Chapter 59 : The Elf Queen’s Dream

“My name is Silpia, and from today, I will be serving as the 1,592nd World Tree of this dimension.”

Silpia smiled gently, as if it were nothing extraordinary.

When exactly had she followed us here?

I looked at her, flustered.

Seolha was the same.

She must have had no idea.

“W-why is the Queen here?”

“Serving the World Tree is the mission of the Elf Queen.”

No matter how you looked at it, was it really okay for her to just cross over like this?

“If so, what about the World Tree of Earth 10,459?”

“That matter has already been settled. She was actually happy about it.”

True enough, there was no longer any danger from the corrupted demonic beasts.

There was no real reason to stay in the village.

Still, she seemed far too nonchalant.

Wasn’t she once the queen of a country?

She looked more excited than anything.

“Oh my, she looks exactly like Somi.”

And look at that amazing friendliness.

She had already befriended the demonic beasts of the Pyeongya.

Guess it’s because she’s an elf.

Everyone greeted her warmly, charmed by how naturally she approached.

“By the way, Woo Min, where is the World Tree of this dimension?”

After wandering around for a while, Silpia finally asked, holding back her wind-blown hair.

She was too excited by the unfamiliar surroundings.

Maybe it was because she had let go of the burden of being queen.

She seemed more at ease.

“Oh, it’s a bit away from the village.”

“Is that so? Then I want to take a look around the village first.”

She asked with an innocent expression that I simply couldn’t refuse.

Well, there was still some time before evening, and there was no need to be cold.

“Sure. Why not.”

Now that it had come to this, I thought I’d stop by the mine and orchard first.

There was something to ask, and it would be perfect to introduce her as well.

Looks like she was going to stay here for a while.

Then—

“I’ll help too!”

Seolha suddenly jumped in.

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. I have plenty of time.”

Unlike me, Seolha was usually busy; today was some rare free time for her.

No problem.

She wasn’t just anyone; it was Seolha.

Actually, that was a good thing.

I was planning to introduce all my new friends from this dimension eventually.

“Since the Pyeongya is the largest, there’s a lot to show, so let’s start with the mine.”

We headed toward the hidden mine on the 15th floor via the gate Somi had created.

The Dudermoles were finishing up their work.

As always, they wore yellow safety helmets labeled “Safety First” and were digging the ground with steel pickaxes.

Then—

Dusik, who had spotted us, ran over with short legs.

“Duda!”

Dusik raised his hand in greeting warmly.

Seeing Seolha and Silpia beside me, he gave a slight bow.

Dusik was one of the original members, but since he usually stayed at the mine, Seolha and he barely knew each other.

Awkward tension hung in the air between the two strangers.

Silpia was the first to speak.

“Hello, I’m Silpia.”

She lowered her stance and met Dusik’s eyes.

Not to be outdone, Seolha greeted him warmly as well.

“I-I’m Seolha.”

Duda!

Dusik returned the greeting with enthusiasm.

“So you’re Dusik. I look forward to working with you.”

Wait a minute—could Silpia actually understand what Dusik was saying?

She seemed to comprehend Dusik’s language perfectly.

“Do you really understand what he’s saying?”

“Dusik? Of course. Despite appearances, I was the Elf Queen.”

She gave a mischievous smile at my question.

Having grown up communing with all lifeforms, understanding the language of an unfamiliar demonic beast was nothing to her.

“Oh, by the way, Dusik, I have a favor to ask.”

Duda?

Come to think of it, I did have something to ask Dusik.

We needed materials to repair the gigantic mech.

It had been severely damaged in the battle with Hyunmu and was no longer operational.

Fortunately, our genius inventor Somi could fix it.

But we were short on materials.

We needed plenty of steel imbued with mana, orehalcon, titanium, and more.

When I listed the materials Somi had requested, Dusik confidently patted his chest and replied:

Duda!

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Those materials?”

“Two weeks will be enough!”

Up until now, we’d only mined mana stones, but from now on, we promised to collect various ores.

We left plenty of food for the hardworking Dudermoles and headed to the orchard.

Lately, it had become the darling of the WM Company’s product managers.

The orchard was on the 13th floor.

Was it the first time since the orcs had helped us out?

Like the Dudermoles, the Larun welcomed us warmly.

“This is the orchard. The Larun live here.”

“Like other places, it’s peaceful.”

Soon we were surrounded by Larun, exchanging awkward glances.

They liked humans a bit too much.

I was worried they might get clingy or try to follow us.

If we stayed any longer, we wouldn’t have been able to move.

So I quickly introduced the leader, Daejang Laroon, and hurried back to the Pyeongya.

Now all that was left was the Pyeongya.

It had the most places to introduce.

Starting with the village where the Earth Rabbits lived, then the bees’ territory, the landmark fountain, the house and hot springs where we spent most of our time, and the Muji where skeletons worked.

Thinking back, we’d decorated quite a lot.

Well, we’d invested generously every time we found new mana stones.

Memories of all the things we’d done so far flashed through my mind.

“This is the academy. Our Professors Somi and Honeybee are conducting lectures here.”

After showing off every facility and landmark in the Pyeongya except the World Tree, Silpia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“I really made the right choice coming here.”

Silpia had lived her whole life only in the forest.

She had spent it communicating with the World Tree and sacrificing for the village.

Still, she had no complaints.

She believed it was her duty as queen.

Yet, she actually felt a sense of liberation in this new dimension.

A peaceful place free from burdens.

Even the demonic beasts she’d never seen before were all cute and innocent.

Just looking at them felt like healing both body and soul.

“Supper time is soon, so let’s hurry to see the World Tree.”

The sun was dipping below the horizon, smiling faintly.

Let’s finish quickly and get something to eat.

