abcnovels
Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Chapter 90
In Marduk Mansion, the once main building of Babel that was now serving as the Chairman’s office, two students stood side by side in a banquet hall, facing Chairman Ludwig himself.
“—having risked their lives to save their peers and for being exemplary heroes, I award these students with a certificate of appreciation.”
Finishing his speech, Ludwig called out the names of the two standing before him.
“Aqar Quf’s Department of Swordsmanship, first year, Jake Myers.”
“At your service!”
“Borsippa’s Department of Blacksmithing, first year, Lee Se-Hoon.”
“At your service.”
Handing each certificate to the two in turn, Ludwig lined up with the two to take a photo together before moving on and concluding the ceremony. Then, once the brief ceremony had come to a close, Ludwig invited the two to his office.
“I’m sorry for bothering you two when it’s the weekend. Today happened to be my only free day,” Ludwig apologized with a gentle smile.
“Oh, don’t worry about it! We are grateful that you even spared the time, Chairman!”
Noticing the nervousness in Jake’s response, Ludwig gave him a kind smile.
“I appreciate that you think so. How are you feeling?”
“Thanks to the doctors in the hospital ward, I’m fully recovered now!”
“That’s good to hear. It’s important to have the mindset of a hero, but don’t overexert yourself. People like you are treasures to humanity.”
“Sir...”
Jake’s eyes sparkled. Hearing the genuine appreciation in the praise of Ludwig—the very first Perfect One and a hero admired by many—would thrill any student.
I’m so bored...
However, Se-Hoon was not just any student; he was thoroughly unimpressed by the proceedings.
Couldn’t we have just wrapped up after taking the photo? Why is he dragging this on for so long?
Having to go through a ceremonial event, which he had never been fond of, on top of being dragged around recently for investigations had made him increasingly irritable.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to go off on that tangent,” remarked Ludwig, catching onto Se-Hoon’s growing irritance. With a slight smile, he got back on track.
“Given your heroics in saving many students, as the Chairman, I’d like to offer something in return. Is there anything you need?”
With the conversation now onto the main point, Se-Hoon’s eyes lit up in excitement, his previous annoyance disappearing.
If I combine it with what he owes me, I should be able to get something quite decent.
Looking forward to Ludwig’s generosity, Se-Hoon opened his mouth and was about to speak, but Jake beat him to it.
“Chairman.”
“Yes, Jake?”
“I would like my reward to be transferred to Se-Hoon.”
“What?”
Having never expected Jake to say that, Se-Hoon became speechless, while Ludwig became interested.
“Is that really okay? I heard that you also handed over all of your portions of the drops from the Divine Tree.”
“Yes. It’s not like there’s anything that I particularly need right now... and there’s the promise I made with Se-Hoon before.”
Jake glanced at Se-Hoon and grinned.
“That I would pay him more than he could ever imagine.”
Meeting Jake’s eyes which seemed to be saying, “Now, he surely won’t say that this is still not enough,” Se-Hoon chuckled.
This guy...
He had thought Jake’s repayment was over with the portion of the Divine Tree, but who would have expected things to turn out like this? Se-Hoon wanted to give Jake a pat on the head right here and then.
Accepting Jake’s reasoning, Ludwig nodded and said, “Well, if that’s what you truly want, I’ll proceed with that in mind. I’m looking forward to your future endeavors in the Department of Swordsmanship.”
“Thank you!”
“Then, you are now dismissed.”
With a bow, Jake left the office. And Ludwig, watching his back the entire time, calmly noted, “His potential has deepened more than before. It seems that the sword you forged for him matches him well.”
“It’s not that amazing of a weapon.”
“Ha, not amazing, you say? If you say that, then all of the blacksmiths who struggled won’t be able to show their faces.”
Actually, the numerous blacksmiths who tried to forge Jake’s sword had erupted into a violent uproar once the stories of the Radiant Sword were leaked to the public.
“Babel is currently trying to create heroes through false propaganda! There’s a limit to how much they can belittle us!”
“The true value of a weapon is revealed over time. Judging who is superior now is as meaningless it can be.”
It was surprising enough that a first-year student, who was previously a complete nobody, had forged a Hero weapon. And then, it turned out that the sword he forged was the very sword that they had failed to forge, so they all claimed that it was an exaggerated story. Of course, the general public also trusted this side of the story more.
Well, even I would deem it too far-fetched to believe without seeing it with my own eyes.
But what could they do? In the end, it was true that he had indeed succeeded in forging the sword.
“I think it’s more about the difference in ideas than skill. I believe everyone will understand eventually.”
“That’s true. Well, don’t worry about it too much. Dean Ryu is already planning to meet with each of the blacksmiths directly and sort it all out.”
“...I see.”
Se-Hoon decided not to worry too much since Eun-Ha usually handled things cleanly, often being quite decisive.
She’s like a clever version of the Mad Dog...
Though impulsive, she always assessed the situation properly before springing into action. So if Eun-Ha was stepping in, he knew that this noise would also be settled quickly.
“Now, about your reward... actually, before that, I have something to show you.”
Lightly swiping his hand through the air, a giant keyhole appeared and turned before Ludwig, opening a white space from which an object dropped down.
It was a fist-sized, dark-red fruit.
Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes at the mysterious mist flowing around the fruit.
“Isn’t that...”
“Go on, take a look.”
Receiving the fruit from Ludwig, Se-Hoon promptly examined the information message.
