Chapter 569
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 569
After Yggdrasil's blessing transformed 1 million humans into male half-elves,
The world began to experience rapid changes.
-Doesn't the World Tree mark on the moon seem more significant these days?
-Yeah, it definitely feels more intense...
First, people worldwide commonly noticed the presence of the World Tree reflected on the moon.
Usually, the World Tree's pattern would gently shine on the moon and then disappear.
But the pattern was constantly visible on the moon since the World Tree Alliance's intervention intensified.
Additionally,
-The area near Namsan is now completely off-limits
-I barely got into university, and now the Colonial Government is telling everyone to evacuate from the university...
-Who cares about universities? We're being kicked out of our homes. lol
-But the government's giving hefty compensation, right? I heard the Colonial Government valued the properties really high.
-For real, they say everyone near Namsan is becoming nouveau riche.
-Lucky... But why do they need land near Namsan?
-Those swords the male half-elves use... I heard they're stuck in the ground?
Since the blue swords became a million in number,
It seemed they decided not to hide the existence of the Hall of Swords anymore, confiscating all the land near the Colonial Government.
They were also spreading the World Tree pattern widely across the land.
-Korea's getting favored again...
-The location of the Colonial Government is really important, I'm telling you.
And foreigners envied Korea and Seoul, perceiving this as a blessing from the World Tree Alliance.
While people were strongly feeling these changes caused by the World Tree Alliance,
"From today, this person will be escorting Kim Jihun-nim with me."
An unexpected guest arrived at Kim Jihun's house.
The elf escort, who usually didn't take the initiative, opened the door and informed Kim Jihun.
"Hello!"
Outside the house, Yoon Seah was standing with a bright smile.
'Well, she came right away.'
In exchange for saving Yoon Sejin, Yggdrasil had ordered to make the blue sword 'Kim Jihun' number one.
It seemed Yoon Seah had been officially dispatched here to carry out this task.
"Uh... Certainly. At the guild..."
For now, since he shouldn't act like he knew her, he looked at her naively in Kim Jihun's state.
"Yes, yes. That's right. Actually, I was working for the Colonial Government."
"Co-Colonial Government...? But, you're not even an elf..."
"Right?"
Yoon Seah looked at the elf behind Seong Jihan.
She nodded.
"That's correct. She holds an important role in the Colonial Government."
"Ah... I see."
As the elf escort directly confirmed it, Kim Jihun just nodded with a naive expression.
Yoon Seah continued speaking with a smiling face.
"Originally, I was supposed to support Kim Jihun-nim only within the guild. But the situation changed rapidly from above, so they told me to provide support openly."
"Ah, I see... But what do you mean by support?"
"Well, simply put, you can think of it as developing Kim Jihun-nim's compatibility."
As she said this, Yoon Seah glanced behind her.
Then,
"Hello... sir."
Behind her, a male half-elf with a stiff face appeared and slightly bowed his head to him.
"...I'm Yoon Sejin."
"Oh, co-could it be... Are you the Sword King?"
"...That's a title I've already been stripped of. Please just call me by my name."
"Ah... I understand."
Kim Jihun nodded.
During the recent aptitude test, he had briefly made headlines for achieving the highest record and being number one in compatibility.
But following the Colonial Government's directive, all news about him had been taken down.
'Yggdrasil... She told Seah to use the twin swords, but is she making her bring him around in reality too?'
Seong Jihan recalled what happened before.
In Kim Jihun's body, he just rolled his eyes and slowly opened his mouth.
"But why did you come together..."
"...I'll be used to grow Kim Jihun-nim's compatibility."
"What? You, Yoon Sejin? How will you be used..."
"That's..."
Swish.
As Yoon Sejin looked towards Yoon Seah, she stepped forward again.
"I'll handle that part."
"...Yoon Seah?"
"Yes. I know this is sudden and confusing, but this will be a great opportunity for Kim Jihun-nim too. If you inherit my father's compatibility, you should be able to become number one easily."
"Me, number one... But so many people surpassed 30% this time."
"But among them, not a single person has the characteristic of growing compatibility."
As she said this, Yoon Seah smiled.
"So, if you inherit the compatibility of my father who has become a criminal. Kim Jihun-nim, you can definitely become number one."
"..."
A woman suddenly visited his home and said she would make him number one in compatibility.
If others heard this, they'd immediately call it a scam, but,
"Since you said you're from the Colonial Government... I understand."
With the elf escort vouching for Yoon Seah, he had no choice but to believe from his position.
"You've made a good decision. Then, let's get started right away."
"H-Here at home?"
"Yes. Would you lie down on the bed?"
Yoon Seah took off her shoes and entered Kim Jihun's house like it was her own.
As Kim Jihun just blinked, Yoon Sejin patted his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. My daughter has a bit of an impatient personality."
"Ah, I see..."
With a dazed expression, Kim Jihun was pulled along by Yoon Seah.
As he lay down on the bed,
"Sleep."
She immediately used a sleep spell.
Sss...
As Kim Jihun fell asleep,
Yoon Seah approached him and reached out her hand.
Swoosh...
Then, purple smoke rose up.
"Seah. Then what should I do to help?"
"Hmm. For now, just stand by."
After telling Yoon Sejin who was trying to help her,
Yoon Seah blew Void into Kim Jihun's body.
And then,
[Uncle. I'm here.]