“This is the World Tree we planted a few days ago.”

The forest bathed in the golden light of the sunset.

The World Tree was tinged with a yellow glow.

Seeing it, Silpia slowly approached with a deeply moved expression.

“Is this really the World Tree?”

“Of course. It’s still small, but it’s definitely the World Tree.”

Tears welled up in Silpia’s eyes at the answer.

To think there was a World Tree in another dimension too.

And such a tiny, fragile one at that.

A young World Tree that had only just sprouted its roots.

Still, its power was not lacking compared to the World Tree of Earth 10,459.

It was an emotion I had never felt before.

Like seeing my mother in her childhood, watching over me.

That subtle feeling brought tears streaming down.

“I’m truly, truly happy.”

Kim’s tears.

Underneath the crimson sunset, the beautiful image of Silpia was painted.

***

The next morning.

As always, we began the day in the Pyeongya.

But today was a bit different from usual.

Why?

Look at that bright expression on the woman farming.

Who would think she was the Elf Queen?

“Oh my, you’ve come.”

It wasn’t just her actions.

Her speech had become more casual too.

“Thanks to Woo Min and Seolha’s kindness, I had a long conversation with the World Tree yesterday.”

Last night, Woo Min and Seolha had stepped aside to give Silpia room.

After all, she probably had a lot to talk about with the World Tree.

Thanks to that, Silpia’s expression was much more relaxed.

“Really? What did you talk about?”

“Um, that’s a secret.”

Silpia grinned playfully at my question.

Then, grabbing the mana orb on her shoulder, she said:

“By the way, this farming thing is more fun than I thought.”

“Ahahaha, that’s good to hear.”

Well, it was a little different from what I imagined, but I was glad she liked it.

She wore the milkweed hat made by Dad Earth Rabbit while helping with the farming.

It didn’t suit her very well, but I didn’t say anything.

“Actually, peacefully farming like this has always been my dream.”

“Really?”

The Elf Queen’s dream was farming?

“Thanks to you, Woo Min, things are fine now, but until recently, I barely had any rest. The only joy was listening to my mother’s old stories about our ancestors.”

Judging by the happy look on her face, it was true.

Maybe it was the different dimension.

The noble queen was nowhere to be seen.

Well, even now, many people escape exhausted city life to live as weekend farmers or retreat to rural farms.

From Silpia’s point of view, farming peacefully without any burdens must have seemed like a dream.

Well, now that Silpia was doing well, let’s head back to the tower.

Though we climbed the tower without missing a beat, it still felt like a rare climb after a long time.

Plus, today we were climbing all the way to the 30th floor.

The day to receive the sixth special ability.

After exchanging polite greetings with Silpia, we entered the tower.

[Entered Tower 30th Floor.]

Mission: Fell the 1,000-year-old Giant Silver Tree 071

Time Limit: 12 hours

As always, the opponent on the 30th floor was a boss monster guarding the floor’s completion.

A gigantic silver tree.

So large that you had to look up to see its head.

About the height of a 10-story apartment building, maybe.

The largest opponent we had faced so far in the tower.

Of course, that was nothing compared to who we’d faced before.

The day before, we fought one of the Four Divine Beasts—Hyunmu.

Compared to Hyunmu, the silver tree was like a baby.

Compared to the infamous reputation of Hyunmu, the silver tree even seemed cute.

If only we had that giant mech, we could have crushed it with a single stomp.

A pity, but it didn’t matter.

We had the newly evolved Bbyak and Toto on our side.

Everyone had grown a step stronger after defeating Hyunmu.

Bbyak was now SS-rank.

Toto was S+ rank.

A 30th-floor boss?

It was a piece of cake.

Bbyak stretched its wings.

It told Toto to rest.

Of course, Toto also felt antsy.

Though its abilities had awakened, it rarely had a chance to show them off.

Pachi, pachi!

But today, Toto wasn’t just standing by.

Spinning its short arms, it told its older brother to relax.

They competed to catch each other in the air.

Well, there was only one monster.

Normally, they would split it between themselves amicably.

What to do?

Both of them were overflowing with desire.

Eventually, Bbyak and Toto agreed to catch it together.

One monster but two catchers?

First, Bbyak fully spread its wings.

Toto jumped on top.

Then—

Crackle, crackle—

Electricity crackled violently.

Having evolved one rank, the lightning was much more curved.

Bbyak’s wings also seemed slightly bigger, and its flight speed noticeably faster.

Now, if you blinked, you could easily miss their movements.

High-speed flight, unstoppable, high-powered lightning cannon?

Who could stop them?

The 30th floor boss was over in an instant.

[Notice] You have become the world’s first to achieve SSS rank on the Black Tower’s 30th floor.

[Reward] Golden Ticket obtained.

[Reward] 120kg Mana Stones

[Reward] 5 decent hybrid potions

[Reward] 5 Mana-imbued silver ores

A decent reward.

The 20th-floor plant monsters seemed to reward their own seeds generously.

[Mana-imbued Silver Ore] A silver ore infused with large amounts of mana. If planted in the ground, it seems it would grow very well.

I should plant this near the bee’s hive.

Now, to check the special ability.

With a pounding heart, I glanced at the screen.

[Notice] 30 Golden Tickets have been granted as a special reward.

[Reward] Ownership rights to the Forgotten Island obtained.

The true nature of the 30th-floor special reward was an island.

A new land.

Looks like living well really pays off.

But what kind of island was it?

A small resort?

No matter what, it didn’t matter.

Mint didn’t have a proper place to stay anyway, so this was perfect.

No need to visit later.

Let’s enter right away.

“Entering Forgotten Island!”

As soon as we entered, a vast landscape unfolded.

The crashing waves and palm trees swaying in the wind.

This was a complete resort!