episode_0042

105th day in the Misty Forest.

I must become stronger.

I must increase my power.

To achieve that, I have decided to accept humans into the village.

Therefore.

“From now on, we will accept humans again.”

The village residents gathered at the farm.

I made this decision following Shaela’s advice.

I will not ambiguously accept them as before, but manage them firmly.

But before that, the most important thing.

I need the cooperation of the current village members.

There was no problem with this.

“If it’s the word of the god, then as much as you want!!”

“They must have a clear intention. If we communicate properly, they will become good friends again.”

“We will follow the noble elves!”

“Ugh… this time, I will pay proper attention.”

“I will help too. Floren.”

The elves reaffirmed their determination.

Floren prepared resolutely.

Even the humans who remained in the village showed their willingness to come together and help this time.

“Human… is it okay?”

Of course, there are voices expressing concern.

Those who climbed the tower will not stay in one place. They may try to find a way to go outside, or maybe someone like a criminal might cause trouble.

But it will be okay.

I can be sure of that.

Because.

[Everyone, look at me.]

Here, there is a goddess.

Above the sky, a giant Shaela draped in mist appeared.

A tremendous sense of awe.

Just looking at her gives me chills.

It may be scary, but there is a warmth in her voice that soothes the heart, making one feel captivated.

She was not just a strong-willed girl, but truly a goddess now.

But… how did that happen?

[I am Shaela. I am the guardian deity of the village that will guide you along with the World Tree.]

A voice resonating in my head.

Similar to the telepathy I had with him, but this time it is being transmitted to everyone. Just listening to it surpasses an unknown thrill and bends the whole body.

Surprisingly, it felt comfortable.

“God, is that…!?”

“She is the goddess!!…”

“Wh-what am I seeing? It feels… benevolent.”

“Amazing…”

The reactions were not bad.

Just feeling comfortable as if being enchanted by Shaela’s presence itself.

Then.

[Everyone, follow me.]

Paaaah!!-

A golden light covered the village.

The mist in the village area naturally dissipated, and a warm light seeped in.

[Outside, there are slave hunters who do not see humans as humans, and there is no way to escape from the 0th floor of the tower right now. This is the last stronghold and sanctuary that we must protect together.]

Shaela roughly explained the current situation.

By the way, the current village humans do not know much about the outside world.

He informed them instead.

The effect of this is simple.

As they talk to the humans they will accept in the future, this fact will naturally spread.

Once they realize the situation, they will not recklessly try to go outside.

[Unjustly fallen ones, come together. Protect this place from the enemies as much as possible. Then, I will find a way for you to escape from here someday. I will guide you.]

Even a goddess appears?

And she points out the way to go forward?

In such a magnificent manner?

If I were an ordinary human, which would I choose between the dangerous outside and the goddess’s village that helps us protect and eventually escape?

The result is obvious even without looking.

Moreover, look at that.

With such a determined speech, an incomprehensible dignity is felt.

Even the eyes look mysteriously, making the thrill unstoppable.

“Kyaaa!!~ Shaela, you’re amazing!!!”

Tinia was the first to react.

She was already a girl who followed Shaela well since she was petted before.

Following her, the other elf followers of the goddess also responded.

“I’ve been watching since the beginning with the Lord. If it’s Shaela, I can believe it.”

“The goddess who is with the Lord… is truly amazing!!”

“That person is indeed a goddess. Patting the Lord… hm. I guarantee it.”

Thus, even ordinary elves were the same.

“Noble elves like that!!”

“It’s truly a warm light. I never thought the Lord’s blessing would come to our land.”

“I’m so moved. With the Lord and the goddess. This place is truly a blessed land!!”

Even humans had a similar reaction.

“I-Is that really a god?”

“I feel an energy that is beyond reach.”

“Ah… what am I seeing? What is that being in the sky…?”

“From the start, this village was strange. From the giant tree to the barrier of branches… Could it really be the World Tree and the goddess? Were we living in such a place!!!”

Shaela’s official first appearance captivated everyone’s hearts.

The village gained a concrete image, and the mention of the goddess and the World Tree revealed a sense of familiarity.

So, the humans who would be accepted in the future wouldn’t be much different.

