"..."

I looked at the message blankly. I obviously had not reached the starting point..

So, a message that I failed should have rang, but it was a message about my success.

So, after looking at the message for a while, I finally stood up..

Then I could definitely see something different in the sand..

It was something like burnt black ashes.

It started from my foot, and ran straight in the direction of the starting point.

"?"

Of course, I could ponder about it later because the most important thing to me was that I actually cleared the quest.

But it kept bothering me, so I looked at the ash endlessly.

At that moment, something suddenly flashed my mind, and I felt like I knew what had caused this. It was the root.

So, I got a rough idea about why the message about my success in the quest rang.

"Was it the root, not me, that reached the starting point?"

Of course, there was no convincing evidence that it was the root.

But no matter how much I racked my brain, I could not think of anything other than the root when it came to this unusual situation .

By the way, it was true that the root helped me in Region 0, but I could not freely use it. So I stopped paying attention to it because it's not my power if I could not control it.

"Wait a moment. Is it dead?"

The black ashes that trailed all the way to the starting point.

No matter how I looked at the ashes, it was far from normal because it looked like a long burn mark.

Well, it was obviously something burnt with fire.

"Root? Hey, Root! Root?"

[...]

Of course, I once called the Root in the past like I did now. It was after it revealed its tremendous power in Region 0.

But just like today, the Roit did not show any reaction.

I didn't know why, but I felt it was different this time.

I even had a vague feeling that I probably would not see the root again.

Obviously, it was possible that the root was simply not responding like before.

"Oh my…"

Back at Region 0, after I tried to summon the root and it showed no reaction, I just ignored it but I still felt like I had something I could rely on, which was a bit reassuring. More precisely, it was something beyond reassurance.

But now I felt like I was missing something.

Perhaps because of that, I stood in place blankly for a while.

Then I trudged to the starting point slowly, treading along the path the black ashes marked.

A few hours later I finally arrived at the starting point.

[Congratulations!

-You have cleared the level 900 limited quest with a 100% achievement rate.

You will receive the following rewards:

: You receive all 3,875.9 million golden rings you acquired while moving.

: You receive all 1,1544.2 million EXP you acquired while moving.

: You receive all 1982 stat points you acquired while moving.

: You receive all 9950 coins you acquired while moving.

: You receive the 2 skill points you acquired while moving.

: You receive 1 random box with legendary grade items you acquired while moving.

: You receive 1170 weapon enhancement stones, 1760 armor enhancement stones, and 392 accessory enhancement stones you obtained while moving.]

As soon as I set foot on the starting point, the series of messages rang in a row.

And when I thought it was finally over, another message rang.

[You have successfully recorded 100% achievement rate in the level 900 limited quest.

-A treasure box is given as a reward.

You can obtain treasure if you open the treasure box.]

The messages that rang first were about the rewards I obtained while moving in the Land of Endless Greed. But it was the last message that confirmed my 100% achievement rate and its corresponding reward.

But the reward was quite strange to me because the rewards that appeared in the previous messages were just so good.

So, I first checked the treasure box.

"Check Treasure Box."

[Treasure Box. (No grade.)

-Hope and strive for it. And dream for it. Then you will realize it.]

"?"

What an absurd description.

Aside from that absurd description, I was not that happy even though I got a whopping 2,000 stat points and two skill points, plus almost 10,000 coins because of my 100% achievement rate.

Why? Because the root had obviously disappeared.

Of course, I kept repeating to myself that it was useless because I could not use it anyway.

Despite that, I still felt empty.

"Hmm..."

So I was standing blankly when another message rang.

[After 30 seconds, you will be forcibly moved out of the Land of Endless Greed.

-30, 29, 28...]

The message counted down each second ruthlessly, and I soon felt my body being dragged somewhere. Soon I encountered a familiar scene before my eyes.

I was now back in the central square in Kotum Castle.

At that moment, a series of messages rang again in a row.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

:

:

[You have leveled up.]

[You have the title of 'Quest Craftsman'.

-Upon clearing a quest, you will receive an additional 100 to 300 remaining stat points depending on the quest's difficulty.

-We are calculating the difficulty of a 100% achievement rate in the level 900 limited quest.

: You have acquired 300 remaining stat points.]

"Log out."

But I logged out first.

I wanted to take a break, above all, rather than confirming the 2,300 stat points and 2 skill points that I received by opening the status window.

After that, I went straight to bed and fell asleep.

The next day, I had breakfast with my mom and sister, as usual.

My sister took a spoonful of rice into her mouth, then glanced at me and opened her mouth.

"You failed as well, right? Yeah, I know. Hahaha."

Slap!

"Ouch! Why are you slapping me, Mom?"

"Do you want to make fun of Juyoung now?"

"Why not? When can I make fun of him if I don't do it now? Mom, do you know how many titles he has? What about his mana and health? Man, he's so far ahead of me! I'm going to make fun of him with this for at least ten years!"

I was still gloomy because of the missing root like yesterday.

That's why my sister teased me like that.

Of course, I was aware that she meant well when she teased me, for I was generous enough to understand her now, compared with my narrow-mindedness in the past.

So I opened my mouth quietly.

"I obtained about 4 billion golden rings, 11.5 billion EXP, 2000 stat points, 10,000 coins, 2 skill points, and 1 random box with legendary items. Besides, I obtained a lot of weapon, armor, and accessory upgrade stones. Oh, I also have the title of Quest Craftsman among the 9 titles that you mentioned. Thanks to that title, I got an additional 300 stat points."

"..."

"..."

Of course, I didn't have to confirm that what I obtained was just enormous.

That's why my mom and my sister looked at me with a blank expression.

In particular, my sister almost dropped her spoon, startled at my achievement, because she knew its value better than anybody else.