Chapter 380

Josephine looked at Brielle with a face that seemed ready to burst into tears.

"Do you really have to go?"

"I'm sorry."

"Why would you leave such a wonderful forest behind? You even have your own tree here."

"You’ll take good care of my tree for me, won’t you? Right?"

"Of course I’ll look after it carefully… but it’s not the same as having you here."

"I’ll try to come back as soon as I can. Until then, take good care of it for me. You can do that, right?"

"Yeah!"

Josephine replied as she wiped her tears.

Brielle gently patted her on the back.

Today was the day Brielle would leave the Primeval Forest. That’s why Josephine had been crying ever since morning.

They had grown close in such a short time.

It had been a week since the Great Barrier was deployed.

During that time, Zeon and his companions stayed in the forest, checking to make sure the barrier was working properly.

Thankfully, there were no issues. The barrier functioned perfectly.

From the outside, no one could have guessed that a massive forest lay hidden within.

Thanks to that, the villagers had finally been able to enjoy peace after a long time.

Brielle and Levin also spent peaceful days mingling with the villagers.

As much as they wanted to stay, they both knew they would eventually have to leave.

As wonderful as this place was, it wasn’t their home.

They might return from time to time for rest, but they couldn't stay forever.

It was time to go.

Josephine handed Brielle a flowerpot.

"Here, take this. These little ones came from the forest."

Several unknown sprouts were growing in the pot.

Josephine had especially prepared them for Brielle’s departure.

"Thank you!"

Brielle placed the pot in her subspace storage.

Since time did not pass inside subspace, no matter how long it stayed there, the plants would never wither.

Just then, Levin called out to her.

"Let’s go, Brielle."

"Okay!"

Brielle gave Josephine a warm smile and walked over to where Zeon and Levin were waiting.

They had already said their goodbyes to the villagers.

—Piii!

Gaia, floating beside Zeon, welcomed Brielle.

"Sorry, am I late?"

—Pii!

"But are you okay with this?"

—Pii?

Gaia blinked her big eyes at Brielle.

"Yurie’s still here. Are you really okay leaving her behind?"

—Pii! Pii!

"So… even if you miss her, you’ll still be able to see her? How?"

—Pii! Piii!

Gaia wagged her tail excitedly as she explained, and Brielle nodded along.

"I see! Spirits are connected by the heart, not like humans. So there's no need to see each other to talk—you can just communicate through your hearts."

Brielle nodded in understanding.

At that moment, Riria appeared on her shoulder.

She flew over to Gaia’s head and laughed playfully.

Brielle smiled at the sight of the innocent spirit.

Then Zeon spoke.

"Let’s go."

"Yes, hyung."

"Mm!"

There had been four of them when they arrived, and now they were leaving as five.

"Take care!"

"Come back anytime!"

Dark elves shouted behind them.

Brielle turned around and waved farewell.

As they passed through the barrier, the scenery changed.

The lush green vanished, replaced by the arid desert.

Out in the desert, Riria stuck out her tongue and fanned herself with her tiny hands.

Brielle gently scooped her up and asked,

"Hot? Oh, it’s tough for spirits to stay outside the forest for long? Then go rest. I’ll call you when I want to see you."

With a bright smile, Riria rubbed her cheek against Brielle’s and disappeared.

Levin asked Brielle,

"Where does Riria go when her summoning is canceled? Don’t tell me she goes into subspace?"

"No, she goes to the Spirit Realm."

"The Spirit Realm? So there's a world where spirits live?"

"According to Riria, yes. But she says it’s lonely right now because there are no other spirits there."

"Whoa! I had no idea a Spirit Realm even existed."

"Well, it's stranger to know than not. Even elves born on Earth don’t know about it. I didn’t either until I met Riria."

"So right now, it's just Riria and Yurie?"

"For now, yes. But as more spirits are born, the Spirit Realm will become livelier. Yurie opened the door, and Riria widened the path. And if you add the wishes of the elves to that, it's only a matter of time before more spirits are born."

"I get it!"

Levin smiled at the newly learned knowledge.

Learning always felt good.

His gaze turned to Zeon walking ahead.

Gaia was trailing alongside him.

She looked happy, wagging her tail as she flew—like a puppy nudging his arm with her nose.

Zeon patted Gaia’s head and asked,

"I’ve got a question, Gaia."

—Pii?

"Why didn’t you plant the World Tree seed? This place seemed perfect for it."

Gaia was in possession of the World Tree seed stored in Zeon’s subspace.

The Primeval Forest had all the conditions necessary for it to take root, yet Gaia had held it back.

—Pii! Pii! Piii!

"So, if the World Tree takes root, it’ll suck up all the nutrients and kill the young trees?"

—Pii! Pii!

"So the World Tree only grows in special places, and the Primeval Forest isn't one of them."

—Pii!

