I can't believe it's been a year since I wrote this story... time really flies so fast T_T. Thank you all for giving this book a chance and I apologize for not updating much anymore. Life's just gotten so busy and my interest with this book has left so I am ashamed to say that I will be dropping this book. I'm sorry for raising your hopes up with the title and once again, thank you for your support. 

Otaku27_ and Adalie, out.

Did anyone believe that? If you did, then I'm sorry. I just wanted to make this chapter memorable and I didn't really know how so I decided to do an April fools' day even if it's not really April 1, hehe. After all, isn't a slight heart attack memorable? For legal reasons, that's a joke. Please don't take it seriously and have a heart attack T_T. Anyway, I did mean what I said above with the exception of the prank. I'm really glad and thankful that you all gave this book a chance and (hopefully) liked it. Well, that's all for now, let's start with the chapter!

P.S. Is it just me or are their reactions becoming repetitive and boring? It might just be me, though.

Chapter 171: Perhaps (6)

Cale observed the Elf priestess while holding the gold and coins in his arms.

"Please don't tell me you're looking at her because you want to know how many more money you can scam from her." Jung Soo told TCF! Cale although he looked amused.

"Of course not." TCF! Cale denied.

'Please yes.' TCF! Alberu thought, wanting someone else to take the mantle of feeding TCF! Cale money. He was beginning to see his future self broke and that does not bode well with him.

The young priestess who had rushed over let out a sigh of relief before flinching. She had finally seen the Black Dragon sitting down next to Cale.

"Gasp!"

They all heard her gasp.

"She seems calmer compared to the other elves." TBOAH! Archie commented.

"Well, she is the priestess of the World Tree." TBOAH! Obante said. "She probably saw a lot of unique things."

Both versions of the elf priestess, Adite, stayed silent, neither confirming or denying the words said. 

The Black Dragon Raon spoke into Cale's mind to share his first impression of this priestess.

– She seems like a nice Elf.

Both versions of Adite beamed at this, happy to receive the praise of a dragon, a cute one at that. 

He then peeked toward the large bag of coins in Cale's arm. 

"...My son..." Sheritt could only silently bite her lower lip, feeling pained at the sight of her son turning into a dragon addicted to money. 

On the other hand, the young priestess bowed toward Raon.

"It is an honor to meet you, Dragon-nim! My name is Adite, and I serve the World Tree-nim in this End Village."

"Oh."
Cale let out a quiet gasp.
He had never seen an Elf behav so calmly around a Dragon before. 

"We can be calm!" TCF! Shawn argued.

"Yeah." TBOAH! Tasha agreed.

No one believed them. 

'Aunt...you know that's a lie.' TBOAH! Alberu thought while looking at TBOAH! Tasha.

He remembered what Eruhaben had told him.

'Talk to the Elf in charge of the World Tree if the other Elves do not understand. Then everything will be fine.'

The, 'do not understand,' was literally talking about the Elves not understanding what Cale was saying. It was just in case they were too busy revering the Dragon that they could not understand anything else.

"That's a smart idea." TBOAH! Kora praised, knowing that their race can barely think in the presence of a dragon.

"Or, you know, hide the dragon so that they are coherent enough to talk with you?" TBOAH! Adin sarcastically said.  

"If they do that, the elves will probably ignore them." TCF! Elisneh said with rolled eyes. "Of course, someone like you wouldn't understand it."

"Yes. Nice to meet you, little Elf."

Raon's bright greeting to the priestess made all of the other Elves start to smile.

All of their gazes were focused on Raon as they continued to nod their heads. They looked toward Cale who had come to deliver Eruhaben's message every so often, but it was rare.

"Of course it is." Rasheel said with a scoff and a look of pride. "You aren't important enough for them compared to us."

"What do you mean by that!" Raon asked with a frown. "My human is very important!"

"That's not what I meant." Rasheel denied. "What I mean is that while he is important, dragons are superior compared to him. In the sight of others, of course."

Rasheel added the last sentence when he saw the glares he was receiving. Really, what was wrong in his sentence? It's a fact! Then again, it seems that the puny red-haired human goes against logic. 

That was why they would not be able to understand anything Cale needed to say. It wasn't that they were ignoring Cale on purpose. They just could not help but look at Raon.

