Episode 390 – Beneath the World Tree (2)
The fragrant scent of Ordor Forest’s unique grasses filled the air.
“No matter how many tis I see it, it’s always amazing.”
As Arthur opened his eyes, a certain presence imdiately caught them.
No, anyone who opened their eyes here would be overwheld by the sight before them.
A colossal tree too vast to capture with both eyes—the World Tree.
A fantastical existence born of earnest wishes, the World Tree had beco a symbol under the blessing of the Shadow King.
Arthur studied it closely, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Feels like it’s gotten bigger… is it just ?”
Had he forgotten the scale, having not seen it in a while?
Or had it truly grown?
A deeper sense of grandeur than before radiated from the World Tree’s imnse size.
“Uwaaaang!”
“R-Revina!”
“Oh, heavens above!”
Arthur’s eyes turned toward a flower field that had beco a sea of tears.
The witches’ garden, imbued with gentle care.
Within that beautiful garden, the witches clung to one another, weeping bitterly.
Upon hearing the news that the witches once captured by slave hunters had returned, every witch had co running.
Cordy.
deia.
Even the Elder witches had arrived, crying like children.
As leaders of the witches, they had silently endured much hardship, it seed.
Their tears carried both joy and sorrow—for the ones who had returned, and for those who never made it back to their holand.
Arthur silently watched the scene, deep in thought.
Why did they have to be hunted so rcilessly?
The answer wasn’t difficult.
“Because they were useful.”
Hunting would continue—sooner or later. That would never change.
This world demanded acceptance of a single truth: the weak who cowered would be devoured.
That was why Arthur had founded Hunt—to ruthlessly hunt down anyone who dared touch those under his protection.
“Ahem, I’ll head back to the cabin.”
Samuel, scrunching his nose, slipped away quickly, likely overwheld by the crowd of witches.
Arthur quietly watched their reunion a while longer.
Eventually, he looked around.
Everyone was focused on the returning witches—no one had paid him much attention yet.
He touched his chest and gently closed his eyes.
There was a reason Arthur had co to the World Tree earlier than scheduled, along with the witches.
It was ti to confirm that reason.
“Reto.”
Arthur called softly.
In Aintrier, Reto hadn’t responded to being called by na.
But Arthur already knew the reason why—from Reto himself.
The King of the Dead…
Would it be okay here, far removed from Aintrier?
At Arthur’s call—
[Good. She didn’t follow you.]
Reto responded, to Arthur’s relief.
Arthur sighed quietly and muttered, “What’s going on?”
[I sensed Death Milo’s presence. Very close by.]
“You said she wouldn’t be much of a threat without a dium. Was that wrong?”
[It would be true—if it were just us.]
“What do you an, ‘us’?”
[You’re not standing alone, are you? Her obsession with my existence surpasses imagination. If it were just us, we could endure. But those around you—your allies—would suffer greatly.]
“My allies... Huh. I didn’t expect you to think that far.”
[Only because their situation influences your decisions. That’s why I told you.]
Arthur nodded gravely.
Since transmigrating into this novel world, he had ford bonds with many for the sake of survival.
Having fought life and death battles together, those people were precious to him.
He wouldn’t allow them to be hard because of him.
“I need to prepare.”
[A wise decision.]
“Any good ideas? I can’t grasp the scale of the threat—we’re talking about the King of the Dead here.”
[You’ll have to get stronger. Much stronger.]
“Simple and clear. Also the hardest thing to do.”
Arthur let out a dry chuckle, followed by a deep sigh.
To get stronger...
He recalled the list of divine nas Lily had recently shown him.
The fastest way to grow stronger—
It lay in his own divine nas.
[Arthur Clayton – Divine Na Hunter (Order)]
[Third ntal Barrier]
[Siren’s Hymn (Ancient Glyph)]
[Heart of Retonicalus (Assimilation Rate: 85%)]
[Commander of the World Tree Union]
[Ring of Desire (Survival)]
[Leader of Hunt (5)]
[Benefactor of the Witches]
[Reto’s Soul Art]
[Blessing of the World Tree]
[Blessing of Enchant (Sacred Power, Penetration, Iron)]
[Guardian]
There had been several major changes to his divine na list.
One, [Guide of the World Tree Union] had changed to [Commander of the World Tree Union].
After forming an alliance with Demtor, his companions had recognized him as their leader—likely when the change occurred.
And—
“My assimilation rate hit 85%.”
A 10% jump from the previous 75%.
Considering the rate of previous increases, this was a dramatic spike.
He thought about what might have caused it—and ca to a conclusion:
It was likely because of the newly added divine na—[Guardian].
“Seems it has sothing to do with Makibeldor’s destruction.”
He couldn’t think of any other event that would grant him the [Guardian] na.
Guardian. A title aning "Protector."
What sort of criteria does the god use to assign such divine nas?
Many complicated thoughts swirled in his mind, but no clear answer erged.
Still, it was certain that with the assimilation rate at 85%, his unity with Reto had significantly improved.
“Reto, if synchronization were to happen now—what would that an?”
[You might be able to retain your consciousness. No guarantees.]
“So in the end, I’ll have to try to find out.”
Arthur clicked his tongue briefly.
If they synchronized, Death Milo would begin tracking him.
He had no desire to test that at such a high risk.
“Is there nowhere we can hide from her gaze?”
[No place cos to mind.]
“You’re really a being that’s lived for eons?”
[Ti doesn’t equate to experience. Especially not for a poor imitation like .]
“You’re saying you wasted your life?”
[Let’s just say I was… waiting for the right opportunity.]
