Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Interlude (4)
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In the calmly submerged depths of his mind, he could feel the pulse of the world.
Thump, thump—
The warm sunlight pouring down, the cool breeze blowing gently, the soft embrace of the earth, the fresh scent wafting from the plants.
He sensed the throbbing from every natural element, and it gradually merged with him, becoming one.
The shyly blooming flower petal, the gentle breeze playfully tickling it as it passed, the river flowing proudly beside them.
Within him, they were no longer separate entities.
Oneness of object and self.
The wind blew. Right now, he was the wind.
The tree branches swayed. Right now, he was the tree.
A leaf fell into the river current and began drifting downstream. Right now, he was the river.
He was great nature itself—
—and he was the world.
“Ugh—? Tch!”
Harris, who had been napping blissfully in the shade of a tree, bolted upright and sucked in the drool at the corner of his mouth.
‘Ah... I just lay down for a quick break, and I ended up falling asleep. But what kind of weird dream was that?’
Feeling a languid weakness throughout his body, he tilted his head with a dazed expression.
He had been sleeping regularly and occasionally dreaming, but this was the first time he’d had a dream with such a strange sensation.
However, it didn’t seem like just some random nonsense dream...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and grows. Skill Nature Affinity evolves into Special Skill Nature Assimilation. “Hm?”
Startled, Harris just blinked at the spot.
Of course, he had been diligently training, but for a skill to evolve while taking a nap? The timing was too coincidental.
‘Well, ever since arriving in Drasha, I’ve constantly been under the influence of the World Tree, so it was about time for some growth.’
However, there was a minor side effect to this skill evolution.
‘...Ah. I feel so lazy even without doing anything. I was already lazy, but now it’s even more intense...!’
His immersion in nature had deepened far more than before, amplifying his slothfulness accordingly.
Of course, his affinity and natural power had surged even more, but at this level, an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to maintain daily life.
If it had been anyone but Harris, they might have chosen to merge with nature’s embrace before even realizing their newfound strength.
‘That would literally be dying of natural causes? No, that’s not the point right now.’
“Ugh—.”
Harris suppressed the urge of his body, which wanted to flop back down and become one with the earth, and stood up.
It took a bit more mental effort than usual, but compared to his other avatars, this was still nothing.
Hans, bearing the Immortal King’s Heart and the Abyss of Death.
Heinz 2nd, who had sucked in vampire blood from countless dimensions.
Heinrich, constantly maintaining a channel to the Main God.
Harley, who had accepted the monster’s genes and the abyss’s madness.
In terms of consumption alone, those other entities took up far more resources.
This was just a slight increase in things to manage.
‘Let’s see, there’s still plenty of time before the gathering. Maybe I should test out this new power real quick?’
Harris gauged the time and raised the bow ‘Themis,’ made from a branch of the World Tree that he held in his left hand.
This forest was the training ground within Drasha Academy, where he’d been practicing until just moments ago, so continuing was no issue.
...Of course, he’d dozed off while taking a break, but since his skill had grown as a result, it absolutely wasn’t slacking off.
He’d prove that right here and now with results!
“Hoo—.”
As Harris took a deep breath, a swirling wind gently enveloped his entire body.
Unlike the storm Harley had forcibly summoned through the Mad Dragon’s Heart, this wind arose as a pure natural phenomenon, without any coercion.
Though it was far removed from scientific principles, it was the law of this world.
And there were beings who belonged to that law, embodying nature itself.
Crackle! Whoosh—!
Whooosh! Hummm—
The spirits manifesting in midair, each flaunting their unique traits, were precisely those beings.
Lightning spirit Watt, fire spirit Kali, wind spirit Pascal, sound spirit Decibel.
His lovable companions, who had rapidly grown to mid-level despite their recent contracts.
‘Alright, let’s go full power.’
As he drew up his strength, natural power began gathering around him.
The spirits, summoned by Spirit Magic, absorbed his aura—greatly amplified by Child of the World Tree—and swelled their presence.
Up to here, it was the same as before...
Hummm—
But as he drew back the empty bowstring with his right hand, the surrounding natural power was sucked in, condensing into a single arrow.
And unlike before, the process was incredibly swift and smooth.
‘One with nature... the power to freely wield the surrounding energies as I wish.’
Borrowing the power of Nature Assimilation, the natural power kept condensing endlessly, as if there were no limits—but surely a single skill couldn’t eliminate all boundaries.
“Harr—...?”
Just then, he heard someone calling his name, but the familiar presence let him brush it off lightly.
He had no spare attention to divert right now.
Gather, condense, merge with the existing arrow.
Repeat that simple process.
After a brief moment, as gathering the energy grew burdensome and he considered giving up...
A soft energy emanated from Themis in his left hand, harmonizing Harris and the surrounding power.
Even the ‘High Elf’s Bracelet’ on his right wrist glowed faintly, syncing with it.
‘...This is good enough!’
An arrow of natural power, far denser than he’d expected.
He added the finishing touch.
Crackle!
The lightning spirit dwelled in the arrow shaft.
Whoosh—
The fire spirit nested in the arrowhead.
Whoooosh—!
And the wind and sound spirits enveloped it all.