"I am the great and mighty Raon Miru!" Raon said proudly as many nod in agreement. 

Of course, there was something Cale did not know.

TCF! Cale blankly covered his ears. If there was one thing he learned in this watching, it is that it's that ignorance is bliss. Seriously, he was sure he gained more than ten gray hairs ever since they got transferred into this room.

There was a reason that the Elves were nodding their heads and looking at him every so often.

It was because of the conversation that the beings that Cale could not see were having.

TCF! Cale decided to also close his eyes so that he can't understand what is happening. Feeling pity for the man, no one bothered him.

'The World Tree called the priestess over to say something because of this red-haired human! I think it has been over a hundred years since the World Tree has talked about a human!'
'This human has a strong aura of nature on him. He is probably the human with the most natural elements.'
'No wonder he is with two Dragon-nims. This human smells really good.'

"The last one sounds creepy." Rok Soo said with a slight shiver. He can't help it as it was his body that was being mentioned even if he did give up his rights on it.

The Elementals were talking about Cale.
The Elves couldn't help but peek over at him after hearing what the Elementals had to say.

"Hmm?"

Cale realized that the Elves were starting to look at him more and more often. Most importantly, the young priestess started to scrunch her freckled nose as she stood there with her hands clasped together.

'... This is weird.'

Cale flinched after he started to realize something was weird.

"He really hates to be the center of attention." TBOAH! Harol said.

"Yet, his actions say the opposite." TCF! Rosalyn said in glee. "The island, the dragons, th-"

"We get it." TCF! Choi Han told her with a wry smile. 

Shaaaaaaaaaaaa-
It felt like there was a breeze. However, there was no actual breeze.
"...What is this?"

"The elementals, silly!" TBOAH! Adite laughed a little, many finding her cute and cooing. 

Cale became anxious.

One, two.
He could see many colorful and half-transparent Elemental.
That wasn't weird. This was the case at the Elf Village in the Ten Finger Mountains as well.

"Only he would say it's not weird that he's capable of seeing elementals." TCF! Witira said with a small laugh. 

"Oh well, at least it's better than him thinking that he's gone crazy." TBOAH! Shickler shrugged.

There were a lot of Elementals.
That wasn't weird either. The Elementals were born by the World Tree. This was their hometown.

"Really?" TBOAH! Hans said in surprise, not expecting that.

"Yes." TCF! Adite nod.

The issue was elsewhere.
Where were all of these numerous Elementals gathered?

"The dragon." TBOAH! Pen said.

"And because of you, the weird human who conquered a lot of ancient powers." TBOAH! Bud said. 

"Wow!"

Hong shouted in admiration.

"There's so many of them!"

On was shocked as well.

All of the Elementals were by Cale's side.
Cale could see the Elementals flying around next to him. It sounded like they were saying something, but Cale could not understand any of it.

TBOAH! Cale poked TCF! Cale to ask him something. However, he was ignored. Annoyed, the former kept repeating the same action until TCF! Cale had enough and looked at him with his hands on his hips.

"What." he asked irritably.

"Watch." TBOAH! Cale simply said, satisfied when the other one sighed in annoyance. 

'I smell a strong scent of wind! It is covert, but noticeable!'
'This one is wood. Yes, the wood is small compared to the earth, wind, and other elements, but it is firm. I can feel that firmness! How wonderful!'
'Mm, I also smell the fragrance of very sweet water. I feel like it will draw me in.'

The young priestess paid close attention to all of these comments. At that moment, something the Elementals said caught her attention.

"It's something about him, isn't it." Super Rock said with a knowing look.

"Him?" the fire asked in confusion but received no answer.

'There is an aura of fire as well. Yes, fire is greedy. That is why it is pure and beautiful. He has a very natural aura of fire.'

"Kekeke, that's correct!" the fire said in glee and pride. "I want to meet that elemental, he knows all!"

"So they shouldn't meet, got it." TBOAH! Adite nod in fear of the World Tree being burned again. 

A sea of fire.
That phrase echoed in the young priestess's mind. The priestess clasped her hands together and started to speak.

"Are you the one who has come to deliver Eruhaben-nim's message?"

Cale was getting annoyed by the Elementals around him, but still did his best to smile and respond. 

