Chapter Twenty-Six: The Legend of Five Hundred Years Ago

“What should we do then? We’ve already accepted the mission.”
“Accepting the mission doesn’t mean we have to complete it. There’s no penalty for failure, so we can just abandon it. This game has such a high degree of freedom; we don’t need to follow the mission path strictly.
Right now, there are actually two options.
One is to trust the Ginkgo Fairy’s words and take a gamble to rescue her. If it works out, maybe we’ll get a powerful reward—perhaps even unlock a magic user class. But if the Ginkgo Fairy turns out to be malicious, there might be no reward at all; she could even kill us outright.
Even if she doesn’t kill us, the villagers might, assuming she hasn’t already slaughtered the village.
Plus, the mission is definitely difficult; if we fail, we might die.
The second option is to report this to the village chief, Huang Shidao. He will surely give us some reward, though it won’t be as extravagant as what the Ginkgo Fairy promised.
It’ll probably be some ordinary equipment, skills, or money.”

I, Wishing to Ascend, asked uncertainly, “So which path do we choose?”
“Obviously, the second one.
If this were a regular game, we could consider the first option—if we win the gamble, it would be huge.
But this is a death game, a hardcore mode. The biggest trap is relying on luck. Never risk your life on a bet. Even if you win ten or a hundred times, it’s useless—one failure means you’re done.
So our top priority is to be safe. Let’s go report to the village chief.”

I hesitated, unwilling to give up. “But… but what if the Ginkgo Fairy is telling the truth? What if she can really resurrect my elder brother?”

Xiao Jie sighed silently. He had explained it so clearly—how could this guy still not understand?
Ah, this fellow was probably naive, inexperienced with the harshness of the world, maybe even still a student.

“Here’s the deal: transfer me 100,000 coins, and I have a way to turn that into 10 million.”

I, Wishing to Ascend, doubted him. “You’re lying, right, Brother Suifeng? Something that absurd can’t be real.”

Xiao Jie chuckled. “It is a bit absurd, true. But what if it’s real? Why not take the gamble? If you win, you get ten million; if you lose, you only lose 100,000. So why not try it?”

I fell silent for a moment, then sighed. “I understand. Let’s go report to the village chief.”

---

A few minutes later, at the village chief’s home—

The two of them recounted everything to the old chief.

Huang Shidao was shocked. “What! Such a thing exists! I never thought the legend from five hundred years ago was true…”

The old chief’s face was filled with shock and recollection. Xiao Jie thought, this really is a big secret unearthed.

“Sir, could you please tell us what happened exactly?”

“Sigh, it all begins five centuries ago. In Ginkgo Village, a legend has been passed down through generations. It says that five hundred years ago, an immortal came to this valley. He told the village chief then that a great calamity would soon befall the world. To protect the villagers from disaster, they must follow his instructions.
He planted a ginkgo tree in the village, saying it was a celestial seed brought down from the heavens. Once grown, it would protect this land of Ginkgo Village. When the calamity came, it would keep the neighbors safe.
But since the tree was removed from the immortal realm, it was tainted by the mortal world’s pollution. After a hundred years, it would transform into a demon and bring disaster. So it was sealed with talismans and guarded day and night by the villagers.

A few years after the immortal left, the prophesied calamity occurred. The gods fell, all things withered; humans lost their souls and became soulless corpses; beasts lost their minds and turned into demonic monsters.
Most villages and towns were destroyed.
Thanks to the celestial tree’s protection, Ginkgo Village retained a trace of vitality.
Centuries have passed since then.

The fairy you met in your dream is likely the demon born from the ginkgo tree, trying to break free from the seal.
You must not believe her lies, or you will make a grave mistake.”

Xiao Jie thought, so that’s it; the Ginkgo Fairy wasn’t entirely lying—it really did come from the heavens.
But the rewards she promised were clearly nonsense. She was just a tree demon, not an immortal. How could she help us ascend?
If we freed her, she would almost certainly massacre the village.

The old chief added, “The ginkgo tree on the mountain must be a manifestation of the village’s tree, a survival trick. If this tree demon breaks the seal, Ginkgo Village will face disaster. It’s commendable that you brought this to me.”

Xiao Jie asked, “I see! So what should we do next?”

---

I, Wishing to Ascend, hesitated to speak.

The old chief smiled. “No matter. Now that you know its scheme, it’s easy. Just cut down the ginkgo tree’s manifestation on the back mountain. Will you two brave warriors undertake this task? If you succeed, there will be a generous reward.

Since the tree is a manifestation created by the tree demon’s spiritual power, you can gather some rare materials. If you bring them back, I can craft a magical artifact for each of you.”

System prompt: Triggered random event [Old Chief’s Request].
Mission description: The old chief told you the origin of the Ginkgo Fairy and asked you to cut down the tree demon’s manifestation to prevent future troubles.
Mission objective: Kill the tree demon’s manifestation.
Mission reward: 1,000 copper coins, one wood-element magical artifact.

A magical artifact! That’s a pretty good reward, but…

Xiao Jie looked at himself and I, Wishing to Ascend. One of us was level one, the other level two. Taking on a mission boss might be tough.

“Sir, is this tree demon manifestation dangerous?”

“No need to worry. It’s just a puppet formed from the root of the tree demon, not even a true clone. It has some demonic power but isn’t much different from an ordinary tree. You two should be able to handle it.

If you’re not confident, I can write a letter to send some militia to assist you. But the emperor won’t waste resources on idle soldiers; militia participation requires rewards, so your pay might be reduced.

Of course, if you’re unwilling to take the risk, I can assign Captain Tie to handle it. You’ve already done well to bring this information. There will be a generous reward afterward, but the artifacts might not be included…”

Suddenly, a dialogue box popped up in front of Xiao Jie.

Option 1: No need to trouble the old chief; the two of us are enough.
Option 2: The old chief should send a few militia members with us, just in case.
Option 3: We have done all we can; this is a serious matter. The old chief should send Captain Tie with his team to handle it.