Threads were being woven.

My domain is much wider than before.

I can easily find dozens of people in a day.

If they gather every day and settle down, following Shaela’s will, it will be a great force. The problem is whether I can control them well, but seeing Shaela’s figure, it won’t be difficult.

She was indeed a goddess.

There must be a catch.

No, even if not, the Floren and the elves, even the existing humans. They will all have the same experience.

Because that’s what experience is.

This time, it’s definitely different.

That’s why I hesitated as well.

“From now on, when expanding the domain or patrolling, if you find abandoned humans, rescue them and bring them here! Explain to them what this place is like and what they should do.”

“Yes!!”

“Understood!!”

“As the noble one wishes!!”

“Finally, humans other than us!….”

“This time, let’s step forward first and persuade them.”

“With the Lord and the goddess, everything will be fine!”

There was no one who had complaints about the open policy.

Rather, they seemed to be expecting new changes.

The change brought about by Shaela.

It’s intriguing.

I was skeptical about accepting humans, but he was confident.

It will definitely be different this time.

Please, let it be positive.

*

107th day in the Misty Forest.

“To have a village in a place like this….”

“Thank you for saving us!!”

It was only two days.

Thanks to the wide domain and many patrol members, 60 abandoned people were rescued in just two days.

I didn’t need to step forward.

The Floren and the remaining humans, who were the same humans, gaslighted with various explanations as agreed.

Outside, there are slave hunters.

The Misty Forest is very vast and a paradise for monsters.

This is the only safe zone.

There is no way out of the 0th floor.

If we all join forces to defeat the outside presence, then the goddess will open the way.

It’s like a story of the goddess and the hero.

The abandoned people became the heroes of the village.

Honestly, it’s not even gaslighting.

It may sound like a story from a legend, but it’s all true.

And such cliché stories were enough to captivate the hearts of humans.

“To think such things are happening outside….”

“I expected it, but the landfill is truly a terrifying place. I will also lend my strength!”

“Is it really true that there is a goddess? That giant, sacred-looking tree… it’s hard not to believe.”

“I suspected when I fell. That I would die helplessly here. But you saved us. We should gladly help.”

“It seems that the forest outside is a lawless area where we can’t do anything. This is our last stand….”

As you can see, most of them understood and accepted it when their lives were saved and they were kindly explained to.

That’s all there was to it.

Additional explanations from the remaining humans.

The kind favor of the elves.

Warm sanctuary.

Even people in the same situation.

It’s hard to think it’s a lie.

“Still, I want to see the outside for myself….”

Of course, there are some who are not obedient. Some humans were seen trying to instigate others to go outside like magnets from the past.

The solution at this time is simple.

Just suggest a different path.

“If you don’t have the strength, going outside is very dangerous. So, those who want to go outside! If you win against me in a duel, you can go out with the help of Lady Elf. I won’t say anything if you just go out, but I can’t guarantee your safety in that case.”

Floren.

She raised her staff.

It’s okay to go out, but it’s dangerous. Instead of letting those who want to go out go out, she blocked them in advance and suggested a path by offering to help them if they win against her.

“I want to try it once. I’m curious about how strong you are talking about. By the way, I was the 4th ranked dual swordsman in my world.”

“Alright.”

There is no problem with a match.

Floren is a guy who consumed the life force I gave him after Shaela.

Curious about how strong he has become, I fed him a fruit every day, and he also repeated his training every time he ate a fruit.

He was about level 270 now.

Stronger than the early Elf of the Divine Tree.

If he grows more, he might be able to fight weak slave hunters and fight alone.

In other words.

Thud!!

“Ouch!?….”

“You’re slow. I’m a mage, but I didn’t even need to use magic. If you go outside with this kind of skill, you won’t be able to do anything and you’ll die. Train with others here.”

“This, this can’t be….”

It’s a landslide victory.

Among humans, Floren was the strongest.

There should be no problem unless a high-level waste is released. Even if it does, Shaela will take care of it nicely.

Even.

“How can you be so strong?”

“Heh. You can become strong just by eating crops blessed by the goddess and the World Tree.”

“What is that?”

Floren’s words caused a sensation.