The disbelieving looks shot to him by Jung Soo and Soo Hyuk annoyed TCF! Cale to the point of wanting to curse but held it in, not wanting to anger the dragon's mother. 

However, Raon was faster than Cale.

"He is! Our human is a very good person! His name is Cale Henituse! His name is just kind of cool!"

The Elementals started to fly around Cale with even more energy.
Cale continued to smile toward Raon, who was stuck to his side, as well as the Elves who were looking at him.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Cale Henituse."

"They'll get scammed." TCF! Alberu said in a tone full of glee and joy which made people look at him.

"Should we still make deals with him?" TCF! Pen whispered to his brother. "He seems...crazy right now."

"Do you want young master Cale as an enemy?" TCF! John whispered back. When TCF! Pen shook his head, TCF! John continued speaking. "Exactly. That's your answer."

His respectful demeanor gave off the unique presence of a noble.
The slightly older Elves looked toward Cale with satisfied expressions.

"That's how he gets you." TCF! Billos said with a shake of his head.

The middle-aged Elf that had originally come to greet Cale stepped forward again.

"My name is Dickle, and I am the Chief's son."
"Nice to meet you."

Cale and Dickle shared a respectful greeting with each other.
The half-blooded Whale Paseton watched this with a blank expression. 

"Poor whale, he got used to young master Cale's craziness." TBOAH! Rex said.

"Isn't that a good thing?" TBOAH! Jopis asked with a raised brow.

"It means his sanity has disappeared." TCF! Rex replied. "Well, little by little of course."

He heard a shaking voice by his side.

"...What the..."
The Killer Whale Archie. Archie was completely shocked after seeing one of the most constant things in his life suddenly change.

Archie finally understood what Cale meant when he said that the Elves might cry after seeing Raon.

However, he still could not believe it.

Many sympathizing glances were shot to TCF! Archie. However, he didn't care as he grew long used to the crazy shits the red-haired has been doing. So, he looked at his screen self the same way. 

Raon and the Elves. However, Cale being surrounded by the Elementals shocked him even more.

'Is he really human?'

He questioned that fact even though he knew that Cale was a human.

"I am." TCF! Cale nod. "Although I am unfortunately experiencing a lot of crazy things Choi Han should be experiencing."

"Cale-nim..." TCF! Choi Han could only sigh in sadness.

Cale was a unique individual.

The Eastern continent and the Western continent. Although humans were in control of these lands due to their numbers, there were many Beast people and other races within these continents.
It was odd to see a human getting along with so many different races.

Many nod in agreement.

"Well, he is special." Dodori stated as if it was a fact.

Archie heard Choi Han and Rosalyn's conversation at that moment.

"As expected of Cale-nim."
"Don't you think you say, 'as expected of Cale-nim,' way too much?"
"Am I wrong?"
"No, you're right. Young master Cale is unique. Very unique."

TBOAH! Rosalyn sweat drop at her other self's conversation with the other Choi Han. Really, they trust the man too much.

Choi Han and Rosalyn sounded very casual, making it sound like they were used to calling Cale unique. 

"We are." TCF! Rosalyn confirmed.

Archie continued to look toward them until he made eye contact with Rosalyn.

Rosalyn's eyes opened wide before she realized what must be going through the Whale's mind and started to speak.

"Isn't it amazing how young master Cale gets along with everybody?"
"Yes."

Archie immediately answered.

"Hoh?" TBOAH! Shickler was surprised to see how quickly the other whale answered when usually, he would be stubborn and not admit anything. 

"But isn't such treatment obvious after thinking about everything young master Cale has done so far around the continent?"

Paseton, who had been listening to Rosalyn, let out a gasp.
The things Cale had done until now.

"Nothing impressive." TCF! Cale shrugged. "They were mostly done by Choi Han and the rest, I just planned."

"That's the important thing!" some shouted in frustration.

Rosalyn continued to speak.

"Young master Cale has done all of that but never asked for a title or anything of influence. Although he has received some monetary rewards, I do not think that they are worth more than his life."

"On the contrary..." TCF! Cale started but stopped when Raon shoved a piece of apple pie in his mouth. 

"Just eat, stupid human." Raon said.

