Chapter 4 : The Flower That Finally Bloomed

“Crazy as hell.”

Wansik frowned deeply.

“What is?”

Jaeho, who had been exercising at the corner, replied bluntly.

“What else? Someone who says they want to run a flower shop but plays the game instead? Or someone who’s been talking to flowers for two whole months?”

“…They’re both the same guy, though.”

“Then he’s crazier than I thought!”

Just as Wansik said, Jaeho had already been struggling with the Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms for two months.

The flower certainly lived up to its name—there was no slightest crack appearing in the bud.

Still, there were some gains…

[You have gained affection.]

<The Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms> had finally shaken off its extreme state of fear.

And the more you stared at it, the more it seemed like a familiar face you’d eventually get used to.

“What a stubborn bastard… What on earth is that Spirit of Vitality class or whatever he’s planning to change into?”

Wansik couldn’t wrap his head around it.

When he first heard about it, he thought it was some kind of glitch.

A class change quest from a runaway Luxi? Usually, people run away from Luxi and then change classes afterward.

And what’s more, Jaeho’s fierce-looking face had even earned the favor of the Elves—a miracle by any standard.

But after two months of Jaeho’s class change quest, Wansik changed his mind.

“He’s definitely a Luxi,” or “He must be an Elf”…

He decided that Jaeho’s insane habit of talking to flowers was because of the Elves.

“Well, I think he might actually be getting somewhere.”

Wansik let out a long sigh at Jaeho’s words.

“I’ve known you weren’t normal, but this is…”

“Should I say stubborn?”

“Yeah, stubborn fits.”

Wansik grumbled, but Jaeho remained unfazed.

And contrary to Wansik’s thoughts, Jaeho wasn’t just wasting time.

He had grown, after all, during those two months.

He filled a considerable amount of entries in Alicia’s Plant Encyclopedia and raised the observation progress for each plant.

Though, unfortunately, none of them reached 100%.

That was likely due to the limitations of merely observing and nurturing.

Even the Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms, which he had devoted the most effort to, was only about 60% complete.

Still, he had gathered plenty of useful information.

The Epfeltz Flower liked “morning dew” and “the sound of grass flutes,” among other things…

It was thanks to such details that he had drawn out the flower’s affection.

Also, leveraging the friendship built with the Elves, he learned some additional skills and leveled up quite a bit.

[ Lv.31 < Plant Observation>]

[You can check the name of the observed plant.]

[You can check the gathering level of the observed plant.]

[You can check the status of the observed plant.]

[Your gaze carries affection toward the observed plant. — Growth buff: +5%]

[ Lv.23 < Florist>]

[You receive a buff to the growth of the target flower. — Growth buff: +6.9%]

[ Lv.12 < Landscape Architect>]

[You can roughly check the nutritional status of the target plant.]

[ Lv.8 <Elf’s Flute Performance>]

[Plants within a 3-meter radius receive a condition buff. — Growth buff: +4% (limited to once per day)]

Jaeho felt proud, but… if Wansik found out, he would probably be shocked.

The level of special skills beyond class skills was excessively high.

Especially considering Jaeho’s character level was still only 4…

***

After Monday’s morning lecture ended, Jaeho headed straight to the capsule room.

Since he barely logged in over the weekend, he was especially busy.

Because he had been helping his father as a gym manager, gaming was nearly impossible on weekends, making weekdays the best time to play.

“Alright—let’s start the day’s work.”

Jaeho, now seemingly at home in his garden, walked naturally among the flowers checking their conditions.

For those wilting, he used the skill, and after playing the grass flute, he even held a small round of performances.

“My father always says…”

Even his conversations with the Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms.

After spending several hours like that, it was time for his evening shift, and he stood up from his seat.

“Well, I’m off then. See you tomorrow.”

Just as he was about to leave, a sudden notification popped up.

[The Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms regrets parting with you.]

[The Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms wishes to follow you.]

Shaa—

At the same time as the notification, the bud that had been motionless for two months slowly began to open.

“Huh?!!!”

Jaeho hurriedly ran over and crouched in front of it.

The bud opened, and a bright light burst out like popcorn popping.

Whaaa—

Tiny shards of light scattered out and swirled around Jaeho.

“W-What is this?!”

Was this not a hole?

Confused by the unexpected event, Jaeho’s quest window explained.

[You have passed the test of the Spirit of Vitality Tinlight!]

The small glowing shards wandered around and met Jaeho’s gaze.

[You have acquired the qualifications to change class to <Spirit Makeup> .]

[Would you like to change class?]

Who in their right mind would refuse after all that?

“Of course I will.”

At the same time, the glowing shards in front of him passed through his chest and vanished.

[You have changed class to < Spirit Makeup> !]

[The Spirit of Vitality has been bound to you.]

[You have acquired the < Seed of the Divine Tree> .]

[Class skills for < Spirit Makeup> have been unlocked (full transfer).]

Multiple notifications appeared in rapid succession.

“…Is that it?”

Jaeho felt no different at all.

“Um, for now…”

He first checked what the Spirit of Vitality was.

[Spirit of Vitality]

[This spirit was sealed within the <Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms>.]

[All class skills receive an additional buff. — Current buff efficiency: +5%]

[All class skills gain bonus experience points. — Additional EXP: +5%]

“A spirit? Like a fairy? Where is it?”

[The Spirit of Vitality ‘laughs softly.’]

It seemed to be bound somewhere inside him.

“Can you talk?”

[<The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘I can speak, but I’m still a little shy…’]

“Oh, I see…”

It reminded him of an archaic personality style.

Next was the newly acquired item, .

Jaeho took the seed out of his inventory and inspected it closely.

