Sinhyeok stared at Baek Arin with empty eyes and nodded.
“D-dead.”
At Sinhyeok’s dying voice, Baek Arin showed him the magic crystal she had brought.
“Would looking at this give you some strength, at least? There were a lot of them in that mine over there.”
Sinhyeok was pleased by the size of the enormous magic crystal, but his body and mind were far too exhausted.
“Good... job.”
“Uh, Mister, you should rest a bit. At this rate you really are going to drop dead.”
Baek Arin asked Hong Ichan, who was standing guard beside him.
“Is it because he used that synthesis or whatever it’s called too much?”
“I think so. Since it doesn’t use mana, but consumes mental strength instead.”
Hong Ichan drew in the spiritual energy flowing from the Night World Tree and guided it to him.
“This should make you feel a little better. Hyung, breathe it in deeply.”
Sinhyeok inhaled as much of the World Tree’s clearly visible spiritual energy as he could.
[You have inhaled the auspicious phytoncides of the Night World Tree.]
[Your soul and mind, exhausted from overwork, are being healed.]
“...That’s nice.”
Sinhyeok groaned weakly as he felt comfort settle over him.
Thirty minutes after collapsing beside the World Tree, he sprang to his feet.
“Hrngh!”
Ichan looked at Sinhyeok as he got up and said,
“You don’t need to rest more?”
“Yeah, that’s enough.”
Sinhyeok quickly came to his senses and stood.
He patted the World Tree and gave it a thumbs-up.
“This is a surefire fix for recovering mental strength.”
Ichan shook his head at his recovered brother.
“Hyung, if you keep that up, you’re still going to keel over.”
“Before that happens, those monsters over there will send us to our graves. Do you know what’s coming outside right now?”
Ichan tilted his head. He did not know.
“Just a few boss mobs or so?”
“Ha! If you’re bored, go take a look at the boundary. Undead are swarming there like a colony of ants.”
Seeing the number of undead approaching and the ghosts gathering here, Sinhyeok felt an indescribable jolt.
A somewhat reasonable suspicion rose in him.
“...Ichan?”
Hong Ichan had been flinching and avoiding his gaze ever since he heard that undead had gathered.
“I don’t know anything about it!”
The reaction came immediately.
“Look at this bastard.”
When Sinhyeok’s expression turned fierce, Ichan fled behind the World Tree.
“I didn’t know this many would gather!”
“Hey, there are over five million undead out there right now!”
“I’m sorry!”
Hong Ichan climbed up the World Tree and fled upward. Sinhyeok looked up at him and said,
“Why are they gathering?”
“They’re dead, aren’t they? Undead are made from something like the dregs left behind by souls.”
“Dregs?”
“Thoughts, grudges, resentment—those kinds of vicious emotions. They follow after those emotions.”
Sinhyeok looked at Ichan.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I guide the ghosts to my father’s side. They find comfort here. Once they’re properly purified, they’re reborn as new spirits or naturally disappear.”
Hong Ichan cautiously poked his face out from beneath a branch and assessed the situation.
“There are that many?”
“See for yourself. There are a filthy lot of them.”
Thinking about the undead, Sinhyeok could not help but feel regret over the Guimun Formation he had improved earlier.
“What a waste. I made one hell of a formation, and now I won’t even be able to use it.”
Ichan’s ears perked up at the mention of a formation.
“What formation?”
“It’s called the Guimun Formation. I scattered soul crystals, and when Master Jegal Seun placed them, the ghosts’ grudges and thoughts went berserk.”
It seemed like a novel and fresh form of necromancy, and Ichan showed curiosity.
“That sounds pretty good. I’ll go improve it!”
Ichan dropped down from the World Tree and dashed off.
“Do you think it’ll have any effect?! The opponent is undead!”
When Ichan heard Sinhyeok, he spun around and shouted,
“From what I can see, it will! It’ll be even more of a direct hit! I just need to improve it a little!”
“If that’s the case.”
Baek Arin handed the recovered Sinhyeok the magic crystal.
“Here. The magic crystal you asked for, Mister.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Seeing its enormous size, he was once again a little surprised.
“Wow. The size of this thing. It’s not some primordial magic crystal, is it?”
“It’s huge, right? There were more. Should I bring more?”
“No, this is enough for now. You go check on the residents and guide them so they can use their awakened abilities properly.”
“Okay. That’s easy enough.”
After she left to find work to do, Sinhyeok looked at the still-unfinished section of the castle wall.
“Good. Let’s try dying again.”
He loosened up and, staying under the shade of the World Tree, stretched out his hand.
“Recover and use it, over and over forever.”
He inhaled the abundant phytoncides of Notedrasil.
“Huuup.”
[You have inhaled the auspicious phytoncides of the Night World Tree.]
“Haaah. Nice.”
[Transmuting the castle wall.]
It was time for more grinding.
“Ugh, headache.”
* * *
Ichan, who had rushed out, looked around for Jegal Seun.
Jegal Seun had taken out several books on formations and was reading them again.
“The young hero’s art is called enchantment, so which one would suit it?”
