Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: A 200-Point Answer Sheet
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After sharing grilled catfish with Bingbing, I kept digging the tunnel while waiting for Tree of Truth.
About an hour later, Tree of Truth delivered a 60-page thesis.
Thinking about how they'd typed it all out one by one just to use the gallery's auto-translation feature made me truly grateful for their effort.
Finally, I could grow the tree!
I stopped digging right away, leaned against the tunnel wall, and started reading the materials.
I read so intently for an hour that my eyes nearly fell out, but I couldn't understand a thing.
It felt like a puzzle deliberately twisted to be incomprehensible.
"Wow. This is tough."
The elves' characteristically vague phrasing made it hard to interpret.
A barrage of incomprehensible proper nouns was turning my brain to mush.
Instead of building knowledge step by step from the basics,
it felt like they'd just carved out one section and handed it over, making it hard to absorb.
And seriously, couldn't they skip all this pie-in-the-sky nonsense in a thesis?
One minute they're praising the World Tree and Mother,
and the next, what's this spirit communion ritual?
Why are the offspring elves if the sun is the father and the World Tree is the mother?
"Hmm. Hold on."
The father sun symbolizes kingship, immortality, and gold.
It represents the truth flowing from the purest, most perfect being.
I've seen this theory somewhere before.
I spotted a connection to the alchemy from the Laplace School that Potion Addict had told me about.
"Hmm? What's this? It fits perfectly?"
Other parts reminded me of what Nature Lover had taught me.
Like solving a puzzle—one mystery unlocked, and the rest fell into place one after another.
Potion Addict's elven alchemy and Nature Lover's biological magic were the keys.
Tree of Truth's materials were starting to make sense.
Oh! My mind was piecing it together perfectly, figuring out what they wanted to convey.
I got it.
Now I understood.
Right—the key is imitating the most perfect being.
And the asexual reproduction rite speaks of Mother World Tree's love.
These crazy pointy-ears!
They were straight-up treating the World Tree like a wife!
Mother World Tree as my wife? Blasphemous.
Anyway, understanding Tree of Truth's thesis gave me an immense sense of accomplishment and euphoria.
Like a clogged drain suddenly blasting open—pure refreshment.
This must be intellectual pleasure!
Back in my metaphysics class, the professor said,
Physical pleasures are important in life,
but for those studying philosophy, experiencing intellectual pleasure is essential too.
Now I get what you meant, Professor.
So this is it. The ultimate ecstasy an intelligent being can feel.
"I see. In the end, I just need to love the World Tree. Got it."
"Quack?"
Bingbing waddled over, asking what I'd been so deep in thought about for hours in this tunnel.
"Heh... How do I even explain this revelation?"
"Quack."
"It's too tricky to explain. Go play over there."
"Quaack!"
I lacked the confidence to make my ignorant penguin buddy grasp the tree's greatness.
Truth be told, even I only understood it intuitively—not fully sorted in my head yet.
But I had a rough idea of what to do.
I could grow a tree from these dead roots.
I understood it.
No need for separate explanations or questions.
I'd already mastered it.
Tree of Truth was pretty flustered that I'd grasped the theory solo, even hitting typos left and right.
Tree of Truth bombarded me with notifications, but I turned them all off.
Now wasn't the time to get distracted.
I was going to grow a tree in the Ice Age without even a greenhouse.
Like that old man in the story who'd stubbornly plant an apple tree even if the world ended tomorrow.
In this blinding white Ice Age, I planned to summon greenery.
"Heh. This is exciting."
"Quack."
"You watch from the side. I'll show you something good."
I picked up the pre-gathered tree roots and stood before the thawed ground I'd prepared.
With the permafrost melted and ready for plants, it was time to plant the roots.
The sun was starting to set.
Let's grow the tree before it gets completely dark.
"Alright, Mother Earth. Please take good care of it."
"Just pull out one tree for me."
Of course, I prefer Mother Gaia over Mother World Tree.
Land is essential for a tree to take root, after all.
Isn't the earth the true mother?
Suddenly, the gnome grandpa's teachings flashed in my mind.
For some reason, I felt like I could grow an incredible tree right now.
High Elf Bogar, guardian of the World Tree and active as 'Tree of Truth' in the current gallery.
He doubted the newbie's response that had just flown in.
"Understood this...? I twisted it on purpose. How?"
He couldn't help but doubt it.
How could he not, when someone claimed to understand what they were supposed to fail at?
Tree of Truth had deliberately convoluted the content to make it incomprehensible,
and written it so it was impossible without foundational knowledge.
Yet the newbie had soloed it.
Impossible. Humans aren't supposed to understand. Elves struggle with it.
How could a human from a magic-less world grasp it in half a day?
'Even in the asexual reproduction rites, the Bastard Child Ritual is the highest difficulty. They might understand, but they won't pull it off.'
The Bastard Child Ritual.
An ultra-high-difficulty incantation to grow a tree from roots alone,
boasting the worst challenge even born druids rarely master.
Let alone with dead roots.
"Lying human scum. Just a prideful ignorant brute."
Bogar recalled human nature.
Humans live with lies on their lips.
They're incredibly prideful and stubborn.
This newbie was probably the same as all the others he'd seen—bluffing without the skill.
Bogar was trapped in prejudice and stubbornness.
Burned too many times before, he couldn't trust humans.
'Fine. Go ahead and try it alone. Even if you cry and beg later, I won't teach you.'
Bogar just wanted to crush the newbie's spirit.
If the newbie had politely admitted defeat and asked for guidance,
Bogar would've taught kindly.
But the newbie ghosted first.
So Bogar quietly waited for a post.
To an elf living eons, this was but a fleeting moment.
Soon, the newbie posted.
"Hmph. Let's see. Failed for sure. Knowing theory doesn't guarantee success. Even if it worked, they couldn't get more than an arm-thick sprout..."
Bogar smirked, ready to mock the failure, and checked the post.
Then he was speechless.
"Huh?"
Bogar rubbed his eyes.
No matter how many times he looked, it was a tree.
Not just any tree, either.
"How did a human grow a Spirit Tree...?"
Bogar wondered if he was hallucinating.
But no—it was a Spirit Tree capable of nurturing spirits.
The newbie hadn't just grown a tree; they'd evolved it a step further.
How pure and abundant must the mana be there for such a miracle from dead roots?
Beyond comprehension, this miracle shattered Bogar's common sense.
At the same time, he felt a strange tremor.
He'd taught countless elves and taken disciples, but none had ever given him this feeling.
"So this is what it was like for everyone. Nature Lover, now I understand what you meant. You've been teaching this genius."
Despite the impossible challenge, the newbie scored over 100—200 points.
For the first time, Bogar tasted the joy of being an educator.
And his desire to take the newbie as a disciple grew stronger.
'Maybe this human can fulfill my vow. My dream.'
Bogar's vow.
To create an artificial World Tree.
But his world already had one.
Making another with Mother World Tree around was taboo—treason.
Getting caught cheating meant death. Common sense.
So Bogar had only dreamed, never daring to try.
But the newbie's world had no World Tree.
Thus, Bogar had a shot at being the teacher of the first human to grow an artificial World Tree.
The newbie's suddenly cool tone bugged Bogar.
His anxiety grew.
Tree of Truth begged desperately.
Please be my disciple.
Bogar's plea worked.
He shed tears of joy.
Pureblood Supremacist stopped replying.
But surely she was curious too.
Why everyone praised the newbie so much.
It'd be weirder if curiosity didn't spark.