“This is…”

Almost the size of a watermelon and quite heavy!

“How is this a seed? Where on earth did this come from on such a tiny flower… huh?”

Jaeho turned his gaze to the Epfeltz Flower That Never Blooms, which had revealed the seed, but it had already vanished.

[<The Seed of the Divine Tree>]

[Rank: Mythical]

[Usage conditions: Unknown]

[A seed wrapped in a solid, thick shell.]

[A faint fragrance emanates from it.]

[Something appears to be hidden inside the shell.]

It was clearly an item with secrets.

However, there was no way to examine it further right now, so Jaeho put it back in his inventory.

Nothing new showed up on the skill side.

His existing skills were all transferred intact as class skills.

Their effects remained the same, but thanks to the <Spirit of Vitality> buff, the efficiency of all skills had increased.

He also gained unique <Spirit of Vitality> skills.

[Allows communication with the <Spirit of Vitality>.]

[ Lv.1 < Rapid Growth>]

[Increases the growth speed of the target plant by 100%.]

Only two skills!

“…Kind of a vague feeling.”

The meaning of Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan fit the skills quite well.

‘Spirit’ and ‘Master of Flowers.’

“Well… thinking about it again, it’s not so bad.”

Anyway, he had made it!

Jaeho focused on the fact that he finally succeeded in this long, grueling quest.

This was why he played games!

Most players probably wouldn’t relate, but…

***

A huge festival had broken out in Trian Village.

No one knew where they had been hiding in this small forest village, but an enormous number of Elves appeared, singing and dancing.

“W-What is this…”

“The World Lucksy Union,” or the ‘Jerluck Association’ for short, members stood dumbfounded.

They had failed their Luxi escape attempts and spent their time stuck playing homeless simulators in New World.

They had never seen an event like this.

Moreover, the player was apparently at the center of this event?

“What kind of quest did he do?”

Mei, another player who had started playing the same day as Jaeho, asked the others.

She was also a newcomer who had joined the Jerluck Association about a month ago.

“I guess… maybe those fierce looks scared the Elves off?”

“Ha ha…”

They agreed about the fierce looks, but would the Elves really be afraid?

No matter how strong that guy (Jaeho) looked, this was New World.

The biggest influence on all combat was threat and skill, and a player of that level could never win a fight against an NPC.

In fact, Mei had seen a player lose their castle and take a punch from the Elves.

That player was somewhat capable of fighting in real life, but… the outcome was pitiful.

It had shown how ruthless the beautiful (and despised by humans) Elves could be.

After that, she had avoided eye contact with the Elves.

“In the end, that guy quit the game.”

Anyway, newbies challenging those Elves was absolutely impossible.

“But… what I saw back then was definitely…”

Jaeho’s secret hobby, which no one else had witnessed.

When he first arrived in Luxi, Mei had definitely seen him observing flowers.

Since then, her curiosity made her peek several times, and Jaeho always had flowers in front of him.

“Maybe, despite appearances, he’s a warm person…”

But no one paid attention to Mei’s words.

What could they do?

Even Mei herself had trouble processing it with her own eyes.

***

While the Elves enjoyed their festival in their own way, Jaeho sat across from Elda, surrounded by countless floral arrangements.

“You really did it. Incredible.”

Elda’s admiration was sincere, and Jaeho nodded his head.

“Well, it’s something I enjoy doing.”

“Hohoho.”

She laughed out loud, seemingly very pleased.

“That’s a fitting answer for a Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan.”

“Still, I’m not quite sure what exactly a Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan is.”

He had jumped at the chance because it seemed good for running a flower shop.

“That’s right… It’s because almost nothing is known about Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisans in the world.”

She slowly opened her eyes and began to tell the story.

About the painful history of the Elves that they had never once told outsiders.

“Lady Alicia, how much do you know about the continent’s history?”

“Probably… almost nothing.”

Jaeho answered honestly.

“Our homeland for the Elves used to be a beautiful place called Rijellan Forest. Protected by the Sacred Tree, mother to all Elves, we lived in peace.”

“Sacred Tree Seed…”

Jaeho thought of the item in his inventory.

“But about 300 years ago, caught in the Desert War, the Elves faced the threat of extinction. At that time, the Sacred Tree sacrificed itself to save us all. Because of that, the Rijellan Forest withered away, and the Elves scattered.”

“Desert War…”

The name alone was harsh.

A war that dried up an entire forest.

“Our relations with humans were neither good nor bad, originally. But at that time, humans allied with Demonic Pacts and attacked the Rijellan Forest. Since then, we have been hostile toward humans.”

“Hmm…”

If such a history existed, the way players were treated made sense.

In fact, the Elves were generous enough just to allow people to take shelter in Trian Village.

“But there was one exception, a human who earned the respect of all Elves… That was Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan Tinlight, and now, Lady Alicia.”

Warmth flowed in Elda’s eyes as she looked at Jaeho.

“Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan… despite being human, he was more than an Elf. He was close to spirits and nature. Moreover, he was the one with whom the Sacred Tree communicated at the very end…”

At that moment, a new quest window popped up before Jaeho.

[*Class Quest*]

[Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan Tinlight left a promise with the Sacred Tree that you, the successor Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan, must keep.]

[As a Spirit of Vitality Flower Artisan, you have the duty to fulfill that promise.]

[If the Sacred Tree ceases to exist, the Elves will gradually weaken and ultimately go extinct.]

[Revive the Sacred Tree and aid in the Elves’ survival.]

[Success Conditions: Fulfill the Promise to the Sacred Tree — ‘Rebirth of the Sacred Tree’ and ‘Settlement of the Elves.’]

[Failure Conditions: ‘Destruction of the Sacred Tree’ or ‘Extinction of the Elves.’]