Chapter 71

71 The Grapevine That Kept Its Promise

"I think I've picked enough."

Cheon Dowoon said, looking at the grapes in his bag.

"Kim Nari. Get ready to go home now."

"Can we take that guy with us? He might die if we leave him like that."

Kim Nari said, looking at the young Hunter. She felt uneasy about leaving someone in a hallucination.

"I don't mind taking him. But it'll be a pain if he gets violent, so knock him out."

"Got it."

Kim Nari approached the Hunter, intending to chop him on the neck with her hand.

The Hunter, who had been dazed, thinking it was a hallucination, was horrified by Kim Nari's realistic attack and dodged.

Whoosh—the sound of displaced air—and crack. Kim Nari pulled her hand out of the tree and looked at the Hunter.

"Mister. Stay still. Don't dodge."

"N-no! If I don't dodge, I'll die! You were trying to break my neck!"

"No, I controlled my strength. You have to do this much when dealing with an Awakened."

"That might be true for B-rank Awakened or higher! I'm still C-rank… Wait, hold on. Is this not a hallucination?"

The young man looked at Kim Nari with a bewildered expression. With a doubtful look, he touched the broken tree.

"It's really broken… L-little girl. What's your name?"

"I'm Kim Nari!"

"K-Kim Nari. Okay. Hello. I'm Lee Baek-ho. And could you please put that hand down? I'm not in a hallucination anymore."

The young Hunter, Lee Baek-ho, said hastily.

As he realized that this was reality, his mind cleared, and he spoke quickly.

"It's true. The hallucination from the grape smell depends on the person's constitution. I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Y-yes. I'm okay, so could you take me to where your group is? I'll compensate you properly."

Lee Baek-ho bowed to Cheon Dowoon as well.

"Please. I was being chased by monsters and lost my luggage. I absentmindedly put my spare Return Stone in the bag… so I can't go back."

"Sounds like you had a rough time. Do that if you want to follow."

"T-thank you!"

"But how is it that a C-rank Hunter is alone like this? Did your comrades betray you or something?"

"No. Actually… I fought with my grandfather and came over here alone in a fit of pique."

Lee Baek-ho scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"My grandfather keeps trying to make me take over the family business. I told him I didn't want to and we had a fight. Then I remembered what he said."

"What did he say?"

"He said he wouldn't make me study to be his successor anymore if I could bring him a Demon Realm grapevine seed."

Cheon Dowoon laughed. Grapevine seeds were not easy to obtain.

Moreover, to operate solo inside a Gate, one had to be at least B-rank.

Even then, it was a life-threatening act, so most people moved as a team.

For a C-rank Hunter like Lee Baek-ho to be asked to do that meant that he should just listen quietly.

"It's too ridiculous, right? So I came over here in a fit of anger. I was going to bring him the seed to show him… but this is how it turned out."

Lee Baek-ho said with an awkward expression.

Kim Nari, who had been listening quietly, took a grape from her bag and held it out.

"Here, take this. Give him the seed from this."

"Haha, I appreciate the thought, little girl. But the grape seed isn't in there."

"It's not in here? Then where is it?"

At Kim Nari's question, Cheon Dowoon pointed upwards.

"The seeds grow at the top of the tree. Not as fruit, but as separate seed pods."

"The top of the tree?"

Kim Nari looked up.

It was a huge tree, reminiscent of the World Tree. Its end seemed to reach the sky, so it was obvious that the Magical energy density would increase as one went higher.

"Mister. This tree is too big. It might be better to find a small tree."

"That won't work. Seeds don't grow on small trees. It has to be this big for seed pods to form."

In the first place, even if they went up, the chances of getting a seed were slim.

"Like Mandragora fruits, seeds are only produced at certain times. If you don't know when that is, you'll just be wasting your time going up."

"Ah… I see. You really are amazing, Mister. You know a lot."

Cheon Dowoon smiled at Kim Nari's question.

"A lot is known about grapevines in general. Since they bear edible fruit, there has been a lot of research. And…"

Cheon Dowoon looked at the thick tree trunk. The corners of his lips turned up slightly.

"This is a tree I planted when I was young."