Rosalyn knew that Cale was more strategic than brilliant. However, there was one reason she continued to believe that he was a good person.

He was not greedy.

The stares TCF! Rosalyn received made her laugh. "I'm sure I'll explain it."

He likes money?
Greed for fame and power were worse than greed for money.
Why do merchants try to buy titles for themselves once they are overflowing with money? And why do kings of history who had enough money and power start useless wars?

There were many types of greed that were worse than the greed for money.
But Cale did not show any greed toward these things. In fact, he tried to avoid them.

"True enough." TBOAH! Valentino agreed.

'He also doesn't use the money for his own selfish reasons.'

Rosalyn knew that the upgrades to the Henituse territory and all of their other actions had required a lot of Cale's own wealth.

"Correction." TCF! Alberu felt the need to add. "You mean a lot of MY wealth."

"Thank you, your highness." TCF! Cale shamelessly said.

There were times that Cale did use his money for himself.
But those times were to feed himself or to provide food and lodging for his group.

'This is the type of person who should have money.'

Both Litana agreed wholeheartedly as they hoped more people would be inspired to be like Cale. Well, only that aspect and not the others like self-sacrificing as a hobby. 

She thought that someone like Cale, who knew when to use money for the greater good while being satisfied with eating simple fruits for himself, deserved to have money.
Rosalyn thought it would be okay for Cale to make more money, no, she believed Cale should make more money.

'...Magic Tower.'

She recalled the Magic Tower that Cale had brought up. Rosalyn had not declined when Cale offered to invest in the Magic Tower.

"Why would I?" TCF! Rosalyn shrugged. "I am not stupid."

Although she could not understand the human mind, Cale's past actions made her feel like she could understand why Cale wanted to invest in the Magic Tower.

'I need to create a Magic Tower that helps to make the world a better place.'

It needed to be a completely different Magic Tower than the one that used to stand in the Whipper Kingdom.

TCF! Toonka and TCF! Harol hoped it would come true while their other versions started realizing just why the former two were willing to give the tower a chance. It was because the people were different. 

Rosalyn made up her mind that she would create that type of Magic Tower and become the Tower Master. Cale turned around at that moment and the two of them made eye contact.

At the same time, she realized that the Elves were looking in her direction as well.

Raon flew over toward Rosalyn and the rest. He then introduced each of them to the Elves.

"This is the smart Rosalyn. Over here is the strong Choi Han."

The Elves smiled brightly every time Raon said something.
Rosalyn shook hands with the Elves who reached their hands out first. It was the same with Choi Han and the Whales.

'I should ask Raon-nim if he wants to accompany us when we need to interact with the elves.' TCF! Witira thought.

"We had only heard about the Whale-nims. It is my first time meeting one in person. You seem very reliable! Haha!"

The Killer Whale Archie just responded back with a smile and shook Dickle's hand after hearing Dickle praise him.
Even he was starting to accept the situation now.

"Yes, just follow along with Cale's whims." Soo Hyuk agreed.

Cale saw that his group was getting along with the Elves before calling out to the young priestess Adite.

"Priestess-nim."

He then flinched. He could see that the young girl had tears in her eyes and was looking at him as if he was a ticking time bomb. Cale became even more curious after seeing such an expression.

"Who wouldn't after knowing what the fire did in the past." the wind said with a sweat drop. 

"Priestess-nim, don't the Elves not have any desire for material goods?"

Cale pointed to the bag of coins and the gold in his arms. The priestess Adite responded back with a serious expression.

"The World Tree had told us to slowly gather coins since a long time ago. Although we should not get too obsessed with worldly possessions, it told us that it would be useful in the future."

"It certainly did." the water said before pointing at the drooling fire. "Look at that bastard all giddy and shit."

The priestess smiled before informing Cale of the World Tree's message.

"The World Tree wishes to meet with you, Cale-nim."

The World Tree had actually said to bring him over only if he accepted the coins and the gold, but Adite didn't feel the need to say that part.

"That sounds great. I want to meet World Tree-nim as well. Let us head there right away."

The priestess took the lead after hearing Cale's response.

"Just follow me."

"I really want to see what the World Tree looks like." TBOAH! Lily said with shining eyes. "Is it as impressive as the books say?"

