together than to cry.

Luckily, there was a good idea.

First, they would return to the 10th floor plains.

“Everyone, come here.”

All the beasts were summoned.

After gathering fresh vegetables and meat that had just been harvested,

the Dudermoles couldn’t be left out.

Passageways connecting each floor must have appeared, so today they would finally do what they had only thought about before.

What was it?

Of course, a party.

They couldn’t just let a day like this pass by.

They would have fun!

Thus, on the 13th floor, a more extravagant festival unfolded than ever before.

All kinds of tribes were present.

Phoenixes, Earth Rabbits, Daramjwi, Dudermoles, Fuko Dogs, Honeybees, even the Laruns.

A collection of adorable creatures.

In one corner, Earth Rabbits were grilling fish, golden and sizzling.

On the opposite side, the Laruns prepared desserts.

Fruit tanghulu and fruit yogurt ice cream.

Everyone clearly had a talent for food.

Then, it happened.

The system message appeared again.

Today, it was being seen a lot more than usual.

[Peace has been restored among the seven tribes for the first time in the Tamra era.]

[Affinity of the seven tribes’ beasts has reached its highest level.]

[Work efficiency of the seven tribes has increased by 100%.]

[The seven tribes will never betray under any circumstances.]

[You can understand the beast language of the seven tribes.]

[Representatives of each tribe have gathered.]

Wait a moment.

What is all this?

Even if the window is closed, there’s no end.

How many messages can come at once?

[Representative of the Phoenix tribe has gathered.]

[Representative of the Earth Rabbit tribe has gathered.]

[Representative of the Lightning Daramjwi tribe has gathered.]

[Representative of the Dudermole tribe has gathered.]

[Representative of the Fuko Dog tribe has gathered.]

[Representative of the Honeybee tribe has gathered.]

[Representative of the Tamra Larun tribe has gathered.]

The seven tribe representatives have awakened.

What on earth was happening?

***

Los Angeles, USA.

A billboard filled the outdoor advertising space.

A red-haired woman was eating vegetables and fruit with a fresh expression.

It was Filia.

The second commercial featuring her as WM Company’s representative model in the US.

What kind of advertisement would the number one most popular female player in the US film?

Nothing special.

Just wearing jeans and a white shirt, eating vegetables and fruit.

That was it.

No fancy CGI or effects.

Yet this caused an unprecedented stir across America.

“Heh, I didn’t expect it to be this simple.”

James, sitting in the office, looked at the first day’s sales results and laughed in disbelief.

Opposite him sat the star of the commercial.

Filia.

“Filia, what do you think?”

“What’s that?”

“Thanks to the advertisement shot by the most influential female player chosen by Americans earlier this year, WM Company’s sales have skyrocketed day by day.”

“Stop it, I’m embarrassed.”

Filia blushed and bowed her head.

As a Team Hero member, she thought a commercial wouldn’t be that embarrassing.

But in reality, it was the opposite.

No matter where she went, all people saw was her image.

So much exposure that she pushed the previous top, Seol Ha, out in the popularity poll earlier this year.

Even while walking on the street, people asked for autographs, and while eating in restaurants, they asked for photos constantly.

“Wow, Filia did it because she wanted to.”

“I thought it was just an ordinary commercial.”

“Is there an ad more ordinary than that?”

None.

Who these days shoots a commercial wearing just jeans and a white shirt?

That was the problem.

If only it had CGI or effects like usual, it wouldn’t have been so embarrassing.

But this was just the person ‘Filia’ filmed naturally.

Her face filled the entire screen.

And she wore a bright, fresh expression.

Imagine that image showing up everywhere.

Her cute act of eating fruit with a fresh expression appeared on food stall signs, subways, even bathroom walls.

No matter how much she was exposed to the public, these days she couldn’t even show her face freely.

“Well, if you really hate it, I could tell WM Company.”

“No, no need for that, James.”

Filia quickly stopped James, who was taking out his phone.

Though she was embarrassed enough not to show her face due to the commercial, it was also true that she was receiving many benefits.

Unlimited supply of agricultural products.

Because they were not distributed outside, WM Company provided Filia personally with unlimited fresh produce.

The problem was the new fruit that arrived just yesterday.

The fruit boxes she received after filming the commercial.

They contained freshly picked apples and oranges.

“What exactly is Mister Kang? How does he come up with such absurd things?”

Filia asked, staring at the apple on the table.

Fruits that not only satisfy the need for sugar but also increase maximum mana.

It was simply unbelievable.

Was he some kind of god?

But James only smiled.

He wanted to say it wasn’t Mister Kang, but there was no need to say more.

“What does that matter? Isn’t that right?”

James stood up and took a bite of the apple.

Mana was a crucial element for all players.

The higher the maximum mana, the more freely skills could be used.

But it varied by person and by rank.

Even the usage of mana depended on the type of class.

James, who was a physical ability type, rarely lacked mana.

But for the magic line like Filia?

She had to live on potions after just a few massive fire spells drained her mana.

For her, this fruit that increased maximum mana was nothing short of a miraculous item that compensated for that shortcoming.

Currently, the price per kilogram of mana stone was 20kg.

And fruit?

It far exceeded 200kg per piece.

The business was still in its early stages.

Judging from the unstable prices, it was absurd.

Who would pay nearly 30,000 dollars for an apple?

They queued up to eat it.

There were 30,000 players in the US.

Collecting 200kg of mana stone for each wasn’t hard.

And just one fruit would slightly increase mana?

How could they resist?

They had to line up and eat it.

Even ordinary people who knew about this joined in.

In America, where old coins were traded in hundreds of millions, 30,000 dollars was easy money for many.

The initial stock of 20 tons sold out in just 20 minutes.

In a way, it was a natural outcome.

“I need to meet the SSS rank player soon.”

James’ eyes gleamed with a blue glow as he looked at the agricultural documents on the desk.

His influence could no longer be ignored.

He controlled the American market as if it were in his hand. How could anyone call him ordinary?

If he turned hostile, the worst enemy wouldn’t be Japan or China.

It would be the SSS rank player.

Woo Min.

***

Mumbai, India.

As a big city, it was bustling with people.

A few days ago, it had been decided to dispatch a global training team from the World Association.

Among them were several high-ranking Chinese players who had climbed fairly high floors.

Since India’s player development system was not yet fully established, the Chinese players were providing various kinds of support.

Among them, Vishal, a B-rank player, learned the most in the closest proximity.

How to survive in the tower, how to buy time for mana recovery.

From attack know-how to how to get support from the World Association or buy items cheaply—he learned many practical things.

But starting yesterday, his body felt strange.

Chills ran down, his body trembled, and he couldn’t stop coughing.

“What’s wrong, Vishal?”

An Indian association official asked seriously as he watched.

Vishal, usually lively and passionate, looked very unwell.

“Ahaha, it’s nothing, manager.”

“You still have to take care of yourself. Even players are helpless when sick.”

The manager wrapped a thick coat around him.

But tragedy came quickly.

Thud—

Vishal staggered in his seat and collapsed.

Unconscious, gasping for breath.

His whole body felt like burning fire.

At that moment, a staff member urgently called for the manager.

“Ma-manager! The Chinese players dispatched by the association are all collapsing!”

“What? What did you say?”

One after another, players began to fall.

From India, a worldwide plague wind was beginning to blow.