89. The Jinhwalin Incident
At the sudden sound, I was momentarily speechless.
‘Humans exist on other planets?’
A sudden question surged within me.
“How is that possible? The distances between planets are vast, it doesn’t seem feasible, right?”
“Rather, consider the existence of civilizations and evolutionary trees of life between planets. For example, like the Nightbus Rabbit Wasp you, a divine being, recently created. In the case of the Divine being, if another divine being raises the Nightbus Rabbit Wasp, the evolutionary route of the divine being will be revealed before that god. Beyond that, another new divine being will be waiting. Through numerous evolutions like this, it will eventually evolve into a completely different species from the original Nightbus Rabbit Wasp. All evolutionary routes in this world are shared equally among the divine beings, and through this method, countless evolutions are spreading throughout all planets and the entire universe.”
…It felt like hearing a shocking secret of the universe.
Perhaps scientists would be astounded if they heard this?
“The civilization of humanity originated not from one but from various divine beings. It is a split-off species amid the repeated evolution and advancement of gods. In fact, until then, they were a different species, and the majority of Earth’s ecosystems were filled with beings that went through such a process of splitting.”
In his gaze, books placed on the shelves were visible.
[The World of Dragons.]
[The Mechanical Civilization.]
[The Lineage of the Last Gods.]
[The Cosmic Battleship Raventos.]
Below them, a booklet titled [The Gods of Humans] could be seen.
Han borrowed a book from the library.
It was a thick volume to the extent that even a decent encyclopedia would be jealous.
The cover of the book had the name “Jin Hwarin” written on it, symbolizing that the entire life of a person was contained within.
As Han peered into the contents of the book, they nodded.
“Hmm. Jin Hwarin seems to like giving meat to others.”
They learned a good fact.
Even her preferences were thoroughly recorded.
For instance, she preferred meat over vegetarian dishes.
And if not, it detailed that among various types of meat, her favorite was the meat of the White Icicle Buffalo.
In this manner, the book contained all the information she had accumulated.
Starting from the history of the person she was, to the events of yesterday.
However, what was even more fascinating here was:
[Battle in progress.]
[Battle complete.]
[Slayed a Grade 1 monster, Desert Mantis.]
[Battle in progress.]
[Battle complete.]
[Slayed a Grade 1 monster, Long-Armed Cannibal Ape.]
[Battle ends─]
The last blank page of the book.
There, it was a fact that new content was being recorded at this very moment.
Like an invisible pen scribbling down additional content one after another.
[Downed a 500-liter bottle of Samdasoo in one shot.]
[Sitting on a camp chair.]
[Currently on break.]
Glancing at those contents for a moment, Han asked.
“System, this is in real-time, right?”
From Noble mtl dot com
[Yes, it is. These are the actions being taken by the top-tier hunter ‘Jin Hwarin’ at this very moment.]
[Currently eating a GS25 cream bread.]
[On break.]
“Fascinating, this.”
The book was a book, but, how should I put it?
It felt somewhat magical.
[Memo in progress.]
Memo in progress?
What could she be writing?
They observed attentively.
Even her memo contents were clearly visible.
It was an expected story.
Her everything.
Even the brief sigh she let out was fully transcribed, becoming a booklet recorded as a single history.
The contents of her note.
[Ah. Craving white ice beef.]
[Currently writing in the diary.]
“Splurt!”
I almost spat out the water I was drinking.
[…!!]
At this sudden action, the oak tree leisurely resting by the window was startled, jerking its body in surprise.
***
Hane lived in the forest.
Now, she was part of the forest, watching mice and snails nibbling on leaves.
At times, she would lightly nod her head in greeting towards passing elves, showing a hint of joy, which was quite endearing.
“…Huh?”
It was at that moment.
Thud!
In the distance, she saw a small creature running frantically.
Curious, she expanded her gaze in that direction.
In an instant, the view drew closer, and Hane could discern its identity.
“…A squirrel?”
Taken aback, she stared blankly, then swiftly grabbed a nut, popped it into her mouth, and disappeared between the cracks of the oak tree trunk.
A new guest she hadn’t seen before.
“No, when did it appear here again? I’ve never seen it before?”
[In fact, it has been some time since the Montetai tufted squirrel established its place in this forest. Over a month has passed, and the individual has adapted to this environment to a certain extent.]
Surprised, Hane slightly opened her mouth.
“…It’s been that long?”
Even Hane, who gazed down at the square every day, didn’t know this fact.
Perhaps that was just how things were.
Occasionally, the elves passing under the trees seemed to know there was something there, looking up towards the crack and smiling knowingly.
After all, her perspective was that of an observer looking down from the sky.
Maybe, just like that squirrel, there were more of these small creatures in the forest.
