Chapter 65: Pulling Weeds the Hard Way

I tore the entrance ticket and entered the event dungeon.

As the white light emanating from my smartphone faded, a pitch-black space unfolded before me.

In an instant, I’d been transported from the attic to the event dungeon.

Looking back, I saw Saessak standing there.

Saessak, who had now become a young tree scattering blue light in every direction.

I reached out and placed my hand on the tree trunk.

[The Young World Tree feels warmth from the caretaker’s touch.]

It was the same for me.

I felt warmth from Saessak’s trunk.

It even seemed like I could feel a heartbeat, though that was impossible.

“Sure does look like a young tree, alright.”

The branches of the former World Tree were called branches in name only.

Anyone could tell they were the size of massive logs.

Even calling them branches was a stretch, since their girth was at least twice as thick as Saessak’s trunk now.

Without a doubt, the former World Tree was a gigantic tree of unimaginable size.

[The event will begin soon.]

Once again, a huge message window popped up.

The window contained information about the event.

[‘Uproot the weeds growing around the World Tree!’ event.]

[The caretaker cannot use the ‘Warm Touch’ skill in this place.]

[You must rely solely on the caretaker’s senses to remove weeds by hand.]

[This event will not end until you have pulled all the weeds so that none will grow again.]

[In addition, only when the roots are completely pulled out will the weed be considered successfully removed.]

[If you fail to remove the roots, another weed will grow, so please pay close attention.]

[The event will begin in 10 seconds.]

“……?”

What? Uproot what?

I stared blankly at the message window in disbelief.

The content didn’t look like it was going to change.

The phrase ‘Uproot the weeds growing around the World Tree!’ remained as it was.

I’d thought it would be something like stopping a monster wave…

But now, an event I’d never imagined was about to begin.

“I mean, even if you tell me to pull weeds….”

I muttered as I looked around.

The floor was black, made of some material I couldn’t identify.

I couldn’t imagine weeds growing from a floor like this.

Regardless, the message window floated up again.

[The event will now begin.]

[Caregiver, please do your best to pull up the weeds!]

“…….”

Almost as if mocking my thoughts, weeds began to sprout.

From the barren, black floor, weeds the size of my palm grew up.

Well, the monsters in the previous event were also virtual beings in the end.

Those rapidly sprouting weeds must also be weeds that don’t actually exist.

Still, the sensation of them felt extremely real.

“Phew! Anyway, if they tell me to pull them, I’d better pull them, right?”

I rolled up my sleeves.

The more time I wasted, the more it would be to my own detriment.

Even while I was flustered, weeds were sprouting quickly and thickly all around.

I squatted down and placed my index finger on a weed.

[‘Warm Touch’ cannot be used at this time.]

“Tch.”

Clicking my tongue, I scratched my head.

I’d hoped otherwise, but it was as expected.

Just as warned, Warm Touch couldn’t be used.

Left with no choice, I began pulling weeds by hand from around Saessak.

But,

[The roots were not completely pulled out.]

[Another weed is growing.]

Every time I tried,

[Oh dear, only the stem broke!]

[Another weed is growing.]

The messages popping up scraped at my nerves.

[Unfortunately, some of the roots remain.]

[Another weed is growing.]

I put down the weed I’d failed to pull out completely.

Then I remembered something from my childhood.

Was I about eight?

At Ark Orphanage, we’d had a ‘vegetable garden activity’ as part of our experience learning.

Of course, it wasn’t like I’d ever pulled weeds back then, nor did anyone ever teach me how.

That’s how it is with children’s activities, isn’t it?

Nobody bothers to make little kids do the hard, repetitive work of pulling weeds.

Back then, I just picked fruit off the trees and dug up sweet potatoes the size of my face with a trowel.

If I’d known this would happen, I’d have learned how to pull weeds properly.

[The roots were not completely pulled out.]

[Another weed is growing.]

“What the heck kind of event is this! Are they just trying to make people mad?!”

I shouted in frustration.

But it was only a cry into the void.

Saessak stood quietly, scattering blue light, and the message window continued to repeat that more weeds were growing.

“Sigh, whew….”

I took a deep breath in and let it out.

It was so I wouldn’t get caught up by the infuriating messages anymore.

To be fair, pulling weeds was no easy task.

If I pulled hard, the leaves or stems would snap in the middle, and if I pulled too gently, my hands would just slip off.

As I slipped, my skin got scraped, and my fingers stung.

Judging by my scraped skin, not only was Warm Touch disabled, but my Bark Skin and other skills were probably restricted as well.

“Nothing ever goes easy for me, does it?”

Grumbling, I kept pulling weeds.

And just then—

[You have perfectly uprooted a weed!]

[Please continue like this!]

For the first time, I managed to completely uproot a weed.

I held the fully pulled weed in my hand.

Looking at it, I almost felt like it was muttering ‘how unfair.’

I shook my head vigorously.

To not forget the feeling I’d just had, I reached for another weed.

While fully intending to pull it, I moved my hands as if I didn’t care.

Then, the weeds began to come out easily.

“Oh, I’ve got the hang of it!”

I moved diligently so I wouldn’t lose my touch.

How many hours had I spent crouching, circling around?

In the end, there was only one weed left beside Saessak.

“Phew, phew….”

I steadied my breathing.

Of course, I wasn’t tired.

My body had unlimited stamina.

No way I’d get exhausted just from pulling weeds.

I was calming myself for a different reason.

This weed had to be the last one.

I didn’t want to see the message, ‘Another weed is growing,’ because I failed to pull it properly.

Slowly, I reached out and gently stroked the weed.

Let’s do this right.

You and me both.

“……!”

I grasped the gently caressed weed without a second thought and pulled.

The stem stretched, and then—

Pop!

