“Move to an abandoned field of trees.”

[You have been moved to an abandoned field of trees.]

I left the grounds of Pioneers" City, now called “Asirante,” which encompa.s.sed the swamp area, the Rocky Area where stone squirrels emerged, and several hunting grounds.

I had finished my quest, and this place had no other merit that warranted me staying.

I phoned Director Insu Sok who had moved Myongjin"s 3rd and 4th Leagues to this place to inform him that everything was finished. Of course, my father was the one who made the final decision, but I still needed to inform DIrector Sok. In fact, I had called him briefly during the day when I logged out.

Anyway, I told him over the phone that everything was done perfectly, and that Myongjin"s 3rd and 4th Leagues didn"t need to stay there anymore.

However, Director Sok said that he would make them stay for the time being because it was a place that would bring a lot more benefits to the Myongjin Group than he originally thought.

I replied that I understood, then ended the phone call because the matter was now out of my hands. Anyway, if it was good for Myongjin, it was good for me too.

And if it really was true that this place would bring more benefits that they originally thought, I could remind them that it was me who first mentioned the importance of this place to get some benefits as well.

Anyway, I left the place and moved to Peroro Castle.

Peroro Castle was more difficult than Kotum Castle or Asirante City.

I had moved to the abandoned field of trees, the most unpopular hunting ground there.

Of course, I chose this place on purpose.

Soon, a Safety Zone in the abandoned field of trees appeared in front of me.

It was empty and quiet just like the Safety Zone in the swampy area after I got rid of the Gahwa Guild.

“Come to think of it, I always happen to choose the unpopular hunting grounds.”

The only exception was the Salamander habitat, a popular hunting ground close to heaven for an Ice Wizard.

Of course, since I was there only briefly, I could not say that I had hunted properly there.

And my purpose in going there was to gain whatever EXP I could in the remaining time I had before I had to leave since I had killed the eleven members of the Daesung Guild. It would have been a waste to simply remain idle.

At that time, I clearly realized that a popular hunting ground crowded with people was not for me.

The compet.i.tion for hunting even one monster was so fierce in such places.

Besides, fights often broke out from people interfering with other people"s hunts. So, I thought that I would be better off choosing an unpopular hunting ground like this one.

However, just because a place was empty, and you could hunt at your own pace, it does not necessarily mean that your EXP gains will be low. An example was this abandoned field of trees right here.

Tramp, tramp.

I stepped forward boldly and left the Safety Zone.

It didn"t take me long before I encountered a tree monster with long roots in the shape of sapling that was often prepared for landscaping..

Saplings. In other words, it was just a young tree.

No matter how tall trees could get, saplings would only reach my chest.

Compared to other tree-like monsters, such as the Dark Ent, this sapling looked really small and despicable.

Nonetheless, there was clearly a reason why this place was not popular.

A small area of the ground in front of me started shaking, and I could hear the sound of something creeping under the ground. Soon, the source of this commotion revealed itself out of the ground.

It was the long roots of the sapling.

The roots of this long-rooted sapling wrapped around my right ankle right away.

Of course, there was not only one root. The name ‘Long Rooted Sapling" was not coined for no reason.

So, I used my skills right away because I had already experienced a battle similar to this one before.

“Ice Field! Multiple Thin Ice!”

Pasasasak!

A land of ice spread around me instantly. Then, thin ice settled on the ice ground, making the ice even thicker and harder.

Kong! Kong! Kong! Kong! Kong!

A sound of a dull drum pounding started sounding in all directions.

It was the sound of the roots of the long-rooted tree monster beating the ice ground from below.

“Ice Weapon.”

[You have used Level 3 Ice Weapon.

-The st.u.r.dy and long +3 Enhancement Sword is now empowered with a strong and cold ice energy.]

I immediately swung the sword imbued with the Ice Weapon skill at the roots of the tree that were wrapped around my right ankle. After slas.h.i.+ng a couple of times, the tree roots were covered with white frost and fell off my ankles in no time.

In the meantime the rumbling sound continued while I was fighting against the tree above ground.

It sounded as if the sapling"s roots were trying to break through the ice ground faster.

“Well, this sound really sucks…”

Of course, I had imagined something like this might happen when I decided to move here, but I did without any hesitation because I was armed with more than 6700 Intellect, Ice Man"s traits and even Thin Ice that boasted of a high defensive power.

Of course, I didn"t expect to hear this rumbling sound echoing underground.

Tramp, tramp.

I walked leisurely on the calm surface of the ice, which was drastically different to the never-ending clamor and noise under the ice. At this moment, a swan came to my mind. A swan appears more elegant than any other animal when viewed above the surface of the water. However, a swan is constantly moving its legs underwater to stay afloat.

Of course, it was the same with this long rooted sapling. It looked relaxed above the surface, but its roots were moving under the ice endlessly.

And soon I faced the sapling"s trunk.

This tree monster"s only means of attack was its long roots. As a result, the trunk and branches that existed above its roots couldn"t attack me at all. I had the absolute advantage now.

“Ice Spear! Multiple Ice Arrow!”

I immediately used my skills towards this long-rooted sapling because I had enjoyed my absolute advantage enough.

Puck! Puck! Puck!

As expected, the long-rooted sapling, which had no defensive means, was helpless in the face of my attack. However, it didn"t collapse. It was surprisingly durable.

“That"s why no one hunts here.”

I had heard of it, but I was now sure why this place was such an unpopular hunting ground.

First of all, the tree monster"s attack started from a distance, and underground at that. Most people were unfamiliar with it, and would definitely feel uncomfortable. Moreover, it was still difficult even after adapting to such an attack. Normally, for tree monsters with such a body structure, the trunk of the tree should be the most vulnerable. But that was not true.

This long-rooted sapling withstood my Ice Spear and Multiple Ice Arrows.

Of course, I felt I could destroy it with my next attack because my initial attack penetrated the tree trunk quite deep, but it was clear that this tree monster had an extremely high defense.

I don"t want to boast, but my Ice Blast-series magic had the power to not only overwhelm magic of the same level, but even magic one or two levels higher.

It could not be denied that this tree monster had a perfect combination of attack and defense.

However, I could still hunt my usual way with Ice Field and Thin Ice. n.o.body could use such skills the way I did. Of course, a person with a Heavenly Level and an extremely powerful weapon could match me, but there was no possibility that such a person would come to this place because in comparison to me who was only level 235, they would only get minimal EXP.

So, I threw an Ice Ball at the long-rooted tree monster that was barely standing in front of me.

Puck!

At this moment, the trunk of the long-rooted sapling, which was diligently holding out until now, broke with a single Ice Ball.

After checking EXP that the tree gave me, I opened my mouth with a smile.

“Good!”

In fact, before I came here, I had just hunted stone squirrels for five days for little EXP. That"s why I smiled broadly at the increase in EXP this time.

Besides, the unusual attack of the long-rooted sapling was no problem for me.

Kong! Kong! Kong! Kong! Kong!

“Kong! Kong! Kong! Kong! Kong! Ice Field. Kong! Kong! Kong! Thin Ice.”

I kept hunting, unwittingly humming along to the rumbling sound of the tree roots, while I was walking here and there on the ice elegantly like a swan.