"It is." TBOAH! Adite agreed with a smile.

The priestess felt Raon and Cale following behind her as she listened to the Elementals.

'He is imperfectly perfect and strongly weak. How interesting.'

"Exactly." Eruhaben nod. 

Elementals usually only became interested in Elementalists. However, these Elementals were currently showing interest in a human.
The priestess Adite started to walk a little faster. Cale quickened his pace to keep up with her as they headed to meet with the World Tree.

He then put on an odd expression.
'It looks so ... normal.'

He could see an old Needle Leaf tree that you could find on any mountain.

"Is that really the World Tree?" TBOAH! Basen asked with a hint of disappointment. 

"It isn't." TBOAH! Adite denied.

"This is the World Tree-nim."

The priestess pointed to the commonly seen tree in front of him.
Cale was shocked at this.

The tree was at least three times taller than he was, but it was still similar to the trees found in the Forest of Darkness. In fact, the white tree that he had seen after receiving the Indestructible Shield seemed to be more magical.

'...The other trees around it look more like they could be the World Tree.'

"...I...well, that's disappointing." On said with a small frown with her brother nodding in agreement, ears drooped. 

"It's like when Hans lied to us, nya~" Hong stated which made TCF! Hans look guilty.

The trees surrounding the World Tree as if they were protecting it were all tall and blue.

"Were you shocked by how the World Tree-nim looks?"

"Who wouldn't be?" TBOAH! Rei Stecker asked rhetorically.

The priestess started to speak as if she had expected Cale's reaction.
Even the Elves had been shocked at the World Tree's appearance when they had first seen it.

The people who were disappointed and shock felt glad they weren't the only ones, especially the dark elves who had a grudge with the regular elves. 

Cale looked around for a bit before saying whatever came to his mind.

"Just like how there may be precious things in things we only glance at, the truth may be hidden in an average appearance."
"...As I expected."

"He is extremely fluent in bullshitting people." TCF! White Star said.

"Cale-nim is really special." TCF! Clopeh said with a praising gaze. "He can see the beauty no one else can."

"Whatever you say." TBOAH! Choi Han said without meaning to. He just wanted to shut the other up.

The priestess who had calmed herself down on the way to the World Tree agreed with Cale's sentiments.
Cale did not care about her reaction as he looked around the area where only he, Raon, the young priestess, and the World Tree were currently present.

It was at that moment.

Shhhhhhh-
The leaves on the trees started to shake even though there was no wind.

"And that's when you run." Rok Soo said as goosebumps appearedd.

"Ghosts?" Soo Hyuk wondered.

"Cale-nim!"

The priestess then called out to Cale.
Cale could see a blue light surrounding Adite. It was the same color as the token from earlier.

On the other hand, Adite could not hide her shock while looking toward Cale.

"The World Tree, the World Tree-nim wishes to speak with Cale-nim."
"It wishes to speak with me?"
"Yes."

The priestess was shocked.

"Of course it does." TCF! White Star said while rolling his eyes, sounding oddly like a jealous person. 

'Is the white star jealous that young master Cale got to meet the world tree?' TCF! Duke Fredo thought with a raised brow.

Eruhaben had been the only one the World Tree had personally spoken with until now. She then looked toward Raon.

"The World Tree-nim wishes to speak with Raon-nim in the future when you can spend a long time together."
"Alright, I got it! Nice to meet you, World Tree!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you, World Tree!" Raon echoed.

No one had the heart to tell him the tree couldn't hear him.

"Nice to meet you too." a voice suddenly reached their ears as many shivered in fear, few knowing that it was the world tree.

Shhhhhhh-
The leaves rustled as if they were responding to Raon's greeting. Raon seemed to be happy as he started to roll around on the grass.

"This place is very refreshing and warm. I like this place the most after our house!"

Cale smiled at Raon's comment before asking the priestess.

"How do I chat with the World Tree?"
"Just close your eyes and make contact with the World Tree."
The priestess pointed to the trunk of the World Tree and Cale walked toward it without any hesitation. He then put his palm on the pillar as the priestess had instructed.

"Boo!" some screamed in fright as most jumped and glared at the culprit - TCF! Cage who had a mischievous grin. 