Hong Ichan cautiously approached him as he examined the books.
“Hello.”
“Hm? Ah! Hello. What brings you here?”
He was delighted to see Ichan, a dark elf.
Ichan pointed to the Guimun Formation spread out over there.
“I came because I wanted to ask about that Guimun Formation.”
“Ah, I don’t know much about that one either. It is not exactly my field of expertise.”
“To be honest, I want to use it in a more interesting way.”
“Hm?”
Ichan smiled and pointed to himself.
“I also guide the dead.”
“Aha! So you are a Taoist priest!”
He sprang to his feet and led Ichan to the Guimun Formation.
“I installed it because I knew a little about it, but in truth, without those crystals or whatever they are, it is not a very remarkable formation. So I do not know what use this will be.”
Ichan carefully examined the Guimun Formation and stepped inside it.
“Whoa! That is dangerous!”
Already inside, Ichan replied with a calm expression.
“I’m used to this much.”
Ichan calmly listened to the screams of the ghosts coming from all around.
“Does it amplify thoughts?”
He looked around, checking how it had been structured.
“The thoughts and grudges left in the crystals remain here instead of being released.”
Ichan thought of the undead that would arrive here.
‘If they arrive here as it is, they’ll actually receive a buff.’
With that thought, he walked out of the Guimun Formation.
“My, my. Whether it is that gentleman or you, both of you simply barge straight through the Jegal Clan’s formations.”
Ichan smiled awkwardly.
“I’m used to it.”
“It is troubling if you are used to it. Good grief.”
Jegal Seun looked back at Ichan and asked what he planned to do.
“Taoist sir. Do you have any thoughts on what to do? Though I do not know what is coming.”
Ichan calmly told him what he had heard earlier.
“They say zombies and skeletons are coming.”
“H-how many?”
“About five million or so?”
At those words, Jegal Seun was left speechless.
“Ha ha ha, what in the world...”
Ichan looked at the Guimun Formation and thought of his tribe’s legacy.
“If we add spirit invocation to this, it should become interesting.”
He would hand the souls of the dead to the undead that pursued the souls of the living.
‘They’ll go berserk. It’ll be as if they were forcibly possessed. They’ll run even wilder and won’t distinguish friend from foe.’
“Sir, could we talk for a moment...”
After finishing his thoughts, Ichan smiled and secretly called Jegal Seun over.
“We do this here, that there, and then wrap the entire area around the World Tree like this.”
After hearing Ichan’s plan, Jegal Seun admired the ingenious method.
“Ha ha ha, how very wicked, and yet what a satisfying scheme. Let us go install it at once!”
The two of them dashed out.
Ichan headed toward the World Tree, the starting point, with a smile.
“I’ll make some ritual implements to use for spirit invocation!”
“Good. Hurry and make them!”
“I just need to get a few leaves.”
Ichan went to the World Tree to gather leaves, only to find Sinhyeok with his eyes gone hollow.
“Hyung, are you all right?”
Only Sinhyeok’s hands were fine.
The castle wall was being steadily made.
“P-probably...”
Worried that sparks might fly his way for no reason, Ichan moved carefully.
Sinhyeok glanced at him and asked,
“What are you trying to do?”
“I’m going to lay down a spirit-invocation version of the Guimun Formation.”
“What happens then?”
“If the undead are only the two types I mentioned earlier, they’ll probably go crazy and tear at each other. They won’t even think about invading.”
“Oh.”
There was no further admiration.
The reason was that damned transmutation.
“Go. Hurry up and make it.”
“Okay!”
Before leaving, Ichan carefully touched the World Tree, greeted it, and then ran off.
“That’s nice. I want to do things like that too.”
‘Instead of this grinding.’
[You have transmuted an exceptionally sturdy castle wall.]
“Yes. There is still a looot left.”
Even at a glance, there was a long way to go.
More than half, roughly.
“It’ll be made before I die, I guess.”
Sinhyeok gave up on thinking.
He continued repeating the process unconsciously.
Then, suddenly, he recalled the blueprint.
‘I have to build the castle inside too.’
“Damn it!”
Naturally, that castle also had to be similarly tall and thick.
“I’m dead.”
* * *
Two days passed after Sinhyeok sank into the swamp of grinding.
“Ah, I’m tired...”
Another person had joined those trapped in the grind.
“You too?”
“Me too.”
Ichan, too, was laying down a vast Guimun Formation with spirit invocation added, centered on the World Tree.
“Hyung, there are a filthy lot of them.”
“I know. A filthy lot.”
Sinhyeok looked at the completed castle wall with hollow eyes.
“Wow, now it’s halfway done. I made it without sleeping, and now it’s halfway.”
Baek Arin finished breathing beside the World Tree, rose from where she had been sitting, and stretched.
“Nnngh, the efficiency is highest here. It goes up by 0.0003% each time. But why does it keep nibbling away and taking some?”
Sinhyeok turned to look beside him.
“Did you learn martial arts?”