[Seed of the Divine Tree]
[Tier: Hero] [Quality: Awful]
[A seed from a giant tree that tried to engulf an entire forest.
Because it was formed hastily before the giant tree completely succumbed to death, its powers are imperfectly mixed, lowering its quality.
However, holding this still grants resistance to spatial-type skills, and its properties change according to the type of nutrients absorbed.
*Grants resistance to spatial-type skills
*Properties transform depending on the nutrients absorbed]
Now understanding what it was, Se-Hoon stared blankly at the seed of the Divine Tree in his hand.
Have I ever seen this thing before?
It was a material he had never heard of, not even once before the regression. But regardless of whether that was because the tree had been subjugated after it had already fully grown or someone had snatched it, now that he had it, he could tell it was an incredibly valuable material just by reading its information message.
If handled well, this could potentially revive the Divine Tree, allowing it to achieve its desired form.
While it wouldn’t be easy, it was definitely worth a try. But then, just as those thoughts crossed his mind, he suddenly began wondering why Ludwig had shown him it.
“This looks like a drop from the mutant monster that appeared recently.”
“Right. We discovered it inside a giant lotus while analyzing the collected remnants.”
Growing serious, Ludwig’s tone became grave as he looked at Se-Hoon.
“As you know, drops with resurrection attributes from monsters are strictly managed. Furthermore, there are remnants of the Puppeteer’s Box in this one.”
“That means...”
“Under the Hero Special Act, I have no choice but to substitute it with a different reward.”
Though expected, Se-Hoon felt his neck stiffen.
To have such a rare material be stolen in front of my eyes...!
If he had subjugated the tree alone, or at least had some strength left after the battle, he would have secretly taken it for himself.
But before Se-Hoon could begin to inwardly curse his frustration, Ludwig gently smiled.
“Well, that would be the case, normally.”
“...Huh?”
“It seems a bit harsh to take away the material you put so much effort into obtaining. But more importantly... I’m curious to see how you’ll grow this.”
Taken aback by the unexpected response, Se-Hoon wore a perplexed expression.
“Are you saying you’ll give me this seed?”
“Yes, that’s right. However, as I mentioned earlier, there are a few conditions that you must follow since it is a dangerous material.”
Ludwig then set forth two conditions: Firstly, the ownership of the seed would be publicly acknowledged as Ludwig’s to prepare for any eventualities, and it would be cultivated in a designated location within the campus grounds; secondly, regular reports on its growth status must be prepared and shown to him.
So he basically wants to conduct the research secretly to avoid any hassle.
Although regular reports seemed rather cumbersome, the conditions were still quite appealing since the location and materials would all be provided.
Growing it elsewhere myself is a bit risky as I can’t watch it 24/7... but more importantly, increasing my chances to meet with Ludwig should be beneficial.
If he were able to gain Ludwig’s attention, he would be able to receive more support and benefits from Babel. With nothing to lose, he decided to act immediately.
“When do you want me to start growing it?”
“Let me know when you have decided on how you want to cultivate it. At that point, I’ll pick a suitable location and inform you then.”
Facing the new challenge of cultivating the Divine Tree, Se-Hoon needed to think it over carefully so he nodded.
“Understood.”
“Good. Now then, let’s talk about your compensation.”
Putting the seed back into the white space, Ludwig looked at Se-Hoon with anticipation.
“There’s also that portion left over from before. Just ask me for anything you need.”
Upon thinking about the Mount Silver Moon incident and his remaining compensation, Se-Hoon presented a response that he had thought of since then.
“I need something I can use to save myself in case of an emergency.”
“How severe of an emergency are we talking about?”
“I’m willing to use all of the compensation I’m entitled to.”
Hearing that Se-Hoon planned on using all of it, Ludwig became extremely interested.
“Most people would become more cautious after experiencing such an event... yet you seem to be preparing to continue moving around safely.”
“I am being cautious; it’s just that making me lay low could be what the enemy is aiming for. So, I would rather make them avoid me.”
Se-Hoon had enough of being dragged around during his previous life.
Surprised by his answer, Ludwig’s expression widened into a smile, fully impressed by his determination.
“I like your mindset.”
Whoosh.
The white hole moved toward Se-Hoon and then dropped a small ring in front of him.
“Ah.”
Catching it reflexively, Se-Hoon examined the ring in his hand.
The ring had a similar pattern to the golden keyhole Ludwig often reached out in midair. He checked the information message of the seemingly ordinary ring.
[Ascension Ring]
[Tier: Hero] [Quality: Perfect]
[A ring personally crafted by ‘Ludwig Schubert,’ the first to successfully conquer a Tower of Heroes.
It embodies the power of the Emperor of Ascension, specifically his spatial-type abilities. One can utilize this power by consuming their own mana.
*Enables the use of spatial-type skills by consuming mana]
He found the description too short for Hero equipment at first, but upon reading it in detail, his eyes widened.
Spatial-type equipment...?
This ring not only enabled the use of a specific type of skill but also allowed one to freely control it by consuming mana.
Smiling at the sight of Se-Hoon’s astonishment at its incredible versatility and convenience, Ludwig asked, “So? How is it?”
Though he had phrased it as a question, it was already laden with the certainty of what the response would be. And confirming that certainty, Se-Hoon looked up at Ludwig and responded, “Chairman, you are truly a treasure to humanity.”
He realized that the hero before his eyes was the real deal in this era.