Chapter 57: A Reputation Grows

The 17th floor, where the VIP rooms are gathered, is quiet.

As the name suggests, this is where the VIPs stay.

Even the hospital’s doctors and nurses don’t approach easily.

In front of the sixth door on the 17th floor, two men are standing.

They are Lee Jaewook and Kim Sangcheol.

Both wear determined expressions.

They look as if they’ve sworn to protect the hospital room.

But they couldn’t protect it properly.

Someone had already infiltrated the room without their knowledge.

“Shhh, phoo…”

Inside the room, where only the sound of snoring can be heard, there are two men.

Baek Dowoon lies on the bed, sleeping with a smartphone clutched in his hand.

Even his trademark ponytail has come undone.

A man looks down at Baek Dowoon.

It is Banum, the direct assassin under the terrorist organization Crowd.

There is no emotion in his eyes, only emptiness.

He takes a dagger from his coat.

And then, in a single motion, he stabs toward the chest.

“…?”

Banum tilts his head as he retrieves the dagger.

The dagger hadn’t pierced Dowoon’s chest.

He raises the dagger high again and stabs at the left side of the chest.

Thud!

There was no sound of the dagger tearing through flesh.

What on earth is happening?

Banum stared at the tip of the dagger, which he had forcefully driven in.

“A shield…?”

He was so shocked that words slipped out.

He inwardly mocked himself for such a careless mistake, then stared at the skin that had turned to tree bark.

Who in the world sleeps with a shield activated?

Muttering that to himself, Banum coated the dagger with sword energy.

A shield could be cut through by sword energy.

The dagger, now wreathed in ashen sword energy, thrust toward Baek Dowoon’s chest.

But,

“…!”

Once again, the dagger didn’t reach the chest.

A shield that could block sword energy?

Banum, unable to comprehend, stared back and forth between the dagger and the shield.

Obsession flared in his emotionless eyes.

He used a skill to unleash his strongest attack.

Gray smoke spouted from his right arm, which transformed into a beast’s arm.

The hand remained human, but the arm became that of a gorilla.

Die!

Kaaang!

But even that attack was blocked by the mana shield.

“What the hell is going on…?”

A groan of disbelief slipped from his mouth.

This time, he didn’t even think to mock himself for making noise.

He just stared at his arm and Dowoon’s bark-like skin.

At that moment, a sprout popped up from Dowoon’s chest.

The sprout, growing from his chest, had only three leaves.

“…?”

The sprout began to hop.

It wasn’t just bouncing in place.

It hopped, moving a little at a time.

Somehow, its appearance even seemed cute.

Banum, forgetting he had to kill Dowoon, just watched the scene.

The hopping sprout was enough to make him forget his purpose.

The sprout stopped hopping only after reaching Dowoon’s left arm.

The stem wrapped around Dowoon’s left wrist as he snored.

Then, with its three leaves, it lifted the bed off the ground.

Heave-ho.

Banum, watching, thought he could almost hear such a sound.

At that moment,

[Pine needles. Pine needles. Pine needles. Pine….]

The smartphone began repeating the word ‘pine needles.’

“…!”

Startled, Banum turned and glared at Dowoon’s face.

He thought Dowoon had woken up and activated the phone.

He prepared to pounce at any moment, but Dowoon was still asleep.

His lips puffed as he breathed.

Then why did the phone suddenly turn on?

With a look of doubt,

“Mmm, mmm. Uh, pine needles?”

Dowoon repeated the word he’d heard coming from the smartphone.

It wasn’t intentional—he just mumbled what he heard in his sleep.

Yet, a pine needle shot out quickly from his left hand.

The assassin flinched and dodged in terror.

But he didn’t completely avoid it.

The pine needle stopped in midair as it passed his neck.

“…!”

The pine needle, stopped in midair, suddenly coiled around Banum’s neck like a snake.

With his thick gorilla arm, he grabbed at it, trying to shake it off.

“Kuaaaagh!”

But Banum couldn’t tear off the pine needle.

His right hand, clutching the pine needle, began to melt.

Banum, writhing in agony, could do nothing but scream.

He forgot entirely that he’d snuck in and screamed at the top of his lungs.

Dowoon, woken by the pained scream, shot up in bed.

Drowsy, he toppled forward but managed to steady himself again.

“Oof, what’s this?”

As he looked around, the hospital room door burst open.

Lee Jaewook and Kim Sangcheol, startled by the scream, rushed in.

“Team Leader, are you all right?”

“Ah! That, that!”

“Huh? Who’s this now?”

The three spotted Banum at the same time.

Six eyes fixed on the uninvited guest.

That’s why, as Banum lost consciousness from the pain, only he could see it.

The sprout on Dowoon’s shoulder, waving its leaves.

Did he really hear the sound of it clicking its tongue, ‘tsk tsk’?

Banum glared at the sprout before passing out.

Upon seeing this, the sprout brushed its two leaves together as if dusting off its hands.

As if to say, ‘Just a nobody showing off.’

“An intruder!”

“How did he even get in?”

Was it because of the commotion?

In their haste, Lee Jaewook and Kim Sangcheol didn’t notice the sprout on Dowoon’s shoulder.

The sprout quietly vanished from his shoulder.

“Team Leader!”

“Ah, I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”

Dowoon scratched his tousled head.

He spoke nonchalantly.

“Sprout took care of everything on its own.”

“Huh?”

“Who?”

The two men tilted their heads in confusion.

