Chapter 32 : The Spirit’s Covenant

About two days after the Shinto Tree blossomed, a man from the far end of the Molgol came looking for Jaeho’s flower shop.

“Hyuk, it’s been a while.”

“Ah, sorry. Was that you?”

It turned out to be Ham Wansik, who had become so thin he looked like he might vanish into thin air!

“What on earth happened to you? Why do you look so wrecked?”

“Don’t you know? You’re asking?”

“Yeah.”

“… Hoo—still, since I’m your only real friend, I’m bearing with it.”

With that, Wansik suddenly extended his hand.

“I threw my whole body into this to bring you something that could help. So later on, if you get big, you have to give me a title or something, okay?”

“Of course. So what is it?”

It was a day no one expected him to come, but that much promise was…

“Why do you sound so dry about it?”

“Hmm? No way.”

It was a relief that his feet were covered by shoes, hiding the sore soles.

“… Well, anyway, take a look at this.”

What Wansik held was the Epfeltz Flower Ring that Jaeho had made for him.

But it had changed quite a bit from what it used to be.

The band had become thicker and firmer, and the petals shimmered as if brimming with vitality.

[<Completely Grown Epfeltz Flower Ring>]

[Grade: Advanced]

[Usage Condition: The one who completed the Epfeltz Flower Ring]

[This is a flower ring created by the Spiritizing Agent and perfected by Muscle Pangpang.]

[The once fragile flower ring has grown incredibly strong through the careful nurturing of its owner.]

[A fully grown flower ring is a testament to your love for nature. The Elves will hold affection for the wearer of this ring.]

An astonishing result!

“Woah, this is amazing.”

Jaeho genuinely admired it.

He had never imagined Wansik would bring back such an incredible item.

“… You really didn’t expect this, did you?”

“So, has anything changed because of it?”

“Well… my relationship with the Elves has definitely improved a bit.”

“Improved a bit?”

About as much as going from trash to human status…

“Well, we can have normal everyday conversations. I don’t know how significant it is that the flower on the ring grew more…”

“Normal conversations? To what extent? Similar to me?”

“Do you really think that’s normal? Others would say it looks like you’re part of a cult.”

“What? Then how do you describe it?”

“Just casual greetings exchanged naturally.”

Jaeho suddenly realized that he had unknowingly grown accustomed to this bizarre situation.

“Even this much is nothing short of a miracle here. Other players have already asked me how to build rapport.”

Although a bit uneasy, this was undeniably an impressive achievement.

“With this, the players of Elysia might be a little happier…”

Suddenly, Jaeho stopped thinking.

If he did this right…

“Hey, is it really necessary to make and hand these out?”

“Hm?”

“I’m starting to get a rough understanding of how the New World works.”

“Only now?”

“Hmm, anyway, here’s my thought: make the flower ring a quest item. A must-have item to get close with the Elves.”

“Wow. You…”

Wansik’s shocked face.

[ <Spirit of Vitality> calls him ‘this damn human.’]

Even the Spirit of Vitality retorted accordingly…

“You really get it, huh?”

[ <Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘???’.]

“Right? I mean, it wouldn’t make sense to just hand them out. Besides, there will be people who come to Elysia just aiming for that item.”

“Adding it as a bonus to the ongoing City Construction Quest would be perfect. Honestly, it felt lame to have only potions as rewards.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

Jaeho immediately updated the quest.

[City Construction Quest]

[In the heart of Fermasa Desert, a new city for the Elves is being built — the Elysia Garden.]

[You must help construct the Elysia Garden and usher in the beginning of a new city.]

[Success Condition: Complete construction of Elysia Garden]

[Rewards: 1. <Spiritizing Agent Essence of Epfeltz Flower> x20

2. <Epfeltz Flower Ring>]

The updated quest was soon delivered to the trash… no, the slaves.

“What? The quest got updated?”

“Flower ring…? Why on earth make that a quest item?”

By now, everyone knew it was Jaeho who suggested this city construction quest, and that he was the Player who first gained the title of king.

“I’m not bragging. If I hadn’t started in the Luxi Forest, I’d be a ranker too. It’s so unfair!”

“Wait a minute… look at this ring’s option!”

[The Elves show interest.]

“What? This option… Hyuk, could it be?!”

“Definitely. ‘Sman’!”

There were a few famous players in Hell Desert.

Among them, there was the recently publicly revealed Elsia, and the most successful former Jerluck Association members, Mei and Alba Samantha, as well as the slave counselor Breeze.

Unfortunately, Giant still wasn’t influential enough to be included…

Anyway, the latest addition to the roster was the crazy guy who kept spamming iron fists, nicknamed ‘Sman.’

That was none other than Ham Wansik.

“They say among Hell Desert newcomers, he was the first to successfully exchange natural greetings with the Elves. And the strange ring on his hand… isn’t that this one?”

“Wow… that ring really means that much?”

The once insignificant flower ring began to look new and impressive.

The Elves, who had only left behind bitter resentment toward them, might just be turned against them now.

“Krrk… the Elves actually greet me…? To this trash human?”

The mere thought sent a thrilling chill through them.

At the same moment.

“What is this?”

Giant asked after receiving the flower ring from Jaeho.

“It’s an item that helps build rapport with the Elves.”

“So this is the…!”

Giant also knew about Sman.

“Others can get it through the quest, but you, Giant, need to build friendship with the Elves as soon as possible.”

“Sniff… Thank you…”

Deeply moved, Giant carefully put on the ring.