“Yes~ Since our priest’s holy power wasn’t coming through, I learned martial arts~”
She slapped the World Tree and said,
“As expected, the World Tree works like a charm.”
When Arin looked at it while smacking her lips, Ichan glared at her fiercely.
“Don’t touch it.”
“Yes, yes, yes, don’t touch it~”
At her teasing, sing-song tone, Hong Ichan glared at Arin even harder.
Baek Arin paid no attention and asked while poking at Ichan.
“But why does this tree eat my holy power?”
“It eats it?”
“Yeah. When it goes up a tiny bit, it snaps off half and takes it. Well, it does give me something in return, so I’m leaving it alone, but...”
Ichan thought for a moment, then spoke about her holy power.
“I think it’s because the attribute of your holy power is the sun. The World Tree needs the warmth of the sun too.”
She knocked on the tree and pleaded,
“Please take only a little. I’m barely holding on too.”
Sinhyeok grumbled as he watched the two acting ridiculous.
“Must be nice. You even have time to bicker.”
Sinhyeok ignored their banter and continued with his work.
* * *
Whenever he had the time, Sinhyeok also made the iron rods Jegal Seun had been using.
Sinhyeok began transmuting again and asked without even looking at Arin.
“How are the awakened residents?”
“Mm, it’s unfortunate, but I don’t think they’ll be much help. The old knight and a few others are used to combat, so they’re actually pretty good. The rest, not so much.”
It was a harsh evaluation.
While making the castle wall with his hands, Sinhyeok asked her,
“What kinds of classes did they awaken as?”
“Most of them are archers. When I asked, they guessed it reflected their experience shooting bows from the castle wall.”
“Ah, do we not have bows?”
“Even if we do, they probably won’t be very useful. Archer-type classes rely heavily on equipment and are also greatly affected by stats. It’s a class where you need solid strength.”
Only if there was enough strength behind it could an arrow pierce a monster’s hide and lodge in.
After hearing the residents’ classes, Sinhyeok fell into thought.
“Should I make something like guns for them?”
“That would be nice.”
‘I have no idea how to make them. Even if I did, the bullets...’
“I should at least make them some weapons to throw for now.”
“Then you take good care of them, Mister.”
“Yeah. Once I finish that first.”
Sinhyeok glared at the castle wall.
“Let’s finish that first and then do it. Ichan, how many days are left now?”
Ichan slowly rose, getting ready to go work.
“About two to three days.”
“Okay. I’ll have to push even harder.”
Sinhyeok widened his eyes and stared at the castle wall.
“Even if I die, I’m finishing it this time.”
[Beginning transmutation.]
“Would drinking World Tree sap heal me instantly?”
Sinhyeok glanced at Ichan, then went to the World Tree and quietly said,
“Could I have some sap...”
[Drink quietly. If that little one finds out, he will make a fuss.]
‘As expected of you, big bro!’
The fairy big bro was truly generous.
A hole popped open in the tree, and sap flowed out.
When he drank it, his mind cleared all at once.
[You have drunk sap from the World Tree, concentrated with spiritual energy.]
[Your mind awakens by one stage, forcibly releasing part of your limits.]
“Good, let’s go!”
And so, after three days of running like a madman, Sinhyeok finally did it.
“It’s... done.”
He sprawled under the shade of the World Tree and panted. With difficulty, he looked around.
“Hyung... I laid it all down.”
Ichan came over and lay down beside him.
“Good work.”
Ichan poked Sinhyeok and said,
“Brother Jegal Seun said he laid down the Five Elements Formation too. He wants you to enchant it.”
When Sinhyeok thought of the formation that would be created, a very explosive future came to mind.
“It’s going to paint quite the hell.”
“Not bad, right?”
“If this goes well, we might be able to last twelve hours without much trouble.”
As Sinhyeok wriggled on the ground and tried to close his eyes, Ichan hurriedly said,
“Hyung, you need to lay down the enchantment.”
“...”
Sinhyeok, whose mind was barely hanging on, managed to say,
“I’m going to die. Let me rest a little.”
Ichan looked up at the sky with a slightly uneasy expression.
“I have a bad feeling. For some reason, I think it might happen sooner.”
“...”
At the chilling words, his sleepiness vanished.
“You said we had two or three days left.”
Ichan checked the growth of the World Tree and said,
“Its growth is faster than I thought. I think it’s probably because there are so many ghosts nearby.”
“...”
Ichan slowly got up.
Sinhyeok sighed and moved.
“Go tell everyone to start preparing. I’ll finish up around here and go in.”
“Okay.”
Sinhyeok looked around.
The mystical scenery had faded quite a bit.
Before, the boundary had been clear, but it was gradually becoming blurry, and the outside scenery was beginning to show clearly.
“They’re coming after all.”
He carved many runes of flame into the ground so that hot fire would blaze.
“Just burn to death, all of you.”
[Beginning magical transmutation.]
[Enchanting the Five Elements Formation with Fire.]
[The linkage between the enchantment and the formation amplifies efficiency and effect.]
‘Done.’
Having finished his preparations, Sinhyeok ran toward the inner castle.
“Finished!”