episode_0056

A desolate land.

Thud!!

A small shoot sprang up.

Through the eyes of that shoot, the dry yellowish-brown land and the blue sky could be seen.

“Where… is this?”

Confusion.

I had just focused on the sensation of wriggling at the top of the main tree branch and moved, but that shoot connected to an unknown place.

Atalisha’s dimensional shoot.

The strange sensation that arose from absorbing it.

And a new shoot that sprang up, connecting to a completely unfamiliar place.

Considering these three things, it quickly became clear.

My shoot had crossed dimensions.

“…Interesting.”

I quickly regained my composure.

Although the results were astonishing, I had a hunch since hearing about the initials and the dimensional shoot.

I am not a human but a real World Tree.

This is just awakening my true abilities.

Perhaps influenced by absorbing Atalisha’s power, I awakened my abilities, albeit somewhat unstable.

No, the term awakening is not accurate either.

Because I did not directly use my abilities.

It is probably the result of a combination of the absorbed power of Atalisha and my will.

Then, another question arises.

Where is this place?

Swoosh.

I grew the shoot a little higher.

I quickly looked around, but unfortunately, only a desolate land was visible.

I’ll have to investigate this little by little.

“Did it feel like piercing through worlds?”

“Probably. A shoot from the main tree branch connected to a strange place.”

Returning to my elf form, I talked to Shaela about the dimensional shoot.

He seemed very interested and asked questions.

“So, can you move there?”

“That would be difficult. I’ve only barely connected one strand of the shoot. It seems challenging to move something other than the shoot.”

“Tsk. Still a plantling, huh.”

“A plantling… What more do you want from me? I’ve restored your strength, opened a way out, and now that’s what you have to say?”

“No, no~ I’m grateful! Munchkin is right! You’re doing great!! I’ll pet you more today.”

“It’s not necessary, you know?”

Giggle~

“Secretly pleased.”

“Sigh….”

“Phew. You don’t need to be so intensely pleased. I know your efforts well.”

“Not even a bit comforting?”

“And…”

“Yeah?”

“Someday, you’ll be able to get revenge.”

“Revenge?….”

A slightly calm voice was uttered.

I realized his true feelings from those words.

Shaela had lost his world and was a victim.

There must be a culprit at the top of the tower.

It’s natural to want revenge.

So, he must have suffered even more.

Needlessly worrying….

“…If my shoot reaches the upper floor and ascends the tower, I’ll look into it.”

“What are you going to investigate?”

“The ones who made you a test subject.”

“Oh. Really? Did you think of me?”

Of course, it’s uncertain when that will happen.

It’s just one strand of the shoot that accidentally connected.

But even with that one strand, there is an abundance of things that can be done.

I rooted into the surrounding land.

Separated the shoot to expand the area.

Creating a new forest there.

“First, I’ll focus a bit.”

Giggle~

“Yes! Let me know when there’s progress.”

Swish~

I shifted my consciousness back to the main body.

I focused on the shoot connected to another world.

Swoosh~

Even if it’s a desolate land, it doesn’t matter.

The main body has an endless supply of nutrients from the misty forest, and that shoot is just a part connected to the main tree. In other words, it can transfer the overflowing nutrients to the surroundings to flourish at any time.

Without hesitation, I executed it.

Swoosh.

Fresh and lively!~

Nutrients spread to the land.

The shoot grew rapidly and separated.

Roots spread around, and at the same time, ordinary plants sprouted nearby.

A small green land.

Life blossomed.

It probably won’t take long for this place to become a lush forest.

It will become another area for me.

I can’t explore this place right away, but….

Creating a new avatar to explore is possible.

But just in case, I plan to observe a little until the area is completely stabilized.

Someone might come here, and with a little more research, I might be able to create a decent body.

Until then….

“I need to train again.”

Let’s prepare more thoroughly.

*

Foggy Forest, Day 137.

Clang! Clang!!

“Ah~ Getting drunk.”

Gulp, gulp.

Dwarf Volkan.

He, who was busy hammering in the underground village, took a sip from the fancy bottle of liquor he made and downed it in one shot.

“He really drinks every time I see him.”

I watched Volkan from the perspective of the stem left underground and moved my avatar to the underground.