"I thought that I died." TBOAH! Eric said while holding his chest.

Shhhhhhh-
The trees started to move again.
The priestess observed the World Tree with wariness in her heart.

'I can't believe a human turned the usually calm World Tree-nim so nervous.'

"It's not him." the fire said proudly. "He's not the problem, it's me."

"Yes, hi, we know you're the problem." Super Rock said while rolling his eyes.

"Now, now, children." Jour said with a small laugh.

She was curious about the conversation Cale would have with the World Tree, but found the whole scene to be surprising. Of course, the priestess's gaze became deeper as she looked at the red-haired man.

'Hmm?'

She could see Cale flinching at that moment.
The man who had his eyes closed was frowning.

Many looked worried at this, especially TCF! Cale who felt that the World Tree would say something that would ruin his peace.

Cale was listening to the World Tree's voice at that moment.

– I didn't expect for another human to earn the power of that lunatic arsonist.

"I'm no lunatic." the fire disagreed with a frown.

"You are an arsonist, though." TBOAH! Lock said.

"Damn right, I am." the fire said with his chin raised high.

Arsonist.
It had to be talking about the Fire of Destruction.

– But you received the full power, and even fortified it. Cale, you are amazing as well.

"He is." the wind agreed. 

'I fortified it?'

"Of course he did it unknowingly." TBOAH! Odeus said with a small sigh.

"He's really lucky at things like that." Mila said.

Cale thought about the, 'Vitality of the Heart,' before becoming weirded out by the World Tree.

"Hehe~" the heart just laughed.

'Cale, you are amazing as well.'

'...It is too friendly.'
The World Tree was treating Cale in a very friendly way.
It was so friendly that it was suspicious.

"The World Tree-nim says it's hurt at your distrust towards it." TBOAH! Gashan said. 

TCF! Cale just shrugged. "I've met many people who acted kind, only to be a traitor."

The World Tree continued to speak.

– I have seen many heroes in my lifetime, but I have never seen such a crazy hero who didn't care about anything else other than money.

"Hello!" the fire said. "Nice to meet you."

Some of his friends just sighed.

The voice that sounded like a benign old woman was gentle.

– A hero whose life goal was to be rich. I had died and reincarnated many times, but I almost burned to death because of that hero.

"Not my fault." the fire shrugged. 

"It's completely his fault." the water said as the fire shot her a 'traitor' look. 

The World Tree sounded slightly relieved.

– That is why I collected money. This was my way to ensure my own longevity.

'Poor World Tree-nim.' TCF! Adite thought with a pitiful look. 

It then continued to speak.

– Anyway, I had no idea that you had earned that power, Cale. I was so shocked. I had sent Adite with money just in case the power of fire went wild.

"It won't, right?" TBOAH! Jack worriedly asked.

"It definitely won't." TCF! Cale assured.

"Of course I wouldn't." the fire said. "If I did, I would probably be left behind by Cale and I won't be able to earn money!"

"He really is your unknown twin." TCF! Hannah said with amusement.

Cale felt something was off as he continued to listen to the World Tree.

'Does it know me?'

It was speaking as if it knew Cale.

"The World Tree knows a lot of things." TCF! Gashan said.

Cale opened his mouth to ask if the World Tree knew him. It was at that moment.

– Is Gashan well?

'Gashan? The Tiger shaman Gashan?'

Cale suddenly got the chills.

'Perhaps. Is the nature that Gashan always talks about?'

Gashan frequently said that, 'nature has spoken.'

"Apparently so." Taylor said.

The World Tree continued to speak.

– Gashan was an interesting child who could hear my voice.

Both Gashan looked happy at the fact that the World Tree knows him.

'Wow.'
Cale was amazed.
He was also shocked.

'Does that mean that the World Tree has the power of foresight?'

'If only I can grab that power.' both White Star thought. 'It would be extremely helpful at dealing with trashes.'

The voice no longer sounded benign. Cale felt chills down his back once again.

– Cale.

The World Tree asked.

– Who are you?

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh-
The leaves started to rustle.

"Oh, so that's the only thing it wanted to ask." TCF! Eric said with a sigh of relief. "I thought it would be something scarier."

"That will definitely give young master Cale a heart attack though." TCF! Tasha said with amusement.