So he spent all that ti practicing speeches, huh? When it ca to words, Reto never lost an argunt.
Arthur shook his head and looked forward.
The reunion in the forest seed to be ending, and one of the witches was approaching him.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Oh, Elder. You’re here.”
deia, elder of the witch society and spiritual leader of the Elders, stood before him with reddened eyes.
As Arthur stared at her, she gave a small cough and turned away, clearly embarrassed about her tears.
Arthur smiled playfully and said, “If I’d known I’d get to see your tears, I would’ve brought them back sooner.”
“That’s a wicked thing to say—but if that’s what it takes, I welco it. I got to see them with my own eyes.”
The corners of deia’s eyes creased with fine wrinkles.
It was the warm smile of age. Seeing it made Arthur feel a bit guilty.
“I could’ve saved more witches... I was a little late.”
“I’ve read the reports on what you’ve done. You’ve already given us more than enough. Don’t dwell on it.”
deia naturally led Arthur toward the World Tree.
As they walked, they chatted—there was much to catch up on since his last visit.
But the conversation didn’t last long.
Just as they stepped out of the lush garden into the open space beneath the World Tree—
“…What is this?”
A canopy of massive leaves spread wide enough to hide the sky.
Arthur stared in awe at the new world that had ford beneath them.
“Much has changed in your absence.”
deia had wanted to show him the great changes in Ordor Forest firsthand.
Seeing Arthur’s astonished expression filled her with pride.
“This… this is beyond anything I imagined.”
The small witch village of wooden huts was gone.
In its place, massive wooden structures had sprung up in a great circle around the trunk of the World Tree.
The territory had expanded twenty—no, thirty—tis over.
And the changes had only just begun. Crowds had gathered at the outskirts, feverishly constructing more buildings.
Not just witches—dwarves, elves, and beastkin were all visible.
Arthur gazed at the trendous transformation in awe.
At a glance, the structure resembled the mage city Demtor—a massive city radiating from a central Tower.
“Who ca up with this plan?”
“Isn’t there a race particularly good at building houses?”
“…Ah.”
He had forgotten the dwarves’ potential for a mont.
If the artisans brought by the Dwarven King were involved, then any vision could beco reality.
The artisans had designed the layout, and the various races had used their abilities to construct the buildings—no wonder the expansion was so fast.
It no longer felt like a forest.
This was a multi-race city.
“Want to take a look? To see what’s blood from the roots you laid.”
“These roots belong to everyone.”
“No, if not for you, this land would’ve been trampled and lost.”
“…Let’s go.”
Arthur briefly looked up at the leaves that hid the sky, then began walking.
Flowers blooming from new foundations.
Sothing about those words stirred him.
A wide dirt road revealed itself.
It connected to the World Tree, and Arthur walked alongside deia down that path.
As the elder walked with him, people stopped and stared.
It seed unusual to see Elder deia personally guiding soone. Countless gazes followed Arthur from between the wooden buildings.
“This is… a bit overwhelming.”
A natural, wood-based city, full of life.
Inside were all kinds of people starting new lives.
“The witches made a big decision, giving up so much of their holand to others.”
“After centuries of isolation, we realized that living alone was like being trapped in a cage. We don’t even need barriers anymore—we feel safe. Because they are here.”
Union.
The witches had co to understand the power of protecting together.
It was a good developnt.
“No wonder people are calling it a paradise.”
“Oh? That rumor made it all the way to Aintrier?”
“The Union’s influence has grown inside Hell Gri. With higher status cos better treatnt. I’m sure wandering non-humans have noticed the change in how humans treat them. And they know that power cos from the World Tree. That’s why they call it paradise.”
“It’s good news. But… I can’t help but feel uneasy about such praise.”
“Is sothing bothering you?”
The elder paused, gazing toward the outer rim of the city.
Wooden buildings were rapidly rising.
Most of the dwarves here spent all their ti building.
Others helped, but the number of incoming non-humans far exceeded the speed of construction.
Since the Union's power had grown, the rate of new arrivals had spiked.
deia seed concerned whether the World Tree could continue to accommodate everyone.
Arthur noticed her worry and smiled.
“I think I brought a gift.”
“A gift?”
“I’ll unwrap it this evening—once everyone is gathered.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll look forward to it.”
With a gentle smile, deia turned to resu walking—but suddenly clicked her tongue as soone approached from across the road.
“Looks like I’ll have to reveal my gift first.”
“Huh? A gift?”
Arthur looked confused as deia gave a subtle smile and pointed ahead.
A man was walking toward Arthur.
A familiar face.
Arthur recognized him imdiately—even from a distance.
“Elton!”
Elton, the vice-master of the Ghost Division.
The practical leader of the ghost organization—Arthur had assigned him to stay at the World Tree.
As Elton waved and approached, Arthur smiled in delight.
Then suddenly—
“…Hm?”
Arthur blinked.
He sensed sothing unusual from Elton—not quite a feeling, but a vivid familiarity that only Arthur could perceive.
When he realized what it ant, a huge grin spread across his face.
deia saw that smile and clicked her tongue with a smirk.
“You noticed?”
“When did it happen?”
“Three days ago. Elton asked us to keep it a secret—he wanted to see your surprised face. I think he’ll be disappointed.”
So that was the secret the ghosts had been itching to tell.
The mont they faced each other, Arthur could feel it.
Elton had awakened as a 5-star.
“He’s the new divine na bearer. The witches call him by this na—”
In the witches’ society, a divine na was bestowed by recognition.
Looking at Elton standing before her, deia spoke softly.
“The Shadow Who Walks on Fla.”
It seed the World Tree Union had gained a powerful new divine na bearer.
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