Meanwhile, somewhere deep within the Beginner's Forest, Bargaj, the Tree of Life, watched quietly.
The battle.
No—
the death game between the elite monster Undead King, Lich, and NoName.
At first, Bargaj had observed calmly. But when Ekant executed his final move—throwing the Sword of Life itself—
even the ancient Tree of Life was caught off guard.
No one…
Not a single player in the history of this forest…
has ever used the Sword of Life like that.
Then—
He saw Ekant fall.
"…Huh," Bargaj murmured inwardly.
What a monstrous brain.
He actually killed the Lich— the second-in-command of Black itself.
A pause.
"…He died?"
A hint of regret surfaced.
"What a pity.
I hope the development team grants him another chance—"
Then Bargaj remembered something.
'Ah. Right. This is my forest. I possess the authority to resurrect anyone here.'
Back in the place where Ekant— NoName— had fallen…
He was not forcefully logged out.
Instead, his consciousness was drawn into a pure white vacuum-like space.
Ekant remained calm.
He already knew what would happen.
Sir Bargaj will resurrect me.
And just as expected—
〈You are being resurrected by the Tree of Life, Bargaj〉
〈You are being resurrected by the Tree of Life, Bargaj〉
〈…〉
〈Failed〉
"Huh?" Ekant was shocked when the first attempt failed, but he knew he would be resurrected soon. Otherwise, dying in Eternal Arcana of Magic would have logged him out.
Ekant thought, 'Looks like it'll take some time.'
Then—
〈You are being resurrected by the Tree of Life, Bargaj — Second Attempt〉
"Second attempt,huh." Ekant murmured.
〈??????????? has also used its power to resurrect you〉
"Another question mark thing... what are these? Its so confusing. I will have to ask The Tree of Life." Ekant said aloud.
〈Resurrection successful〉
〈Teleporting in 3 seconds〉
〈00:00:03〉
〈00:00:02〉
〈00:00:01〉
Ekant felt consciousness rush back into him.
The white space shattered.
The forest returned.
He opened his eyes.
"…Huh," Ekant murmured.
"I really am resurrected."
〈Resurrection completed〉
The window vanished.
Immediately, another one appeared.
〈Congratulations, NoName! You have killed an Elite Monster — Undead King, Lich〉
〈Congratulations, NoName! You have completed a Unique Scenario〉
"Hehehe, quest completed. Finally, It's reward time." Ekant murmured with an evil smile on his face.
Ekant exhaled slowly.
He looked around.
Nearby—
His Sword of Life lay on the ground.
So did the loot.
He walked forward, picked up the sword first, and stored it inside his Spatial Ring.
At that moment, another system panel appeared.
〈No monsters will appear〉
〈You have reached the maximum achievement for a player in the Beginner's Forest (Forced)〉
"…Forced, huh." Ekant muttered.
He then approached the loot dropped by the Lich.
There was no monster core.
Instead—
A long sword, and
a single sheet of paper.
He picked up the sword first.
〈Long Sword: Kala-Jadu〉
[Classification: Long Sword]
[Grade: Earth]
[Quality: Peak]
[Description:
A sword wielded by the Undead King, Lich.
Deals 1000% bonus damage against undead.]
"Quite a good sword," Ekant said honestly.
"It'll be useful if I ever fight undead again."
He stored it inside the Spatial Ring.
Then he picked up the paper.
He flipped it.
Front.
Back.
"…It's blank."
Pure white.
No text.
No markings.
Ekant was shocked 'What type of shit reward is this?'
But then—
〈Congratulations, NoName! You have been blessed by ???????????〉
The paper dissolved into light and vanished.
Ekant stood there, stunned.
"…I guess I will never know what that was."
Before he could think further—
The forest trembled gently.
Roots shifted.
Leaves parted.
And Bargaj, the Tree of Life, appeared before him.
"Congratulations on completing the quest, NoName," Bargaj said warmly.
Ekant bowed slightly.
"Thank you, Sir Bargaj."
Bargaj studied him carefully.
'This kid is dangerous,' he thought.
'So dangerous that I had to force the quest's completion at 500 kills instead of 1000.'
"Well," Bargaj said aloud, "I never expected anyone to complete this quest so easily."
"But here you are."
"No- no, If it were not for the sword you gave me," Ekant replied honestly,
"I would not have won."
Bargaj laughed.
"Hahaha—"
"Even without the sword," he said, "that key of yours would have killed the Undead King instantly."
"..."
Ekant did not deny it because he knew as he had seen how mercilessly White Bear Key had killed Blood Rose Garden. But he had no idea how powerful White Bear Key was.
Though Unbeknownst to Ekant, If the White Bear Key had acted—
At least a quarter of the Beginner's Forest would have been erased also affecting another quarter mercilessly.
Bargaj's expression softened.
"Anyway," he said, getting to the point,
"it's time for your promised reward."
And with that—
The Tree of Life, Barjag raised its branch.
Ekant was anticipating what type of reward he would get.