"You planted this tree, Mister?"

"Yes. So I've personally researched it more."

Cheon Dowoon recalled how he came to plant the tree.

He was 17 years old. He was getting a checkup at the lab as usual.

The researchers were sitting Cheon Dowoon down and discussing while looking at charts.

[I heard the cells you transplanted this time were Mandragora cells?]

[That's right.]

[I don't quite understand. Why did you transplant those cells? Even if it's a monster, it's a monster that spends most of its time sleeping underground.]

[It's the director's order. Mandragoras are excellent at refining Mana. There's even a saying that they're living Mana storage units. I guess that's the effect they're aiming for.]

At the young researcher's words, another one made a subtle face.

[Isn't that guy, Number 17, already a walking Mana storage unit?]

[That's… yes. That's true.]

[It seems like a pointless thing to do.]

[Actually, I think so too. But what power do we have? We have to do what we're told.]

As the researchers' conversation dragged on, Cheon Dowoon became bored.

Leaving his seat, he wandered around the lab and stopped in front of a table.

There, a flat seed the size of a human fist was placed.

[Hey, guys. What's this?]

When Cheon Dowoon asked, the researchers looked at the seed.

[It's a grape seed. You've learned about Demon Realm grapes, right?]

[I have. What are you going to use this for?]

The researcher shrugged.

[We're not. We're going to throw it away. We went to the trouble of getting it this time, but after investigating it, it turned out to be nothing special. It doesn't contain Mana like Mandragora, and it doesn't have any special effects.]

[That's right. It's just hard to get. It's no different from the seeds that are scattered all over our world.]

At the researchers' words, Cheon Dowoon picked up the seed.

[Then I'll take it.]

[I don't mind, but what are you going to use it for?]

[Where else would I use a seed but to plant it in the ground? I can go now, right?]

Cheon Dowoon left the lab with the seed. The researcher who saw him let out a hollow laugh.

[Plant it, he says. Is he going to grow it and eat grapes? That guy has a childish side too.]

[Isn't there another purpose? He's Number 17, after all.]

A moment of silence passed. The researcher who had called Cheon Dowoon childish groaned softly.

Now that he heard it, it sounded more plausible that he had taken it for some purpose.

[The… the research on the seed is already done. It's just an ordinary seed. It's not poisonous, so what could he do with it?]

[T-that's right, isn't it?]

The two looked at each other and nodded. Nevertheless, they couldn't hide a strange feeling of unease.

Why did he take the seed? Could there be a secret we don't know about?

They scratched their heads, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

* * *

Returning to his room, Cheon Dowoon placed the seed on his desk.

He looked at the seed and tilted his head.

[I thought it was just my imagination, but it's not. There's a feeling of resonance. Is it because I have Mandragora cells transplanted?]

Resonance between plant-type monsters.

Cheon Dowoon was feeling the life crouching inside the seed.

This was no ordinary seed. There was a life hiding inside a shell as hard as armor.

[Hey. Come out.]

Cheon Dowoon tapped the seed with his finger.

[Don't pretend to be asleep. I know you're awake.]

He tapped it once more, but there was still no response. Cheon Dowoon didn't care and spoke to it.

[I guess I have a lot of connections with plant-type monsters. About two years ago, I met a walking plant.]

Cheon Dowoon pulled up a chair and sat down, saying,

[I couldn't save it then.]

His voice became a little softer.

Cheon Dowoon wasn't the type to dwell on the past and become depressed. He didn't regret anything either.

But there was one thing. He had an indescribable regret about the Rootlets he had met two years ago.

[I couldn't save it then. But it's different this time. This is also a connection, so I'll save you.]

Perhaps it felt the sincerity in Cheon Dowoon's words.

The seed shook slightly. It split in half like a clam, and a gap appeared.

What came out of it was a shriveled leaf that wasn't quite dry.

The leaf that had slipped out trembled as if the outside air was cold and then slipped back in.

[Is it too young to come out yet?]

Or maybe the air in this world didn't suit it. Cheon Dowoon picked up the tightly closed seed.

