Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Twin Sisters (3)
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"Hoo."
How much time had passed like that?
I was riding in a carriage heading toward the Divine Tree.
The only things visible in the swiftly passing scenery were trees upon trees—the Divine Tree was nestled deep within the forest.
-Rumble! Rumble!
The path was so rough that the carriage shook violently.
Without cushions, my butt would have been sore as hell. We'd rushed to prepare the carriage, so there hadn't been time to fit passenger seats—we were using a freight wagon instead.
And a freight wagon around here meant no seats, not even straw bedding.
In other words, I had to sit directly on the hard wooden floor.
Thankfully, I'd pulled out the cushion I'd bought last time from my Subspace and managed to endure it that way, but the ride was still far from comfortable.
At best, it was just a little less painful.
'Well, they're guiding me here, so I can put up with this much.'
Still, I didn't complain about the discomfort.
Without the carriage, I'd have had to walk. Plus, the Turk Merchant Association employee wasn't just handing me a map—he was kindly escorting me personally.
The person driving the carriage right now was that very employee.
[ You're guiding me yourself? ]
[ Yes, I'm usually a tour guide for visitors. But with the current situation, there are no customers. ]
The guy I'd flagged down happened to be a tour guide or something. Normally, he'd be leading tourists around Arke, but with no customers this time, he had time on his hands.
So here he was, personally driving the carriage and guiding me.
Thanks to him, I didn't have to worry about getting lost in the forest like last time.
Well, if I really couldn't find the way, I could always Teleport back.
"That place you see there is the one you're looking for, High Elf ma'am. We should arrive in about ten minutes."
"Is that it? It's bigger than I thought."
In any case, my destination was that massive tree visible in the distance.
Even from afar, its silhouette was unmistakable.
That colossal tree, rivaling a skyscraper in height, was the ancient legacy of the elves known as the Divine Tree.
"Its radius alone spans dozens of meters. It's enormous, right?"
Now, let me share a little legend here.
In the past, Arke was nothing but barren wasteland where not a single blade of grass could grow. But then the Time's Transcendent - Diavela planted a single tree for a pair of homeless elf twins, changing everything.
"With this, Arke will change." It wasn't just about planting a single tree.
The Transcendent infused it with divine power, allowing it to thrive and transform the lifeless wasteland of Arke into a lush, vibrant forest teeming with life.
In essence, divine power is the energy of life, and for a god-like Transcendent, granting vitality to a tree was no great feat.
"It's been there since before the elven kingdom was even founded, so that massive size makes sense."
And the tree the Transcendent planted? That's precisely this Divine Tree.
Its age must be thousands—no, tens of thousands—of years old.
"Yeah, it looks like the oldest tree in the world."
Even without knowing Arke's legends, the Divine Tree's immense size alone screams ancient.
In fantasy tales, something like that would be called a World Tree. Of course, in Novel Online, it was officially named the Divine Tree.
No real difference, though.
"But are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"That tree—the elves say it eats people."
"...A man-eating tree?"
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 1.
'A man-eating tree, huh.'
Cyan had arrived at the Divine Tree by carriage before she knew it.
She'd tipped the guide generously and sent him off. Now, she was alone here.
~Neutral Stage~ Before Arke's Massive Divine Tree. Cyan stopped in front of the Divine Tree and surveyed her surroundings.
Ruins littered the area, on the verge of collapse—remnants of how the elves once worshiped this tree like a god long ago.
Very long ago, in a rather barbaric era, when dangerous magical beasts or natural disasters struck, the elves would offer living sacrifices to the Divine Tree.
They'd select a pure virgin elf maiden and bind her alive atop the altar.
Then the Divine Tree would devour her, and in response to the people's pleas, it would drive away beasts or dispel storms, truly granting their wishes.
Of course, legends are mostly exaggerated, so reality was probably a bit different.
But the fact that it consumed living virgin elves remains unchanged.
'Huh, cuter nickname than I expected.'
In any case, live sacrifices are ancient history now.
Anyone trying that outdated nonsense these days would be purged. It's been ages since the last one.
No more innocent elves sacrificed like in the old days.
-Step
Cyan approached the tree.
The elves had placed barrier stones around to keep people from approaching the Divine Tree, but Cyan forced her way through them.
Its overwhelming size was hard to even comprehend, but the Divine Tree wasn't just big.
-Rustle
"Indeed, is this why they call it man-eating?"
Soon, the Divine Tree's roots coiled around Cyan's ankle.
Like tentacles, the roots slithered upward, now even slipping under her clothes.
'Old ones all have the same tastes...'
-Crack!
In the end, Cyan ripped them all out.
Had she stayed dazed, the roots would have wrapped her entire body, and what came next was obvious without seeing it.