“Come to think of it, it was the same with the mice and snails. It wasn’t strange at all when those creatures, who had been hibernating deep underground, suddenly began to reveal themselves one by one.”
***
Around evening that day.
Alisa told her granddaughter Pafona a story as she held her in her arms.
“When I was very young, I encountered a god.”
“Grandma, when you were young?”
“Yes. Only when Pafona was around.”
Perhaps Alisa had mentioned that she was hundreds of years old.
According to the system, she had been an entity who had lived since before the chaos of the planet Frey.
Then, it was likely that she still held memories of this world when it was intact in the past.
Perhaps back when the race of deities known as the Ancients still existed.
“The gods are all different. This current Elven deity seems to have taken the form of large hands, but the Elven deity of the past had the shape of long leaves.”
It seemed that she had directly encountered a deity of the same race before.
A deity with a different form.
It appeared that not all of them had the same hand shape.
“Oh.”
To have directly encountered a deity of the same race.
Each word that occasionally followed from her was intriguing even to me as a listener.
For example,
“However, this current Elven deity seems even more affectionate than the previous Elven deity. Very kind-hearted.”
Or,
“Occasionally, the previous Elven deity revealed their form. They were huge, with giant leaves that seemed to cover the world.”
And so on with the content that followed.
But a deity with a form of large and giant leaves.
I heard a story that was hard to imagine.
“It seems that not all deities have the same hand shape, right?”
[Correct. Depending on their origin, there are differences in their forms.]
“Well, they did say that the races of the gods are all different. It would be strange if they all had hands, wouldn’t it?”
I was suddenly filled with questions about what kind of being the previous Elven deity was.
But there was a time when I had glimpsed briefly in the Akashic Records about the existence of numerous races.
Perhaps they were beings with a form entirely different from humans.
I decided to roughly accept that possibility.
At that moment, I saw Alisa getting up from her seat.
Was her health gradually recovering now?
Her previously pale and sallow complexion was turning into a healthy color.
As I watched her, another question came to mind.
“……”
His gaze turned to Alisa’s flawless skin, without a single wrinkle in sight.
Physically very healthy indeed.
That thought crossed my mind.
“But, Grandma? Your appearance is like…”
“Elves possess the characteristic of eternal youth. They maintain the appearance they had in their youth until the day they die.”
“I see…?”
A race that does not age.
It was a uniqueness that the ancient Emperor Jin Shi might have sought after in the past.
Well, these attributes were just based on human standards.
To them, it must be just a natural way of life.
“How old is Alisa then? She doesn’t seem much different in age from you, visually.”
“This year, by human standards, she has surpassed 400 years of age. This places her in a considerable age bracket even by Elven standards, and she is now one of the few individuals in Frey who have preserved memories of the distant past.”
“Th- That so?”
In reality, she, Alisa, seemed to face no difficulties in her daily life.
Compared to other elves, she displayed a gracefulness that was not far behind Irina.
Ping-!
With a sharp sound, the arrow flew and hit the target accurately.
“Wow! A hit, Granny!”
“Your condition has improved a lot, Mother.”
“It’s all thanks to everyone. Because the Lord also looked after me.”
Although small, she was now starting to run little by little.
Of course, it was still challenging to imitate the typical agile movements of the elves, but to a human observer, she was already agile enough.
It was a trait that made it impossible to see her as an old person.
“It feels good to move my body after a long time. I feel very healthy.”
Alisa smiled more refreshingly.
The mountain breeze gently ruffled her hair.
It was midnight.
Under the dim light of candles and electric bulbs.
The atmosphere among the elves became brighter.
Now, gathered in Irina’s house, which had transformed into more of a community center than a single home, they watched as they laughed and chatted.
“Hand it over!”
[Clang!]
On one side, the Green Dragon Mwamwa and the growing wolves were growling and arguing over a potato, while on the other side, the elves were continuing their conversation in a lively atmosphere.
“It’s fortunate that you’ve recovered so much.”
“Thank you, Lady Irina.”
Suddenly, while having their meal, they brought up the topic of their original homeland.
Irina cautiously spoke up.
“By the way, how is the place where you used to live?”
At her words, Alisa smiled bitterly.
“It probably no longer resembles its original self. By the time we were dragged away, all the remaining settlements were burned down by orcs without leaving a trace. Even the World Tree.”
‘…The World Tree?’
As a Han, it was a story they were unfamiliar with.
“We did escape from there, but I’m not sure if the World Tree is still intact. It’s a concern.”
‘The World Tree?’
The expression on Han’s face, who heard that, changed ambiguously.
“System.”
[Listening.]
“Are there World Trees in other places on this planet apart from here?”
[Yes.]
“Could you tell me where they are located─”
[Sorry, but due to fairness issues, I cannot disclose information regarding that matter.]
Damn it. As expected, it was going to be like that.