[I have a subjugation schedule tomorrow, so I'm going to enter the Gate. I'm not moving as a team, so I can move freely. I'll plant you in the ground when I get there. Just hold on for one more day.]

Cheon Dowoon infused the seed with Mana and put it in his subjugation bag.

The next day, he changed into the combat uniform he had been given and entered the Gate.

'Grapevines grow a lot in forest areas, right.'

The place he connected the Gate to was not the request site, but a forest area.

When he took the seed out of his bag, the leaf peeked out from the crack in the seed. It didn't go straight in like last night, but enjoyed the surrounding air.

Ah, this is home. I've returned home.

The seed, sensing this through the Mana in the air, trembled its leaves finely.

Originally, it should have taken root and grown long ago.

But it couldn't because it was dragged to the lab, and it had no choice but to suppress its growth inside the seed.

It endured as long as it could. Just when it was about to give up, saying it couldn't endure any longer, Cheon Dowoon appeared.

The same plant-type monster was moving it.

How long had it been walking? The leaves of the seed he was holding pointed downwards.

It was as if it was saying it wanted to go to the ground.

[Do you like it here?]

Cheon Dowoon checked that the ground was even and then dug a hole with his hand.

When he put the seed down there, the shriveled leaves spread out as if they were rapidly regenerating.

The roots that had been crouching inside the seed were driven into the ground at an explosive speed.

The growth that had been suppressed for years began at once.

When Cheon Dowoon buried the seed and stepped back, the tree was already over 3 meters tall.

That rapid growth stopped only after reaching 5 meters.

[It was a monster with great vitality. How did you hide it from the researchers?]

Instead of answering, a branch bent and stopped in front of Cheon Dowoon. At its end, fruits began to form as if they were rapidly growing.

[Grapes.]

It was the first fruit produced by the young grapevine. Grapes made by squeezing out strength even though it wasn't the season for bearing fruit.

Thanks to that, each grape was as small as a fingernail.

[…Are you giving them to me?]

He couldn't just laugh because something similar had happened before.

When Cheon Dowoon reached out his hand, a bunch of grapes fell into his palm.

Cheon Dowoon looked at the red grapes. He still didn't laugh.

[There was a plant that gave me fruit like this before.]

The small Rootlets that were humming passed through his mind.

[That guy also made fruit and gave it to me like you. You're the same. Is this a characteristic of plant-type monsters?]

There was no answer. Cheon Dowoon looked at the tree and smiled.

He couldn't save it then, but he saved it today. If it was a tree with such strong vitality, its roots would not be uprooted even in a storm.

Let's be satisfied with that.

Cheon Dowoon took a grape and put it in his mouth.

[I'll enjoy it. Live a long life. Live longer than me.]

As if answering, the leaves shook.

It could have just been shaking in the wind. But to Cheon Dowoon, it seemed like the tree was answering.

He left the forest area and headed to the request site. He stopped eating the grapes he was taking out one by one.

The small bunch of grapes was now gone, leaving only one.

The last remaining grape rolled on his palm.

A red grain as small as a fingernail. Cheon Dowoon stared at it quietly.

[It would have been nice if I could have saved you too.]

Cheon Dowoon muttered softly and moved on.

The last remaining grain was not eaten and was held in his hand.

* * *

That was 62 years ago.

The grapevine had been growing in size for decades since then. It had grown so large that it looked like the World Tree.

You lived as promised. Cheon Dowoon thought to himself.

He had already died once and come back to life, so this tree had kept its promise to live longer than him.

It was a truly admirable tree. Cheon Dowoon smiled.

-Hoo-oong!

Cheon Dowoon woke up from his reverie at the feeling of something tapping his waist.

Looking down, he saw Dodak, who had poked his head out of his waist bag.

Dodak was drumming on Cheon Dowoon's waist with his Rootlets.

-Hoo-oong, hoo-oong!

You're a great helper. Why do you look so listless?

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. The Rootlets moved quickly.

Dodak gave Cheon Dowoon the best massage he could on his waist.

"Ugh, it's out again! What is that Root thing? It keeps hitting people!"

Lee Baek-ho, who was next to him, stepped back and shouted as he looked at Dodak.