The weed came out.

I looked down at the limp weed in my palm.

From the looks of it, I’d gotten all the roots.

But with these damn weeds, sometimes a little bit of root remained.

Couldn’t afford to let my guard down until the end.

I glared at the floating message window beside me.

[Congratulations!]

[You have pulled all the weeds!]

“Uaaaah!”

A triumphant shout burst from my lips.

I threw the weed in my hand onto the ground.

“It’s finally over, you damn weeds!”

The weed tossed on the floor broke into pieces.

Not satisfied, I stomped on it furiously.

Soon the weed vanished altogether.

With all the weeds gone, my heart felt light and at ease.

Now only the black floor remained around Saessak.

[Event Clear!]

[World Tree Caretaker Baek Dowoon has successfully completed the Former World Tree’s event.]

[Final evaluation will now take place to determine your reward.]

“What? No!”

This was bad.

There were piles of weeds I’d failed to pull properly.

Even after I’d gotten the hang of it, most of them hadn’t come out clean.

No wonder it had taken me hours to pull all the weeds around me.

My evaluation was definitely not going to be good.

[Final evaluation: Grade C.]

“…Damn it.”

A curse slipped out, but I couldn’t deny it.

I’d made plenty of mistakes, enough to admit it myself.

I’d accept my C grade with humility.

[Reward – Two Former World Tree Leaves (Version selectable).]

[Will you claim your reward? (YES / NO)]

“Only two leaves…”

Accepting my grade and being disappointed were two different things.

If I’d done well from the start, I could’ve gotten a better reward.

I could choose the version, so I took one broadleaf and one needleleaf.

I’d leave them with the Alchemy Workshop to make healing and mana potions.

[It has been confirmed that the caretaker has received all event rewards.]

[Would you like to leave the event dungeon? (YES / NO)]

Of course, I clicked YES.

I wanted to get out of this wretched place as soon as possible.

I didn’t want to stay a moment longer.

Just then, a message window appeared.

It was probably another notice asking me to look forward to the next event, like last time.

“…….”

As I expected.

The message window that appeared asked me to look forward to the next event.

Except—

[Please look forward to the upcoming ‘Weed Pulling Lv.2’ event!]

[- PG Corporation.]

…That was a nightmare.

The white light faded.

My body had returned to the attic.

Leaning against the pile of junk I’d stacked up.

[Please look forward to the upcoming ‘Weed Pulling Lv.2’ event!]

The last message I’d seen popped back into my mind.

I instinctively rubbed my face with both hands.

“I’ll just learn how to do it, then.”

It was a vow.

A promise to learn how to pull weeds properly.

No, I wouldn’t just promise—I’d do it right now.

Who knew when another weed-pulling event would come?

I stood up and left the attic.

“Ah!”

Kang Woo-hyuk’s fist tapped my thigh.

He’d gone to knock just as I opened the door.

The nun was with him as well.

“Where are you going, mister?”

“Yeah, I’m going out.”

“Without eating dinner? Where are you going?”

Where was I going?

Well….

Wait, now that I thought about it, where should I go?

There was no such thing as a school for learning how to pull weeds.

Scratching my neck, I looked at the nun.

She raised one eyebrow at me.

A familiar expression.

Are you thinking up something stupid again?

“You’re not…thinking something weird again, are you?”

Guess she didn’t want to curse in front of the kid.

Not that she would, since she’s a nun anyway.

“Hey, do you know where I can learn how to pull weeds?”

“What?”

She frowned and asked again.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Weeds?”

“I couldn’t pull them right, so I didn’t get a good reward. Next time, I won’t fail.”

“What in the world are you….”

She trailed off mid-sentence and closed her mouth.

Shaking her head, she spoke again.

“If you want to get better at pulling weeds, why not tidy up the vegetable patch behind the orphanage?”

“Huh? You still do that?”

“It’s for side dishes, and for self-sufficiency, more or less. Anyway, if you want to get better at pulling weeds, try cleaning up the garden.”

Not a bad idea at all.

With simple work like this, practice is the only way.

Alright, decision made.

“Off to pull weeds—”

“Before that.”

The nun grabbed my wrist just as I was about to head to the garden.

In addition to her hand, two small hands grabbed my thigh.

Looking down, Kang Woo-hyuk was gripping my pants and looking up at me.

“…What are you doing?”

“Eat dinner with us! Everyone’s waiting for you!”

“Ah, it’s fine. Go ahead and eat without me. I don’t need to.”

I had to hurry and go pull weeds.

But the two of them didn’t let go.

I tried to step back and shake them off, but—

“Aah, eat with us, mister!”

Kang Woo-hyuk bounced up and down, pleading.

Then he beamed, “Right? Right?” with a bright smile.

…That’s a smile you can’t help but get attached to.

I bent my knees and squatted down to meet his eyes.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“If you want me to eat with you, call me ‘hyung’ instead of mister.”

“Huh?”

Kang Woo-hyuk tilted his head.

Rubbing his lips with his finger, he said,

“How could I call you hyung, mister? That’s super rude!”

His face and voice were completely serious.

So much so that I was at a loss for words.

Dumbfounded, I looked to the nun. She was biting her lip.

Trying to hold back laughter.

“I’m a polite kid, right, Sister?”

“Pfft!”

Unable to hold it in, the nun burst out laughing.

I looked at her, wanting to ask what was so funny.

She met my eyes and just shrugged with a smile.

“I’m telling you, I’m not a mister…”

I’m only twenty-six—I can’t be called a mister.

Did my pathetic voice get through to someone?

Saessak comforted me.

[The young tree feels sorry for the caretaker.]

[To cheer you up, it sends you morning dew.]

Thanks, Saessak.

But…why morning dew, of all things?

Makes me think of that green bottle…