He simply smiled gently at them.

I had a dream.

In the dream, I wandered through a desert made entirely of sand.

For some reason, as I wandered, I kept searching for pine x cones.

In the end, I even shouted ‘pine needles’ at the top of my lungs.

Why was it pine x cones and pine needles, of all things?

“What a weird dream….”

When I woke up, I understood why I’d had such a dream.

Sprout had bravely fought off the intruder all on its own.

Judging by the pine needle that should have been in my inventory now strangling the intruder’s neck, it was clear I had muttered ‘pine needle’ in my sleep.

As Lee Jaewook, looking around, asked,

“What happened to your arm?”

I understood why he would ask.

The unconscious intruder’s arm was anything but normal.

It had melted, as if drenched in acid.

Other parts of his body were fine, only the right arm was like that.

As if only the right arm was ‘corrupted.’

I think I know where this intruder is from.

“To Dohee and Taecheon—”

“No.”

Lee Jaewook cut me off and refused firmly.

“An assassin came after you, we can’t keep this a secret.”

“Jaewook is right. I’ll inform them as soon as morning comes.”

“….”

It was so obvious, I couldn’t refute.

If we tried to hide this and got caught, neither of them could remain in Baekuncheon Guild.

Dohee and Taecheon are the ones paying them, not me.

They might have loyalty to me, but not obligation.

Sigh, it can’t be helped.

“I didn’t want to say anything so you wouldn’t worry, but it can’t be helped.”

“So you have an idea who this is?”

“There’s only one group I suspect.”

“Of course….”

That guy is definitely from Crowd.

Given how his arm melted as if purified by the pine needle.

Also,

[You have defeated a servant of the Demonic Race. (3/10)]

[Current Completion Reward – 2 Leaves of the Previous World Tree.]

The quest window popped up on one side of my vision.

The count had increased from 2/10 to 3/10.

Since the count went up, this guy is one of the servants of the Demonic Race.

Which means, he’s related to Crowd.

Still, the reward only went up by a single leaf, from one to two.

Aren’t these rewards too stingy?

Well, I didn’t intend to claim them anyway, so I don’t care about the interim rewards.

“I’ll explain things myself.”

I spoke to Lee Jaewook, who was sitting in front of the unconscious intruder.

He took a pair of Hunter handcuffs from his magic pouch and tied the guy’s legs.

Why on earth does he carry that sort of thing around?

“…Just tell Taecheon there was an intruder and you subdued him right away.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“And go explain this to the hospital, too.”

“Huh? But then…”

Kim Sangcheol trailed off.

“Won’t the hospital get scared and kick you out, Team Leader?”

He must have wanted to say that.

If the hospital kicks me out, there’s nothing I can do.

I can’t endanger other patients just for my sake.

Nodding, I said,

“Still, we have to inform them. There could be more of these guys.”

“…Yes. I’ll go right away.”

“Thank you.”

Then I looked at the screen.

Sprout was dangling limply, unlike usual.

It almost looked tired, as if it had fallen asleep.

It must be exhausted after fighting the intruder alone.

Feeling both grateful and guilty, I tapped the screen enthusiastically to cheer it up.

Blue mana flowed into the screen.

Then, I noticed something different about Sprout.

“Huh? The number of leaves has increased?”

The three leaves had become four.

The stem was also longer than when I last checked before bed.

It’s starting to look less and less like something I should call ‘Sprout.’

When did my sprout grow up this much?

[The World Tree Sprout senses something good is about to happen!]

[Please continue to stroke it warmly, as you always do.]

Something good?

Could it be…?

My half-asleep mind cleared instantly.

There was only one good thing that could mean, given Sprout’s message.

I grinned and tapped the smartphone screen with even more enthusiasm.

As usual?

No, I’ll pamper you even more than usual!

*****

Kim Sangcheol left the hospital room at once.

He went to explain what had just happened to the staff in charge of the VIP floor.

He organized his thoughts as he recalled what had happened in the hospital room.

When the sound of a pig being slaughtered echoed out and he opened the door, he saw it.

Baek Dowoon, calmly sitting on the bed.

He didn’t look like someone who’d just taken down an assassin sent to kill him.

He looked leisurely and relaxed, as if he’d just woken from a nap.

Baek Dowoon had spoken as if it were nothing.

“Go explain this to the hospital.”

“Huh? But then…”

Kim Sangcheol trailed off.

‘What if the hospital gets scared and kicks the Team Leader out?’

He couldn’t say that all the way.

Baek Dowoon seemed to realize what he was trying to say and nodded.

Then, in a gentle voice, he said,

“Still, we have to inform them. There could be more of these guys.”

“…Yes.”

He was amazed at how Baek Dowoon instantly grasped the words he couldn’t finish.

At the same time, he admired him for something else.

It was the way he cared about others before himself.

The way he insisted on telling the hospital in case more assassins came was not the behavior of someone only concerned for their own safety.

Even though he was the one who’d nearly been killed by an assassin, Baek Dowoon worried more about the hospital and its patients than about himself.

“Damn, that’s awesome! That’s Baekuncheon for you!”

The way Baek Dowoon acted matched exactly the image Kim Sangcheol always had of Baekuncheon.

That’s why he truly believed he’d made the right decision in joining Baekuncheon.

Clenching his fist, his whole body trembled with emotion.

The night of June 2nd turning into the 3rd.

One innocent young man was sinking deeper into the swamp of misconception.