He was not drinking alone, but enjoying a spicy and strong-smelling liquor made from different fruits.

When Volkan is about 70% drunk, he switches to a different liquor that makes him dizzy faster after drinking.

One of his favorite liquors, I suppose.

It’s quite surprising.

How can he drink like that?

Maybe he has a separate liver for alcohol.

Clang!!

“Kugh!! This is it. As expected, when you get drunk, you can contain the freedom within you for hammering!!”

“…Ugh, I think I’ve reached my limit.”

Thud.

The elf next to Volkan collapsed.

The eighth Fermion.

It’s been several months since he became Volkan’s disciple.

He always drank with his master and often collapsed while fighting against hangovers every day.

“It’s… it’s too much….”

“Ugh….”

Even the High Elves like Fermion were struggling to hold back their vomit.

Despite having some resistance, they were weaker compared to Volkan.

And Volkan didn’t show any mercy.

“Oh! There’s still not enough alcohol.”

“…What?”

“Only when you reach the state of being one with alcohol can you become one with the hammer.”

“…I, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

As you can see, they are doing well.

Four more new dwarf workers have joined, making the underground much larger, and Fermion has reached a level where he can make decent weapons.

Volkan is also satisfied with the situation.

“The smell of great liquor.”

“My lord!?”

“Haha. Have you come?”

At that moment, they arrived at the forge.

Bending down among the dozens of empty bottles on the floor, they took out the sword they needed.

“I need a sword.”

“A sword? We’re still making them. With so many humans suddenly coming to the village, we’re working hard to sell them! If you want, I can give you one that’s already made.”

By the way, Volkan comes up to the surface once after the humans came to the village to sell weapons and earn public contribution points.

Here, public contribution points are…

A currency commonly used in the tower.

Of course, there must be a system to trade… It’s an element I don’t know well.

“Why bother earning that. No, it seems like it’s just trash from the lower levels.”

“Haha! It’s all about feeling good. Even if it’s just a speck of dust, it feels good to gather it, and you can use it to shop for something. System trading has a bad reputation, but if you’re lucky, you might get something decent.”

“Is that so… Do as you please.”

System Trading Post.

It’s one of the convenience functions available to climbers, but it’s said to be full of scams and have very high fees.

Perhaps they’re looking around after drinking to lift their spirits.

Anyway, Volkan is excited.

He can drink plenty of alcohol, hammer away, and even go shopping in the environment he desires.

Of course, he’s not just looking out for his own benefit.

He said he would take his share of the materials, conditions, and the liquor he provided.

However, I don’t have a system to receive or reject, but when you think about it, this is also a way to strengthen the village’s power, and there are many things I am currently benefiting from. So, I ended it by asking for money when needed.

It’s not a big deal anyway.

Let’s get back to the main point.

“I need a proper sword. Not some mass-produced one sold to people. I plan to train with a sword from now on.”

“Oh? You’re going to use a sword?”

Vulkan expressed interest and scanned my skeleton at a glance.

“Is it possible?”

“Whether it’s possible or not! If the Water Lord is going to use it, we need to prepare a good one. Luckily, I have a good one, so follow me.”

“Hmm?”

Vulkan guided me deeper underground.

It was a warehouse that a fellow had made for me a while ago, but it was a place where Vulkan’s personally crafted masterpieces were stored.

Thud~

Nothing bad.

I followed him.

Vulkan’s weapon laboratory.

A plain rectangular room.

Swish!!

Swish!!-

I swung the sword.

Just by doing that, a sharp aura condensed and launched a secondary attack.

Thud!!

Crash!!-

As the ground was struck, the aura burst, adding more impact.

With proper skills added here, there will be a tremendous synergy.

“How on earth are swords like this made?”

“Hahaha!! Even when I was at the top, many people used to line up to request my services. Of course, I rejected them all unless it was my time to shine.”

I can’t help but feel that Vulkan’s skills are great.

He mentioned that he came here because he had mishandled an item belonging to a high-ranking dominator. Dealing with such an item itself is evidence of his craftsmanship.

With this sword, my skills will surely overflow.

Learning swordsmanship.

“Thank you, Vulkan. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll support you in every way.”

“Hah! I guess it was worth mentioning! I’ll make sure to solidify your stem as much as possible. The higher the density, the better the mana flows.”