She contacted Seong Jihan inside.
* * *
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Seong Jihan, who had almost been caught by Yggdrasil avatar in Governor Mia's body at the Hall of Swords,
Safely entered Kim Jihun's body and returned home.
As soon as he woke up, he felt a strange sense of discomfort.
'Is Yggdrasil... watching this place?'
She said she would descend directly, and indeed, Yggdrasil's control had become incomparably stronger than before.
Moreover, perhaps because she was trying to nurture Kim Jihun who had the characteristic of growth,
The gaze of surveillance that he used to ignore before now easily felt quite bothersome.
'Still, I should be able to act while avoiding that surveillance for now...'
No matter how much Yggdrasil's power had increased,
Unless she descended and watched nearby like when she was Governor Mia, there was no chance he would be detected.
Like before, leaving Kim Jihun's body to Ariel and going on an expedition to the World Tree Alliance side.
It should still be possible a few more times.
But.
'There's no need to do that right now.'
For Seong Jihan, who had sufficiently grown the blue vessel through Gilgamesh,
There wasn't much benefit in attacking the alliance's planets which were now well-defended.
Especially since Yoon Seah was now forcibly participating in the 'Red Administrator subjugation'.
There was no need to create a dangerous situation just to gain a bit more eternity or red.
'Rather... I should firmly establish Kim Jihun as number one.'
For that reason,
Seong Jihan decided to stop his expeditions as the Red Administrator for now and focus on Kim Jihun.
And,
[So from now on, we'll make contact like this?]
[Yes.]
He communicated with Yoon Seah only through Void like this.
[This is a bit inconvenient... But I guess I can't just come up to your place like before?]
[The Alliance is already watching that house.]
The penthouse where Yoon Seah, the future owner of the Arena belonging to Void, lived wasn't under surveillance before.
But when Yoon Seah bowed down and agreed to cooperate with Yggdrasil to save Yoon Sejin,
The other side started monitoring even that house which they hadn't been watching before.
[Really...? They said they'd only check briefly earlier. But they're constantly monitoring now.]
[Yeah. It's better to be careful now.]
[Then is that elf next to you also some kind of avatar of Yggdrasil?]
[No. That one isn't. Right now, Yggdrasil is focusing more on you than Kim Jihun.]
Unlike Kim Jihun, who had already been closely checked by the Governor and cleared of suspicion,
Yoon Seah was someone they had pulled in using Yoon Sejin as a hostage, so Yggdrasil concentrated her attention on this side.
So in fact, he could act like before in front of the elf escort with the 'Red authority', but.
'No... I should rather withdraw the Sacred Flame.'
Seong Jihan decided to retrieve the authority he had placed on the elf escort.
There wouldn't be any need to go on expeditions until he stole the Blue anyway.
As Seong Jihan was trying to eliminate anything that Yggdrasil's main body might detect,
[Uncle. Then should I just keep injecting Void? And you'll handle the growth yourself?]
Yoon Seah, who was blowing in Void, asked how to proceed.
[When you talked about inheriting Yoon Sejin's compatibility earlier, what were you thinking?]
[Ah. I just said that to stay with Dad for a while. He's feeling really guilty this time, thinking Yggdrasil is using me because of him... I thought he shouldn't be alone.]
It made sense that he would feel that way, since his daughter had become indebted to the Green Administrator because of him.
[Hmm... Then should we actually inherit Yoon Sejin's compatibility?]
[What... For real?]
[Yeah. It would look better to get Blue from the number one blue sword rather than just growing with Void.]
[Okay. Then I'll convert it to Dad's sword.]
Sss...
"Dad. Are you ready?"
"Are you doing it now? Go ahead."
"I'm going to try inheriting the compatibility... Are you sure you're not reluctant to give up this ability?"
At those words, Yoon Sejin gave a bitter smile.
"Reluctant? When I think about how Yggdrasil is blackmailing you because of this ability... I want to give it all to him right away."
"Alright. Then I'll try it. Okay... Authority activation. 'Blue Sword Conversion'."
Thud.
At those words, Yoon Sejin lost consciousness and collapsed in his seat.
And above his head, two blue swords appeared.
[What do I do now?]
[Stab me with those.]
[S-Stab you?]
[Yeah. Stab them into my chest along with the Void. I'll handle the rest.]
Thunk!
Following Seong Jihan's instructions, Yoon Seah stabbed with the twin swords.
Sss...
The swords flashed with blue light, and it slowly started being absorbed into Kim Jihun's body.
'Current compatibility is 27%...'
He should reach 30% within this week.
As Kim Jihun, impaled by the swords, began to absorb Yoon Sejin's Blue fully,
"..."
The elf escort in the back was quietly observing.
And the scene she was watching,
"Hmm... So that's how they transfer Blue?"
Was being transmitted to the Colonial Government in real-time.
"The owner of the Arena... Seems she had her own method. After that's done, conduct a detailed compatibility examination in the Hall of Swords."
"Yes, understood."
As Yggdrasil, summoned into the Governor's body, gave her orders,
A detailed examination was added to Kim Jihun's routine.
And three days later,
"Blue sword 'Kim Jihun' has achieved 30% compatibility."
Upon receiving a report on Kim Jihun's compatibility growth, Yggdrasil,
"...What? Was it this easy to increase it?"
Tilted her head, seeing Kim Jihun grow 1% per day.
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]