“~~♪”
Along with Harris’s light humming, the arrow shot via Fairy Divine Shot—
——!
Cleaved through the air like a beam of light, without a sound.
It struck the target over a kilometer away in an instant.
Sploosh—!
The belated shockwave rustled the underbrush and his hair, but Harris ignored it, eyes sparkling as he stared at the distant target.
‘This is better than I thought? A skill alone shouldn’t reach this level—yep, item buffs are the best.’
Plus, if he used the wind spirit to suppress air currents instead of boosting power, he could probably pull off even stealthier, perfect sniping.
Of course, hiding energy flow was key in fights between experts, but with Nature Assimilation, that might be manageable too...
As Harris assessed the efficiency of his new power while gazing at the utterly obliterated distant magic target...
“Harris! What was that just now? How did you do it?”
A woman’s voice suddenly snapped him out of it.
“When did you get this strong? I was wondering why you were actually training instead of sleeping!”
The one he’d ignored while focusing on controlling his energy had approached and was chattering away.
Harris lowered his bow and turned toward the familiar voice, flinching involuntarily.
“But anyway, it’s great you’re working hard, but we need to head out soon if we don’t want to be late for the gathering, right?”
The blue-haired, blue-eyed elf woman, Shaphiron Sylvasti.
She blinked her round eyes at him, just like always.
But something was different from usual...
‘No, everything except her face is totally different!’
A familiar person in an unfamiliar outfit.
Sturdy yet comfortable traveler’s clothes and boots, hair tied up tightly for mobility, a backpack on her back with gear strapped all over—nothing odd about it.
A textbook example of adventurer’s attire.
But...
“Um, Miss Shaphiron? I heard they’re providing all necessary supplies via the delegation’s dimension, so we just need personal items. What’s with that...?”
He didn’t even know where to start.
Her boots had reinforced heels front and back, metal plating all over her body—battle-ready without issue.
Belts wound around her waist, shoulders, legs, etc., dangling with pouches and gear galore.
And judging by the bulges, plenty of hidden pockets sewn into the clothes—though stuffing them full made them not so hidden.
‘And that backpack—is it a sub-space magic tool? A pretty large one too, but she still has all that gear on top?’
The massive backpack, big enough to cover her slender frame entirely, dominated her back.
Full expedition gear, like heading into uncharted wilderness.
Harris glanced at his own single modest backpack beside him.
A stark contrast—just some simple clothes and basic travel items, light as could be.
“Hee hee hee, what are you talking about? You’re the one who said we always need to be thoroughly prepared for emergencies, Harris.”
Shaphiron wiped under her nose with a proud smile.
After joining the delegation together, she’d come to him for advice on the Ion Continent.
Offering top-grade tea leaves made from World Tree leaves as payment.
He’d shared various stories with her, tense about heading to another continent, but now it seemed they’d taken root a bit too deeply.
Mercenaries tended to exaggerate when recounting incidents...
“Look at this! It was hard to get, but with just this, even if the ground collapses and we’re buried underground, we can last for days...”
Her face flushed with excitement, she huffed proudly, showing off her preparations.
But even in her exhilaration, the dark circles under her eyes were unmistakable—no way she’d slept enough.
Like a kid who stayed up all night before a field trip.
“And these are emergency rations. I’ve extended their shelf life to years... Ah, worried about the weight? Don’t be! The backpack and all gear have lightweight spells...”
Harris quietly watched her chatter nonstop.
Come to think of it, this was Shaphiron’s first time leaving the capital Drasha.
And not just leaving the city or even the Elven Kingdom—this was a full continental expedition.
‘She must be really excited.’
As he gazed at her with blank eyes, she noticed and stopped, flashing a grin.
“Heh, as expected of Harris. You noticed? Can’t underestimate you.”
“...?”
“These clothes are custom-made too! I begged Mom... er, Lady Mother... for dryad silk as the base, then commissioned a dwarf for rare metals...”
Shaphiron opened up again, buzzing with energy.
Maybe because they’d grown close lately—she was showing a side he’d never seen from her prickly old self.
“...Ah, already this late? Come on, hurry up! How long are you gonna stand there? We’re traveling with other nations’ delegations, so we really can’t be late!”
Mid-ramble, she checked the time, startled, grabbed his arm, and urged him on.
She tilted her head at his simple luggage.
“Harris, isn’t your pack too light? Even for a veteran like you... Hm, whatever, I packed double for emergencies anyway! No problem! Heh heh, rely on me if it comes to that!”
With a triumphant air, she strode ahead toward the gathering point.
“Let’s go. We’re prepared for anything, so no need to worry!”
Thus, Harris walked alongside her—brimming with confidence and tension, yet excited like it was a picnic.
‘We’ll take Rapori’s ‘Path of the Forest’ and go straight through the temple gate, so all that gear won’t see any use anyway.’
He kept that thought to himself.
“Hmm hmm~♪”
Shaphiron hummed, her backpack jingling on her back.
‘Well, let her have her fun. That’s the gentlemanly, adult thing to do.’
That was just before they departed for the Ion Continent.
And, as expected.
Until they arrived at the Roselia Main Temple, none of her prepared items saw any use.