“That’s it.”

Vulkan.

Living underground, he may not have a noticeable presence, but he is a being that helps the village more than anyone else.

I’m willing to fulfill all his requests if possible.

There will be a lot to ask for in the future.

I emerged into the village.

Now, a very wide view of the village.

The mist covering the village area was dispelled by magic, revealing its appearance at a glance.

Many elves and humans.

Many farms and houses.

Especially, with the influx of people, many buildings have sprung up in the village.

Most of the buildings were built by elves, but there were also a few buildings built by humans.

This is because several construction, production, and technical jobs have joined.

Thanks to that, the village atmosphere has changed significantly.

If the old humans felt like they were staying or working reluctantly, now they had the will to rise up with a noble mission.

But that’s not all.

A shooting range for archery training was built.

A training ground for swordsmanship was built.

A spacious area for practicing magic was created.

The tenth Elysian Alchemy Workshop for storing herbs and fruits was established.

The ninth Germeon managed farm and a factory for extracting stem fabrics were also built.

Even.

“Jo, I like you!!”

“Uh… It’s sudden, so I’m not sure what to say. I don’t dislike it either.”

There were also elf & human couples.

Evidence that harmony is better than before.

Even without reports from Floren, it was clear that there would be no problems like last time.

I looked around.

“Oh… it’s Vinai. Oh, goddess.”

“Goddess, please stroke us again!”

In the village square, there was a statue of the angel Shaela wearing a blindfold, and in front of it, many humans and elves were seen praying together.

What’s this?

When was that erected?

And how did sprouts grow on its head?

Something seems strange, but…

The village is evolving into a small subcity.

Soon, creating a currency unique to the elf village will accelerate development by activating the economy.

It might be a bit challenging to solve everything with just points on the ground floor.

Let’s discuss this with Shaela later.

For now…

Swish.

He headed towards the swordsmanship training ground.

Swordsmanship Training Ground.

“The training ground here is better than I thought.”

“I like the straw dummies.”

“Ah, with the determination to carve bones… I will train with the heart of a carver!!”

There were dozens of elves and about twice as many humans using the training ground.

By the way, the elves trained regularly every day, and humans often visited this place whenever they ate the fruit.

Thanks to this, the scale of the training ground was very large.

They expanded the area next to the village into a 100x100m square space, where hundreds of people could comfortably use it with plenty of room to spare. They even planned to expand it further if more people came in.

And in this vast training ground, there was always one being who trained tirelessly.

“Wow, look at that elf.”

“He comes here to train every day?”

“I tried to spar with him last time, but he was too fast for me to keep up.”

The third Kasian.

With thick green hair.

The top swordsman among the elves.

He began his sword dance.

True to his taciturn nature, he spent half of his day training here every day, and even sparred with human swordsmen because it wasn’t enough.

He also had several titles.

The top swordsman of the elf of the divine tree.

The most silent elf.

The best training bug.

And.

“He’s cool… Should I confess?”

The most popular elf who captivated the hearts of women.

His mysterious and cool appearance, training diligently every day and only speaking during sparring, was enough to steal the hearts of women.

“Wow, he’s going to be big.”

He shows promise.

More passionate about training archery every day than Tinea, he had nothing more to say.

How much more will he grow….

[Divine tree?]

Kasian realized I was watching and looked in my direction.

I waved my hand to indicate not to worry.

[Finish what you were doing. I’m here to learn from your swordsmanship.]

[Yes.]

Swish!!~

Kasian swung his sword again.

There was no need to disturb the guy training, and I could understand the swordsmanship just by watching.

Because he was my avatar.

Just by sharing consciousness and focusing on Kasian, I could feel the sword.

How to move.

Why move like that.

Shoo!

Swish!

Chwak!-

How to step on the ground.

When to swing the sword.

I could read Kasian’s intentions, so just by focusing, my understanding of swordsmanship increased.

I watched him for a while.

Even when I returned home, I watched him.

I felt the sense of the sword even when he trained secretly at night.

There was no need to teach him anything.

He was a training maniac.

Just watch.

That sense is shared with me.

While sharing consciousness and meditating, I synchronized with Kasian’s senses.

Then, I moved myself.

The path of training is expanding.

I learned the sword like that for a while.