Unexpectedly, his words captured the hearts of many people who had eaten a lot of crops.

“It’s unbelievable… just by eating, your stats go up!! I’ve never heard of such a thing!!!”

“W- wasn’t it just fruit? How is this possible.”

“Ah- it’s a sacred land. A land blessed by the goddess and the World Tree….”

“We must protect it. We must protect this village and confront the evil outside as the goddess said!!!”

Shaela’s gaslighting.

A kind and warm village.

With mysterious fruits added, people ignited a sense of mission themselves.

Some already show signs of fanaticism.

There is a lot more to explain than this….

But why bother explaining more to hurt your mouth.

“Hehe. I’ll be in your debt.”

“I’m lucky there’s a village here. I really thought I was going to die without a chance!”

I kept bringing humans.

Expanding the village and farmland, building more houses to accommodate them. Those who first joined were followed by others, and a virtuous cycle of helping each other was created.

Everyone was proactive.

The population increased rapidly.

By the time about 300 humans had joined.

“It’s time to see the results.”

It was time for the modified bodies to awaken.

*

111th day in the Misty Forest.

Tree trunk house.

“Is the monster waking up now?”

“Monster? It’s probably an evolved body.”

I looked ahead with Shaela.

Giant fruits were lined up.

Soon, 10 modified bodies mixed with various life forms would hatch.

What kind of body will be born?

“It’s going to be creepy again… I’m sure a weird chimera will come out this time too.”

“Let’s see first.”

In Shaela’s concern.

Squish-

Squirm~

The fruits were torn apart.

Reaching out one by one, they rose from the fruit to see the light.

The result was…

“I, I’m going for a walk.”

Shayella ran away.

It was such a terrible sight.

Missing arms.

Having three eyes.

Having four legs.

Having a broken waist.

Having tendrils instead of hair.

In severe cases, there were creatures with countless fingers growing like hair on their arms.

“…It’s not easy.”

If only their performance was good.

Even without checking, one could feel it.

These creatures couldn’t mix properly and ended up with abilities that were all over the place.

Well, I didn’t expect to succeed in one go.

More experimental data is needed.

However.

“Is this one okay?”

Fortunately, one was intact.

Pointed ears.

A height of 2.5m.

Thin stem-like hair.

Appearing human on the outside.

But with arms and legs like tree bark.

A creature that looked like a combination of a tree and an elf stood unharmed.

Surprisingly, this one was not a hunter or a beast, but a creature with a strong elf lineage mixed with the plant lineage of the Misty Forest.

Simply mixing in the plant lineage out of curiosity, it unexpectedly turned out to be the best result.

Wow~

I briefly landed on that body.

I looked ahead with green eyes.

It’s a strange sensation.

Although I am clearly looking ahead with my eyes, I could feel the temperature of all objects.

“Has my senses evolved.”

Talking is not a problem.

Moving is not a problem.

I also discovered a new ability.

Swoosh!

Stretch!

I could extend or move my hair, hands, and feet like stems, and with a little focus, I could make them much tougher and stronger.

That’s not all.

Swoosh.

I merged with the wall.

This body is closer to a plant than an elf.

If I wanted, I could transform my whole body into a plant for camouflage, or merge with trees to hide.

Swoosh.

Merging with the wall, I moved forward.

Soon, the outside air greeted me.

I could see the temperature of the wind.

Things like mist didn’t bother me.

At least, this body is optimized for moving in this forest. It’s not the perfect body I wanted, but it’s much stronger than an elf body.

Maybe even stronger than the current tree elf…

“I’ve acquired a good body collection.”

I placed the newly created avatar in a corner of the house.

Elf + plant.

The combination is quite good.

It was a remarkable result even though it was nothing special.

Therefore.

Gurgle.

I absorbed the failed creations and created new fruits.

From these 10 fruits, the modified creatures would be born.

However, as I mentioned, the nutrient consumption is high.

Therefore, I had to give up on body modification research for this turn. With the Bloroa and continuous nutrient supply, it was necessary to save nutrients.

Instead, the ones born in the future will become powerful guardians, no less than the tree elves.

Their species name will be…

Creatures that can merge with trees and manipulate tree trunks freely.

Dryad.

That’s what they were called.