I woke up and stretched, only to find Yongyongi looking up at me, asking for breakfast with his cute voice.

"Kyuung."

As I handed him a mana stone and watched him eat, I suddenly realized he had grown. He used to be small enough to fit in my palm, but now he was the size of a small doll.

It actually made it easier to carry him around in my arms. Maybe when he gets bigger, I could wrap him around my neck like a scarf?

But this isn’t the time for idle thoughts.

I had a quest to complete, and I needed to move quickly if I wanted to reach the location in time. I pulled up the quest window to check again.

[New Quest Available]
Investigate the possible disturbance in the Forest Tribe.

Reward: Experience, a large quantity of mana stones.

It was a simple quest—just check in with the Forest Tribe who lived by the World Tree. It was about a half-day's walk from the City of Stars.

No need to fight, just gather information. Simple.

The reward was sweet, though.

With Yongyongi tucked in my arms, I was about to leave the City of Stars when a loud voice called out.

"Finally, I found you!"

I turned toward the source of the voice, seeing a woman with brown hair and wolf ears running toward me.

Who is she?

"Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you!?"

"Who are you?"

"Me? I’m your viewer!"

"Huh?"

A viewer? But I only have one viewer...

A stalker.

Does that mean this woman is...?

"A-a stalker!?"

"Who’s a stalker!?"

She snapped, raising her hand.

W-was she going to hit me!?

I squeezed my eyes shut, but instead of pain, I felt a soft sensation on my head.

When I opened my eyes, she was smiling.

"Do you know how much I’ve wanted to see you?"

"Why?"

"To recruit you!"

Ah, so she’s from that guild I turned down last time.

"Sorry, but I’m not planning on joining any guilds."

"Well, I won’t give up!"

With those words, she waved and tore a teleport scroll, disappearing in a flash of light.

I stood there, blinking in confusion. Did she really go through all that just to say that?

Early in the morning, Sasha returned to the Frey Guild.

"You met her already?"

"I got lucky! I ran into her on the street this morning!"

She beamed, talking about how much cuter Yuna looked in person compared to the videos. But that wasn’t what I wanted to know.

"What about the order I gave you?"

"Huh? What order?"

"..."

I stared at her in disbelief, and it seemed like she finally remembered, her face turning pale.

"I didn’t ask."

"Go back and don’t come back until you’ve found out."

I sent Sasha away and watched her sulk as she stood outside. Then I lowered the blinds.

As I walked along the road, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that the bear didn’t show up.

Is he busy?

With no other choice, I continued on foot, but the romantic idea of walking on a grand adventure was quickly fading.

After walking for hours, I groaned.

"My legs hurt."

Why did they have to make the game so realistic!? It even has stamina limits, which means I had to stop for a rest after a certain amount of time.

Leaning against a tree, I handed Yongyongi a mana stone while we rested. Just as I was about to get moving again, I heard a noise.

"Peep!"

I looked toward the sound and saw a tiny chick staring at me, crying softly.

It was looking at Yongyongi’s mana stone with drool running down its beak.

"You want one too?"

"Peep!"

I pulled a mana stone from my inventory and handed it to the chick, which gobbled it up. But it looked at me expectantly, clearly wanting more.

Was it too bold to ask for more like that?

Smiling at the sight, I gave it another stone, which it grabbed before disappearing into the bushes.

After I had rested enough, I continued on the path, and soon, the forest came into view.

In the center of the forest stood a massive tree, the World Tree.

At the entrance to the forest, I pulled out the compass Erica had given me.

[Tracker Compass]
Directs you toward the specified person or location (one-time use).

Following the direction the compass pointed, I walked deeper into the forest. Before long, I heard rustling and then a voice.

"What business does a young human have here?"

I turned to see an elf, bow drawn and aimed directly at me. She had golden hair, sharp eyes, and an expression that was anything but friendly.

Raising my hands in the air, I answered quickly.

"I’ve been sent on a quest to check if something is wrong with the Forest Tribe."

"Where is your quest document?"

I pulled the parchment from my inventory and tossed it toward her as she indicated. After reading it, she relaxed her stance.

"My apologies. The atmosphere has been tense lately."

"Could you tell me more about it?"

"Let’s discuss it in the village."

Introducing herself as Melin, she led me toward the village.

The elves in the village all had dark circles under their eyes, their expressions heavy with exhaustion. They looked like they hadn’t slept in days.

As Melin guided me through the gloomy village, she explained, "This is where the elder lives. Wait here."

After a few minutes, a voice called for me to come inside.

The house was simple, containing only the bare essentials. I looked around until Melin cleared her throat, snapping me back to attention.

Sitting at a table was a man with idol-like features, someone my sister would probably swoon over.

"This is Elder Milene of the Forest Tribe."

"Greetings, Traveler."

"Hello, Milene."

I bowed my head in greeting, and Milene smiled warmly, inviting me to sit down.

Melin offered me a cup of warm tea as we sat down.

"I’ve heard about your quest. You’re here to investigate the troubles we’ve been facing, correct?"

"That’s right."

"Then let me start from the beginning."

According to Milene, strange sounds had been coming from the World Tree for some time now. They had no idea what was causing the noise, but it was getting worse by the day.

The noise had become so unbearable at night that it was preventing them from sleeping.

Just then, a quest notification appeared.

[New Quest Available]
Uncover the source of the mysterious noise coming from the World Tree.

Reward: Increased favor with the Forest Tribe.

Judging by the modest reward, this should be an easy quest, right?

"Leave it to me."

"Thank you, Traveler. Melin will guide you to the World Tree."

Following Melin out of the elder’s house, we walked down a forest path toward the massive World Tree. As we got closer, I heard strange noises.

It sounded like a mix between screaming and wailing, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was.

After a long walk, we finally reached the World Tree.

"I’ll wait here."

"Got it."

I approached the tree, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Yongyongi, do you see anything?"

"Kyuung."

"Yeah, I don’t see anything either."

After thoroughly investigating the area, I found nothing. Frustrated, I leaned against the World Tree.

Then, I heard a sound.

"Peep! Peep!"

"Huh? What’s that?"

Looking in the direction of the noise, I saw the same chick that had eaten a mana stone earlier.

How did it get all the way here?

And wait... there are two of them now?

"Peep! Peep!"

"You want to help? How?"

The two chicks confidently strutted forward, leading me toward a small, hidden hole in the base of the World Tree.

It was so well hidden that I could barely see it with my naked eye.

The chicks slipped into the hole effortlessly, and for the first time since I transformed into this body, I had a real advantage.

If I were any bigger, I wouldn’t have fit through.

I awkwardly crawled into the hole, and after what felt like forever, I saw a faint light at the end.

"Peep! Peep!"

"Hold on! I’m coming!"

These little guys had walked in comfortably while I had to crawl, and now they were rushing me? I held back my frustration.

Finally, I emerged into a wide, open space filled with light.

There, standing next to the chicks, was someone—or something.

Its face was partially covered in black scales, and its pupils were like a snake’s.

Who is that?

The creature smiled at me, but it wasn’t a normal smile. Its mouth stretched from ear to ear.

It was straight out of a horror movie.