'In the game, the roots burrowed into every orifice, slowly draining HP. Seems similar here.'
In Novel Online, lingering near the Divine Tree got you ensnared by roots, gradually killing your character.
Once fully caught, non-elves couldn't escape, and players had to watch their character writhe in agony for a minute before respawning in town.
Some kind of Easter egg, I guess?
By the way, dying to the Divine Tree doubled the EXP loss compared to normal death.
'No one tried approaching it because of that.'
So players steered clear of the Divine Tree.
No special NPCs around, and suddenly roots emerge to devour your character—who'd bother entering that map?
Beautiful stage, top-ranked since launch.
Yet, thanks to their faction's Divine Tree, it had the least popularity despite the pretty design.
"It was around here somewhere."
But soon after, people flocked to the Divine Tree in droves. The reason?
-Rustle!
"Hard to find by sight alone."
The devs officially announced that mages needed to pass through this Divine Tree stage for their final class change.
Masses of players came searching, and masses died there.
On busy days, you'd hear nonstop character moans echoing as they spawned.
Some players deliberately got caught as buff male characters in underwear, or the opposite—rumors said so.
A few even got banned after report spam.
"Found it."
-Snap!
Suddenly, Cyan snapped off a branch.
Oddly, it gleamed golden.
This was the essential item for a mage's final class change.
The key to opening the entrance to the elves' sacred Sanctuary.
⚔ ITEM ⚔ 📦 Name: Golden Branch 📝 Description: A branch glowing golden. Holding it seems like it could open a door somewhere. -Step step
Cyan took the branch back to the altar amid the ruins where sacrifices were once offered and placed it atop the altar.
This would open the entrance soon.
-Rumble rumble rumble...!
'That must be the entrance.'
-Boom!
Thus, a small entrance appeared in the center of the Divine Tree.
Just big enough for one person to squeeze through, but the passage inside was reasonably wide.
And it widened further as it went.
'Got all the materials I need. Now just to meet the guy.'
How much further did she go?
-Step
Cyan halted her steps.
A massive portal loomed before her. Stepping through would reveal the elves' holy sanctum.
"Halt right there!"
But someone blocked her path...
"Haa."
Seeing the figure's face, Cyan let out a deep sigh.
Normally, she'd just knock them down and move on, so why the sigh?
It was all because of the 'gatekeeper's' appearance.
"I am the guardian of the Sanctuary! None may pass without my permission! State your business!"
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 👤 Name: Sanctuary Gatekeeper – Lv.? ❤️ HP: 1 ✨ MP: 10 📋 Special: Immortal 📝 Description: Sanctuary gatekeeper. Human body, but a crucian carp for a head. Eyes that could only look sideways, a mouth constantly flapping.
And instead of hair, hundreds of scales...
Imagine a human body topped with a crucian carp head blocking your way—even a battle-hardened veteran adventurer would sigh.
But the real problem wasn't its looks.
The gatekeeper's gravest issue was—
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...Damn it."
-Flash!
I'd finally entered the Sanctuary through the portal.
But I wasn't in a good mood.
Seeing that stinking fish head again had upset my stomach. Getting devoured by tentacles might've been better for my mental health.
At least tentacles don't drive you insane with frustration.
Though they drive you mad in other ways...
[ I see, you're here to meet the Great Sage... But why are you here? ]
Anyway, that guy wasn't just fish-headed—his brain was fish-sized too.
[ Ah, sorry. My memory's bad. So, what's your reason for coming here? ]
How do you forget something said five seconds ago? I really wanted to kill the bastard.
Especially when he yapped about his memory while flapping that mouth—it got more annoying by the second.
"Still, somehow I got past."
But I couldn't just beat him down. He managed the portal, and screwing up might seal the entrance.
'It takes a week to reopen. Good thing I was cautious.'
Plus, without the fish head's permission, no entering the Sanctuary portal.
Ignoring him would've trapped me like in the labyrinth.
This portal wasn't some crude maze junk—it used spatial Transcendent magic refined by the Great Sage.
"Glad I grabbed that Dragon Bloodstone back then."
Simple methods wouldn't work here.
[ Th-this is a Dragon Bloodstone! Where'd you get something so precious? Who are you anyway? Feed it to me? Is that really okay? ]
The only way in: feed a Dragon Bloodstone to the fish head.
Separate from potion ingredients, it had tonic effects and improved circulation, extending that damn fish's memory from 5 to a whopping 10 seconds.
Anyway, it was touch-and-go, but I activated the portal.
Now I'd slipped into the Sanctuary that way.
~Hidden Stage~ Forest of Dawn A place where time was eternally frozen—the Forest of Dawn.