Gaia nodded in agreement.

Zeon finally understood why she hadn’t planted the seed.

He stroked Gaia’s head again and said,

"Good job. You’re better than me—thinking that far ahead."

—Piii!

Clearly pleased by the praise, Gaia soared into the sky.

Zeon smiled at the sight of her gliding like a whale through the sky.

She’d grown much larger, but Gaia was still as pure as a child.

Most flying beasts didn’t even dare approach anymore. Just seeing her was enough to send them fleeing.

Now Gaia could fly freely through the skies again, without fear.

She swam through the sky effortlessly, following Zeon and the others.

* * *

A group of people had gathered in the desert outside the slums.

There stood Old Man Klexi, Yoo Sehee, and the elite members of her Goblin Market.

Standing before them was a haggard-looking middle-aged man.

It was Bryce the alchemist.

In front of him sat a large barrel filled with sand hardener made from the bodily fluids of armored ants.

After the team returned safely from collecting the ant corpses in the desert, Bryce had locked himself away to manufacture the hardener.

Today was the day to test its effectiveness.

Old Man Klexi pushed up his glasses with a finger and asked,

"So that barrel's got your sand hardener in it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then let’s see how it performs."

"Yes, sir!"

Bryce bowed respectfully and called over the laborers who had been on standby.

Having been thoroughly trained by Bryce, they moved with perfect coordination.

They first leveled the ground and gathered sand into a single pile.

After sieving it to get only the fine grains, they mixed it with water and the hardener.

Old Man Klexi watched closely.

"You’re saying this barrel alone can build hundreds of houses?"

"That’s right."

"If we can really build proper houses with this, it’ll be a revolution."

"I’m hopeful too. We're talking homes for tens of thousands."

The workers molded the sand mixture into bricks.

Hundreds of bricks were produced in no time.

Old Man Klexi asked,

"How long do the bricks take to dry?"

"About thirty minutes."

"That fast?"

"Thanks to the armored ant fluids. They cause rapid drying and hardening. Once set, even heavy rain won’t seep through."

"Sounds promising."

A smile crept across the old man’s wrinkled face.

Yoo Sehee’s expression also softened.

Kleksi had built the Goblin Market and Argos' Eye to protect the people of the slums. But despite his efforts, their lives hadn’t improved.

The biggest reason was the lack of proper housing.

The slums were already overrun.

Buildings were crammed together like an ant nest—no room for new structures.

Building materials were also impossible to acquire.

All usable materials had been swept up by Neo Seoul.

That’s why people had been forced underground, into the foul-smelling sewers.

With nowhere left on the surface, they had no choice but to live there.

So this project was crucial.

If they could really build usable houses with just sand and hardener, people wouldn’t need to live in the sewers anymore.

The only concern was monster attacks, but Neo Seoul’s anti-magic field kept most of them at bay.

Kleksi and Yoo Sehee silently watched the laborers work.

After about thirty minutes, the bricks were ready.

Tok tok!

Bryce tapped one with a smile on his lips.

"Perfect. Let’s start building. As I mentioned, spray the diluted hardener on the brick surfaces as you stack them."

"Yes, sir!"

The workers, holding sprayers of diluted hardener, began to stack the bricks.

Chhh! Chhh!

After about three hours, the house took shape.

Only the roof remained.

They made tiles with more sand and hardener, laying them one by one to complete the roof.

The crowd gathered out front let out gasps of amazement.

"Ooooh!"

"Wow! A whole house, just like that."

Kleksi and Yoo Sehee were the first to step inside.

The air was cool.

The sand bricks had perfectly blocked the outside heat.

They touched the walls as they talked.

"This is really nice."

"It is. With some furniture, people could live in it right away."

"It was worth the effort. You said it’s waterproof too, right?"

"Yes! Not even a drop leaked during the last desert downpour."

"Excellent. Excellent!"

Kleksi let out string after string of exclamations.

It had been a long time since he showed so much emotion.

Others were just as impressed, touring the finished home.

"This is better than my current place."

"Hard to believe this was made with just sand."

"This really is a revolution."

The idea that a house could be built so quickly and with almost no materials was astonishing.

Kleksi told Yoo Sehee,

"Let’s build a thousand as a test."

"A thousand? That’ll draw attention from the City Hall. If we’re not careful, they might just seize the hardener."

"I’ll handle that. There are too many people in desperate need. Just follow my lead."

"Alright."

Yoo Sehee nodded.

Though Kleksi had retired, if he decided to move, even City Hall couldn’t act lightly.

Just then, one of the Goblin Market’s Awakened came running.

"Chairwoman, Elder!"

"What’s wrong?"

"Zeon and his group have returned."

"Is that true?"

"Yes! People saw them entering the fortress."

Yoo Sehee’s eyes lit up.

"I need to see him. Right now."