Unaware of what kind of hell awaited him…

***

“Phew, today was productive again.”

Jaeho logged off and stepped out of the capsule.

“Jaeho, come here for a moment.”

As he was about to go to the restroom, he flinched at his mother’s voice calling him.

“I’ve got a bad feeling.”

Moreover, seeing Wooram sitting quietly beside her only heightened his unease.

“What’s going on?”

“You little brat, how dare you lie to me?!”

“Please just stay still.”

Wooram, who had briefly lost his temper at Jaeho’s overly innocent answer, calmed down again thanks to his wife, Eunhye’s reproach.

“This is… something serious.”

In the end, Jaeho sat facing the two of them.

In truth, he already had a rough idea.

The recent days had been unusually quiet.

“… Did you see it?”

Eunhye asked first, reading the room.

“Yeah. They were blabbering about it on TV like it was breaking news.”

“As expected.”

Even though the two weren’t the type to enjoy TV shows often, it was impossible not to know.

Plus, Wooram must have heard things from gym members.

“Your dad suddenly bought you that huge machine, so I was wondering what on earth was going on…”

“Ah, no, honey! I’m innocent! That’s not why I bought it!”

Wooram shouted indignantly.

Not very convincing, though.

“You’re obvious. You can’t give up making us fight, so you tried to make us fight even through the game.”

“F-fight? I’m a martial artist, a fighter.”

“Same thing.”

Eunhye’s gaze turned back to Jaeho.

“???”

But there was a slightly softer expression on her face than before.

“You worked hard.”

“… Huh?”

“Eh?”

Completely unexpected words left both Jaeho and Wooram dumbfounded.

“W-what do you mean so suddenly? Have you been drinking?”

At Jaeho’s sincere question, Eunhye smiled gently.

“Did you think your mother wouldn’t know? That you wanted to run a flower shop so badly.”

“???”

“I still vividly remember you as a child, eyes watering from allergies, always staring at flowers.”

“Oh… that’s true.”

“Of course! Because of that, your father suffered so much, drinking soju over it.”

“Well… yeah.”

A fully expected picture.

“I saw you on the broadcast; you seem to be running some sort of flower shop, right?”

“… Well, yes, for now.”

“You little!!! You lied to me!!! You said warrior!”

“Well, it’s a warrior class, and besides, it’s the martial arts you wanted!”

“?!!”

Now that he thought about it, Jaeho was wielding punches in the video Wooram had seen.

Though he did resort to cowardly tricks like grabbing his opponent’s tentacle-like arms…

“The important thing is you achieved what you wanted. Even if it’s in a virtual world.”

“M-mom…”

Jaeho’s nose twitched.

“You’re just like your mother, different from anyone else…”

Clack

At that moment, Eunhye’s expression, which had been warming the room, suddenly disappeared.

“That’s enough with the sweet talk. As a mother, I’m very glad my son is pursuing what he loves. But isn’t it more important to be faithful to your main responsibilities?”

“Y-yeah, that’s right.”

“Then why were your grades so bad last semester?”

“?!!!”

The first thought was: “How?”

Jaeho had literally made a mess last semester.

Once he started playing the New World, he got completely hooked.

But he had never told his parents this — so how did they know his grades?

“Before he joined the military, he used to get scholarships without missing a beat. It’s only natural to get suspicious when he suddenly goes quiet.”

“Ah…”

Well, he had been quite a model student despite everything.

“No, this!”

Seeing her triumphant expression, Jaeho realized he had been caught by her sweet words of encouragement.

“Damn, I fell for it. I didn’t realize how skilled my mom is at this mind game.”

Poke

Wooram’s nagging made Eunhye’s eyes narrow in irritation.

“Anyway! So what happened to last semester’s results? I believed you could handle it, but if you failed because of gaming, I’m worried.”

“Hmm, I’ll explain.”

His exam and assignment scores were actually quite good.

He ranked among the top in his department.

The problem was that he skipped morning classes because of the game.

That’s why his overall grade tanked.

“Is that what you call an explanation?”

Eunhye’s expression was one of utter disbelief.

“So basically, it’s because of the game?”

“No. It was the ridiculously slow class registration site and bad luck. If I had reliably skipped morning classes, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“… The game really is having a huge impact on your academics.”

She ignored Jaeho’s protests and moved on.

“Geez.”

Jaeho sighed inwardly.

If this keeps up, it’s a serious problem for flower shop life…

At that moment, an unexpected ally stepped forward.

“Ahem… Um, can I say something?”

Wooram interrupted with a cough.

“You know Jaeho has grown up well without any trouble, right?”

“That’s true.”

Eunhye agreed.

She knew how many bad kids had tried to approach Jaeho during his school days.

“Looking back, maybe we squeezed him too tight out of worry. Life is long, and Jaeho is still young. Gaming? He’s allowed to play a bit.”

Wooram, having been a hardcore gamer himself, understood well.

“And I heard that the New World is a big deal these days.”

“Well… I’ve heard about it too.”

“See? Plus, gym members told me that Jaeho is really famous in that game right now.”

“But it’s still just a game.”

“Hey! You don’t get it!”

Suddenly, Wooram pulled out his phone and started rummaging through something.

[Hot Player of the Week]

[<King of Elysia, Alicia>]

This player, whose name is almost synonymous with mystery, appeared like a comet and overturned the New World. A presence no one knew… (truncated)]

Wooram began reading out all the articles about Jaeho featured in the world’s most influential gaming magazine.

Because of him, Jaeho struggled to keep himself from running back to his room in embarrassment.